Normative Data of Cervical Spine Range of Motion in the Elderly

The purposes of this study were to develop normal values for cervical active range of motion and to determine whether age and gender affect cervical active motions. Sixty-one independent elderly individuals (36 females and 25 males), whose ages ranged from 60 to 90 years, voluntarily participated in this investigation. Six cervical active motions: flexion, extension, right and left lateral flexion, and right and left rotation, were taken by one physical therapist with the CROM device. Generally, between age groups, mean AROM values indicated losses in all cervical motions, with the exception of flexion. Among male and female subjects, extension, left lateral flexion, and left rotation decreased significantly with age. Insignificant gender differences in active cervical motion were detected. Physical therapists are urged to avoid using singular values for cervical AROM since significant changes in cervical motion are associated with age

Investigations Of Salvinorin A: Synthetic Isolation, Quantification, And In Vivo Characteristics

While many ligands are known to interact with the opioid receptor system, most can be traced back to the common morphine scaffold. In several cases ligands have been developed that are selective for either the mu, kappa, or delta opioid receptors. Selective kappa opioid receptor agonists and antagonists have shown potential to be used to decrease cocaine self-administration and be utilized in the treatment of relapse. The emergence of salvinorin A as a novel scaffold, that selectively interacts with the kappa opioid receptor, retains therapeutic potential with a reduced side effect profile to the current treatments. Traditional mu opioid ligands, such as morphine, have life threatening side effects such as respiratory depression and constipation among other drawbacks like tolerance and dependence. To fully investigate the potential of salvinorin A as a viable alternative for therapeutic treatment it must be isolated in high purity for pharmacological evaluation. In efforts to isolate high purity salvinorin A, a reactive handle was generated that was shown to undergo cycloaddition to the furan ring of salvinorin A. This handle was developed using the reactivity limitations that were also investigated for the Diels-Alder cycloaddition of electron deficient alkenes and alkynes with the salvinorin A furan ring. In order to understand the unique mode of interaction salvinorin A imparts on the opioid receptor system, investigations into the pharmacological profile of salvinorin A were explored. Analytical methods were developed for the identification and quantification of salvinorin A from non-human primate cerebrospinal fluid and human plasma. This method was then exploited to develop a time-course graph for the measurement of in vivo concentrations of salvinorin A in various biological fluids which could be correlated to subjective and biological observations

Photochemical colour change for traditional watercolour pigments in low oxygen levels

An investigation for light exposure on pigments in low-oxygen environments (in the range 0–5% oxygen) was conducted using a purpose-built automated microfadometer for a large sample set including multiple samples of traditional watercolour pigments from nineteenth-century and twentieth-century sources, selected for concerns over their stability in anoxia. The pigments were prepared for usage in watercolour painting: ground and mixed in gum Arabic and applied to historically accurate gelatine glue-sized cotton and linen-based papers. Anoxia benefited many colorants and no colorant fared worse in anoxia than in air, with the exception of Prussian blue and Prussian green (which contains Prussian blue). A Prussian blue sampled from the studio materials of J.M.W. Turner (1775 − 1851) was microfaded in different environments (normal air (20.9% oxygen) 0, 1, 2, 3.5, or 5% oxygen in nitrogen) and the subsequent dark behaviour was measured. The behaviour of the sample (in normal air, anoxia, and 5% oxygen in nitrogen) proved to be consistent with the 55 separately sourced Prussian blue samples. When exposed to light in 5% oxygen in nitrogen, Prussian blue demonstrated the same light stability as in air (at approximately 21°C and 1 atmosphere). Storage in 5% oxygen is proposed for ‘anoxic’ display of paper-based artworks that might contain Prussian blue, to protect this material while reducing light-induced damage to other components of a watercolour, including organic colorants and the paper support

Spectrum and Network Analyzers

Spectrum and network analyzers (SPAs and NWAs) are found in every microwave laboratory. This report describes the basic principles of operation of a SPA and NWA and also describes several simple example measurements using each of these instruments

The early versus the late accent-lending fall in Dutch: Phonetic variation or phonological difference?

Fonetische correlaten en communicatieve functies van linguïstische structuu

Testing the perceptual relevance of syntactic completion and melodic configuration for turn-taking in Dutch

Fonetische correlaten en communicatieve functies van linguïstische structuu

Melodic characteristics of backchannels in Dutch Map Task dialogues

Fonetische correlaten en communicatieve functies van linguïstische structuu

Pitch accents, boundary tones and turn-taking in Dutch Map Task dialogues

Fonetische correlaten en communicatieve functies van linguïstische structuu