A comparison of Kneipp hydrotherapy with conventional physiotherapy in the treatment of osteoarthritis: a pilot trial

BACKGROUND： An increasingly aging population implies an increasing prevalence of osteoarthritis （OA） of hip or knee. It has been ascertained that unspecific hydrotherapy of OA according to Sebastian Kneipp not only improves the range of mobility but also reduces pain significantly and increases the quality of life of the patients affected. OBJECTIVE： The main aim of this pilot study was to determine the effects of hydrotherapy in comparison to conventional physiotherapy, and to analyze the feasibility of the study design under clinical circumstances. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS AND INTERVENTIONS： The study design is a prospective randomized controlled three-arm clinical pilot trial, carried out at a specialist clinic for integrative medicine. Thirty patients diagnosed with symptomatic OA of hip or knee and radiologic findings were randomly assigned to one of two intervention groups and a control group： hydrotherapy （group 1）, physiotherapy （group 2）, and both physiotherapy and hydrotherapy （group 3, control group） of the affected joint. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES： Primary outcome： pain intensity of the affected joint in the course of inpatient treatment; secondary outcome： health-related quality of life, joint-specific pain and mobility in the course of the study. RESULTS： Concerning the main outcome, intervention group 1 showed most beneficial effects in the course of inpatient treatment, followed by groups 3 and 2, and also the indirect flexion ability of hip or knee together with the general patient mobility through the ＂timed up and go＂ test were mainly improved within group 1 followed by groups 3 and 2. CONCLUSION： The results of this pilot study demonstrate beneficial effects of hydrotherapy. The study design is feasible. For statistically significant evidence and a robust conclusion of efficacy of Kneipp＇s hydrotherapy, a larger sample size is necessary. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER： NCT 00950326.

Controlling and regulation of integrated aquaponic production systems – An approach for a management execution system (MES)

Manufacturing execution systems(MESs)play a significant role in the manufacturing paradigm.MES is there to link between the Enterprise Resource Planning(ERP)systems and the plant equipment control or Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition(SCADA)applications.In this paper the MES of the INAPRO aquaponics system which was developed to support and advise the aquaponics managers in operating the complex aquaponic farms,will be presented.One important feature of the INAPRO aquaponics system is to minimize fresh water<3%,energy and nutrient supplies.This can only be achieved by appropriate design of the fish and crop mixture,considering the fish to crop ratio,when to sow the crops etc.and to monitor the system to see whether it performing as designed or not.Therefore,the MES has a view to show the designed system with all the material flow(water,energy and nutrients)balances and also how the system will be performing for a given predictive horizon.Knowing the future developments of the system,the operator can taking corrective measures to make sure that the system is behaving as required.An example of water balance of a system with 40 m3 fish tanks coupled with a hydroponic NFT system with 1,000 m2 which can produce five tons of Tilapia and 75 tons of tomato yearly is given.