Protective effects of photobiomodulation against resistance exercise-induced muscle damage and inflammation in rats

We investigated whether low-level laser therapy (LLLT) prior to or post resistance exercise could attenuate muscle damage and inflammation. Female Wistar rats were assigned to non-LLLT or LLLT groups. An 830-nm DMC Laser Photon III was used to irradiate their hind legs with 2J, 4J, and 8J doses. Irradiations were performed prior to or post (4J) resistance exercise bouts. Resistance exercise consisted of four maximum load climbs. The load work during a resistance exercise bout was similar between Control (non-LLLT, 225 ± 10 g), 2J (215 ± 8 g), 4J (210 ± 9 g), and 8J (226 ± 9 g) groups. Prior LLLT did not induce climbing performance improvement, but exposure to 4J irradiation resulted in lower blood lactate levels post-exercise. The 4J dose decreased creatine kinase and lactic dehydrogenase levels post-exercise regardless of the time of application. Moreover, 4-J irradiation exposure significantly attenuated tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukin-6, interleukin-1β, cytokine-induced neutrophil chemoattractant-1, and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1. There was minor macrophage muscle infiltration in 4J-exposed rats. These data indicate that LLLT prior to or post resistance exercise can reduce muscle damage and inflammation, resulting in muscle recovery improvement. We attempted to determine an ideal LLLT dose for suitable results, wherein 4J irradiation exposure showed a significant protective role.     

Communications For Developing Nations

Charlotte Dietrich, Der Rundfunk in Afrika An fang der Siebziger Jahre: Strukturen and Daten (Broadcasting in Africa in the Early Seventies: Structures and Data) (Department of Mass Communication, University of Salzburg, Sigmund Haffner Gasse 18, A-5020 Salzburg, Austria---$5.00, paper, plus cost of shipping)

Communication Policy and Planning for Development: A Selected Annotated Bibliography by Syed A. Rahim (285 pp., October 1976, price not given, paper)

An Overview of Communication Research in Asia: Status, Problems and Needs by Gloria D. Feliciano (20 pp., June 1973, on request, paper)

Mass Media Use and the “Revolution of Rising Frustrations:” A Reconsideration of the Theory by Robert C. Hornik (27 pp., July 1974, on request, paper)

Communication and Development in China (Communication Monograph No. 1), by Godwin Chu, et al. (116 pp., September 1976, price not given, paper)

Communication in the Pacific, edited by Daniel Lerner and Jim Richstad (96 pp., June 1976, price not given paper)

The Use of Radio in Adult Literacy Education, by Richard C. Burke (116 pp., £1.50 or about $2.40, paper)

Programmed Instruction for Literacy Workers, by Sivasailam Thiagarajan (136 pp., £1.95 or about $3.12, paper)

Mass Communication in Malaysia, compiled by Lim Huck Tee and V.V. Sarachandran (91 pp., 1975, 12 Singapore dollars outside Asia)

Mass Communication in India, compiled at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (216 pp., 1976, 18 Singapore dollars outside Asia)     

International Communication

COMMUNICATIONS IN A CHANGING WORLD (Washington, D.C.: The Media Institute, 1983---two volumes, paper, price not given)

THE ABC OF COPYRIGHT (Paris: Unesco/New York: Unipub, 1981---paper, price not given)

MILITARY PROPAGANDA: PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE AND OPERATIONS by Ron D. McLaurin (New York: Praeger, 1982---price not given)

TELECOMMUNICATIONS IN THE YEAR 2000: NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES edited by Indu B. Singh (Norwood, N.J.: Ablex, 1983---$24.95)

THE EDUCATIONAL USE OF MASS MEDIA by Gloria Feliciano, et al. (Washington, D.C.: World Bank, 1981---$5.00, paper)

POWERS OF THE PRESS: TWELVE OF THE WORLD'S INFLUENTIAL NEWSPAPERS by Martin Walker (New York: Pilgrim Press, 1983---price not given)

THE PHONOGRAM IN CULTURAL COMMUNICATION: REPORT ON A RESEARCH PROJECT UNDERTAKEN BY MEDICAULT, edited by K. Blaukopf (New York and Vienna: Springer-Verlag, 1982---$23.60, paper)     

Reasons for Older Adult Participation in University Programs in Spain

This study examined the reasons expressed by older adults for attending a university program in Barcelona (Spain). Results were based on the responses of 36 elders to questions from a semistructured interview. These were (a) reasons for joining a university course and (b) factors that prevent enrolling in that course. Participants mentioned more expressive than instrumental reasons for participating in a university program. Most mentioned barriers to entering university that were lack of interest, lack of self-confidence, health problems, and limited information. These results are discussed in the context of new strategies to improve university courses aimed at the elderly.     

Electronic health record: integrating evidence-based information at the point of clinical decision making

The authors created two tools to achieve the goals of providing physicians with a way to review alternative diagnoses and improving access to relevant evidence-based library resources without disrupting established workflows. The “diagnostic decision support tool” lifted terms from standard, coded fields in the electronic health record and sent them to Isabel, which produced a list of possible diagnoses. The physicians chose their diagnoses and were presented with the “knowledge page,” a collection of evidence-based library resources. Each resource was automatically populated with search results based on the chosen diagnosis. Physicians responded positively to the “knowledge page.”     

Draw a Young and an Older Person: Schoolchildren's Images of Older People

The goal of this study was to explore stereotypes of older people as expressed in drawings by a sample of primary school children. Sixty children from fourth to sixth grades (30 boys and 30 girls aged 9 to 12 years) were asked to draw a young man, a young woman, an old man, and an old woman. The drawings were content analyzed. Children in our sample seemed to represent old people in varied or multidimensional ways, indicating, thus, that the image they held about elders was less negative than concluded in similar investigations. In fact, although some drawings had negative content, most pictured a positive—and even friendly—image of old people. Moreover, some of the drawings included both positive and negative traits at the same time. Compared with images of young men and women, those of the elderly seem to be more homogeneous and less complex, since there was more agreement on represented details. Suggestions for future research are proposed.     

Generativity in Older Age: A Challenge for Universities of the Third Age (U3A)

This paper discusses the ways in which university programs for older people should change to cater to the interests and concerns of generative older people. We describe university programs offered at present, underlining their emphasis on personal growth and on learning for the sake of learning. We argue that these programs are not entirely suitable for generative older people, who are eager to contribute to the social contexts in which they participate. The paper suggests that more instrumental, intergenerational, practical, and academically challenging programs are required to satisfy the training needs of generative older people.