EXAMINATION OF A SUBTLE ENERGY TRANSDUCTION DEVICE ON ANXIETY LEVELS OF STUDENTS IN A PUBLIC SCHOOL SETTING:The Clarus QLink ClearWave

This study examines the effects of the Clarus QLink ClearWave, a subtle energy transduction device, on anxiety levels ofstudents and teachers in a public school setting. Since anxiety may be caused by exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMFs), it is thought that by decreasing EMFs in the environment, anxiety in turn may be reduced. Quantitative measures used were the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children. Findings indicate statistically significant differences (at p < .08) of state anxiety levels for students in the treatment condition group. No statistically significant differences were found for trait anxiety levels between the treatment and control conditions. Conc

Activation of Tissue Remodeling Precedes Obliterative Bronchiolitis in Lung Transplant Recipients

Obliterative bronchiolitis (OB) and Bronchiolitis Obliterans Syndrome (BOS) are frequent complications in the lung transplant recipient, and are the leading cause of mortality after transplantation. The mechanisms responsible for OB remain elusive, but inflammatory and tissue remodeling responses are implicated. We hypothesized that alterations in markers of tissue remodeling in BALF of lung transplant recipients could predict development of OB. To test this, we identified 13 lung transplant recipients who developed both BOS and histologic OB (OB group) at median post-operative day (POD) 485 (range 73–2070). Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) was obtained at median POD 387 (range 45–2205), which preceded the onset of OB and BOS by a median of 140 days (range 60–365). As a control, BALF was also obtained from a group of 21 stable recipients without OB (non-OB group) at median POD 335 (range 270–395). BALF was examined for gelatinolytic activity, fibronectin gene transcription, and transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) expression. Gelatin zymography of BALF from the OB group showed increased matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) activity over that of the non-OB group (p < 0.005). Similarly, BALF from the OB group induced greater fibronectin expression in fibroblasts compared to the non-OB group (p < 0.03). The induction of fibronectin also correlated with the amount of TGF-β1 protein in BALF (r = 0.71) from the OB group. We conclude that activation of tissue remodeling precedes the onset of OB, and analysis of gelatinolytic and/or fibronectin-inducing activity in BALF can serve as an early, pre-clinical marker for OB

A short-term multicenter analysis of radiolucent lines in a single uncemented rotating platform implant for total knee arthroplasty

BACKGROUND: Uncemented total knee arthroplasty is increasing as a potential solution for aseptic loosening via biologic fixation and to increase operative efficiency. However, postoperative radiolucent lines (RLLs) remain a concern for some clinicians. We report on a multicenter analysis of these RLLs over a 2-year period to identify their incidence, progression, and clinical significance. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Institutional review board approval was obtained for this retrospective, multicenter case series. A total of 312 patients treated with a single cruciate-retaining, fully porous coated femoral and tibial component design were included in the study. All patients were evaluated clinically and radiographically in the early postoperative period and at final follow-up (average 2.0 years). Average age of the study group was 58.2 years, and average body mass index was 30.7. Of the total, 66% were male, and 34% were female. Two independent surgeons evaluated the radiographs at the initial postoperative visit and at the most recent follow-up for RLLs. Knee Society Scores and range of motion (ROM) were collected at each visit. RESULTS: We identified RLLs in 25% of patients. All RLLs were less than 1 mm in size and located at the periphery of the tibial implant. None of the RLLs were progressive. At the final follow-up, compared with early postoperative imaging, no new RLLs were identified. Average ROM in flexion was 124 degrees, and the average Knee Society Scores at the most recent clinical follow-up was 96. CONCLUSION: RLLs are commonly seen following cementless TKA, most commonly underneath the tibial tray. Based on this data set, there does not appear to be progression of these RLLs with time, and they do not appear to have an effect on ROM or clinical outcome at 2 years

Early and Late Reoperation Rates With Various MIS Techniques for Adult Spinal Deformity Correction.

Study designA multicenter retrospective review of an adult spinal deformity database.ObjectiveWe aimed to characterize reoperation rates and etiologies of adult spinal deformity surgery with circumferential minimally invasive surgery (cMIS) and hybrid (HYB) techniques.MethodsInclusion criteria were age ≥18 years, and one of the following: coronal Cobb &gt;20°, sagittal vertical axis &gt;5 cm, pelvic tilt &gt;20°, and pelvic incidence-lumbar lordosis &gt;10°. Patients with either cMIS or HYB surgery, ≥3 spinal levels treated with 2-year minimum follow-up were included.ResultsA total of 133 patients met inclusion for this study (65 HYB and 68 cMIS). Junctional failure (13.8%) was the most common reason for reoperation in the HYB group, while fixation failure was the most common reason in the cMIS group (14.7%). There was a higher incidence of proximal junctional failure (PJF) than distal junctional failure (DJF) within HYB (12.3% vs 3.1%), but no significant differences in PJF or DJF rates when compared to cMIS. Early (&lt;30 days) reoperations were less common (cMIS = 1.5%; HYB = 6.1%) than late (&gt;30 days) reoperations (cMIS = 26.5%; HYB = 27.7%), but early reoperations were more common in the HYB group after propensity matching, largely due to infection rates (10.8% vs 0%, P = .04).ConclusionsAdult spinal deformity correction with cMIS and HYB techniques result in overall reoperation rates of 27.9% and 33.8%, respectively, at minimum 2-year follow-up. Junctional failures are more common after HYB approaches, while pseudarthrosis/fixation failures happen more often with cMIS techniques. Early reoperations were less common than later returns to the operating room in both groups, but cMIS demonstrated less risk of infection and early reoperation when compared with the HYB group

Treatment of the Fractional Curve of Adult Scoliosis With Circumferential Minimally Invasive Surgery Versus Traditional, Open Surgery: An Analysis of Surgical Outcomes.

Study Design:Retrospective, multicenter review of adult scoliosis patients with minimum 2-year follow-up. Objective:Because the fractional curve (FC) of adult scoliosis can cause radiculopathy, we evaluated patients treated with either circumferential minimally invasive surgery (cMIS) or open surgery. Methods:A multicenter retrospective adult deformity review was performed. Patients included: age &gt;18 years with FC &gt;10°, ≥3 levels of instrumentation, 2-year follow-up, and one of the following: coronal Cobb angle (CCA) &gt; 20°, pelvic incidence and lumbar lordosis (PI-LL) &gt; 10°, pelvic tilt (PT) &gt; 20°, and sagittal vertical axis (SVA) &gt; 5 cm. Results:The FC was treated in 118 patients, 79 open and 39 cMIS. The FCs had similar coronal Cobb angles preoperative (17° cMIS, 19.6° open) and postoperative (7° cMIS, 8.1° open), but open had more levels treated (12.1 vs 5.7). cMIS patients had greater reduction in VAS leg (6.4 to 1.8) than open (4.3 to 2.5). With propensity matching 40 patients for levels treated (cMIS: 6.6 levels, N = 20; open: 7.3 levels, N = 20), both groups had similar FC correction (18° in both preoperative, 6.9° in cMIS and 8.5° postoperative). Open had more posterior decompressions (80% vs 22.2%, P &lt; .001). Both groups had similar preoperative (Visual Analogue Scale [VAS] leg 6.1 cMIS and 5.4 open) and postoperative (VAS leg 1.6 cMIS and 3.1 open) leg pain. All cMIS patients had interbody grafts; 35% of open did. There was no difference in change of primary CCA, PI-LL, LL, Oswestry Disability Index, or VAS Back. Conclusion:Patients' FCs treated with cMIS had comparable reduction of leg pain compared with those treated with open surgery, despite significantly fewer cMIS patients undergoing direct decompression

Histological spectrum of pulmonary manifestations in kidney transplant recipients on sirolimus inclusive immunosuppressive regimens

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>After the introduction of novel effective immunosuppressive therapies, kidney transplantation became the treatment of choice for end stage renal disease. While these new therapies lead to better graft survival, they can also cause a variety of complications. Only small series or case reports describe pulmonary pathology in renal allograft recipients on mTOR inhibitor inclusive therapies. The goal of this study was to provide a systematic review of thoracic biopsies in kidney transplant recipients for possible association between a type of immunosuppressive regimen and pulmonary complications.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A laboratory database search revealed 28 of 2140 renal allograft recipients (18 males and 10 females, 25 to 77 years old, mean age 53 years) who required a biopsy for respiratory symptoms. The histological features were correlated with clinical findings including immunosuppressive medications.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The incidence of neoplasia on lung biopsy was 0.4% (9 cases), which included 3 squamous cell carcinomas, 2 adenocarcinomas, 1 diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, 1 lymphomatoid granulomatosis, and 2 post transplant B-cell lymphoproliferative disorders. Diffuse parenchymal lung disease was identified in 0.4% (9 cases), and included 5 cases of pulmonary hemorrhage, 3 cases of organizing pneumonia and 1 case of pulmonary alveolar proteinosis. Five (0.2%) cases showed histological features indicative of a localized infectious process. Patients on sirolimus had neoplasia less frequently than patients on other immunosuppressive combinations (12.5% vs. 58.3%, <it>p </it>= 0.03). Lung biopsies in 4 of 5 patients with clinically suspected sirolimus toxicity revealed pulmonary hemorrhage as the sole histological finding or in combination with other patterns.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our study documents a spectrum of neoplastic and non-neoplastic lesions in renal allograft recipients on current immunosuppressive therapies. Sirolimus inclusive regimens are associated with increased risk of pulmonary toxicity but may be beneficial in cases of posttransplant neoplasia.</p> <p>Virtual Slides</p> <p>The virtual slide(s) for this article can be found here: <url>http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/3320012126569395</url>.</p

Magnons and magnetic fluctuations in atomically thin MnBi2Te4

MnBi2Te4, referred to as MBT, is a van der Waals material combining topological electron bands with magnetic order. Here, Lujan et al study collective spin excitations in MBT, and show that magnetic fluctuations increase as samples reduce in thickness, implying less robust magnetic order. Electron band topology is combined with intrinsic magnetic orders in MnBi2Te4, leading to novel quantum phases. Here we investigate collective spin excitations (i.e. magnons) and spin fluctuations in atomically thin MnBi2Te4 flakes using Raman spectroscopy. In a two-septuple layer with non-trivial topology, magnon characteristics evolve as an external magnetic field tunes the ground state through three ordered phases: antiferromagnet, canted antiferromagnet, and ferromagnet. The Raman selection rules are determined by both the crystal symmetry and magnetic order while the magnon energy is determined by different interaction terms. Using non-interacting spin-wave theory, we extract the spin-wave gap at zero magnetic field, an anisotropy energy, and interlayer exchange in bilayers. We also find magnetic fluctuations increase with reduced thickness, which may contribute to a less robust magnetic order in single layers.We thank Chao Lei, B. Wieder, A. Ernst, and M. G. Vergniory for helpful discussions. This research was primarily supported by the National Science Foundation through the Center for Dynamics and Control of Materials: an NSF MRSEC under Cooperative Agreement No. DMR-1720595, which also supported the facility used in sample preparation. Additional support from NSF DMR-1949701 and DMR-2114825 is gratefully acknowledged by G.A.F. This work was performed in part at the Aspen Center for Physics, which is supported by the National Science Foundation grant PHY-1607611. A.L. acknowledges support from the funding grant: PID2019-105488GB-I00. Z.Y. and R.H. acknowledge support by the NSF CAREER Grant No. DMR-1760668 and NSF Grant No. DMR-2104036. X.L. gratefully acknowledges the Welch Foundation grant F-1662 for support in sample preparation. Work at ORNL was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences, Materials Sciences and Engineering Division. M. R-V. was supported by LANL LDRD Program and by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences, Materials Sciences and Engineering Division, Condensed Matter Theory Program. L.-J.C. and S.-F.L. were primarily funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology 105-2112-M-001-031-MY3 in Taiwan, and the collaboration with UT-Austin is facilitated by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research under award number FA2386-21-1-4067. Partial funding for L.-J.C. while visiting UT-Austin was provided by a Portugal-UT collaboration grant

Quantifying spin Hall topological Hall effect in ultrathin Tm 3 Fe 5 O 12 / Pt bilayers

Recent reports have shown that thulium iron garnet (TmIG) based bilayers are promising material platforms for realizing small, room-temperature skyrmions. For potential applications, it is imperative to accurately evaluate electrical readout signals of skyrmions. In this context, the topological Hall effect has been considered as a characteristic signature of skyrmion formation. Unlike previous studies that have modeled the anomalous Hall effect in ultrathin TmIG/Pt bilayers, we isolate its contribution to the electrical readout signal by directly measuring the magnetic hysteresis loops using a sensitive Sagnac magneto-optical Kerr effect technique. Our combined optical and electrical measurements reveal that the spin Hall topological Hall resistivity is considerably larger than previously estimated values. Our finding further indicates that skyrmions can exist at room-temperature and near-zero applied magnetic fields.This research was primarily supported by the National Science Foundation through the Center for Dynamics and Control of Materials: an NSF MRSEC under Coopera- tive Agreement No. DMR-1720595, and the Center for Emergent Materials, an NSF MRSEC under Grant No. DMR-2011876. Additional support was provided by the Welch Foundation F-1662. Facilities provided by MR- SEC DMR-1720595 and by NSF MRI DMR-2019130 are gratefully acknowledged. Partial funding for L. J. Chang while visiting UT-Austin was provided by a Portugal-UT collaboration grant. The collaboration between S,F. Lee and X. Li is facilitated by the AFOSR grant FA2386-21- 1-4067.Center for Dynamics and Control of Material