The Effect of Body Weight Support on Energy Expenditure in an Individual With High-Level Lower Extremity Amputation.

Background: High-level lower extremity amputation (HLLEA) has significant impact on an individual's ability to ambulate and maintain cardiovascular fitness for extended periods of time.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether body weight support (BWS) would improve energy efficiency in an individual with HLLEA to achieve appropriate target cardiovascular intensity for aerobic training.

Design: This was an exploratory single-subject study.

Critical success factors in implementing an e-rostering system in a healthcare organisation.

Effective and efficient staff scheduling has always been a challenging issue, especially in health service organisations. Both the extremes of staff shortage and overage have an adverse impact on the performance of healthcare organisations. In this case, an electronic and systematic staff scheduling (e-rostering) system is the often seen as the best solution.

Quantification of dry needling and posture effects on myofascial trigger points using ultrasound shear-wave elastography.

Objectives: To determine (1) whether the shear modulus in upper trapezius muscle myofascial trigger points (MTrPs) reduces acutely after dry needling (DN), and (2) whether a change in posture from sitting to prone affects the shear modulus.

Design: Ultrasound images were acquired in B mode with a linear transducer oriented in the transverse plane, followed by performance of shear-wave elastography (SWE) before and after DN and while sitting and prone.

Setting: University.

Using the Nintendo Wii Fit and body weight support to improve aerobic capacity, balance, gait ability, and fear of falling: two case reports.

Background & Purpose: Lower limb amputation in older adults has a significant impact on balance, gait, and cardiovascular fitness, resulting in diminished community participation. The purpose of this case study was to describe the effects of a balance training program utilizing the Nintendo Wii™ Fit (Nintendo of America, Inc, Redmond, Washington) balance board and body-weight supported gait training on aerobic capacity, balance, gait, and fear of falling in two persons with transfemoral amputation.

Case Descriptions: Participant A, a 62 year-old male 32 months post traumatic transfemoral amputation, reported fear of falling and restrictions in community activity.

Detection of circulating tumor cells in peripheral blood of breast cancer patients during or after therapy using a multigene real-time RT-PCR assay.

Aim: To evaluate the utility of a multigene real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay to detect circulating tumor cells in peripheral blood specimens of breast cancer patients during or after treatment.

Method: Using this assay, peripheral blood samples were analyzed for expression levels of mammaglobin and three complementary transcribed breast cancer-specific genes: B305D, gamma-aminobutyrate type A receptor pi subunit (GABA pi; GABRP), and B726P. We examined 172 blood specimens from 82 breast cancer patients during or after therapy for the presence of circulating tumor cells using the multigene real-time RT-PCR assay.

Multigene real-time PCR detection of circulating tumor cells in peripheral blood of lung cancer patients.

Background: CLCA2, HMGB3, L587S and ASH1 were identified in lung cancer tissues using genetic subtraction, microarray and quantitative PCR, and found to be specific and complementary for detection of non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) and small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC).

Materials And Methods: A real-time RT-PCR assay, simultaneously detecting four genes, was developed and tested on lung cancer specimens.

Results: Twenty-two out of 24 adenocarcinomas, 18/18 squamous, 4/5 large cell, 2/2 small cell and 2/2 bronchoalveolar/neuroendocrine cancer tissue samples tested positive.

Mammaglobin as a novel breast cancer biomarker: multigene reverse transcription-PCR assay and sandwich ELISA.

Background: The aim of this study was to examine the potential usefulness of a mammaglobin multigene reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) assay and a mammaglobin sandwich ELISA as diagnostic tools in breast cancer.

Methods: We studied peripheral blood samples from 147 untreated Senegalese women with biopsy-confirmed breast cancer and gathered patient information regarding demographic, and clinical staging of disease. The samples were tested for mammaglobin and three breast cancer-associated gene transcripts by a multigene real-time RT-PCR assay and for serum mammaglobin protein by a sandwich ELISA assay.

Identification of trichomonadid protozoa from the bovine preputial cavity by polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism typing.

Accurate identification of the bovine pathogen Tritrichomonas foetus is sometimes complicated by the presence of other trichomonadid protozoa in clinical samples. A highly specific and reproducible approach for differentiating 3 common types of bovine trichomonadid protozoa found in the bovine preputial cavity, T. foetus, Pentatrichomonas hominis, and a Tetratrichomonas species, was developed using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis.

Induction of interleukin 8 release from the HMC-1 mast cell line: synergy between stem cell factor and activators of the adenosine A(2b) receptor.

The HMC-1 mast cell line has both adenosine A(3) and A(2b) receptors on its surface, but only agonists of the A(2b) receptor are effective at releasing interleukin 8. Object of this study was to look for co-factors for adenosine A(2b) receptor activation. There was a powerful and statistically significant synergy for release of IL-8, both at the mRNA level (measured after 4 hr) and protein level (measured after 24 hr), between adenosine A(2b) receptor agonists and stem cell factor (SCF).