Labyrinth chaos: Revisiting the elegant, chaotic, and hyperchaotic walks

Labyrinth chaos was discovered by Otto Rössler and René Thomas in their endeavour to identify the necessary mathematical conditions for the appearance of chaotic and hyperchaotic motion in continuous flows. Here, we celebrate their discovery by considering a single labyrinth walks system and an array of coupled labyrinth chaos systems that exhibit complex, chaotic behaviour, reminiscent of chimera-like states, a peculiar synchronisation phenomenon. We discuss the properties of the single labyrinth walks system and review the ability of coupled labyrinth chaos systems to exhibit chimera-like states due to the unique properties of their space-filling, chaotic trajectories, what amounts to elegant, hyperchaotic walks. Finally, we discuss further implications in relation to the labyrinth walks system by showing that even though it is volume-preserving, it is not force-conservative

Does knee awareness differ between different knee arthroplasty prostheses?:A matched, case-control, cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Low knee awareness after Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA) has become the ultimate goal in trying to achieve a natural feeling knee that meet patient expectations. To accommodate this manufacturers of TKAs have developed new prosthetic designs that potentially could give patients a more natural feeling knee during activities. The purpose af this study was to compare the Forgotten Joint Score (FJS) and Oxford Knee Score (OKS) of patients treated with a previous generation standard Cruciate Retaining (CR) TKA to the scores obtained by patients treated with a newer generation CR TKA or a mobile bearing CR TKA. METHODS: We identified all patients receiving a new generation CR TKA or mobile bearing TKA at our institution between 2010 and 2012. These were matched to a population of patients receiving a standard CR TKA regarding age, gender, year of surgery, Kellgren-Lawrence (KL) grade and pre- and postoperative knee alignment. Patients were asked to complete the FJS and OKS questionnaires. Of the 316 patients completing the survey 64 standard CR TKAs to 35 new generation CR TKAs and 121 standard CR TKAs to 68 mobile bearing TKAs were matched. The FJS and OKS scores of the three TKA designs were compared. RESULTS: When comparing the new generation CR TKAs to the standard CR TKAs we found statistically significant higher OKS and FJS scores (6 (p = 0.04) and 16 (p = 0.03) points respectively) for the new generation CR TKAs. When comparing the mobile bearing TKAs to the standard CR TKAs we found a statistically significant higher OKS score (3 points, p = 0.04), and a higher but non-significant FJS score (4 points, p = 0.48) for the mobile bearing TKAs. CONCLUSIONS: Patients receiving the new generation CR TKA obtained higher FJS and OKS scores when compared to patients receiving a standard CR TKA, indicating that the use of this newer prosthetic design facilitate less knee awareness and better function after TKA

Variability of Image Features Computed from Conventional and Respiratory-Gated PET/CT Images of Lung Cancer

AbstractRadiomics is being explored for potential applications in radiation therapy. How various imaging protocols affect quantitative image features is currently a highly active area of research. To assess the variability of image features derived from conventional [three-dimensional (3D)] and respiratory-gated (RG) positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) images of lung cancer patients, image features were computed from 23 lung cancer patients. Both protocols for each patient were acquired during the same imaging session. PET tumor volumes were segmented using an adaptive technique which accounted for background. CT tumor volumes were delineated with a commercial segmentation tool. Using RG PET images, the tumor center of mass motion, length, and rotation were calculated. Fifty-six image features were extracted from all images consisting of shape descriptors, first-order features, and second-order texture features. Overall, 26.6% and 26.2% of total features demonstrated less than 5% difference between 3D and RG protocols for CT and PET, respectively. Between 10 RG phases in PET, 53.4% of features demonstrated percent differences less than 5%. The features with least variability for PET were sphericity, spherical disproportion, entropy (first and second order), sum entropy, information measure of correlation 2, Short Run Emphasis (SRE), Long Run Emphasis (LRE), and Run Percentage (RPC); and those for CT were minimum intensity, mean intensity, Root Mean Square (RMS), Short Run Emphasis (SRE), and RPC. Quantitative analysis using a 3D acquisition versus RG acquisition (to reduce the effects of motion) provided notably different image feature values. This study suggests that the variability between 3D and RG features is mainly due to the impact of respiratory motion

Splenic Trauma: WSES Classification and Guidelines for Adult and Pediatric Patients

Spleen injuries are among the most frequent trauma-related injuries. At present, they are classified according to the anatomy of the injury. The optimal treatment strategy, however, should keep into consideration the hemodynamic status, the anatomic derangement, and the associated injuries. The management of splenic trauma patients aims to restore the homeostasis and the normal physiopathology especially considering the modern tools for bleeding management. Thus, the management of splenic trauma should be ultimately multidisciplinary and based on the physiology of the patient, the anatomy of the injury, and the associated lesions. Lastly, as the management of adults and children must be different, children should always be treated in dedicated pediatric trauma centers. In fact, the vast majority of pediatric patients with blunt splenic trauma can be managed non-operatively. This paper presents the World Society of Emergency Surgery (WSES) classification of splenic trauma and the management guidelines

Good validity and reliability of the forgotten joint score in evaluating the outcome of total knee arthroplasty

Background and purpose — When evaluating the outcome after total knee arthroplasty (TKA), increasing emphasis has been put on patient satisfaction and ability to perform activities of daily living. To address this, the forgotten joint score (FJS) for assessment of knee awareness has been developed. We investigated the validity and reliability of the FJS. Patients and methods — A Danish version of the FJS questionnaire was created according to internationally accepted standards. 360 participants who underwent primary TKA were invited to participate in the study. Of these, 315 were included in a validity study and 150 in a reliability study. Correlation between the Oxford knee score (OKS) and the FJS was examined and test-retest evaluation was performed. A ceiling effect was defined as participants reaching a score within 15% of the maximum achievable score. Results — The validity study revealed a strong correlation between the FJS and the OKS (intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) = 0.81, 95% CI: 0.77–0.85; p < 0.001). The test-retest evaluation showed almost perfect reliability for the FJS total score (ICC = 0.91, 95% CI: 0.88–0.94) and substantial reliability or better for individual items of the FJS (ICC? 0.79). We found a high level of internal consistency (Cronbach’s? = 0.96). The ceiling effect for the FJS was 16%, as compared to 37% for the OKS. Interpretation — The FJS showed good construct validity and test-retest reliability. It had a lower ceiling effect than the OKS. The FJS appears to be a promising tool for evaluation of small differences in knee performance in groups of patients with good clinical results after TKA

Kovalevski exponents and integrability properties in class A homogeneous cosmological models

Qualitative approach to homogeneous anisotropic Bianchi class A models in terms of dynamical systems reveals a hierarchy of invariant manifolds. By calculating the Kovalevski Exponents according to Adler - van Moerbecke method we discuss how algebraic integrability property is distributed in this class of models. In particular we find that algebraic nonintegrability of vacuum Bianchi VII_0 model is inherited by more general Bianchi VIII and Bianchi IX vacuum types. Matter terms (cosmological constant, dust and radiation) in the Einstein equations typically generate irrational or complex Kovalevski exponents in class A homogeneous models thus introducing an element of nonintegrability even though the respective vacuum models are integrable.Comment: arxiv version is already officia

Non-integrability of the mixmaster universe

We comment on an analysis by Contopoulos et al. which demonstrates that the governing six-dimensional Einstein equations for the mixmaster space-time metric pass the ARS or reduced Painlev\'{e} test. We note that this is the case irrespective of the value, $I$, of the generating Hamiltonian which is a constant of motion. For $I < 0$ we find numerous closed orbits with two unstable eigenvalues strongly indicating that there cannot exist two additional first integrals apart from the Hamiltonian and thus that the system, at least for this case, is very likely not integrable. In addition, we present numerical evidence that the average Lyapunov exponent nevertheless vanishes. The model is thus a very interesting example of a Hamiltonian dynamical system, which is likely non-integrable yet passes the reduced Painlev\'{e} test.Comment: 11 pages LaTeX in J.Phys.A style (ioplppt.sty) + 6 PostScript figures compressed and uuencoded with uufiles. Revised version to appear in J Phys.

Electrospun ZnO/Poly(Vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) scaffolds for lung tissue engineering

Due to the morbidity and lethality of pulmonary diseases, new biomaterials and scaffolds are needed to support the regeneration of lung tissues, while ideally providing protective effects against inflammation and microbial aggression. In this study, we investigated the potential of nanocomposites of poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-trifluoroethylene) [P(VDF-TrFE)] incorporating zinc oxide (ZnO), in the form of electrospun fiber meshes for lung tissue engineering. We focused on their anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and mechanoelectrical character according to different fiber mesh textures (i.e., collected at 500 and 4000 rpm) and compositions: (0/100) and (20/80) w/w% ZnO/P(VDF-TrFE), plain and composite, respectively. The scaffolds were characterized in terms of morphological, physicochemical, mechanical, and piezoelectric properties, as well as biological response of A549 alveolar epithelial cells in presence of lung-infecting bacteria. By virtue of ZnO, the composite scaffolds showed a strong anti-inflammatory response in A549 cells, as demonstrated by a significant decrease of interleukin (IL) IL-1a, IL-6, and IL-8 expression in 6 h. In all the scaffold types, but remarkably in the aligned composite ones, transforming growth factor b (TGF-b) and the antimicrobial peptide human b defensin-2 (HBD-2) were significantly increased. The ZnO/P(VDF-TrFE) electrospun fiber meshes hindered the biofilm formation by Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa and the cell/scaffold constructs were able to impede S. aureus adhesion and S. aureus and P. aeruginosa invasiveness, independent of the scaffold type. The data obtained suggested that the composite scaffolds showed potential for tunable mechanical properties, in the range of alveolar walls and fibers. Finally, we also showed good piezoelectricity, which is a feature found in elastic and collagen fibers, the main extracellular matrix molecules in lungs. The combination of all these properties makes ZnO/P(VDF-TrFE) fiber meshes promising for lung repair and regeneration