THE EFFECTS OF A PRAGMATIC SET OF INTERVENTIONS ON THE SHOULDER RANGE OF MOTION IN MALES AND FEMALES WITH SHOULDER PAIN: A CLINICAL TRIAL

Background and Aim: The effects of novel set of interventions are known but their effects with respect to gender are not known. This study aim to determine the effects of novel set of interventions on shoulder range of motion in males and females with shoulder pathology. Methodology: This study was of quasive experimental design. Thirty subjects of mean age (±SD) of 43. 23±10 years with shoulder pathology and restricted ROM were recruited. The major criteria for recruitment were 18-60 years of age. The general contraindications of manual therapy were the exclusion criteria. Shoulder functional movement and range of motion were the outcome measures.  Results: The mean % (SD) change for RUBB was 15.04±11.57for males and  14.49±10.44 for males. The change for RDBN was also significant (<0.00) from baseline and the % change in mean was 14.93±11.0 for males and 12.60±9.06 for females. The changes were well above the highly clinical meaningful difference (>0.8). It is further observed that the differences in gender were non-significant (P>0.05). Conclusion: The pragmatic set of interventions affect both the genders equally and improve shoulder range of motion and functional movements.  However, the results must be interpreted cautiously because of the inadequate sample size.

Isolation and Identification of Polyhydroxy Alkanoates Accumulating Bacteria from Sugar-Cane Industry Waste

Polyhydroalkanoates (PHAs) are polyesters that are synthesized by different microorganism and stored as granules in microbes. They are used as a food under starvation. Studies have shown that physical properties of different PHAs resemble significantly to the petroleum based plastics and polyethylene. Additionally, microbial PHAs can be spun, mould and converted into filaments. On the other hand, PHAs are biodegradable material. Such promising features make PHAs as a potential candidate for next generation plastic as it will reduce the pollution caused by the petroleum based plastics. However, PHAs are costly as compared to the different petroleum based plastics. Therefore, researchers are trying to identify new microbes that may produce high amount of PHAs from waste carbon sources. They can accumulate high concentration of PHAs. During the crushing season sugar industries are producing tones of organic waste, specifically they are draining a considerable amount of sugar in canals. This can be a source of food for different types of bacteria, specifically for PHA accumulating bacteria. In this study, different PHAs accumulating bacteria were identified from the swage of sugar industry waste. Five soil and sewage samples were collected and stored at room temperature. For isolation and identification of PHAs accumulating bacteria, Samples were allowed to grow on LB agar medium plates supplemented with 1% Nile blue A. Different concentrations of Nile blue A were used for different incubation periods and colonies were screened. All these colonies were observed under ultraviolet light; PHAs accumulating bacteria were showed bright orange color inflorescence while non PHAs accumulating bacteria appeared white. The PHAs accumulating bacteria were selected and then amplified for 16S rRNA gene sequencing through PCR. In this study we have identified five PHAs accumulating bacteria from the waste of sugarcane industry by using the chemical and sequence analysis. These bacteria can be used for the laboratory and large scale production of different types of PHAs.