2,771 research outputs found
Management of tendinopathy.
No full textOveruse disorders of tendons, or tendinopathies, present a challenge to sports physicians, surgeons, and other health care professionals dealing with athletes. The Achilles, patellar, and supraspinatus tendons are particularly vulnerable to injury and often difficult to manage successfully. Inflammation was believed central to the pathologic process, but histopathologic evidence has confirmed the failed healing response nature of these conditions. Excessive or inappropriate loading of the musculotendinous unit is believed to be central to the disease process, although the exact mechanism by which this occurs remains uncertain. Additionally, the location of the lesion (for example, the midtendon or osteotendinous junction) has become increasingly recognized as influencing both the pathologic process and subsequent management. The mechanical, vascular, neural, and other theories that seek to explain the pathologic process are explored in this article. Recent developments in the nonoperative management of chronic tendon disorders are reviewed, as is the rationale for surgical intervention. Recent surgical advances, including minimally invasive tendon surgery, are reviewed. Potential future management strategies, such as stem cell therapy, growth factor treatment, and gene transfer, are also discussed
Ideals and finiteness conditions for subsemigroups
No full textIn this paper we consider a number of finiteness conditions for semigroups related to their ideal structure, and ask whether such conditions are preserved by sub- or supersemigroups with finite Rees or Green index. Specific properties under consideration include stability, D=J and minimal conditions on ideals.Peer reviewe
Protocol for the United Kingdom Rotator Cuff Study (UKUFF) : a randomised controlled trial of open and arthroscopic rotator cuff repair
No full textThis project was funded by the NIHR Health Technology Assessment programme (project number 05/47/02). J. L. Rees has received a grant from Oxford University which is related to this paper. J. Dawson reports that Oxford University has received a grant from HTA which is related to this paper, as well as a study grant.Peer reviewe
Encoding of temporal probabilities in the human brain
No full textAnticipating the timing of future events is a necessary precursor to preparing actions and allocating resources to sensory processing. This requires elapsed time to be represented in the brain and used to predict the temporal probability of upcoming events. While neuropsychological, imaging, magnetic stimulation studies, and single-unit recordings implicate the role of higher parietal and motor-related areas in temporal estimation, the role of earlier, purely sensory structures remains more controversial. Here we demonstrate that the temporal probability of expected visual events is encoded not by a single area but by a wide network that importantly includes neuronal populations at the very earliest cortical stages of visual processing. Moreover, we show that activity in those areas changes dynamically in a manner that closely accords with temporal expectations
Nitrogen fixation in the western English Channel (NE Atlantic Ocean)
No full textIn temperate Atlantic waters (18.8 to 20.1°C), biological nitrogen fixation has beendemonstrated by 2 independent measurements: 15N-N2 incorporation and nifH identification in theDNA and expressed messenger RNA (mRNA). At 2 stations in the western English Channel, bulkwaters were incubated with 15N-N2. At the high levels of particulate nitrogen (?11.5 ?mol N l–1),absolute fixation rates of 18.9 ± 0.01 and 20.0 nmol N l–1d–1 were determined. While a caveat mustaccompany the magnitude of the rates presented due to the limited number of data, the presence andactivity of diazotrophic organisms in these waters is of ecological significance and may affect currentattitudes to nitrogen and carbon budgets. In particular, our estimate of the rate of N fixation(0.35 mmol N m–2 d–1) is comparable to that of denitrification rates in UK shelf seas. Molecular analysisidentified a diversity of expressed nifH genes, and 21 different prokaryotic nifH transcripts wereidentified
Consideration of Interference Correlation Properties in a JD-CDMA Mobile Radio System with Coherent Receiver Antenna Diversity
No full textIn code division multiple access (CDMA) mobile radio systems, both intersymbol interference and multiple access interference arise which can be combatted by using Joint Detection (JD) techniques, to reduce the degradation in performance resulting from time variance, coherent receiver antenna diversity (CRAD) can be used. The application of JD techniques offers the possibility to exploit the knowledge of noise covariances at the receiver. If only intercell (cochannel) interference is considered, the noise covariances in the uplink receiver of a multiple receiver antenna CDMA mobile radio system depend mainly on the directions of arrival (DOAs) of the interfering signals and the receiver antenna placement. Therefore, if the interferer DOAs are known at the base station, these covariances could be estimated. In this thesis, a realistic model of the uplink of a JD CDMA mobile radio system with CRAD is described in which the above mentioned interference cancelling method is used. Simulation results according to this model are given and evaluated.Applied SciencesElectrical EngineeringTelecommunications and Traffic Control Systems Grou
Dairy farmers’ perceptions toward the implementation of on-farm Johne’s disease prevention and control strategies
No full textmplementation of specific management strategies on dairy farms is currently the most effective way to reduce the prevalence of Johne’s disease (JD), an infectious chronic enteritis of ruminants caused by Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP). However, dairy farmers often fail to implement recommended strategies. The objective of this study was to assess perceptions of farmers participating in a JD prevention and control program toward recommended practices, and explore factors that influence whether or not a farmer adopts risk-reducing measures for MAP transmission. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 25 dairy farmers enrolled in a voluntary JD control program in Alberta, Canada. Principles of classical grounded theory were used for participant selection, interviewing, and data analysis. Additionally, demographic data and MAP infection status were collected and analyzed using quantitative questionnaires and the JD control program database. Farmers’ perceptions were distinguished according to 2 main categories: first, their belief in the importance of JD, and second, their belief in recommended JD prevention and control strategies. Based on these categories, farmers were classified into 4 groups: proactivists, disillusionists, deniers, and unconcerned. The first 2 groups believed in the importance of JD, and proactivists and unconcerned believed in proposed JD prevention and control measures. Groups that regarded JD as important had better knowledge about best strategies to reduce MAP transmission and had more JD risk assessments conducted on their farm. Although not quantified, it also appeared that these groups had more JD prevention and control practices in place. However, often JD was not perceived as a problem in the herd and generally farmers did not regard JD control as a “hot topic” in communications with their herd veterinarian and other farmers. Recommendations regarding how to communicate with farmers and motivate various groups of farmers according to their specific perceptions were provided to optimize adoption of JD prevention and control measures and thereby increase success of voluntary JD control programs
Knowledge gaps that hamper prevention and control of Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis infection
No full textIn the last decades, many regional and country‐wide control programmes for Johne's disease (JD ) were developed due to associated economic losses, or because of a possible association with Crohn's disease. These control programmes were often not successful, partly because management protocols were not followed, including the introduction of infected replacement cattle, because tests to identify infected animals were unreliable, and uptake by farmers was not high enough because of a perceived low return on investment. In the absence of a cure or effective commercial vaccines, control of JD is currently primarily based on herd management strategies to avoid infection of cattle and restrict within‐farm and farm‐to‐farm transmission. Although JD control programmes have been implemented in most developed countries, lessons learned from JD prevention and control programmes are underreported. Also, JD control programmes are typically evaluated in a limited number of herds and the duration of the study is less than 5 year, making it difficult to adequately assess the efficacy of control programmes. In this manuscript, we identify the most important gaps in knowledge hampering JD prevention and control programmes, including vaccination and diagnostics. Secondly, we discuss directions that research should take to address those knowledge gaps
Evaluation of an alternative method of herd classification for infection with paratuberculosis in cattle herds in the United States
No full textObjective - To develop a better system for classification of herd infection status for paratuberculosis (Johne's disease JD]) in US cattle herds on the basis of the risk of potential transmission of Mycobacterium avium subsp paratubeculosis. Sample - Simulated data for herd size and within-herd prevalence; sensitivity and specificity for test methods obtained from consensus-based estimates. Procedures - Interrelationships among variables influencing interpretation and classification of herd infection status for JD were evaluated by use of simulated data for various herd sizes, true within-herd prevalences, and sampling and testing methods. The probability of finding ≥1 infected animal in herds was estimated for various testing methods and sample sizes by use of hypergeometric random sampling. Results - 2 main components were required for the new herd JD classification system: the probability of detection of infection determined on the basis of test results from a sample of animals and the maximum detected number of animals with positive test results. Tables were constructed of the estimated probability of detection of infection, and the maximum number of cattle with positive test results or fecal pools with positive culture results with 95% confidence for classification of herd JD infection status were plotted. Herd risk for JD was categorized on the basis of 95% confidence that the true within-herd prevalence was ≤15%, ≤10%, ≤5%, or ≤2%. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance - Analysis of the findings indicated that a scientifically rigorous and transparent herd classification system for JD in cattle is feasible.Source type: Electronic(1
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