A Multiscale Approach to Blast Neurotrauma Modeling: Part I – Development of Novel Test Devices for in vivo and in vitro Blast Injury Models

The loading conditions used in some current in vivo and in vitro blast-induced neurotrauma models may not be representative of real-world blast conditions. To address these limitations, we developed a compressed-gas driven shock tube with different driven lengths that can generate Friedlander-type blasts. The shock tube can generate overpressures up to 650 kPa with durations between 0.3 and 1.1 ms using compressed helium driver gas, and peak overpressures up to 450 kPa with durations between 0.6 and 3 ms using compressed nitrogen. This device is used for short-duration blast overpressure loading for small animal in vivo injury models, and contrasts the more frequently used long duration/high impulse blast overpressures in the literature. We also developed a new apparatus that is used with the shock tube to recreate the in vivo intracranial overpressure response for loading in vitro culture preparations. The receiver device surrounds the culture with materials of similar impedance to facilitate the propagation of a single overpressure pulse through the tissue. This method prevents pressure waves reflecting off the tissue that can cause unrealistic deformation and injury. The receiver performance was characterized using the longest helium-driven shock tube, and produced in-fluid overpressures up to 1500 kPa at the location where a culture would be placed. This response was well correlated with the overpressure conditions from the shock tube (R2 = 0.97). Finite element models of the shock tube and receiver were developed and validated to better elucidate the mechanics of this methodology. A demonstration exposing a culture to the loading conditions created by this system suggest tissue strains less than 5% for all pressure levels simulated, which was well below functional deficit thresholds for strain rates less than 50 s−1. This novel system is not limited to a specific type of culture model and can be modified to reproduce more complex pressure pulses

IgM exacerbates glomerular disease progression in complement-induced glomerulopathy

While glomerular IgM deposition occurs in a variety of glomerular diseases the mechanism of deposition and its clinical significance remain controversial. Some have theorized IgM becomes passively trapped in areas of glomerulosclerosis. However, recent studies found that IgM specifically binds damaged glomeruli. Therefore, we tested whether natural IgM binds to neo-epitopes exposed after insults to the glomerulus and exacerbate disease in mice deficient in the complement regulatory protein factor H; a model of non-sclerotic and nonimmune-complex glomerular disease. Immunofluorescence microscopy demonstrated mesangial and capillary loop deposition of IgM while ultrastructural analysis found IgM deposition on endothelial cells and subendothelial areas. Factor H deficient mice lacking B cells were protected from renal damage, as evidenced by milder histologic lesions on light and electron microscopy. IgM, but not IgG, from wild-type mice bound to cultured murine mesangial cells. Furthermore, injection of purified IgM into mice lacking B cells bound within the glomeruli and induced proteinuria. A monoclonal natural IgM recognizing phospholipids also bound to glomeruli in vivo and induced albuminuria. Thus, our results indicate specific IgM antibodies bind to glomerular epitopes and that IgM contributes to the progression of glomerular damage in this mouse model of non-sclerotic glomerular disease

Porcine Head Response to Blast

Recent studies have shown an increase in the frequency of traumatic brain injuries related to blast exposure. However, the mechanisms that cause blast neurotrauma are unknown. Blast neurotrauma research using computational models has been one method to elucidate that response of the brain in blast, and to identify possible mechanical correlates of injury. However, model validation against experimental data is required to ensure that the model output is representative of in vivo biomechanical response. This study exposes porcine subjects to primary blast overpressures generated using a compressed-gas shock tube. Shock tube blasts were directed to the unprotected head of each animal while the lungs and thorax were protected using ballistic protective vests similar to those employed in theater. The test conditions ranged from 110 to 740 kPa peak incident overpressure with scaled durations from 1.3 to 6.9 ms and correspond approximately with a 50% injury risk for brain bleeding and apnea in a ferret model scaled to porcine exposure. Instrumentation was placed on the porcine head to measure bulk acceleration, pressure at the surface of the head, and pressure inside the cranial cavity. Immediately after the blast, 5 of the 20 animals tested were apneic. Three subjects recovered without intervention within 30 s and the remaining two recovered within 8 min following respiratory assistance and administration of the respiratory stimulant doxapram. Gross examination of the brain revealed no indication of bleeding. Intracranial pressures ranged from 80 to 390 kPa as a result of the blast and were notably lower than the shock tube reflected pressures of 300–2830 kPa, indicating pressure attenuation by the skull up to a factor of 8.4. Peak head accelerations were measured from 385 to 3845 G’s and were well correlated with peak incident overpressure (R2 = 0.90). One SD corridors for the surface pressure, intracranial pressure (ICP), and head acceleration are presented to provide experimental data for computer model validation

Herniation Pits in Human Mummies: A CT Investigation in the Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo, Sicily

Herniation pits (HPs) of the femoral neck were first described in a radiological publication in 1982 as round to oval radiolucencies in the proximal superior quadrant of the femoral neck on anteroposterior radiographs of adults. In following early clinical publications, HPs were generally recognized as an incidental finding. In contrast, in current clinical literature they are mentioned in the context of femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) of the hip joint, which is known to cause osteoarthritis (OA). The significance of HPs in chronic skeletal disorders such as OA is still unclear, but they are discussed as a possible radiological indicator for FAI in a large part of clinical studies

The ALICE Data Challenges

Since 1998, the ALICE experiment and the CERN/IT division have jointly executed several large-scale high throughput distributed computing exercises: the ALICE data challenges. The goals of these regular exercises are to test hardware and software components of the data acquisition and computing systems in realistic conditions and to execute an early integration of the overall ALICE computing infrastructure. This paper reports on the third ALICE Data Challenge (ADC III) that has been performed at CERN from January to March 2001. The data used during the ADC III are simulated physics raw data of the ALICE TPC, produced with the ALICE simulation program AliRoot. The data acquisition was based on the ALICE online framework called the ALICE Data Acquisition Test Environment (DATE) system. The data after event building were then formatted with the ROOT I/O package and a data catalogue based on MySQL was established. The Mass Storage System used during ADC III is CASTOR. Different software tools have been used to monitor the performances. DATE has demonstrated performances of more than 500 MByte/s. An aggregate data throughput of 85 MByte/s was sustained in CASTOR over several days. The total collected data amounts to 100 TBytes in 100,000 files

Synthesis and Characterization of Cobalt(II) N,N′‑Diphenylazodioxide Complexes

Removal of chloride from CoCl2 with TlPF6 in acetonitrile, followed by addition of excess nitrosobenzene, yielded the eight-coordinate cobalt(II) complex salt [Co{Ph(O)NN(O)- Ph}4](PF6)2, shown by single-crystal X-ray analysis to have a distorted tetragonal geometry. The analogous treatment of the bipyridyl complex Co(bpy)Cl2 yielded the mixed-ligand cobalt(II) complex salt [Co(bpy){Ph(O)NN(O)Ph}2](PF6)2, whose singlecrystal X-ray structure displays a trigonal prismatic geometry, similar to that of the iron(II) cation in the previously known complex salt [Fe{Ph(O)NN(O)Ph}3](FeCl4)2. The use of TlPF6 to generate solvated metal complex cations from chloride salts or chlorido complexes, followed by the addition of nitrosobenzene, is shown to be a useful synthetic strategy for the preparation of azodioxide complex cations with the noncoordinating, diamagnetic PF6 − counteranion. Coordination number appears to be more important than d electron count in determining the geometry and metal−ligand bond distances of diphenylazodioxide complexes

Postoperative irradiation for squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck: Retrospective comparison of accelerated radiochemotherapy and standard radiotherapy

Background: Comparison of accelerated radiochemotherapy (aRCT) and standard radiotherapy (sRT) in postoperative treatment after macroscopically complete resection of squamous cell cancers of head and neck. Material and Methods: 229 patients treated within the same period had either (no randomization) postoperative radiotherapy with conventional fractionation (60-70 Gy, 2.0 Gy per day) or received 2 fractions of 2.1 Gy per day, 8 times\textbackslash{}week, up to a total dose of 56.7 Gy with a treatment split after 2 weeks and simultaneous low dose cisplatin or carboplatin on treatment clays (cumulative dose >66 mg/m(2) or 550 mg/m(2) in 83% of patients). Results: 65 patients completed their course of twice-daily irradiations within a maximum of 35 days and therefore had aRCT; their 3-year locoregional tumor control (Kaplan-Meier estimate) was 86%, whereas that of 42 patients with prolonged twice-daily radiochemotherapy was 65% (p=0.0509). After sRT, i.e. 1 fraction daily and treatment time up to 45 days, locoregional tumor control was 67%, this result being significantly inferior to that after aRCT (p=0.0282). In multivariate analysis, pN stage, tumor site oral cavity/floor of mouth, high/moderate differentiation of squamous cell carcinoma and conventional surgery (versus CO2-laser surgery) were significantly predictive of locoregional failure. Whereas nodal status, the strongest prognostic factor, was evenly distributed among aRCT and sRT patients, there was a misbalance of 3 risk factors favoring the aRCT collective. Superior tumor control after aRCT was confirmed unilaterally for nearly each subgroup (significant for recurrent tumors, close margins, pN1/2a-b). For pN2c/pN3 nodal stage, the results after aRCT were by tendency worse than after sRT, possibly due to a particularly long interval between surgery and start of radio(chemo)therapy for the patients with aRCT (mean 58.0 days vs. 43.8 days, p=0.037). Among the total of patients the 3-year hazard for late toxicity Ill-IV was 31% after twice-daily treatment and 17% after conventionally fractionated radiotherapy (p=0.083). Conclusions:This retrospective analysis provides some evidence that accelerated radiotherapy with simultaneous chemotherapy is more potent than standard radiotherapy. However, as multivariate analysis misses significance and the influence of misbalance of some prognostic factors among aRCT and sRT patients remains unclear, only a randomized trial with stratification according to risk factors as well as a defined interval between surgery and initiation of RT can provide more evidence

Variants Within TSC2 Exons 25 and 31 Are Very Unlikely to Cause Clinically Diagnosable Tuberous Sclerosis

Inactivating mutations in TSC1 and TSC2 cause tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC). The 2012 international consensus meeting on TSC diagnosis and management agreed that the identification of a pathogenic TSC1 or TSC2 variant establishes a diagnosis of TSC, even in the absence of clinical signs. However, exons 25 and 31 of TSC2 are subject to alternative splicing. No variants causing clinically diagnosed TSC have been reported in these exons, raising the possibility that such variants would not cause TSC. We present truncating and in‐frame variants in exons 25 and 31 in three individuals unlikely to fulfil TSC diagnostic criteria and examine the importance of these exons in TSC using different approaches. Amino acid conservation analysis suggests significantly less conservation in these exons compared with the majority of TSC2 exons, and TSC2 expression data demonstrates that the majority of TSC2 transcripts lack exons 25 and/or 31 in many human adult tissues. In vitro assay of both exons shows that neither exon is essential for TSC complex function. Our evidence suggests that variants in TSC2 exons 25 or 31 are very unlikely to cause classical TSC, although a role for these exons in tissue/stage specific development cannot be excluded