Experimental and numerical investigations of bone drilling for the indication of bone quality during orthopaedic surgery

Bone drilling is an essential part of many orthopaedic surgical procedures, including those for internal fixation and for attaching prosthetics. Drilling into bone is a fundamental skill that can be both very simple, such as drilling through long bones, or very difficult, such as drilling through the vertebral pedicles where incorrectly drilled holes can result in nerve damage, vascular damage or fractured pedicles. Also large forces experienced during bone drilling may promote crack formation and can result in drill overrun, causing considerable damage to surrounding tissues. Therefore, it is important to understand the effect of bone material quality on the bone drilling forces to select favourable drilling conditions, and improve orthopaedic procedures. [Continues.

Biomarkers for Brain Disorders Electrochemically Detected By BRODERICK PROBE Microelectrodes/Biosensors

Here, we present results from two independent studies carried out using Neuromolecular Imaging (NMI) with miniature BRODERICK PROBE® biosensors. In the first study, we imaged neurotransmitters and neurochemicals in human epilepsy patients intraoperatively during early and late neurodegeneration. In the second study, we imaged neurotransmitters and neurochemicals in an experimental murine model using animals with and without neurodegeneration caused by Parkinson’s disease (PD). We compared our results derived from animals with lesioned group (PD) with non-lesioned group (non-PD), using the same in vivo NMI paradigm. NMI biotechnology enabled neurotransmitters, neuropeptides and neurochemical imaging of dopamine (DA), serotonin (5-HT), homovanillic acid (HVA), L-tryptophan (L-TP), dynorphin A (DYN A) and somatostatin (SRIF). Each neurotransmitter and neurochemical was imaged at its respective signature i.e., its electroactive oxidation/half-wave potential. Results showed neuropeptide signatures of DYN A and SRIF as common biomarker molecules following late neurodegeneration in epilepsy patients and in PD animal models. Placing these two studies together allowed us to us to provide a new hypothesis about a possible biomarker link between the two neurodegenerative diseases, epilepsy and PD. Interestingly, this biomarker link, to our knowledge has not been observed previously. These findings will provide new strategies for better diagnoses, detection of and protection against epilepsy and Parkinson’s disease

Performance Variability Analysis of Photonic Circuits with Many Correlated Parameters

We propose a method to analyze the performance variability caused by fabrication uncertainty in photonic circuits with a large number of correlated parameters. By combining a sparse polynomial chaos expansion model with dimensionality reduction in the form of Karhunen-Loève transform and principal component analysis, we demonstrate the stochastic analysis of the transfer function of cascaded Mach-Zehnder interferometers with up to 38 correlated uncertain parameters

Nonresearch Pharmaceutical Industry Payments to Oncology Physician Editors

Journal editors are gatekeepers of knowledge, and pharmaceutical industry payments to oncology editors have not been previously characterized. We performed a cross‐sectional study of nonresearch industry payments to editors of 26 oncology research journals. A total of 433 editors were eligible for inclusion in the CMS Open Payments database from 2013 to 2018. A total of 80% of eligible editors had nonresearch payments, and the mean value of payments per editor was $106,778, which has increased over time. Only 5 out of 26 journals disclosed editor conflicts of interest and 3 of these journals reported at least one editor with no nonresearch industry payments but were found to have nonresearch payments. There was a positive correlation between journal impact factor and the average payment per editor for each journal. Our study shows the high prevalence and lack of transparency of nonresearch industry payments to oncology editors. Higher impact journals appear to be associated with greater nonresearch industry payments

Lafora Disease Masquerading as Hepatic Dysfunction

Lafora disease is fatal intractable progressive myoclonic epilepsy. It is frequently characterized by epileptic seizures, difficulty walking, muscle spasms, and dementia in late childhood or adolescence. We chronicle here an unusual case of an asymptomatic young male soccer player who presented with elevated liver enzymes. Neurological examination was unremarkable. The diagnostic workup for hepatitis, infectious etiologies, autoimmune disorders, hemochromatosis, Wilson\u27s disease, alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, and other related diseases was inconclusive. He subsequently underwent an uneventful percutaneous liver biopsy. Based on the pathognomonic histopathological findings, Lafora disease was considered the likely etiology. The present study is a unique illustration of this rare disorder initially manifesting with abnormal liver enzymes. It underscores the importance of clinical suspicion of Lafora disease in cases with unexplained hepatic dysfunction. Prompt liver biopsy and genetic testing should be performed to antedate the onset of symptoms in these patients