Two load sharing plates fixation in mandibular condylar fractures: Biomechanical basis

Mandibular condylar fractures have a high incidence but there is no consensus regarding the best choice of osteosynthesis. From a review of the literature, it is evident that the technique used most frequently for fixation is the positioning of a single plate despite complications concerning plate fracture or screw loosening have been reported by various authors. Different studies have highlighted that the stability of osteosynthesis is correlated with the mechanical strains occurring in the condylar region, generated by the muscles of mastication. The aim of our study was, through a mandibular finite element model (FEM), to confirm this correlation and to analyse the behaviour of single and double elements of union in the fixation of mandibular subcondylar fractures. We concluded that the use of two plates provides greater stability compared with the single plate, reducing the possibility of displacement of the condylar fragment. Therefore we recommend that this technique should be adopted whenever possible

Tempered Adversarial Networks

Generative adversarial networks (GANs) have been shown to produce realistic samples from high-dimensional distributions, but training them is considered hard. A possible explanation for training instabilities is the inherent imbalance between the networks: While the discriminator is trained directly on both real and fake samples, the generator only has control over the fake samples it produces since the real data distribution is fixed by the choice of a given dataset. We propose a simple modification that gives the generator control over the real samples which leads to a tempered learning process for both generator and discriminator. The real data distribution passes through a lens before being revealed to the discriminator, balancing the generator and discriminator by gradually revealing more detailed features necessary to produce high-quality results. The proposed module automatically adjusts the learning process to the current strength of the networks, yet is generic and easy to add to any GAN variant. In a number of experiments, we show that this can improve quality, stability and/or convergence speed across a range of different GAN architectures (DCGAN, LSGAN, WGAN-GP).Comment: accepted to ICML 201

Long term effectiveness of electrochemotherapy for the treatment of lower lip squamous cell carcinoma

Purpose: Electrochemotherapy (ECT) is a therapeutic approach based on the local application of electrical pulses that permeabilize cell membranes to enhance the uptake of low-permeant chemotherapeutic agents, thus increasing their cytotoxic effects. Materials and Methods: Twenty-one patients with SCC of the lower lip were treated according to the European Standard Operating Procedures of Electrochemotherapy. Bleomycin (15,000 IU/m2 body surface area) was administered intravenously over a 1-minute period. Eight electrical pulses (amplitude, 1000 V/cm; duration, 100 μs) were generated and delivered at a repetition frequency of 5 kHz. Changes in tumor volume were used to assess treatment response. Results: Objective response (OR), complete response (CR), and partial response (PR) rates of 100%, 71.4%, and 28.6% respectively were demonstrated following a single session of ECT. ECT was well tolerated, and no adverse events occurred. Conclusions: Intravenous bleomycin-based ECT is a safe and effective therapy for SCC of the lower lip. ECT improves the quality-of-life of patients by preserving the function and the aesthetic appearance of the affected area. ECT provides a therapeutic option for elderly and frail patients who, due to their state of health, are not suitable for, or refuse surgical interventions

Second-generation probes for biosynthetic intermediate capture : towards a comprehensive profiling of polyketide assembly

Malonyl carba(dethia) N-decanoyl cysteamine methyl esters and novel acetoxymethyl esters were utilised as second-generation probes for polyketide intermediate capture. The use of these tools in vivo led to the characterisation of an almost complete set of biosynthetic intermediates from a modular assembly line, providing a first kinetic overview of intermediate processing leading to complex natural product formation

Chemical chain termination resolves the timing of ketoreduction in a partially reducing iterative type I polyketide synthase

Synthetic chain terminators were used to capture the biosynthetic intermediates from a partially reducing iterative type I polyketide synthase, which is integrated into a multimodular biosynthesis enzyme. The off-loaded metabolites clarified the timing of ketoreduction and aromatization in the assembly of the antibiotic micacocidin

Beyond the Short Term A Study of Past Productivity’s Trends and an Evaluation of Future Ones

This is the second report to be issued by a group of international economists brought together under the auspices of LUISS. LIGEP stands for LUISS International Group on Economic Policy. Its mandate was to consider problems of economic policy in the aftermath of the Global Crisis in the World, Europe and Italy

Oscillations above the barrier in the fusion of 28Si + 28Si

Fusion cross sections of 28Si + 28Si have been measured in a range above the barrier with a very small energy step (DeltaElab = 0.5 MeV). Regular oscillations have been observed, best evidenced in the first derivative of the energy-weighted excitation function. For the first time, quite different behaviors (the appearance of oscillations and the trend of sub-barrier cross sections) have been reproduced within the same theoretical frame, i.e., the coupled-channel model using the shallow M3Y+repulsion potential. The calculations suggest that channel couplings play an important role in the appearance of the oscillations, and that the simple relation between a peak in the derivative of the energy-weighted cross section and the height of a centrifugal barrier is lost, and so is the interpretation of the second derivative of the excitation function as a barrier distribution for this system, at energies above the Coulomb barrier.Comment: submitted to Physics Letters

Fusion of 28Si + 28Si: oscillations above the barrier and the behavior down to 1μb

Fusion excitation functions of light heavy-ion systems show oscillatory structures above the Coulomb barrier, caused by resonances or due to the penetration of successive centrifugal barriers well separated in energy. In heavier systems, the amplitude of oscillations decreases and the peaks get nearer to each other. This makes the measurements very challenging. We have performed a first experiment for 28Si + 28Si, by measuring fusion cross sections (σ) in an energy range of ≃15 MeV above the barrier, with a small ΔElab = 0.5 MeV step. Three regular oscillations are clearly observed, which are best revealed by plotting the energy-weighted derivative of the excitation function. The excitation function has been recently measured down to cross sections ≤1μb with larger energy steps. Coupled-channel (CC) calculations based on a shallow potential in the entrance channel are able to reproduce the oscillations. A further analysis will provide a stringent test for the calculations, in particular for the choice of the ion-ion potential, because the subbarrier excitation function has to be reproduced as well. Coupled-channel (CC) calculations based on a shallow potential in the entrance channel are able to reproduce the oscillations. A further analysis will provide a stringent test for the calculations, in particular for the choice of the ion-ion potential, because the subbarrier excitation function has to be reproduced as well

Fusion Hindrance and Quadrupole Collectivity in Collisions of A≃50 Nuclei: The Case of 48Ti + 58Fe

International audience; The fusion excitation function of Ti-48 + Fe-58 has been measured in a wide energy range around the Coulomb barrier, covering 6 orders of magnitude of the cross sections. We present here the preliminary results of this experiment, and a full comparison with the near-by system Ni-58 + Fe-54 where evidence of fusion hindrance shows up at relatively high cross sections. The sub-barrier cross sections of Ti-48 + Fe-58 are much larger than those of Ni-58 + Fe-54. Significant differences are also observed in the logarithmic derivatives, astrophysical S-factors and fusion barrier distributions. The influence of low-energy nuclear structure on all these trends is pointed out and commented. Coupled-channels calculations using a Woods-Saxon potential are able to reproduce the experimental results for Ti-48 + Fe-58. The logarithmic derivative of the excitation function is very nicely fit, and no evidence of hindrance is observed down to around 1 mu b. The fusion barrier distribution is rather wide, flat and structureless. It is only in qualitative agreement with the calculated distribution

The MU-RAY project: Volcano radiography with cosmic-ray muons

Cosmic-ray muon radiography is a technique for imaging the variation of density inside the top few 100m of a volcanic cone. With resolutions up to 10s of meters in optimal detection conditions, muon radiography can provide images of the top region of a volcano edifice with a resolution that is considerably better than that typically achieved with conventional methods. Such precise measurements are expected to provide us with information on anomalies in the rock density distribution, like those expected from dense lava conduits, low density magma supply paths or the compression with depth of the overlying soil. The MU-RAY project aims at the construction of muon telescopes and the development of new analysis tools for muon radiography. The telescopes are required to be able to work in harsh environment and to have low power consumption, good angular and time resolutions, large active area and modularity. The telescope consists of two X–Y planes of 2x2 square meters area made by plastic scintillator strips of triangular shape. Each strip is read by a fast WLS fiber coupled to a silicon photomultiplier. The readout electronics is based on the SPIROC chip.Published120-1231.4. TTC - Sorveglianza sismologica delle aree vulcaniche attiveJCR Journalrestricte