Reduced knee flexion is a possible cause of increased loading rates in individuals with patellofemoral pain

Stair ascent is an activity that exacerbates symptoms of individuals with patellofemoral pain. The discomfort associated with this activity usually results in gait modification such as reduced knee flexion in an attempt to reduce pain. Although such compensatory strategy is a logical approach to decrease pain, it also reduces the normal active shock absorption increasing loading rates and may lead to deleterious and degenerative changes of the knee joint. Thus, the aims of this study were (i) to investigate whether there is reduced knee flexion in adults with PFP compared to healthy controls; and (ii) to analyze loading rates in these subjects, during stair climbing. Twenty-nine individuals with patellofemoral pain and twenty-five control individuals (18-30years) participated in this study. Each subject underwent three-dimensional kinematic and kinetic analyses during stair climbing on two separate days. Between-groups analyses of variance were performed to identify differences in peak knee flexion and loading rates. Intraclass correlation coefficient was performed to verify the reliability of the variables. On both days, the patellofemoral pain group demonstrated significantly reduced peak knee flexion and increased loading rates. In addition, the two variables obtained high to very high reliability. Reduced knee flexion during stair climbing as a strategy to avoid anterior knee pain does not seem to be healthy for lower limb mechanical distributions. Repeated loading at higher loading rates may be damaging to lower limb joints.

Automated peritoneal dialysis is associated with better survival rates compared to continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis: a propensity score matching analysis

The impact of peritoneal dialysis modality on patient survival and peritonitis rates is not fully understood, and no large-scale randomized clinical trial (RCT) is available. In the absence of a RCT, the use of an advanced matching procedure to reduce selection bias in large cohort studies may be the best approach. The aim of this study is to compare automated peritoneal dialysis (APD) and continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) according to peritonitis risk, technique failure and patient survival in a large nation-wide PD cohort. This is a prospective cohort study that included all incident PD patients with at least 90 days of PD recruited in the BRAZPD study. All patients who were treated exclusively with either APD or CAPD were matched for 15 different covariates using a propensity score calculated with the nearest neighbor method. Clinical outcomes analyzed were overall mortality, technique failure and time to first peritonitis. For all analysis we also adjusted the curves for the presence of competing risks with the Fine and Gray analysis. After the matching procedure, 2,890 patients were included in the analysis (1,445 in each group). Baseline characteristics were similar for all covariates including: age, diabetes, BMI, Center-experience, coronary artery disease, cancer, literacy, hypertension, race, previous HD, gender, pre-dialysis care, family income, peripheral artery disease and year of starting PD. Mortality rate was higher in CAPD patients (SHR1.44 CI95%1.21-1.71) compared to APD, but no difference was observed for technique failure (SHR0.83 CI95%0.69-1.02) nor for time till the first peritonitis episode (SHR0.96 CI95%0.93-1.11). In the first large PD cohort study with groups balanced for several covariates using propensity score matching, PD modality was not associated with differences in neither time to first peritonitis nor in technique failure. Nevertheless, patient survival was significantly better in APD patients.

Evaluation of prognostic factors and survival rates in malignant feline mammary gland neoplasms

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

The association between follicular size at time of spontaneous rupture and pregnancy rates in clomiphene citrate treated PCOS patients in coit cycles

Objective: To investigate the follicular size at spontaneous rupture on pregnancy rate in patientswith polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) undergoing clomiphene citrate (CC) ovulation.Design: Cross-sectional study.Patients and methods: One hundred and four women with ovulatory cycles after use of CCfollowed by ultrasound to determine the follicle size at the time of rupture, which wassubsequently correlated with the occurrence of pregnancy or not in coit cycles.Results: In the group of follicular rupture at a mean diameter25 mm (n¼54), pregnancy ratewas 35.1% and when follicular rupture occurred at a mean diameter425 mm (n¼50), it was34% (p40.05). When different diameters at follicular rupture were randomly correlated with thepregnancy rate, there was no significant difference.Conclusion: Our data suggest that the occurrence of pregnancy after ovulation induction withCC in women with PCOS is not associated with follicle size at the time of rupture.

Efficiency of nitrogen sources and rates on growth and dry matter yield of tifton 85

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)