Dynamic Compression Plating with Strategic Screw Fixation in Diaphyseal Transverse Fractures of the Radius: the Biomechanical Effect of Numbers of Screws

Introduction.Diaphyseal fracture of radius could compromise function unless adequately treated. Open reduction and internal fixation with six cortices of screw fixation on either side of the fracture is generally accepted as the best method of treatment. Unfortunately, a very high rate of refracture after plate removal has been observed for as high as up to 22%. Although a number of factors are thought to be the cause of such a high rate, such as the type of plate used, time from plating to plate removal, quality of reduction and compression achieved, type and duration of immobilization after plate removal, nevertheless, the stress riser from the screw holes is also considered as one of the important factor. In accordance with the stress riser from screw holes, number of screws introduced into bone played a very important role. The objective of this study is to biomechanically compare the load to failure between constructs for the treatment of diaphyseal transverse fractures of the radius in skeletally mature bone. Materials and methods. Sixteen skeletally mature human radii were retrieved, devoid of soft tissue including periosteum. Transverse osteotomy was done in each radius in its midpoint. In the control group, the radius was fixed with 6-holes 6-screws construct. In the test group, the radius was fixed with 6-holes 4-screws construct. All radii were fixed with 3.5mm mini Dynamic Compression Plates. They were then randomly divided into two groups, with each group consisted of four controls and four test specimens. Group I was tested in three-point bending force and group II was tested in axial compression force.Results.In the three-point bending test, the controls showed slightly higher load to failure but this value was not significant (p = 0.57). Meanwhile in the axial compression test, the test group showed higher load to failure with a p-value of 0.05 which was marginally significant.Conclusions.The 6-holes 6-screws construct showed higher load to failure when compared to the 6-holes 4-screws construct in terms of 3-point bending force although the value was not significant. In contrast, the 6-holes 4-screws construct showed a higher load to failure in terms of axial compression force and the value was deemed marginally significant. Furthermore, failure starting point in this experimental study was observed in the screw holes

The Effect of Variability in the Powder/Liquid Ratio on the Strength of Zinc Phosphate Cement

Aim. To investigate (a) variability in powder/liquid proportioning and (b) effect of variability on diametral tensile strength (DTS), in a zinc phosphate cement. Statistical analyses (α = 0.05) were by Student's t-test in the case of powder/liquid ratio and one-way ANOVA and Tukey HSD for pair-wise comparisons of mean DTS. The Null hypotheses were that (a) the powder-liquid mixing ratios would not differ from the manufacturer's recommended ratio (b) DTS of the set cement samples using the extreme powder/liquid ratios would not differ from those made using the recommended ratio. Methodology. 34 dental students dispensed the components according to the manufacturer's instructions. The maximum and minimum powder/liquid ratios, together with the manufacturer's recommended ratio, were used to prepare samples for DTS testing. Results. Powder/liquid ratios ranged from 2.386 to 1.018. The mean ratio (1.644) was not significantly different from the recommended value of 1.718 (P = 0.189). DTS values for the maximum and minimum ratios were both significantly different from each other (P < 0.001) and from the mean value obtained from the recommended ratio (P < 0.001). Conclusions. Variability exists in powder/liquid ratio for hand dispensed zinc phosphate cement. This variability can affect the DTS of the set material

Alignment of patient and primary care practice member perspectives of chronic illness care: a cross-sectional analysis

Polly H. Noel and Luci K. Leykum are with the South Texas Veterans Health Care System, 7400 Merton Minter Blvd, San Antonio, TX 78229, USA -- Polly H. Noel, Ray F. Palmer, Raquel L. Romero, Luci K. Leykum, Holly J. Lanham, and Krista W. Bowers are with the Department of Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 7703 Floyd Curl Dr, San Antonio, TX 78229, USA -- Michael L. Parchman is with the MacColl Center for Healthcare Innovation, Group Health Research Institute, Group Health Cooperative, 1730 Minor Ave 1600, Seattle, WA 98101, USA -- Holly J. Leykum is with the The McCombs School of Business, The University of Texas at Austin, 2110 Speedway, Stop B6000, Austin, TX 78712, USA -- John E. Zeber is with the Central Texas Veterans Health Care System, 1901 S. 1st St, Temple, TX 76504, USA and Scott and White Healthcare Center for Applied Health Research, 2401 S. 31st St, Temple, TX 76508, USABackground: Little is known as to whether primary care teams’ perceptions of how well they have implemented the Chronic Care Model (CCM) corresponds with their patients’ own experience of chronic illness care. We examined the extent to which practice members’ perceptions of how well they organized to deliver care consistent with the CCM were associated with their patients’ perceptions of the chronic illness care they have received. Methods: Analysis of baseline measures from a cluster randomized controlled trial testing a practice facilitation intervention to implement the CCM in small, community-based primary care practices. All practice “members” (i.e., physician providers, non-physician providers, and staff) completed the Assessment of Chronic Illness Care (ACIC) survey and adult patients with 1 or more chronic illnesses completed the Patient Assessment of Chronic Illness Care (PACIC) questionnaire. Results: Two sets of hierarchical linear regression models accounting for nesting of practice members (N = 283) and patients (N = 1,769) within 39 practices assessed the association between practice member perspectives of CCM implementation (ACIC scores) and patients’ perspectives of CCM (PACIC). ACIC summary score was not significantly associated with PACIC summary score or most of PACIC subscale scores, but four of the ACIC subscales were consistently associated with PACIC summary score and the majority of PACIC subscale scores after controlling for patient characteristics. The magnitude of the coefficients, however, indicates that the level of association is weak. Conclusions: The ACIC and PACIC scales appear to provide complementary and relatively unique assessments of how well clinical services are aligned with the CCM. Our findings underscore the importance of assessing both patient and practice member perspectives when evaluating quality of chronic illness care.Information, Risk, and Operations Management (IROM)[email protected]

An Outbreak of Rift Valley Fever in Northeastern Kenya, 1997-98

In December 1997, 170 hemorrhagic fever-associated deaths were reported in Carissa District, Kenya. Laboratory testing identified evidence of acute Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV). Of the 171 persons enrolled in a cross-sectional study, 31(18%) were anti-RVFV immunoglobulin (Ig) M positive. An age-adjusted IgM antibody prevalence of 14% was estimated for the district. We estimate approximately 27,500 infections occurred in Garissa District, making this the largest recorded outbreak of RVFV in East Africa. In multivariate analysis, contact with sheep body fluids and sheltering livestock in one’s home were significantly associated with infection. Direct contact with animals, particularly contact with sheep body fluids, was the most important modifiable risk factor for RVFV infection. Public education during epizootics may reduce human illness and deaths associated with future outbreaks

Searching for gravitational waves from known pulsars

We present upper limits on the amplitude of gravitational waves from 28 isolated pulsars using data from the second science run of LIGO. The results are also expressed as a constraint on the pulsars' equatorial ellipticities. We discuss a new way of presenting such ellipticity upper limits that takes account of the uncertainties of the pulsar moment of inertia. We also extend our previous method to search for known pulsars in binary systems, of which there are about 80 in the sensitive frequency range of LIGO and GEO 600.Comment: Accepted by CQG for the proceeding of GWDAW9, 7 pages, 2 figure

Search for gravitational wave bursts in LIGO's third science run

We report on a search for gravitational wave bursts in data from the three LIGO interferometric detectors during their third science run. The search targets subsecond bursts in the frequency range 100-1100 Hz for which no waveform model is assumed, and has a sensitivity in terms of the root-sum-square (rss) strain amplitude of hrss ~ 10^{-20} / sqrt(Hz). No gravitational wave signals were detected in the 8 days of analyzed data.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures. Amaldi-6 conference proceedings to be published in Classical and Quantum Gravit

Search for Gravitational Waves from Primordial Black Hole Binary Coalescences in the Galactic Halo

We use data from the second science run of the LIGO gravitational-wave detectors to search for the gravitational waves from primordial black hole (PBH) binary coalescence with component masses in the range 0.2--$1.0 M_\odot$. The analysis requires a signal to be found in the data from both LIGO observatories, according to a set of coincidence criteria. No inspiral signals were found. Assuming a spherical halo with core radius 5 kpc extending to 50 kpc containing non-spinning black holes with masses in the range 0.2--$1.0 M_\odot$, we place an observational upper limit on the rate of PBH coalescence of 63 per year per Milky Way halo (MWH) with 90% confidence.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, to be submitted to Phys. Rev.

Introductory programming: a systematic literature review

As computing becomes a mainstream discipline embedded in the school curriculum and acts as an enabler for an increasing range of academic disciplines in higher education, the literature on introductory programming is growing. Although there have been several reviews that focus on specific aspects of introductory programming, there has been no broad overview of the literature exploring recent trends across the breadth of introductory programming. This paper is the report of an ITiCSE working group that conducted a systematic review in order to gain an overview of the introductory programming literature. Partitioning the literature into papers addressing the student, teaching, the curriculum, and assessment, we explore trends, highlight advances in knowledge over the past 15 years, and indicate possible directions for future research

The time is now: Achieving FH paediatric screening across Europe – The Prague Declaration

ReviewFamilial Hypercholesterolaemia (FH) is severely under-recognized, under-diagnosed and under-treated in Europe, leading to a significantly higher risk of premature cardiovascular diseases in those affected. FH stands for inherited, very high cholesterol and affects 1:300 individuals regardless of their age, race, sex, and lifestyle, making it the most common inherited metabolic disorder and a non-modifiable cardiovascular disease risk factor in the world..info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Adipocyte NR1D1 dictates adipose tissue expansion during obesity

From eLife via Jisc Publications RouterHistory: received 2020-09-22, collection 2021, accepted 2021-07-30, pub-electronic 2021-08-05Publication status: PublishedFunder: Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council; FundRef: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000268; Grant(s): BB/I018654/1Funder: Medical Research Council; FundRef: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000265; Grant(s): MR/N021479/1Funder: Medical Research Council; FundRef: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000265; Grant(s): MR/P00279X/1Funder: Medical Research Council; FundRef: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000265; Grant(s): MR/P011853/1Funder: Medical Research Council; FundRef: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000265; Grant(s): MR/P023576/1Funder: Wellcome Trust; FundRef: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100004440; Grant(s): 107849/Z/15/ZFunder: Wellcome Trust; FundRef: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100004440; Grant(s): 107851/Z/15/ZThe circadian clock component NR1D1 (REVERBα) is considered a dominant regulator of lipid metabolism, with global Nr1d1 deletion driving dysregulation of white adipose tissue (WAT) lipogenesis and obesity. However, a similar phenotype is not observed under adipocyte-selective deletion (Nr1d1Flox2-6:AdipoqCre), and transcriptional profiling demonstrates that, under basal conditions, direct targets of NR1D1 regulation are limited, and include the circadian clock and collagen dynamics. Under high-fat diet (HFD) feeding, Nr1d1Flox2-6:AdipoqCre mice do manifest profound obesity, yet without the accompanying WAT inflammation and fibrosis exhibited by controls. Integration of the WAT NR1D1 cistrome with differential gene expression reveals broad control of metabolic processes by NR1D1 which is unmasked in the obese state. Adipocyte NR1D1 does not drive an anticipatory daily rhythm in WAT lipogenesis, but rather modulates WAT activity in response to alterations in metabolic state. Importantly, NR1D1 action in adipocytes is critical to the development of obesity-related WAT pathology and insulin resistance