BACKGROUND Lumbar disc herniation and non-specific low back pain are common conditions that seriously affect patients’health-related quality of life(HRQoL).Although empirical evidence has demonstrated that novel Ther...BACKGROUND Lumbar disc herniation and non-specific low back pain are common conditions that seriously affect patients’health-related quality of life(HRQoL).Although empirical evidence has demonstrated that novel Thermobalancing therapy and Dr Allen’s Device can relieve chronic low back pain,there have been no randomised controlled trials for these indications.AIM To evaluate the efficacy of Dr Allen’s Device in lumbar disc herniation(LDH)and non-specific low back pain(NSLBP).METHODS A randomised clinical trial was conducted investigating 55 patients with chronic low back pain due to LDH(n=28)or NSLBP(n=27),out of which 15 were randomly assigned to the control group and 40 were assigned to the treatment group.The intervention was treatment with Dr Allen’s Device for 3 mo.Changes in HRQoL were assessed using the Numerical Pain Rating Scale and the Japanese Orthopedic Association Back Pain Questionnaire.RESULTS Thermobalancing therapy with Dr Allen’s Device showed a significant reduction in pain in the treatment group(P<0.001),with no recorded adverse effects.Both pain assessment scales showed a significant improvement in patients’perception of pain indicating improvement in HRQoL.CONCLUSION The out-of-hospital use of Thermobalancing therapy with Dr Allen’s Device for Low Back Treatment relieves chronic low back pain significantly and without adverse effects,improves the level of activity and HRQoL among patients with LDH and NSLBP.This study demonstrates the importance of this safe first-line therapy that can be used for effective at-home management of chronic low back pain.展开更多
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD) is the most common liver disease worldwide, affecting approximately one third of the Western world. It consists of a wide spectrum of liver disorders, ranging from fatty liver t...Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD) is the most common liver disease worldwide, affecting approximately one third of the Western world. It consists of a wide spectrum of liver disorders, ranging from fatty liver to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis(NASH), which consists of steatosis, ballooning injury and inflammation. Despite an alarming growth in the statistics surrounding NAFLD, there are as yet no effective therapies for its treatment. Innate immune signaling has been thought to play a significant role in initiating and augmenting hepatic inflammation, contributing to the transition from nonalcoholic fatty liver to NASH. An immune response is triggered by countless signals called damage-associated molecular patterns(DAMPs) elicited by lipid-laden and damaged hepatocytes, which are recognized by pattern recognition receptors(PRRs) on hepatic immune cells to initiate inflammatory signaling. In this editorial, in addition to summarizing innate immune signaling in NAFLD and discussing potential therapies that target innate immune pathways, we have described a recent study that demonstrated that mitochondrial DNA serves as a DAMP activating a hepatic PRR, TLR9, in mice and in the plasma of NASH patients. In addition to identifying a new ligand for TLR9 during NASH progression, the study shows that blocking TLR9 reverses NASH, paving the way for the development of future NASH therapy.展开更多
This paper studies the dynamic responses of SDOF system under pulse-dominant excitations.The purpose of the study is to prepare for scrutiny of some near-field pulse-dominantground motions and their potential to cause...This paper studies the dynamic responses of SDOF system under pulse-dominant excitations.The purpose of the study is to prepare for scrutiny of some near-field pulse-dominantground motions and their potential to cause structural damage.Extending the single pulse dynamics,we consider the effect of pulse sequences.This kind of excitation was particularly obvious in some of previous earthquakes such as Northridge (1994) and Chi-Chi (1995).Based on the duration, peak and rise and decay era of the main pulse as well as its relationship with the predecessor and successor pulses,we propose a classification for the pulse sequences.Consequent studies have been canied out for acceleration,velocity and displacement response spectra of the main pulse with either a predecessor or a successor pulse.The analysis also includes general response behaviors in different fundamental period segments and special aspects of response at certain points (e.g.,the corresponding peak points).展开更多
Susceptibility to insecticides was investigated by collecting field populations of brown planthopper from different locations of southern Karnataka, India (Gangavati, Kathalagere, Kollegala, Soraba and Mandya). All ...Susceptibility to insecticides was investigated by collecting field populations of brown planthopper from different locations of southern Karnataka, India (Gangavati, Kathalagere, Kollegala, Soraba and Mandya). All the field populations differed in their susceptibility to insecticides. In general, Soraba and Mandya populations were more susceptible to insecticides compared to Gangavati and Kathalagere populations. The resistance ratios varied greatly among the populations viz., chlorpyriphos (1.13- to 16.82-fold), imidacloprid (0.53- to 13.50-fold), acephate (1.34- to 5.32-fold), fipronil (1.13- to 4.06-fold), thiamethoxam (1.01- to 2.19-fold), clothianidin (1.92- to 4.86-fold), dinotefuran (0.82- to 2.22- fold), buprofezin (1.06- to 5.43-fold) and carbofuran (0.41- to 2.17-fold). The populations from Gangavati Kathalagere and Kollegala exhibited higher resistance to some of the old insecticides and low resistance to new molecules.展开更多
This paper is to review recent information about the relationship of calcium and dairy foods to colon cancer. The review focuses on primary prevention, discusses the potential components in dairy foods that might be a...This paper is to review recent information about the relationship of calcium and dairy foods to colon cancer. The review focuses on primary prevention, discusses the potential components in dairy foods that might be anti-neoplastic, reviews the epidemiologic information and describes intervention studies demonstrating efficacy of calcium and vitamin D in reducing colorectal polyp recurrence. Since vitamin D is important in cancer prevention, pertinent data is discussed and potential mechanisms of actions presented. Calcium and vitamin D are important agents for the primary prevention of colorectal neoplasia.展开更多
To evaluate the response to lime on cultivars of ricebean(Vigna umbellata), a field experiment was conducted during the two consecutive rabi seasons of 2010–2011 and 2011–2012 in the Nagaland foothills, India. The e...To evaluate the response to lime on cultivars of ricebean(Vigna umbellata), a field experiment was conducted during the two consecutive rabi seasons of 2010–2011 and 2011–2012 in the Nagaland foothills, India. The experiment used a split-plot design with four levels of lime(control, 0.2, 0.4and 0.6 t ha-1) in main plots and four ricebean cultivars(RBS-16, RBS-53, PRR-2, and RCRB-4) in sub-plots with three replicates. The results revealed that increasing levels of lime(in the furrow)from 0 to 0.6 t ha-1significantly increased growth, yield attributes and yield. The quality parameters of ricebean were also influenced significantly by the application of lime. Maximum gross return(INR 39,098 ha-1), net return(INR 27,281 ha-1), benefit:cost(B:C) ratio(2.29),production efficiency, and economic efficiency were also realized with the application of lime at 0.6 t ha-1. Among the ricebean cultivars, RBS-53 produced significantly higher growth, yield attributes, grain yield, straw yield, biological yield, and harvest index. Similarly, yield and protein content were higher in RBS-53. Maximum gross return, net return, B:C ratio, production efficiency, and economic efficiency were observed for RBS-53.展开更多
The new frontiers for global governance serve as a new stage for international competition and cooperation. By playing a successful role in the governance of these new frontiers, China can facilitate the establishing ...The new frontiers for global governance serve as a new stage for international competition and cooperation. By playing a successful role in the governance of these new frontiers, China can facilitate the establishing of a community of shared future for all mankind.展开更多
China-U.S.military relationship,one of the most important and complicated bilateral military relationships,is subjected to more restraining factors than any other military relationships in the current world.It has alw...China-U.S.military relationship,one of the most important and complicated bilateral military relationships,is subjected to more restraining factors than any other military relationships in the current world.It has always been regarded as展开更多
The focus of environmental regulations has changed significantly since the introduction of the bioassay as a standard means of assessing environmental impact. Prominent in this change is an increasing emphasis on prot...The focus of environmental regulations has changed significantly since the introduction of the bioassay as a standard means of assessing environmental impact. Prominent in this change is an increasing emphasis on protecting the integrity of natural ecosystems, which incorporate community- and system-level properties as well as organismal and population processes. Consequently, support for the use of multispecies testing has widened to include not only ecologists in academia but environmental scientists in the regulatory and industrial sector as well. The reason for this trend is clear: the additional environmental realism gained from tests utilizing communities of organisms allows for greater insight into the potential hazard of chemicals and other forms of human activity to natural ecosystems that cannot be obtained from single species tests alone. Many of the problems cited for multispecies testing early in their evolution as a hazard assessment tool have been refuted or overcome. In particular, the use of natural microbial communities minimizes several shortcomings typically associated with multispecies toxicity testing. This discussion includes the utility of microcosm and mesocosm tests using aquatic microbial communities as hazard assessment tools in conjunction with accumulating information on their performance in toxicity testing protocols. An increasing body of experimental evidence supports an expansion in the use of these tests for a variety of regulatory and research purposes. A shift in research focus is needed, however, to answer remaining questions and further refine standard protocols for these valuable ecotoxicological tools.展开更多
The BRICS is transforming from a participant in global governance to a leader in promoting globalization towards an open, inclusive, beneficial, balanced and win-win direction. The coming "golden decade" req...The BRICS is transforming from a participant in global governance to a leader in promoting globalization towards an open, inclusive, beneficial, balanced and win-win direction. The coming "golden decade" requires the mechanism to draw on wider sources of wisdom and provide unique solutions in the face of changing global arena and global governance landscape.展开更多
The classical power law relaxation, i.e. relaxation of current with inverse of power of time for a step-voltage excitation to dielectric—as popularly known as Curie-von Schweidler law is empirically derived and is ob...The classical power law relaxation, i.e. relaxation of current with inverse of power of time for a step-voltage excitation to dielectric—as popularly known as Curie-von Schweidler law is empirically derived and is observed in several relaxation experiments on various dielectrics studies since late 19th Century. This relaxation law is also regarded as “universal-law” for dielectric relaxations;and is also termed as power law. This empirical Curie-von Schewidler relaxation law is then used to derive fractional differential equations describing constituent expression for capacitor. In this paper, we give simple mathematical treatment to derive the distribution of relaxation rates of this Curie-von Schweidler law, and show that the relaxation rate follows Zipf’s power law distribution. We also show the method developed here give Zipfian power law distribution for relaxing time constants. Then we will show however mathematically correct this may be, but physical interpretation from the obtained time constants distribution are contradictory to the Zipfian rate relaxation distribution. In this paper, we develop possible explanation that as to why Zipfian distribution of relaxation rates appears for Curie-von Schweidler Law, and relate this law to time variant rate of relaxation. In this paper, we derive appearance of fractional derivative while using Zipfian power law distribution that gives notion of scale dependent relaxation rate function for Curie-von Schweidler relaxation phenomena. This paper gives analytical approach to get insight of a non-Debye relaxation and gives a new treatment to especially much used empirical Curie-von Schweidler (universal) relaxation law.展开更多
Background: Historically, sexually transmitted infections have affected the health of the U.S. military. To determine whether gonorrhea, bacterial vaginosis, genital herpes, and trichomoniasis are predictors of repeat...Background: Historically, sexually transmitted infections have affected the health of the U.S. military. To determine whether gonorrhea, bacterial vaginosis, genital herpes, and trichomoniasis are predictors of repeat chlamydia diagnoses among U.S. Army women, medical data reported into the Defense Medical Surveillance System during the 2006–2012 period were analyzed.Methods: For all inpatient and outpatient medical records, the first and second International Classification of Diseases,version 9(ICD-9) diagnostic positions were reviewed for each chlamydia case to determine the occurrence of repeat diagnoses. The Andersen-Gill regression model, an extension of the Cox model for multiple failure-time data, was used to study associations between predictors and repeat chlamydia diagnoses.Results: Among 28,201 women with a first chlamydia diagnosis, 5145(18.2%), 1163(4.1%), 267(0.9%), and 88(0.3%)had one, two, three, and four or more repeat diagnoses, respectively. Overall, the incidence of repeat chlamydia was8.31 cases per 100 person-years, with a median follow-up time of 3.39 years. Gonorrhea(hazard ratio(HR)=1.58, 95%CI: 1.44–1.73) and bacterial vaginosis(HR=1.40, 95% CI: 1.09–1.79) were significant predictors for repeat chlamydia.These estimated hazard ratios were attenuated, but remained significant, after controlling for age, race/ethnicity,marital status, and military rank. No significant association was found for genital herpes(HR=1.13, 95% CI: 0.55–2.29)and trichomoniasis(HR=1.43, 95% CI: 0.43–4.68).Conclusions: This large cohort study suggests that gonorrhea and bacterial vaginosis were associated with repeat chlamydia diagnoses among U.S. Army women. These findings can be used in formulating new interventions to prevent repeat chlamydia diagnoses.展开更多
文摘BACKGROUND Lumbar disc herniation and non-specific low back pain are common conditions that seriously affect patients’health-related quality of life(HRQoL).Although empirical evidence has demonstrated that novel Thermobalancing therapy and Dr Allen’s Device can relieve chronic low back pain,there have been no randomised controlled trials for these indications.AIM To evaluate the efficacy of Dr Allen’s Device in lumbar disc herniation(LDH)and non-specific low back pain(NSLBP).METHODS A randomised clinical trial was conducted investigating 55 patients with chronic low back pain due to LDH(n=28)or NSLBP(n=27),out of which 15 were randomly assigned to the control group and 40 were assigned to the treatment group.The intervention was treatment with Dr Allen’s Device for 3 mo.Changes in HRQoL were assessed using the Numerical Pain Rating Scale and the Japanese Orthopedic Association Back Pain Questionnaire.RESULTS Thermobalancing therapy with Dr Allen’s Device showed a significant reduction in pain in the treatment group(P<0.001),with no recorded adverse effects.Both pain assessment scales showed a significant improvement in patients’perception of pain indicating improvement in HRQoL.CONCLUSION The out-of-hospital use of Thermobalancing therapy with Dr Allen’s Device for Low Back Treatment relieves chronic low back pain significantly and without adverse effects,improves the level of activity and HRQoL among patients with LDH and NSLBP.This study demonstrates the importance of this safe first-line therapy that can be used for effective at-home management of chronic low back pain.
文摘Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD) is the most common liver disease worldwide, affecting approximately one third of the Western world. It consists of a wide spectrum of liver disorders, ranging from fatty liver to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis(NASH), which consists of steatosis, ballooning injury and inflammation. Despite an alarming growth in the statistics surrounding NAFLD, there are as yet no effective therapies for its treatment. Innate immune signaling has been thought to play a significant role in initiating and augmenting hepatic inflammation, contributing to the transition from nonalcoholic fatty liver to NASH. An immune response is triggered by countless signals called damage-associated molecular patterns(DAMPs) elicited by lipid-laden and damaged hepatocytes, which are recognized by pattern recognition receptors(PRRs) on hepatic immune cells to initiate inflammatory signaling. In this editorial, in addition to summarizing innate immune signaling in NAFLD and discussing potential therapies that target innate immune pathways, we have described a recent study that demonstrated that mitochondrial DNA serves as a DAMP activating a hepatic PRR, TLR9, in mice and in the plasma of NASH patients. In addition to identifying a new ligand for TLR9 during NASH progression, the study shows that blocking TLR9 reverses NASH, paving the way for the development of future NASH therapy.
基金US NSF Under Grant No.CMS-0202846National Natural Science Foundation of China Under Grant No.50278092
文摘This paper studies the dynamic responses of SDOF system under pulse-dominant excitations.The purpose of the study is to prepare for scrutiny of some near-field pulse-dominantground motions and their potential to cause structural damage.Extending the single pulse dynamics,we consider the effect of pulse sequences.This kind of excitation was particularly obvious in some of previous earthquakes such as Northridge (1994) and Chi-Chi (1995).Based on the duration, peak and rise and decay era of the main pulse as well as its relationship with the predecessor and successor pulses,we propose a classification for the pulse sequences.Consequent studies have been canied out for acceleration,velocity and displacement response spectra of the main pulse with either a predecessor or a successor pulse.The analysis also includes general response behaviors in different fundamental period segments and special aspects of response at certain points (e.g.,the corresponding peak points).
文摘Susceptibility to insecticides was investigated by collecting field populations of brown planthopper from different locations of southern Karnataka, India (Gangavati, Kathalagere, Kollegala, Soraba and Mandya). All the field populations differed in their susceptibility to insecticides. In general, Soraba and Mandya populations were more susceptible to insecticides compared to Gangavati and Kathalagere populations. The resistance ratios varied greatly among the populations viz., chlorpyriphos (1.13- to 16.82-fold), imidacloprid (0.53- to 13.50-fold), acephate (1.34- to 5.32-fold), fipronil (1.13- to 4.06-fold), thiamethoxam (1.01- to 2.19-fold), clothianidin (1.92- to 4.86-fold), dinotefuran (0.82- to 2.22- fold), buprofezin (1.06- to 5.43-fold) and carbofuran (0.41- to 2.17-fold). The populations from Gangavati Kathalagere and Kollegala exhibited higher resistance to some of the old insecticides and low resistance to new molecules.
基金NIH grant U54-CA-100926a Clinical and Translational Science Award (UL1 RR024143) from the National Center for Research Resources
文摘This paper is to review recent information about the relationship of calcium and dairy foods to colon cancer. The review focuses on primary prevention, discusses the potential components in dairy foods that might be anti-neoplastic, reviews the epidemiologic information and describes intervention studies demonstrating efficacy of calcium and vitamin D in reducing colorectal polyp recurrence. Since vitamin D is important in cancer prevention, pertinent data is discussed and potential mechanisms of actions presented. Calcium and vitamin D are important agents for the primary prevention of colorectal neoplasia.
文摘To evaluate the response to lime on cultivars of ricebean(Vigna umbellata), a field experiment was conducted during the two consecutive rabi seasons of 2010–2011 and 2011–2012 in the Nagaland foothills, India. The experiment used a split-plot design with four levels of lime(control, 0.2, 0.4and 0.6 t ha-1) in main plots and four ricebean cultivars(RBS-16, RBS-53, PRR-2, and RCRB-4) in sub-plots with three replicates. The results revealed that increasing levels of lime(in the furrow)from 0 to 0.6 t ha-1significantly increased growth, yield attributes and yield. The quality parameters of ricebean were also influenced significantly by the application of lime. Maximum gross return(INR 39,098 ha-1), net return(INR 27,281 ha-1), benefit:cost(B:C) ratio(2.29),production efficiency, and economic efficiency were also realized with the application of lime at 0.6 t ha-1. Among the ricebean cultivars, RBS-53 produced significantly higher growth, yield attributes, grain yield, straw yield, biological yield, and harvest index. Similarly, yield and protein content were higher in RBS-53. Maximum gross return, net return, B:C ratio, production efficiency, and economic efficiency were observed for RBS-53.
文摘The new frontiers for global governance serve as a new stage for international competition and cooperation. By playing a successful role in the governance of these new frontiers, China can facilitate the establishing of a community of shared future for all mankind.
文摘China-U.S.military relationship,one of the most important and complicated bilateral military relationships,is subjected to more restraining factors than any other military relationships in the current world.It has always been regarded as
文摘The focus of environmental regulations has changed significantly since the introduction of the bioassay as a standard means of assessing environmental impact. Prominent in this change is an increasing emphasis on protecting the integrity of natural ecosystems, which incorporate community- and system-level properties as well as organismal and population processes. Consequently, support for the use of multispecies testing has widened to include not only ecologists in academia but environmental scientists in the regulatory and industrial sector as well. The reason for this trend is clear: the additional environmental realism gained from tests utilizing communities of organisms allows for greater insight into the potential hazard of chemicals and other forms of human activity to natural ecosystems that cannot be obtained from single species tests alone. Many of the problems cited for multispecies testing early in their evolution as a hazard assessment tool have been refuted or overcome. In particular, the use of natural microbial communities minimizes several shortcomings typically associated with multispecies toxicity testing. This discussion includes the utility of microcosm and mesocosm tests using aquatic microbial communities as hazard assessment tools in conjunction with accumulating information on their performance in toxicity testing protocols. An increasing body of experimental evidence supports an expansion in the use of these tests for a variety of regulatory and research purposes. A shift in research focus is needed, however, to answer remaining questions and further refine standard protocols for these valuable ecotoxicological tools.
文摘The BRICS is transforming from a participant in global governance to a leader in promoting globalization towards an open, inclusive, beneficial, balanced and win-win direction. The coming "golden decade" requires the mechanism to draw on wider sources of wisdom and provide unique solutions in the face of changing global arena and global governance landscape.
文摘The classical power law relaxation, i.e. relaxation of current with inverse of power of time for a step-voltage excitation to dielectric—as popularly known as Curie-von Schweidler law is empirically derived and is observed in several relaxation experiments on various dielectrics studies since late 19th Century. This relaxation law is also regarded as “universal-law” for dielectric relaxations;and is also termed as power law. This empirical Curie-von Schewidler relaxation law is then used to derive fractional differential equations describing constituent expression for capacitor. In this paper, we give simple mathematical treatment to derive the distribution of relaxation rates of this Curie-von Schweidler law, and show that the relaxation rate follows Zipf’s power law distribution. We also show the method developed here give Zipfian power law distribution for relaxing time constants. Then we will show however mathematically correct this may be, but physical interpretation from the obtained time constants distribution are contradictory to the Zipfian rate relaxation distribution. In this paper, we develop possible explanation that as to why Zipfian distribution of relaxation rates appears for Curie-von Schweidler Law, and relate this law to time variant rate of relaxation. In this paper, we derive appearance of fractional derivative while using Zipfian power law distribution that gives notion of scale dependent relaxation rate function for Curie-von Schweidler relaxation phenomena. This paper gives analytical approach to get insight of a non-Debye relaxation and gives a new treatment to especially much used empirical Curie-von Schweidler (universal) relaxation law.
基金funded by the AFHSB and its Global Emerging Infectious Surveillance section
文摘Background: Historically, sexually transmitted infections have affected the health of the U.S. military. To determine whether gonorrhea, bacterial vaginosis, genital herpes, and trichomoniasis are predictors of repeat chlamydia diagnoses among U.S. Army women, medical data reported into the Defense Medical Surveillance System during the 2006–2012 period were analyzed.Methods: For all inpatient and outpatient medical records, the first and second International Classification of Diseases,version 9(ICD-9) diagnostic positions were reviewed for each chlamydia case to determine the occurrence of repeat diagnoses. The Andersen-Gill regression model, an extension of the Cox model for multiple failure-time data, was used to study associations between predictors and repeat chlamydia diagnoses.Results: Among 28,201 women with a first chlamydia diagnosis, 5145(18.2%), 1163(4.1%), 267(0.9%), and 88(0.3%)had one, two, three, and four or more repeat diagnoses, respectively. Overall, the incidence of repeat chlamydia was8.31 cases per 100 person-years, with a median follow-up time of 3.39 years. Gonorrhea(hazard ratio(HR)=1.58, 95%CI: 1.44–1.73) and bacterial vaginosis(HR=1.40, 95% CI: 1.09–1.79) were significant predictors for repeat chlamydia.These estimated hazard ratios were attenuated, but remained significant, after controlling for age, race/ethnicity,marital status, and military rank. No significant association was found for genital herpes(HR=1.13, 95% CI: 0.55–2.29)and trichomoniasis(HR=1.43, 95% CI: 0.43–4.68).Conclusions: This large cohort study suggests that gonorrhea and bacterial vaginosis were associated with repeat chlamydia diagnoses among U.S. Army women. These findings can be used in formulating new interventions to prevent repeat chlamydia diagnoses.