An Implantable Electronic System for InVivo Stability Evaluation of Prostheses in Total Hip and Knee Arthroplasty

Total hip arthroplasty (THA) and total knee arthroplasty (TKA) are relatively new biomedical techniques developed during the last century, which are frequently recommended for patients with joint diseases. In spite of their success and huge popularity, the postoperative failure rates for these procedures remain significant. Migration and micromotion of the implant are the primary indicators of its postoperative stability and many in vitro measurement techniques have been discussed. However, effective, practical methods to measure these metrics in vivo have proven elusive and the evolution of such a technique is the subject of this thesis. An implantable, remotely interrogated electronic system for the in vivo measurement of both micromotion and migration in the axial direction is proposed. The main purpose of the device is to improve the ability of clinicians to assess the longterm stability of orthopaedic implants and also to plan and optimise patients’ rehabilitation protocols. The system is based on a modified form of differential variable reluctance transducer (DVRT) in which the nullpoint of the system set automatically by means of a selfcalibration process. Simulations and preliminary in vitro measurements on the bench show that the selfcalibration algorithm works correctly in spite of component tolerances and initial set up errors, allowing a gross displacement (migration) to be measured with a resolution of 15 �m and a range from 0 to 4 mm, and that the device can measure micromotion with an amplitude as low as 1 �m in the range from 200 �m to 200 �m. Accuracy of less than 10 % are achieved in both micromotion and migration measurements. Prototypes of all the major components and subsystems have been fabricated in CMOS integrated circuit (IC) technology as part of the project. Measurements support the feasibility of constructing an integrated version of the complete system for implantation and in vivo use in the future.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Electrophysiology as a prognostic indicator of visual recovery in diabetic patients undergoing cataract surgery

Purpose: Visual outcomes after cataract surgery in diabetic patients with retinal or visual pathway disease are difficult to predict as the fundus may be obscured, and assessment of visual potential is challenging. This study assessed the value of visual electrophysiology as a prognostic indicator of visual recovery in diabetic patients with cataract, prior to cataract surgery. Methods: Forty-one diabetic patients (aged 52–80; 74 eyes) and 13 age-matched non-diabetic control patients (21 eyes) were examined prior to cataract surgery. Pre-surgical examinations included best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), slit-lamp bio-microscopy, ISCEV-standard full-field electroretinography (ffERG), and flash visual evoked potential (flash VEP) testing. Electrophysiological assessments included quantification of the DA and LA ERG, oscillatory potentials (OPs; OP1, OP2, OP3, OP4) and flash VEP P1, P2, and P3 components. Post-operative BCVA was measured in all cases and the diabetic patients grouped according to the severity of visual acuity loss: mild (logMAR ≤ 0.1), moderate (0.1 < logMAR < 0.5), or severe (logMAR ≥ 0.5). A fourth group included those without diabetes. The pre-surgical electrophysiological data was compared between the four groups by analysis of variance. Results: The severity of post-surgical visual acuity loss in the diabetic patients was classified as mild (N=22 eyes), moderate (N=31 eyes), or severe (N=21 eyes). In the group without diabetes, post-surgical visual impairment was classified as mild (N=21 eyes). The pre-operative DA 10.0 ERG a-wave amplitudes, DA 3.0 ERG OP2 amplitudes, and the LA 3.0 a- and b-wave amplitudes showed best significant differences among the four groups. The flash VEP did not show significant difference between groups. Conclusion: Electrophysiological assessment of diabetic patients with cataract can provide a useful measure of retinal function. Full-field ERG components, including the DA 10.0 ERG a-wave, DA 3.0 ERG OP2 component, and the LA 3.0 a- and b-wave amplitudes, are of prognostic value in predicting post-surgical visual acuity, and may inform the surgical management of cataract patients with diabetes. [Figure not available: see fulltext.]

Absolute frequency measurements with a robust, transportable ^{40}Ca^{+} optical clock

We constructed a transportable 40Ca+ optical clock (with an estimated minimum systematic shift uncertainty of 1.3*10^(-17) and a stability of 5*10^(-15)/sqrt{tau} ) that can operate outside the laboratory. We transported it from the Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan to the National Institute of Metrology, Beijing. The absolute frequency of the 729 nm clock transition was measured for up to 35 days by tracing its frequency to the second of International System of Units. Some improvements were implemented in the measurement process, such as the increased effective up-time of 91.3 % of the 40Ca+ optical clock over a 35-day-period, the reduced statistical uncertainty of the comparison between the optical clock and hydrogen maser, and the use of longer measurement times to reduce the uncertainty of the frequency traceability link. The absolute frequency measurement of the 40Ca+ optical clock yielded a value of 411042129776400.26 (13) Hz with an uncertainty of 3.2*10^(-16), which is reduced by a factor of 1.7 compared with our previous results. As a result of the increase in the operating rate of the optical clock, the accuracy of 35 days of absolute frequency measurement can be comparable to the best results of different institutions in the world based on different optical frequency measurements.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figure

American Family Cohort, a data resource description

This manuscript is a research resource description and presents a large and novel Electronic Health Records (EHR) data resource, American Family Cohort (AFC). The AFC data is derived from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) certified American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) PRIME registry. The PRIME registry is the largest national Qualified Clinical Data Registry (QCDR) for Primary Care. The data is converted to a popular common data model, the Observational Health Data Sciences and Informatics (OHDSI) Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership (OMOP) Common Data Model (CDM). The resource presents approximately 90 million encounters for 7.5 million patients. All 100% of the patients present age, gender, and address information, and 73% report race. Nealy 93% of patients have lab data in LOINC, 86% have medication data in RxNorm, 93% have diagnosis in SNOWMED and ICD, 81% have procedures in HCPCS or CPT, and 61% have insurance information. The richness, breadth, and diversity of this research accessible and research ready data is expected to accelerate observational studies in many diverse areas. We expect this resource to facilitate research in many years to come

The Correlation Between SPP1 and Immune Escape of EGFR Mutant Lung Adenocarcinoma Was Explored by Bioinformatics Analysis

BackgroundImmune checkpoint inhibitors have achieved breakthrough efficacy in treating lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) with wild-type epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), leading to the revision of the treatment guidelines. However, most patients with EGFR mutation are resistant to immunotherapy. It is particularly important to study the differences in tumor microenvironment (TME) between patients with and without EGFR mutation. However, relevant research has not been reported. Our previous study showed that secreted phosphoprotein 1 (SPP1) promotes macrophage M2 polarization and PD-L1 expression in LUAD, which may influence response to immunotherapy. Here, we assessed the role of SPP1 in different populations and its effects on the TME.MethodsWe compared the expression of SPP1 in LUAD tumor and normal tissues, and in samples with wild-type and mutant EGFR. We also evaluated the influence of SPP1 on survival. The LUAD data sets were downloaded from TCGA and CPTAC databases. Clinicopathologic characteristics associated with overall survival in TCGA were assessed using Cox regression analysis. GSEA revealed that several fundamental signaling pathways were enriched in the high SPP1 expression group. We applied CIBERSORT and xCell to calculate the proportion and abundance of tumor-infiltrating immune cells (TICs) in LUAD, and compared the differences in patients with high or low SPP1 expression and wild-type or mutant EGFR. In addition, we explored the correlation between SPP1 and CD276 for different groups.ResultsSPP1 expression was higher in LUAD tumor tissues and in people with EGFR mutation. High SPP1 expression was associated with poor prognosis. Univariate and multivariate cox analysis revealed that up-regulated SPP1 expression was independent indicator of poor prognosis. GSEA showed that the SPP1 high expression group was mainly enriched in immunosuppressed pathways. In the SPP1 high expression group, the infiltration of CD8+ T cells was lower and M2-type macrophages was higher. These results were also observed in patients with EGFR mutation. Furthermore, we found that the SPP1 expression was positively correlated with CD276, especially in patients with EGFR mutation.ConclusionSPP1 levels might be a useful marker of immunosuppression in patients with EGFR mutation, and could offer insight for therapeutics

Isolation and characterization of the mink interferon-epsilon gene and its antiviral activity

The interferon (IFN) response is the first line of defense against viral invasion and thus plays a central role in the regulation of the immune response. IFN-epsilon (IFN-ε) is a newly discovered type I IFN that does not require viral induction, unlike other type I IFNs. IFN-ε is constitutively expressed in epithelial cells and plays an important role in mucosal immunity. In this study, we evaluated the biological activity of the mink-IFN (MiIFN)-ε gene in prokaryotic cells. Quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to evaluate IFN-ε expression in different mink tissues. MiIFN-ε was highly expressed in brain, lung, tracheal, kidney, intestinal, bladder, ovarian, and testis tissues. There was no significant difference in MiIFN-ε expression between female and male minks, except in the reproductive system. Expression of the small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO3)-MiIFN-ε fusion gene was induced by isopropylβ-d-thiogalactoside, and MiIFN-ε was collected after SUMO-specific protease digestion. We tested the antiviral activity of MiIFN-ε against vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) in epithelial cells of feline kidney 81 (F81). We used qRT-PCR to analyze the expression of several IFN-stimulated genes (ISGs), including ISG15, 2′-5′ oligoadenylate synthetase (2′-5′OAS1), and myxovirus resistance protein 1 (Mx1). Recombinant IFN-ε induced high ISG expression in F81 cells. Compared with those in the cell control group, expressions of ISG15, Mx1, and 2′-5′ OAS1 in the VSV-GFP control, IFN-ε, and MiIFN-ε-inhibited VSV-GFP groups were significantly increased. Compared with those in the VSV-GFP control group, expressions of ISG15 and 2′-5′ OAS1 in the IFN-ε and MiIFN-ε-inhibited VSV-GFP groups were significantly increased, and the differences were highly significant (p &lt; 0.0001). IFN-ε played an indirect antiviral role. These findings lay the foundation for detailed investigation of IFN-ε in the future

Noema formIng Cluster survEy (NICE): Discovery of a starbursting galaxy group with a radio-luminous core at z=3.95

The study of distant galaxy groups and clusters at the peak epoch of star formation is limited by the lack of a statistically and homogeneously selected and spectroscopically confirmed sample. Recent discoveries of concentrated starburst activities in cluster cores have opened a new window to hunt for these structures based on their integrated IR luminosities. Hereby we carry out the large NOEMA (NOrthern Extended Millimeter Array) program targeting a statistical sample of infrared-luminous sources associated with overdensities of massive galaxies at z>2, the Noema formIng Cluster survEy (NICE). We present the first result from the ongoing NICE survey, a compact group at z=3.95 in the Lockman Hole field (LH-SBC3), confirmed via four massive (M_star>10^10.5M_sun) galaxies detected in CO(4-3) and [CI](1-0) lines. The four CO-detected members of LH-SBC3 are distributed over a 180 kpc physical scale, and the entire structure has an estimated halo mass of ~10^13Msun and total star formation rate (SFR) of ~4000Msun/yr. In addition, the most massive galaxy hosts a radio-loud AGN with L_1.4GHz, rest = 3.0*10^25W/Hz. The discovery of LH-SBC3 demonstrates the feasibility of our method to efficiently identify high-z compact groups or forming cluster cores. The existence of these starbursting cluster cores up to z~4 provides critical insights into the mass assembly history of the central massive galaxies in clusters.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures, submitted to A&

Stochastic Optimization of Microgrid Participating Day-Ahead Market Operation Strategy with Consideration of Energy Storage System and Demand Response

More and more attention has been paid to the development of renewable energy in the world. Microgrids with flexible regulation abilities provide an effective way to solve the problem of renewable energy connected to power grids. In this article, an optimization strategy of a microgrid participating in day-ahead market operations considering demand responses is proposed, where the uncertainties of distributed renewable energy generation, electrical load, and day-ahead market prices are taken into account. The results show that, when the microgrid implements the demand response, the operation cost of the microgrid decreases by 4.17%. Meanwhile, the demand response program can transfer the peak load of the high-price period to the low-price period, which reduces the peak valley difference of the load and stabilizes the load curve. Finally, a sensitivity analysis of three factors is carried out, finding that, with the increase of the demand response adjustable ratio or the maximum capacity of the electrical storage devices, the operation cost of the microgrid decreases, while, with the increase of the demand response cost, the operation cost of the microgrid increases and, finally, tends to the cost without the demand response. The sensitivity analysis reveals that the demand response cost has a reasonable pricing range to maximize the value of the demand response

Genomic Characterization of a Halovirus Representing a Novel Siphoviral Cluster

Salt mines are a special type of hypersaline environment. Current research mainly focuses on prokaryotes, and the understanding of viruses in salt mines remains limited. Understanding viruses in hypersaline environments is of great significance for revealing the formation and maintenance of microbial communities, energy flow and element cycling, and host ecological functions. A phage infecting Halomonas titanicae was isolated from Yipinglang Salt Mine in China, designated Halomonas titanicae phage vB_HtiS_YPHTV-1 (YPHTV-1). Transmission electron microscopy revealed that YPHTV-1 had an icosahedral head with a diameter of 49.12 ± 0.15 nm (n = 5) and a long noncontractile tail with a length of 141.7 ± 0.58 nm (n = 5), indicating that it was a siphovirus. The one-step growth curve showed that the burst size of YPHTV-1 was 69 plaque forming units (PFUs) cell−1. The genome of YPHTV-1 was 37,980 bp with a GC content of 36.2%. The phylogenetic analysis of the six conserved proteins indicated that YPHTV-1 formed a cluster with Bacillus phages and was separated from phages infecting Halomonas. The average nucleotide identity (ANI), phylogenetic, and network analyses indicated that the phage YPHTV-1 represented a new genus under Caudoviricetes. In total, 57 open reading frames (ORFs) were predicted in the YPHTV-1 genome, 30 of which could be annotated in the database. Notably, several auxiliary metabolic genes were encoded by YPHTV-1, such as ImmA/IrrE family metalloendopeptidase, mannose-binding lectin (MBL) folding metallohydrolase, M15 family of metal peptidases, MazG-like family protein, O antigen ligase, and acyltransferase. These genes potentially enabled the host bacterium to resist ionizing radiation, ultraviolet light (UV), mitomycin C, β-lactam antibiotic, high osmotic pressure, and nutritional deficiencies. These findings highlight the role of haloviruses in the life cycle of halobacteria