1,391 research outputs found
Integration of focal vibration and intra-articular oxygen–ozone therapy in rehabilitation of painful knee osteoarthritis
Objective: To examine the pain-reducing effects of intra-articular oxygen–ozone (O2O3) injections and mechanical focal vibration (mFV) versus O2O3 injections alone in patients with knee osteoarthritis. Methods: Patients with chronic pain (>6 weeks) due to knee osteoarthritis (II–III on the Kellgren–Lawrence scale) were consecutively enrolled and divided into two groups: O2O3 (n = 25) and O2O3-mFV (n = 24). The visual analog scale (VAS), Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS), and Medical Research Council (MRC) Manual Muscle Testing scale were administered at baseline (before treatment), after 3 weeks of treatment, and 1 month after the end of treatment. Patients received three once-weekly intra-articular injections of O2O3 into the knee (20 mL O3, 20 μg/mL). The O2O3-mFV group also underwent nine sessions of mFV (three sessions per week). Results: The VAS score, KOOS, and MRC score were significantly better in the O2O3-mFV than O2O3 group. The within-group analysis showed that all scores improved over time compared with baseline and were maintained even 1 month after treatment. No adverse events occurred. Conclusion: An integrated rehabilitation protocol involving O2O3 injections and mFV for 3 weeks reduces pain, increases autonomy in daily life activities, and strengthens the quadriceps femoris
Coupled ocean-atmosphere modeling and predictions
Key aspects of the current state of the ability of global and regional climate models to represent dynamical processes and precipitation variations are summarized. Interannual, decadal, and globalwarming timescales, wherein the influence of the oceans is relevant and the potential for predictability is highest, are emphasized. Oceanic influences on climate occur throughout the ocean and extend over land to affect many types of climate variations, including monsoons, the El Niño Southern Oscillation, decadal oscillations, and the response to greenhouse gas emissions. The fundamental ideas of coupling between the ocean-atmosphere-land system are explained for these modes in both global and regional contexts. Global coupled climate models are needed to represent and understand the complicated processes involved and allow us to make predictions over land and sea. Regional coupled climate models are needed to enhance our interpretation of the fine-scale response. The mechanisms by which large-scale, low-frequency variations can influence shorter timescale variations and drive regionalscale effects are also discussed. In this light of these processes, the prospects for practical climate predictability are also presented.AJMwas supported by theNSFEarth System Modeling Program (OCE1419306)
and the NOAA Climate Variability and Prediction Program (NA14OAR4310276). HS thanks the
Office of Naval Research for support under N00014-15-1-2588. LPP was supported by “Advanced
Studies in Medium and High Latitudes Oceanography” (CAPES 23038.004304/2014-28) and
“National Institute of Science andTechnology of the Cryosphere” (CNPq/PROANTAR704222/2009).
VM was supported by NOAA grant NA12OAR4310078. TGJ was supported by the U. S. Naval
Research Laboratory 6.2 project “Fresh Water Balance in the Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere System”
(BE-435-040-62435N-6777) YHT was supported by the MOST grant 106-2111-M-002-001,
Taiwan
Salivary microRNA for diagnosis of cancer and systemic diseases: A systematic review
Background: The aberrant expression of microRNAs (miRNAs) has been associated with several diseases, including cancer, inflammatory, and autoimmune conditions. Interest in salivary miRNAs as non-invasive tools for the diagnosis of malignancies and systemic diseases is rapidly increasing. The present systematic review was developed for answering the question: \u201cAre salivary microRNAs reliable biomarkers for diagnosis of cancer and systemic diseases?\u201d Methods: The application of inclusion and exclusion criteria led to the selection of 11 papers. Critical appraisals and quality assessments of the selected studies were performed through the National Institute of Health \u201cStudy Quality Assessment Tool\u201d and the classification of the Oxford Center for Evidence-Based Medicine. Results: Seven studies reported statistically significant correlations between one or more salivary miRNAs and the investigated disease. The critical analysis allowed us to classify only two studies (18.2%) as having \u201cgood\u201d quality, the rest being scored as \u201cintermediate\u201d (8; 73%) and \u201cpoor\u201d (1; 9%). Evidence exists that salivary miR-940 and miR-3679-5p are reliable markers for pancreatic cancer and that miR140-5p and miR301a are promising molecules for the salivary diagnosis of gastric cancer. Conclusions: Further studies, possibly avoiding the risk of bias highlighted here, are necessary to consolidate these findings and to identify new reliable salivary biomarkers
Efeito do tamanho e de mĂşltiplos casais sobre o potencial reprodutivo de Spodoptera eridania (Stoll, 1782) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae).
Entre os lepidĂłpteros de importância agrĂcola, Spodoptera eridania (Stoll, 1782) tem despertado atenção por atingir nĂveis de dano econĂ´mico em culturas de importância como algodĂŁo e soja. Entretanto, existem poucos estudos detalhados de biologia, especialmente relacionados a aspectos reprodutivos. Visando determinar a capacidade máxima reprodutiva desta espĂ©cie avaliou-se o efeito do tamanho, empregando como parâmetro o peso pupal, e o nĂşmero de casais por gaiola (um e trĂŞs) sobre o nĂşmero de cĂłpulas, fecundidade e fertilidade. Os experimentos foram conduzidos em sala climatizada (25 ± 1ÂşC, 70 ± 10% UR e fotofase de 14 horas) com observações diárias. Adultos, emergidos no mesmo dia, classificados de acordo com a massa pupal, como pequenos, mĂ©dios e grandes foram dispostos em gaiolas plásticas, (10 x 15cm), alimentados com dieta artificial e água estĂ©ril. Foram formadas 15 gaiolas com um casal cada, todos de tamanho mĂ©dio, cinco gaiolas com 3 casais de tamanho pequeno e mĂ©dio e 4 com trĂŞs casais de tamanho grande. O nĂşmero mĂ©dio de cĂłpulas dos casais de tamanho mĂ©dio mantidos individualmente (1,13) foi significativamente menor do que o dos insetos pequenos (2,58), mĂ©dios (2,47) e grandes (2,33),mantidos a trĂŞs por gaiola. A fecundidade mĂ©dia dos casais individuais (1.398,00) tambĂ©m foi significativamente menor que a dos mantidos a trĂŞs por gaiola, tanto de tamanho pequeno (1.709,07), mĂ©dio (2.044,27) e grande (2.469,92). Entre estes Ăşltimos observou-se efeito positivo entre o tamanho da pupa e a fecundidade, com diferenças significativas entre todos os tamanhos. A fertilidade mĂ©dia dos casais individuais (67,45) foi muito inferior a observada para os casais pequenos (97,32%), mĂ©dios (96,43%) e grandes (98,91%), mantidos a trĂŞs por gaiola. Estes resultados indicam que em estudos que estimam o potencial reprodutivo devem ser utilizados pelo menos trĂŞs casais por gaiola e que sejam descritos os pesos das pupas que originaram os adultos
Parâmetros biológicos dos estágios imaturos de Spodoptera eridania (Stoll, 1782) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), em condições controladas.
O gĂŞnero Spodoptera (GuenĂ©e, 1852) Ă© cosmopolita e abriga grande parte das lagartas de importância agrĂcola. Spodoptera eridania (Stoll, 1782) Ă© uma espĂ©cie polĂfaga que se alimenta de plantas de 57 famĂlias, incluindo muitas de importância econĂ´mica. Este estudo objetivou detalhar parâmetros biolĂłgicos de desenvolvimento dos estágios imaturos de S. eridania, em condições controladas (25 ± 1ÂşC, 70 ± 10% UR e fotofase de 14 horas). Foram avaliados 4.454 ovos provenientes de 16 posturas e 298 larvas neonatas, individualmente, alimentadas com dieta artificial modificada de Grenee et al. A viabilidade dos ovos, larvas, prĂ©-pupas e pupas foi de 97,82; 93,62; 96,42; 97,03%, com duração de 4,00; 16,18; 1,58 e 9,17 dias, respectivamente. Observou-se que 93% das fĂŞmeas e 100% dos machos passaram por seis e 7% das fĂŞmeas passaram por sete instares larvais. A partir do quinto Ănstar observou-se diferenciação no tamanho das cápsulas entre machos e fĂŞmeas de seis instares e, entre fĂŞmeas com as de sete instares, a diferenciação iniciou no quarto Ănstar, com razĂŁo de crescimento menor que as demais, no entanto o tamanho final foi maior que nas larvas de seis instares, compensado pelo Ănstar adicional. O tamanho final das cápsulas foi significativamente diferente entre fĂŞmeas (2,64mm) e machos (2,50mm), bem como entre as fĂŞmeas que passaram por seis (2,64mm) e sete Ănstares (2,72mm). Nas larvas femininas e masculinas de seis instares a razĂŁo mĂ©dia de crescimento foi de 1,52 e 1,51, respectivamente; nas de sete Ănstares foi de 1,44. As pupas femininas das larvas que passaram por seis instares foram significativamente maiores (377,53mg) do que os machos (329,45mg), porĂ©m, menores que as provenientes de larvas que passaram por sete Ănstares (435,11mg). Tanto a metodologia de criação quanto a dieta larval foram adequadas, pois permitiram 85,87% de sobrevivĂŞncia e um detalhamento muito maior das observações, especialmente, quando larvas
Testing an Open Source installation and server provisioning tool for the INFN CNAF Tierl Storage system
In large computing centers, such as the INFN CNAF Tier1 [1], is essential to be able to configure all the machines, depending on use, in an automated way. For several years at the Tier1 has been used Quattor[2], a server provisioning tool, which is currently used in production. Nevertheless we have recently started a comparison study involving other tools able to provide specific server installation and configuration features and also offer a proper full customizable solution as an alternative to Quattor. Our choice at the moment fell on integration between two tools: Cobbler [3] for the installation phase and Puppet [4] for the server provisioning and management operation. The tool should provide the following properties in order to replicate and gradually improve the current system features: implement a system check for storage specific constraints such as kernel modules black list at boot time to avoid undesired SAN (Storage Area Network) access during disk partitioning; a simple and effective mechanism for kernel upgrade and downgrade; the ability of setting package provider using yum, rpm or apt; easy to use Virtual Machine installation support including bonding and specific Ethernet configuration; scalability for managing thousands of nodes and parallel installations. This paper describes the results of the comparison and the tests carried out to verify the requirements and the new system suitability in the INFN-T1 environment
Evidence of rehabilitative impact of progressive resistance training (PRT) programs in Parkinson disease: an umbrella review
Parkinson disease (PD) is a chronic neurodegenerative condition that leads to progressive disability. PD-related reductions in muscle strength have been reported to be associated with lower functional performance and balance confidence with an increased risk of falls. Progressive resistance training (PRT) improves strength, balance, and functional abilities. This umbrella review examines the efficacy of PRT regarding muscular strength in PD patients. The PubMed, PEDro, Scopus, and Cochrane Library databases were searched from January 2009 to August 2019 for systematic reviews and meta-analyses conducted in English. The populations included had diagnoses of PD and consisted of males and females aged >18 years old. Outcomes measured were muscle strength and enhanced physical function. Eight papers (six systematic reviews and meta-analyses and two systematic reviews) were considered relevant for qualitative analysis. In six of the eight studies, the reported severity of PD was mild to moderate. Each study analyzed how PRT elicited positive effects on muscle strength in PD patients, suggesting 10 weeks on average of progressive resistance exercises for the upper and lower limbs two to three times per week. However, none of the studies considered the postworkout follow-up, and there was no detailed evidence about the value of PRT in preventing falls. The possibility of PRT exercises being effective for increasing muscle strength in patients with PD, but without comorbidities or severe disability, is discussed. Overall, this review suggests that PRT should be included in rehabilitation programs for PD patients, in combination with balance training for postural control and other types of exercise, in order to preserve cardiorespiratory fitness and improve endurance in daily life activities
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