37 research outputs found
Effect of osteosynthesis, primary hemiarthroplasty, and non-surgical management for displaced four-part fractures of the proximal humerus in elderly: a multi-centre, randomised clinical trial
Human bipedal instability in tree canopy environments is reduced by âlight touchâ fingertip support
Whether tree canopy habitats played a sustained role in the ecology of ancestral bipedal hominins is unresolved. Some argue that arboreal bipedalism was prohibitively risky for hominins whose increasingly modern anatomy prevented them from gripping branches with their feet. Balancing on two legs is indeed challenging for humans under optimal conditions let alone in forest canopy, which is physically and visually highly dynamic. Here we quantify the impact of forest canopy characteristics on postural stability in humans. Viewing a movie of swaying branches while standing on a branch-like bouncy springboard destabilised the participants as much as wearing a blindfold. However âlight touchâ, a sensorimotor feedback strategy based on light fingertip support, significantly enhanced their balance and lowered their thigh muscle activity by up to 30%. This demonstrates how a light touch strategy could have been central to our ancestorâs ability to avoid falls and reduce the mechanical and metabolic cost of arboreal feeding and movement. Our results may also indicate that some adaptations in the hand that facilitated continued access to forest canopy may have complemented, rather than opposed, adaptations that facilitated precise manipulation and tool use
Role of Hepatic Lipase and Endothelial Lipase in High-Density LipoproteinâMediated Reverse Cholesterol Transport
Reverse cholesterol transport (RCT) constitutes a key part of the atheroprotective properties of high-density lipoproteins (HDL). Hepatic lipase (HL) and endothelial lipase (EL) are negative regulators of plasma HDL cholesterol levels. Although overexpression of EL decreases overall macrophage-to-feces RCT, knockout of both HL and EL leaves RCT essentially unaffected. With respect to important individual steps of RCT, current data on the role of EL and HL in cholesterol efflux are not conclusive. Both enzymes increase hepatic selective cholesterol uptake; however, this does not translate into altered biliary cholesterol secretion, which is regarded the final step of RCT. Also, the impact of HL and EL on atherosclerosis is not clear cut; rather it depends on respective experimental conditions and chosen models. More mechanistic insights into the diverse biological properties of these enzymes are therefore required to firmly establish EL and HL as targets for the treatment of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease
Multiple Functions for ORF75c in Murid Herpesvirus-4 Infection
All gamma-herpesviruses encode at least one homolog of the cellular enzyme formyl-glycineamide-phosphoribosyl-amidotransferase. Murid herpesvirus-4 (MuHV-4) encodes 3 (ORFs 75a, 75b and 75c), suggesting that at least some copies have acquired new functions. Here we show that the corresponding proteins are all present in virions and localize to infected cell nuclei. Despite these common features, ORFs 75a and 75b did not substitute functionally for a lack of ORF75c, as ORF75c virus knockouts were severely impaired for lytic replication in vitro and for host colonization in vivo. They showed 2 defects: incoming capsids failed to migrate to the nuclear margin following membrane fusion, and genomes that did reach the nucleus failed to initiate normal gene expression. The latter defect was associated with a failure of in-coming virions to disassemble PML bodies. The capsid transport deficit seemed to be functionally more important, since ORF75câ MuHV-4 infected both PML+ and PMLâ cells poorly. The original host enzyme has therefore evolved into a set of distinct and multi-functional viral tegument proteins. One important function is moving incoming capsids to the nuclear margin for viral genome delivery
Process Mining for Six Sigma
Process mining offers a set of techniques for gaining data-based insights into business processes from event logs. The literature acknowledges the potential benefits of using process mining techniques in Six Sigma-based process improvement initiatives. However, a guideline that is explicitly dedicated on how process mining can be systematically used in Six Sigma initiatives is lacking. To address this gap, the Process Mining for Six Sigma (PMSS) guideline has been developed to support organizations in systematically using process mining techniques aligned with the DMAIC (Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve-Control) model of Six Sigma. Following a design science research methodology, PMSS and its tool support have been developed iteratively in close collaboration with experts in Six Sigma and process mining, and evaluated by means of focus groups, demonstrations and interviews with industry experts. The results of the evaluations indicate that PMSS is useful as a guideline to support Six Sigma-based process improvement activities. It offers a structured guideline for practitioners by extending the DMAIC-based standard operating procedure. PMSS can help increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of Six Sigma-based process improving efforts. This work extends the body of knowledge in the fields of process mining and Six Sigma, and helps closing the gap between them. Hence, it contributes to the broad field of quality management
Understanding acute ankle ligamentous sprain injury in sports
This paper summarizes the current understanding on acute ankle sprain injury, which is the most common acute sport trauma, accounting for about 14% of all sport-related injuries. Among, 80% are ligamentous sprains caused by explosive inversion or supination. The injury motion often happens at the subtalar joint and tears the anterior talofibular ligament (ATFL) which possesses the lowest ultimate load among the lateral ligaments at the ankle. For extrinsic risk factors to ankle sprain injury, prescribing orthosis decreases the risk while increased exercise intensity in soccer raises the risk. For intrinsic factors, a foot size with increased width, an increased ankle eversion to inversion strength, plantarflexion strength and ratio between dorsiflexion and plantarflexion strength, and limb dominance could increase the ankle sprain injury risk. Players with a previous sprain history, players wearing shoes with air cells, players who do not stretch before exercising, players with inferior single leg balance, and overweight players are 4.9, 4.3, 2.6, 2.4 and 3.9 times more likely to sustain an ankle sprain injury. The aetiology of most ankle sprain injuries is incorrect foot positioning at landing â a medially-deviated vertical ground reaction force causes an explosive supination or inversion moment at the subtalar joint in a short time (about 50 ms). Another aetiology is the delayed reaction time of the peroneal muscles at the lateral aspect of the ankle (60â90 ms). The failure supination or inversion torque is about 41â45 Nm to cause ligamentous rupture in simulated spraining tests on cadaver. A previous case report revealed that the ankle joint reached 48 degrees inversion and 10 degrees internal rotation during an accidental grade I ankle ligamentous sprain injury during a dynamic cutting trial in laboratory. Diagnosis techniques and grading systems vary, but the management of ankle ligamentous sprain injury is mainly conservative. Immobilization should not be used as it results in joint stiffness, muscle atrophy and loss of proprioception. Traditional Chinese medicine such as herbs, massage and acupuncture were well applied in China in managing sports injuries, and was reported to be effective in relieving pain, reducing swelling and edema, and restoring normal ankle function. Finally, the best practice of sports medicine would be to prevent the injury. Different previous approaches, including designing prophylactice devices, introducing functional interventions, as well as change of games rules were highlighted. This paper allows the readers to catch up with the previous researches on ankle sprain injury, and facilitate the future research idea on sport-related ankle sprain injury
Band Gap Closure, Incommensurability and Molecular Dissociation of Dense Chlorine
Molecular systems are predicted to transform into atomic solids and be metallic at high pressure; this was observed for the diatomic elements iodine and bromine. Here the authors access the higher pressures needed to observe the dissociation in chlorine, through an incommensurate phase, and provide evidence for metallization
Direct measurement of thermal conductivity in solid iron at planetary core conditions
The conduction of heat through minerals and melts at extreme pressures and temperatures is of central importance to the evolution and dynamics of planets. In the cooling Earthâs core, the thermal conductivity of iron alloys defines the adiabatic heat flux and therefore the thermal and compositional energy available to support the production of Earthâs magnetic field via dynamo action1, 2, 3. Attempts to describe thermal transport in Earthâs core have been problematic, with predictions of high thermal conductivity4, 5, 6, 7 at odds with traditional geophysical models and direct evidence for a primordial magnetic field in the rock record8, 9, 10. Measurements of core heat transport are needed to resolve this difference. Here we present direct measurements of the thermal conductivity of solid iron at pressure and temperature conditions relevant to the cores of Mercury-sized to Earth-sized planets, using a dynamically laser-heated diamond-anvil cell11, 12. Our measurements place the thermal conductivity of Earthâs core near the low end of previous estimates, at 18â44 watts per metre per kelvin. The result is in agreement with palaeomagnetic measurements10 indicating that Earthâs geodynamo has persisted since the beginning of Earthâs history, and allows for a solid inner core as old as the dynamo
Correspondence: Reply to âStrongly-driven Re+CO2 redox reaction at high-pressure and high-temperatureâ
The local iron age pottery from selected strata at Tel Yin'am, eastern lower Galilee, Israel
Tel Yinâam and nearby Khirbet Beit Gan are the only excavated sites in the
Yavneâel Valley, which constituted part of an ancient international highway that
connected the hinterland of the Hauran (modern-day Syria) with the Mediterranean
coast. As one of the few multi-occupational, small rural sites excavated in the Eastern
Lower Galilee, Tel Yinâam, which was occupied intermittently from the Neolithic
period to the Roman period (6500 BCE-325 CE), provides a critical link in the
occupation history and material culture of northern (modern-day) Israel.
Concentrating on critical selected Iron Age strata (1200-732 BC), this study
focuses on the mostly unpublished domestic pottery assemblages, subjecting the
various ceramic forms to classification and development analysis, and comparing
them to contemporary pottery assemblages from proximate and distant, rural and
urban sites in Cisjordan and Transjordan. Through diachronic and synchronic
analyses, I succeeded in: 1) developing a picture of the ceramic history of domestic
types at Tel Yinâam during the Iron Age; 2) providing both relative and absolute dates
for this ceramic assemblage; 3) placing the assemblage into the broader ceramic
context of the Iron Age in northern Cisjordan and Transjordan; 4) highlighting the
important role of roads and ancient highways and how they impacted on the history of
Tel Yinâam and its material culture in the Iron Age, thereby closing a gap in the
knowledge of the history of rural life and culture in the Yavneâel Valley in the Iron Age; and 5) gaining an understanding of the approximately 500-year history of
consistent and changing points of contact between Tel Yinâam and other sites that lay
along the highways traversing the northern Lower Galilee.Middle Eastern Studie