Total shoulder arthroplasty – Arthroplasty for glenohumeral arthropathies: Results and complications after a minimum follow-up of 8years according to the type of arthroplasty and etiology

SummaryIntroductionArthroplasty for glenohumeral arthropathies have specific complications and the final results are sometimes more dependent upon the type of shoulder arthroplasty than the initial etiology. The aim of our study was to evaluate the rate of complications and the functional improvement with different types of shoulder arthroplasties after a minimum follow-up of 8years.Materials and methodsThis was a multicenter retrospective study of 198 shoulders including 85 primary osteoarthritis of the shoulder, 76 cuff tear arthropathies, 19 avascular necrosis and 18 rheumatoid arthritis. Arthroplasties included 104 anatomic total shoulder arthroplasties (TSA), 77 reverse arthroplasties and 17 hemiarthroplasties. Ten patients had their arthroplasty revised, and 134 patients with TSA were able to be present at the final follow-up or provide information on their case. Function was evaluated by the Constant-Murley score and loosening by standard radiographs.ResultsIn the group with primary osteoarthritis of the shoulder, there were eight complications (11%) including six (8.3%) requiring implant revision. In the group of rotator cuff arthropathies, there were nine (14.7%) complications including four (6.5%) requiring implant revision. In the group with rheumatoid arthritis, there was one complication, and no surgical revision was necessary. There were no complications in the group with avascular necrosis. Glenoid migration occurred in 28.5% of anatomic TSA, and 3.4% of reverse arthroplasties. This difference was significant (P<0.001). The Constant-Murley score was significantly improved in all etiologies.ConclusionsGlenohumeral arthropathies can be successfully treated by arthroplasty. Anatomic TSA was shown to be associated with a high risk of glenoid loosening at radiographic follow-up, which makes us hesitate to use the cemented polyethylene implant, especially in young patients.Level of evidenceIV – Retrospective study

The Level-0 Muon Trigger for the LHCb Experiment

A very compact architecture has been developed for the first level Muon Trigger of the LHCb experiment that processes 40 millions of proton-proton collisions per second. For each collision, it receives 3.2 kBytes of data and it finds straight tracks within a 1.2 microseconds latency. The trigger implementation is massively parallel, pipelined and fully synchronous with the LHC clock. It relies on 248 high density Field Programable Gate arrays and on the massive use of multigigabit serial link transceivers embedded inside FPGAs.Comment: 33 pages, 16 figures, submitted to NIM

Visualization of membrane loss during the shrinkage of giant vesicles under electropulsation

We study the effect of permeabilizing electric fields applied to two different types of giant unilamellar vesicles, the first formed from EggPC lipids and the second formed from DOPC lipids. Experiments on vesicles of both lipid types show a decrease in vesicle radius which is interpreted as being due to lipid loss during the permeabilization process. We show that the decrease in size can be qualitatively explained as a loss of lipid area which is proportional to the area of the vesicle which is permeabilized. Three possible mechanisms responsible for lipid loss were directly observed: pore formation, vesicle formation and tubule formation.Comment: Final published versio

Adiabatic passage and ensemble control of quantum systems

This paper considers population transfer between eigenstates of a finite quantum ladder controlled by a classical electric field. Using an appropriate change of variables, we show that this setting can be set in the framework of adiabatic passage, which is known to facilitate ensemble control of quantum systems. Building on this insight, we present a mathematical proof of robustness for a control protocol -- chirped pulse -- practiced by experimentalists to drive an ensemble of quantum systems from the ground state to the most excited state. We then propose new adiabatic control protocols using a single chirped and amplitude shaped pulse, to robustly perform any permutation of eigenstate populations, on an ensemble of systems with badly known coupling strengths. Such adiabatic control protocols are illustrated by simulations achieving all 24 permutations for a 4-level ladder

The deep-sea hub of the ANTARES neutrino telescope

The ANTARES neutrino telescope, currently under construction at 2500 m depth off the French Mediterranean coast, will contain 12 detection lines, powered and read out through a deep-sea junction box (JB) hub. Electrical energy from the shore station is distributed through a transformer with multiple secondary windings and a plugboard with 16 deep sea-mateable electro-optic connectors. Connections are made to the JB outputs using manned or remotely operated submersible vehicles. The triply redundant power management and slow control system is based on two identical AC-powered systems, communicating with the shore through 160 Mb/s fibre G-links and a third battery-powered system using a slower link. We describe the power and slow control systems of the underwater hub

The impact of Stieltjes' work on continued fractions and orthogonal polynomials

Stieltjes' work on continued fractions and the orthogonal polynomials related to continued fraction expansions is summarized and an attempt is made to describe the influence of Stieltjes' ideas and work in research done after his death, with an emphasis on the theory of orthogonal polynomials

The ANTARES Optical Beacon System

ANTARES is a neutrino telescope being deployed in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of a three dimensional array of photomultiplier tubes that can detect the Cherenkov light induced by charged particles produced in the interactions of neutrinos with the surrounding medium. High angular resolution can be achieved, in particular when a muon is produced, provided that the Cherenkov photons are detected with sufficient timing precision. Considerations of the intrinsic time uncertainties stemming from the transit time spread in the photomultiplier tubes and the mechanism of transmission of light in sea water lead to the conclusion that a relative time accuracy of the order of 0.5 ns is desirable. Accordingly, different time calibration systems have been developed for the ANTARES telescope. In this article, a system based on Optical Beacons, a set of external and well-controlled pulsed light sources located throughout the detector, is described. This calibration system takes into account the optical properties of sea water, which is used as the detection volume of the ANTARES telescope. The design, tests, construction and first results of the two types of beacons, LED and laser-based, are presented.Comment: 21 pages, 18 figures, submitted to Nucl. Instr. and Meth. Phys. Res.

Optical tweezers and non-ratiometric fluorescent-dye-based studies of respiration in sperm mitochondria

The purpose of this study is to investigate how the mitochondrial membrane potential affects sperm motility using laser tweezers and a non-ratiometric fluorescent probe, DiOC6(3). A 1064nm Nd:YVO4 continuous wave laser was used to trap motile sperm at a power of 450mW in the trap spot. Using customized tracking software, the curvilinear velocity (VCL) and the escape force from the laser tweezers weremeasured. Human (Homo sapiens), dog (Canis lupis familiaris) and drill (Mandrillus leucophaeus) sperm were treated with DiOC6(3) to measure the membrane potential in the mitochondria-rich sperm midpieces. Sperm from all three species exhibited an increase in fluorescence when treated with the DiOC6(3). When a cyanide inhibitor (CCCP) of aerobic respiration was applied, sperm of all three species exhibited a reduction in fluorescence to pre-dye levels. With respect to VCL and escape force, the CCCP had no effect on dog or human sperm, suggesting a major reliance upon anaerobic respiration (glycolysis) for ATP in these two species. Based on the preliminary study on drill sperm, CCCP caused a drop in the VCL, suggesting potential reliance on both glycolysis and aerobic respiration for motility. The results demonstrate that optical trapping in combination with DiOC 6(3) is an effective way to study sperm motility and energetics. © 2011 IOP Publishing Ltd

Visualization of plasmid delivery to keratinocytes in mouse and human epidermis

The accessibility of skin makes it an ideal target organ for nucleic acid-based therapeutics; however, effective patient-friendly delivery remains a major obstacle to clinical utility. A variety of limited and inefficient methods of delivering nucleic acids to keratinocytes have been demonstrated; further advances will require well-characterized reagents, rapid noninvasive assays of delivery, and well-developed skin model systems. Using intravital fluorescence and bioluminescence imaging and a standard set of reporter plasmids we demonstrate transfection of cells in mouse and human xenograft skin using intradermal injection and two microneedle array delivery systems. Reporter gene expression could be detected in individual keratinocytes, in real-time, in both mouse skin as well as human skin xenografts. These studies revealed that non-invasive intravital imaging can be used as a guide for developing gene delivery tools, establishing a benchmark for comparative testing of nucleic acid skin delivery technologies