The putative Ca(2+)-channel blocker LaCl3 prevented the gravitropic bending of cut snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus L.) spikes (S. Philosoph-Hadas, S. Meir, I. Rosenberger, A.H. Halevy [1996] Plant Physiol 110: 301-310) and inhibited stem curvature to a greater extent than vertical and horizontal stem elongation at the bending zone. This might indicate that LaCl3, which modulates cytosolic Ca2+, d...

Snakes are excellent subjects for studying functional versatility and potential constraints because their movements are constrained to vertebral bending and twisting. In many snakes, swallowing is a kind of inside-out locomotion. During swallowing, vertebral bends push food from the jaws along a substantial length of the body to the stomach. In gopher snakes (Pituophis melanoleucus) and king sn...

We describe a modified fulcrum design to overcome limitations of a traditional fulcrum. The modified fulcrum is a triangular prism-shaped foam with rounded and padded edges. The 3 faces of the fulcrum represent 3 different heights (17.0 cm, 17.5 cm, and 21.0 cm). For fulcrum bending radiographs of the thoracic curve, the patient is placed on an X-ray table in a lateral decubitus position over t...

Researchers have reported on the importance of the rib cage in maintaining mechanical stability in the thoracic spine and on the validity of a compressive follower preload. However, dynamic mechanical testing using both the rib cage and follower load has never been studied. An in vitro biomechanical study of human cadaveric thoracic specimens with rib cage intact in lateral bending, flexion/ext...

1 Objective. Little is known about the biomechanical effectiveness of transforaminal lumbar 2 interbody fusion (TLIF) cages in different positioning and various posterior implants used 3 after decompressive surgery. The use of the various implants will induce the stability change 4 in stresses and range of motion (ROM) at the surgical and adjacent segments. Unilateral 5 pedicle screw with or wi...

[Purpose] Muscle co-contraction is important in stabilizing the spine. The aim of this study was to compare cervical muscle co-contraction in adults with and without chronic neck pain during voluntary movements. [Subjects and Methods] Surface electromyography of three paired cervical muscles was measured in fifteen young healthy subjects and fifteen patients with chronic neck pain. The subjects...

OBJECTIVE To compare efficacies of 2 active programs in the management of chronic low back pain (CLBP). METHODS This prospective, stratified, randomized single-blinded controlled study was conducted in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, King Abdullah University Hospital, Irbid, Jordan, between February and December 2010. A total of 100 patients were randomized to either 6-weeks of mul...