Alumina-on-Polyethylene Bearing Surfaces in Total Hip Arthroplasty

The long-term durability of polyethylene lining total hip arthroplasty (THA) mainly depends on periprosthetic osteolysis due to wear particles, especially in young active patients. In hip simulator study, reports revealed significant wear reduction of the alumina ceramic-on-polyethylene articulation of THA compared with metal-on-polyethylene bearing surfaces. However, medium to long-term clinical studies of THA using the alumina ceramic-on-polyethylene are few and the reported wear rate of this articulation is variable. We reviewed the advantages and disadvantages of ceramicon- polyethylene articulation in THA, hip simulator study and retrieval study for polyethylene wear, in vivo clinical results of THA using alumina ceramic-on-polyethylene bearing surfaces in the literature, and new trial alumina ceramic-onhighly cross linked polyethylene bearing surfaces

Intra-abdominal candidiasis: The importance of early source control and antifungal treatment

Intra-abdominal candidiasis (IAC) is poorly understood compared to candidemia. We described the clinical characteristics, microbiology, treatment and outcomes of IAC, and identified risk factors for mortality. We performed a retrospective study of adults diagnosed with IAC at our center in 2012-2013. Risk factors for mortality were evaluated using multi-variable logistic regression. We identified 163 patients with IAC, compared to 161 with candidemia. Types of IAC were intra-abdominal abscesses (55%), secondary peritonitis (33%), primary peritonitis (5%), infected pancreatic necrosis (5%), and cholecystitis/cholangitis (3%). Eighty-three percent and 66% of secondary peritonitis and abscesses, respectively, stemmed from gastrointestinal (GI) tract sources. C. albicans (56%) and C. glabrata (24%) were the most common species. Bacterial co-infections and candidemia occurred in 67% and 6% of patients, respectively. Seventy-two percent of patients underwent an early source control intervention (within 5 days) and 72% received early antifungal treatment. 100-day mortality was 28%, and highest with primary (88%) or secondary (40%) peritonitis. Younger age, abscesses and early source control were independent predictors of survival. Younger age, abscesses and early antifungal treatment were independently associated with survival for IAC stemming from GI tract sources. Infectious diseases (ID) consultations were obtained in only 48% of patients. Consulted patients were significantly more likely to receive antifungal treatment. IAC is a common disease associated with heterogeneous manifestations, which result in poor outcomes. All patients should undergo source control interventions and receive antifungal treatment promptly. It is important for the ID community to become more engaged in treating IAC

Improving health-related quality of life and reducing suicide in primary care: Can social problem–solving abilities help?

Problem-solving deficits and poor health–related quality of life are associated with suicide risk; yet, little is known about the interrelations between these variables. In 220 primary care patients, we examined the potential mediating role of physical and mental health–related quality of life on the relation between social problem–solving ability and suicidal behavior. Participants completed the Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised, Social Problem Solving Inventory-Revised, and Short-Form 36 Health Survey. Utilizing bootstrapped mediation, our hypotheses were partially supported; mediating effects were found for mental health–related quality of life on the relation between social problem-solving and suicidal behavior. Physical health–related quality of life was not a significant mediator. Greater social problem–solving ability is associated with better mental health–related quality of life and, in turn, to less suicidal behavior. Interventions promoting social problem–solving ability may increase quality of life and reduce suicide risk in primary care patients

3-D apple skin autofluorescence studied with two-photon excitation microscopy

Non-destructive fluorescence imaging methods are being developed for rapid physiological screening of the complete skin surface to detect storage diseases like bitterpit and storage scald. Fluorescence from Chlorophyll, NADH and flavin-nucleotides is used to elucidate the physiological state of the fruit. Earlier work showed steady-state spectra of selected areas of apple skin(Sowinska et al., SPIE Proc., 3382, 100 1998). Now the autofluorescence of selected volumes of intact apple skin has been studied with two-photon excitation (TPE). Scans were located on the equator and centered on the red and green colored side of all the fruit. Apple varieties included Malus Domesticus Borkh. x, Granny Smith and Jonagold. The home-built microscope setup (Sytsma et al., J. Microsc. 191, 39 1998) was equipped with a 1.2 NA, 60x, water objective; a 100 fsec, 80 MHz, Ti:Sa laser running at 772 nm and a fiber coupled CCD camera for 2-D spectral scanning. Scan depths extended down to several tens of μm over an area of 64 μm2. Various structures show characteristic lifetimes between 5 nsec. Both fluorescence lifetime resolved images (FLIM) and steady-state spectra are presented. Their physiological significance is discussed. This work is supported by the project “Fonds Slimme Regio” of the Province of Limburg

3-D apple skin autofluorescence studied with two-photon excitation microscopy

Non-destructive fluorescence imaging methods are being developed for rapid physiological screening of the complete skin surface to detect storage diseases like bitterpit and storage scald. Fluorescence from Chlorophyll, NADH and flavin-nucleotides is used to elucidate the physiological state of the fruit. Earlier work showed steady-state spectra of selected areas of apple skin(Sowinska et al., SPIE Proc., 3382, 100 1998). Now the autofluorescence of selected volumes of intact apple skin has been studied with two-photon excitation (TPE). Scans were located on the equator and centered on the red and green colored side of all the fruit. Apple varieties included Malus Domesticus Borkh. x, Granny Smith and Jonagold. The home-built microscope setup (Sytsma et al., J. Microsc. 191, 39 1998) was equipped with a 1.2 NA, 60x, water objective; a 100 fsec, 80 MHz, Ti:Sa laser running at 772 nm and a fiber coupled CCD camera for 2-D spectral scanning. Scan depths extended down to several tens of μm over an area of 64 μm2. Various structures show characteristic lifetimes between 5 nsec. Both fluorescence lifetime resolved images (FLIM) and steady-state spectra are presented. Their physiological significance is discussed. This work is supported by the project “Fonds Slimme Regio” of the Province of Limburg

An investigation of acoustic emission to monitoring flat lapping with non-replenished slurry

Lapping is a precision manufacturing process. However, the material removal rate and surface roughness show significant variation between trials for repeated experiments and, thus, the repeatability of the results depends on the machine operator’s skill. Acoustic emission (AE) seems to be capable of monitoring the process. Therefore, an understanding of AE generation during lapping is important to predict the performance of the grains and hence the lapping results. Based on a theoretical analysis and experimental results collected during flat lapping, the AE signal was investigated for the situation when slurry is supplied without replenishment. The experiments were carried out with a wireless rotating AE sensor mounted in the middle of the lapping plate. Three parameters related to the AE curve are proposed to monitor the process. The influence of process parameters (lapping pressure, velocity, average grain size, concentration of grains in lapping compound and the number of conditioning rings) on the characteristics of the AE curve was investigated