MOBILE and the provision of total joint replacement

Modern joint replacements have been available for 45 years, but we still do not have clear indications for these interventions, and we do not know how to optimize the outcome for patients who agree to have them done. The MOBILE programme has been investigating these issues in relation to primary total hip and knee joint replacements, using mixed methods research

Neurospora strains incorporating fluffy, and their use as testers.

We have used fluffy (fl) strains extensively as female parents in mating-type tests and for a variety of other applications where high fertility and absence of conidia are advantageous

Biochemical and clinical response after umbilical cord blood transplant in a boy with early childhood-onset beta-mannosidosis.

BACKGROUND: Deficiency in the enzyme β-mannosidase was described over three decades ago. Although rare in occurrence, the presentation of childhood-onset β-mannosidase deficiency consists of hypotonia in the newborn period followed by global development delay, behavior problems, and intellectual disability. No effective pharmacologic treatments have been available. METHODS: We report 2-year outcomes following the first umbilical cord blood transplant in a 4-year-old boy with early childhood-onset disease. RESULTS: We show restoration of leukocyte β-mannosidase activity which remained normal at 2 years posttransplant, and a simultaneous increase in plasma β-mannosidase activity and dramatic decrease in urine-free oligosaccharides were also observed. MRI of the brain remained stable. Neurocognitive evaluation revealed test point gains, although the magnitude of improvement was less than expected for age, causing lower IQ scores that represent a wider developmental gap between the patient and unaffected peers. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that hematopoietic cell transplant can correct the biochemical defect in β-mannosidosis, although preservation of the neurocognitive trajectory may be a challenge

Audio Features Affected by Music Expressiveness

Within a Music Information Retrieval perspective, the goal of the study presented here is to investigate the impact on sound features of the musician's affective intention, namely when trying to intentionally convey emotional contents via expressiveness. A preliminary experiment has been performed involving $10$ tuba players. The recordings have been analysed by extracting a variety of features, which have been subsequently evaluated by combining both classic and machine learning statistical techniques. Results are reported and discussed.Comment: Submitted to ACM SIGIR Conference on Research and Development in Information Retrieval (SIGIR 2016), Pisa, Italy, July 17-21, 201

USING A NONLINEAR CROSSED RANDOM EFFECTS MODEL WITH THREE-WAY TREATMENT STRUCTURE FOR DESCRIBING CIRCADIAN PATTERNS OF SERUM PROLACTIN CONCENTRATIONS IN HEAT STRESSED HOLSTEINS

A modified Gaussian model with three-level crossed and nested random effects is used to describe circadian patterns of serum prolactin concentrations in a crossover experiment. Testing of three-way treatment effects and carryover effects are incorporated with the model building process as is the within-group correlation. We found that the interaction between environment and parity had significant effect (p\u3c0.05) on both initial serum prolactin concentration and range of the prolactin concentration. There was no significant effect of recombinant bovine somatotropin (rbST) on either the initial value or concentration of serum prolactin. The inclusion of carryover effects in the model significantly improves the fit of the multilevel nonlinear mixed effects model. We present in detail a general approach to nonlinear crossed random effects model building and three-way treatment effects testing

The ball in play demands of international rugby union

Objectives: Rugby union is a high intensity intermittent sport, typically analysed via set time periods or rolling average methods. This study reports the demands of international rugby union via global positioning system (GPS) metrics expressed as mean ball in play (BiP), maximum BiP (max BiP), and whole match outputs. Design: Single cohort cross sectional study involving 22 international players, categorised as forwards and backs. Methods: A total of 88 GPS files from eight international test matches were collected during 2016. An Opta sportscode timeline was integrated into the GPS software to split the data into BiP periods. Metres per min (m.min-1), high metabolic load per min (HML), accelerations per min (Acc), high speed running per min (HSR), and collisions per min (Coll) were expressed relative to BiP periods and over the whole match (>60min). Results: Whole match metrics were significantly lower than all BiP metrics (p < 0.001). Mean and max BiP HML, (p < 0.01) and HSR (p < 0.05) were significantly higher for backs versus forwards, whereas Coll were significantly higher for forwards (p < 0.001). In plays lasting 61s or greater, max BiP m.min-1 were higher for backs. Max BiP m.min-1, HML, HSR and Coll were all time dependant (p < 0.05) showing that both movement metrics and collision demands differ as length of play continues. Conclusions: This study uses a novel method of accurately assessing the BiP demands of rugby union. It also reports typical and maximal demands of international rugby union that can be used by practitioners and scientists to target training of worst-case scenario's equivalent to international intensity. Backs covered greater distances at higher speeds and demonstrated higher HML, in general play as well as 'worst case scenarios'; conversely forwards perform a higher number of collisions

Concave Plasmonic Particles: Broad-Band Geometrical Tunability in the Near Infra-Red

Optical resonances spanning the Near and Short Infra-Red spectral regime were exhibited experimentally by arrays of plasmonic nano-particles with concave cross-section. The concavity of the particle was shown to be the key ingredient for enabling the broad band tunability of the resonance frequency, even for particles with dimensional aspect ratios of order unity. The atypical flexibility of setting the resonance wavelength is shown to stem from a unique interplay of local geometry with surface charge distributions

Leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) and LIF receptor expression in human endometrium suggests a potential autocrine/paracrine function in regulating embryo implantation.

The uterine expression of leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) is essential for embryo implantation in the mouse. Here, we describe the expression of LIF, related members of this group of cytokines, oncostatin M and ciliary neurotrophic factor, and the LIF receptor beta and glycoprotein gp130 in normal human tissues and in the endometrium of fertile women. Our results show that LIF is the only one of these factors expressed at detectable levels in the endometrium of women of proven fertility. LIF expression is restricted to the endometrial glands during the secretory/postovulatory phase but is not present in the endometrium during the proliferative/preovulatory phase. The LIF receptor beta is expressed during the proliferative and secretory phases of the cycle and is restricted to the luminal epithelium. The associated signal-transducing component of the LIF receptor, gp130, is also expressed in both the luminal and glandular epithelium throughout the cycle. These results suggest that uterine expression of LIF in humans, like mice, may have a role in regulating embryo implantation, possibly through an autocrine/paracrine interaction between LIF and its receptor at the luminal epithelium

Charitable Food Systems' Capacity to Address Food Insecurity: An Australian Capital City Audit.

Australian efforts to address food insecurity are delivered by a charitable food system (CFS) which fails to meet demand. The scope and nature of the CFS is unknown. This study audits the organisational capacity of the CFS within the 10.9 square kilometres of inner-city Perth, Western Australia. A desktop analysis of services and 12 face-to-face interviews with representatives from CFS organisations was conducted. All CFS organisations were not-for⁻profit and guided by humanitarian or faith-based values. The CFS comprised three indirect services (IS) sourcing, banking and/or distributing food to 15 direct services (DS) providing food to recipients. DS offered 30 different food services at 34 locations feeding over 5670 people/week via 16 models including mobile and seated meals, food parcels, supermarket vouchers, and food pantries. Volunteer to paid staff ratios were 33:1 (DS) and 19:1 (IS). System-wide, food was mainly donated and most funding was philanthropic. Only three organisations received government funds. No organisation had a nutrition policy. The organisational capacity of the CFS was precarious due to unreliable, insufficient and inappropriate financial, human and food resources and structures. System-wide reforms are needed to ensure adequate and appropriate food relief for Australians experiencing food insecurity

Teaching introductory undergraduate Physics using commercial video games

Commercial video games are increasingly using sophisticated physics simulations to create a more immersive experience for players. This also makes them a powerful tool for engaging students in learning physics. We provide some examples to show how commercial off-the-shelf games can be used to teach specific topics in introductory undergraduate physics. The examples are selected from a course taught predominantly through the medium of commercial video games.Comment: Accepted to Physics Education, Fig1 does not render properly in this versio