Osseointegrated system for fixation of upper leg protheses

Een beenamputatie betekent een permanente misvorming van het lichaam, met een grote impact op de mobiliteit, mogelijkheden tot werken, de lifestyle en de kwaliteit van leven van patiënten. Prothesesystemen kunnen het functieverlies van het been deels compenseren. Door de grote technologische vooruitgang op het gebied van externe beenprothesen is de functionaliteit van dergelijke systemen sterk toegenomen. Echter, het traditionele principe van een fixatie rondom de amputatiestomp beperkt de revalidatie. Stomppijn, beschadiging van de zachte weefsels, het gebrek aan adequate bewegingscontrole en montageproblemen zijn daarbij veelvoorkomende problemen. Een alternatief voor de conventionele stomp-kokerbevestiging van externe beenprothesen is de directe bevestiging van de prothese aan het bot van de stomp. Deze bevestingsmethode door middel van botingroei wordt vaak aangeduid met de term ‘osseointegratie’. Direct bevestiging van kunstmatige ledematen aan het skelet minimaliseren de huidproblemen en montagemoeilijkheden die zo kenmerkend zijn voor de conventionele kokerfixatie. Deze methode biedt bovendien een betere controle over de prothese en leidt daardoor tot toename van het prothesegebruik, en dus tot hogere mobiliteit van de patiënt bij een lager energieverbruik. Daarom krijgen osseointegratie-implantaten steeds meer klinische en wetenschappelijke aandacht. Uit de literatuur blijkt echter nog steeds dat revalidatie met zo’n implantaat een uitdagende behandeling is. Complicaties zoals botverlies, breuk van bot of implantaat en infecties rond de percutane pin spelen daarbij een grote rol. In Hoofdstuk 1 worden op basis van een overzicht van relevante beschikbare literatuur over osseointegratieimplantaten, de doelen voor het project en de vereisten aan een verbeterd ontwerp geformuleerd. Het eerste doel van dit proefschrift was om de mechanische problemen van de huidige osseointegratie-implantaten te evalueren. In Hoofdstuk 2 zijn twee osseointegratie-implantaten, het OPRA systeem (Integrum AB) en de ISP Endo / Exo prothese (ESKA Implantaten AG) beoordeeld op de kans op het falen van de prothese-bot-interface, zowel in de vroege post-operatieve fase (vóór integratie, net na de implantatie) als na volledige botingroei. Bovendien zijn de veranderde belastings-patronen in het bot en de mogelijke gevolgen daarvan op de lange termijn bestudeerd met behulp van eindige elementen modellen. Hierbij zijn twee experimenteel gemeten belastingen van een normale loopcyclus toegepast. De analyses tonen aan dat de mate van botingroei bij osseointegratie-implantaten een aanzienlijke invloed op de spanningsniveaus en energiedichtheden van het bot rond de prothese hebben. Dit wordt veroorzaakt door het implantaat zelf, maar ook door de veranderde belastingstoestand van het geamputeerde been. Het ISP-ontwerp resulteert in een meer fysiologisch spanningpatroon en een betere energiedistributie (wat gunstig is voor de lange termijn botremodelering), maar het OPRA ontwerp gegenereert lagere botspanningen (minder risico op botbreuken). Beide osseointegratie-implantaten lieten relatief lage mechanische veiligheidsfactoren zien ten aanzien van het breukrisico

Conversations About Everything

Conversations about Everything is based on a three way conversation about a performative educational project called Mapping Strange Assemblages. This was a part of UAL/London College of Communication‘s contribution the 2018 London Design Festival and the Design School’s Public Programme. It rhizomatically maps out the interventions by a group of students and alumni who where named the Band of Animateurs (BOAs). As an assemblages it attempts to create a visual and narrative affect that mirrored the performances during the Exhibition, Everything Happens So Much’

Assessment of centre national d'Études spatiales real-time ionosphere maps in instantaneous precise real-time kinematic positioning over medium and long baselines

Precise real-time kinematic (RTK) Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) positioning requires fixing integer ambiguities after a short initialization time. Originally, it was assumed that it was only possible at a relatively short distance from a reference station (<10 km), because otherwise the atmospheric effects prevent effective ambiguity fixing. Nowadays, through the use of VRS, MAC, or FKP corrections, the distances to the closest reference station have been increased to around 35 km. However, the baselines resolved in real time are not as far as in the case of static positioning. Further extension of the baseline requires the use of an ionosphere-weighted model with ionospheric delay corrections available in real time. This solution is now possible thanks to the Radio Technical Commission for Maritime (RTCM) stream of SSR corrections from, for example, Centre National d’Études Spatiales (CNES), the first analysis center to provide it in the context of the International GNSS Service. Then, ionospheric delays are treated as pseudo-observations that have a priori values from the CLK RTCM stream. Additionally, satellite orbit and clock errors are properly considered using space-state representation (SSR) real-time radial, along-track, and cross-track corrections. The following paper presents the initial results of such RTK positioning. Measurements were performed in various field conditions reflecting realistic scenarios that could have been experienced by actual RTK users. We have shown that the assumed methodology was suitable for single-epoch RTK positioning with up to 82 km baseline in solar minimum (30 March 2019) mid and high latitude (Olsztyn, Poland) conditions. We also confirmed that it is possible to obtain a rover position at the level of a few centimeters of precision. Finally, the possibility of using other newer experimental IGS RT Global Ionospheric Maps (GIMs), from Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) among CNES, is discussed in terms of their recent performance in the ionospheric delay domain.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Ionospheric tomographic common clock model of undifferenced uncombined GNSS measurements

This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an article published in Journal of geodesy. The final authenticated version is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00190-021-01568-8In this manuscript, we introduce the Ionospheric Tomographic Common Clock (ITCC) model of undifferenced uncombined GNSS measurements. It is intended for improving the Wide Area precise positioning in a consistent and simple way in the multi-GNSS context, and without the need of external precise real-time products. This is the case, in particular, of the satellite clocks, which are estimated at the Wide Area GNSS network Central Processing Facility (CPF) referred to the reference receiver one; and the precise realtime ionospheric corrections, simultaneously computed under a voxel-based tomographic model with satellite clocks and other geodetic unknowns, from the uncombined and undifferenced pseudoranges and carrier phase measurements at the CPF from the Wide Area GNSS network area. The model, without fixing the carrier phase ambiguities for the time being (just constraining them by the simultaneous solution of both ionospheric and geometric components of the uncombined GNSS model), has been successfully applied and assessed against previous precise positioning techniques. This has been done by emulating real-time conditions for Wide Area GPS users during 2018 in Poland.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

EMPATHY AND BURNOUT SYNDROME IN THE PRACTICE OF EMERGENCY SERVICES — PILOT STUDY

  INTRODUCTION: The burnout syndrome is a result of stress on the work situation and most often concerns pro­fessions requiring emotional and direct contact with another human being. The level of empathy is closely related to the phenomenon of occupational burnout. The aim of the study was to determine the impact of socio-demo­graphic factors of emergency services employees on the level of empathy. METHOD: In the period January–March 2018, a survey was conducted using a questionnaire — Emphatic Sensi­tiveness Scale (ESC) and an anonymous author’s questionnaire containing questions regarding sex, age, length of employment, occupation, marital status and number of hours worked per month. The survey was addressed to 81 employees of emergency services: paramedics (n = 17) and firefighters (n = 23). The control group consisted of 16 nurses and 25 people performing non–medical professions. RESULTS: The average number of hours worked per month by the respondents was 189 ± 49. There were 50 fe­males (62%) and 31 males (38%). The questionnaire showed statistically significant differences in perspective taking domain between the control group composed of people working in non-medical professions (25.6 ± 4.3) and emergency services professionals: firefighter (28.7 ± 3.6) vs. paramedic (29.9 ± 3.5) vs. nurse (31.2 ± 3.0), p &lt; 0.001. It has been shown a statistically significant effect of sex on personal distress domain: male (21.4 ± 4.2) vs. female (24.3 ± 4.7), p = 0.005. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, our data indicates that: (1) Nurses were characterised by the highest level of empathy amongst the surveyed professional groups; (2) Females were characterised by a higher level of personal distress; (3) Variables such as sex, age, and length of employment did not affect the level of empathy

Relationship between anti-DFS70 autoantibodies and oxidative stress

Background: The anti-DFS70 autoantibodies are one of the most commonly and widely described agent of unknown clinical significance, frequently detected in healthy individuals. It is not known whether the DFS70 autoantibodies are protective or pathogenic. One of the factors suspected of inducing the formation of anti-DFS70 antibodies is increased oxidative stress. We evaluated the coexistence of anti-DFS70 antibodies with selected markers of oxidative stress and investigated whether these antibodies could be considered as indirect markers of oxidative stress. Methods: The intensity of oxidative stress was measured in all samples via indices of free-radical damage to lipids and proteins such as total oxidant status (TOS), concentrations of lipid hydroperoxides (LPH), lipofuscin (LPS), and malondialdehyde (MDA). The parameters of the non-enzymatic antioxidant system, such as total antioxidant status (TAS) and uric acid concentration (UA), were also measured, as well as the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD). Based on TOS and TAS values, the oxidative stress index (OSI) was calculated. All samples were also tested with indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) and 357 samples were selected for direct monospecific anti DFS70 enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) testing. Results: The anti-DFS70 antibodies were confirmed by ELISA test in 21.29% of samples. Compared with anti-DFS70 negative samples we observed 23% lower concentration of LPH (P =.038) and 11% lower concentration of UA (P =.005). TOS was 20% lower (P =.014). The activity of SOD was up to 5% higher (P =.037). The Pearson correlation showed weak negative correlation for LPH, UA, and TOS and a weak positive correlation for SOD activity. Conclusion: In samples positive for the anti-DFS70 antibody a decreased level of oxidative stress was observed, especially in the case of samples with a high antibody titer. Anti-DFS70 antibodies can be considered as an indirect marker of reduced oxidative stress or a marker indicating the recent intensification of antioxidant processes. © The Author(s) 2022. **Please note that there are multiple authors for this article therefore only the name of the first 30 including Federation University Australia affiliate “Fadi Charchar” is provided in this record*

Global variations in diabetes mellitus based on fasting glucose and haemogloblin A1c

Fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) are both used to diagnose diabetes, but may identify different people as having diabetes. We used data from 117 population-based studies and quantified, in different world regions, the prevalence of diagnosed diabetes, and whether those who were previously undiagnosed and detected as having diabetes in survey screening had elevated FPG, HbA1c, or both. We developed prediction equations for estimating the probability that a person without previously diagnosed diabetes, and at a specific level of FPG, had elevated HbA1c, and vice versa. The age-standardised proportion of diabetes that was previously undiagnosed, and detected in survey screening, ranged from 30% in the high-income western region to 66% in south Asia. Among those with screen-detected diabetes with either test, the agestandardised proportion who had elevated levels of both FPG and HbA1c was 29-39% across regions; the remainder had discordant elevation of FPG or HbA1c. In most low- and middle-income regions, isolated elevated HbA1c more common than isolated elevated FPG. In these regions, the use of FPG alone may delay diabetes diagnosis and underestimate diabetes prevalence. Our prediction equations help allocate finite resources for measuring HbA1c to reduce the global gap in diabetes diagnosis and surveillance.peer-reviewe

Body mass index – proposed norms for children and youths

The aim of the study was to establish normal BMI values vs. age for children and youths having normal body fat content and to confront them with Cole’s cut-off points. In cohorts of 1373 boys and 1805 girls, aged 7–20 years, body fat content was determined from 3 skinfolds (triceps, subscapular, abdominal) using Slaughter’s equations. Next, 1069 boys and 759 girls with acceptable fat percentage (NF groups) were selected and for them log BMI values were computed. Equations of log BMI vs. age (means and SD) computed for NF groups served to present the proposed BMI norms. The obtained upper limits (mean log + 2SD) for boys and girls aged 19 years were 24.6 and 24.5, respectively, and the corresponding body fat contents –23.7 and 24.1, respectively. Inasmuch BMI does not reflect the real body fat content, the presented norms, based on acceptable body fat content, seem to reflect the weight-height relations better than those derived from unselected population data.POST-PUBLICATION NOTICESThe study was partly supported by grants No. AWF-DS.153 of the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education. Please note that the order of the authors of this paper should be:  Tomaszewski, Stupnicki, Milde, not  Stupnicki, Tomaszewski, MildePlease note that the e-mail address of the corresponding author is [email protected], not [email protected]