Interpreting Patient Reported Outcomes in Orthopaedic Surgery: A Systematic Review

Background: Reporting methods of patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) vary in orthopaedic surgery literature. While most studies report statistical significance, the interpretation of results would be improved if authors reported confidence intervals (CIs), the minimally clinically important difference (MCID), and number needed to treat (NNT). Objective: To assess the quality and interpretability of reporting the results of PROMs. To evaluate reporting, we will assess the proportion of studies that reported (1) 95% CIs, (2) MCID, and (3) NNT. To evaluate interpretation, we will assess the proportion of studies that discussed results using the MCID or the effect sizes and how they relate to 95% CIs. Methods: We included the top five high impact factor orthopaedic journals (The American Journal of Sports Medicine, Arthroscopy, Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, The Journal of Arthroplasty, and Osteoarthritis and Cartilage) published in 2017, that compared two or more therapies, and used PROMs to report study outcomes. Three sets of independent reviewers participated in screening and data extraction using a standardized form. Results: Our search yielded 1502 studies. Following titles and abstracts screening, 254 studies remained. Following full text screening, 194 eligible studies were included in the final analysis. Data extraction is currently underway. Discussion: Results of trials using PROMs should be completely reported and correctly interpreted. The current trend of reporting results and basing conclusions solely on p-values can lead to inaccurate conclusions and clinical recommendations. Journal guidelines should consider mandating such values in future research

Review on antibacterial biocomposites of structural laminated veneer lumber

In this review, the characteristics and applications of structural laminated veneer lumber made from planted forest wood is introduced, and its preparation is explained, including various tree species and slab qualities, treatments for multiple effects and reinforced composites. The relevant factors in the bonding technology and pressing processes as well as the mechanical properties, research direction and application prospects of structural laminated veneer lumber made from planted forest wood are discussed

RVD: A Handheld Device-Based Fundus Video Dataset for Retinal Vessel Segmentation

Retinal vessel segmentation is generally grounded in image-based datasets collected with bench-top devices. The static images naturally lose the dynamic characteristics of retina fluctuation, resulting in diminished dataset richness, and the usage of bench-top devices further restricts dataset scalability due to its limited accessibility. Considering these limitations, we introduce the first video-based retinal dataset by employing handheld devices for data acquisition. The dataset comprises 635 smartphone-based fundus videos collected from four different clinics, involving 415 patients from 50 to 75 years old. It delivers comprehensive and precise annotations of retinal structures in both spatial and temporal dimensions, aiming to advance the landscape of vasculature segmentation. Specifically, the dataset provides three levels of spatial annotations: binary vessel masks for overall retinal structure delineation, general vein-artery masks for distinguishing the vein and artery, and fine-grained vein-artery masks for further characterizing the granularities of each artery and vein. In addition, the dataset offers temporal annotations that capture the vessel pulsation characteristics, assisting in detecting ocular diseases that require fine-grained recognition of hemodynamic fluctuation. In application, our dataset exhibits a significant domain shift with respect to data captured by bench-top devices, thus posing great challenges to existing methods. In the experiments, we provide evaluation metrics and benchmark results on our dataset, reflecting both the potential and challenges it offers for vessel segmentation tasks. We hope this challenging dataset would significantly contribute to the development of eye disease diagnosis and early prevention

Comparative study on calcium, magnesium and cobalt in diabetic and non diabetic patients (males) in Punjab, Pakistan

Minerals are very important because of their important role in the maintenance of human health. Our study was aimed at assessing and comparing the levels of Ca, Mg and Co in the blood samples of diabetic and non diabetic persons (males) of five age groups between one and 75 years. For this purpose, fasting blood samples of diabetic and non diabetic males of selected age groups were collected. The blood samples were centrifuged to get serum. The mineral elements in the serum were analyzed by using atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The results depicted that the diabetic patients had higher mean concentration of Ca (141.47 ppm), Mg (18 ppm) and Co (0.057 ppm) while non diabetic persons had higher mean concentration of Ca (201.33 ppm), Mg (36.15 ppm) and Co (0.047 ppm). Statistical analysis was done by applying Student’s T-test. It can be concluded from the study that the diabetic patients of all five age groups are deficient of Ca, Mg, whereas the concentration of Co is higher in diabetic patients. In the further study physiological parameters along with other inorganic cofactors are being taken into consideration.Key words: Diabetes mellitus, blood serum, Ca, Mg, Co

TMEM27 Suppresses Tumor Development by Promoting Ret Ubiquitination, Positioning, and Degradation

The TMEM127 gene encodes a transmembrane protein of poorly known function that is mutated in pheochromocytomas, neural crest-derived tumors of adrenomedullary cells. Here, we report that, at single-nucleus resolution, TMEM127-mutant tumors share precursor cells and transcription regulatory elements with pheochromocytomas carrying mutations of the tyrosine kinase receptor RET. Additionally, TMEM127-mutant pheochromocytomas, human cells, and mouse knockout models of TMEM127 accumulate RET and increase its signaling. TMEM127 contributes to RET cellular positioning, trafficking, and lysosome-mediated degradation. Mechanistically, TMEM127 binds to RET and recruits the NEDD4 E3 ubiquitin ligase for RET ubiquitination and degradation via TMEM127 C-terminal PxxY motifs. Lastly, increased cell proliferation and tumor burden after TMEM127 loss can be reversed by selective RET inhibitors in vitro and in vivo. Our results define TMEM127 as a component of the ubiquitin system and identify aberrant RET stabilization as a likely mechanism through which TMEM127 loss-of-function mutations cause pheochromocytoma

Why do plants produce so many terpenoid compounds?

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/146372/1/nph14178.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/146372/2/nph14178_am.pd

Impact of leg lengthening on viscoelastic properties of the deep fascia

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Despite the morphological alterations of the deep fascia subjected to leg lengthening have been investigated in cellular and extracellular aspects, the impact of leg lengthening on viscoelastic properties of the deep fascia remains largely unknown. This study aimed to address the changes of viscoelastic properties of the deep fascia during leg lengthening using uniaxial tensile test.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Animal model of leg lengthening was established in New Zealand white rabbits. Distraction was initiated at a rate of 1 mm/day and 2 mm/day in two steps, and preceded until increases of 10% and 20% in the initial length of tibia had been achieved. The deep fascia specimens of 30 mm × 10 mm were clamped with the Instron 1122 tensile tester at room temperature with a constant tensile rate of 5 mm/min. After 5 load-download tensile tests had been performed, the specimens were elongated until rupture. The load-displacement curves were automatically generated.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The normal deep fascia showed typical viscoelastic rule of collagenous tissues. Each experimental group of the deep fascia after leg lengthening kept the properties. The curves of the deep fascia at a rate of 1 mm/day with 20% increase in tibia length were the closest to those of normal deep fascia. The ultimate tension strength and the strain at rupture on average of normal deep fascia were 2.69 N (8.97 mN/mm²) and 14.11%, respectively. The increases in ultimate tension strength and strain at rupture of the deep fascia after leg lengthening were statistically significant.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The deep fascia subjected to leg lengthening exhibits viscoelastic properties as collagenous tissues without lengthening other than increased strain and strength. Notwithstanding different lengthening schemes result in varied viscoelastic properties changes, the most comparable viscoelastic properties to be demonstrated are under the scheme of a distraction rate of 1 mm/day and 20% increase in tibia length.</p