Intra-articular hyaluronans: the treatment of knee pain in osteoarthritis

The etiology of pain in osteoarthritis is multifactoral, and includes mechanical and inflammatory processes. Intra-articular injections of hyaluronans (HAs) are indicated when non-pharmacological and simple analgesics have failed to relieve symptoms. The HAs appear to reduce pain by restoring both mechanical and biomechanical homeostasis in the joint. There are five FDA-approved injectable preparations of HAs: Hyalgan®, Synvisc®, Supartz®, Orthovisc® and Euflexxa®. They all appear to relieve pain from 4 to 14 weeks after injection and may have disease-modification properties. Although several randomized controlled trials have established the efficacy of this treatment modality, additional high quality randomized control studies with appropriate comparison are still required to clearly define the role of intra-articular HA injections in the treatment of osteoarthritis

The Science of Spin: Targeted Strategies to Manufacture Doubt With Detrimental Effects on Environmental and Public Health

Background Numerous groups, such as the tobacco industry, have deliberately altered and misrepresented knowable facts and empirical evidence to promote an agenda, often for monetary benefit, with consequences for environmental and public health. Previous research has explored cases individually, but none have conducted an in-depth comparison between cases. The purpose of this study was to compile a comprehensive list of tactics used by disparate groups and provide a framework for identifying further instances of manufactured doubt. Methods We examined scholarly books, peer-reviewed articles, well-researched journalism pieces, and legal evidence related to five disparate industries and organizations selected for their destructive impacts on environmental and public health (tobacco, coal, and sugar industries, manufacturers of the pesticide Atrazine, and the Marshall Institute, an institute focused on climate change research, and other scientists from the era that associated with those in the Institute). These documents provided evidence for a list of tactics used to generate pro-industry spin and manufacture doubt about conferred harm. We then identified trends among sets of strategies that could explain their differential use or efficacy. Results We recognized 28 unique tactics used to manufacture doubt. Five of these tactics were used by all five organizations, suggesting that they are key features of manufactured doubt. The intended audience influences the strategy used to misinform, and logical fallacies contribute to their efficacy. Conclusions This list of tactics can be used by others to build a case that an industry or group is deliberately manipulating information associated with their actions or products. Improved scientific and rhetorical literacy could be used to render them less effective, depending on the audience targeted, and ultimately allow for the protection of both environmental health and public health more generally

Does being an athlete help a woman? Examining how subtle bias in perceptions of leadership potential differentially impact male and female athletes

El presente trabajo estudia las percepciones con relación al potencial de liderazgo de atletas hombres y mujeres, evaluando particularmente como aquellos que sostienen un sesgo sutil hacia las mujeres influencian estas percepciones. Se evaluaron doscientos treinta y un participantes (n = 231), atletas hombres o mujeres (en un deporte de género neutro o género especifico) u hombres o mujeres no atletas, con relación a su  potencial de liderazgo en un contexto simulado de empleo. Adicionalmente, se midió el nivel de sexismo entre los participantes. Se analizaron los resultados para evaluar la interacción entre participación en deportes, sexo del postulante y nivel de sexismo del participante. Por sí misma, la participación en deportes no afectó el puntaje de potencial de liderazgo de las mujeres  postulantes a un trabajo, sin embargo, los hallazgos apoyaron la presencia de un sutil sesgo hacia las atletas y no atletas mujeres, entre cierto tipo de evaluadores. Específicamente, los evaluadores que calificaron más alto en sexismo, tendieron a evaluar a las mujeres atletas tan alto en potencial de liderazgo como a las mujeres no atletas. Estos hallazgos se discuten en el contexto de la teoría de congruencia de rol

Nuclear membrane disassembly and rupture

The nuclear envelope consists of two membranes traversed by nuclear pore complexes. The outer membrane is continuous with the endoplasmic reticulum. At mitosis nuclear pore complexes are dismantled and membranes disperse. The mechanism of dispersal is controversial: one view is that membranes feed into the endoplasmic reticulum, another is that they vesiculate. Using Xenopus egg extracts, nuclei have been assembled and then induced to breakdown by addition of metaphase extract. Field emission scanning electron microscopy was used to study disassembly. Strikingly, endoplasmic reticulum-like membrane tubules form from the nuclear surface after the addition of metaphase extracts, but vesicles were also observed. Microtubule inhibitors slowed but did not prevent membrane removal, whereas Brefeldin A, which inhibits vesicle formation, stops membrane disassembly, suggesting that vesiculation is necessary. Structures that looked like coated buds were observed and buds were labelled for β-COP. We show that nuclear pore complexes are dismantled and the pore closed prior to membrane rupturing, suggesting that rupturing is an active process rather than a result of enlargement of nuclear pores

Centralising the Admission Process in a German Hospital

The admission process is the first part of a hospital stay for all in- and outpatients. For the hospital, it is a critical part as all the necessary data must be stored in the hospital information system and all legal documents have to be signed in order to guarantee the best possible treatment and efficient logistics. In this paper, we focus on the admission process in a German hospital. As the admission of a patient, especially informing and advising him, is very time consuming, the hospital aims at installing a digital admission process. The first important step towards this goal is pooling the current decentralised patient admission in one new building. Using a simulation, we determine efficient staffing levels and rosters for the centralised admission and analyse the expected waiting times for the patients. In addition, we outline potential steps towards a digital patient admission process

Gestational Hormone Profiles Predict Human Maternal Behavior at 1-Year Postpartum

In many non-human species, including primates, gestational reproductive hormones play an essential role in the onset of maternal motivation and behaviors. We investigated the associations between prepartum estradiol and progesterone and maternal behavior at 1-year postpartum in 177 women. Blood was obtained at five gestational time points and an index of quality of maternal care was determined using a well-validated mother-child interaction protocol. Women who exhibited higher quality maternal care at 1-year postpartum were characterized by unique gestational profiles of estradiol, progesterone and the estrogen to progesterone ratio; specifically by slower accelerations and levels of these hormone trajectories beginning in midgestation. Further, it appeared that both fetal sex and parity moderated these findings, with first time mothers and mothers of females showing stronger associations. In sum, these data document persisting associations between prepartum hormone profiles and human maternal behavior. More broadly, these findings add to the growing literature highlighting the perinatal period as one of critical neurodevelopment in the lifespan of the human female

Towards Full Field-of-View Fourier Ptychography for Extreme Ultraviolet Microscope

We evaluate various Fourier ptychographic microscopy (FPM) reconstruction algorithms using both simulated and experimental data acquired from an Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV, 13.5 nm wavelength) microscope. We specifically focus on the algorithms' ability to robustly address field-dependent aberrations, which enables increased spatial resolution and quantitative phase imaging across an expanded field of view. We systematically compare the algorithms' performance under aberrations for a single zoneplate imaging system, utilizing Fourier Ring Correlation (FRC) as a systematic metric for assessing reconstruction quality. Furthermore, we explore the impact of systematic errors on the reconstruction of experimental data, aiming to increase the effective field of view by 25-fold, from the nominal 5x5 um2 diffraction-limited area. Additionally, our evaluation incorporates innovative FPM-adjacent methodologies, including the Angular Ptychographic Imaging with Closed-form method (APIC), for reconstructing EUV images