Table1_Sensitivity of the Cervical Disc Loads, Translations, Intradiscal Pressure, and Muscle Activity Due to Segmental Mass, Disc Stiffness, and Muscle Strength in an Upright Neutral Posture.pdf

Musculoskeletal disorders of the cervical spine have increased considerably in recent times. To understand the effects of various biomechanical factors, quantifying the differences in disc loads, motion, and muscle force/activity is necessary. The kinematic, kinetic, or muscle response may vary in a neutral posture due to interindividual differences in segmental mass, cervical disc stiffness, and muscle strength. Therefore, our study aimed to develop an inverse dynamic model of the cervical spine, estimate the differences in disc loads, translations, intradiscal pressure, and muscle force/activity in a neutral posture and compare these results with data available in the literature. A head–neck complex with nine segments (head, C1–T1) was developed with joints having three rotational and three translational degrees of freedom, 517 nonlinear ligament fibers, and 258 muscle fascicles. A sensitivity analysis was performed to calculate the effect of segmental mass (5th to 95th percentile), translational disc stiffness (0.5–1.5), and muscle strength (0.5–1.5) on the cervical disc loads (C2–C3 to C7–T1), disc translations, intradiscal pressure, and muscle force/activity in a neutral posture. In addition, two axial external load conditions (0 and 40 N) were also considered on the head. The estimated intradiscal pressures (0.2–0.56 MPa) at 0 N axial load were comparable to in vivo measurements found in the literature, whereas at 40 N, the values were 0.39–0.93 MPa. With increased segmental mass (5th to 95th), the disc loads, translations, and muscle forces/activities increased to 69% at 0 N and 34% at 40 N axial load. With increased disc stiffness (0.5–1.5), the maximum differences in axial (<1%) and shear loads (4%) were trivial; however, the translations were reduced by 67%, whereas the differences in individual muscle group forces/activities varied largely. With increased muscle strength (0.5–1.5), the muscle activity decreased by 200%. For 40 vs. 0 N, the differences in disc loads, translations, and muscle forces/activities were in the range of 52–129%. Significant differences were estimated in disc loads, translations, and muscle force/activity in the normal population, which could help distinguish between normal and pathological cervical spine conditions.</p

Measured loads.

<p>Force and moment components and the resultant values during cycling on an ergometer at approximately 40 rpm and a power level of 85 W. The loading curves for 5 pedal revolutions of patient WP1 are shown.</p

Data on the patients and surgical procedures.

<p>Data on the patients and surgical procedures.</p

Force range versus power.

<p>The influence of the power level during cycling on the force ranges during a pedal revolution. The medians and ranges are shown for various power levels for the four patients (WP1, WP2, WP4 and WP5). The calculated average pedal force is represented by the dashed line.</p

Comparison of the average peak force values (in N) for cycling at a power of 85 W, level walking [8] and relaxed standing [9] measured on the same day and for lifting of a 10 kg weight from the ground.

<p>The values in parenthesis represent the ranges.</p

Peak resultant force versus power.

<p>The influence of the power level on the peak resultant force on the implant during cycling. The medians and ranges are shown for various power levels for the four patients (WP1, WP2, WP4 and WP5).</p

Detection and Structural Characterization of Natural Ara h 7, the Third Peanut Allergen of the 2S Albumin Family

In recent years, several novel relevant peanut allergens have been identified. Among those, a new member of the conglutin family was cloned by a phage display approach and initially annotated as Ara h 7.0101. Later, however, recloning of Ara h 7 revealed an alternate isoform, termed Ara h 7.0201. Because the natural Ara h 7 counterpart had not been found at the protein level in peanut extracts, the aim of the present study was to search for authentic natural Ara h 7 protein(s). To this end, enriched low molecular mass proteins (<20 kDa) from peanut extracts were separated by 2D electrophoresis and subjected to mass spectrometric analyses. Fifty of 65 analyzed spots were identified. Interestingly, Ara h 7.0101 was not identified, but Ara h 7.0201 and Ara h 7.0202, a different Ara h 7 isoallergen containing an additional pro-peptide cleavage site, were. In accordance with the conserved cysteine pattern of conglutins, Ara h 7.0201 possesses eight cysteine residues, in contrast to the six cysteines present in the previously cloned Ara h 7.0101. Moreover, a putative cleavage site in the Ara h 7.0202 isoform points to the characteristic biological function of conglutins as amylase/trypsin inhibitors

Data on patients, surgical procedures, number of measurements, load components, resultant force and resultant bending moment for lying relaxed in a supine position.

<p>Data on patients, surgical procedures, number of measurements, load components, resultant force and resultant bending moment for lying relaxed in a supine position.</p

Ten activities with the highest resultant implant force.

<p>Ranges of maximum forces, carried or lifted weight (in kg) and number (n) of measurements are given. For comparison, the data for walking are provided at the end.</p><p><i>italic</i>: not in the top 10 of this patient; <b>bold</b>: peak values from all subjects for that activity.</p

Ten activities with the highest shear force (in N) in the anterior direction.

<p>The carried weights (in kg) belong to the observed maximum force. Negative values indicate a shear force in the posterior direction.</p><p><i>italic</i>: not in the top 10 of this patient; <b>bold</b>: peak values from all subjects for that activity</p