Repair strategies for assistive technology in low resource settings.

Purpose: To investigate the practices of repair that exist for users of mobility assistive products in low resource settings, as well as the psychosocial impact that the repair, or non-repair, of these devices has on users' lives.

Materials And Methods: This article collates data on repair practices and the responses from participants on the topic of repair from studies conducted by the authors across four different low resource settings in Kenya, Uganda, Sierra Leone, and Indonesia. This data was then analyzed to identify the common themes found across geographies.

Addition of Metformin to Concurrent Chemoradiation in Patients With Locally Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: The NRG-LU001 Phase 2 Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has relatively poor outcomes. Metformin has significant data supporting its use as an antineoplastic agent.

Objective: To compare chemoradiation alone vs chemoradiation and metformin in stage III NSCLC.

CT for thoracic and lumbar spine fractures: Can CT findings accurately predict posterior ligament complex injury?

Purpose: This study aims to determine whether secondary CT findings can predict posterior ligament complex (PLC) injury in patients with acute thoracic (T) or lumbar (L) spine fractures.

Methods: This is a retrospective study of 105 patients with acute thoracic and lumbar spine fractures on CT, with MRI as the reference standard for PLC injury. Three readers graded CT for facet joint alignment (FJA), widening (FJW), pedicle or lamina fracture (PLF), spinous fracture (SPF), interspinous widening (ISW), vertebral translation (VBT), and posterior endplate fracture (PEF).

Inclusion of periodontal ligament fibres in mandibular finite element models leads to an increase in alveolar bone strains.

Alveolar bone remodelling is vital for the success of dental implants and orthodontic treatments. However, the underlying biomechanical mechanisms, in particular the function of the periodontal ligament (PDL) in bone loading and remodelling, are not well understood. The PDL is a soft fibrous connective tissue that joins the tooth root to the alveolar bone and plays a critical role in the transmission of loads from the tooth to the surrounding bone.

Masticatory biomechanics in the rabbit: a multi-body dynamics analysis.

Multi-body dynamics is a powerful engineering tool which is becoming increasingly popular for the simulation and analysis of skull biomechanics. This paper presents the first application of multi-body dynamics to analyse the biomechanics of the rabbit skull. A model has been constructed through the combination of manual dissection and three-dimensional imaging techniques (magnetic resonance imaging and micro-computed tomography).

The biomechanical function of periodontal ligament fibres in orthodontic tooth movement.

Orthodontic tooth movement occurs as a result of resorption and formation of the alveolar bone due to an applied load, but the stimulus responsible for triggering orthodontic tooth movement remains the subject of debate. It has been suggested that the periodontal ligament (PDL) plays a key role. However, the mechanical function of the PDL in orthodontic tooth movement is not well understood as most mechanical models of the PDL to date have ignored the fibrous structure of the PDL.

Reliability and concurrent validity of knee angle measurement: smart phone app versus universal goniometer used by experienced and novice clinicians.

The use of goniometers to measure joint angles is a key part of musculoskeletal practice. Recently smartphone goniometry applications have become available to clinicians. This study examined the intra- and inter-measurer reliability of novice and experienced clinicians and the concurrent validity of assessing knee range of motion using a smartphone application (the Knee Goniometer App (Ockendon(©))) (KGA) and a standard universal goniometer (UG).

Pre-transplant consolidation chemotherapy may not improve outcomes after reduced intensity conditioning hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for acute myeloid leukemia in first complete remission.

The role consolidation chemotherapy prior to reduced-intensity (RIC) HCT is unclear. We reviewed 60 consecutive patients with AML in CR1 undergoing RIC HCT at the University of Minnesota and evaluated outcomes based on exposure to pre-transplant consolidation chemotherapy. The two year incidence of relapse and the probability of overall survival were similar between those who did and did not receive consolidation chemotherapy.

Epigenetic approaches in the treatment of myelodysplastic syndromes: clinical utility of azacitidine.

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are a varied group of diseases leading to significant morbidity and mortality. Therapy of MDS has been difficult, with supportive cares used to ameliorate symptoms, and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation the only curative option. Agents, such as the cytidine analog azacitidine, exert an effect on DNA methyltransferase leading to a reduction in DNA methylation, a process thought to be key to the pathogenesis of MDS.

Transitional cell carcinoma of the lacrimal sac.

Lacrimal sac tumor is a rare tumor, for which we do not know the exact incidence. Malignant tumors account for 70% of all cases. Epithelial tumors are the most common pathological type and squamous cell carcinoma is the most common of these, a transitional cell carcinoma is rare and has a poor prognosis.