Background
While surgical navigation offers the opportunity to accurately place an acetabular component, questions remain as to the best goal for acetabular component positioning in individual ...patients. Overall functional orientation of the pelvis after surgery is one of the most important variables for the surgeon to consider when determining the proper goal for acetabular component orientation.
Questions/Purposes
We measured the variation in pelvic tilt in 30 patients before THA and the effect of THA on pelvic tilt in the same patients more than a year after THA.
Methods
Each patient had a CT study for CT-based surgical navigation and standing and supine radiographs before and after surgery. Pelvic tilt was calculated for each of the radiographs using a novel and validated two-dimensional/three-dimensional matching technique.
Results
Mean supine pelvic tilt changed less than 2°, from 4.4° ± 6.4° (range, −7.7° to 20.8°) before THA to 6.3° ± 6.6° (range, −5.7° to 19.6°) after THA. Mean standing pelvic tilt changed less than 1°, from 1.5° ± 7.2° (range, −13.1° to 12.8°) before THA to 2.0° ± 8.3° (range, −12.3° to 16.8°) after THA. Preoperative pelvic tilt correlated with postoperative tilt in both the supine (r
2
= 0.75) and standing (r
2
= 0.87) positions.
Conclusions
In this population, pelvic tilt had a small and predictable change after surgery. However, intersubject variability of pelvic tilt was high, suggesting preoperative pelvic tilt should be considered when determining desired acetabular component positioning on a patient-specific basis.
Atmospheric gas plasmas (AGPs) are able to selectively induce apoptosis in cancer cells, offering a promising alternative to conventional therapies that have unwanted side effects such as drug ...resistance and toxicity. However, the mechanism of AGP-induced cancer cell death is unknown. In this study, AGP is shown to up-regulate intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels and induce apoptosis in melanoma but not normal melanocyte cells. By screening genes involved in apoptosis, we identify tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-family members as the most differentially expressed cellular genes upon AGP treatment of melanoma cells. TNF receptor 1 (TNFR1) antagonist-neutralizing antibody specifically inhibits AGP-induced apoptosis signal, regulating apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1 (ASK1) activity and subsequent ASK1-dependent apoptosis. Treatment of cells with intracellular ROS scavenger N-acetyl-l-cysteine also inhibits AGP-induced activation of ASK1, as well as apoptosis. Moreover, depletion of intracellular ASK1 reduces the level of AGP-induced oxidative stress and apoptosis. The evidence for TNF-signaling dependence of ASK1-mediated apoptosis suggests possible mechanisms for AGP activation and regulation of apoptosis-signaling pathways in tumor cells.
The combined diffusion coefficient method is widely used to treat the mixing and demixing of different plasma gases and vapours in thermal plasmas, such as welding arcs and plasma jets. It greatly ...simplifies the treatment of diffusion for many gas mixtures without sacrificing accuracy. Here, three subjects that are important in the implementation of the combined diffusion coefficient method are considered. First, it is shown that different expressions for the combined diffusion coefficients, arising from different definitions for the stoichiometric coefficients that assign the electrons to the two gases, are equivalent. Second, an approach is presented for calculating certain partial differential terms in the combined temperature and pressure diffusion coefficients that can cause difficulties. Finally, a method for applying the combined diffusion coefficients in computational models, which typically require diffusion to be expressed in terms of mass fraction gradients, is given.
This open-label noncontrolled, phase II multicenter trial was designed to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and efficacy of 200 mg of AFN-1252, a selective inhibitor of Staphylococcus aureus ...enoyl-acyl carrier protein reductase (FabI), given by mouth twice daily in the treatment of acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (ABSSSI) due to staphylococci. Important aspects of the current study included a comparison of early response efficacy endpoints with end-of-treatment and follow-up endpoints. Many patients in the intent-to-treat population (n = 103) had significant comorbidities. The overall early response rate at day 3 was 97.3% (wound, 100%; abscess, 96.6%; cellulitis, 94.4%) in the microbiologically evaluable (ME) population. Within the ME population, 82.9% of patients had a ≥ 20% decrease in the area of erythema, and 77.9% of patients had a ≥ 20% decrease in the area of induration, on day 3. S. aureus was detected in 97.7% of patients (n = 37 patients with methicillin-resistant S. aureus MRSA, and n = 39 with methicillin-sensitive S. aureus MSSA). No isolates had increased AFN-1252 MICs posttreatment. Microbiologic eradication rates for S. aureus were 93.2% at short-term follow-up (STFU) and 91.9% at long-term follow-up (LTFU) in the ME population. Eradication rates for MRSA and MSSA were 91.9% and 92.3%, respectively, at STFU and 91.9% and 89.7%, respectively, at LTFU. The most frequently reported drug-related adverse events, which were mostly mild or moderate, were headache (26.2%) and nausea (21.4%). These studies demonstrate that AFN-1252 is generally well tolerated and effective in the treatment of ABSSSI due to S. aureus, including MRSA. (This study has been registered at ClinicalTrials.gov under registration no. NCT01519492.).
Abstract Pain in head and neck cancer represents a major issue, before, during and after the oncological treatments. The most frequent cause of pain is chemo/radiation related oral mucositis, which ...involves 80% of the patients and worsens their quality of life inhibiting speaking, eating, drinking or swallowing and sometimes reducing the treatment compliance, the maximum dose intensity and thus the potential efficacy of treatment. Nevertheless pain is still often under estimated and undertreated. An Italian multidisciplinary group of head and neck cancer specialists met with the aim of reaching a consensus on pain management in this setting. The Delphi Appropriateness method was used for the consensus. External expert reviewers evaluated the final statements. The paper contains 30 consensus-reached statements about pain management in HNC patients and offers a review of recent literature in these topics.
Soil salinity (high levels of water-soluble salt) and sodicity (high levels of exchangeable sodium), called collectively salt-affected soils, affect approximately 932 million ha of land globally. ...Saline and sodic landscapes are subjected to modified hydrologic processes which can impact upon soil chemistry, carbon and nutrient cycling, and organic matter decomposition. The soil organic carbon (SOC) pool is the largest terrestrial carbon pool, with the level of SOC an important measure of a soil's health. Because the SOC pool is dependent on inputs from vegetation, the effects of salinity and sodicity on plant health adversely impacts upon SOC stocks in salt-affected areas, generally leading to less SOC. Saline and sodic soils are subjected to a number of opposing processes which affect the soil microbial biomass and microbial activity, changing CO₂ fluxes and the nature and delivery of nutrients to vegetation. Sodic soils compound SOC loss by increasing dispersion of aggregates, which increases SOC mineralisation, and increasing bulk density which restricts access to substrate for mineralisation. Saline conditions can increase the decomposability of soil organic matter but also restrict access to substrates due to flocculation of aggregates as a result of high concentrations of soluble salts. Saline and sodic soils usually contain carbonates, which complicates the carbon (C) dynamics. This paper reviews soil processes that commonly occur in saline and sodic soils, and their effect on C stocks and fluxes to identify the key issues involved in the decomposition of soil organic matter and soil aggregation processes which need to be addressed to fully understand C dynamics in salt-affected soils.
Canine Chronic Ulcerative Stomatitis is a spontaneously occurring inflammatory disease of the oral mucosa. An immune-mediated pathogenesis is suspected though not yet proven. We have recently ...reported on the clinical and histologic features, and identification of select leukocyte cell populations within the lesion. A clinical and histologic similarity to oral lichen planus of people was proposed. In the present study, these initial observations are extended by examining lesions from 24 dogs with clinical evidence of chronic ulcerative stomatitis. Because dogs with chronic ulcerative stomatitis often have concurrent periodontal disease, we wondered if dental plaque/biofilm may be a common instigator of inflammation in both lesions. We hypothesized that dogs with chronic ulcerative stomatitis would exhibit a spectrum of pathologic changes and phenotype of infiltrating leukocytes that would inform lesion pathogenesis and that these changes would differ from inflammatory phenotypes in periodontitis. Previously we identified chronic ulcerative stomatitis lesions to be rich in FoxP3+ and IL17+ cells. As such, we suspect that these leukocytes play an important role in lesion pathogenesis. The current study confirms the presence of moderate to large numbers of FoxP3+ T cells and IL17+ cells in all ulcerative stomatitis lesions using confocal immunofluorescence. Interestingly, the majority of IL17+ cells were determined to be non-T cells and IL17+ cell frequencies were negatively correlated with severity on the clinical scoring system. Three histologic subtypes of ulcerative stomatitis were determined; lichenoid, deep stomatitis and granulomatous. Periodontitis lesions, like stomatitis lesions, were B cell and plasma cell rich, but otherwise differed from the stomatitis lesions. Direct immunofluorescence results did not support an autoantibody-mediated autoimmune disease process. This investigation contributes to the body of literature regarding leukocyte involvement in canine idiopathic inflammatory disease pathogenesis.
•Heat source distributions of arc with 600 a were simulated by a grid-based method.•Penetration depth obtained by coupled DEM-ISPH simulation agreed with experiment.•Welding flux initially heated the ...metal and was subsequently heated by the metal.•The slag covering the metal maintained the metal surface temperature.
Two-dimensional axisymmetric heat source distributions of the arc plasma were obtained by a grid-based simulation. These distributions and a particle-based method that couples the discrete element method (DEM) and incompressible smoothed particle hydrodynamics (ISPH) were then applied to verify the mechanisms of slag and weld pool formation and the thermal effects of flux and slag on the base metal, weld pool and weld bead. The slag and weld pool were simulated together, and their formation and resolidification mechanisms were verified. The velocity fields in the weld pool showed that the transport of high-temperature molten metal from the weld pool surface behind the center of the heat source to the bottom of the weld pool heated the bottom of the weld, leading to deep penetration. It was found that the heat on the metal surface near the heat source was temporarily absorbed by the flux, and the heat was transferred back to the metal surface after the heat source passed. The temperature decrease of the metal surface was also limited by the slag covering the metal surface, leading to a higher surface temperature in submerged arc welding than in gas metal arc welding.
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