Isolation of plasmid DNA from Escherichia coli is a daily activity in many molecular biology laboratories. A number of protocols and media recipes have been reported in an effort to make this process more efficient. Here we describe a growth medium that supports much higher E. coli cell densities and, concomitantly, a much higher yield of plasmid than previously reported for small-scale applica...

In this study, we aimed to identify which of certain demographic and socio-economic groups in the oldest part of the population that have an increased probability of experiencing simultaneous disadvantages in different life domains - here termed coexisting disadvantages. To do so, we compared analyses of coexisting disadvantages, measured as two or more simultaneous disadvantages, with analyses...

BACKGROUND Physicians have a unique role in teaching future physicians and allied health professionals. Yet, most medical doctors have limited instruction in this critical component of their daily activity. METHODS This study was a prospective cohort study of the effectiveness of a local teaching program at two teaching hospitals for junior faculty. Based on a needs analysis and literature re...

It is generally assumed that favourable weather conditions determine the activity levels of lizards, because of their temperature-dependent behavioural performance. Inactivity, however, might have a selective advantage over activity, as it could increase survival by reducing exposure to predators. Consequently, the effects of weather conditions on the activity patterns of lizards should be stro...

INTRODUCTION Human body acceleration is often used as an indicator of daily physical activity in epidemiological research. Raw acceleration signals contain three basic components: movement, gravity, and noise. Separation of these becomes increasingly difficult during rotational movements. We aimed to evaluate five different methods (metrics) of processing acceleration signals on their ability t...

The canine knee is morphologically similar to the human knee and thus dogs have been used in experimental models to study human knee pathology. To date, there is limited data of normal canine 3D knee kinematics during daily activities. The objective of this study was to characterize 3D in-vivo femorotibial kinematics in normal dogs during commonly performed daily activities. Using single-plane ...

BACKGROUND Measures reflecting occupational therapy's conceptualization of occupational performance support the profession's contribution to evidence-based practice and fiscal accountability. PURPOSE This study compared measures of performance-based activities of daily living (ADL) with principles of occupational therapy practice and intended outcomes. METHODS Using an action research study...

This evidence-based review examined the evidence supporting the use of occupation-based interventions to improve areas of occupation and social participation poststroke. A total of 39 studies met the inclusion criteria and were critically evaluated. Most of the literature targeted activity of daily living (ADL)-based interventions and collectively provided strong evidence for the use of occupat...

BACKGROUND Failing to assess elderly patients for functional decline at the time around a minor injury may result in adverse health outcomes. This study was conducted to define what constitutes clinically significant functional decline and the sensitivity required for a clinical decision instrument to identify such functional decline after an injury in previously independent elderly patients. ...

We studied the relationship between happiness and individual socio-demographic context and health and dietary variables by interviewing 389 elderly individuals (age 60-90 years) living in rural areas in the Maule Region of Central Chile. The Lyubomirsky & Lepper (1999) subjective happiness scale was used. Ordinal logistic regression models were estimated. The discrete dependent variable was lev...