Evaluate the collective function of references cited together in a given text segment.
Classify their combined role into one of the following categories: 'method', 'background', or 'result'.

Text:Pallotta and coworkers [9] showed that neutrophil counts decrease following the administration of laser at intensities of 3, 6, and 10 J, 3 h after the induction of inflammation in the knees of rats; however, the study did not report the same effect for the group treated with a dose of 1 J, in contrast to the results obtained in our study.
Category: