A quantitative study to determine the efficacy of occipitomental facial views in diagnosing fractures by trauma consultants at an academic hospital in Johannesburg

Radiography on patients who sustain facial bone fractures form the largest workload in the trauma department at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital in South Africa. These examinations are performed on patients who are either intoxicated or badly injured thus very little cooperation can be guaranteed. The researchers observed that the trauma consultants make a diagnosis from one or two out of the four projections routinely performed. Depending on the findings from these radiographs, some of the patients are referred for computer tomography (CT); others are managed consecutively. Previous studies on the choice of diagnostic modality to use for facial bone trauma ranged from conventional radiography, CT and ultrasound. METHODS : A retrospective, quantitative, descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted. Two trauma consultants(#1 and #2) were invited to each analyse 35 plain-film occipitomental (OM) 15° and 35 plain-film occipitomental (OM) 30° images (n=70). The findings of the trauma consultants were related to those of the radiologists, which was estimated to be 90%. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION : Kappa statistics were used to analyse the results. Participant #1 achieved 88.57% and participant #2 achieved 80% for a positive diagnosis. Their assessment of the images were similar to published studies. CONCLUSION : The results indicated that OM 15° and OM 30° radiographs were sufficient as a screening tool for mid-facial bone trauma. Accurate diagnostic information can be obtained from two instead of the four projections currently performed.http://www.sorsa.org.zaam201

Relativistic and Binding Energy Corrections to Direct Photon Production In Upsilon Decay

A systematic gauge-invariant method is used to calculate the rate for an upsilon meson to decay inclusively into a prompt photon. An expansion is made in the quark relative velocity v, which is a small natural parameter for heavy quark systems. Inclusion of these O(v^2) corrections tends to increase the photon rate in the middle z range and to lower it for larger z, a feature supported by the data.Comment: 13 pages, LateX, One figure (to be published in Phys. Rev. D, Sept. 1, 1996

Large Genomic Deletions in CACNA1A Cause Episodic Ataxia Type 2

Episodic ataxia (EA) syndromes are heritable diseases characterized by dramatic episodes of imbalance and incoordination. EA type 2 (EA2), the most common and the best characterized subtype, is caused by mostly nonsense, splice site, small indel, and sometimes missense mutations in CACNA1A. Direct sequencing of CACNA1A fails to identify mutations in some patients with EA2-like features, possibly due to incomplete interrogation of CACNA1A or defects in other EA genes not yet defined. Previous reports described genomic deletions between 4 and 40 kb in EA2. In 47 subjects with EA (26 with EA2-like features) who tested negative for mutations in the known EA genes, we used multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification to analyze CACNA1A for exonic copy number variations. Breakpoints were further defined by long-range PCR. We identified distinct multi-exonic deletions in three probands with classic EA2-like features: episodes of prolonged vertigo and ataxia triggered by stress and fatigue, interictal nystagmus, with onset during infancy or early childhood. The breakpoints in all three probands are located in Alu sequences, indicating errors in homologous recombination of Alu sequences as the underlying mechanism. The smallest deletion spanned exons 39 and 40, while the largest deletion spanned 200 kb, missing all but the first three exons. One deletion involving exons 39 through 47 arose spontaneously. The search for mutations in CACNA1A appears most fruitful in EA patients with interictal nystagmus and onset early in life. The finding of large heterozygous deletions suggests haploinsufficiency as a possible pathomechanism of EA2

July 2021 civil unrest : South African diagnostic radiography students’ experiences

DATA AVAILABILITY : The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, H.E., upon reasonable request.BACKGROUND : South Africa (SA), in 2021, experienced a wave of civil unrest following political events that led to mass looting and the destruction of property. Civil unrests, among other disruptions, have been seen to cause ripple effects on healthcare education, particularly for radiography students who undergo work integrated learning within hospitals and universities, even during these times of unrest. AIM : This study aimed to explore and describe the undergraduate diagnostic radiography students’ experience of the civil unrest that occurred in SA in 2021. SETTING : The study was conducted across five universities in South Africa, offering the diagnostic radiography programme. METHODS : A qualitative, interpretive phenomenological design was employed as it enabled the researchers to facilitate focus group interviews to gain insight into the lived experiences of the students during this time. RESULTS : Four themes emerged from the study data, namely: (1) Negative effects on students’ emotional and psychological well-being, (2) Academic and clinical support mechanisms during disruptions, (3) The influence of disruptions on clinical training, (4) Recommendations to support students for future disruptions. CONCLUSION : The participants from this study described the negative effects that the civil unrest had on their emotional and mental well-being. There is a need for increased support mechanisms during times of disruptions from universities across South Africa. CONTRIBUTION : The findings highlight the ripple effects that disruptions, such as civil unrests, have on radiography students. This can assist universities to relook at their institutional support structures, in order to enhance the current support given to students across universities in times of disruptions.https://www.hsag.co.zaam2024RadiographySDG-04:Quality Educatio

The structure of the tetrasialoganglioside from human brain

Autosomal dominant retinal vasculopathy with cerebral leukodystrophy is a microvascular endotheliopathy with middle- age onset. In nine families, we identified heterozygous C- terminal frameshift mutations in TREX1, which encodes a 3'-5' exonuclease. These truncated proteins retain exonuclease activity but lose normal perinuclear localization. These data have implications for the maintenance of vascular integrity in the degenerative cerebral microangiopathies leading to stroke and dementias

BAF complex maintains glioma stem cells in pediatric H3K27M glioma

Diffuse midline gliomas are uniformly fatal pediatric central nervous system cancers that are refractory to standard-of-care therapeutic modalities. The primary genetic drivers are a set of recurrent amino acid substitutions in genes encoding histone H3 (H3K27M), which are currently undruggable. These H3K27M oncohistones perturb normal chromatin architecture, resulting in an aberrant epigenetic landscape. To interrogate for epigenetic dependencies, we performed a CRISPR screen and show that patient-derived H3K27M-glioma neurospheres are dependent on core components of the mammalian BAF (SWI/SNF) chromatin remodeling complex. The BAF complex maintains glioma stem cells in a cycling, oligodendrocyte precursor cell–like state, in which genetic perturbation of the BAF catalytic subunit SMARCA4 (BRG1), as well as pharmacologic suppression, opposes proliferation, promotes progression of differentiation along the astrocytic lineage, and improves overall survival of patient-derived xenograft models. In summary, we demonstrate that therapeutic inhibition of the BAF complex has translational potential for children with H3K27M gliomas. Significance: Epigenetic dysregulation is at the core of H3K27M-glioma tumorigenesis. Here, we identify the BRG1–BAF complex as a critical regulator of enhancer and transcription factor landscapes, which maintain H3K27M glioma in their progenitor state, precluding glial differentiation, and establish pharmacologic targeting of the BAF complex as a novel treatment strategy for pediatric H3K27M glioma

Установление границ охранной зоны линейного сооружения – магистральный газопровод "НГПЗ - Парабель"

Составлено графическое описание местоположения границ зон с особыми условиями использования территорий границ охранной зоны линейного сооружения – магистральный газопровод "НГПЗ - Парабель".A graphic description of the location of the boundaries of the zones with special conditions for the use of the territories of the boundaries of the protection zone of the linear structure – "the NGPZ-Parabel" gas pipeline has been compiled

Dynamic Behavior of the Transition Zone of an Integral Abutment Bridge

Weaker sections of a railway track, such as the approach sections, are prone to differential settlement under the action of repeated train loads. The railway tracks degrade more quickly at a critical section adjacent to a traditional rail bridge because of progressive deterioration. Opting for an integral abutment instead of a traditional bridge is gaining importance due to its improved performance in terms of track stiffness and reduced settlement. It is essential to understand such issues with the appropriate methodologies. This study investigates the behavior of an integral abutment bridge with the transition zone subjected to train loading. Generally, the transition zone is a two-part wedge section consisting of unbound granular material and cement bound mixture. A field monitored traditional abutment bridge system is used to validate the developed two-dimensional Finite Element (FE) model. The model is further developed to simulate the dynamic behavior of the transition zone against the varying speeds of the train. The parametric study is performed on the transition zone by varying its geometric configurations and considering different materials for the backfill. The results indicate that the trapezoidal approach slab influences the track displacement significantly. The transition zone thickness and material properties of the backfill have a greater effect on the overall track response. Based on the results, the stable transition zones are identified to cater to the gradual stiffness variation during train–track interaction