A BIOMECHANICAL ANALYSIS OF THE TAKE-OFF PHASE IN BELOW-KNEE AMPUTEE HIGH JUMP

An analysis of below-knee amputee take-off technique was performed on two athletes competing in the high jump finals of the 2004 Paralympic Games. Two digital video cameras were used to film the event with the data later digitised and reconstructed using standard 3-0 OLT procedures. Some similarities with non-amputee high jump technique were noted in that centre of mass height was low at touch-down (TO), there was a similar reported magnitude of negative vertical velocity at TO, and most of the vertical velocity generated occurred in the first half of the take-off phase. However, both below-knee amputee athletes exhibited a slower horizontal approach velocity, a lower positive vertical take-off velocity, a more upright leg position at touch-down and a greater range of motion of the hip throughout the take-off phase compared to what is known about non-amputee high jump technique. These differences may be associated with taking off from the prosthetic limb on the last stride of approach. Understanding why these differences occur has implications for coaching and improving technique

Effects of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG supplementation on cow's milk allergy in a mouse model

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cow's milk allergy (CMA) is one of the most prevalent human food-borne allergies, particularly in infants and young children from developed countries. Our study aims to evaluate the effects of <it>Lactobacillus rhamnosus </it>GG (LGG) administration on CMA development using whole cow's milk proteins (CMP) sensitized Balb/C mice by two different sensitization methods.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>LGG supplemented mice were either sensitized orally with CMP and cholera toxin B-subunit (CTB) as adjuvant, or intraperitoneally (IP) with CMP but without the adjuvant. Mice were then orally challenged with CMP and allergic responses were accessed by monitoring hypersensitivity scores, measuring the levels of CMP-specific immunoglobulins (IgG1, IgG2a and IgG) and total IgE from sera, and cytokines (IL-4 and IFN-γ) from spleen lysates.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Sensitization to CMP was successful only in IP sensitized mice, but not in orally sensitized mice with CMP and CTB. Interestingly, LGG supplementation appeared to have reduced cow's milk allergy (CMA) in the IP group of mice, as indicated by lowered allergic responses.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Adjuvant-free IP sensitization with CMP was successful in inducing CMA in the Balb/C mice model. LGG supplementation favourably modulated immune reactions by shifting Th2-dominated trends toward Th1-dominated responses in CMP sensitized mice. Our results also suggest that oral sensitization by the co-administration of CMP and CTB, as adjuvant, might not be appropriate to induce CMA in mice.</p

Degenerate dispersive equations arising in the study of magma dynamics

An outstanding problem in Earth science is understanding the method of transport of magma in the Earth's mantle. Models for this process, transport in a viscously deformable porous media, give rise to scalar degenerate, dispersive, nonlinear wave equations. We establish a general local well-posedness for a physical class of data (roughly $H^1$) via fixed point methods. The strategy requires positive lower bounds on the solution. This is extended to global existence for a subset of possible nonlinearities by making use of certain conservation laws associated with the equations. Furthermore, we construct a Lyapunov energy functional, which is locally convex about the uniform state, and prove (global in time) nonlinear dynamic stability of the uniform state for any choice of nonlinearity. We compare the dynamics to that of other problems and discuss open questions concerning a larger range of nonlinearities, for which we conjecture global existence.Comment: 27 Pages, 7 figures are not present in this version. See http://www.columbia.edu/~grs2103/ for a PDF with figures. Submitted to Nonlinearit

Quo vadis digitalis homine?Digitalna filozofija i svemir

To think about the metaphysics of our digital era – who are we? where do we come from? but, first of all, where are we going? – we have to notice that the majority of people, instead of interacting with the boring surroundings, is deeply focused on a neverending and nervous human-machine interaction, which has become a universal human trait. Unluckily, the discussion here will be about an anthropology of the homo digitalis, that is, about the possibilities/dangers of the undefined boundaries between the online and the offline life that unavoidably changes the same vision of the world, which finds in Descartes (ratio), and not in Bacon (experientia), its predecessor.Da bi razložno razmišljali o metafizici naše digitalne ere - tko smo mi? odakle dolazimo? ali prije svega: kamo idemo? – treba primijetiti da većina ljudi umjesto interakcije s dosadnom okolinom, udubljuje se u neprestanoj i nervoznoj interakciji čovjek-stroj, što je postala univerzalna osobina čovječanstva. Radi se naime o antropologiji ‘homo digitalisa’ o kojoj će se ovdje raspravljati, tj o mogućnostima / opasnostima sve neodređenijih granica između online i offline života što neumoljivo mijenja i samu viziju svijeta, koja u Descartesa (ratio) a ne u Bacona (experientia) ima svoj presedan. O tim mogućnostima / opasnostima bit će ovdje riječ

Genetic landscape of prostate cancer conspicuity on multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging: a systematic review and bioinformatic analysis

Context Multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI) detects most, but not all, clinically significant prostate cancer. The genetic basis of prostate cancer visibility and invisibility on mpMRI remains uncertain. Objective To systematically review the literature on differential gene expression between mpMRI-visible and mpMRI-invisible prostate cancer, and to use bioinformatic analysis to identify enriched processes or cellular components in genes validated in more than one study. Evidence acquisition We performed a systematic literature search of the Medline, EMBASE, PubMed, and Cochrane databases up to January 2020 in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) statement. The primary endpoint was differential genetic features between mpMRI-visible and mpMRI-invisible tumours. Secondary endpoints were explanatory links between gene function and mpMRI conspicuity, and the prognostic value of differential gene enrichment. Evidence synthesis We retrieved 445 articles, of which 32 met the criteria for inclusion. Thematic synthesis from the included studies showed that mpMRI-visible cancer tended towards enrichment of molecular features associated with increased disease aggressivity, including phosphatase and tensin homologue (PTEN) loss and higher genomic classifier scores, such as Oncotype and Decipher. Three of the included studies had accompanying publicly available data suitable for further bioinformatic analysis. An over-representation analysis of these datasets revealed increased expression of genes associated with extracellular matrix components in mpMRI-visible tumours. Conclusions Prostate cancer that is visible on mpMRI is generally enriched with molecular features of tumour development and aggressivity, including activation of proliferative signalling, DNA damage, and inflammatory processes. Additionally, there appears to be concordant cellular components and biological processes associated with mpMRI conspicuity, as highlighted by bioinformatic analysis of large genetic datasets. Patient summary Prostate cancer that is detected by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) tends to have genetic features that are associated with more aggressive disease. This suggests that MRI can be used to assess the likelihood of aggressive prostate cancer, based on tumour visibility

Star formation towards the Scutum tangent region and the effects of Galactic environment

By positional matching to the catalogue of Galactic Ring Survey molecular clouds, we have derived distances to 793 Bolocam Galactic Plane Survey (BGPS) sources out of a possible 806 located within the region defined by Galactic longitudes l = 28.5 degr to 31.5 degr and latitudes |b| < 1 degr. This section of the Galactic Plane contains several major features of Galactic structure at different distances, mainly mid-arm sections of the Perseus and Sagittarius spiral arms and the tangent of the Scutum-Centarus arm, which is coincident with the end of the Galactic Long Bar. By utilising the catalogued cloud distances plus new kinematic distance determinations, we are able to separate the dense BGPS clumps into these three main line-of-sight components to look for variations in star-formation properties that might be related to the different Galactic environments. We find no evidence of any difference in either the clump mass function or the average clump formation efficiency (CFE) between these components that might be attributed to environmental effects on scales comparable to Galactic-structure features. Despite having a very high star-formation rate, and containing at least one cloud with a very high CFE, the star formation associated with the Scutum-Centarus tangent does not appear to be in any way abnormal or different to that in the other two spiral-arm sections. Large variations in the CFE are found on the scale of individual clouds, however, which may be due to local triggering agents as opposed to the large-scale Galactic structure.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures. Accepted for publication in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Societ

Translating In Vivo Metabolomic Analysis of Succinate Dehydrogenase–Deficient Tumors Into Clinical Utility

Purpose Mutations in the mitochondrial enzyme succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) subunit genes are associated with a wide spectrum of tumors, including pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas, GI stromal tumors, renal cell carcinomas, and pituitary adenomas. SDH-related tumorigenesis is believed to be secondary to accumulation of the oncometabolite succinate. Our aim was to investigate the potential clinical applications of proton-1 magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) in a range of suspected SDH-related tumors. Patients and Methods Fifteen patients were recruited to this study. Respiratory-gated single-voxel 1H-MRS was performed at 3T to quantify the content of succinate at 2.4 ppm and choline at 3.22 ppm. Results A succinate peak was seen in six patients, all of whom had germ line SDHx mutations or loss of SDHB by immunohistochemistry. Succinate peaks were also detected in two patients with metastatic wild-type GI stromal tumors and no detectable germ line SDHx mutations but with somatic epimutations in SDHC. Three patients without tumor succinate peaks retained SDHB expression, consistent with SDH functionality. In six patients with borderline or absent peaks, technical difficulties such as motion artifact rendered 1H-MRS difficult to interpret. Sequential imaging in a patient with a metastatic abdominal paraganglioma demonstrated loss of the succinate peak after four cycles of [177Lu]DOTATATE, with a corresponding biochemical response in normetanephrine. Conclusion This study has demonstrated the translation into clinical practice of in vivo metabolomic analysis using 1H-MRS in patients with SDH-deficient tumors. Potential applications include noninvasive diagnosis and disease stratification, as well as monitoring of tumor response to targeted treatments. </jats:sec