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Physical activity is important for health but injuries might affect the level of activity. The aim of this study was to evaluate change in physical activity after fracture and to determine predictors for return to a previously high/moderate level of physical activity at 6 months following injury. A cohort study was conducted that included 201 people aged 18–64 years who suffered fractures. Participants reported their level of physical activity prior to the injury and perceived change after six months (n = 164). Subgroup analysis of 95 preinjury physical active participants was performed with logistic regression analysis and odds ratio (OR). Totally, 27.4% (n = 45) returned to their previous level of physical activity and for the 95 pre-injury physically active participants it was 27.3% (n = 26). Low income OR 3.15 (95% CI 1.78–28.05), not receiving rehabilitation OR 0.09 (95% CI 0.02–0.37), and sustaining upper limb fractures compared to lower limb fractures OR 0.09 (95% CI 0.02–0.51) were positively associated with return to preinjury physical activity levels at 6 months after controlling for significant factors. Fracture affects physical activity at six months even for pre-injury active individuals. Therapists should pay attention to guiding patients to perform physical activities despite their injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radiochemical analysis plays a critical role in the determination of pure beta and alpha emitting radionuclides for environmental monitoring, radioecology, decommissioning, nuclear forensics and geological dating. A remarkable development on radiochemical analysis has been achieved in the past decades to meet the increased requirement. In the recent years, mass spectrometric techniques have been considerably improved and are widely employed for measurement of radionuclides. Analytical methods for rapid, automated and simultaneous determination of radionuclides have been extensively developed for emergency analysis. In Nordic countries, many laboratories are involved in the determination of radionuclides for various purposes, and a series of radiochemical analytical methods have been developed and applied. This article presents the present status and progress on radiochemical analysis of radionuclides, especially in Nordic countries; some requirements from nuclear industries and research organizations, as well as perspectives on the development of radiochemical analysis are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The possibilities of producing structured phospholipids between soybean phospholipids and caprylic acid by lipase-catalyzed acidolysis were examined in continuous packed-bed enzyme reactors. Acidolysis reactions were performed in both a solvent system and a solvent-free system with the commercially immobilized lipase from Thermomyces lanuginosa (Lipozyme TL IM) as catalyst. In the packed bed reactors, different parameters for the lipase-catalyzed acidolysis were elucidated, such as solvent ratio (solvent system), temperature, substrate ratio, residence time, water content, and operation stability. The water content was observed to be very crucial for the acidolysis reaction in packed bed reactors. If no water was added to the substrate during reactions under the solvent-free system, very low incorporation of caprylic acid was observed. In both solvent and solvent-free systems, acyl incorporation was favored by a high substrate ratio between acyl donor and phospholipids, a longer residence time, and a higher reaction temperature. Under certain conditions, the incorporation of around 30% caprylic acid can be obtained in continuous operation with hexane as the solvent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxidative stability of liposomes made of (Docosahexaenoic acid) DHA-containing phosphatidylcholine (PC) was examined during preparation and storage. After preparation of the liposomes, the concentration of primary (conjugated dienes) and secondary oxidation products (Thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances, TBARS) were significantly higher compared to the initial value. During cold storage, formation of conjugated dienes and TBARS remained more or less constant in large unilamellar vesicles (LUV), whereas in mulitilamellar vesicles (MLV) they were seen to increase over a period of 21 days. Evaporation of solvent traces from a lipid film should preferably be done under nitrogen as vacuum evaporation was found to increase oxidation of the phospholipid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]