The effect of unilateral balance training on postural control of the contralateral limb

To investigate the impact of unilateral balance training on postural control of the trained and contralateral limb in healthy elderly. Fifty-one healthy old adults were randomly assigned into training group (TG) and control group (CG). Participants of the TG performed unilateral balance training (dominant (DOM) leg) over 4 weeks (4×/week). Centre of pressure analysis was performed at baseline, 5 weeks follow-up and 9 weeks follow-up under the following conditions: (1) one-leg stance without additional task, (2) one-leg stance with motor task and (3) one-leg stance with cognitive task. From baseline to 5 weeks follow-up, a mixed analysis of variance detected a significant time × group interaction for the DOM leg (P < 0.05), indicating higher improvement of the TG in comparison to CG. No significant interaction effect was found for the non-DOM leg. Within the TG, the non-DOM leg significantly improved in mean velocity (P = 0.001) and anterior–posterior range (P < 0.001). Unilateral balance training was effective to improve postural control of the trained leg. The effect on the contralateral leg was small and not significant within this study design. Improvements were retained after 4 weeks without training. A tendency is given that unilateral balance training might be beneficial to improve postural control of the contralateral leg.     

Conservation of historical reinforced concrete structures damaged by carbonation induced corrosion by means of electrochemical realkalisation

Electrochemical realkalisation is a technique aimed at stopping rebar corrosion in carbonated concrete. The alkalinity of the concrete around the rebars is restored, and an environment favourable to the passivation of steel is re-created. The technique is based on the application of a DC current from an anode, placed on the external surface of the concrete, and the rebar. The anode is usually embedded in cellulose pulp soaked with a solution of sodium or potassium carbonate. The rebar and the anode are connected to a DC current feeder, the rebar to the negative terminal and the anode to the positive terminal. The applied current produces alkalinity at the surface of the rebar, while the alkaline electrolyte in which the anode is immersed penetrates from the external surface. In this way the concrete is realkalised, its protective characteristics towards the steel are restored and rebars can return to passive conditions. The treatment is temporary: this feature makes it very attractive in the field of historical buildings and cultural heritage, where the conservation of the original materials and surfaces is often a stringent requirement in the design of the repair. This paper shows the advantages of this technique applied to historical structures by describing the application to a bell tower built in the 1920s. The electrochemical realkalisation treatment was applied to eight columns on the bell tower where a traditional repair (based on the substitution of carbonated concrete with a repair mortar) would have been practically impossible. The application of the treatment followed two steps: initially, a trial was made on two sections of two columns, so as to calibrate the process parameters such as current density, time length and type of anode. Subsequently, the treatment was applied to all the columns. The analyses carried out on the concrete after the application of the treatment showed that the protection to the reinforcement was mainly connected to the alkaline layer produced around the steel, which is expected to prevent further corrosion of the steel.     

Separation by dielectrophoresis of dormant and nondormant bacterial cells of Mycobacterium smegmatis

The dielectrophoretic behavior of active, dead, and dormant Mycobacterium smegmatis bacterial cells was studied. It was found that the 72-h-old dormant cells had a much higher effective particle conductivity (812±10 μS cm⁻¹), almost double that of active cells (560±20 μS cm⁻¹), while that of dead (autoclaved) M. smegmatis cells was the highest (950±15 μS cm⁻¹) overall. It was also found that at 80 kHz, 900 μS cm⁻¹ dead cells were attracted at the edges of interdigitated castellated electrodes by positive dielectrophoresis, but dormant cells were not. Similarly, at 120 kHz, 2 μS cm⁻¹ active cells were attracted and dormant cells were not. Using these findings a dielectrophoresis-based microfluidic separation system was developed in which dead and active cells were collected from a given cell suspension, while dormant cells were eluted.     

The public relations strategy of Alexander Herzen state pedagogical university in St. Petersburg: The dialogue between the heritage and the present of a University

The author begins by outlining the history of Alexander Herzen State Pedagogical University in St. Petersburg, the oldest teacher training institution in the Russian Federation. Given its age (it was founded in 1797) and its location in the historical center of St. Petersburg, the university places its history and traditions at the center of its public relations activities. These activities are the responsibility of a Department of Marketing that has been operating for more than three years. Several public relations activities are outlined. Because the university is a national and public institution, its public relations strategy cannot be overly aggressive.     

An information system for decision support in national information policy-making and planning

It is widely recognized that national information policies and plans severely suffer from the lack of timely and relevant data which could support decision-making. Through a pilot project sponsored by UNESCO/PGI and a subsequent application project at the Brazilian Institute for Information in Science and Technology (IBICT), an information system is being developed in order tentatively to overcome this obstacle. It consists of several related modules for the control of the internal production at the national agency and of the development projects and their related contracts, and for the monitoring of the information scene, both national and international. The two first modules are based upon the items of standardized work plans. The third one consists of a coherent series of data bases which contain basic information about the actors and components of the information scene, further transformed into single and aggregated numerical values. The latter are themselves aggregated and standardized according to a comprehensive list of variables, which are calculated on an international basis for the upper levels of the system. The system has been designed in order to cater to various perspectives of the information sector and the calculation of specific or composite indicators. It is linked with a bibliographic information system which controls the documents from which part of the data have been extracted, and with a referral system. The principles and examples of practical applications of the system are presented. The prospects and requirements for its full-scale implementation are discussed.     

Retraction policies of high-impact biomedical journals

Purpose: The purpose is to review the issue of retraction in the scientific literature and to examine the policies on retraction of major biomedical journals.Method: The historical background of this issue was investigated through a literature search. The Instructions to Authors of 122 major biomedical journals were reviewed for evidence of a policy on the retraction of articles. Editors of those journals with no mention of retraction in their Instructions to Authors were contacted by email and/or postal mail.Results: Sixty-two percent of the journals investigated did not post or report having a policy on issuing retractions. Only twenty-one (18%) did. The remainder did not post any policy and did not respond to inquiries.Discussion: Including policies in Instructions to Authors relating to the principled conduct of research and publication will improve the ethical environment in which the scientific community works.     

Does a resistance exercise session with continuous or intermittent blood flow restriction promote muscle damage and increase oxidative stress?

The aim of this study was to compare the effect of low-load resistance exercise (LLRE) with continuous and intermittent blood flow restriction (BFR) on the creatine kinase (CK), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), protein carbonyl (PC), thiobarbituric acid-reactive substance (TBARS) and uric acid (UA) levels in military men. The study included 10 recreationally trained men aged 19 ± 0.82 years who underwent the following experimental protocols in random order on separate days (72–96 h): 4 LLRE sessions at a 20% 1RM (one-repetition maximum [1RM]) with continuous BFR (LLRE + CBFR); 4 LLRE sessions at 20% 1RM with intermittent BFR (LLRE + IBFR) and 4 high-intensity resistance exercise (HIRE) sessions at 80% 1RM. The CK and LDH (markers of muscle damage) levels were measured before exercise (BE), 24 h post-exercise and 48 h post-exercise, and the PC, TBARS and UA (markers of oxidative stress) levels were measured BE and immediately after each exercise session. There was a significant increase in CK in the HIRE 24 post-exercise samples compared with the LLRE + CBFR and LLRE + IBFR (P = 0.035, P = 0.036, respectively), as well as between HIRE 48 post-exercise and LLRE + CBFR (P = 0.049). Additionally, there was a significant increase in CK in the LLRE + CBFR samples BE and immediately after each exercise (Δ = 21.9%) and in the HIRE samples BE and immediately after each exercise, BE and 24 post-exercise, and BE and 48 post-exercise (Δ values of 35%, 177.6%, and 177.6%, respectively). However, there were no significant changes in LDH, PC, TBARS, and UA between the protocols (P > 0.05). Therefore, a physical exercise session with continuous or intermittent BFR did not promote muscle damage; moreover, neither protocol seemed to affect the oxidative stress markers.