We have carried out bremsstrahlung measurements on a permanent magnet minimum-B quadrupole electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) ion source operating at 10.3-11.5 GHz microwave frequencies. The ...bremsstrahlung spectral temperature is found at 30-35 keV in a wide ranges of microwave power, frequency, and neutral gas feed rate. The result implies that the <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">B_{\textrm {min}} </tex-math></inline-formula>-scaling of the spectral temperature, observed for conventional ECR ion sources, is a fundamental property of the electron heating in minimum-B devices, not specific to the field topology. Similar to conventional ECR ion sources, the bremsstrahlung count rate increases linearly with the microwave power but does not depend on the neutral gas pressure. It is demonstrated that dual frequency heating can improve the beam currents of high charge state argon ion beams and reduce the bremsstrahlung emission. Plasma breakdown and decay transient measurements of the bremsstrahlung power flux indicate that the electron confinement in the quadrupole field is weaker than in conventional ECR ion sources using a superposition of solenoid and sextupole fields.
Introduction
This retrospective study investigated the long-term follow-up results of medial opening wedge high tibial osteotomy (MOWHTO) with a pre-countered non-locking steel plate implant (Puddu ...plate = PP) used for medial knee osteoarthrosis (OA) treatment.
Materials and methods
Consecutive 70 MOWHTOs (66 patients) were performed between 01.01.2004 and 31.12.2008 with the mean follow-up time of 11.4 (SD 4.5; range 1.2–16.1) years. The Kaplan–Meier survival analysis was used to evaluate the cumulative survival of the implant in terms of age (< 50 years old and ≥ 50 years old) and gender. Adverse events were studied and Cox regression analysis was used to evaluate risk factors age, gender, body mass index (BMI), preoperative mechanical axis, severity of OA, use of bone grafting or substitution and undercorrection of mechanical axis from varus to valgus for revisions.
Results
The estimates for the cumulative survival with no need for TKA after MOWHTO were 86% at 5 years, 67% at 10 years and 58% at 16.1 years (SE 0.6, CI 95% 11.1–13.5). A total of 33/70 (47%) adverse events occurred and 38/70 (54%) knees required some revision surgery during the follow-up. Cox regression did not show any statistically significant risk factors for revision.
Conclusions
The PP has feasible MOWHTO results with a cumulative survival of 67% at 10 years with no need for conversion to TKA. Many adverse events occurred and revision rate due to any reason was high. Age or gender did not have statistically significant differences in terms of survival.
Background and objective:
The aim of this study was to investigate the health-related quality of life before and after a hip and a knee arthroplasty operation using a 15D instrument and to compare ...these scores to the Finnish control population 15D scores.
Methods:
The pre- and post-operative data of 15D were prospective collected from the patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty or total knee arthroplasty at the Kuopio University Hospital. Post-operative data were collected at 6 and 12 months after the operation.
Results:
The mean change of the 15D score after hip arthroplasty was +0.062 and after knee arthroplasty, it was +0.033 at the 12-month follow-up (p < 0.001). Total hip arthroplasty patients of all ages reached the control population 15D scores at the 12-month follow-up. Of the total knee arthroplasty patients, only patients aged >75 years and males aged 55–64 years did reach control population 15D scores at the 12-month follow-up. Patients experienced a statistically significant improvement in mobility, vision, sleeping, usual activities, discomfort and symptoms, distress, and vitality (p < 0.05).
Conclusions:
Successful hip and knee arthroplasty operations improve patients’ health-related quality of life. According to this study, hip arthroplasty improves the health-related quality of life more than knee arthroplasty.
Abstract Recent research emphasizes the contribution of environmental as well as genetic factors to the etiology of autism but studies testing associations between chemical exposures and autism have ...been limited. Prenatal exposure to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) has previously been associated with decrements in cognitive and developmental performance. We conducted a pilot study in the Finnish Prenatal Study of Autism (FiPS-A). Seventy-five cases with autism and 75 controls matched on sex, birth year, urbanization and maternal age were sampled from first-born children in the Finnish Maternity Cohort, which includes over 1 million births. The study sample included births occurring from 1991 to 2000. Subjects were followed up for autism through 2007. DDT, DDE, PCB-118, PCB-138, PCB-153, PCB-156, PCB-170, PCB-180, hexachlorobenzene, and BDE-47 were measured in archived maternal serum samples taken during pregnancy using gas chromatography–high resolution mass spectrometry. Correlations between pollutant measures were assessed and mechanistically-related weighting schemes for summarizing PCB levels were compared. Case and control differences were assessed using graphical and statistical methods. All analytes, with the exception of DDT and BDE-47, were detected above the limit of quantification in all samples. The correlation between levels of individual PCB congeners and weighted summary measures was high (0.71–1.00). Paired t-tests revealed no significant differences between cases and controls for log-transformed mean values of any analyte; however, in an adjusted model the odds ratios for autism were 1.91 (p = 0.29) and 1.79 (p = 0.36) respectively, for subjects with total PCBs and DDE above the 90th percentile of control values. Levels of prenatal PCB exposure in FIPS-A were similar to the levels which previously correlated with poorer neurodevelopmental measures in other populations. Further study in a larger sample will be required to fully determine whether exposure to high POP levels is associated with autism diagnosis in the population.
Traceable and accurate measurements are critical in many areas where syringe pumps are used to provide microscale liquid flow. Especially, drug delivery demands for low flow rate calibrations have ...been increasing, but currently available calibration methods are very limited in range and accuracy at flow rates below 100 μl min
−1
. This paper presents a new hygrometer-based method for the calibration of syringe pumps providing traceability down to the 0.1 μl min
−1
level. In this method, liquid water from the syringe pump under calibration is injected into a porous cloth from which it evaporates and mixes with a dry gas flow. By measuring the humidity, temperature, pressure and flow rate of the gas, the injected water flow rate can be calculated. To test the method, a calibration set-up was constructed and a syringe pump was calibrated at flow rates from 0.1 to 10 μl min
−1
. A thorough uncertainty analysis carried out as a part of the work shows that a relative uncertainty of 0.4 % (at 95 % confidence level) is achieved at the largest calibration flow rate. The uncertainty increases to 3.3 % towards low end of the flow rate range. The achieved uncertainty level is significantly better than achieved with gravimetric methods so far.
This retrospective study investigated the survival rate and complications of medial opening wedge high tibial osteotomy (MOWHTO) with a precountered titanium locking plate.
Advanced age (≥50years), ...gender, body mass index (BMI), type of osteotomy cut (monoplanar or biplanar), osteoarthritis (OA) grade, the use of bone grafting or substitution and preoperative hip-knee-ankle (HKA) have impact on MOWHTO survival.
A total of 167 knees (155 patients) were consecutively operated during the study period of 01.01.2006–31.12.2014. The primary outcome measure was survival without a need for revision to total knee arthroplasty (TKA). The secondary outcome was a major adverse event leading to revision surgery. Adverse events and complications were evaluated and radiological analyses were done. Furthermore, risk factors that affected the survival were analysed with the Cox regression model.
The mean follow-up time was 7.7 (SD: 2.7, range: 0.9–14.5) years. The Kaplan-Meier estimates for the cumulative survival considering no need for TKA after MOWHTO was 90% at 5years, 78% at 10years and 61% at 14.5years (SE: 0.4, 95% CI: 11.2–12.9). The adverse event rate was 30% and 35% of the patients required a secondary surgery. The Cox regression model did not show that age, gender, weight, osteotomy type, the use of bone grafting or substitution, preoperative HKA angle or OA grade were not risk factors for conversion to arthroplasty.
MOWHTO with locking plate provides good survival with no need for TKA in 78% of the knee medial OA patients at 10years of cumulative follow-up. However, a high adverse event rate (30%) is expected. Risk factors for conversion to TKA were not found and thereby hypothesis of this study was not proved.
VI; Retrospective cohort study.
The human CYP2A6 enzyme metabolises several xenobiotics including nicotine, the addictive component in tobacco. Reduced activity of CYP2A6, either for genetic reasons or by administering inhibitors ...of CYP2A6, reduces tobacco smoking. The aim was to design novel inhibitors of CYP2A6 using 3D-QSAR analysis combined with virtual screening. A 3D-QSAR model was utilised to identify the most important features of the inhibitors, and this knowledge was used to design inhibitors for CYP2A6. Chemical database screening yielded several potent inhibitor candidates such as alkylamine derivatives (compound no. 5, IC50=0.1μM) and 1-benzothiophene-3-carbaldehyde that can be used as lead compounds in the development of drugs for smoking reduction therapy.
The study investigates the benefits of using a verbal analysis protocol combined with wireless audiovisual observation technology to collect information about consumer behaviour in real‐life ...environments. A sample of consumers (n = 36) were given a task to select food products in 11 different categories in a supermarket. Combining methods enabled simultaneous collection of multiple forms of qualitative and quantitative data by recording data simultaneously from different perspectives: the consumer's visual range; the wider shopping environment, to provide context; the consumer's verbalizations. Qualitative data on extrinsic and intrinsic factors that affect decision making and quantitative data on product selection time were taken as an example of rich and real‐time data obtained using the combined methods. Audiovisual material was analysed by Usability Test Software 2.0, verbal analysis data were sorted by a database programme and quantitative data were processed using SPSS 17.0. The study design provided sensitive verification of the nature of consumer interaction with the shopping environment: e.g. during the product selection time (average 23 ± 10 s/product), the interaction with the environment varied between individuals and among products selected. The approach represents a useful technique to enable the value of consumer input to direct innovation in consumer‐oriented product development. It also offers new perspectives to consumers and authorities and related organizations to understand shopping behaviour and the role of critical factors behind the food choices at the supermarket.
Periprosthetic bone loss, especially in the proximal part of the femur, is common after cemented and uncemented total hip arthroplasty (THA). Bone loss can be progressive and, in the extreme, may ...threaten survival of the prosthesis. To study whether alendronate therapy can reduce bone loss adjacent to prostheses, 13 uncemented primary THA patients were randomized to the study. They received 10 mg alendronate + 500 mg calcium (n = 8) or 500 mg calcium only (n = 5) daily for 6 months follow‐up after THA. Periprosthetic bone mineral density (BMD) was measured with dual energy X‐ray absorptiometry (DXA). Decreases in periprosthetic BMD in the alendronate‐treated group were lower compared with the changes in the calcium‐only group in the same regions of interest at the same follow‐up time. In the proximal femur, the mean BMD decrease was 17.1% in the calcium‐only group, whereas in the alendronate‐treated group the decrease was only 0.9% (p = 0.019). The mean periprosthetic BMD change was also significantly different in the total periprosthetic area between the study groups at the end of the follow‐up (calcium‐only group −9.9% vs. alendronate‐treated group −2.6%; p = 0.019). Alendronate therapy led to a significant reduction in periprosthetic bone loss after primary uncemented THA compared with the changes found in patients without therapy. This kind of bone response may improve the support of the prosthesis and may result in better survival of the prosthesis. However, in this study the follow‐up time was too short and the study population was too small to make any long‐term conclusions as to the prognosis for THA patients treated with alendronate.
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