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PubMed1995

Ambulatory oxygen therapy in stable kyphoscoliosis.

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) may benefit from ambulatory oxygen; however, the effect of exercise on arterial oxygen saturation (Sa,O2) in patients with kyphoscoliosis and of correction with ambulatory oxygen have not been previously reported. Twelve patients with stable kyphoscoliosis (mean (SD) Cobb angle 79 (26) degrees) were studied, with mean (SD) arterial oxygen tension (Pa,O2) 8.96 (0.93) kPa, arterial carbon dioxide tension (Pa,CO2) 6.52 (0.66), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) 0.90 (0.15) L, forced vital capacity (FVC) 1.34 (0.46) L. Six-minute walking tests with oximetry and visual analogue scores (VAS) for breathlessness were performed on air (baseline), and with cylinders containing air and oxygen at 2 L-min-1. Cylinder walks were in random order, with patients blinded to cylinder content. Patients showed oxygen desaturation at each stage of the study. At baseline, oxygen desaturation during exercise was correlated with deterioration in VAS breathlessness scores. Ambulatory oxygen produced significant improvements in desaturation, breathlessness scores and recovery time compared to baseline and air cylinder walks. There was no relationship between baseline desaturation and changes in walking distance. Although exercise desaturation, breathlessness and recovery times were significantly improved with ambulatory oxygen at 2 L.min-1, walking distance was unaffected. We conclude that patients with moderate to severe kyphoscoliosis have significant oxygen desaturation on exercise and should thus routinely receive oximetry on exercise and assessment for ambulatory oxygen therapy.

Dyspnea↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Shuttle walking test and 6-minute walking test induce a similar cardiorespiratory performance in patients recovering from an acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

BACKGROUND: The incremental shuttle walking test (SWT) has recently been proposed as a more valid and reproducible alternative to the conventional 6-min walking test (6MWT) in the evaluation of exercise tolerance in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). OBJECTIVE: To compare the cardiorespiratory performance obtained during two sessions of SWT with that obtained during two sessions of 6MWT. METHODS: We examined 18 patients (forced expiratory volume in 1 s: 48 +/- 14%) recovering from an acute exacerbation of COPD that had required hospitalization. In the same afternoon, each patient performed two SWT and two 6MWT, with an interval of at least 30 min between each test; the sequence of the tests was randomized. RESULTS: Mean walking distance was greater in the second SWT test than in the first SWT. The changes from baseline in systolic blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation and dyspnea Borg index at the end of the test were similar between the two 6MWT and the two SWT. There was a highly significant correlation between walking distances measured during SWT and during 6MWT (rho: 0.85, p < 0.0005). Neither SWT nor 6MWT correlated with functional data of COPD. CONCLUSIONS: SWT, though being considered to be closer to a submaximal exercise test than 6MWT, does not induce a greater cardiorespiratory performance than 6MWT in patients recovering from acute exacerbation of COPD.

Acute Disease↗

PubMed2005

Anderson localization of solitons in optical lattices with random frequency modulation.

We report on the phenomenon of Anderson-type localization of walking solitons in optical lattices with random frequency modulation, manifested as dramatic enhancement of soliton trapping probability on lattice inhomogeneities with the growth of the frequency fluctuation level. The localization process is strongly sensitive to the lattice depth since in shallow lattices walking solitons experience random refraction and/or multiple scattering in contrast to relatively deep lattices, where solitons are typically immobilized in the vicinity of local minimums of modulation frequency.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2003

Walk test at increased levels of heart rate in patients with dual-chamber pacemaker and with normal or depressed left ventricular function.

BACKGROUND: This study focuses the role of heart rate on cardiac output (CO) at rest and during walk test in patients with dual-chamber pacemaker and depressed or normal left ventricular (LV) function. METHODS AND RESULTS: In nine patients with ejection fraction (EF) <50% (group A) and in seven with EF 50% (group B) haemodynamics were assessed at rest and during three randomized 6-min walk tests at fixed rate of 70, 90, and 110beats.min(-1). All patients had dual-chamber pacemaker implanted for complete heart block. Left ventricular function was monitored by a radionuclide system. In group A, with increasing pacing-rate from 70 to 110beats.min(-1), CO did not change both at rest and during walk, whereas end-systolic volume (ESV) increased (P<0.05) and stroke volume (SV) decreased from 68+/-6 to 47+/-9ml at rest (P<0.0001) and from 112+/-21 to 76+/-17ml during walk (P<0.005). In group B, with increasing pacing-rate, CO rose from 6.4+/-0.7 to 9.1+/-1.6l.min(-1)at rest (P<0.001) and from 10+/-1.5 to 14.1+/-2.2l.min(-1)during walk (P<0.0001), with no change in ESV and SV. CONCLUSIONS: Increasing heart rate in presence of ventricular asynchrony induced by dual-chamber pacing has negative effect on cardiac contractility and does not improve CO at rest or during physical activity in patients with depressed LV function as occurs in those with normal function.

Aged↗

PubMed1996

A randomized trial to improve follow-up care in severe uncontrolled hypertensives at an inner-city walk-in clinic.

A single-blinded, randomized trial was conducted to determine whether a mailed postcard improved follow-up in uncontrolled hypertensives. One hundred and seven patients with a systolic blood pressure (BP) of 180 or more or a diastolic blood pressure of 110 or more at an inner-city, hospital-based walk-in clinic were enrolled; mean age was 56 years, 95 percent were African American, 73 percent were female, and mean BP was 193/106. Patients were required to be aware of their diagnosis and to have been informed of their need for medication at least a month before the trial. Of those who received postcard reminders, 45 percent followed up within 10 days, compared with 47 percent of controls (p = 0.93). At 30 days, 64 percent of the intervention group followed up, compared with 55 percent of controls (p = 0.36). In an adjusted logistic regression model, there was no difference in follow-up. Correlates of appointment noncompliance at one month included alcoholism and lack of insurance in an adjusted logistic regression model. Follow-up in severe hypertensives was poor, and a mailed postcard reminder had no effect in a walk-in setting.

Female↗

PubMed2006

Nordic walking and chronic low back pain: design of a randomized clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: Low Back Pain is a major public health problem all over the western world. Active approaches including exercise in the treatment of low back pain results in better outcomes for patients, but it is not known exactly which types of back exercises are most beneficial or whether general physical activity provide similar benefits. Nordic Walking is a popular and fast growing type of exercise in Northern Europe. Initial studies have demonstrated that persons performing Nordic Walking are able to exercise longer and harder compared to normal walking thereby increasing their cardiovascular metabolism. Until now no studies have been performed to investigate whether Nordic Walking has beneficial effects in relation to low back pain. The primary aim of this study is to investigate whether supervised Nordic Walking can reduce pain and improve function in a population of chronic low back pain patients when compared to unsupervised Nordic Walking and advice to stay active. In addition we investigate whether there is an increase in the cardiovascular metabolism in persons performing supervised Nordic Walking compared to persons who are advised to stay active. Finally, we investigate whether there is a difference in compliance between persons receiving supervised Nordic Walking and persons doing unsupervised Nordic Walking. METHODS: One hundred and fifty patients with low back pain for at least eight weeks and referred to a specialized secondary sector outpatient back pain clinic are included in the study. After completion of the standard back centre treatment patients are randomized into one of three groups: A) Nordic Walking twice a week for eight weeks under supervision of a specially trained instructor; B) Unsupervised Nordic Walking for eight weeks after one training session with an instructor; C) A one hour motivational talk including advice to stay active. Outcome measures are pain, function, overall health, cardiovascular ability and activity level. RESULTS: No results available at this point. DISCUSSION: This study will investigate the effect of Nordic Walking on pain and function in a population of people with chronic LBP.

Chronic Disease↗

PubMed1998

Symptoms of spinal stenosis do not improve after epidural steroid injection.

OBJECTIVE: This study was carried out to evaluate the therapeutic effect of epidural steroid injection on pseudoclaudication in patients with lumbar degenerative spinal canal stenosis. DESIGN: Fifty-three patients who complained of pseudoclaudication of less than 20 m in walking distance were randomly divided into three groups. Group 1 (n = 16) underwent epidural injection with 8 ml of saline. Group 2 (n = 18) underwent epidural block with 8 ml of 1% mepivacaine. Group 3 (n = 19) underwent epidural block with a combination of 8 ml of 1% mepivacaine and 40 mg of methylprednisolone. The criteria of evaluation were as follows: excellent effect, > 100 m in walking distance; good effect, 20-100 m in walking distance; poor effect, <20 m in walking distance. RESULTS: In group 1, the numbers of patients who showed a good effect were two (12.5%) after 1 week, one (6.5%) after 1 month, and one (6.5%) after 3 months. In group 2, the numbers of patients who showed a good or excellent result were 10 (55.5%) after 1 week, three (16.7%) after 1 month, and one (5.6%) after 3 months. In group 3, the numbers of patients who showed a good or excellent result were 12 (63.2%) after 1 week, three (15.8%) after 1 month, and one (5.3%) after 3 months. There was no significant difference in the effectiveness of treatment between group 2 and group 3 throughout the time course. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that epidural steroid injection has no beneficial effect on the pseudoclaudication associated with spinal canal stenosis as compared with epidural block with a local anesthetic alone.

Aged↗

PubMed1993

Physical activity and immune function in elderly women.

The relationship between cardiorespiratory exercise, immune function, and upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) was studied in elderly women utilizing a randomized controlled experimental design with a follow-up of 12 wk. Thirty-two sedentary, elderly Caucasian women, 67-85 yr of age, who met specific selection criteria, were randomized to either a walking or calisthenic group; 30 completed the study. Twelve highly conditioned elderly women, 65-84 yr of age, who were active in endurance competitions, were recruited at baseline for cross-sectional comparisons. Intervention groups exercised 30-40 min, 5 d.wk-1, for 12 wk, with the walking group training at 60% heart rate reserve and the calisthenic group engaging in mild range-of-motion and flexibility movements that kept their heart rates close to resting levels. At baseline, the highly conditioned subjects exhibited superior NK (119 +/- 13 vs 77 +/- 8 lytic units, P < 0.01) and T (33.3 +/- 4.9 vs 21.4 +/- 2.1 cpm x 10(-3) using PHA, P < 0.05) cell function, despite no differences in circulating levels of lymphocyte subpopulations. Twelve weeks of moderate cardiorespiratory exercise improved the VO2max of the sedentary subjects 12.6%, but did not result in any improvement in NK cell activity or T cell function. Incidence of URTI was lowest in the highly conditioned group and highest in the calisthenic control group during the 12-wk study, with the walkers in an intermediate position (chi-square = 6.36, P = 0.042). In conclusion, the highly conditioned elderly women in this study had superior NK and T cell function when compared with their sedentary counterparts.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗

PubMed2004

A task-orientated intervention enhances walking distance and speed in the first year post stroke: a randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of a task-orientated intervention in enhancing competence in walking in people with stroke. DESIGN: Two-centre observer-blinded stratified block-randomized controlled trial. SETTING: General community. SUBJECTS: Between May 2000 and February 2003, 91 individuals with a residual walking deficit within one year of a first or recurrent stroke consented to participate. INTERVENTIONS: The experimental intervention comprised 10 functional tasks designed to strengthen the lower extremities and enhance walking balance, speed and distance. The control intervention involved the practice of upper extremity activities. Subjects in both groups attended sessions three times a week for six weeks. MAIN MEASURES: Six-minute walk test (SMWT), 5-m walk (comfortable and maximum pace), Berg Balance Scale, timed 'up and go'. RESULTS: At baseline, subjects in the experimental (n = 44) and control (n = 47) groups walked an average distance of 209 m (SD = 126) and 204 m (SD =131), respectively, on the SMWT. Mean improvements of 40 m (SD =72), and 5 m (SD =66) were observed following the experimental and control interventions, respectively. The between-group difference was 35 m (95% confidence interval (CI) 7, 64). Significant between-group effects of 0.21 m/s (95% CI 0.12, 0.30) and of 0.11 m/s (95% CI 0.03, 0.19) in maximum and comfortable walking speed, respectively, were observed. People with a mild, moderate or severe walking deficit at baseline improved an average of 36 (SD =96), 55 (SD = 56) and 18 m (SD = 23), respectively, in SMWT performance following the experimental intervention. CONCLUSIONS: Study findings support the efficacy of a task-orientated intervention in enhancing walking distance and speed in the first year post stroke, particularly in people with moderate walking deficits.

Adult↗

PubMed2026

A Web-Based, Pedometer-Mediated Intervention Increases Amount and Intensity of Physical Activity in COPD: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

INTRODUCTION: Ground-based walking training is an aerobic exercise used in supervised pulmonary rehabilitation (PR). Physical activity (PA) interventions typically promote step counts, but it is unclear whether community-based walking intensity can be targeted as aerobic exercise. This randomized controlled trial evaluated a web-based, pedometer-mediated PA intervention designed to increase walking amount and intensity. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Participants with COPD who had never enrolled in PR were randomized 1:1 to control or intervention. The intervention included individualized step-count goals, iterative feedback, educational content, and an online community forum. The Fitbit Inspire Heart Rate objectively monitored daily step counts. Participants were instructed to achieve step-count goals with as many steps of moderate-intensity as possible guided by a modified Borg rating of 4-5 for dyspnea. The primary outcome was change in PA measured as average daily step count at 12 weeks. Aerobic intensity was assessed by the Rapid Assessment of PA Questionnaire which uses self-reported moderate or vigorous PA to categorize responders as underactive or active. Linear mixed-effects models (PROC MIXED, SAS v9.4), adjusting for group, time, group*time, FEV1%predicted, enrollment season, and study modality (eg, in-person, virtual, hybrid), assessed between-group change. RESULTS: Participants (57 intervention, 52 control) were 97% male, mean age 73±7 years, and baseline FEV1 73±23% predicted. Baseline daily steps were 4,222±1,929 (intervention) and 4,851±2,637 (control). Intervention participants increased average daily steps by 1,410 steps/day more than controls (p=0.005). The intervention group showed greater transitions from underactive to active intensity (between-group: p=0.025), with 20 (41%) moving to active status (within-group: p=0.001). CONCLUSION: Technology-mediated community-based walking increased PA amount and intensity. These findings support further evaluation of this intervention as a potential option for ground-based walking training with objective measurement of exercise intensity.

Humans↗

PubMed1997

Paradoxical effects of acute ethanolism in experimental brain injury.

Acute ethanol intoxication is a frequent complicating factor in human head injury, yet its impact on neurological outcome remains poorly defined. This study was undertaken to assess the effect of varying levels of preinjury ethanol on early postinjury mortality, recovery of motor function, and degree of neural degeneration after cortical contusion injury in the rat. Adult rats were pretrained on a beam-walking task, then randomized to one of five groups: low-dose ethanol and injury (1 g/kg, 16 animals); moderate-dose ethanol and injury (2.5 g/kg, 11 animals); high-dose ethanol and injury (3 g/kg, 17 animals); no ethanol and injury (nine animals); or ethanol and sham injury (seven animals). Forty minutes after intraperitoneal injection of ethanol or saline, the rats received a pneumatic piston-induced contusion injury of the left primary motor cortex. Their beam-walking ability was assessed daily for the next 7 days. At 4 weeks postinjury, the brains were sectioned and the dimensions of the cortical lesions were determined. Preinjury ethanol administration was associated with an acute postinjury mortality rate of 29.5% (p < 0.05); the highest mortality rate (47.1%) occurred in the high-dose ethanol group, whereas no deaths occurred in the animals in the no ethanol or sham-injured groups (p < 0.01). However, injured animals receiving low- and moderate-dose ethanol had significantly less severe beam-walking impairment initially, and a more rapid return to normal beam-walking ability, compared to the no and high-dose ethanol groups (p < 0.05). Additionally, the mean lesion volumes were significantly smaller in the low- and moderate-dose ethanol treatment groups compared to the no and high-dose ethanol groups (23.2 +/- 8 mm3 and 29 +/- 6.7 mm3 vs. 52 +/- 8.8 mm3 and 53.7 +/- 10.9 mm3, respectively, p < 0.01). In this cortical contusion model, the presence of ethanol before injury appears to exert a potent neuroprotective effect when administered in low or moderate doses. This action is postulated to result from ethanol-induced inhibition of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor-mediated excitotoxicity. The loss of neuroprotection and increased mortality rates observed with high-dose ethanol may be related to ethanol-induced hemodynamic and respiratory depression.

Acute Disease↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Pulmonary rehabilitation in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

BACKGROUND: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in India. Drug treatment alone does not optimize therapy. Pulmonary rehabilitation has been found to improve the physical efficiency of COPD patients. Therefore, we evaluated the effect of domiciliary pulmonary rehabilitation programme in patients of COPD. METHODS: Forty patients of stable COPD having severe airflow obstruction were included in the study. They were divided into control and experimental groups randomly. Rehabilitation included walking, breathing exercises, postural drainage, controlled coughing and changes in life style activities. Exercises of 30 minutes duration were performed at home twice daily for four weeks supervision. Six-minute walking distance, forced expiratory volume in one seocond (FEV1) and various indices of chronic respiratory disease questionnaire (CRDQ) were measured in both experimental and control groups before and after completion of the study. RESULTS: In the experimental group, after four weeks, the mean (+/- SD) difference in six-minute walking distance, dyspnoea, mastery, fatigue and emotion scores were 54.2 (26.7) meters, 0.96 (0.26), 0.89 (0.44), 0.90 (0.40) and 0.91 (0.32) respectively. Changes in all these parameters were statistically significant (p < 0.001) as compared to the control group. There was no significant change in FEV1. CONCLUSION: It was concluded that domiciliary pulmonary rehabilitation for four weeks results in significant improvement in the quality of life and exercise tolerance, even without improvement in FEV1.

Aged↗

PubMed2006

Experimental rugged fitness landscape in protein sequence space.

The fitness landscape in sequence space determines the process of biomolecular evolution. To plot the fitness landscape of protein function, we carried out in vitro molecular evolution beginning with a defective fd phage carrying a random polypeptide of 139 amino acids in place of the g3p minor coat protein D2 domain, which is essential for phage infection. After 20 cycles of random substitution at sites 12-130 of the initial random polypeptide and selection for infectivity, the selected phage showed a 1.7x10(4)-fold increase in infectivity, defined as the number of infected cells per ml of phage suspension. Fitness was defined as the logarithm of infectivity, and we analyzed (1) the dependence of stationary fitness on library size, which increased gradually, and (2) the time course of changes in fitness in transitional phases, based on an original theory regarding the evolutionary dynamics in Kauffman's n-k fitness landscape model. In the landscape model, single mutations at single sites among n sites affect the contribution of k other sites to fitness. Based on the results of these analyses, k was estimated to be 18-24. According to the estimated parameters, the landscape was plotted as a smooth surface up to a relative fitness of 0.4 of the global peak, whereas the landscape had a highly rugged surface with many local peaks above this relative fitness value. Based on the landscapes of these two different surfaces, it appears possible for adaptive walks with only random substitutions to climb with relative ease up to the middle region of the fitness landscape from any primordial or random sequence, whereas an enormous range of sequence diversity is required to climb further up the rugged surface above the middle region.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2004

Functional electrical stimulation improves motor recovery of the lower extremity and walking ability of subjects with first acute stroke: a randomized placebo-controlled trial.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The effectiveness of functional electrical stimulation (FES) has been investigated in chronic hemiplegia. The present study examines whether FES, given during acute stroke, was more effective in promoting motor recovery of the lower extremity and walking ability than standard rehabilitation alone. METHODS: Forty-six subjects, 70.9+/-8.0 years old and 9.2+/-4.1 days after stroke, were assigned randomly to 1 of 3 groups receiving standard rehabilitation with FES or placebo stimulation or alone (control). FES was applied 30 minutes and placebo stimulation 60 minutes, 5 days per week for 3 weeks. Outcome measurements included composite spasticity score, maximum isometric voluntary contraction of ankle dorsi-flexors and planter-flexors, and walking ability. They were recorded before treatment, weekly during the 3-week treatment, and at week 8 after stroke. RESULTS: No significant differences were found in the baseline measurements. After 3 weeks of treatment, there was a significant reduction in the percentage of composite spasticity score, and a significant improvement in the ankle dorsiflexion torque, accompanied by an increase in agonist electromyogram and a reduction in electromyogram cocontraction ratio in the FES group, when compared with the other 2 groups (P<0.05). All subjects in the FES group were able to walk after treatment, and 84.6% of them returned home, in comparison with the placebo (53.3%) and control (46.2%, P<0.05) groups. CONCLUSIONS: Fifteen sessions of FES, applied to subjects with acute stroke plus standard rehabilitation, improved their motor and walking ability to the degree that more subjects were able to return to home.

Acute Disease↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Effects of a weight maintenance program with or without exercise on the metabolic syndrome: a randomized trial in obese men.

BACKGROUND: Weight maintenance (WM) after weight reduction (WR) is difficult, but increased physical activity may help. We studied whether adding exercise to diet counseling decreases the occurrence of the metabolic syndrome (MBO). METHODS: Ninety voluntary middle-aged men with a BMI range of 30-40 and a waist girth >100 cm were recruited to the research institute's clinic in 1997. After a very-low-energy diet for 2 months (WR), the men were randomized into a walking, resistance training or control group for 6 months (WM). All groups received similar dietary advice. After WM, there was a 23-month follow-up. Diagnosis of MBO was based on >or= 3 components. RESULTS: After WR, the mean weight loss was 14.2 kg. At the end, the weight decrease was 4.8 kg (n = 68) with no statistically significant difference between the groups. All groups had improved some components (insulin, HDL cholesterol, body composition) of MBO. When the groups were combined, the odds ratio for the occurrence of MBO (vs. baseline) was 0.10 after WR, 0.08 after WM and 0.29 at the end. CONCLUSIONS: Adding structured exercise to diet counseling did not alleviate MBO better than diet only. However, the occurrence of MBO was reduced in all groups at the end.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Intravenously administered immunoglobulin in the treatment of childhood Guillain-Barré syndrome: a randomized trial.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the optimal treatment for childhood Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). METHODS: We performed a randomized, multicenter study of GBS according to international diagnostic criteria. In study 1 (early treatment), children able to walk unaided for 5 meters were randomized for 1 g/kg intravenously administered immunoglobulin (IVIG) over 2 days or no treatment. The primary outcome measure was the degree of disability at nadir. In study 2 (treatment for severe GBS), children unable to walk 5 meters unaided were randomized for 1 g/kg IVIG over 2 days or 0.4 g/kg IVIG over 5 days. The primary outcome measure was the number of days needed to regain the ability to walk unaided. Children randomized for no treatment in study 1 could enter study 2 if loss of unaided walking occurred. RESULTS: Ninety-five children with GBS were registered in 40 months. Twenty-one children were randomized in study 1 and 51 in study 2 (5 after deterioration in study 1). Twenty-eight children were not randomized for various reasons. Eleven of 21 patients in study 1 lost the ability to walk unassisted and 6 were bedridden, with no statistically significant difference between the children initially randomized for treatment versus no treatment. Recovery occurred faster in the group randomized for early treatment. In study 2, recovery did not differ significantly between the children treated for 2 days versus 5 days (median time to unaided walking: 19 days vs 13 days). Secondary transient deterioration in the disability score occurred more frequently in the group with the 2-day regimen than in the group treated for 5 days (5 of 23 patients vs 0 of 23 patients). Multivariate analysis with Cox regression showed that disease severity at the nadir was the only prognostic factor for recovery. CONCLUSIONS: Treatment with IVIG before loss of unaided walking did not give rise to a less severe course, but recovery occurred somewhat faster. However, given the small number of patients, the power of this conclusion is low. For treatment after loss of unaided walking, there was no significant difference in the effectiveness of 2 g/kg IVIG administered over 2 days versus 5 days. Early "relapses" occurred more frequently after the shorter treatment regimen.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

Scaling behavior of random knots.

Using numerical simulations we investigate how overall dimensions of random knots scale with their length. We demonstrate that when closed non-self-avoiding random trajectories are divided into groups consisting of individual knot types, then each such group shows the scaling exponent of approximately 0.588 that is typical for self-avoiding walks. However, when all generated knots are grouped together, their scaling exponent becomes equal to 0.5 (as in non-self-avoiding random walks). We explain here this apparent paradox. We introduce the notion of the equilibrium length of individual types of knots and show its correlation with the length of ideal geometric representations of knots. We also demonstrate that overall dimensions of random knots with a given chain length follow the same order as dimensions of ideal geometric representations of knots.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1998

The effect of exercises on walking distance of patients with intermittent claudication: a study of randomized clinical trials.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: There is no consensus about the indication for exercises for patients with intermittent claudication of the lower extremity and the characteristics of an exercise program to improve walking distance. The effect of walking is assessed by a systematic review of randomized clinical trials. METHODS: Literature databases were accessed using the relevant key words. The references of identified articles were screened for additional studies. A checklist was developed to screen the studies with respect to the variables of interest. A methodological assessment form was developed to assess the methodological quality of the studies (maximum possible score: 100). RESULTS: Eighty-two articles were identified, of which 21 studies were considered relevant for inclusion in the review. Following the analysis of the articles, 11 studies were for various reasons eliminated, leaving 10 studies for the systematic review. The score for methodological quality of the studies ranged from 47 to 75 (mean = 62.5, SD = 8.5). Percentage of improvement in walking distance or time ranged from 28% to 210% (mean = 105%, SD = 55.8%). CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION: All studies showed that walking exercises improved walking distance in patients with intermittent claudication. Further research is needed to determine the optimal exercise program, the effect of adherence to the treatment protocol, and the duration of the effects following a formal exercise program.

Exercise Therapy↗