Intact Body Research Articles

Load Changes on a Short-Segment Posterior Instrumentation After Transosseous Disruption of L3 Vertebra - A Biomechanical Human Cadaveric Study.

Biomechanical Cadaveric Study. Following the successful use of a novel implantable sensor (Monitor) in evaluating the progression of fracture healing in long bones and posterolateral fusion of the spine based on implant load monitoring, the aim of this study was to investigate its potential to assess healing of transosseous fractures of a lumbar vertebra stabilized with a pedicle-screw-rod construct. Six human cadaveric spines were instrumented with pedicle screws and rods spanning L3 vertebra. The spine was loaded in Flexion-Extension (FE), Lateral-Bending (LB) and Axial-Rotation (AR) with an intact L3 vertebra and after its transosseous disruption, creating an AO B1 type fracture. The implant load was measured on the one rod using the Monitor and on the contralateral rod by strain gauges to validate the Monitor's measurements. In parallel, the range of motion (ROM) was assessed. ROM increased significantly in all directions in the fractured model (P ≤ 0.049). The Monitor measured a significant increase in implant load in FE (P = 0.002) and LB (P = 0.045), however, not in AR. The strain gauge - aligned with the rod axis and glued onto its posterior side - detected an increased implant load not only in FE (P = 0.001) and LB (P = 0.016) but also in AR (P = 0.047). After a complete transosseous disruption of L3 vertebra, the implant load on the rods was considerably higher vs the state with an intact vertebral body. Innovative implantable sensors could monitor those changes, allowing assessment of the healing progression based on quantifiable data.

Improved whole-mount immunofluorescence protocol for consistent and robust labeling of adult Drosophila melanogaster adipose tissue.

Energy storage and endocrine functions of the Drosophila fat body make it an excellent model for elucidating mechanisms that underlie physiological and pathophysiological organismal metabolism. Combined with Drosophila's robust genetic and immunofluorescence microscopy toolkits, studies of Drosophila fat body function are ripe for cell biological analysis. Unlike the larval fat body, which is easily removed as a single, cohesive sheet of tissue, isolating intact adult fat body proves to be more challenging, thus hindering consistent immunofluorescence labeling even within a single piece of adipose tissue. Here, we describe an improved approach to handling Drosophila abdomens that ensures full access of the adult fat body to solutions generally used in immunofluorescence labeling protocols. In addition, we assess the quality of fluorescence reporter expression and antibody immunoreactivity in response to variations in fixative type, fixation incubation time, and detergent used for cellular permeabilization. Overall, we provide several recommendations for steps in a whole-mount staining protocol that results in consistent and robust immunofluorescence labeling of the adult Drosophila fat body.

Paediatric Prosthetic Knee Design: The Technical Requirements of a Swing Phase Control Mechanism are Correlated with Parameters of Childhood Growth.

There is a lack of innovation in affordable prosthetic knee joints for children. One significant reason is the absence of technical requirements which consider the foundation of childhood: growth. This study aims to develop and use a modelling tool to determine the technical requirements throughout childhood growth for one prosthetic knee design feature, a swing phase control mechanism (SPCM). 3D gait data of 31 able-bodied children across a range of physical maturities were analyzed. For each participant 2 models were created from a validated paediatric able-bodied musculoskeletal model. The model was first linearly scaled, then a corresponding unilateral right knee-disarticulation amputation model produced by removing segments below the knee and replacing with prosthetic componentry. Long established low-cost prosthetic componentry and a novel polycentric knee were implemented. For each participant, inverse dynamics were conducted and the SPCM torque requirements defined. Prosthetic knee SPCM torque requirements were significantly less than the able-bodied knee to emulate able-bodied gait at free speed: 17.9% (± 10.2) and 66.3% (± 17.0) reduction in maximum extension and flexion torque, respectively. Maximum knee extension torque showed the strongest negative correlation with intact body mass (ρ = -0.6251) whereas flexion torque showed the strongest correlation with height (ρ = 0.6611). Corresponding linear regression fits produced RMSE of 1.91and 1.73 Nm, respectively. Results were also determined for slow and fast speeds. The torque requirements of an affordable paediatric prosthetic knee SPCM are defined and found to strongly correlate with parameters of childhood growth (body mass, height, and age). Current results recommend low-cost paediatric prosthetic SPCM designs can be tailored to accommodate growth. The creation of musculoskeletal models facilitate multiple future studies.

Burial of the final stage of culture of the early Scythian period in Northern Altai

The article deals with materials excavated from kurgan No.35 of burial & memorial Choburak-I, their introduction into the scholarly discourse and cultural & chronological interpretation. This monument includes sites of various chronological periods and lays on the right bank of the Katun River. It lays south from landa Village, Chemalsky District, the Altai Republic. The monument was researched by the archaeological expedition of the Altai State University. The above-ground structure of kurgan No. 35 is a quite large mound fringed by a crepidoma. The grave is relatively shallow and found with an intact buried body. The body lays straight on the back in the burial chamber tiled with rocks. The body heads North-West. There are few accompanying tools discovered by excavations, namely a whetstone, a bronze knife and bone arrowheads. The burial ritual is explored and analyzed. The analysis shows that the site in the focus of the research is foreign to the mountainous Altai monuments of the Early Scythian due to the range of features. Morphological features of the tools and their available equivalents indicate that kurgan No. 35 was established in the late 7th through 6th century BC. Two samples are exposed to radiocarbon analysis in different laboratories. The findings support this chronology. Based on the determined dating and layout of the site researched it can be dated back to the late Biykenskaya culture. When it comes to the cultural attribution of the site, it is necessary to refer to the debatable issues of reconstructing the history of Altai population at the turn of the early Scythian and Pazyryk periods. The existing materials analyzed allow to assume that kurgan No. 35, as well as a range of other similar burials, is associated with the new groups of people arriving from neighboring areas in the 7th century BC. The study implies the features of a few more burials of Choburak-I necropolis established in the same time. Therefore, the research assumes that the Biykenskaya culture nomads used to come in contact with the Mayemirskaya culture tribes for the Altai North-West foothills

The Influence of Comminution and Posterior Ligamentous Complex Integrity on Treatment Decision Making in Thoracolumbar Burst Fractures Without Neurologic Deficit?

A prospective study. to evaluate the impact of vertebral body comminution and Posterior Ligamentous Complex (PLC) integrity on the treatment recommendations of thoracolumbar fractures among an expert panel of 22 spine surgeons. A review of 183 prospectively collected thoracolumbar burst fracture computed tomography (CT) scans by an expert panel of 22 trauma spine surgeons to assess vertebral body comminution and PLC integrity. This study is a sub-study of a prospective observational study of thoracolumbar burst fractures (Spine TL A3/A4). Each expert was asked to grade the degree of comminution and certainty about the PLC disruption from 0 to 100, with 0 representing the intact vertebral body or intact PLC and 100 representing complete comminution or complete PLC disruption, respectively. ≥45% comminution had a 74% chance of having surgery recommended, while <25% comminution had an 86.3% chance of non-surgical treatment. A comminution from 25 to 45% had a 57% chance of non-surgical management. ≥55% PLC injury certainity had a 97% chance of having surgery, and ≥45-55% PLC injury certainty had a 65%. <20% PLC injury had a 64% chance of having non-operative treatment. A 20 to 45% PLC injury certainity had a 56% chance of non-surgical management. There was fair inter-rater agreement on the degree of comminution (ICC .57 [95% CI 0.52-.63]) and the PLC integrity (ICC .42 [95% CI 0.37-.48]). The study concludes that vetebral comminution and PLC integrity are major dterminant in decision making of thoracolumbar fractures without neurological deficit. However, more objective, reliable, and accurate methods of assessment of these variables are warranted.

High-resolution diffusion imaging in the unfixed post-mortem infant brain at 7 T

Abstract Diffusion MRI of the infant brain allows investigation of the organizational structure of maturing fibers during brain development. Post-mortem imaging has the potential to achieve high resolution by using long scan times, enabling precise assessment of small structures. Technical development for post-mortem diffusion MRI has primarily focused on scanning of fixed tissue, which is robust to effects like temperature drift that can cause unfixed tissue to degrade. The ability to scan unfixed tissue in the intact body would enable post-mortem studies without organ donation, but poses new technical challenges. This paper describes our approach to scan setup, protocol optimization, and tissue protection in the context of the Developing Human Connectome Project (dHCP) of neonates. A major consideration was the need to preserve the integrity of unfixed tissue during scanning in light of energy deposition at ultra-high magnetic field strength. We present results from one of the first two subjects recruited to the study, who died on postnatal day 46 at 29+6 weeks postmenstrual age, demonstrating high-quality diffusion MRI data. We find altered diffusion properties consistent with post-mortem changes reported previously. Preliminary voxel-wise and tractography analyses are presented with comparison to age-matched in vivo dHCP data. These results show that high-quality, high-resolution post-mortem data of unfixed tissue can be acquired to explore the developing human brain.

Putative Mechanical Asphyxiation and Cerebral Cyst in a Sudden Death Changeable Hawk Eagle (Nisaetus chirratus)

An adult changeable hawk eagle (Nisaetus chirratus) was found dead with no significant lesion. Previous health examination showed no abnormality suggesting that the bird underwent sudden death. Necropsy resulted no significant findings except intact living prey stuck at the upper digestive tract and nodular lesion accompanied with cerebral cyst in the cerebrum. Intact lizard body was found in the proventriculus suggesting that the bird showed odd feeding behaviour of failing to macerate the lizard. Thus, mechanical asphyxiation due to proventricular content compression was highly expected as the cause of this sudden death event. A cerebral cyst with nodular masses was present and might become space-occupying lesion in the cerebrum which distorted the cerebral parenchyma and affected the centre of neural response. Histopathology revealed that there were no proliferative reaction and neoplastic growth present. Hence, we presumed that the nodular masses came from outwards compression during the cyst formation.

Young infants' expectations about a self-propelled agent's body

What intuitive biological understandings do infants have? Recent work reports that 8-month-olds seem to identify self-propelled agents as animals and expect them to have a closed body. The present study examined a group of 6.5-month-old infants' (N = 50, 52% female, 84% White) biological expectations. The infants seemed to grasp the causal link between a novel self-propelled box agent's functioning and its body because they expected a temporary operation (i.e., an experimenter opening the box, exposing its insides, and closing it) to impair its ability to move. Further, infants accepted what was shown inside the box during the operation; whether it had an internal cuboid did not affect the results. Together, this suggests that infants at this young age appear to recognize the importance of having an intact body to a novel self-propelled agent's mobility but have no specific knowledge about what should be inside such an entity. These findings thus shed new light on the developmental origins of biological understandings.

A Pliocene boxfish (Tetraodontiformes, Ostraciidae) from New Zealand – a preview of future environmental change?

ABSTRACT We report on an articulated fossil boxfish (Tetraodontiformes, Ostraciidae) recently recovered from the Pliocene of the North Island of New Zealand. The specimen was collected from the Tangahoe Formation, a mid-Pliocene (c. 3.0-3.4 Ma) shallow marine deposit, at Waihi Beach, South Taranaki. The fossil boxfish measures 10.7 cm in standard length, with an estimated total length of c. 13–14 cm (the caudal fin is not preserved). The fish is preserved in right lateral view, lying on its side, and has an intact body covering of fused hydroxyapatite plates that rigidly encase the fish, as is characteristic of boxfishes. The plates are hexagonal to subhexagonal in shape and largest close to the dorsal midline. Fossil boxfish have previously been recorded from Northern Hemisphere sites ranging in age from Palaeocene to Quaternary, but not from the Southern Hemisphere. Recent reports note that boxfishes and several other tropical Pacific fish species are now being seen off of northern New Zealand – the Pliocene boxfish from Taranaki, as well as an intriguing addition to New Zealand’s paleohistory, may also reflect how the ongoing impact of climate change will return New Zealand to a warmer marine ecosystem – similar to what prevailed during the Pliocene.

Head and body cues guide eye movements and facilitate target search in real-world videos.

Static gaze cues presented in central vision result in observer shifts of covert attention and eye movements, and benefits in perceptual performance in the detection of simple targets. Less is known about how dynamic gazer behaviors with head and body motion influence search eye movements and performance in perceptual tasks in real-world scenes. Participants searched for a target person (yes/no task, 50% presence), whereas watching videos of one to three gazers looking at a designated person (50% valid gaze cue, looking at the target). To assess the contributions of different body parts, we digitally erase parts of the gazers in the videos to create three different body parts/whole conditions for gazers: floating heads (only head movements), headless bodies (only lower body movements), and the baseline condition with intact head and body. We show that valid dynamic gaze cues guided participants' eye movements (up to 3 fixations) closer to the target, speeded the time to foveate the target, reduced fixations to the gazers, and improved target detection. The effect of gaze cues in guiding eye movements to the search target was the smallest when the gazer's head was removed from the videos. To assess the inherent information about gaze goal location for each body parts/whole condition, we collected perceptual judgments estimating gaze goals by a separate group of observers with unlimited time. Observers' perceptual judgments showed larger estimate errors when the gazer's head was removed. This suggests that the reduced eye movement guidance from lower body cueing is related to observers' difficulty extracting gaze information without the presence of the head. Together, the study extends previous work by evaluating the impact of dynamic gazer behaviors on search with videos of real-world cluttered scenes.

Application of a genetic signature of late GU toxicity in SCIMITAR, a Post-op SBRT trial.

Predictors of genitourinary toxicity after post-prostatectomy radiotherapy remain elusive. A previously defined germline DNA signature (PROSTOX) has shown predictive ability for late grade≥2 GU toxicity after intact prostate stereotactic body radiotherapy. We explore whether PROSTOX would predict toxicity among patients receiving post-prostatectomy SBRT on a phase II clinical trial.

Study on Bursting Liability of Coal-like Material with Pores and Anchors Based on Impact Kinetic Energy Characteristics

Drilling unloading, and bolt support are widely used in the practice of coal mine roadway engineering as the means of impact prevention and support. However, the evaluation index of intact coal body is still used in bursting liability evaluation, and the evaluation results obtained do not match with the actual dynamic phenomena in the field, resulting in inaccurate evaluation results and even bringing serious impact accidents. In this paper, uniaxial compression and uniaxial loading/unloading tests are conducted on specimens in different states, and common evaluation indexes are used to evaluate the bursting liability of specimens in different states, and the impact kinetic energy of crushed blocks during uniaxial compression is calculated. Based on this, the bursting liability criterion based on the impact kinetic energy of the crushed block is established and the common bursting liability evaluation index is modified. The bursting liability obtained by the bursting liability discrimination criterion based on the impact kinetic energy of the crushed block is more consistent with the laboratory dynamic phenomena. Therefore, the bursting liability evaluation results based on the impact kinetic energy of the crushed block are more consistent with the actual engineering. And the numerical simulation results verify the correctness of the bursting liability criterion based on the impact kinetic energy of the crushed block.

Whole CNS 3D Cryo-Fluorescence Tomography Shows CSF Clearance along Nasal Lymphatics, Spinal Nerves, and Lumbar/Sacral Lymph Nodes

Unwanted proteins and metabolic waste in cerebral spinal fluid are cleared from the brain by meningeal and nasal lymphatics and the perineural sheath of cranial nerves; however, the distribution and clearance of cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) along the subarachnoid space of the entire spinal cord is not fully understood. Cryo-fluorescence tomography (CFT) was used to follow the movement of tracers from the ventricular system of the brain down through the meningeal lining of the spinal cord and out to the spinal lymphatic nodes. Isoflurane-anesthetized mice were infused into the lateral cerebroventricle with 5.0 µL of quantum dots [QdotR 605 ITKTM amino (PEG)] over two mins. Mice were allowed to recover (ca 2-3 min) and remained awake and ambulatory for 5, 15, 30, 60, and 120 min after which they were euthanized, and the entire intact body was frozen at -80°. The entire mouse was sectioned, and white light and fluorescent images were captured after each slice to produce high resolution three-dimensional volumes. Tracer appeared throughout the ventricular system and central canal of the spinal cord and the entire subarachnoid space of the CNS. A signal could be visualized in the nasal cavity, deep cervical lymph nodes, thoracic lymph nodes, and more superficial submandibular lymph nodes as early as 15 min post infusion. A fluorescent signal could be visualized along the dorsal root ganglia and down the proximal extension of the spinal nerves of the thoracic and lumbar segments at 30 min. There was a significant accumulation of tracer in the lumbar and sacral lymph nodes between 15-60 min. The dense fluorescent signal in the thoracic vertebrae noted at 5- and 15-min post infusion was significantly reduced by 30 min. Indeed, all signals in the spinal cord were ostensibly absent by 120 min, except for trace amounts in the coccyx. The brain still had some residual signal at 120 min. These data show that Qdots with a hydrodynamic diameter of 16-20 nm rapidly clear from the brain of awake mice. These data also clearly demonstrate the rapid distribution and efflux of traces along a major length of the vertebral column and the potential contribution of the spinal cord in the clearance of brain waste.

Lonicera japonica polysaccharides improve longevity and fitness of Caenorhabditis elegans by activating DAF-16

Polysaccharide is one of the main active ingredients in Lonicera japonica Thunb. (L. japonica). In this study, we examined the anti-aging activities of L.japonica polysaccharides (LJPs) and further explored the mechanisms. Polysaccharides from L.japonica including the crude LJP (CLJP) and the purified fraction (LJP-2-1) were characterized. The molecular weights of CLJP and LJP-2-1 were 1450 kDa and 1280 kDa, respectively. Meanwhile, CLJP was mainly composed of galacturonic acid (23.57 %), galactose (23.45 %) and arabinose (23.45 %). LJP-2-1 was mainly composed of galacturonic acid (51.25 %) and arabinose (22.89 %). In Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans), LJPs maximally prolonged mean lifespan by 13.97 %, promoted fitness with increased motility by 40.92 % and pharyngeal pumping by 25.72 %, and decreased lipofuscin accumulation by 38.9 % with intact body length and fecundity. Moreover, CLJP extended the mean lifespan of nematodes under oxidative and heat stress by 16.76 % and 14.05 % respectively by activating stress-related genes and the antioxidant system. Further, CLJP required DAF-16 to prolong the lifespan of nematodes. CLJP upregulated the expression of daf-16 and its targeted downstream genes, including sod-3, gst-4 and hsp-16.2. Moreover, nuclear accumulation of DAF-16 was promoted upon CLJP treatment. Together, our data uncover the role of LJPs in extending lifespan and healthspan through DAF-16.

Impact factors and contributions of commingled production in multiple coal seams

AbstractThe multilayer development of coalbed methane (CBM) is affected by many factors, and the gas production contribution of each seam is unclear. In this study, 12 geological and 10 engineering parameters were adopted to reveal the key factors affecting the combined‐layer drainage productivity of CBM wells before using numerical simulation to clarify the contribution of each coal seam. The results show that the coal reservoir in the Laochang mining area exhibited the advantages of high gas content, intact coal body structure, and large thickness of the combined coal seams, and it was deficient with low saturation and ratio of critical desorption pressure to reservoir pressure. The medium permeability after fracturing and the influence of a small range of fracturing leads to the steep and deep pressure drop funnel of the coal reservoir, and most of the reservoir pressure drop is ineffective; this may be the reason for the unstable production and rapid attenuation of most CBM wells in the study area. The gas production of the Nos. 13 and 18 coal seams is stable and makes a significant contribution, and they can be used as the key objects of follow‐up CBM exploration and development in this area. Geological factors, such as coal body structure, ratio of critical desorption pressure to reservoir pressure, thickness of combined coal seams, and gas saturation, as well as engineering factors, such as permeability and half length of fractures after fracturing, are the main factors affecting the productivity of the CBM wells in the Laochang mining area.

Knowledge and attitude regarding organ donation among medical students in Hong Kong: a cross-sectional study

ObjectivesThe rate of organ donation in Hong Kong is among the lowest in developed regions. Since medical students will play an important role in counselling patients for organ donation and...

Survey of factors associated with the willingness toward living kidney donation

Living donor kidney transplantation (LDKT) is an important organ resource, especially in countries with low deceased donation rates. Strategies for expanding access to transplantation should be developed by identifying the modifiable factors. In this study, we evaluated these factors in the relatives of patients from both medical centers and dialysis clinics using questionnaires. The questionnaires were anonymous and confidential. We collected questionnaires from previous donors, relatives of patients on the waitlist in the medical center, and relatives of dialysis patients in three nephrology clinics. The study groups were divided into three categories: donor group (n=68), willing group (n=43), and non-donor group (n=65). Respondents in the clinics had lower cognition and willingness towards LDKT than those in the medical center. More knowledge of LDKT, better relationship with patients, more familial support, and female gender were positively related to donation. The non-donor group tended to want to maintain an intact body for the afterlife. There was no significant difference in age, educational degree, average monthly income, and medical compliance among the three groups. More efforts need to be made in dialysis clinics, where general nephrologists are important for the outreach of information. In addition, dealing with religious ambivalence and reestablishing cultural mindsets with health education programs are important issues in a non-Christian country.

Denying Sameness, Making Race: Medieval Anti-Judaism

Denying Sameness, Making Race: Medieval Anti-Judaism

Yolov4-tiny with wing convolution layer for detecting fish body part

Detection of a fish's eye, tail and body is the initial process in the vision system for determining the freshness and species of fish, as well as calculating the number of fish automatically in the fishing industry. Classification performance of a system is affected by its ability to detect the intact body of a fish or its body parts. The You Only Look Once version 4 tiny (Yolov4-tiny) is a lightweight object detector that can detect body parts of a fish with fairly good detection accuracy. However, massive siltation of convolution layer in the Yolov4-tiny backbone leads to low feature diversity. This research proposes a modification of the Yolov4-tiny architecture to improve detection accuracy by enhancing and balancing feature diversity and attaching an extra-branch detector to detect small-sized objects. In addition, we propose the use of bottleneck and expansion convolution to reduce computational resources usage. Our contributions are enhancing feature diversity using a wing convolution layer (WCL), balancing feature diversity using tiny spatial pyramid pooling (Tiny-SPP), reducing computational resources of feature pyramid network (FPN) connections using bottleneck and expansion convolution (BEC), and detecting small objects using an extra-branch as a third-scale detector. Our experimental results show that the proposed model outperforms the original model and other modified Yolov4-tiny models with Precision, Recall, AP, and mAP of 97.48%, 93.3%, 94.07%, and 92.38% respectively. The proposed model is smaller in size and more efficient in the use of computing resources.

Examining the effect of intellectual devices for healthiness using flower bee algorithm

In modern days, for the perseverance of monitoring the vigor of a specific individual, the Wireless Body Sensor Networks have been emerging as an auspicious platform. The foremost challenge such as energy, path loss, and transmission distance that is prevalent from early days has been addressed in this article. The focal notion specified in this exploration is to discover the sensor locations on a human body that is much suitable for interconnecting the information about the intact body thus satisfying all the objectives. The focal difference between the proposed technique and the existing methods is that the projected methodology enacts multiple objectives as an alternative of distinct impartial. Further, the problem of finding the locations of sensors has been executed on an online monitoring system using MATLAB platform where the consequences are found to be improved practically for about 65% when compared with existing literature.