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We investigated if low level laser therapy (LLLT) of the joint capsule can reduce pain in chronic joint disorders. A literature search identified 88 randomised controlled trials, of which 20 trials included patients with chronic joint disorders. Six trials were excluded for not irradiating the joint capsule. Three trials used doses lower than a dose range nominated a priori for reducing inflammati
Background: Tibial osteotomy is a treatment for younger and/or physically active patients suffering from uni-compartmental knee osteoarthritis. The open wedge osteotomy by the hemicallotasis technique includes the use of external fixation. The use of external fixation has several advantages, as early mobilization and the opportunity for optimal correction. However, the hemicallotasis technique has
BACKGROUND: Yeast and bacteria elicit arachidonate release in macrophages, leading to the formation of leukotrienes and prostaglandins, important mediators of inflammation. Receptors recognising various microbes have been identified, but the signalling pathways are not entirely understood. Cytosolic phospholipase A2 is a major down-stream target and this enzyme is regulated by both phosphorylation
Halomonas boliviensis LC1 is able to accumulate poly(beta-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) under conditions of excess carbon source and depletion of essential nutrients. This study was aimed at an efficient production of PHB by growing H. boliviensis to high cell concentrations in batch cultures. The effect of ammonium, phosphate, and yeast extract concentrations on cell concentration [cell dry weight (CDW)
Rabbits skin folds were placed in plexiglass chambers enabling control of the skin fold temperature during cuff compression (200 mmHg) for 4 hours. In 10 animals the skin folds were kept at 36 degrees C - in another 10 animals the skin fold temperature was lowered to 10 degrees C. To quantitate the skin injury caused by the pressure ischemia a standardized wound was made, and immediately closed, a
Enhancement of cAMP degradation by increased cGMP-inhibited cAMP phosphodiesterase (cGI-PDE) activity is thought to be an important component of the mechanism whereby insulin counteracts catecholamine-induced lipolysis in adipocytes. In this study the selective cGI-PDE inhibitor OPC3911 was used to evaluate this role of cGI-PDE activation in intact rat adipocytes with special reference to changes
The Integrated Deposition Model (IDEM) was improved by incorporating a novel multilayer biochemical dry deposition module for gases. The aerosol and base cation deposition module was adopted from IDEM. For evaluation of primary and ecosystem productivity, carbon respiration schemes were included. The resulting Framework for Atmosphere- Canopy Exchange Modelling (FACEM) was then evaluated by the ca
We have developed a new reactive force field, ReaxFF, for use in molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to investigate the structures and reactive dynamics of complex metal oxide catalysts. The parameters in ReaxFF are derived directly from QM and have been validated to provide reasonable accuracy for a wide variety of reactions. We report the use of ReaxFF to study the activation and conversion of p
Stationary and mobile field gamma spectrometry is a useful tool for rapid estimation of environmental radioactivity inventories on and in the ground. A weak point however, is that the depth distribution of the activity in the ground must be known in order to calculate the true activity per unit area or unit mass from an observed photon fluence rate. A promising method for converting incoming spect
The development of chronic bronchitis (CB) and chronic obstructive airway disease (COAD) seems to be related to inflammatory changes of airway structure. However, the cause and the exact location and type of these changes resulting in altered airway function are not known. Mucosal inflammation is characterized by the recruitment of granulocytes, macrophages and lymphocytes as well as by the sheddi
BACKGROUND: In peritoneal dialysis, approximately 40% of the total osmotic ultrafiltration (UF) induced by glucose can be predicted to be due to "free" water transport across aquaporin-1 (APQ-1). Theoretically, it would be possible to assess the fraction of free water transport in the early phase of a hypertonic dwell, when UF rate is high and the relative contribution of Na+ diffusion is low. La
Xenopus oocytes devoid of their follicular enclosure provide a frequently used expression system for investigating receptors that transduce through activation of adenylyl cyclase following injection of the appropriate mRNA. However, due to a low basal activity of the cyclase they cannot be utilized to investigate receptor-mediated reductions in endogenous cAMP levels. In order to overcome this lim
Background Measuring health-related quality of life (QoL) after surgery is essential for decision making by patients, surgeons, and payers. The aim of this consensus conference was twofold. First, it was to determine for which diseases endoscopic surgery results in better postoperative QoL than open surgery. Second, it was to recommend QoL instruments for clinical research. Methods An expert panel
The population sizes of five perennial vascular plant species confined to old unimproved dry grasslands were assessed, viz. Anthericum ramosum, Filipendula vulgaris, Silene nutans, Thymus pulegioides, and Thymus serpyllum. All populations within the region were included. Only for Filipendula vulgaris and Thymus serpyllum, significant relationships between habitat area and population size were foun
This study aims to investigate the possibility of implementing serial autoradiography using a silicon strip detector as an imaging modality in pre-clinical radionuclide therapy research, in order to study the effect of non-uniform uptake on absorbed dose distribution and biological response. Tumor tissues expressing CD20 (B-cell lymphoma) or carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA; colorectal cancer) were e
The size and shape of the cockerel comb, ran be regarded as secondary sexual characters or sexual ornaments. Sexual characters are assumed to be costly to express and the expression of a secondary sexual character is suggested to be favourably correlated with the bearer's condition or fitness. The aim of this study was to clarify the effects of selection for male sexual characters, the correlated
Abstract The contribution of biofilm and artificial feeds for the growth of the pink shrimp Farfantepenaeus paulensis reared in tanks and net cages were evaluated by using stable isotope (δ13C and δ15N) analysis. In the net cage experiment, mass balance and mixing equations showed that the biofilm contribution to shrimp growth was over 49% of carbon and 70% of nitrogen. These data suggest that the
This paper describes a new amperometric biosensor for glucose monitoring. The biosensor is based on the activity of glucose dehydrogenase (GDH) and diaphorase (DI) co-immobilized with NAD(+) into a carbon nanotube paste (CNTP) electrode modified with an osmium functionalized polymer. This mediator was demonstrated to shuttle the electron transfer between the immobilized diaphorase and the CNTP ele
