Pericardial rupture leading to cardiac herniation after blunt trauma.

Pericardial rupture with cardiac herniation is a rare traumatic injury with an estimated incidence of 0.37% after blunt trauma. Most commonly occurring after high-speed impact, such as in motor vehicle or motorcycle collisions, pericardial rupture is associated with a high mortality rate. Radiologic diagnosis can be challenging; cross-sectional imaging findings can be suggestive of pericardial rupture but are often non-specific, and echocardiography windows are often obscured. Definitive diagnosis is generally made intra-operatively. Treatment involves reduction of the heart into normal anatomic position with repair of the pericardium, either primarily or with a patch. Fewer than 60 cases of pericardial rupture from blunt trauma have been reported in the literature. We describe a 65 year old poly-trauma patient who sustained pericardial rupture with subsequent cardiac herniation with cardiovascular collapse, and we discuss the considerations and complexities of his successful repair

Method of fabricating lipid bilayer membranes on solid supports

The present invention provides a method of producing a planar lipid bilayer on a solid support. With this method, a solution of lipid vesicles is first deposited on the solid support. Next, the lipid vesicles are destabilized by adding an amphipathic peptide solution to the lipid vesicle solution. This destabilization leads to production of a planar lipid bilayer on the solid support. The present invention also provides a supported planar lipid bilayer, where the planar lipid bilayer is made of naturally occurring lipids and the solid support is made of unmodified gold or titanium oxide. Preferably, the supported planar lipid bilayer is continuous. The planar lipid bilayer may be made of any naturally occurring lipid or mixture of lipids, including, but not limited to phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylserine, phosphatidylinsitol, cardiolipin, cholesterol, and sphingomyelin

Amphipathic Alpha-Helical Peptide Compositions as Antiviral Agents

The invention features methods and compositions that exploit the ability of amphipathic alpha-helical (AH) peptides to cause disruption of lipid-containing vesicles, such as enveloped viruses, in a size-dependent manner

Prolonged mixed phase induced by high pressure in MnRuP

Hexagonally structured MnRuP was studied under high pressure up to 35 GPa from 5 to 300 K using synchrotron X-ray diffraction. We observed that a partial phase transition from hexagonal to orthorhombic symmetry started at 11 GPa. The new and denser orthorhombic phase coexisted with its parent phase for an unusually long pressure range, {\Delta}P ~ 50 GPa. We attribute this structural transformation to a magnetic origin, where a decisive criterion for the boundary of the mixed phase lays in the different distances between the Mn-Mn atoms. In addition, our theoretical study shows that the orthorhombic phase of MnRuP remains steady even at very high pressures up to ~ 250 GPa, when it should transform to a new tetragonal phase.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures, supplementary materia

Correction of Long Standing Proximal Interphalangeal Flexion Contractures with Cross Finger Flaps and Vigorous Postoperative Exercises

PURPOSE: We reviewed the results of cross finger flaps after surgical release and vigorous postoperative exercises for long-standing, severe flexion contractures of the Proximal Interphalangeal (PIP) joints of fingers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In 9 patients, all contracted tissue was sequentially released and the resultant skin defect was covered with a cross-finger flap. The cause of the contracture was contact burn in 4, skin graft in 3, and a previous operation in 2. The mean followup period was 41.2 months. RESULTS: The mean flexion contracture/further flexion in the joints were improved from 73.4/87.8 degrees to 8.4/95.4 degrees at the last follow-up. A mean of 19.5 degrees of extension was achieved with vigorous extension exercise after the operation. The mean gain in range of motion (ROM) was 79.4 degrees. Near full ROM was achieved in 3 cases. There were no major complications. CONCLUSION: In severe flexion contractures with scarring of the PIP joints of fingers, cross finger flaps after sufficient release and vigorous postoperative exercise seems to be a reasonable option to obtain satisfactory ROM of the jointsope

ICT & Collaborative Learning ～Collaborative Learning between Kansai University & University of Hawaii～

Kansai University students majoring in educational technology are provided opportunities to increase their teamwork skills and intercultural competencies through authentic learning, group work and collaborative projects, including a collaborative video project with University of Hawaii graduate students. These experiences are integrated into the ICT For Learning class taught each fall semester in the Faculty of Informatics

HarvardX and MITx: Two Years of Open Online Courses Fall 2012-Summer 2014

What happens when well-known universities offer online courses, assessments, and certificates of completion for free? Early descriptions of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have emphasized large enrollments, low certification rates, and highly educated registrants. We use data from two years and 68 open online courses offered by Harvard University (via HarvardX) and MIT (via MITx) to broaden the scope of answers to this question. We describe trends over this two-year span, depict participant intent using comprehensive survey instruments, and chart course participation pathways using network analysis. We find that overall participation in our MOOCs remains substantial and that the average growth has been steady. We explore how diverse audiences — including explorers, teachers-as-learners, and residential students — provide opportunities to advance the principles on which HarvardX and MITx were founded: access, research, and residential education

Continuous and Burst-like Accretion onto Substellar Companions in Mira Winds

We present numerical hydrodynamical modeling of the effects of a giant planet or brown dwarf companion orbiting within the extended atmosphere and wind formation zone of an approximately solar-mass Mira variable star. The large-scale, time-dependent accretion flows within the radially oscillating and outflowing circumstellar gas around Miras are related to Bondi-Hoyle-Lyttleton flows, but have not, to our knowledge, been previously modelled. The new models presented in this paper illustrate the changes in accretion and wake dynamics as the companion mass is varied over a range from 10 to 50 Jupiter masses ($M_J$). The character of the accretion onto the companion changes greatly as the companion mass is increased. At the lowest companion masses considered here, a low continuous rate of mass accretion is punctuated by large, nearly periodic bursts of accretion. When the companion mass is large, the mass accretion has both a continuous part, and a rapidly varying, nearly stochastic part. These trends can be understood as the result of the interplay between the shocks and radial oscillations in the circumstellar gas, and the wake flow behind the companion. Models with accretion bursts may produce observable optical brightenings, and may affect SiO maser emission. (Abridged)Comment: 16 pgs., 10 figures with low resolution versions of Figs. 1, 9. Accepted for publication in MNRA

Investigation into drug solubilisation potential of sulfonated calix[4] resorcinarenes

Increasing importance is being placed on the role of drug solubilisation in the drug development pipeline. In order for drugs to successfully pass through the pre-clinical studies required before clinical trials they often require addition of excipients or solubility modifying agents. This study highlights the use of sulfonated calix[4]resorcinarenes as drug solubilising agents. The rigid nature of these compounds form cone-like structures with hydrophobic interiors which are capable of accommodation of hydrophobic entities such as drugs. The calix[4]resorcinarenes in this work have varied length of alkyl chains attached to their lower rim. This work investigated the effect of chain length (C = 4 (SC(4)RC4), C = 7 (SC(4)RC7)) on the degree of solubilisation of two model hydrophobic drugs: propofol and griseofulvin. The data showed that the compounds were capable of solubilising both drugs up to 8 mgmL-1 (SC(4)RC7-propofol) and 3 mgmL-1 (SC(4)RC4-griseofulvin). The size measurements carried out using photon correlation spectroscopy indicated that the SC(4)RC4 was likely to form 1:1 interactions with drug molecules whilst the SC(4)RC7 formed supramolecular structures capable of increased drug loading in the case of propofol. In the case of griseofulvin it is postulated that similar structures were formed however these exceeded the limit of the filter used and may have been lost. Additionally, the supramolecular structures appeared more stable with a reduction in drug release. In vitro testing on BxPC-3 cells indicated that the calix[4]resorcinarenes were relatively non-toxic. These studies highlight the potential of these systems in drug delivery