Why do Large Animals Never Actuate Their Jumps with Latch-Mediated Springs? Because They can Jump Higher Without Them.

As animals get smaller, their ability to generate usable work from muscle contraction is decreased by the muscle's force-velocity properties, thereby reducing their effective jump height. Very small animals use a spring-actuated system, which prevents velocity effects from reducing available energy. Since force-velocity properties reduce the usable work in even larger animals, why don't larger animals use spring-actuated jumping systems as well? We will show that muscle length-tension properties limit spring-actuated systems to generating a maximum one-third of the possible work that a muscle could produce-greatly restricting the jumping height of spring-actuated jumpers. Thus a spring-actuated jumping animal has a jumping height that is one-third of the maximum possible jump height achievable were 100% of the possible muscle work available. Larger animals, which could theoretically use all of the available muscle energy, have a maximum jumping height that asymptotically approaches a value that is about three times higher than that of spring-actuated jumpers. Furthermore, a size related "crossover point" is evident for these two jumping mechanisms: animals smaller than this point can jump higher with a spring-actuated mechanism, while animals larger than this point can jump higher with a muscle-actuated mechanism. We demonstrate how this limit on energy storage is a consequence of the interaction between length-tension properties of muscles and spring stiffness. We indicate where this crossover point occurs based on modeling and then use jumping data from the literature to validate that larger jumping animals generate greater jump heights with muscle-actuated systems than spring-actuated systems

Are there three main subgroups within the patellofemoral pain population? A detailed characterisation study of 127 patients to help develop targeted Intervention (TIPPs)

• Background Current multimodal approaches for the management of non-specific patellofemoral pain are not optimal, however, targeted intervention for subgroups could improve patient outcomes. This study explores whether subgrouping of non-specific patellofemoral pain patients, using a series of low cost simple clinical tests, is possible. • Method The exclusivity and clinical importance of potential subgroups was assessed by applying à priori test thresholds (1 SD) from seven clinical tests in a sample of adult patients with non-specific patellofemoral pain. Hierarchical clustering and latent profile analysis, were used to gain additional insights into subgroups using data from the same clinical tests. • Results One hundred and thirty participants were recruited, 127 had complete data: 84 (66%) female, mean age 26 years (SD 5.7) and mean BMI 25.4 (SD 5.83), median (IQR) time between onset of pain and assessment was 24 (7-60) months. Potential subgroups defined by the à priori test thresholds were not mutually exclusive and patients frequently fell into multiple subgroups. Using hierarchical clustering and latent profile analysis three subgroups were identified using 6 of the 7 clinical tests. These subgroups were given the following nomenclature: (i) ‘strong’, (ii) ‘weak and tighter’, and (iii) ‘weak and pronated foot’. • Conclusions We conclude that three subgroups of patellofemoral patients may exist based on the results of six clinical tests which are feasible to perform in routine clinical practice. Further research is needed to validate these findings in other datasets and, if supported by external validation, to see if targeted interventions for these subgroups improve patient outcomes

Factors affecting thrombolysis in acute stroke: longer door-to-needle (DTN) time in younger people? [Abstract No. 53]

Introduction: Shortening the time to delivery of IV thrombolysis improves patient outcomes and reduces adverse events. This research aimed to explore patient and service delivery factors that increase or decrease DTN time for thrombolysis. Method: We conducted a Service Evaluation from July 2011 to March 2013, using stroke data from SINAP and DASH databases. Data was provided by 6 acute trusts in Lancashire and Cumbria which used telemedicine, and 11 stroke services within the North East of England which instead used face-to-face. Our investigation concentrates on admissions to hospital occurring out of routine working hours, when resources are particularly constrained. Descriptive and inferential analyses, focusing on multivariate Cox regressions models selected using a forward stepwise approach, were then carried out to determine which factors impacted on DTN time, our main outcome variable. Results: After testing alternative specifications, our final model included these potential risk factors: mode of thrombolysis decision-making (either face-to-face or telemedicine); hospital; age; sex. Our results show that DTN time was strongly influenced by patient’s age (p<0.01), with older people receiving thrombolysis more quickly. Among the statistically significant variables, type of hospital (p<0.001) appeared to affect DTN times, together with patient’s sex (p¼0.01), suggesting that males had shorter DTN times. Conclusion: Older age was associated with shorter DTN times, with this effect being independent of other factors. Therefore, our research suggests that age played a predominant role in the delivery of thrombolysis, rather than solely through the choice of assessing acute strokethrough face-to-face or telemedicine

Exploring the Expression of Cardiac Regulators in a Vertebrate Extremophile: The Cichlid Fish Oreochromis (Alcolapia) alcalica

Although it is widely accepted that the cellular and molecular mechanisms of vertebratecardiac development are evolutionarily conserved, this is on the basis of data from only a fewmodel organisms suited to laboratory studies. Here, we investigate gene expression during cardiacdevelopment in the extremophile, non-model fish species, Oreochromis (Alcolapia) alcalica. Wefirst characterise the early development of O. alcalica and observe extensive vascularisation across the yolk prior to hatching. We further investigate heart development by identifying andcloning O. alcalica orthologues of conserved cardiac transcription factors gata4, tbx5, and mef2cfor analysis by in situ hybridisation. Expression of these three key cardiac developmentalregulators also reveals other aspects of O. alcalica development, as these genes are expressed indeveloping blood, limb, eyes, and muscle, as well as the heart. Our data support the notion that O.alcalica is a direct-developing vertebrate that shares the highly conserved molecular regulation ofthe vertebrate body plan. However, the expression of gata4 in O. alcalica reveals interestingdifferences in the development of the circulatory system distinct from that of the well-studiedzebrafish. Understanding the development of O. alcalica embryos is an important step towardsproviding a model for future research into the adaptation to extreme conditions; this is particularlyrelevant given that anthropogenic-driven climate change will likely result in more freshwaterorganisms being exposed to less favourable conditions

Chicken intestinal organoids: a novel method to measure the mode of action of feed additives

There is a rapidly growing interest in how the avian intestine is affected by dietary components and feed additives. The paucity of physiologically relevant models has limited research in this field of poultry gut health and led to an over-reliance on the use of live birds for experiments. The development of complex 3D intestinal organoids or "mini-guts" has created ample opportunities for poultry research in this field. A major advantage of the floating chicken intestinal organoids is the combination of a complex cell system with an easily accessible apical-out orientation grown in a simple culture medium without an extracellular matrix. The objective was to investigate the impact of a commercial proprietary blend of organic acids and essential oils (OA+EO) on the innate immune responses and kinome of chicken intestinal organoids in a Salmonella challenge model. To mimic the in vivo prolonged exposure of the intestine to the product, the intestinal organoids were treated for 2 days with 0.5 or 0.25 mg/mL OA+EO and either uninfected or infected with Salmonella and bacterial load in the organoids was quantified at 3 hours post infection. The bacteria were also treated with OA+EO for 1 day prior to challenge of the organoids to mimic intestinal exposure. The treatment of the organoids with OA+EO resulted in a significant decrease in the bacterial load compared to untreated infected organoids. The expression of 88 innate immune genes was investigated using a high throughput qPCR array, measuring the expression of 88 innate immune genes. Salmonella invasion of the untreated intestinal organoids resulted in a significant increase in the expression of inflammatory cytokine and chemokines as well as genes involved in intracellular signalling. In contrast, when the organoids were treated with OA+EO and challenged with Salmonella, the inflammatory responses were significantly downregulated. The kinome array data suggested decreased phosphorylation elicited by the OA+EO with Salmonella in agreement with the gene expression data sets. This study demonstrates that the in vitro chicken intestinal organoids are a new tool to measure the effect of the feed additives in a bacterial challenge model by measuring innate immune and protein kinases responses

MR Imaging Radiomics Signatures for Predicting the Risk of Breast Cancer Recurrence as Given by Research Versions of MammaPrint, Oncotype DX, and PAM50 Gene Assays

To investigate relationships between computer-extracted breast magnetic resonance (MR) imaging phenotypes with multigene assays of MammaPrint, Oncotype DX, and PAM50 to assess the role of radiomics in evaluating the risk of breast cancer recurrence

Perovskite-perovskite tandem photovoltaics with optimized bandgaps

We demonstrate four and two-terminal perovskite-perovskite tandem solar cells with ideally matched bandgaps. We develop an infrared absorbing 1.2eV bandgap perovskite, $FA_{0.75}Cs_{0.25}Sn_{0.5}Pb_{0.5}I_3$, that can deliver 14.8 % efficiency. By combining this material with a wider bandgap $FA_{0.83}Cs_{0.17}Pb(I_{0.5}Br_{0.5})_3$ material, we reach monolithic two terminal tandem efficiencies of 17.0 % with over 1.65 volts open-circuit voltage. We also make mechanically stacked four terminal tandem cells and obtain 20.3 % efficiency. Crucially, we find that our infrared absorbing perovskite cells exhibit excellent thermal and atmospheric stability, unprecedented for Sn based perovskites. This device architecture and materials set will enable 'all perovskite' thin film solar cells to reach the highest efficiencies in the long term at the lowest costs

Undertaking Studies Within A Trial to evaluate recruitment and retention strategies for randomised controlled trials : lessons learnt from the PROMETHEUS research programme

Funding: This award was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment programme (NIHR award ref: 13/55/80) and is published in full in Health Technology Assessment; Vol. 28, No. 2. See the NIHR Funding and Awards website for further award information.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Detection of postoperative granulation tissue with an ICG-enhanced integrated OI-/X-ray System

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The development of postoperative granulation tissue is one of the main postoperative risks after lumbar spine surgery. This granulation tissue may lead to persistent or new clinical symptoms or complicate a follow up surgery. A sensitive non-invasive imaging technique, that could diagnose this granulation tissue at the bedside, would help to develop appropriate treatments. Thus, the purpose of this study was to establish a fast and economic imaging tool for the diagnosis of granulation tissue after lumbar spine surgery, using a new integrated Optical Imaging (OI)/X-ray imaging system and the FDA-approved fluorescent contrast agent Indocyanine Green (ICG).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>12 male Sprague Dawley rats underwent intervertebral disk surgery. Imaging of the operated lumbar spine was done with the integrated OI/X-ray system at 7 and 14 days after surgery. 6 rats served as non-operated controls. OI/X-ray scans of all rats were acquired before and after intravenous injection of the FDA-approved fluorescent dye Indocyanine Green (ICG) at a dose of 1 mg/kg or 10 mg/kg. The fluorescence signal of the paravertebral soft tissues was compared between different groups of rats using Wilcoxon-tests. Lumbar spines and paravertebral soft tissues were further processed with histopathology.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In both dose groups, ICG provided a significant enhancement of soft tissue in the area of surgery, which corresponded with granulation tissue on histopathology. The peak and time interval of fluorescence enhancement was significantly higher using 10 mg/kg dose of ICG compared to the 1 mg/kg ICG dose. The levels of significance were p < 0.05. Fusion of OI data with X-rays allowed an accurate anatomical localization of the enhancing granulation tissue.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>ICG-enhanced OI is a suitable technique to diagnose granulation tissue after lumbar spine surgery. This new imaging technique may be clinically applicable for postoperative treatment monitoring. It could be also used to evaluate the effect of anti-inflammatory drugs and may even allow evaluations at the bedside with new hand-held OI scanners.</p

Inter-cultural differences in response to a computer-based anti-bullying intervention

Background and purpose: Many holistic anti-bullying interventions have been attempted, with mixed success, while little work has been done to promote a 'self-help' approach to victimisation. The rise of the ICT curriculum and computer support in schools now allows for approaches that benefit from technology to be implemented. This study evaluates the cross-cultural effects of a computer-based anti-bullying intervention on primary school-aged children's knowledge about bullying and relevant coping strategies. Programme description: FearNot! is an interactive computer-based virtual learning environment designed for use as an anti-bullying intervention. It includes interactive virtual agents who assume the most common participant roles found in episodes of bullying. FearNot! was used by children over three consecutive weeks to allow its effectiveness to be evaluated in a longitudinal in situ programme. Sample: Two comparable samples were drawn from the UK and Germany. In the UK, 651 participants (aged 8-11) were recruited from primary schools in Hertfordshire, Coventry and Warwickshire, whereas the 535 German participants (aged 7-10) were sourced from Grundschulen in the Bayern and Hessen regions. Because of lack of parental consent, late joiners and absences/missing responses, data from 908 participants (UK 493; Germany 415) were analysed. Design and methods: A quasi-experimental, pre/post-tests control group design employed pre-published and bespoke questionnaires to collect data. Descriptive and inferential analyses were conducted. Results: UK students possessed higher coping strategy knowledge scores than German participants, but German children's scores improved over time and as a result of the FearNot! intervention. Conclusions: Overall, while not effective at increasing children's coping strategy knowledge in this study, the FearNot! intervention could prove a useful classroom tool to approach the issue of bullying as part of a wider initiative. Cultural differences at baseline and reactions to the intervention are discussed