Spino-femoral muscles affect sagittal alignment and compensatory recruitment: a new look into soft tissues in adult spinal deformity

Objective To quantify muscle characteristics (volumes and fat infiltration) and identify their relationship to sagittal malalignment and compensatory mechanism recruitment. Methods Female adult spinal deformity patients underwent T1-weighted MRI with a 2-point Dixon protocol from the proximal tibia up to the T12 vertebra. 3D reconstructions of 17 muscles, including extensors and flexors of spine, hip and knee, were obtained. Muscle volume standardized by bone volume and percentage of fat infiltration (Pfat) were calculated. Correlations and regressions were performed. Results A total of 22 patients were included. Significant correlations were observed between sagittal alignment and muscle parameters. Fat infiltration of the hip and knee flexors and extensors correlated with larger C7-S1 SVA. Smaller spinal flexor/extensor volumes correlated with greater PI-LL mismatch (r = − 0.45 and − 0.51). Linear regression identified volume of biceps femoris as only predictor for PT (R2 = 0.34, p = 0.005) and Pfat of gluteus minimus as only predictor for SVA (R2 = 0.45, p = 0.001). Sagittally malaligned patients with larger PT (26.8° vs. 17.2°) had significantly smaller volume and larger Pfat of gluteus medius, gluteus minimus and biceps femoris, but similar values for gluteus maximus, the hip extensor. Conclusion This study is the first to quantify the relationship between degeneration of spino-femoral muscles and sagittal malalignment. This pathoanatomical study identifies the close relationship between gluteal, hamstring muscles and PT, SVA, which deepens our understanding of the underlying etiology that contributes to adult spinal deformity.The manuscript submitted does not contain information about medical device(s)/drug(s). This work received funding from Youth Fund of Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (BK20180122). This work received funding from Key Project supported by Medical Science and Technology Development Foundation, Nanjing Department of Health (YKK18092)

Estimation of spinopelvic muscles' volumes in young asymptomatic subjects: a quantitative analysis.

Purpose Muscles have been proved to be a major component in postural regulation during pathological evolution or aging. Particularly, spinopelvic muscles are recruited for compensatory mechanisms such as pelvic retroversion, or knee flexion. Change in muscles’ volume could, therefore, be a marker of greater postural degradation. Yet, it is difficult to interpret spinopelvic muscular degradation as there are few reported values for young asymptomatic adults to compare to. The objective was to provide such reference values on spinopelvic muscles. A model predicting the muscular volume from reduced set of MRI segmented images was investigated. Methods A total of 23 asymptomatic subjects younger than 24 years old underwent an MRI acquisition from T12 to the knee. Spinopelvic muscles were segmented to obtain an accurate 3D reconstruction, allowing precise computation of muscle’s volume. A model computing the volume of muscular groups from less than six MRI segmented slices was investigated. Results Baseline values have been reported in tables. For all muscles, invariance was found for the shape factor [ratio of volume over (area times length): SD \0.04] and volume ratio over total volume (SD \1.2 %). A model computing the muscular volume from a combination of two to five slices has been evaluated. The five-slices model prediction error (in % of the real volume from 3D reconstruction) ranged from 6 % (knee flexors and extensors and spine flexors) to 11 % (spine extensors). Conclusion Spinopelvic muscles’ values for a reference population have been reported. A new model predicting the muscles’ volumes from a reduced set of MRI slices is proposed. While this model still needs to be validated on other populations, the current study appears promising for clinical use to determine, quantitatively, the muscular degradation.The authors thank the ParisTech BiomecAM chair program on subject-specific musculoskeletal modelling, and in particular COVEA and Sociéte Générale. The authors thank the support received from the Anatomy association from Nice, France (Association d’Anatomie Nic¸oise). The authors also thank the support received from the Fulbright Program as a Fulbright PhD scholarship

Avatar-mediated creativity: When embodying inventors makes engineers more creative

An important challenge today is to support creativity while enabling geographically distant people to work together. In line with the componential theory of creativity, self-perception theory and recent research on the Proteus Effect, we investigate how avatars, which are virtual representations of the self, may be a medium for stimulating creativity. For this purpose, we conducted two studies with a population of engineering students. In the first study, 114 participants responded to online surveys in order to identify what a creative avatar may look like. This enabled us to select avatars representing inventors, which were perceived as creative by engineering students, and neutral avatars. In the second study, 54 participants brainstormed in groups of 3, in 3 different conditions: in a control face-to-face situation, in a virtual environment while embodying neutral avatars and in a virtual environment with inventor avatars. The results show that inventor avatars led to higher performance in fluency and originality of ideas. Moreover, this benefit proved to endure over time since participants allocated to inventor avatars also performed better in a subsequent face-to-face brainstorming. The prospects of using avatars for enhancing creativity-relevant processes are discussed in terms of theoretical and applicative implication

Dietary flavanol intervention lowers the levels of endothelial microparticles in coronary artery disease patients

Current evidence suggests that regenerative v. degenerative endothelial responses can be integrated in a clinical endothelial phenotype, reflecting the net result between damage from risk factors and endogenous repair capacity. We have previously shown that a cocoa flavanol (CF) intervention can improve endothelial function and increase the regenerative capacity of the endothelium by mobilising circulating angiogenic cells in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). The aim of the present study was to investigate whether CF can lower the levels of circulating endothelial microparticles (EMP), markers of endothelial integrity, along with improvements in endothelial function. The levels of EMP in the frozen plasma samples of CAD patients were measured along with endothelial function (flow-mediated vasodilation, FMD); n 16, FMD data published previously), and these data were compared with those of young (n 12) and age-matched (n 12) healthy control subjects. The CAD patients exhibited significantly increased levels of EMP along with impaired FMD when compared with the healthy control subjects. The levels of CD144+ and CD31+/41− EMP were inversely correlated with FMD (r − 0·67, P= 0·01 and r − 0·59, P= 0·01, respectively). In these CAD patients, the levels of EMP were measured after they had consumed a drink containing 375 mg of CF (high-CF intervention, HiFI) or 9 mg of CF (macro- and micronutrient-matched low-CF control, LoFl) twice daily over a 30-d period in a randomised, double-blind, cross-over study. After 1 month of HiFI, the levels of CD31+/41− and CD144+ EMP decreased ( − 25 and − 23 %, respectively), but not after LoFl. Our data show that flavanols lower the levels of EMP along with higher endothelial function, lending evidence to the novel concept that flavanols may improve endothelial integrity

Napa freática: Dinámica, variables de control y contenido de nitratos en suelos de pampa arenosa

A fin de estudiar la dinámica y control de la napa freática y el contenido de nitratos, en lotes agrícolas del Oeste bonaerense, se analizaron registros de ocho años de nivel freático y muestras de agua extraídas durante dos años. El modelo hidrológico DRAINMOD fue calibrado y validado en base a registros de freatímetros instalados en 12 lotes agrícolas, ubicados en un radio de 100 km. Las curvas de retención hídrica requeridas por el modelo fueron estimadas mediante funciones de pedotransferencia. Un segundo conjunto de freatímetros fue instalado en noviembre del 2011 para el muestreo mensual y análisis de la evolución del contenido de nitratos bajo diferentes cultivos en posiciones de loma, media-loma y bajo, durante dos campañas agrícolas. DRAINMOD fue evaluado para ser utilizado en la estimación del impacto de la variación climática interanual, uso de tierras y estructuras de control sobre la profundidad de la napa. En este aspecto, se analizaron estrategias de control del nivel freático, combinando drenes subterráneos con el nivel de consumo de rotaciones agrícolas y pasturas en toposecuencias. Considerando la totalidad de las observaciones, en calibración, el modelo predijo la profundidad de la napa con un error medio de 25 cm y una eficiencia (Nash-Sutcliffe) promedio de 0,88. Mientras que en validación el error medio fue de 39 cm y la eficiencia media fue de 0,73. Respecto a la concentración de N-NO3 en agua se observó un efecto significativo de la posición en el paisaje y de la profundidad de la napa. El 52% de las muestras superaron los 10 mg L-1, independientemente de la dosis de N aplicado como fertilizantes, y mayormente relacionado a las excesivas precipitaciones del invierno del año 2012.Esto implicaría que una proporción significativa de nitratos lixiviados, provendría del proceso natural de mineralización del carbono orgánica del suelo.Groundwater table depth and nitrate (NO3-N) concentration were studied in agricultural fields, in western Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. DRAINMOD, a process-based and field-scale hydrological model was calibrated and validated for studying groundwater table depth control strategies, at 12 farms located within a radius of 100 km, using records from 2004 to 2012. Pedotransfer functions were evaluated and applied to setup model inputs. A second set of observation wells were installed in 2011 to take monthly groundwater samples for studying NOsub -N concentration under different crops, at three landscape positions (upper, middle and lower hill) at seven farms. Model performance was evaluated in order to be used as a decision support system to estimate the impact of potential management, land use and climate scenarios, on groundwater table dynamics. Likewise, groundwater control strategies were analyzed for agricultural sandy soils of Western Pampa, combining tile drains, crop rotations and pastures, on the landscape. All observations considered, DRAINMOD predicted daily groundwater table depth with an average Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) of 0.88, and an average RMSE of 25 cm. At validation, the model presented an average RMSE of 39 cm and NSE of 0.73. Drainmod was also used to estimate groundwater table changes under different land use changes, As for NO3-N concentration, a significant effect of the landscape position and water table depth was observed. Considering 10 mg L-1 NO3-N as a standard limit, 52% of the observations exceeded this value, regardless N fertilization rates and mostly related to unusual precipitations events during winter 2012. Results showed that a significant proportion of leached nitrate would came from the natural process of mineralization of soil organic matter.Instituto de Tecnología de AlimentosFil: Vázquez Amabile, Gabriel G. Asociación Argentina de Consorcios Regionales de Experimentación Agrícola (AACREA). Unidad de Investigación y Desarrollo; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Escuela de Bosques. Posgrado en Manejo Integral de Cuencas Hidrográficas; ArgentinaFil: Bosch, Nicolas. Asociación Argentina de Consorcios Regionales de Experimentación Agrícola (AACREA). Unidad de Investigación y Desarrollo; ArgentinaFil: Ricca, Alejandra Patricia. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Tecnología de Alimentos; ArgentinaFil: Rojas, Dante Emanuel. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Tecnología de Alimentos; ArgentinaFil: Ortiz de Zárate, María L. Asociación Argentina de Consorcios Regionales de Experimentación Agrícola (AACREA). Unidad de Investigación y Desarrollo; ArgentinaFil: Lascombes, Joaquín. Asociación Argentina de Consorcios Regionales de Experimentación Agrícola (AACREA). Unidad de Investigación y Desarrollo; ArgentinaFil: Feiguín, María F. Asociación Argentina de Consorcios Regionales de Experimentación Agrícola (AACREA). Unidad de Investigación y Desarrollo; ArgentinaFil: Cristos, Diego Sebastian. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Tecnología de Alimentos; Argentin

Cytokine Combination Therapy with Erythropoietin and Granulocyte Colony Stimulating Factor in a Porcine Model of Acute Myocardial Infarction

PurposeErythropoietin (EPO) and granulocyte colony stimulating factor (GCSF) have generated interest as novel therapies after myocardial infarction (MI), but the effect of combination therapy has not been studied in the large animal model. We investigated the impact of prolonged combination therapy with EPO and GCSF on cardiac function, infarct size, and vascular density after MI in a porcine model.MethodsMI was induced in pigs by a 90 min balloon occlusion of the left anterior descending coronary artery. 16 animals were treated with EPO+GCSF, or saline (control group). Cardiac function was assessed by echocardiography and pressure-volume measurements at baseline, 1 and 6 weeks post-MI. Histopathology was performed 6 weeks post-MI.ResultsAt week 6, EPO+GCSF therapy stabilized left ventricular ejection fraction, (41 ± 1% vs. 33 ± 1%, p < 0.01) and improved diastolic function compared to the control group. Histopathology revealed increased areas of viable myocardium and vascular density in the EPO+GCSF therapy, compared to the control. Despite these encouraging results, in a historical analysis comparing combination therapy with monotherapy with EPO or GCSF, there were no significant additive benefits in the LVEF and volumes overtime using the combination therapy.ConclusionOur findings indicate that EPO+GCSF combination therapy promotes stabilization of cardiac function after acute MI. However, combination therapy does not seem to be superior to monotherapy with either EPO or GCSF

Microparticules endothéliales circulantes et fonctions artérielles chez l'insuffisant rénal chronique dialysé

AIX-MARSEILLE2-BU Méd/Odontol. (130552103) / SudocPARIS-BIUM (751062103) / SudocSudocFranceF

Microparticules endothéliales circulantes et dysfonction endothéliale in vivo

PARIS7-Bibliothèque centrale (751132105) / SudocSudocFranceF

Messages from the heart

International audienceNo abstract availableComment o