Ocena grubości mięśnia poprzecznego brzucha oraz jakości życia u usprawnianych z powodu konfliktu korzeniowo-dyskowego kręgosłupa lędźwiowo-krzyżowego leczonych operacyjnie metodą resekcji krążka kręgowego

Wstęp: Celem pracy było określenie zależności pomiędzy zmianą grubości mięśnia poprzecznego brzucha (TrA) po przeprowadzonej terapii z elementami reedukacji stabilizacji centralnej, a zmniejszeniem dolegliwości bólowych i jakością życia u chorych po przebytej resekcji krążka międzykręgowego kręgosłupa LS. Materiałi metody: Grupę badaną stanowiło 30 chorych (17 kobiet i 13 mężczyzn) w wieku 28-87 lat (58 ±15 lat) przebywających na turnusie rehabilitacyjnym. Wszyscy badani przebyli resekcję krążka międzykręgowego na poziomie LS w latach od 2012 do 2016 roku. U wszystkich włączonych do badania dokonano oceny ultrasonograficznej grubości mięśnia TrA, współczynnika aktywacji, procentowej zmiany grubości mięśnia, oceny jakości życia SF-36, oceny komponenty bólowej w skali VAS oraz do oceny sprawności wykorzystano skalę Barthel. Wszyscy badani zostali skierowani na 3-tygodniową terapię połączoną z reedukacją kontroli motorycznej uwzględniającą trening mięśni głębokich. Badania wykonano przed i po przeprowadzonej fizjoterapii w oparciu o autorski program ćwiczeń. Wyniki i wnioski: Procent zmiany grubości mięśnia TrA w pierwszym badaniu wynosił 15,84 ±0,1 %, natomiast po leczeniu 16,09 ±0,13 %. Między pomiarami nie odnotowano istotnie statystycznie różnic. W ocenie jakości życia pacjenci w pierwszym badaniu uzyskiwali średni wynik 113,23 ±28,07 pkt., natomiast w drugim 85,1 ±27,05 pkt. Różnica między wynikami była wysoce istotna statystycznie (p<0,001). Ocena komponenty bólowej w skali VAS wynosiła średnio w pierwszym badaniu 4,3 ±0,83 pkt., z kolei po interwencji 2,83 ±1,04 pkt. Różnica w pomiarach była wysoce istotna statystycznie (p<0,001). Ocena poziomu niepełnosprawności za pomocą skali Barthel ze średnim wynikiem 93,66 ±8,4 pkt. wykonana w badaniu pierwszym świadczyła o pełnej sprawności badanych osób. Przeprowadzona u chorych operowanych z powodu konfliktu korzeniowo-dyskowego kręgosłupa LS autorska terapia, wpływa korzystnie na zmianę grubości mięśnia TrA zarówno w skurczu jak i w spoczynku, wpływa również na obniżenie poziomu dolegliwości bólowych i poprawia jakość życia.Purpose: The aim of the study was to determine the relationship between the changes in abdominal transverse muscle thickness (TrA) after therapy that included elements of reeducation of central stabilisation, and pain reduction as well as quality of patients’ life after intervertebral disc resection of lumbar spine. Material and methods: The study group consisted of 30 patients (17 women and 13 men) aged 28-87 (58 ± 15) participating in a rehabilitation stay. All subjects underwent intervertebral disc resection (LS level) within the years 2012-2016. All subjects included in the study underwent ultrasound evaluation of the thickness of the TrA muscle, evaluation of activation ratio, percentage change in muscle thickness, evaluation of the quality of life with SF-36, assessment of pain components on the VAS scale and level of disability using the Barthel index. All the subjects were referred to a 3-week therapy programme combined with motor control re-education including deep muscle training. The tests were performed before and after the physiotherapy on the basis of the original exercise programme. Results and conclusions: esults and conclusions: The percentage of TrA muscle thickness change in the first exam was 15.84 ±0.1%, and 16.09 ±0.13% after treatment. There were no statistically significant differences between the measurements. In the assessment of quality of life, patients in the first exam reached the score of 113.23 ±28.07 points, whereas in the second one - 85.1 ±27.05 points. The difference between the results was statistically significant (p<0.001). Pain components on the VAS scale were assessed at 4.3 ±0.83 points on average in the former exam, and 2.83 ±1.04 points in the latter one. The difference in measurements was statistically significant (p<0.001). The assessment of the level of disability using the Barthel scale with an average score of 93.66 ±8.4 points, conducted in the first exam, indicated that the studied persons were characterised by full efficiency. The original therapy, carried out among subjects operated on due to disc-root conflict of the LS spine, has a positive effect on the thickness of the TrA muscle both in contraction and at rest, and also reduces the level of pain while improving quality of life

Wyniki czynnościowe usprawniania chorych po aloplastykach całkowitych stawu biodrowego endoprotezami krótkotrzpieniowymi i przynasadowymi

Wstęp: Aloplastyki całkowite stawu biodrowego z pewnością zajmują już trwałe miejsce w praktyce operacyjnej choroby zwyrodnieniowej, a także uszkodzeń urazowych szyjki kości udowej. Na przestrzeni ostatnich kilkunastu lat coraz większą uwagę skupiają na sobie tzw. endoprotezy przynasadowe i krótkotrzpieniowe, które niosą ze sobą nowe wyzwania operacyjne i rehabilitacyjne. Celem pracy była ocena wyników czynnościowych aloplastyki całkowitej stawów biodrowych z wykorzystaniem endoprotez krótkotrzpieniowych, przynasadowych oraz niecementowanych z trzpieniem standardowym. Projekt badań: Badanie retrospektywne. Materiał badań: Materiał badań pochodzi z lat 1993-2014 i obejmuje 180 operowanych z powodu zwyrodnienia stawów biodrowych metodą aloplastyki całkowitej, w tym 96 endoprotezą niecementowaną z trzpieniem standardowym typu ABG-1, co stanowi 53,4%, 62 endoprotezą przynasadową typu Proxima, co daje 34,4%, 14 endoprotezą krótkotrzpieniową typu BTS, czyli 7,7% oraz 8 endoprotezą z krótkim trzpieniem typu TL, co stanowi 4,4%. Metoda badań: Kilkukrotnie wykonywany test czynnościowy Harrisa. Wyniki badań: Uzyskane wyniki czynnościowe w poszczególnych grupach operowanych są porównywalne i zbieżne, bez wyraźnych różnic. Wnioski: Analizowane aloplastyki całkowite stawów biodrowych u większości operowanych, zarówno w obserwacji wczesnej, jak i odległej, skutkują bardzo dobrymi i dobrymi wynikami czynnościowymi oraz są porównywalne z wynikami aloplastyk całkowitych endoprotezami z trzpieniem standardowym. Operowani analizowanymi metodami nie wymagają odmiennych programu rehabilitacji o odrębnej charakterystyce biomechanicznej i klinicznej.Introduction: Total hip arthroplasty already has a permanent place among surgical procedures dealing with osteoarthritis, as well as traumatic injuries of the femoral neck. In recent years, there has been an increased interest in metaphyseal-fitting and short-stem endoprostheses, which bring new challenges regarding operating technique and rehabilitation care. The aim of this study was to evaluate functional results of total hip arthroplasty using the following endoprostheses: short-stem, metaphyseal-fitting, and cementless with a standard stem. Research Project: Retrospective study. Materials and methods: The research material covers the period between 1993 and 2014 and includes 180 patients operated on due to hip osteoarthritis using total hip arthroplasty. In 96 patients (53.4%) cementless endoprosthesis with a standard ABG-1 stem was used, in 62 patients (34.4%) the Proxima metaphyseal prosthesis was implanted, in 14 patients (7.7%) the BTS short-stem endoprosthesis was used, and in 8 patients (4.4%) TL short-stem endoprosthesis was used. Each patient was evaluated several times using the Harris Hip Score. Results: Functional results obtained in individual groups of patients who underwent surgery are comparable and consistent, without pronounced differences. Conclusions: Functional results obtained in analysed total hip arthroplasties were excellent and good in the majority of patients, both in the early and late observation periods. They are comparable with results of total hip arthroplasties with standard stem endoprosthesis. Patients operated on using the described methods do not require a different rehabilitation programme with different biomechanical or clinical characteristics when compared to patients with standard stem endoprostheses

Low-frequency, low-magnitude vibrations (LFLM) enhances chondrogenic differentiation potential of human adipose derived mesenchymal stromal stem cells (hASCs)

The aim of this study was to evaluate if low-frequency, low-magnitude vibrations (LFLM) could enhance chondrogenic differentiation potential of human adipose derived mesenchymal stem cells (hASCs) with simultaneous inhibition of their adipogenic properties for biomedical purposes. We developed a prototype device that induces low-magnitude (0.3 g) low-frequency vibrations with the following frequencies: 25, 35 and 45 Hz. Afterwards, we used human adipose derived mesenchymal stem cell (hASCS), to investigate their cellular response to the mechanical signals. We have also evaluated hASCs morphological and proliferative activity changes in response to each frequency. Induction of chondrogenesis in hASCs, under the influence of a 35 Hz signal leads to most effective and stable cartilaginous tissue formation through highest secretion of Bone Morphogenetic Protein 2 (BMP-2), and Collagen type II, with low concentration of Collagen type I. These results correlated well with appropriate gene expression level. Simultaneously, we observed significant up-regulation of α3, α4, β1 and β3 integrins in chondroblast progenitor cells treated with 35 Hz vibrations, as well as Sox-9. Interestingly, we noticed that application of 35 Hz frequencies significantly inhibited adipogenesis of hASCs. The obtained results suggest that application of LFLM vibrations together with stem cell therapy might be a promising tool in cartilage regeneration

Plutonium, 90Sr and 241Am in human bones from southern and northeastern parts of Poland

The paper presents the results of our study on 238Pu, 239Pu, 240Pu, 241Am and 90Sr concentration in human bones carried out on a set of 88 individual samples of central Europe origin. Bone tissue samples were retrieved under surgery while introducing hip joint implants. The conducted surgeries tend to cover either southern or northeastern parts of Poland. While for the southern samples only global fallout was expected to be seen, a mixed global and Chernobyl fallout were to be reflected in the others. Alpha spectrometry was applied to obtain activity concentration for 238Pu, 239?240Pu, 241Am, while liquid scintillation spectrometry for 90Sr and mass spectrometry to receive 240Pu/239Pu mass ratio. Surprisingly enough, and to the contrary to our expectations we could not see any significant differences in either Pu activity or Pu mass ratio between the studied populations. In both populations Chernobyl fraction proved marginal. The results on 90Sr and 241Am confirm similarities between the two examined groups

Simons Observatory: Broadband Metamaterial Anti-Reflection Cuttings for Large Aperture Alumina Optics

We present the design, fabrication, and measured performance of metamaterial Anti-Reflection Cuttings (ARCs) for large-format alumina filters operating over more than an octave of bandwidth to be deployed on the Simons Observatory (SO). The ARC consists of sub-wavelength features diced into the optic's surface using a custom dicing saw with near-micron accuracy. The designs achieve percent-level control over reflections at angles of incidence up to 20$^\circ$. The ARCs were demonstrated on four 42 cm diameter filters covering the 75-170 GHz band and a 50 mm diameter prototype covering the 200-300 GHz band. The reflection and transmission of these samples were measured using a broadband coherent source that covers frequencies from 20 GHz to 1.2 THz. These measurements demonstrate percent-level control over reflectance across the targeted pass-bands and a rapid reduction in transmission as the wavelength approaches the length scale of the metamaterial structure where scattering dominates the optical response. The latter behavior enables the use of the metamaterial ARC as a scattering filter in this limit.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures, submitted to Applied Optic

Prevalence of overweight and obesity in children aged 6–13 years—alarming increase in obesity in Cracow, Poland

This study in children aged 6–13 years (n = 1,499) was performed between October 2008 and March 2009. Height and weight measurements were taken to calculate BMI. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was determined by means of IOTF cut-offs with respect to age. Alarming is the fact that the percentage of obese children in Cracow increased dramatically from 1.04% in boys and 0.20% in girls in 1971 to 7% in boys and 3.6% in girls in 2009. In this report, a higher percentage of overweight boys was observed in rural boys (28.14%) than in urban ones (27.31%). Obesity was identified in an almost twice as high percentage of urban boys (7.78%) as in rural ones (3.52%). A higher percentage of overweight girls was registered in rural areas (16.49%) than in urban ones (16.09%). Obesity was prevailing in rural girls (4.12%) relative to their urban counterparts (3.44%). The highest number of overweight urban boys was diagnosed in the group of 12-year-olds (n = 48) and rural boys in the group of 10-year-olds (n = 39), as well as in urban girls aged 11 (n = 17) and rural girls aged 9 (n = 9). The highest number of obesity was observed in rural boys aged 12 (n = 3) and in urban boys aged 9 and 10 (n = 9 in both groups). In the group of girls, obesity prevailed in urban 9-year-olds (n = 5) and in rural 7-year-olds (n = 5). Conclusions: Overweight and obesity affect boys almost twice as frequently as girls. Obesity is twice as frequent in urban boys as in their rural peers

The Simons Observatory: Characterizing the Large Aperture Telescope Receiver with Radio Holography

We present near-field radio holography measurements of the Simons Observatory Large Aperture Telescope Receiver optics. These measurements demonstrate that radio holography of complex millimeter-wave optical systems comprising cryogenic lenses, filters, and feed horns can provide detailed characterization of wave propagation before deployment. We used the measured amplitude and phase, at 4K, of the receiver near-field beam pattern to predict two key performance parameters: 1) the amount of scattered light that will spill past the telescope to 300K and 2) the beam pattern expected from the receiver when fielded on the telescope. These cryogenic measurements informed the removal of a filter, which led to improved optical efficiency and reduced side-lobes at the exit of the receiver. Holography measurements of this system suggest that the spilled power past the telescope mirrors will be less than 1% and the main beam with its near side-lobes are consistent with the nominal telescope design. This is the first time such parameters have been confirmed in the lab prior to deployment of a new receiver. This approach is broadly applicable to millimeter and sub-millimeter instruments.Comment: in proces