Hands-off and hands-on casting consistency of amputee below knee sockets using magnetic resonance imaging

Residual limb shape capturing (Casting) consistency has a great influence on the quality of socket fit. Magnetic Resonance Imaging was used to establish a reliable reference grid for inter cast and intra cast shape and volume consistency of two common casting methods, Hands-off and Hands-on. Design: Residual limbs were cast for twelve people with a unilateral below knee amputation and scanned twice for each casting concept. Subsequently, all four volume images of each amputee were semi-automatically segmented and registered to a common coordinate system using the tibia and then the shape and volume differences were calculated. Results: The results show that both casting methods have intra cast volume consistency and there is no significant volume difference between the two methods. Inter and intra cast mean volume differences were not clinically significant based on the volume of one sock criteria. Neither the Hands-off nor the Hands-on method resulted in a consistent residual limb shape as the coefficient of variation of shape differences was high. Conclusion: The resultant shape of the residual limb in the Hands-off casting was variable but the differences were not clinically significant. For the Hands-on casting, shape differences were equal to the maximum acceptable limit for a poor socket fit

Examination of anticipated chemical shift and shape distortion effect on materials commonly used in prosthetic socket fabrication when measured using MRI: a validation study

The quality of lower-limb prosthetic socket fit is influenced by shape and volume consistency during the residual limb shape-capturing process (i.e., casting). Casting can be quantified with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology. However, chemical shift artifact and image distortion may influence the accuracy of MRI when common socket/casting materials are used. We used a purpose-designed rig to examine seven different materials commonly used in socket fabrication during exposure to MRI. The rig incorporated glass marker tubes filled with water doped with 1 g/L copper sulfate (CS) and 9 plastic sample vials (film containers) to hold the specific material specimens. The specimens were scanned 9 times in different configurations. The absolute mean difference of the glass marker tube length was 1.39 mm (2.98%) (minimum = 0.13 mm [0.30%], maximum = 5.47 mm [14.03%], standard deviation = 0.89 mm). The absolute shift for all materials was <1.7 mm. This was less than the measurement tolerance of +/–2.18 mm based on voxel (three-dimensional pixel) dimensions. The results show that MRI is an accurate and repeatable method for dimensional measurement when using matter containing water. Additionally, silicone and plaster of paris plus 1 g/L CS do not show a significant shape distortion nor do they interfere with the MRI image of the residual limb

De madres, ciudades y tablillas: Alcances políticos y literarios de un enigma familiar en la Comedia Media (Antífanes, Safo, fr. 194 K.-A.)

El fragmento 194 (Kassel-Austin) del poeta cómico Antífanes, proveniente de su obra Safo (c. 360 a.C.), reproduce un diálogo entre la poetisa y un personaje desconocido que da cuenta de una adivinanza. La imagen propuesta de una mujer que protege a sus hijos, silenciosos, mientras lloran ante quien los quiera escuchar es, pues, resemantizada en el pasaje, a la vez, desde una dimensión política y un plano autorreferencial. Examinada inicialmente como una pólis que cobija a los demagogos corruptos, la escena familiar termina siendo decodificada en términos poéticos: se trata de un tablilla de escritura con letras que resultan sus mudos descendientes. El enigma, por tanto, supone una interesante estrategia para consolidar desde una visión cómica la polivalencia de la imagen maternal como un mecanismo metafórico eficiente para cargar las tintas sobre aquellas temáticas a las que el género concede un tratamiento privilegiado.The fragment 194 (Kassel-Austin) of the comic poet Antiphanes, from his play Sappho (c. 360 BCE), reproduces a dialogue between the poetess and an unknown character related to a riddle. The suggested image of a woman keeping his silent children safe while they cry loud to those who want to listen is re-signified in the passage from both a political and a self-referential level. Initially understood to be a pólis protecting her corrupt demagogues, the family scene is finally explained in terms of a writing tablet with letters seen as its mute children. The riddle, therefore, becomes an interesting strategy in order to consolidate, from a comic standpoint, the polyvalence of the maternal image as aefficient metaphorical mechanism capable of addressing those issues which are the main topics of the genre.Fil: Buis, Emiliano Jerónimo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires; Argentin

Matrimonios en crisis y respuestas legales : el divorcio unilateral o de común acuerdo en el derecho ateniense

Existe una creencia generalizada de que planteos que son propios del discurso actual del derecho de familia, como el que distingue un divorcio unilateral de uno por consenso, responden a una realidad contemporánea. El objetivo de este trabajo consiste en descubrir primero las particularidades del derecho ático, que se presenta como un sistema jurídico diferente del que hoy conocemos. Así, a partir de estas nociones y del análisis de distintos pasajes literarios del período clásico en que hallamos referencias al divorcio, se discute si efectivamente encontramos en aquella época una ruptura del vínculo matrimonial que se impone como sanción a uno de los cónyuges, frente a otra, por otro lado, que se pacta en términos cordiales entre marido y mujer. Esta re-lectura de los textos permite poder así encarar desde otro lugar nuestra realidad jurídica actual y echar luz sobre algunos aspectos aún bastante discutidos del régimen jurídico ateniense.There's a general idea that most notions which are stated through new tendencies in family law, as that idea of distinguishing unilateral divorce from a marriage dissolution agreed by husband and wife, are born as an updating response to modern problems. The first purpose of this paper is to discover the main characteristics of Attic Law, which should be conceived as a plainly different juridical system than ours. It will be discussed then whether these concepts and the analysis of literary passages from Classical times dealing with divorce allow us to find a difference between the breaking of marriage contract coming as a punishment for one of the parts, on one side, and a divorce friendly established by both man and woman, on the other. Revisiting these texts will help us think of our own legal institutions and to enlighten some aspects about Athenian regime which still seem to be under discussion

Los varones atenienses y el coro de ciudades aliadas en Póleis de Éupolis

Esta ponencia procurará examinar los fragmentos de la obra Póleis de Éupolis desde el contrapunto entre violencia y sometimiento, entre vigores y debilidades, que es propio de la concepción griega de las diferencias de género. Las múltiples referencias de los pasajes preservados a la política exterior en clave sexual son capaces de develar las relaciones de dominación en tanto enfrentamiento de la agresión 'masculinizada' de los Estados hegemónicos como Atenas y la impotencia 'afeminada' de las naciones oprimidas. En la obra los integrantes del coro están representados por las distintas ciudadesEstado aliadas de Atenas durante la Guerra del Peloponeso. Esas imágenes femeninas sirven para identificar variados perfiles que permiten pensar en las graves consecuencias políticas del sometimiento imperial

The validation of human decomposition fluid as a cadaver-detection dog training aid

University of Technology Sydney. Faculty of Science.Cadaver‐detection dogs are used by police services to locate human remains. Due to ethical restrictions, the dogs are not trained using human cadavers, but rather, using pseudo‐scents or human tissues, such as blood and decomposition fluid. However, the chemical profile of these training aids has not been comprehensively investigated and their accuracy as substitutes for decomposed remains has not been determined. The aim of this study was to validate human decomposition fluid as a training aid for cadaver‐detection dogs. The study examined the odour profile of decomposition fluid, including the changes in the profile over time (aged for one year) and under different storage conditions (room temperature, refrigerator and freezer) in order to determine the optimal conditions for its use as a training aid. The study also examined the dogs’ sensitivity to decomposition fluid and compared their responses with the chemical odour profiles. The odour profile of the decomposition fluid was collected using Solid‐Phase Micro‐Extraction (SPME) and analysed using Comprehensive Two Dimensional Gas Chromatography—Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry (GC×GC‐TOFMS). The volatile organic compounds (VOCs) identified in decomposition fluid were compared to the VOCs reported in the literature for human cadaver decomposition odour. A wide range of characteristic decomposition VOCs were identified in the decomposition fluid. While individual VOCs were not comparable to human remains, the compound class proportions of the odour profiles were deemed similar. Variable odour profiles were observed under different storage conditions; room temperature and refrigeration were suitable, but freezing was not recommended for sample storage. The decomposition fluid was also serially diluted to 1 part‐per‐trillion to determine the sensitivity of cadaver‐detection dogs to this training aid. The samples were presented to three cadaver-detection dog teams under standard indoor training conditions over 14 training sessions. The dogs were capable of detecting the 1 part‐per‐trillion dilutions after several exposures to the fluid. The samples were subsequently analysed using SPME‐GC×GC‐TOFMS to determine the odour profile for all dilution levels. A range of VOCs were detected, although their abundances decreased in the lowest dilutions. The results of this study suggest that decomposition fluid closely mimics the odour profile of a decomposing cadaver and is a suitable training aid for cadaver‐detection dogs when stored appropriately

X-ray tracing using Geant4

We describe an extension to the Geant4 software package that allows it to be used as a general purpose X-ray tracing package. We demonstrate its use by building a model of the X-ray optics of the XMM-Newton, calculating its effective area, and comparing the results with the published calibration curves.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication by NIMA, DOI know

The stability theory of solutions to partial differential equations - A bibliographical survey

Bibliographical survey of research on stability theory of solutions to partial differential equation