Time for tea, anyone?

There have been suggestions that urine samples positive for benzoylecognine, the diagnostic metabolite of cocaine, may be the result of consumption Mate de Coca, a commercially available tea made from coca (Erythroxylon coca) leaves. The Jockey Club in Great Britain commissioned research into this subject as several jockeys have tested positive for benzoylecognine over the past few years. Urine samples collected at various time points within 24 h after ingestion of a 250 ml infusion of Mate de Coca tea were analysed using three different methods. All samples tested positive for benzoylecognine.

Effect of dry needling of gluteal muscles on straight leg raise: a randomised, placebo controlled, double blind trial.

OBJECTIVES: To use a randomised, double blind, placebo controlled trial to establish the effect on straight leg raise, hip internal rotation, and muscle pain of dry needling treatment to the gluteal muscles in athletes with posterior thigh pain referred from gluteal trigger points. METHODS: A randomised, double blind, placebo controlled trial of 59 male runners was performed during the 2002 Australian Rules football season. Subjects were thoroughly screened and had magnetic resonance imaging of their hamstring muscles to exclude local pathology. The inclusion criterion was reproduction of recognisable posterior thigh pain with the application of digital pressure to the gluteal trigger points. Subjects randomly received either therapeutic or placebo needle treatment on one occasion at their gluteal trigger points. Range of motion and visual analogue scale data were collected immediately before, immediately after, 24 hours after, and 72 hours after the intervention. Range of motion was measured with passive straight leg raise and hip internal rotation. Visual analogue scales were completed for hamstring and gluteal pain and tightness at rest and during a running task. RESULTS: Magnetic resonance imaging scans revealed normal hamstring musculature in most subjects. Straight leg raise and hip internal rotation remained unchanged in both groups at all times. Visual analogue scale assessment of hamstring pain and tightness and gluteal tightness after running showed improvements immediately after the intervention in both groups (p = 0.001), which were maintained at 24 and 72 hours. The magnitude of this improvement was the same for therapeutic and placebo interventions. Resting muscle pain and tightness were unaffected. CONCLUSIONS: Neither dry needling nor placebo needling of the gluteal muscles resulted in any change in straight leg raise or hip internal rotation. Both interventions resulted in subjective improvement in activity related muscle pain and tightness. Despite being commonly used clinical tests in this situation, straight leg raise and hip internal rotation are not likely to help the therapist assess response to treatment. Patient reports of response to such treatment are better indicators of its success. The mechanisms by which these responses occur and the reasons for the success of the placebo needling treatment are areas for further investigation.

A 16 year study of injuries to professional kickboxers in the state of Victoria, Australia.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the rate and type of injuries occurring to registered professional kickboxers in Victoria, Australia over a 16 year period. METHODS: Data describing all fight outcomes and injuries sustained during competition for the period August 1985 to August 2001 were obtained from the Victorian Professional Boxing and Combat Sports Board. RESULTS: A total of 382 injuries were recorded from 3481 fight participations, at an injury rate of 109.7 injuries per 1000 fight participations. The most common body region injured was the head/neck/face (52.5%), followed by the lower extremities (39.8%). Specifically, injuries to the lower leg (23.3%), the face (19.4%), and intracranial injury (17.2%) were the most common. Over 64% of the injuries were superficial bruising or lacerations. CONCLUSION: The nature of kickboxing, whereby kicking the opponent is the prime movement and the head a prime target, is reflected in the distributions of body regions most commonly injured by participants. Further research into injury patterns in different styles of kickboxing and the mechanism of injury occurrence is required. Exposure adjusted prospective studies are needed to monitor injury rates over time.

Magnetron sputtered tin coatings on unbiased ceramic substrates.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this work was to study the application of tin oxide coatings on alumina, with a view to developing improved bonding for high-alumina dental ceramics. METHODS: By use of a magnetron sputtering technique, alumina was coated with tin which was subsequently oxidized, and the bond strength of coated surfaces to a resin-based dental cement was measured in tension. Tensile bond strength data were assessed for their degree of skewness and the homogeneity of the residual variances with a view to applying appropriate transformations prior to performing ANOVA with subsequent Tukey's analysis as necessary. The color of coatings, as a function of the amount of oxidation of the surface, was noted. Coatings were characterized by SEM and EDAX. It has been found possible to produce esthetic tin oxide coatings on alumina using a simplified magnetron sputtering apparatus in conjunction with post-deposition oxidation. RESULTS: Although mean tensile bond strength (TBS) values in excess of 15 MPa were recorded for a number of groups, no causal relationship was found between coating time and mean TBS. SIGNIFICANCE: The need exists for improved bonding of alumina-based ceramics; further development of a magnetron sputtering technique may provide the means for achieving this.

Tin oxide coating of aluminous porcelain by reactive ion plating.

Alumina reinforced dental porcelain has been coated directly with tin oxide by reactive ion plating. Samples were prepared at different distances from the tin source in the ion plating rig. Tensile bond strengths of treated and untreated porcelain discs to a commercially available phosphate-methacrylate based dental cement were determined. Bond strengths of certain coated samples were found to be in excess of the cohesive strength of the porcelain substrates (greater than 7.8 MPa), whereas untreated porcelain achieved an average bond strength of only 3.4 MPa. The microstructures of coatings produced under conditions similar to those which yielded the maximum bond strength were examined in a scanning electron microscope and were found to be approximately 0.5 microns thick. It is believed that ion plating has great potential for rendering inert ceramic surfaces capable of direct bonding to dental cements.