Biomechanical Assessment of Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis Deformity and Treatment

Each of the four studies presented focus on the biomechanics of scoliosis deformity or treatment and products and devices which model or treat this condition. The main purpose of the four studies was to: characterize the trunk motion for the non-pathologic adolescent population, evaluate the trunk motion for the adolescent idiopathic scoliosis population, define the contribution of the scoliotic deformity to spinal motion changes, and biomechanically assess a scoliosis correction construct in a cadaver model. The first study determined there were no significant age related effects in spinal mobility and the only gender differences were located in the upper lumbar and torso region. The second study identified conflicting relationships between chronologic age and skeletal maturity and spinal mobility. Correlations of curve severity and spinal mobility varied depending on the spinal region and motion task. The third study determined scoliosis subjects have greater mobility in many spinal segments compared to their non-pathologic counterparts, especially in periapical regions. The fourth study identified very few significant biomechanical differences between an intact thoracic spine and rib cage and the same specimen with scoliosis correction instrumentation implanted. The results of these studies provide additional information regarding spine biomechanics in three models: in vivo non-pathologic adolescent thoracic and upper lumbar spine, in vivo scoliotic adolescent thoracic and upper lumbar spine, and adult cadaveric thoracic spine with and without an implanted rod construct

The effect of scoliotic deformity on spine kinematics in adolescents

Background While adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) produces well characterized deformation in spinal form, the effect on spinal function, namely mobility, is not well known. Better understanding of scoliotic spinal mobility could yield better treatment targets and diagnoses. The purpose of this study was to characterize the spinal mobility differences due to AIS. It was hypothesized that the AIS group would exhibit reduced mobility compared to the typical adolescent (TA) group. Methods Eleven adolescents with right thoracic AIS, apices T6-T10, and eleven age- and gender-matched TAs moved to their maximum bent position in sagittal and coronal plane bending tasks. A Trakstar (Ascension Technologies Burlington, VT) was used to collect position data. The study was approved by the local IRB. Using MATLAB (MathWorks, Natick, MA) normalized segmental angles were calculated for upper thoracic (UT) from T1-T3, mid thoracic (MT) from T3-T6, lower thoracic (LT) from T6-T10, thoracolumbar (TL) from T10-L1, upper lumbar (UL) from L1-L3, and thoracic from T1-L1 by subtracting the standing position from the maximum bent position and dividing by number of motion units in each segment. Mann Whitney tests (α = 0.05) were used to determine mobility differences. Results The findings indicated that the AIS group had comparatively increased mobility in the periapical regions of the spine. The AIS group had an increase of 1.2° in the mid thoracic region (p = 0.01) during flexion, an increase of 1.0° in the mid thoracic region (p = 0.01), 1.5° in the thoracolumbar region (p = 0.02), and 0.7° in thoracic region (p = 0.04) during left anterior-lateral flexion, an increase of 6.0° in the upper lumbar region (p = 0.02) during right anterior-lateral flexion, and an increase of 2.2° in the upper lumbar region during left lateral bending (p < 0.01). Conclusions Participants with AIS did not have reduced mobility in sagittal or coronal motion. Contrarily, the AIS group often had a greater mobility, especially in segments directly above and below the apex. This indicates the scoliotic spine is flexible and may compensate near the apex

End-user cost-benefit prioritization for selecting rainwater harvesting and greywater reuse in social housing

© 2017 by the authors. Rainwater harvesting (RWH) and greywater reuse (GWR) are increasingly being considered at the building-level to achieve multiple goals. Cost-benefit assessments facilitate decision-making; however, most are focused on large-scale systems with limited information available for households from developing countries. To better understand the prioritization of costs and benefits by potential end-users in this context, this paper presents an assessment of an RWH/GWR system in low income, low consumption households in a social housing development in Colombia. From an initial household consultation, preferences related to the use of RWH/GWR were identified and three alternatives were proposed and designed. In a follow-up consultation, potential end-users were engaged with the cost-benefit of the proposed alternatives. Potential end-users prioritized the selection of the system with potable water savings of 25%, a payback period of 30 years, an internal return rate of 4.7%, and a Benefit/Cost ratio of 1.3. Of the three alternatives, this system had the median payback period, highest investment, and highest maintenance cost, but also the highest volumetric water saving and highest water and sewerage bill savings. In contrast to findings from developed countries, this indicates that minimising the cost may not be the primary decision making criteria in some developing country contexts, where perhaps a greater value is placed on conserving water resources

Identification of the Correct Disposal of the Waste Generated by COVID-19 in Colombia Applying Systemic Design

Introduction: the pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus (COVID-19) has represented a significant increase in the use of disposable masks worldwide; particularly in Colombia, it has been evident that there is no knowledge about the disposal of these residues, this is reflected in high pollution rates. Objective: to propose a methodological guide to improve the disposal cycles of disposable masks, involving stakeholders and applying the Systemic Design methodology. Materials and methods: the methodology used included the collection of data through a Kano survey applied in different departments of Colombia. Remote interviews were conducted with experts in waste management. From these activities, it was possible to identify the different disposal methods used in Colombia. Results: a methodological guide that allows the correct arrangement of the masks, based on what was obtained with the application of the phases of Systemic Design, and the construction of the circular graphic that allows waste to return to the system. Conclusions: the research made it possible to identify that the correct disposition of the masks does not depend exclusively on the awareness of the communities, but also on the commitment of the industries involved; we hope that this study will be useful for future research

Context and Considerations for the Development of Community-Informed Health Communication Messaging to Support Equitable Uptake of COVID-19 Vaccines Among Communities of Color in Washington, DC.

BACKGROUND: Communities of color have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. We explored barriers and facilitators to COVID-19 vaccine uptake among African American, Latinx, and African immigrant communities in Washington, DC. METHODS: A total of 76 individuals participated in qualitative interviews and focus groups, and 208 individuals from communities of color participated in an online crowdsourcing contest. RESULTS: Findings documented a lack of sufficient, accurate information about COVID-19 vaccines and questions about the science. African American and African immigrant participants spoke about the deeply rooted historical underpinnings to their community\u27s vaccine hesitancy, citing the prior and ongoing mistreatment of people of color by the medical community. Latinx and African immigrant participants highlighted how limited accessibility played an important role in the slow uptake of COVID-19 vaccines in their communities. Connectedness and solidarity found were found to be key assets that can be drawn upon through community-driven responses to address social-structural challenges to COVID-19 related vaccine uptake. CONCLUSIONS: The historic and ongoing socio-economic context and realities of communities of color must be understood and respected to inform community-based health communication messaging to support vaccine equity for COVID-19 and other infectious diseases

Broad Kinase Inhibition Mitigates Early Neuronal Dysfunction in Tauopathy

Tauopathies are a group of more than twenty known disorders that involve progressive neurodegeneration, cognitive decline and pathological tau accumulation. Current therapeutic strategies provide only limited, late-stage symptomatic treatment. This is partly due to lack of understanding of the molecular mechanisms linking tau and cellular dysfunction, especially during the early stages of disease progression. In this study, we treated early stage tau transgenic mice with a multi-target kinase inhibitor to identify novel substrates that contribute to cognitive impairment and exhibit therapeutic potential. Drug treatment significantly ameliorated brain atrophy and cognitive function as determined by behavioral testing and a sensitive imaging technique called manganese-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MEMRI) with quantitative R1 mapping. Surprisingly, these benefits occurred despite unchanged hyperphosphorylated tau levels. To elucidate the mechanism behind these improved cognitive outcomes, we performed quantitative proteomics to determine the altered protein network during this early stage in tauopathy and compare this model with the human Alzheimer’s disease (AD) proteome. We identified a cluster of preserved pathways shared with human tauopathy with striking potential for broad multi-target kinase intervention. We further report high confidence candidate proteins as novel therapeutically relevant targets for the treatment of tauopathy. Proteomics data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD023562

Figure 7 in Gliding canopy flatties and relatives from the Selenops banksi group (Araneae: Selenopidae)

Figure 7. (a) Primary forest habitat of Selenops banksi in Costa Rica [where the specimen in Figure 1(b) was photographed] (photo by Gernot Kunz) (b) habitat around Lloró, Chocó, Colombia, where S. curruganja sp. nov. is found (c) exact locality where a specimen of S. curruganja sp. nov. was collected – arrow indicates the guava tree (d) typical dry forest habitat (forest at centre left) of S. micropalpus, St. Lucia; S. micropalpus is also found in wet forests (e) habitat of S. banksi group in Belize. This record extends the range of the group by ~700 km (photo by Athena Lam).Published as part of Crews, Sarah C., Galvis, William & Esposito, Lauren A., 2021, Gliding canopy flatties and relatives from the Selenops banksi group (Araneae: Selenopidae), pp. 2343-2365 in Journal of Natural History 54 (35-36) on page 2359, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2020.1844914, http://zenodo.org/record/502927

Figure 6 in Gliding canopy flatties and relatives from the Selenops banksi group (Araneae: Selenopidae)

Figure 6. (a) Selenops banksi, epigyne and endogyne, highlighting various structures, epigyne: green – LLs, yellow – ML, violet – COs, pink – EPs, endogyne: purple – CDs, pink – PS, green – FD (b) S. banksi, epigyne and endogyne, Orellana, Ecuador (NMNH) (c) S. micropalpus, epigyne and endogyne, Dennery, St. Lucia (CAS) (d) S. curruganja sp. nov., epigyne and endogyne, Corpoica, Tumaco, Dept. Nariño, Colombia, (ICN-Ar-8289) (e) S. banksi, male, spinnerets, ventral, Orellana, Ecuador (NMNH) (f) S. ducke, paratype female, epigyne, Manaus, Brazil (MCN 21487) (g) S. ducke, paratype female, endogyne, Manaus, Brazil (MCN 21487) (h) S. banksi, female, spinnerets, ventral, Orellana, Ecuador (NMNH) (i) S. banksi, female, spinnerets, caudal, Orellana, Ecuador (NMNH) (j) S. micropalpus, female, spinnerets, caudal, Dennery, St. Lucia (CAS) (k) S. micropalpus, genitalia, caudal, Dennery, St. Lucia (CAS) (l) S. banksi, female, genitalia, caudal, Orellana, Ecuador (NMNH).Published as part of Crews, Sarah C., Galvis, William & Esposito, Lauren A., 2021, Gliding canopy flatties and relatives from the Selenops banksi group (Araneae: Selenopidae), pp. 2343-2365 in Journal of Natural History 54 (35-36) on page 2356, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2020.1844914, http://zenodo.org/record/502927

The Arachnids (Arachnida) of Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao

Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao (ABC Islands) are located at the southern margin of the Caribbean Plate, just north of South America. Little is known of the arachnid fauna of these islands, and the only work on spiders was published over a century ago. Here we provide a list of arachnids opportunistically collected from the islands, including Klein Bonaire and Klein Curaçao, over approximately 2 months. More than 750 specimens from 4 arachnid orders, (Amblypygi, Pseudoscorpiones, Scorpiones, Araneae) were collected and identified. We recovered 1 species of amblypygid, 2 species of pseudoscorpions, 1 species of scorpion, and 76 species of spiders. Additionally, we compared species diversity between urban and natural areas. The number of species is relatively low given the proximity to South America, but this likely reflects that collecting only took place for a short time and was opportunistic as opposed to systematic. Nevertheless, we found 25 new records and >20 likely undescribed species for the islands, providing insights into the spider fauna of northern South America and indicating that additional surveys of the area are warranted

The Arachnids (Arachnida) of Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao

Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao (ABC Islands) are located at the southern margin of the Caribbean Plate, just north of South America. Little is known of the arachnid fauna of these islands, and the only work on spiders was published over a century ago. Here we provide a list of arachnids opportunistically collected from the islands, including Klein Bonaire and Klein Curaçao, over approximately 2 months. More than 750 specimens from 4 arachnid orders, (Amblypygi, Pseudoscorpiones, Scorpiones, Araneae) were collected and identified. We recovered 1 species of amblypygid, 2 species of pseudoscorpions, 1 species of scorpion, and 76 species of spiders. Additionally, we compared species diversity between urban and natural areas. The number of species is relatively low given the proximity to South America, but this likely reflects that collecting only took place for a short time and was opportunistic as opposed to systematic. Nevertheless, we found 25 new records and >20 likely undescribed species for the islands, providing insights into the spider fauna of northern South America and indicating that additional surveys of the area are warranted