To compare six different parameters described in literature for estimation of pelvic tilt on an anteroposterior pelvic radiograph and to create a simple nomogram for tilt correction of prosthetic cup ...version in total hip arthroplasty.
Simultaneous anteroposterior and lateral pelvic radiographs are taken routinely in our institution and were analyzed prospectively. The different parameters (including three distances and three ratios) were measured and compared to the actual pelvic tilt on the lateral radiograph using simple linear regression analysis.
One hundred and four consecutive patients (41 men, 63 women with a mean age of 31.7 years, SD 9.2 years, range 15.7-59.1 years) were studied.
The strongest correlation between pelvic tilt and one of the six parameters for both men and women was the distance between the upper border of the symphysis and the sacrococcygeal joint. The correlation coefficient was 0.68 for men (P<0.001) and 0.61 for women (P<0.001). Based on this linear correlation, a nomogram was created that enables fast, tilt-corrected cup version measurements in clinical routine use.
This simple method for correcting variations in pelvic tilt on plain radiographs can potentially improve the radiologist's ability to diagnose and interpret malformations of the acetabulum (particularly acetabular retroversion and excessive acetabular overcoverage) and post-operative orientation of the prosthetic acetabulum.
Synopsis
Teeth lie at the interface between an animal and its environment and, with some exceptions, act as a major component of resource procurement through food acquisition and processing. ...Therefore, the shape of a tooth is closely tied to the type of food being eaten. This tight relationship is of use to biologists describing the natural history of species and given the high instance of tooth preservation in the fossil record, is especially useful for paleontologists. However, correlating gross tooth morphology to diet is only part of the story, and much more can be learned through the study of dental biomechanics. We can explore the mechanics of how teeth work, how different shapes evolved, and the underlying forces that constrain tooth shape. This review aims to provide an overview of the research on dental biomechanics, in both mammalian and non-mammalian teeth, and to synthesize two main approaches to dental biomechanics to develop an integrative framework for classifying and evaluating dental functional morphology. This framework relates food material properties to the dynamics of food processing, in particular how teeth transfer energy to food items, and how these mechanical considerations may have shaped the evolution of tooth morphology. We also review advances in technology and new techniques that have allowed more in-depth studies of tooth form and function.
Abstract
We report the joint WASP/KELT discovery of WASP-167b/KELT-13b, a transiting hot Jupiter with a 2.02-d orbit around a V = 10.5, F1V star with Fe/H = 0.1 ± 0.1. The 1.5 R
Jup planet was ...confirmed by Doppler tomography of the stellar line profiles during transit. We place a limit of <8 M
Jup on its mass. The planet is in a retrograde orbit with a sky-projected spin–orbit angle of λ = −165° ± 5°. This is in agreement with the known tendency for orbits around hotter stars to be more likely to be misaligned. WASP-167/KELT-13 is one of the few systems where the stellar rotation period is less than the planetary orbital period. We find evidence of non-radial stellar pulsations in the host star, making it a δ-Scuti or γ-Dor variable. The similarity to WASP-33, a previously known hot-Jupiter host with pulsations, adds to the suggestion that close-in planets might be able to excite stellar pulsations.
It makes intuitive sense that you need a sharp tool to puncture through a tough material. The typical approach to evaluating sharpness in biological puncturing tools is to treat morphological ...measurements as a proxy for puncture ability. However, there are multiple approaches to measuring sharpness, and the relative influence of morphology on function remains unclear. Our goal is to determine what aspects of tip morphology have the greatest impact on puncture ability, using ( a) viper fangs and ( b) engineered punches to isolate the effects of different sharpness measures. Our results indicate that tip included angle is the strongest predictor of puncture performance in both viper fangs and engineered punches. For puncture tools with small included angles, sharpness index (based on the radius of curvature) also affects puncture ability. Finally, we found that punches serve as good predictors of fang performance at small angles and sharpness index values.
Summary Background Artemisinin resistance in Plasmodium falciparum threatens to reduce the efficacy of artemisinin combination therapies (ACTs), thus compromising global efforts to eliminate malaria. ...Recent treatment failures with dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine, the current first-line ACT in Cambodia, suggest that piperaquine resistance may be emerging in this country. We explored the relation between artemisinin resistance and dihydroartemisinin–piperaquine failures, and sought to confirm the presence of piperaquine-resistant P falciparum infections in Cambodia. Methods In this prospective cohort study, we enrolled patients aged 2–65 years with uncomplicated P falciparum malaria in three Cambodian provinces: Pursat, Preah Vihear, and Ratanakiri. Participants were given standard 3-day courses of dihydroartemisinin–piperaquine. Peripheral blood parasite densities were measured until parasites cleared and then weekly to 63 days. The primary outcome was recrudescent P falciparum parasitaemia within 63 days. We measured piperaquine plasma concentrations at baseline, 7 days, and day of recrudescence. We assessed phenotypic and genotypic markers of drug resistance in parasite isolates. The study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov , number NCT01736319. Findings Between Sept 4, 2012, and Dec 31, 2013, we enrolled 241 participants. In Pursat, where artemisinin resistance is entrenched, 37 (46%) of 81 patients had parasite recrudescence. In Preah Vihear, where artemisinin resistance is emerging, ten (16%) of 63 patients had recrudescence and in Ratanakiri, where artemisinin resistance is rare, one (2%) of 60 patients did. Patients with recrudescent P falciparum infections were more likely to have detectable piperaquine plasma concentrations at baseline compared with non-recrudescent patients, but did not differ significantly in age, initial parasite density, or piperaquine plasma concentrations at 7 days. Recrudescent parasites had a higher prevalence of kelch13 mutations, higher piperaquine 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50 ) values, and lower mefloquine IC50 values; none had multiple pfmdr1 copies, a genetic marker of mefloquine resistance. Interpretation Dihydroartemisinin–piperaquine failures are caused by both artemisinin and piperaquine resistance, and commonly occur in places where dihydroartemisinin–piperaquine has been used in the private sector. In Cambodia, artesunate plus mefloquine may be a viable option to treat dihydroartemisinin–piperaquine failures, and a more effective first-line ACT in areas where dihydroartemisinin–piperaquine failures are common. The use of single low-dose primaquine to eliminate circulating gametocytes is needed in areas where artemisinin and ACT resistance is prevalent. Funding National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
In this study, the probability of occurrence of fumonisins in corn in the states of greatest production in Brazil was determined. The data were analyzed through quantitative risk analysis using the ...Monte Carlo simulation. The results indicated that there is a strong correlation between fumonisins contamination levels and the geographical region due to the influence of climatic characteristics, with temperature having the main influence. The Southern states presented higher risks of occurrence and concentration levels of fumonisins in corn due to the temperate climate with lower average temperature and higher relative humidity and precipitation indices. Cultivation in the best season indicates a significant reduction in the production of fumonisins when this period was evaluated, with average concentration levels up to 42% lower. The generated data are important for regulatory agencies and the agricultural sector, which needs to be aware that the chance of success in grain production depends on efficient planning of the growing season, mainly concerning the climatic conditions to which it is subject to minimize the risks.
•Risk of fumonisins in corn was assessed using quantitative risk assessment;•Temperature plays a critical role in fumonisin incidence and level in corn;•Reduction in fumonisin of up to 42% when cultivation at the best time was assessed;•Strong correlation between fumonisins levels and the geographical region was found;•Low temperatures and high humidity increased the probability of fumonisin in corn.
Host plant choice in polyphagous insects can be connected with costs of being naïve when confronted with several potential host plants, for example through slower decision making. Utilization of ...earlier experience could be one way to overcome some of these limitations. We studied whether larval feeding experience influences mate finding by males and female choice of oviposition site in the moth Spodoptera littoralis. Larvae were reared on either artificial diet or the host plants, cotton, clover or alfalfa, and we recorded the behaviour of adults from each diet. In two sets of experiments, in both the laboratory and the field, we investigated the female's oviposition choice and the male's response to female pheromone with different plant odour backgrounds. We found that experience with cotton, clover or alfalfa during the larval period induced female oviposition on the corresponding plant both in the laboratory and in the field. Furthermore, males were more attracted to female sex pheromone combined with odour from a host plant species that they had experienced as larvae than to sex pheromone combined with odour from host plant species they had not experienced. The results show convergent modulation of male and female responses to plant odour depending on their larval food plant. The influence of larval experience during the first-to-fifth instars on host preference was also stronger than the influence of experience acquired in the late larval, pupal and early adult stages. Consequences for host plant choice efficiency and fitness effects for males and females are discussed.
•Male mate finding is affected by larval feeding experience.•Larval feeding experience affects oviposition preference.•Experience of the same host plant converges male and female preference.•Our results support neural transfer of information over metamorphosis.
Background The benefit of utilizing surgical safety checklists has been recently questioned. We evaluated our checklist performance after implementing a program that includes checklist-related good ...catches. Methods Multifaceted interventions aimed at the preincision checklist and 5 prospective audits were conducted from 2011–2015. We documented adherence to the checklist (verbalization of each checkpoint), fidelity (meaningful performance of each checkpoint), and good catches (events with the potential to cause the patient harm but that were prevented from occurring). Good catches were divided into quality improvement-based categories (processes, medication, safety, communication, and equipment). Results A total of 1,346 checklist performances were observed (range, 144–373/yr). Adherence to the preincision checklist improved from 30% to 95% ( P < .001), while adherence to the preinduction and debriefing checklists decreased (71% to 56%, P = .002) and remained unchanged (76%), respectively. Preincision fidelity decreased from 86% to 76% ( P = .012). Good catches were identified during 16% of preincision checklist performances; process issues were most common (32%) followed by issues of medication administration (30%) and safety (22%). Conclusion Implementation of a systematic checklist program resulted in significant and sustainable improvement in performance. Meaningful use and associated good catches may be more appropriate metric than actual patient harm for measuring checklist effectiveness. Although not previously described, checklist-related good catches represent an unknown benefit of checklists.
Chronic stress exerts multiple negative effects on the physiology and health of an individual. In the present study, we examined hypothalamic, pituitary and endocrine responses to 14 days of chronic ...variable stress (CVS) in male and female C57BL/6J mice. In both sexes, CVS induced a significant decrease in body weight and enhanced the acute corticosterone stress response, which was accompanied by a reduction in thymus weight only in females. However, single‐point blood measurements of basal prolactin, thyroid‐stimulating hormone, luteinising hormone, growth hormone and corticosterone levels taken at the end of the CVS were not different from those of controls. Similarly, pituitary mRNA expression of Fshb, Lhb, Prl and Gh was unchanged by CVS, although Pomc and Tsh were significantly elevated. Within the adrenal medulla, mRNA for Th, Vip and Gal were elevated following CVS. Avp transcript levels within the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus were increased by CVS; however, levels of Gnrh1, Crh, Oxt, Sst, Trh, Ghrh, Th and Kiss1 remained unchanged. Oestrous cycles were lengthened slightly by CVS and ovarian histology revealed a reduction in the number of preovulatory follicles and corpora lutea. Taken together, these observations indicate that 14 days of CVS induces an up‐regulation of the neuroendocrine stress axis and creates a mild disruption of female reproductive function. However, the lack of changes in other neuroendocrine axes controlling anterior and posterior pituitary secretion suggest that most neuroendocrine axes are relatively resilient to CVS.
In response to 14 days of chronic variable stress, there is an upregulation of the neuroendocrine stress axis and a mild disruption of female reproductive function. However, there was little change in other neuroendocrine axes controlling anterior and posterior pituitary secretion suggesting that most neuroendocrine axes are relatively resilient to 14 days chronic variable stress.
AbstractObjectivePeripheral artery disease is the second most common cardiovascular disease. It can often occur in complex form when there is a presence of long, diffuse, and multiple lesions. ...Current treatments use either single long drug-coated balloons (DCBs) or multiple DCBs; however, treatment success is limited. The purpose of this study was to investigate the preclinical feasibility of our multiple-release Tailored Medical Devices DCB (MR-TMD-DCB) to treat multiple arterial segments using a single DCB. MethodsThe MR-TMD-DCBs were developed using a two-layer coating approach. The DCBs were developed in a certified Current Good Manufacturing Practices facility using presterilized materials and reagent and then characterized for coating morphology, thermal and chemical changes, and in vitro particulate shedding. The drug loss, tissue uptake, and undelivered drug amounts were analyzed using an in vitro peripheral artery flow model and explanted pig arteries. Then, an in vivo survival study was performed using a healthy porcine model to measure the short-term drug uptake (seven swine; 14 treatments at day 1) and retention (seven swine; 14 treatments at day 7) in two different arterial segments after treatment with a single MR-TMD-DCB. ResultsThe coating on the MR-TMD-DCB was smooth and homogeneous with paclitaxel molecularly dispersed in its amorphous state. A negligible number of particulates were shed from the MR-TMD-DCB coating. A similar amount of drug was accurately delivered into two separate explanted arteries using a single MR-TMD-DCB during the in vitro flow model testing (707 ± 109 ng/mg in the first explanted artery and 783 ± 306 ng/mg in the second explanted artery). The MR-TMD-DCB treatment resulted in equivalent drug amounts in the two arterial segments at day 1 (63 ± 19 ng/mg in the first treatment site and 59 ±19 ng/mg in the second treatment site) and at day 7 (9 ± 6 ng/mg in the first treatment site and 10 ± 6 ng/mg in the second treatment site). In addition, the drug levels at each time point were in the clinically relevant range to prevent neointimal hyperplasia. ConclusionsThe MR-TMD-DCBs provided equivalent and clinically relevant drug retention levels into two different arterial segments. Thus, MR-TMD-DCBs can be used to accurately deliver drug into multiple arterial segments with the use of a single DCB. The clinical outcomes of these findings need further investigation. Future long-term pharmacokinetics and safety studies will be performed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the MR-TMD-DCB.
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