Analysis of Mechanoreceptors and Free Nerve Endings of the Transverse Carpal Ligament

Background: The treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) by sectioning the transverse carpal ligament (TCL) is not exempt from complications. Some nerve branches may be damaged by the incision. The aim of this study is to identify and map the TCL nerve endings, serving as a guide for sectioning this structure in a zone with less nerve ending density. Methods: Ten TCLs were obtained from fresh frozen cadavers. The TCLs were measured, divided into 3 equal bands (radial, central, and ulnar), and submitted to cryostat sectioning. The sections were subjected to immunofluorescence with the protein gene product (PGP) 9.5 and confocal microscopy analysis. Results: All the specimens contained type I and type IV mechanoreceptors. Neural elements occupied 0.695 ± 0.056% of the ligament area. The density of the neural elements was greater in the radial, followed by the ulnar and central bands, with 0.730 ± 0.083%, 0.686 ± 0.009%, and 0.669 ± 0.031%, respectively. Conclusion: The present findings suggest that the region with the least potential for neural element injury during TCL release is the central third near the transition with the ulnar third. When performed distally to proximally with a slight inclination from the radial to the ulnar, this release compromises the lowest nerve element density. Topographically, the proximal limit of the release is the distal wrist crease, while the distal limit is the intersection of Kaplan cardinal line and the axis of the third webspace.

Heat Treatment Effect on Biological Behavior of Polyetheretherketone Composites

Polyetheretherketone is a semi-crystalline thermoplastic polymer, that so with heat treatments, it is possible to get different properties which are very important for the material performance. Heat treatment is a broadly utilized to develop the semi-crystalline polymers properties. In the present investigation, annealing of polyetheretherketone (PEEK) was carried out at temperatures above its glass transition temperature (Tg) to study its effects upon the biological conduct of the control and PEEK ternary composites. The bioactivity of the specimens was evaluated by investigating the apatite formation after immersion for different periods in a simulated body fluid (SBF). The biocompatibility of specimens was assessed by MTT assay. Additionally, the antibacterial property of the specimens versus S. aureus was observed with the optical density methods. The results manifested that the formation of hydroxyapatite was obviously observed on specimens after immersion for (7 and 14 days) in the simulated body fluid (SBF). Otherwise, the results of MTT assay recorded the PEEK specimens that excited the activity of fibroblasts, and therefore a high cytocompatibility was noticed and the specimens revealed antibacterial properties against S. aureus. So, the results of the bioactivity, biocompatibility and antibacterial tests in vitro demonstrated that the heat treatment enhanced biological behavior.

Methodological aspects of snow cover sampling for chemical analysis

At present there is a steady increase in scientific publications on studying the chemical composition of snow cover. At the same time, there are practically no modern publications on the methods of snow cover sampling for chemical analysis. The rapid development of analytical ways to determine the composition of samples in general justifies the need to improve the methodology of snow cover sampling. Today, researchers use a variety of adapted sampling methods depending on the goal, the geographic location of the study area, and the analyzed component. Each publication contains a rationale for the sampling method used. This article describes the methodology of sampling snow cover to determine its density. Methods of taking snow cover samples to determine its chemical composition most often depend on the chosen practices. The primary systematization of snow cover sampling methods has been carried out. Synthesis of literature reveals some problems, including the need for improved standardized techniques of snow sampling for chemical analysis and for the development of applied instrumentation to address snow geochemistry.

A GIS-Based Multi-Criterion Decision-Making Method to Select City Fire Brigade: A Case Study of Wuhan, China

Rapid urban expansion has brought new challenges to firefighting, with the speed of firefighting rescue being crucial for the safety of property and life. Thus, fire prevention and rescuing people in distress have become more challenging for city managers and emergency responders. Unfortunately, existing research does not consider the negative effects of the current spatial distribution of fire-risk areas, land cover, location, and traffic congestion. To address these shortcomings, we use multiple methods (including geographic information system, multi-criterion decision-making, and location–allocation (L-A)) and multi-source geospatial data (including land cover, point-of-interest, drive time, and statistical yearbooks) to identify suitable areas for fire brigades. We propose a method for identifying potential fire-risk areas and to select suitable fire brigade zones. In this method, we first remove exclusion criteria to identify spatially undeveloped zones and use kernel density methods to evaluate the various fire-risk zones. Next, we use analytic hierarchy processes (AHPs) to comprehensively evaluate the undeveloped areas according to the location, orography, and potential fire-risk zones. In addition, based on the multi-time traffic situation, the average traffic speed during rush hour of each road is calculated, a traffic network model is established, and the travel time is calculated. Finally, the L-A model and network analysis are used to map the spatial coverage of the fire brigades, which is optimized by combining various objectives, such as the coverage rate of high-fire-risk zones, the coverage rate of building construction, and the maintenance of a sub-five-minute drive time between the proposed fire brigade and the demand point. The result shows that the top 50% of fire-risk zones in the central part of Wuhan are mainly concentrated to the west of the Yangtze River. Good overall rescue coverage is obtained with existing fire brigades, but the fire brigades in the north, south, southwest, and eastern areas of the study area lack rescue capabilities. The optimized results show that, to cover the high-fire-risk zones and building constructions, nine fire brigades should be added to increase the service coverage rate from 93.28% to 99.01%. The proposed method combines the viewpoint of big data, which provides new ideas and technical methods for the fire brigade site-selection model.

EEG Based Demarcation of Yogic and Non-Yogic Sleep Patterns Using Power Spectral Analysis

Electroencephalogram (EEG) signals resulting from recordings of polysomnography play a significant role in determining the changes in physiology and behavior during sleep. This study aims at demarcating the sleep patterns of yogic and non-yogic subjects. Frequency domain features based on power spectral density methods were explored in this study. The EEG recordings were segmented into 1s and 0.5s. EEG patterns with four windowing scheme overlaps (0%, 50%, 60% and 75%) to ensure stationarity of the signal in order to investigate the effect of the pre-processing stage. In order to recognize the yoga and non-yoga group through N3 sleep stage, non-linear KNN classifier was introduced and performance was evaluated in terms of sensitivity and specificity. The experimental results show that modified covariance PSD estimate is the best method in classifying the sleep stage N3 of yogic and non-yogic subjects with 95% confidence interval, sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of 97.3%, 98% and 97%, respectively.

EEG-Based Demarcation of Yogic and Non-Yogic Sleep Patterns Using Power Spectral Analysis

Electroencephalogram (EEG) signals resulting from recordings of polysomnography play a significant role in determining the changes in physiology and behavior during sleep. This study aims at demarcating the sleep patterns of yogic and non-yogic subjects. Frequency domain features based on power spectral density methods were explored in this study. The EEG recordings were segmented into 1s and 0.5s. EEG patterns with four windowing scheme overlaps (0%, 50%, 60% and 75%) to ensure stationarity of the signal in order to investigate the effect of the pre-processing stage. In order to recognize the yoga and non-yoga group through N3 sleep stage, non-linear KNN classifier was introduced and performance was evaluated in terms of sensitivity and specificity. The experimental results show that modified covariance PSD estimate is the best method in classifying the sleep stage N3 of yogic and non-yogic subjects with 95% confidence interval, sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of 97.3%, 98% and 97%, respectively.

Landslide Susceptibility Mapping along Manipur-Assam NH-37

Landslides are a natural hazard in steep places that occur regularly and cause significant damage. To avoid and minimise hazards, comprehensive landslide remediation and control, landslide assessment, and hazard zonation are required. Various methods are established based on different assessment methodologies, which are essentially split into qualitative and quantitative approaches. GIS-based landslide susceptibility mapping was carried out along the National Highway 37, which connects Assam and Manipur and is a vital lifeline for the state, to identify and demarcate possible failure zones. A field visit was used to create a landslide inventory map along the road network. Google Earth and LANDSAT satellite imagery To perform landslide susceptibility zonation, thematic layers of several landslide causative elements were constructed in the study region. The study region has been divided into five endangered zones i.e. (“very low, low, moderate, high, and extremely high”). The landslide susceptibility zonation map was validated using the AUC and landslide density methods. The final map will be helpful to a variety of stakeholders, including town planners, engineers, geotechnical engineers, and geologists, for development and construction in the study region.

Geo-Electrical Method of Assessment of Coefficient of Permeability and Porosity of Soil of a Poultry Farmland

Leachate collected at the bottom of dead bird’s disposal pits may leak and migrate to pollute groundwater when soils and rocks present are porous. This study assessed the coefficient of permeability (K) and porosity (Ф) of soils and rocks in poultry farmland using 2 Dimensional (2D) electrical resistivity method and soil analysis. Geo-electrical data collection was achieved by using the dipole-dipole array. The field resistivity measurement was carried out along three traverse lines (three Profiles) of 100 m long which were oriented along with East-West directions. These measurements were taken in the order of increasing in offset distance interval of 5 m. The acquired apparent resistivity data were inverted using DIPPROWIN modeling software to perform 2D data inversion. Five soil samples from different locations at depths of 0 – 15 cm and 15 – 30 cm, on the poultry farmland, were collected, transported, and tested in the laboratory. K and Ф were determined using falling head and density methods respectively. The results obtained from the processed field resistivity data from the three profiles were presented as field data pseudo-sections, theoretical pseudo-section, and 2D resistivity structures. The 2D resistivity structure revealed three structures viz; highly conductive, slightly conductive, and resistive. The resistivity values of these structures ranged from 14.1-99.0 Ω m, 100-848 Ω m, and 1350-90330 Ω m respectively. The highly conductive structures were found in profiles 1 and 3 due to the downward migration of the contaminants from the dead bird disposal pit 1 and the feces disposal site through clayey sand soil. This occurs at the depth range of few meters from the surface to greater than 20 m. The presence of the slightly conductive structure is a result of filtration of the contaminants by the soil materials which increased the resistivity of the soil. The movement of the contaminant through the soil is an indication of the porous and permeable nature of the farmland. The resistive structure is only noticeable in profiles 1 and 2 but very prominent at the depth range of 5 m to more than 20 m and 5 m to 35 m along the profile length. The results of the analysis of the five soil samples from the poultry farmland showed a high value of 0.552 and 3.554 x 10−2cm/s of porosity (Ф) and coefficient of permeability (K) respectively. A strong correlation of R 2 = 0.9878 existed between Ф and K. With these results geo-electrical method had successfully assessed Ф and K of the soil of the poultry farmland.

Vascular Density Changes after Nanosecond Laser Therapy in Dry AMD

Introduction: АМD is a disease of social significance and an increasing incidence. By 2040, patients are expected to reach 300 million. 90% of them have non-exudative form while only10% have exudative AMD. The nanosecond laser (2RT, Ellex) is the first patented therapy for dry AMD. It presents a new hope in the prophylaxis of the more aggressive exudative form. Aim: The aim of this study is to present an innovative treatment for dry AMD; to describe the mechanism of action of 2RT; to show first clinical results and to prove the functional efficiency of the therapy by pre and post treatment analysis of vascular density. Methods: Nanosecond laser (2RT, Ellex) was used. Patients were followed with visual acuity, contrast sensitivity (F.A.C.T.101), Fluorescein angiography (FA)Fundus auto-fluorescens (FAF), OCT, Angio-OCT. Statistical analysis of vascular density (foveal and peri-foveal superficial and deep) was done. Results: A significant improvement in vascular density in the macula was observed 3-6 months after the treatment in all patients with dry AMD. In 40% of cases a reduction of the drusen was observed. No increase of the atrophic changes was observed. Conclusions: The main goal of the treatment is to ameliorate the degenerative process by tissue stimulation and rejuvenation. Vascular density increase after 2RT treatment does prove the functional improvement and efficacy of the therapy.

Relative Efficacy of Vitamin D2 and Vitamin D3 in Improving Vitamin D Status: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: Widespread prevalence of vitamin D deficiency has been documented globally. Commonly used interventions to address this deficiency include supplementation and/or fortification with either ergocalciferol (vitamin D2) or cholecalciferol (vitamin D3), but the relative efficacy of these two vitamers is unclear. The current study aimed to evaluate the relative efficacy of ergocalciferol (vitamin D2) and cholecalciferol (vitamin D3) for raising the serum levels of vitamin D metabolites and functional indicators including serum parathyroid (PTH) levels, isometric muscle strength, hand grip strength and bone mineral density. Methods: Randomized and non-randomized controlled studies evaluating relative efficacy of ergocalciferol and cholecalciferol were systematically reviewed to synthesize quantitative and qualitative evidence as per the recommendations of according to “Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-analysis” guidelines. Search terms were constructed on the basis of the “participants”, “intervention”, “control”, “outcome” and “study type” (PICOS) strategy to systematically search the popular electronic databases. Relevant data from studies meeting inclusion and exclusion criteria were extracted and analyzed. Meta-regression, subgroup and sensitivity analyses were performed to investigate the influence of study-level characteristics including intervention dosage, frequency of dosing, interval between the last dose and test for outcome assessment, participant characteristics and analytical methods. Results: Apparently healthy human participants (n = 1277) from 24 studies were included for meta-analysis. The quantitative analysis suggested higher efficacy of cholecalciferol than ergocalciferol in improving total 25(OH)D (mean difference: 15.69, 95%CI: 9.46 to 21.93 nmol/L) and reducing PTH levels, consistently across variable participant demographics, dosage and vehicle of supplementation. Meta-regression suggested smaller differences in the efficacy of cholecalciferol and ergocalciferol at lower doses. Average daily dose was the single significant predictor of effect size, as revealed by multivariate meta-regression analysis. Conclusions: Compared to ergocalciferol, cholecalciferol intervention was more efficacious in improving vitamin D status (serum levels of total 25(OH)D and 25(OH)D3) and regulating PTH levels, irrespective of the participant demographics, dosage and vehicle of supplementation.