Síndrome del túnel tarsiano: a propósito de un caso

El Síndrome del túnel tarsiano está causado por el atrapamiento del nervio tibial posterior o sus ramas a nivel del retináculo flexor en el tobillo. Se describe un caso de síndrome de túnel tarsiano causado por un quiste sinovial. El paciente refería dolor desde hacía 1 mes a nivel retromaleolar irradiado a planta del pie y primer dedo. Al mes de iniciado los síntomas se apreció una tumoración a nivel retromaleolar. Se exponen los hallazgos EMG, ecografía y R.M.N. Cuando la causa de esta entidad es una lesión ocupante de espacio, está indicada la cirugía, siendo el pronóstico mejor cuanto más precoz es la intervención.Tarsal tunnel syndrome is an entrapment neuropathy caused by compression of the posterior tibial nerve or one of its branches beneath the ankle flexor retinaculum. We present a case of tarsal tunnel syndrome caused by synovial cyst. Since one month the patient complained about pain retromaleolarly radiating to the sole of the foot and first toe. At retromaleolar level a mass was found one month after the onset of symptoms. We report the E.M.G., ultrasonography and R.N.M. findings. When the cause of this syndrome is a space-occupying lesion surgery is indicated. The results of surgery are worse when operation is delayed

Correlation between Mn oxidation state and magnetic behavior in Mn/ZnO multilayers prepared by sputtering

Compositional, microstructural, and magnetic characterization of ZnO 30 Å/Mn x n multilayers prepared by sputtering is presented to study the observed ferromagnetism in the Mn-ZnO system. The nominal Mn layer thickness, x, is varied from 3 to 60 Å, while the number of bilayers, n, is increased to maintain the total amount of Mn constant. Microstructure information was deduced from x-ray reflectivity, Mn oxidation state was determined by x-ray absorption spectroscopy, and magnetic properties were measured over a temperature range of 5–400 K. Magnetic behavior of these samples is found to be related to the Mn layer thickness x. Multilayers with x 30 Å exhibit ferromagnetism with a Curie temperature above 400 K, while mostly paramagnetic behavior is obtained for x15 Å. Magnetic behavior is discussed in terms of electronic and structural parameters of samples. Mn-ZnO interface effect is related to the ferromagnetic order of the samples, but it is not a sufficient condition. The essential role of the Mn oxidation state in the magnetic behavior of this system is pointed out. It is shown a correlation between the obtained ferromagnetism and a Mn oxidation state close to 2+.Ministerio de Educación y Ciencias de España-MAT2003-01880 y MAT2006-0100

Normal response to tibial neurodynamic test in asymptomatic subjects

BACKGROUND: The straight leg raise test (SLR) is one of the most performed physical tests for mechanosensitivity and impairment of the nervous system. According to the anatomy of the tibial nerve, ankle dorsiflexion and eversion movements could be used to perform the tibial neurodynamic test (TNT). To date, no study has documented the normal responses of the TNT. OBJECTIVE: To document normal responses of the TNT in asymptomatic individuals and to investigate influences from sex and leg dominance. METHODS: A cross-sectional study with 44 asymptomatic volunteer subjects, a total of 88 lower limbs, was carried out. The range of motion (ROM), quality, and distribution of sensory responses were recorded. The hip flexion ROM was measured when subjects reported an intensity of their symptoms of 2/10 (P1) and 8/10 (P2). RESULTS: The mean ROM for hip flexion at P1 was 44.22 ± 13.13 and 66.73 ± 14.30 at P2. Hip flexion was significantly greater at P2 than P1 (p 0.05). The descriptor of the quality of sensory responses most often used by participants was stretching (88.6% and 87.5% for P1 and P2, respectively) in the popliteal fossa and posterior calf. CONCLUSIONS: This study describes the sensory responses of asymptomatic subjects resulting from the TNT. Our findings indicate that TNT responses are independent of the influence of sex or leg dominance

Confident methods for the evaluation of the hydrogen content in nanoporous carbon microfibers

Abstract Nanoporous carbon microfibers were grown by chemical vapor deposition in the vapor-liquid solid mode using different fluid hydrocarbons as precursors in different proportions. The as-grown samples were further treated in argon and hydrogen atmospheres at different pressure conditions and annealed at several temperatures in order to deduce the best conditions for the incorporation and re-incorporation of hydrogen into the microfibers through the nanopores. Since there are some discrepancies in the results on the hydrogen content obtained under vacuum conditions, in this work, we have measured the hydrogen content in the microfibers using several analytical methods in ambient conditions: surface tension, mass density, and Raman measurements. A discussion on the validity of the results obtained through the correlation between them is the purpose of the present work.Peer Reviewe

Trastorno por Déficit de Atención con Hiperactividad: Ritmo Circanual en el Mes de Nacimiento

Estudiamos la existencia de ritmo circanual en el mes de nacimiento en participantes con trastorno de déficit de atención e hiperactividad (TDAH) y analizamos la asociación entre meses de nacimiento y TDAH. La muestra incluye 10978 participantes (1778 TDAH / 9200 no TDAH), entre 3 y 18 años, reclutados mediante muestreo consecutivo de primeras consultas atendidas en salud mental entre 1992 y 2021. Los participantes con TDAH presentan un ritmo circanual significativo en los meses de nacimiento, con una acrofase en octubre. Nacer en el último cuatrimestre del año incrementa significativamente la probabilidad de ser diagnosticado TDAH, controlando el efecto de sexo y edad. Con el transcurso de los meses del año, existe una tendencia lineal creciente significativa de ser diagnosticado de TDAH, no observada en población general, ni en casos sin TDAH. Es necesario tener precaución en el diagnóstico y tratamiento de los niños nacidos en los últimos meses del año, que, por su mayor inmadurez en comparación con los demás niños de la clase, pudieran ser diagnosticados y tratados erróneamente como TDAHAttention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Circannual Rhythm in the Month of Birth. We studied the existence of circanual rhythm in the month of birth in participants with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and analyzed the association between months of birth and ADHD. We analyzed 10,978 participants (1,778 ADHD/9,200 non-ADHD), aged 3 to 18 years. A consecutive sample of first visits to mental health between 1992 and 2021 is used. Participants with ADHD exhibit a significant circannual rhythm in the months of birth, with an acrophase in October. Being born in the last quarter of the year significantly increases the probability of being diagnosed with ADHD, controlling for the effect of sex and age. As the months of the year go by, there is a significant increasing linear trend of being diagnosed with ADHD, which is not observed neither in general population nor in cases without ADHD. Caution is necessary in diagnosis and treatment of children born in the last months of year, who, due to their greater immaturity compared to the other children in class, could be misdiagnosed and treated as ADH

Induced ferromagnetism in Mn3N2 phase embedded in Mn/Si3N4 multilayers

Room temperature ferromagnetism has been obtained for different sets of Mn/Si3N4 multilayers prepared by sputtering. In order to find the most suitable conditions to stabilize the ferromagnetic ordering in this system, the evolution of the magnetic properties has been studied for films in which the Si3N4 layer thickness was maintained constant while that of the Mn layer was varied, Mn tm/Si3N4 3.4 nm n, and conversely, in Mn 0.7 nm/Si3N4 tsn 43 samples, in which the Mn layer thickness was kept constant while varying the Si3N4 layer thickness. Structural, compositional, electronic and magnetic characterizations have been performed by means of x-ray reflectometry, Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, x-ray photoemission spectroscopy, x-ray absorption, and superconducting quantum interference device for further knowledge of the magnetic-structural relationship in this system. Our results show that the peculiar magnetic behavior of these films is mainly related to the stabilization of a slightly distorted Mn3N2 phase that is induced by the Si3N4 at the interfaces. For samples with larger Mn layer thickness, metallic Mn and Mn3N2 phases coexist, which leads to a reduction of the total magnetization per Mn atom due to the presence of metallic Mn. For small Mn layer thickness tm 0.86 nm, where noncontinuous Mn3N2 layers are formed, the magnetization decreases noticeably due to the superparamagnetic size limit. It has been found that the best conditions for the stabilization of the ferromagnetism in this system occur when both, the manganese-rich and the silicon nitride layers, are continuous and with similar thickness, close to 3.5 nm.Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia de España-MAT2006-01004, MAT2008-06542-C04-01, MAT2008-06765-C02-02, S-0505/MAT/0194, Consolider 2010_26400 y Nanoselect CSD2007-0004

Numerical Assessment of the Structural Effects of Relative Sliding between Tissues in a Finite Element Model of the Foot

Penetration and shared nodes between muscles, tendons and the plantar aponeurosis mesh elements in finite element models of the foot may cause inappropriate structural behavior of the tissues. Penetration between tissues caused using separate mesh without motion constraints or contacts can change the loading direction because of an inadequate mesh displacement. Shared nodes between mesh elements create bonded areas in the model, causing progressive or complete loss of load transmitted by tissue. This paper compares by the finite element method the structural behavior of the foot model in cases where a shared mesh has been used versus a separated mesh with sliding contacts between some important tissues. A very detailed finite element model of the foot and ankle that simulates the muscles, tendons and plantar aponeurosis with real geometry has been used for the research. The analysis showed that the use of a separate mesh with sliding contacts and a better characterization of the mechanical behavior of the soft tissues increased the mean of the absolute values of stress by 83.3% and displacement by 17.4% compared with a shared mesh. These increases mean an improvement of muscle and tendon behavior in the foot model. Additionally, a better quantitative and qualitative distribution of plantar pressure was also observed.Fac. de Enfermería, Fisioterapia y PodologíaTRUEMinistry of Economy Government of SpainCONACYT, Mexicopu

Variation in assignment of the COPD patients into a GOLD group according to symptoms severity

Introduction: The Global Organization of Lung Disease (GOLD) classifies patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) taking into account the symptoms. The modified Medical Research Council’s dyspnea scale (mMRC) and the COPD assessment test (CAT) are used to assess these symptoms. In this study, we analyze the concordance of GOLD classification using mMRC and CAT. Patients and Methods: This is an observational study of a cohort of 169 patients with COPD, who were classified following the GOLD 2017 recommendations, using both mMRC and CAT. A concordance analysis was applied, and a ROC curve was generated to identify the CAT score that best concorded with the mMRC scale. Results: The concordance for the GOLD groups classified by CAT and mMRC was moderate (kappa 0.492). For mMRC score of 1 and 2, a CAT score of =9 and =16 showed the maximum value of the Youden index, respectively. By reclassifying the patients with the new cut-off points obtained, the best concordance was obtained between the cut-off point for CAT of 16 and for mMRC of 2, followed by CAT of 9 and mMRC of 1. Conclusion: Because of the deficient concordance between CAT and mMRC, we propose the use of new cut-off points in future updates of the GOLD strategy

Increased circulating microRNAs miR-342-3p and miR-21-5p in natural sheep prion disease

Scrapie is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE), or prion disease, of sheep and goats. As no simple diagnostic tests are yet available to detect TSEs in vivo, easily accessible biomarkers could facilitate the eradication of scrapie agents from the food chain. To this end, we analysed by quantitative reverse transcription PCR a selected set of candidate microRNAs (miRNAs) from circulating blood plasma of naturally infected, classical scrapie sheep that demonstrated clear scrapie symptoms and pathology. Significant scrapie-associated increase was repeatedly found for miR-342-3p and miR-21-5p. This is the first demonstration, to our knowledge, of circulating miRNA alterations in any animal suffering from TSE. Genome-wide expression studies are warranted to investigate the true depth of miRNA alterations in naturally occurring TSEs, especially in presymptomatic animals, as the presented study demonstrates the potential feasibility of miRNAs as circulating TSE biomarkers

IAA : Información y actualidad astronómica (24)

Sumario : Máseres en el espacio.-- Venus Express.-- El complejo cinturón de asteroides.-- DECONSTRUCCIÓN Y otros ENSAYOS : Rotación diferencial y oscilaciones estelares.-- ACTUALIDAD.-- ENTRE BASTIDORES .-- HISTORIAS DE ASTRONOMÍA: El astrónomo de vista prodigiosa.-- CIENCIA: PILARES E INCERTIDUMBRES : Ondas gravitatorias.-- ACTIVIDADES IAA.Esta revista se publica con la ayuda FCT-08-0130 del Programa Nacional de Fomento de la Cultura Científica y Tecnológica 2008.N