An evaluation of the posterior cruciate ligament function in total knee arthroplasty with regard to its morphology and clinical properties

The aim of the study was to determine the degree of posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) degeneration and the reduction in the number of its mechanoreceptors, in patients with advanced degenerative joint disease. PCLs taken from study group of 50 patients in the mean age of 70.7 (53–84) years with a diagnosis of advanced idiopathic osteoarthritis undergoing condylar total knee arthroplasty were compared to those taken form the control group of 10 knee joints of cadavers. Groups were matched with regard to sex and age. Histological examination of PCLs of the study group showed changes of an inflammatory process and no significant signs of osteoarthritis in the control group. A close correlation was found between the severity of degenerative changes on the X-ray images according to the Ahlbäck scale, and the increased mucoid degeneration (p < 0.0001), the severity of the degeneration of the collagen structure (p < 0.0001) and the presence of proprioceptors of PCLs (p < 0.0001). Conserving the PCL by the use of type cruciate retaining knee arthroplasty does not guarantee the preservation of correct proprioceptive sensation

A Novel 3-D Mineralized Tumor Model to Study Breast Cancer Bone Metastasis

Metastatic bone disease is a frequent cause of morbidity in patients with advanced breast cancer, but the role of the bone mineral hydroxyapatite (HA) in this process remains unclear. We have developed a novel mineralized 3-D tumor model and have employed this culture system to systematically investigate the pro-metastatic role of HA under physiologically relevant conditions in vitro.MDA-MB231 breast cancer cells were cultured within non-mineralized or mineralized polymeric scaffolds fabricated by a gas foaming-particulate leaching technique. Tumor cell adhesion, proliferation, and secretion of pro-osteoclastic interleukin-8 (IL-8) was increased in mineralized tumor models as compared to non-mineralized tumor models, and IL-8 secretion was more pronounced for bone-specific MDA-MB231 subpopulations relative to lung-specific breast cancer cells. These differences were pathologically significant as conditioned media collected from mineralized tumor models promoted osteoclastogenesis in an IL-8 dependent manner. Finally, drug testing and signaling studies with transforming growth factor beta (TGFbeta) confirmed the clinical relevance of our culture system and revealed that breast cancer cell behavior is broadly affected by HA.Our results indicate that HA promotes features associated with the neoplastic and metastatic growth of breast carcinoma cells in bone and that IL-8 may play an important role in this process. The developed mineralized tumor models may help to reveal the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms that may ultimately enable more efficacious therapy of patients with advanced breast cancer

Silicon solar cells: toward the efficiency limits

Photovoltaic (PV) conversion of solar energy starts to give an appreciable contribution to power generation in many countries, with more than 90% of the global PV market relying on solar cells based on crystalline silicon (c-Si). The current efficiency record of c-Si solar cells is 26.7%, against an intrinsic limit of ~29%. Current research and production trends aim at increasing the efficiency, and reducing the cost, of industrial modules. In this paper, we review the main concepts and theoretical approaches that allow calculating the efficiency limits of c-Si solar cells as a function of silicon thickness. For a given material quality, the optimal thickness is determined by a trade-off between the competing needs of high optical absorption (requiring a thicker absorbing layer) and of efficient carrier collection (best achieved by a thin silicon layer). The efficiency limits can be calculated by solving the transport equations in the assumption of optimal (Lambertian) light trapping, which can be achieved by inserting proper photonic structures in the solar cell architecture. The effects of extrinsic (bulk and surface) recombinations on the conversion efficiency are discussed. We also show how the main conclusions and trends can be described using relatively simple analytic models. Prospects for overcoming the 29% limit by means of silicon/perovskite tandems are briefly discussed

Convolutional neural network model for the qualitative evaluation of geometric shape of carrot root

The main objective of the study is the development of an automatic carrot root classification model, marked as CR-NET, with the use of a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN). CNN with a constant architecture was built, consistingof an alternating arrangement of five Conv2D, MaxPooling2D and Dropout classes, for which in the Python 3.9 programming language a calculation algorithm was developed. It was found that the classification process of the carrot root images was carried out with an accuracy of 89.06%, meaning that 50 images were misclassified. The highest number of 21 erroneously classified photographs were from the extra class, of which 15 to the first class, thus not resulting in significant loss. However, assuming the number of refuse as the classification basis, the model accuracy greatly increases to 98.69%, as only 6 photographs were erroneously assigned

Inflammatory low back pain: diagnostic and therapeutical recommendations for family doctors

Low back pain (LBP) or pain of the lumbo-sacral region of the vertebral column is a polyetiological clinical state. LBP is a common medical condition and has a recurrent nature. The incidence of the first LBP episode in life varies from 6.3 to 15.4% a year, while the total annual LBP incidence is estimated at up to 36%. The cause of LBP can be located in the osseous structures and the joints of the vertebral column, the intervertebral discs, as well as the muscles, ligaments and nerves of the lumbo-sacral region. Commonly, the disease mechanism is complex. Differential diagnosis is an important part of the management of LBP patients due to a number of potential causes. Some forms of LBP need emergency management, and their features are known as “red flag symptoms”. Such LBP forms occur at night and lack any connection with physical activity (especially in the early stage of the disease). Rapidly deteriorating LBP also needs to be considered as an emergency. Inflammatory LBP occurs in patients with inflammatory spondyloarthropathies (in 70–80% of the patients). The presented recommendations are designed to facilitate the identification of patients with inflammatory LBP. They also describe rules of referring to a rheumatologist, as well as focus on the cooperation of a family doctor and a rheumatologist in the treatment of these patients. In most patients LBP is the first symptom of inflammatory spondyloartropathy. The classification criteria of inflammatory LBP are as follows: 1) onset at the age below 40; 2) insidious onset; 3) an improvement after physical exercise; 4) the lack of improvement after rest; 5) pain at night with improvement after getting up from bed. Non-pharmacological (kinesiotherapy, patient education) and pharmacological methods (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, TNF -alpha blockers) are used in the management of patients with inflammatory spondyloartropathy

10 th Annual Conference of the International FES Society

Abstrac

Endovascular repair of traumatic thoracic aortic pseudoaneurysm combined with simultaneous distal pancreatectomy due to the pancreas body rupture — case report and review of literatur

Tępe pourazowe uszkodzenie aorty piersiowej, któremu zwykle towarzyszą obrażenia wielonarządowe dotyczące głowy, jamy brzusznej lub miednicy, jest uważane za groźny, potencjalnie śmiertelny stan, który wymaga szybkiego rozpoznania i wdrożenia niezwłocznego leczenia chirurgicznego. Najczęstszą lokalizacją uszkodzenia aorty jest cieśń, co wynika głównie z wystąpienia nagłej deceleracji w czasie urazu komunika­cyjnego. Aktualna klasyfikacja wyróżnia 4 typy uszkodzenia ściany aorty piersiowej. Typ I obejmuje urazy ograniczone do błony wewnętrznej. Typ II opisuje krwiaki śródścienne. Typ III oznacza wytworzenie się tętniaka rzekomego, a typ IV jest definiowany jako pęknięcie aorty. Postępowanie zachowawcze polegające na ścisłej kontroli ciśnienia tętniczego i powtarzaniu badań obrazowych jest rekomendowane jedynie w przypadku uszkodzenia błony wewnętrznej ściany aorty. Natomiast urazy II–IV typu powinny być leczone operacyjnie. Obecnie uważa się, że wprowadzenie metody wewnątrznaczyniowej do leczenia urazów aorty piersiowej stało się cenną alternatywą dla metody otwartej, gdyż zmniejszyło śmiertelność oraz ryzyko wystąpienia wczesnych i późnych powikłań pooperacyjnych. Celem pracy było przedstawienie odległych wyników leczenia 19-letniego chorego z pourazowym tętniakiem rzekomym aorty zstępującej, który skutecznie został wyłączony z układu krążenia za pomocą implantacji stent-graftu, połączonej z jednoczasową resekcją pękniętego trzonu i ogona trzustki oraz splenektomii.Blunt traumatic thoracic aortic injury, which is usually accompanied by multiple organ injuries involving the head, abdomen or pelvis, is considered a dangerous, potentially life-threatening condition that requires rapid diagnosis and immediate surgical treatment. The most common location of traumatic aortic injuries is the aortic isthmus, which often results from the sudden deceleration during a road traffic accident. Traumatic injuries to the thoracic aortic wall are currently classified as four types: type I are injuries limited to the intima; type II is an intramural haematoma; type III means a pseudoaneurysm; and type IV is an aortic rupture. Conservative management, which involves strict blood pressure control and serial imaging, is recommended only in cases of intimal injuries, while type II to IV injuries should be managed operatively. It is currently believed that the introduction of endovascular techniques for the treatment of traumatic thoracic aortic injuries has become a valuable alternative for open surgery, as it has reduced mortality and the risk of early and late postoperative complications.In this article, we present long-term outcomes of treatment of a 19-year-old patient with a traumatic pseudoaneurysm of the descending aorta, which was successfully excluded from the systemic circulation through the implantation of a stent-graft combined with a simultaneous resection of the body and tail of the pancreas due to their rupture and splenectomy

Extraction Optimization, Functional and Thermal Properties of Protein from Cherimoya Seed as an Unexploited By-Product

Plant-based proteins are gaining in attraction compared with animal-based proteins due to their superior ethical profiles, growing concerns on the part of various organizations about animal health and welfare, and increased global greenhouse-gas emissions in meat production. In this study, the response surface methodology (RSM) using a Box-Behnken design (BBD) was applied to optimize the ultrasound-assisted alkaline extraction of cherimoya-seed proteins as valuable by-products. The effects of three pH, temperature, and time factors on the protein-extraction yield and protein content were investigated. The pH at 10.5 and temperature of 41.8 °C for 26.1 min were considered the optimal ultrasound-assisted alkaline-extraction conditions since they provided the maximum extraction yield (17.3%) and protein content (65.6%). An established extraction technique was employed to enhance the cherimoya-seed protein yield, purity, and functional properties. A thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) of the samples showed that the ultrasound-assisted alkaline extraction improved the thermal stability of the protein concentrate