Breast milk also contains substantial amounts of intracellular ad

Breast milk also contains substantial amounts of intracellular adhesion molecule 1 and vascular adhesion molecule 1; low quantities of soluble S-selectin, l-selectin and CD14, which may mediate differentiation and growth of B cells [46]. Natural autoantibodies, thought to be important in the selection of the pre-immune B cell repertoire and in the development of immune tolerance,

are also detected in colostrum and in breast milk [48]. Recently, the beneficial effects of human oligosaccharides in prevention of neonatal diarrhoeal and respiratory tract infections have been highlighted [49] and [50]. Human breast milk is known to contain factors that can modulate toll-like receptor (TLR) JAK inhibitor signaling, including soluble TLR2, which can competitively inhibit signaling through membrane TLR2 [51], as well as a protein that inhibits TLR2-mediated and activates TLR4-mediated transcriptional responses

in human intestinal epithelial and mononuclear cells by an as-yet-unknown mechanism [52]. It has been speculated that reduced TLR2 responsiveness at birth may facilitate the normal establishment of beneficial Gram-positive bifidobacteria intestinal flora. Lipids present in human milk have been shown to inactivate GBS in vitro, providing additional benefit to protect from invasive infection at the mucosal surfaces [53]. Neonates have Galunisertib low levels of SIgA and SIgM [54] thus protection from invasive pathogens Rebamipide at the mucosal surface relies on antibodies in breast milk. As antibody in breast milk is produced following antigenic stimulation of the maternal MALT and bronchial tree (bronchomammary pathway) [55], these antibodies are targeted to many infectious agents encountered by the mother both prior to birth and during the breastfeeding

period. It is currently hypothesized that SIgA represents the crucial primary protective component of breast milk [56] and [57]. SIgA protects against mucosal pathogens by immobilizing these, preventing their adherence to epithelial surfaces, or by neutralizing toxins or virulence factors. SIgA concentration is far higher in colostrum (12 mg/ml) than in that found in mature milk (1 mg/ml). A breastfed infant may ingest around 0.5–1.0 g of SIgA per day [40]. SIgA production is enhanced by Interleukin-6 (IL-6) whilst the production of secretory components is enhanced by TNF-α and TGF-β causes class switching towards B cells producing IgA [47], all of which are present in breast milk. SIgA antibodies present in breast milk are specific for numerous enteric and respiratory pathogens.

Concealed allocation is therefore necessary to guard against inve

Concealed allocation is therefore necessary to guard against investigators consciously or subconsciously introducing systematic differences in the groups. Readers of trial reports should take some reassurance from the use of concealed allocation, especially

when the method of concealment appears difficult to circumvent. “
“This Canadian website provides a collection of tools to help primary care clinicians identify, evaluate, and apply relevant evidence for better health care decision-making. While the content is designed for use in the field of medicine, there is plenty on this website that is relevant to physiotherapy practice, particularly in countries where physiotherapists are primary care practitioners, such as Australia and England. The need see more for a resource such as this EBM Toolkit arises from the exponential increase of internet-based clinical information that has occurred in recent decades. While it would buy CHIR-99021 be wonderful if all such information were valid and reliable, it is widely recognised that the majority is not. The consequences of using biased evidence for clinical decision-making are serious: at best we make no difference to our patient’s health, but at worst we can cause harm. Therefore, to maintain

the highest standards of care and professionalism, it is essential that physiotherapists can locate, appraise, and apply high quality evidence in clinical practice. However, going through each of these steps to inform evidence-based practice can be time consuming and the primary barrier for physiotherapists is lack of time (Jette et al 2003). Therefore, well-designed websites such as the EBM Toolkit are invaluable

because they enable clinicians to find answers based on high quality evidence quickly. The EBM Toolkit website consists of the following sections: About EBM, Domains, Practice Guidelines, Systematic Reviews, Economic Analysis, Glossaries, JAMA Users Guide and Links. The most useful parts of the site for physiotherapists are Domains, Practice Guidelines and Systematic Reviews. All appraisal Idoxuridine tools on the site have been adapted from the Users’ Guides series prepared by the Evidence Based Medicine Working Group and originally published in JAMA. The Domains section is sub-divided into therapy, diagnosis, prognosis, and harm. In each, there is a brief guide to appraise the validity and applicability of an individual research study (‘appraisal guide’). This guide serves as a useful reminder of the key criteria to evaluate how believable a study is, or to work out the size of a treatment effect, for example. My only gripe about this section is that only outcomes related to dichotomous measures (for example, re-injured or not re-injured) are considered, whereas physiotherapists are often interested in continuous outcomes (for example, pain on a 0–10 visual analogue scale) as well.

7 Microorganism isolated from array of habitats have expressed im

7 Microorganism isolated from array of habitats have expressed immense potential in production of nanoparticles one such habitat is marine. Marine microorganisms are known to thrive in unique niches such as tolerate high salt concentration, extreme atmospheric pressure etc. These microbes

are known to have been explored with interest as source of novel bioactive factories synthesizing various functional metabolites displaying unique properties. However, these marine microbes are not sufficiently explored with regards to synthesis of nanoparticles few reports cited expressed the burgeoning interest among the researchers mTOR inhibitor in exploiting the mechanisms of marine microbes for nanoparticle synthesis. As marine resource is one of the richest sources in the nature, marine microorganisms employed in production of nanoparticles are in infancy stage. Therefore, a possibility of exploring marine microbes as nanofactories forms a rational and reliable route in production of nanoparticles compared to the most popular conventional methods

which are bound with limitations such as expensive, use of toxic elements learn more in production protocols resulting limited applications in pharmaceutical and health sector. The present review envisions the role of marine microbes as emerging resource in synthesis of nanoparticles. The study also display so far reported marine microbial diversity in synthesis of nanoparticles, further research in this area will be promising enough to engulf the limitation of conventional methods forming a new avenue for rapid synthesis of nanoparticles with technical dimension. Nanoparticles are particles with at least one dimension at nanoscale. Nanoparticles exist widely in the natural world as product about of natural phenomena such as photochemical

volcanic activity, ocean spray, forest-fire smoke, clouds and clay combustion and food cooking, and more recently from vehicle exhausts.3 Owing to their unique properties nanoparticles are known to have wide range of applications the potential of nanoparticles is infinite with novel new applications constantly being explored.4 Nanoparticles are synthesis by array of conventional methods which are divided into top down and bottom up processes (Fig. 1). In top down process the synthesis of nanoparticles from the bulk material is carried out by various lithographic techniques. In bottom up process is based on miniaturization at molecular level forming the nuclei and their growth into nanoparticles. These conventional methods are very popular and widely employed in synthesis of nanoparticles but are bounded with their own limitations such as expensive, use of high energy and use of hazardous toxic chemicals. Hence there is a burgeoning interest in eco-friendly process of nanoparticles production with precise control of size and desired shape.

The recommended frequency of 2 to 3 sessions per week was

The recommended frequency of 2 to 3 sessions per week was

not adhered to for some participants for reasons such as public holidays, caring for family members, and feeling unwell. Nevertheless, meaningful differences in some parameters were demonstrated between the groups, as well as within each group, similar to those observed in other studies of longer duration. These included improvements in waist circumference and peak oxygen consumption (Vincent et al 2003) and reduction in HbA1c (Boule et al 2003, Boule et al 2001). As our inclusion criteria included a baseline HbA1c of 8% to 10%, Selleck PFI-2 the absence of exercise training would have required an escalation of medical management. Thus, a non-intervention control group was excluded. Though this limits our ability to assess the true benefits of exercise, it was not the aim of the study since the benefits of exercise for Type 2 diabetes mellitus are well established. eAddenda: Table 4 available at www.jop.physiotherapy.asn.au Ethics: The study was approved by Singapore General Hospital

(SGH) Institutional Review Board (IRB 253/2002). All participants provided informed consent before data collection began. Competing interests: Nil Support: National Medical Research Council of Singapore (www.nmrc.gov.sg NMRC/0728/2003). Selleck KRX-0401 Abbott Laboratories (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. for supplying the Optium™glucose meter, lancets, and glucose strips for daily monitoring of participants

these blood glucose level. “
“The primary reason for admission to an intensive care unit is the need for mechanical ventilation (Tobin 2001). Weaning from mechanical ventilation often accounts for a large proportion of the total time spent on the ventilator (Esteban et al 1994) and respiratory muscle weakness is a major determinant of failure to wean (Ambrosino 2005). Failure to wean increases the risk of ventilator-associated pneumonia and further respiratory muscle deconditioning (Epstein 2006). With ageing, lung elastic recoil, chest wall compliance, and respiratory muscle strength all decrease, with resultant changes in static lung volumes and regional ventilation (Kim and Sapienza 2005, Krieg et al 2007). Therefore interventions to improve the success of weaning, especially those targeting respiratory muscle strength, may be particularly important in the older population. Inspiratory muscle strength and the index of Tobin are recognised as predictors of the success of weaning patients from mechanical ventilation (Meade et al 2001). Maximal inspiratory pressure is used widely as a test of inspiratory muscle strength (Green et al 2002). The index of Tobin is the ratio of respiratory frequency to tidal volume (Yang and Tobin 1991); it therefore quantifies the degree to which the breathing pattern is fast and shallow.

Most physicians agreed on the importance of evidence-based guidel

Most physicians agreed on the importance of evidence-based guidelines, genetic counseling, and the ethical, legal and social implications of predictive genetic testing. A total of 23.8% of physicians showed a positive attitude in at least 70% of the questions, and this dichotomization was arbitrarily used to identify predictors of a positive attitude. Significant predictors of positive attitudes included the following: (a) exposure to cancer genetic tests during

graduate training and attendance at postgraduate training courses in epidemiology and EBM, Antidiabetic Compound Library manufacturer and (b) no patient requests for cancer genetic tests in the previous year and presence of genetic testing laboratories in the local area. Female physicians were more likely to show positive attitudes, as were physicians with an adequate knowledge

Alisertib of predictive genetic testing for both breast and colorectal cancers (Model 3 in Table 3). Few physicians in our sample had either referred patients for or ordered predictive genetic testing for breast (10.0%) or colorectal cancer (4.7%) in the previous 2 years. The main determinant of professional use was the patient requests for genetic testing (Models 4 and 5 in Table 3). Other significant determinants included the following: (a) adequate knowledge of the professional use of predictive genetic testing for breast cancer (Model 4 in Table 3), and (b) the number of hours per week dedicated to continuing medical education, the presence of genetic testing laboratories locally, and positive attitudes about the professional use of predictive genetic testing for colorectal cancer (Model 5 in Table 3). It is interesting to note that when ordering or referring patients to predictive genetic testing for cancer for patients, almost all physicians agreed upon the importance of collecting information about the family (99.6%) and personal history of cancer (98.0%)

and else the importance of genetic counseling (91.8%) (data not shown). Approximately 80% of the physicians considered their knowledge of the appropriate use of predictive genetic testing for cancer to be inadequate; almost all of the physicians (94.2%) believed that their knowledge should be improved, and 86.0% believed that specific post-training courses in predictive genetic testing for cancer are needed (data not shown). Most surveys reported in the literature reveal a lack of knowledge regarding predictive genetic testing for cancer among physicians (Acton et al., 2000, Batra et al., 2002, Bellcross et al., 2011, Escher and Sappino, 2000, Klitzman et al., 2012, Nippert et al., 2011, Pichert et al., 2003, Wideroff et al., 2005 and Wilkins-Haug et al., 2000).

, 2013) Furthermore the viscoelastic properties of NFC resemble

, 2013). Furthermore the viscoelastic properties of NFC resemble the physiological Z VAD FMK properties of extracellular matrices (Bhattacharya et al., 2012 and Miron-Mendoza et

al., 2010). The NFC aqueous suspensions behave as 1-compartmental hydrogels with pseudoplastic and thixotropic properties (Pääkkö et al., 2007). Pseudoplasticity induces a shear thinning effect which reduces viscosity with increased shear stress. Shear thinning therefore enables NFC hydrogels to be easily injected (Bhattacharya et al., 2012) as the extruding force of the syringe is enough to change NFC flow properties to lower the viscosity. While in static conditions, NFC retains higher viscosity due to the rearrangement of the fibers, which reverts the shear thinning effect. As an injectable hydrogel, NFC is able to deliver cells or therapeutic agents (e.g. proteins or peptides) into easily accessible target sites, such as under the skin. Additionally NFC hydrogels are biocompatible, non-toxic, and structurally

durable (Märtson et al., 1999 and Vartiainen et al., 2011). As a plant derived material, the NFC hydrogels are obtained from a non-animal and non-human source, being Paclitaxel cell line thus xeno-free. Additionally, cellulose based materials offer a broad modification capacity (Klemm et al., 2011), which is advantageous when designing new biomaterials. Currently, in biomedical and -pharmaceutical research, the hydrogels under investigation for the potential use of controlled release matrices can prove to be problematic in terms of gel activation properties (Hennink and van Nostrum, 2002), especially with injectable hydrogels. The need for an external source of activation presents additional complications and toxicity as crosslinking agents often used are potentially toxic compounds (Van Tomme et al., 2008), that need to be extracted from the gels before usage. This could prove to be difficult in the case of parenteral delivery,

such as subcutaneous injections. Furthermore, the crosslinkers may react with the imbedded drug compounds within the hydrogel, which whatever may result to unwanted consequences or ineffective treatment. NFC overcomes this obstacle, as there is no need for activation methods such as the use of UV irradiation or chemical crosslinking due to the pseudoplasticity of the material. After administration (e.g. subcutaneous injection), NFC “gels” spontaneously, as the fibers rearrange to form a viscous gel; therefore avoiding all the complications with removing the crosslinking agents, potential toxicity or interactions between the crosslinking agents and the drug compounds in use. The aim of this study was to investigate the properties of plant-derived NFC hydrogel as an injectable platform or “implant” for drug release, in addition to examine the utility of SPECT/CT imaging to illustrate the behavior of hydrogels in vivo.

2 and 7 Therefore, the anti-inflammatory activity of the naturall

2 and 7 The (R)-configuration was established for all of these compounds. 2 and 7 Therefore, the anti-inflammatory activity of the naturally occurring (R)-5 enantiomer is known, but the activity of the (S)-5 enantiomer and racemate is unknown. A study of the anti-inflammatory activity of both the enantiomers could provide an answer to the

question whether nature truly provides the best therapeutic options. All reagents were obtained from Aldrich chemicals suppliers and solvents were obtained from a commercial supplier and used without further purification. All reaction mixtures were magnetically stirred INCB28060 purchase and monitored by TLC using Kieselgel 60 F254 obtained from Merck (Darmstadt, Germany). 1H and 13C NMR spectra were recorded on a Bruker AVANCE

III at 400 MHz with CDCl3 as internal reference. The value for chemical shift (δ) is given in ppm and coupling constants (J) in Hertz (Hz). Melting points were recorded with a Mel-Temp melting point apparatus in open capillaries and are uncorrected. Optical rotations were measured at room temperature in chloroform using a Perkin Elmer Polarimeter-Model 341. High-resolution mass spectroscopy (HRMS) data was recorded on a Waters Micromass Q-Tof Micro mass spectrometer with a lock Buparlisib in vitro spray source. Synthetic procedure, 1H and 13C NMR data were previously reported8; mass m/z = 227 (M + 1)+. Rf = 0.24 on silicagel with ethyl acetate/hexane (30:70). Synthetic procedure, 1H and 13C NMR data were previously reported8; mass m/z = 209 (M + 1)+. Rf = 0.54 on silicagel with ethyl acetate/hexane (30:70). Synthetic procedure, 1H and 13C NMR data were previously reported.8 HRMS calcd for C18H17O4 [M + H]+ 297.1049, found 297.1121; Rf = 0.58 on silicagel with ethyl acetate/hexane (30:70).

To a solution of 5,7-dimethoxy-3-(4′-hydroxybenzylidene)-4-chromanone (1.0 g, 3.2 mmol) in a mixture of anhydrous MeOH/THF (1:1, 20 ml) at a temperature of 0 °C, Pd/c (0.4 g, 3.8 mmol) was added portion wise. H2 gas was passed through the stirred mixture at room temperature for 0.5 h after which it was filtered through celite and concentrated under reduced pressure. The residue obtained after evaporation of the solvent was chromatographed CYTH4 over a silicagel column using mixture of ethyl acetate/hexane (20:80) as eluent to produce the homoisoflavanone (R,S)-5. Yield 68%; Rf = 0.43 (20:80 ethyl acetate/hexane); mp 174–176 °C; light yellow powder; 1H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl3) δ: 2.65 (1H, dd, J = 10.4, 13.5 Hz, H-9a), 2.68–2.70 (1H, m, H-3), 3.15 (1H, dd, J = 4.1, 13.4 Hz, H-9b), 3.81 (3H, s, Ar-OCH3-7), 3.86 (3H, s, Ar–OCH3-5), 4.12 (1H, dd, J = 4.2, 7.0 Hz, H-2a), 4.27 (1H, dd, J = 3.9, 11.2 Hz, H-2b), 6.06 (1H, s, H-8), 6.07 (1H, s, H-6), 6.80 (2H, d, J = 8.4 Hz, H-2′,6′), 7.07 (2H, d, J = 8.4 Hz, H-3′,5′); 13C NMR (100 MHz, CDCl3) 32.1 (CH2, C-9), 48.6 (CH, C-3), 55.0 (OCH3, C-7), 55.8 (OCH3, C-5), 68.8 (CH2, C-2), 92.8 (CH, C-8), 93.2 (CH, C-6), 130.2 (CH, C-2′,6′), 105.4 (C, C-4a), 115.

The measles vaccine M-VAC™ (Serum Institute of India) includes tr

The measles vaccine M-VAC™ (Serum Institute of India) includes tricine, amino acids (alanine, arginine, histidine), and stabilizers Afatinib clinical trial (lactalbumin hydrolysate, hydrolyzed gelatin) [26]. Measles virus encoding enhanced green fluorescent protein [27] (MVeGFP) was grown by infecting a 50% confluent monolayer of Vero cells (CCL-81, ATCC) in 100 mm cell culture plates (Corning) at a 0.015 multiplicity of infection in OptiMEM (GIBCO). After 1-h incubation at 37 °C/5% CO2, OptiMEM containing 2% fetal bovine serum (FBS, GIBCO) was added

to the inoculated cells. Cells were further incubated at 37 °C/5% CO2 until 90–100% of cells exhibited cytopathic effect. To harvest virus, infected cells were scraped from plates, and excess growth medium was removed following low speed centrifugation (300 × g). Cell pellets were resuspended in 2 ml of OptiMEM, freeze-thawed, and centrifuged. Resulting supernatant containing virus was titered using the assay described in Section 2.3, aliquoted, and stored at −80 °C. To expand stocks of Moraten and Edmonston-Zagreb viruses from Attenuvax® and

M-VAC™ vaccines (respectively), lyophilized vaccines were reconstituted, serially diluted into serum-free DMEM (GIBCO), and added to Vero (Moraten) or MRC-5 (Edmonston-Zagreb) cells (CCL-171, ATCC) and then processed as described for MVeGFP. Vero cells were seeded at 2 × 104 cells/well in DMEM containing 5% FBS on 96-well ViewPlates CX-5461 in vivo (Perkin Elmer). Following a 1 h room temperature incubation [28], cell plates were incubated overnight at 37 °C/5% CO2. Virus was diluted 1:9 into formulation and thermally challenged.

After further diluting 1:3 into OptiMEM, samples were added to cells (25 μL) and centrifuged at low speed (311 × g) Tolmetin for 10 min. Assay plates were incubated at 37 °C/5% CO2 for 80 min to allow viral adsorption to cells. Fusion inhibitory protein (FIP, Z-d-Phe-Phe-Gly-OH, Bachem), dissolved in DMSO and diluted to a final concentration of 155 μM in OptiMEM containing 2% FBS/1% penicillin–streptomycin (GIBCO), was then added to wells (75 μL) to prevent syncytia formation and secondary infection. After 30 h at 37 °C/5% CO2, cells were fixed with 4% paraformaldehyde (EMS). Images were captured with a Cellomics VTi Arrayscan using a FITC filter and 2.5× objective lens ( Fig. 1). Infectious units (‘IU’) denote the titer of virus determined from the fluorescence-based assay as opposed to plaque-forming unit (pfu) titer measured by plaque assay. The complete HT formulation procedure will be described elsewhere (Development of an integrated high throughput system for identifying formulations of live virus vaccines with greater thermostability: application to the monovalent measles vaccine; manuscript in preparation). In brief, in-house Design of Experiment software created screening protocols. After 1.

This continual within and among-host evolution is likely to occas

This continual within and among-host evolution is likely to occasionally generate variants that are more likely to cause disease; however, mostly these are maladaptive and will not spread beyond the host in which they arise. One body of theory suggests that it is only mildly pathogenic variants that spread to cause large outbreaks, as they incur only a small cost for their pathogenicity [21]. In any case, it is likely: (i) that particular cell components have ambiguous rolls, promoting asymptomatic

transmission but also increasing the likelihood Nutlin-3a ic50 of causing disease; and, (ii) that different circulating genotypes are a consequence of evolutionary forces that act to balance transmission efficiency against their likelihood

to cause invasive disease [22]. In common with the great majority of bacteria that inhabit Duvelisib research buy the nasopharynx, most meningococci present no risk to human health – a substantial proportion of meningococci possess no capsular locus [23], and only six of the 12 capsular serogroups are associated with disease, with five of these, serogroups A, B C, W and Y, responsible for most cases of invasive disease [24]. Multiple distinct genotypes exist which can be identified by multilocus sequence typing (MLST) as sequence types, which can be grouped into clonal complexes [25]. These are stable over decades and during global spread, but only a small number of them – the so-called ‘hyperinvasive lineages’ – cause most invasive disease [16]. The genetic factors responsible for the hyperinvasive phenotype are incompletely understood: although virtually all invasive meningococcal isolates have a polysaccharide capsule, and a number of other genes and gene products have been implicated in invasion [15]. The role of most of these is much more ambiguous, as none are found in all invasive meningococci, and many are shared with less invasive meningococci and other members of the genus Neisseria that do not cause invasive infections [26], [27] and [28].

The meningococcus thus represents a common member of the Linifanib (ABT-869) microbiota of the human nasopharynx which rarely causes disease. Even in the case of the hyperinvasive meningococci, most episodes of carriage are asymptomatic [29]. It is likely that carriage of these organisms has some benefit to the host, even if this is only preventing other more pathogenic bacteria occupying the same niche. Carriage of the close relative of the meningococcus, the acapsulate Neisseria lactamica, for example, is very common in infants but invasive disease cause by this bacterium is extraordinarily rare [30]. Almost certainly the carriage of these organisms results in the development of an immune response and, as individuals age, they acquire immunity against invasion from carriage [31].

In the case of significant statistical heterogeneity (I2 > 50%),

In the case of significant statistical heterogeneity (I2 > 50%), a random effects model was applied to check the robustness of the results. Post-hoc sensitivity analysis was performed if there was significant statistical heterogeneity. The analyses were performed using The MIX-Meta-Analysis Made Easy program27 Version 1.7.9 and 10 Where data were not available to be included in the pooled analysis, the between-group result was reported. For all outcome measures, the critical value for rejecting H0 was set at a level of 0.05 (2-tailed). The electronic search strategy identified 6796 papers (excluding duplicates). After screening titles, abstracts and reference lists, 64 potentially

relevant full papers were retrieved. Forty-eight papers failed to meet the inclusion

criteria; Pazopanib ic50 selleck chemicals therefore 16 papers were included in this systematic review. One of the papers reported a trial with three arms (cyclical electrical stimulation group, no-intervention group and alternative strengthening intervention group). Therefore, 17 relevant comparisons were reported among the 16 included trials. Figure 1 presents the flow of papers through the review. See Appendix 2 on the eAddenda for a summary of the excluded papers. The 16 trials involved 638 participants and investigated the efficacy of electrical stimulation for increasing muscle strength after stroke. Details of the individual trials are presented in Table 1. Thirteen trials compared electrical stimulation with nothing/placebo, providing data to answer the first aminophylline study question.8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20,

21 and 22 Three trials compared electrical stimulation with other strengthening interventions, providing data to answer the second study question.16, 23 and 24 One trial25 compared different doses/modes of electrical stimulation (ie, the third study question). Additional information was obtained from the authors for four papers.8, 11, 18 and 21 The mean PEDro score of the papers was 5 (range 2 to 7) (Table 2). The majority of trials: randomly allocated participants (88%); had similar groups at baseline (75%); had blinded assessors (56%); reported loss to follow-up of 15% or less (69%); reported between-group differences (81%); and reported point estimate and variability (94%). However, the majority of trials did not report that they concealed allocation (81%) or carried out an intention-to-treat analysis (88%). All trials, except one, did not blind therapists and participants, which is difficult for this intervention involving near maximum muscle contraction. The mean age of participants ranged from 52 to 75 years old. In the trials of sub-acute participants, the mean time after stroke ranged from 1 week to 6 months (nine trials), whereas in trials of chronic participants it ranged from 2 to 5 years (seven trials) including additional information from the authors for two trials.