Clinical outcome of combined scaphocapitate fusion and posterior interosseous neurectomy for stage III Kienbock’s disease

Background: Treatment of Kienbock’s disease is still controversial. Several authors have described various surgical treatment options for Kienbock’s disease, all of whom reported successful treatment outcomes. The purpose of this study is to explore the clinical results of posterior interosseous neurectomy and scaphocapitate fusion as a treatment option for stage III Kienbock’s disease.Methods: This study evaluated the range of motion, grip and functional results after treatment of ten wrists of stage III Kienbock’s disease. Four males and six females with average age of 26.3 years, seven dominant and three non-dominant wrists were included. Two patients were smokers while six were housewives, three manual workers and a lawyer. The average follow up period was 14.2 months.Results: Four patients revealed excellent, three good and three fair results. The mean modified Mayo score was 81.5. Flexion-extension range was 105.5° representing 74.9% of the contralateral side range. The mean flexion and extension range of operated side was increased, while the flexion increase was nonsignificant. Regarding radial-ulnar deviation, the mean range was 33.5° representing 76.5% of the contralateral side. The mean ulnar and radial deviation was increased, while the radial increase was nonsignificant. The mean grip strength was significantly increased to 90 mmHg representing 93.2% of the contralateral side.Conclusions: Scaphocpitate fusion is a recommended solution for treatment of late stages of Kienbock’s disease with lunate collapse. Longer postoperative time has a positive impact on grip strength and flexion-extension range of motion

The Evaluation of the Role of Beta-Hydroxy Fatty Acids on Chronic Inflammation and Insulin Resistance

β-hydroxy fatty acids are a major component of lipid A moiety of lipopolysaccaride. We aimed to investigate the role of free β-hydroxy fatty acids on inflammation, as well as to evaluate their effects on cytokine release from human blood cells, and whether they exist in plasma of patients with chronic inflammatory diseases with/without insulin resistance. Peripheral venous blood was incubated with β-hydroxy lauric and β-hydroxy myristic acids (each 100 ng, 1 μg, 10 μg/mL) up to 24 hours. Cytokines were measured from culture media and plasma. Free fatty acids and biochemical parameters were also measured from patients' plasma. Only β-hydroxy lauric acid significantly stimulated interleukin-6 production at 10 μg/mL compared to control (533.9 ± 218.1 versus 438.3 ± 219.6 pg/mL, P < .05). However, free β-hydroxy lauric and myristic acids were not found in patients' plasma. Therefore, free β-hydroxy lauric and myristic acids do not seem to have a role on sterile inflammation in chronic inflammatory diseases associated with insulin resistance

Terrain, politics, history

This article is based on the 2019 Dialogues in Human Geography plenary lecture at the Royal Geographical Society. It has four parts. The first discusses my work on territory in relation to recent work by geographers and others on the vertical, the volumetric, the voluminous, and the milieu as ways of thinking space in three-dimensions, of a fluid and dynamic earth. Second, it proposes using the concept of terrain to analyse the political materiality of territory. Third, it adds some cautions to this, through thinking about the history of the concept of terrain in geographical thought, which has tended to associate it with either physical or military geography. Finally, it suggests that this work is a way geographers might begin to respond to the challenge recently made by Bruno Latour, where he suggests that ‘belonging to a territory is the phenomenon most in need of rethinking and careful redescription; learning new ways to inhabit the Earth is our biggest challenge’. Responding to Latour continues this thinking about the relations between territory, Earth, land, and ground, and their limits

What does regional studies study? From subnational to supra-national regional spaces or Grossraum of sovereign governance

This article makes a case for expanding the scope of current versions of “regional studies” to include greater emphasis upon transnational regions as of equal if not greater importance compared with an exclusive focus upon sub-national regions. The latter more restrictive approach is typically predicated on the continued centrality of state borders against which the dominant notion of regions as subnational entities is constituted and reiterated. Drawing upon a case study of the African Union our study provides a framework, a critically revised Grossraum theory, for addressing the emergence of a new pluralistic and multipolar world order characterised by supra-national regions and regional organizations. Traditional Schmittian notions of Grossraum are shown to be in need of substantial revision before they are able to adequately accommodate and explain the empirical details of our case study

Critical Review of Theoretical Models for Anomalous Effects (Cold Fusion) in Deuterated Metals

We briefly summarize the reported anomalous effects in deuterated metals at ambient temperature, commonly known as "Cold Fusion" (CF), with an emphasis on important experiments as well as the theoretical basis for the opposition to interpreting them as cold fusion. Then we critically examine more than 25 theoretical models for CF, including unusual nuclear and exotic chemical hypotheses. We conclude that they do not explain the data.Comment: 51 pages, 4 Figure

CRISPR-Cas9 screens in human cells and primary neurons identify modifiers of C9ORF72 dipeptide-repeat-protein toxicity.

Hexanucleotide-repeat expansions in the C9ORF72 gene are the most common cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia (c9ALS/FTD). The nucleotide-repeat expansions are translated into dipeptide-repeat (DPR) proteins, which are aggregation prone and may contribute to neurodegeneration. We used the CRISPR-Cas9 system to perform genome-wide gene-knockout screens for suppressors and enhancers of C9ORF72 DPR toxicity in human cells. We validated hits by performing secondary CRISPR-Cas9 screens in primary mouse neurons. We uncovered potent modifiers of DPR toxicity whose gene products function in nucleocytoplasmic transport, the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), proteasome, RNA-processing pathways, and chromatin modification. One modifier, TMX2, modulated the ER-stress signature elicited by C9ORF72 DPRs in neurons and improved survival of human induced motor neurons from patients with C9ORF72 ALS. Together, our results demonstrate the promise of CRISPR-Cas9 screens in defining mechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases

Locative Media and Identity

The role of location-based social networks (LBSNs) on identity is a relatively unexplored area within the growing cannon of work on locative media. Following an exegesis of Giddens’s argument that narrative biographical accounts are critical in self-identity in the modern age and Foucault’s technologies of the self, this article positions LBSN, and in particular Foursquare, as a contributor to self-identity in users’ lives. A close reading of ethnographic and interview data from Foursquare users reveals that in the context of the presentation, maintenance, and reflection upon self-identity, LBSN use can play an integral role in the self-identity of its users. The contribution of LBSN to indicators of user lifestyle, the intentional sharing of particular locations, and user recollection of events and locations are the key features of how LBSNs provide conduits to self-identity. The degree of usage in everyday life is identified as critical in the positioning of LBSN as a key contributor to identity narratives. With the integration of LBSN features into more mainstream social media platforms, this contribution to self-identity in the social media age is resilient to the demise of stand-alone LBSN application