Infrared (810 nm) low-level laser therapy in rat achilles tendinitis: a consistent alternative to drugs

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are widely used and can reduce musculoskeletal pain in spite of the cost of adverse reactions like gastrointestinal ulcers or cardiovascular events. The current study investigates if a safer treatment such as low-level laser therapy (LLLT) could reduce tendinitis inflammation, and whether a possible pathway could be through inhibition of either of the two-cyclooxygenase (COX) isoforms in inflammation. Wistar rats (six animals per group) were injected with saline (control) or collagenase in their Achilles tendons. Then, we treated them with three different doses of IR LLLT (810 nm; 100 mW; 10 s, 30 s and 60 s; 3.57 W cm(-2); 1 J, 3 J, 6 J) at the sites of the injections, or intramuscular diclofenac, a nonselective COX inhibitor/NSAID. We found that LLLT dose of 3 J significantly reduced inflammation through less COX-2-derived gene expression and PGE(2) production, and less edema formation compared to nonirradiated controls. Diclofenac controls exhibited significantly lower PGE(2) cytokine levels at 6 h than collagenase control, but COX isoform 1-derived gene expression and cytokine PGE(2) levels were not affected by treatments. As LLLT seems to act on inflammation through a selective inhibition of the COX-2 isoform in collagenase-induced tendinitis, LLLT may have potential to become a new and safer nondrug alternative to coxibs.     

Consistent predictable patterns in the hydrogen and oxygen stable isotope ratios of animal proteins consumed by modern humans in the USA

Published datasets of proteinaceous animal tissues suggest that co-variation between amino acid hydrogen (δ2H) and oxygen (δ1?O) isotope ratios is a common feature in systems where isotopic variation is driven by geographic or temporal variation in the δ2H and δ1?O values of environmental water. This has led to the development of models relating tissue δ2H and δ1?O values to those of water, with potential application in a number of fields. However, the strength and ubiquity of the influence of environmental water on protein isotope ratios across taxonomic groups, and thus the relevance of predictive models, is an open question. Here we report strong co-variation of δ2H and δ1?O values across a suite of terrestrial and aquatic animal meats purchased in American food markets, including beef, poultry (chicken and turkey), chicken eggs, pork, lamb, freshwater fish, and marine fish. Significant isotope co-variation was not found for small collections of marine bivalves and crustaceans. These results imply that isotopic signals from environmental water were propagated similarly through most of the diverse natural and human-managed foodwebs represented by our samples. Freshwater fish had the largest variation in δ2H and δ1?O values, with ranges of 121‰ and 19.2‰, respectively, reflecting the large isotopic variation in environmental freshwaters. In contrast marine animals had the smallest variation for both δ2H (7‰ range, crustaceans) and δ1?O (3.0‰ range, bivalves) values. Known-origin beef samples demonstrated direct relationships between the variance of environmental water isotope ratios and that of collected meats.     

Space-magnitude dependent scaling behaviour in seismic interevent series revealed by detrended fluctuation analysis

The scaling behaviour of the 1981-2007 seismicity data in central Italy, which is one of the most seismically active areas in Italy is investigated. In particular we examined the earthquakes located in a circular area centred on the epicentre of the strongest event, occurred in September 26, 1997 (duration magnitude M_D=5.8). On the base of the detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA), we found that in the magnitude range between 2.5 and 2.9 the scaling exponents fall into disjoint sets for events relatively close and far from the epicentre of the strongest event.     

Generalized wavefront phase for non-Kolmogorov turbulence

We introduce the Lévy fractional Brownian field family to model the turbulent wavefront phase. This generalized model allows us to overcome the limitations found in a previous approach [Perez et al., J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 21, 1962 (2004)]. More precisely, our new model provides stationary phase increments over the full inertial range. Thus it successfully extends classical results to non-Kolmogorov turbulence without any approximation.     

Finite-size Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition at grain boundaries in solid 4He and the role of 3He impurities

We analyze the complex phenomenology of the nonclassical rotational inertia (NCRI) observed at low temperature in solid 4He within the context of a two-dimensional Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition in a premelted 4He film at the grain boundaries. We show that both the temperature and 3He doping dependence of the NCRI fraction (NCRIF) can be ascribed to finite size effects induced by the finite grain size. We give an estimate of the average size of the grains which we argue to be limited by the isotopic 3He impurities and we provide a simple power-law relation between the NCRIF and the 3He concentration.     

On the Identity of Some von Neumann Algebras and Some Consequences

Among von Neumann algebras, the Weyl algebra W{\mathcal{W}} generated by two unitary groups {U(α)} and {V(β)}, the algebra U{\mathcal{U}} generated by a completely non-unitary semigroup of isometries {U ₊(α)} and the Weyl algebra W₊^h{\mathcal{W}_{+}^{h}} pertaining to a semi-bounded space with homogeneous spectrum of the generator of {V(β)}, all share the property that their representations are completely reducible and the irreducible representations are equivalent. We trace this fact to the identity of these algebras, in the sense that any of them contains a representation of any of the remaining two algebras, which in turn contains the original algebra. We prove this statement by explicit construction. The aforementioned results about the representations of the algebras follow immediately from the proof for any of them. Also, by the above construction we prove for W^h₊{\mathcal{W}^{h}_{+}} the analog of a theorem by Sinai for W{\mathcal{W}} : given {V(β)} with semi-bounded homogeneous spectrum, there exists a completely non-unitary semigroup {U ₊(α)} such that {V(β)} and {U ₊(α)} generate W₊^h{\mathcal{W}_{+}^{h}}.     

Use of generalized exponential function to build three-dimensional reactive surfaces

In this work, we introduce a new analytical form based on the q-exponential function to build three-dimensional reactive surfaces. The quality of this new function is tested by fitting the ab initio potential energy surface (PES) to the ground state Na+HF reaction. The thermal rate constant and reactive probabilities were determined considering this new PES. The obtained properties agree with those found for other PES available in literature.     

Is Teleparallel Gravity Really Equivalent to General Relativity?

An axiomatization of the so‐called Teleparallel Equivalent to General Relativity is presented. A set of formal and semantic postulates are elaborated from where the physical meaning of various key concepts of the theory are clarified. These concepts include those of inertia, Lorentz and diffeomorphism invariance, and reference frame. It is shown that Teleparallel Gravity admits a wider representation of space‐time than General Relativity, allowing to define properties of the gravitational field such as energy and momentum that are usually considered problematic. In this sense, although the dynamical equations of both theories are equivalent, their inequivalence from a physical point of view is demonstrated. Finally, the axiomatic formulation is used to compare Teleparallel Gravity with other theories of gravity based on absolute parallelism such as non‐local and f(T) gravity.     

Predictive model for the collapse load of masonry assemblage with two piers joined by a spandrel

The masonry assemblage composed of two piers connected by a spandrel can be considered a repetitive unit in large masonry walls with openings, occurring in masonry buildings. In this work, the collapse load of the above-mentioned masonry assemblage is predicted by solving a system of nonlinear equations, where the normal force in the spandrel is a root of an equilibrium equation of fourth degree. Piers and spandrel are assumed rigid and nonlinearity (crushing and no tensile strength) is concentrated at the pier-foundation and pier–spandrel interfaces. The model also takes into account the effect of a timber lintel supporting the spandrel and anchored into the two adjacent piers. This approach valid for assemblages with one spandrel can be extended for the evaluation of the collapse load of structures composed of N piers connected by N ? 1 spandrels. The system of nonlinear equations is easily solved with an iterative method and the collapse load provided by the solution agrees well with the experimental result.