A reflective all-sky imaging system has been built using a long-wave infrared microbolometer camera and a reflective metal sphere. This compact system was developed for measuring spatial and temporal ...patterns of clouds and their optical depth in support of applications including Earth-space optical communications. The camera is mounted to the side of the reflective sphere to leave the zenith sky unobstructed. The resulting geometric distortion is removed through an angular map derived from a combination of checkerboard-target imaging, geometric ray tracing, and sun-location-based alignment. A tape of high-emissivity material on the side of the reflector acts as a reference that is used to estimate and remove thermal emission from the metal sphere. Once a bias that is under continuing study was removed, sky radiance measurements from the all-sky imager in the 8-14 μm wavelength range agreed to within 0.91 W/(m
sr) of measurements from a previously calibrated, lens-based infrared cloud imager over its 110° field of view.
The purpose of this study was to determine whether robotic total knee arthroplasty (R-TKA) demonstrated evidence of improvement in minimal clinically important difference (MCID) in early (<4 weeks) ...and intermittent (4-8 month) patient-reported outcomes compared with manual total knee arthroplasty (M-TKA).
A prospectively collected database was reviewed of 1160 consecutive patients undergoing R-TKA or M-TKA from December 2017 to October 2019. Primary outcomes consisted of Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score for Joint Replacement (KOOS-JR) and Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System Global Health Measures of Physical Health (PH) and Mental Health (MH). Statistical analysis included MCID via the distribution method.
Univariate analysis demonstrated conflicting results for early MCID achievement favoring M-TKA (4-week KOOS-JR, P = .03) for the multisurgeon cohort, but favored R-TKA (4-week Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System–PH, P = .04) in the single-surgeon analysis, and the remaining outcome scores were similar. Ultimately, multivariate analysis demonstrated similar 4-week and 6-month MCID achievement in all measures. Lower preoperative scores consistently achieved MCID at a higher rate in M-TKA, although in R-TKA, the higher baseline scores improved at a rate comparable with those with lower scores in all but the short-term postoperative KOOS-JR.
R-TKA demonstrated comparable MCID achievement to M-TKA across the larger cohort. Single-surgeon comparison did show some early benefit. Confounding variables such as surgical technique, implant fixation, and responsiveness of an outcome measure may be as important as simply what tools are used during surgery. Such granular data should be sought out in future studies.
Intravenous dexamethasone has been shown to reduce pain in total joint arthroplasty. This double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial investigated the postoperative effects and safety of oral ...dexamethasone as a potential augment to multimodal pain management in outpatient knee arthroplasty.
The authors prospectively randomized 109 consecutive patients undergoing primary total knee arthroplasty. Patients assigned to Group A (57 patients) received 4 mg of dexamethasone by mouth twice per day starting postoperative day (POD) 1 for 4 days and those assigned to Group B received placebo capsules. All healthcare professionals and patients were blinded to group allocation. The primary outcome was defined as postoperative pain scores. Secondary outcomes included 90-day postoperative complications, nausea and vomiting, daily opioid usage, assistance for ambulation, difficulty sleeping, and early patient reported outcomes. Demographics were similar between groups.
The patients who received dexamethasone had a statistically significant decrease in VAS scores when averaging POD 1 to 4 (P = .01). The average VAS scores among individual days were significantly lower with dexamethasone on POD 2, 3, and 4. While taking dexamethasone, morning and mid-day VAS scores were significantly lower. There was no difference between the groups with opioid use, nausea or vomiting, 90-day complications, ability to walk with/without assistance, difficulty sleeping, and early patient reported outcomes.
This double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial demonstrated that oral dexamethasone following primary total knee arthroplasty can reduce postoperative pain. This may be a beneficial option in ambulatory surgery where intravenous limitations exist, but larger series are needed to further evaluate the safety profile in this population.
Abstract
Context
Kisspeptin–neurokinin B (NKB)–dynorphin neurons are critical regulators of the hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal axis. NKB and dynorphin are hypothesized to influence the frequency of ...GnRH pulses, whereas kisspeptin is hypothesized to be a generator of the GnRH pulse. How these neuropeptides interact remains unclear.
Objective
To probe the role of NKB in GnRH pulse generation and to determine the interactions between NKB, kisspeptin, and dynorphin in humans and mice with a complete absence of NKB.
Design
Case/control.
Setting
Academic medical center.
Participants
Members of a consanguineous family bearing biallelic loss-of-function mutations in the gene encoding NKB and NKB-deficient mice.
Interventions
Frequent blood sampling to characterize neuroendocrine profile and administration of kisspeptin, GnRH, and naloxone, a nonspecific opioid receptor antagonist used to block dynorphin.
Main Outcome Measures
LH pulse characteristics.
Results
Humans lacking NKB demonstrate slow LH pulse frequency, which can be increased by opioid antagonism. Mice lacking NKB also demonstrate impaired LH secretion, which can be augmented with an identical pharmacologic manipulation. Both mice and humans with NKB deficiency respond to exogenous kisspeptin.
Conclusion
The preservation of LH pulses in the absence of NKB and dynorphin signaling suggests that both peptides are dispensable for GnRH pulse generation and kisspeptin responsiveness. However, NKB and dynorphin appear to have opposing roles in the modulation of GnRH pulse frequency.
This study uses pharmacologic probes to demonstrate that endogenous GnRH-induced LH pulses can be generated in the absence of neurokinin B and dynorphin activity in humans and mice.
Udorni dolini ter ponori v Škocjanskih jamah so bili omenjani že v antiki in označeni na zemljevidih iz 16. stoletja, opisal jih je Valvasor (1689), obiskovali pa so jih tudi popotniki v 18. ...stoletju. Vzpodbudo je pomenila tudi pot, ki so jo 1823 speljali v Veliko dolino. Knjiga obiskovalcev, ki so jo uvedli 1819 je izgubljena, toda nekaj informacij o obiskih je mogoče dobiti iz drugih virov, vključno iz popotnih dnevnikov in Schmidlovih knjig okoli leta 1853. V Evopskih turističnih vodnikih je opaziti porast priljubljenosti jam. 1884 je Primorska sekcija Nemško-avstrijskega planinskega društva vzela jame v zakup in uredila vodeni turistični obisk. Isti vodniki so pomagali članom društva pri dolgotrajnih in težavnih raziskavah jam, vzporedno z njimi pa so stalno podaljševali turistično pot. V 1890-tih letih so v obisk vključili Dvorano planinskega društva in 1903 celo Martelovo dvorano. V prispevku so opisane tudi vstopnina in plačila za vodnike in razsvetljavo. After mention in Classical times and on 16th century maps, the dolines and sinks of Škocjanske jame were described by Valvasor (1689) and visited by travellers in the 18th century. Tourists were encouraged from 1823 when a path down Velika dolina was made. The visitors’ book started in 1819 is lost but information on some visits is available from other sources including travellers’ reports and Schmidl’s books of around 1853. European guide books mark the increasing popularity of the caves. In 1884 the Section Küstenland of the Deutscher und Österreichischer Alpenverein leased the caves and arranged guided tours for visitors. These same guides assisted Club members in lengthy and difficult explorations, and the tourist route was constantly extended. In the 1890s it included the Alpenvereins Dom, and in 1903 even the Martel Dom. The system of charging visitors for entry, for guides and for lights is described.
Na podlagi treh listin iz arhiva Postojnske jame je razvidno, da so priprave na načrtovani obisk cesarja Franca Jožefa 1856, vključevale uporabo barvnih luči in drugih posebnih načinov razsvetljave ...kot tudi steklenih napisov za označevanje dvoran in kapnikov. Obisk je bil odpovedan v zadnjem trenutku, vendar je prišel cesar v jamo 15 tednov kasneje in zelo verjetno je, da so omenjeno razsvetljavo uporabili ob tej priliki. Three documents in the archives of Postojnska jama show that the arrangements for the planned visit of Emperor Franz Joseph to the cave in 1856 included the use of coloured lights and other special illumination as well as glass transparencies for labelling halls and speleothems. Although this visit was cancelled at the last minute, the Emperor did come to the cave 15 weeks later and it is shown that almost certainly the illumination was used then.
Po prvih poizkusih 1863 so Postojnsko jamo prvič električno razsvetlili 1883, ob obisku cesarja Franca Jožefa. Najprej so poizkušali z različnimi močnimi svetili (“apnenčeva” luč 1852, plinske ...svetilke 1878), vendar se zanje niso odločili. Stalno električno razsvetljavo so vpeljali 1884, kot tretjo na svetu. Najprej so namestili 12 obločnic, kasneje pa so razsvetljavo razširili. “Izboljšan” sistem so namestili 1901, vendar je pogosto zatajil in so ga morali nadomestiti z drugim 1906. Popolnoma nov sistem so namestili 1929. V prispevku so popravljene napake iz prejšnjih objav, vsebuje pa tudi podatke, ki so prvič objavljeni. After some preliminary attempts in 1863, electric lighting was first used in Postojnska jama in 1883 for a visit by Emperor Franz Joseph. Alternative forms of bright light (lime-light in 1852, gas light in 1878) had been considered but not adopted. The permanent electric installation of 1884 was the third anywhere in the world. Its 12 arc lights were increased in later years. An ˝improved˝ system was fitted in 1901 but failed so often that it was replaced in 1906. An extensive new system was fitted in 1929. Errors in previous literature are corrected and much information published for the first time.
Valvasor je svojo prvo, razmeroma preprosto razlago presihanja Cerkniškega jezera, objavljeno 1687, močno spremenil in zapletel v knjigi Die Ehre dess Hertzogthums Crain in članku v Acta Eruditorum, ...kar oboje je izšlo 1689. Sodobni avtorji, ki niso preverjali svojih virov, napačno navajajo, da gre za prevod članka iz 1687, namesto da bi opozorili na te velike spremembe in razlike v Valvasorjevih zamislih. Valvasorʼs first relatively simple explanation for the flooding and draining of the Cerkniško jezero lake, published in 1687, was greatly modified and complicated by 1689 when it appeared both in his book Die Ehre dess Hertzogthums Crain and in a paper in Acta Eruditorum. Modern authors who have not verified their sources have wrongly described the latter as a translation of the 1687 paper instead of recognizing the great change in Valvasorʼs ideas that it contains.
The excursion after the 1891 general meeting of the Deutsche und Österreichische Alpenverein (DÖAV) was to their Section Küstenland in Trieste which was then actively exploring Škocjanske jame. J. ...Sigrist-Herder of Switzerland was one of those who visited the cave and he compiled an album containing contemporary publications and also 25 photographs by Francesco Benque of Trieste, 15 of which are published here for the first time. They show the 1891 festivities as well as scenes at the cave entrances and in the dolines. The visit is described here from newspaper articles by Sigrist-Herder supplemented by publications of the DÖAV. A comparison is made with a similar visit in 1885 when less of the cave had been explored. In 1891 the visitors were taken to Müllerjeva dvorana but a few people went along the walls as far as Dvorana planinskega društva, only discovered in 1887.Po občnem zboru 1891 je Nemško-avstrijsko planinsko društvo (Deutsche und Österreichische Alpenverein - DÖAV) pripravilo obisk svoje Obalne sekcije (Section Küstenland) v Trstu, ki je takrat živahno raziskovalo Škocjanske jame. J. Sigrist-Herder iz Švice, ki je bil eden izmed obiskovalcev, je sestavil album fotorafij iz tedanjih publikacij, vključno 25 posnetkov Francesca Benque iz Trsta. 15 izmed teh slik je tu prvič objavljenih. Prikazujejo praznovanje leta 1891 in prizore iz jamskega vhoda ter iz dolin. Prispevek se opira na Sigrist-Herderjeve časopisne članke in na tiske DÖAV. Avtor primerja te dogodke s podobnim obiskom iz 1885, ko je bil raziskan šele manjši del jam. 1891 so obiskovalce peljali do Müllerjeve dvorane, nekaj pa jih je šlo dalje po stenah do Dvorane planinskega društva, odkrite šele 1887.
Edina poštna urada, ki sta delovala v podzemlju, sta bila urada v Postojnski jami. Leta 1899 je jamska uprava, število prodanih razglednic je v tem času močno naraslo, nedaleč od Kongresne dvorane ...oziroma 500 m od vhoda zgradila podzemni poštni urad. Odprt je bil 15. avgusta 1899, poštne oblasti pa so dovolile uporabo posebnega poštnega žiga (“Adelsberger Grotte / Postojnska jama”). Ta urad je posloval do leta 1927 (z italijanskim žigom “Postumia (Grotte)” po letu 1922), nakar ga je nadomestil nov poštni urad, skoraj kilometer in pol oddaljen od vhoda. Urad je zadnjič posloval 15. avgusta 1945, ko je bila Postojnska jama po končani drugi svetovni vojni ponovno odprta. The only cave post offices to have been situated underground were in Postojnska jama. In 1899 the cave management, responding to the growing use of picture postcards, built a stone post office near Kongresna dvorana 500 m from the entrance. It was open by 15 August 1899, with a special ˝Adelsberger Grotte /Postojnska jama˝ cancellation authorised by the postal authorities. This building remained in use until 1927 (with the Italian ˝Postumia (Grotte)˝ postmark after 1922), when it was replaced by a new building 1,4 km inside the cave. Its last recorded use was 15 August 1945 when the cave was reopened under Jugoslav management.
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