Objective: to investigate how therapeutic mas-sage, combined with stretching, can really con-tribute to the treatment of fibromyalgia (FM) symptoms. Design: Feasibility study. Setting: A single center. Participants: T...Objective: to investigate how therapeutic mas-sage, combined with stretching, can really con-tribute to the treatment of fibromyalgia (FM) symptoms. Design: Feasibility study. Setting: A single center. Participants: Twenty women having a preexisting diagnosis of FM based on American College of Rheumatology criteria were recruited. Intervention: Subjects received a total of 18 sessions of light massage administered by a physical therapist twice a week and then performed passive stretching exercises. Main out-come measures: heart rate (HR) and Heart Rate variability (HRV), the assessment of joint flexi-bility through elettrogoniometer, the Fibromyal-gia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and the Borg scale or Rating of Perceived exertion (RPE). Evalua-tions were conducted at the screening visit (T0), immediately at the end of the session of mas-sage (T1) and after completion of 18 sessions (T2). Results: HRV showed an improvement in terms of decreased sympathetic tone and in-crease of parasympathetic tone at the end of treatment. Also joint flexibility showed a sig-nificant improvement at T2 compared with the screening. FIQ, PSQI, RPE did not change. Conclusions: the findings highlight the excellent compliance of FM patients to the combined therapy of massage and stretching, showing an amelioration of muscle stiffness and an improvement of autonomic nervous system with a decrease of sympathetic tone and an increase of parasympathetic tone. The questionnaires did not show any ameliorations, probably because in these patients the perception of quality of life is distorted compared with more objective pa-rameters, such as muscle rigidity, the articular mobility and the autonomic nervous system.展开更多
Microbial pathogens and indicators have contributed to major part of water quality degradation in the United States. Located in the northwestern New Jersey, the Musconetcong River has been included in the New Jersey I...Microbial pathogens and indicators have contributed to major part of water quality degradation in the United States. Located in the northwestern New Jersey, the Musconetcong River has been included in the New Jersey Impaired Waters List or the 303(d) List due to high concentrations of fecal indicator bacteria. Hence, a Total Maximum Daily Load plan was established to address microbial water quality issues in the watershed. The objectives of this study were to assess the current status of microbial water quality and to determine potential sources of fecal contamination in the Musconetcong River Watershed using microbial source tracking techniques. Fifteen sampling events in total were carried out at nine sites throughout the Musconetcong River Watershed in August 2016, July and August 2017. E. coli enumeration was performed to determine the possible presence of fecal contaminations. Microbial source tracking techniques, specifically Canada goose, cow, deer, horse, and human-specific molecular markers, were used for real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) analysis in order to identify and quantify potential sources of fecal contamination. The results indicated that E. coli was found present at all nine study sites. Two of the nine sites violated the New Jersey Surface Water Quality Standards in August 2016, while all of the nine sites exceeded the standards in both July and August 2017. Water temperature, dissolved oxygen (DO), and specific conductance at the study sites ranged from 13.5?C to 25.3?C, from 7.7 mg/L to 13.0 mg/L, and 278.5 μS/cm to 1335.0 μS/cm, respectively, at the time of sample collection. E. coli counts were found to be negatively correlated with temperature and specific conductance (p p < 0.05). Higher percentage of presence of human, Canada goose and deer markers were observed at all fifteen sampling events indicating human and wildlife were the two major sources of fecal contaminations in the Musconetcong River Watershed. The study suggested applying restoration measures to reduce fecal contaminations from anthropogenic and wildlife sources in order to improve microbial water quality of the Musconetcong River. However, more frequent and strategic sampling plan is recommended to supply more comprehensive data to aid in future planning of best management efforts on controlling fecal contaminations.展开更多
文摘Objective: to investigate how therapeutic mas-sage, combined with stretching, can really con-tribute to the treatment of fibromyalgia (FM) symptoms. Design: Feasibility study. Setting: A single center. Participants: Twenty women having a preexisting diagnosis of FM based on American College of Rheumatology criteria were recruited. Intervention: Subjects received a total of 18 sessions of light massage administered by a physical therapist twice a week and then performed passive stretching exercises. Main out-come measures: heart rate (HR) and Heart Rate variability (HRV), the assessment of joint flexi-bility through elettrogoniometer, the Fibromyal-gia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and the Borg scale or Rating of Perceived exertion (RPE). Evalua-tions were conducted at the screening visit (T0), immediately at the end of the session of mas-sage (T1) and after completion of 18 sessions (T2). Results: HRV showed an improvement in terms of decreased sympathetic tone and in-crease of parasympathetic tone at the end of treatment. Also joint flexibility showed a sig-nificant improvement at T2 compared with the screening. FIQ, PSQI, RPE did not change. Conclusions: the findings highlight the excellent compliance of FM patients to the combined therapy of massage and stretching, showing an amelioration of muscle stiffness and an improvement of autonomic nervous system with a decrease of sympathetic tone and an increase of parasympathetic tone. The questionnaires did not show any ameliorations, probably because in these patients the perception of quality of life is distorted compared with more objective pa-rameters, such as muscle rigidity, the articular mobility and the autonomic nervous system.
文摘Microbial pathogens and indicators have contributed to major part of water quality degradation in the United States. Located in the northwestern New Jersey, the Musconetcong River has been included in the New Jersey Impaired Waters List or the 303(d) List due to high concentrations of fecal indicator bacteria. Hence, a Total Maximum Daily Load plan was established to address microbial water quality issues in the watershed. The objectives of this study were to assess the current status of microbial water quality and to determine potential sources of fecal contamination in the Musconetcong River Watershed using microbial source tracking techniques. Fifteen sampling events in total were carried out at nine sites throughout the Musconetcong River Watershed in August 2016, July and August 2017. E. coli enumeration was performed to determine the possible presence of fecal contaminations. Microbial source tracking techniques, specifically Canada goose, cow, deer, horse, and human-specific molecular markers, were used for real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) analysis in order to identify and quantify potential sources of fecal contamination. The results indicated that E. coli was found present at all nine study sites. Two of the nine sites violated the New Jersey Surface Water Quality Standards in August 2016, while all of the nine sites exceeded the standards in both July and August 2017. Water temperature, dissolved oxygen (DO), and specific conductance at the study sites ranged from 13.5?C to 25.3?C, from 7.7 mg/L to 13.0 mg/L, and 278.5 μS/cm to 1335.0 μS/cm, respectively, at the time of sample collection. E. coli counts were found to be negatively correlated with temperature and specific conductance (p p < 0.05). Higher percentage of presence of human, Canada goose and deer markers were observed at all fifteen sampling events indicating human and wildlife were the two major sources of fecal contaminations in the Musconetcong River Watershed. The study suggested applying restoration measures to reduce fecal contaminations from anthropogenic and wildlife sources in order to improve microbial water quality of the Musconetcong River. However, more frequent and strategic sampling plan is recommended to supply more comprehensive data to aid in future planning of best management efforts on controlling fecal contaminations.
