Introduction Low back pain (LBP) is common in warfighters. Noninvasive interventions are necessary to expedite return-to-function. Soft tissue manipulation, for example, massage, is a method used to treat LBP. Instrument-assisted soft tissue manipulation (IASTM) uses a rigid device to mobilize the tissue. This study explored the effects of IASTM on pain, function, and biomarkers. Methods Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 44) were randomized to groups (n = 6/grp): (A) cage control; (B) 3 days (3d) postinjury (inj), untreated; (C) 3d inj, < 30-minute post-IASTM treatment; (D) 3d inj, 2 hours (2h) post-IASTM; (E) 14 days (14d) inj, untreated; (F) 14d inj, < 30-minute post-IASTM; and (G) 14d inj, 2h post-IASTM. Researchers induced unilateral LBP in Sprague-Dawley rats using complete Freund’s adjuvant injection. Conscious rodents received IASTM for 5 min/session once at 3 days or 3×/week × 2weeks (6× total) over 14 days. Biomarker plasma levels were determined in all groups, while behavioral outcomes were assessed in two groups, D and G, at three time points: before injury, pre-, and post-IASTM treatment. Circulating mesenchymal stem cell levels were assessed using flow cytometry and cytokine plasma levels assayed. Results The back pressure pain threshold (PPT) lowered bilaterally at 3 days postinjury (P < .05), suggesting increased pain sensitivity. IASTM treatment lowered PPT more on the injured side (15.8%; P < 0.05). At 14 days, back PPT remained lower but similar side to side. At 3 days, paw PPT increased 34.6% in the contralateral rear limb following treatment (P < .01). Grip strength did not vary significantly. Gait coupling patterns improved significantly (P < .05). Circulating mesenchymal stem cell levels altered significantly postinjury but not with treatment. Neuropeptide Y plasma levels increased significantly at 3 days, 2h post-IASTM (53.2%) (P < .05). Interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha did not vary significantly. At 14 days, regulated on activation, normal T cell expressed and secreted decreased significantly <30-minute post-IASTM (96.1%, P < .002), while IL-10 trended upward at 2h (53.1%; P = .86). Conclusions LBP increased pain sensitivity and diminished function. IASTM treatment increased pain sensitization acutely in the back but significantly reduced pain sensitivity in the contralateral rear paw. Findings suggest IASTM may positively influence pain modulation and inflammation while improving gait patterns. Soft tissue manipulation may be beneficial as a conservative treatment option for LBP.

The subject of race does not often breach the surface of contemporary theatre in Newfoundland. When it does, racial prejudice tends to be presented in ways that absolve white Newfoundlanders of guilt while echoing Canadian nationalist sentiments that position racism, especially anti-black racism, outside the country’s borders (see Robert Chafe’s play Oil and Water). This kind of narrative oversimplifies Newfoundland’s complicated history, creating its own racist paradigms of ignorance that fail to acknowledge the institutional discrimination, international influences, and local prejudices that inform racial construction on the island. By contrast, this article considers how transnational racist ideologies shaped Newfoundland’s early theatre scene by looking at the unstudied popular performances of The Rossleys. The Rossleys, a vaudeville-style performance troupe active in St. John’s from 1911-1917, featured numerous acts that epitomized colonialist rhetoric surrounding race at that time. From Wild West-themed shows to Blackface Minstrelsy, The Rossleys performed derogatory stereotypes to the amusement of white Newfoundlanders. Their performances undermine contemporary idealized fictions that glorify Newfoundland and Canadian histories without adequate consideration of their racist pasts. Studying the Rossleys highlights the transnational dimensions of racial construction on the island. Newfoundland held a peculiar space in North America at that time—not yet a part of Canada, the future of this British Dominion was still uncertain. In addition, the Rossleys were international figures; the husband and wife team immigrated from Scotland and England to the US (where they were active performers on the vaudeville circuit) and eventually established their company in Newfoundland, regularly bringing acts from Europe and the US to local theatres. This article discusses how racial ideologies in Newfoundland’s early theatre scene were shaped by complex transnational networks, and in doing so, exposes erasures caused by patriotic imaginings of a racism-free Canada.

The Gram-positive bacterium Staphylococcus aureus is well known for its ability to develop resistance to various antimicrobial substances. Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), a cause of nosocomial infections worldwide, is becoming increasingly resistant to the glycopeptide antibiotic vancomycin, one of few antibiotics used to treat serious multiple-antibiotic-resistant staphylococcal infections. With the increase in the number of MRSA strains showing reduced sensitivity to vancomycin, it has become important to investigate alternative treatment options. In this study, we examined the effects of five metals: silver, copper, arsenate, zinc, and cadmium on the growth of a clinical MRSA strain MM66 demonstrating heterogeneous intermediatelevel resistance to vancomycin. Disc diffusion and gradient plate experiments were used to compare the metal susceptibility levels of strain MM66 to that of the methicillin-resistant S. aureus laboratory control strain. MM66 grew less successfully when exposed to metals, and showed an overall increased level of susceptibility to metals compared to the laboratory control strain. Of the metals tested, silver exerted the highest inhibitory effect on the growth of MM66.