Monolithic silicon microlens arrays for far-infrared astrophysics.

Future far-infrared astrophysics observatories will require focal plane arrays containing thousands of ultrasensitive, superconducting detectors, each of which require efficient optical coupling to the telescope fore-optics. At longer wavelengths, many approaches have been developed, including feedhorn arrays and macroscopic arrays of lenslets. However, with wavelengths as short as 25 µm, optical coupling in the far infrared remains challenging. In this paper, we present an approach to fabricate far-infrared monolithic silicon microlens arrays using grayscale lithography and deep reactive ion etching. The fabricated microlens arrays presented here are designed for two different wavebands: 25-40 µm and 135-240 µm. The microlens arrays have sags as deep as 150 µm, are hexagonally packed with a pixel pitch of 900 µm, and have an overall size as large as 80 by 15 mm. We compare an as-fabricated lens profile to the design profile and calculate that the fabricated lenses would achieve 84% encircled power for the designed detector, which is only 3% less than the designed performance. We also present methods developed for antireflection coating microlens arrays and for a silicon-to-silicon die bonding process to hybridize microlens arrays with detector arrays.

Assessment of Fatigue and Recovery in Sport: Narrative Review.

Fatigue is a phenomenon associated with decreases in both physical and cognitive performances and increases in injury occurrence. Competitive athletes are required to complete demanding training programs with high workloads to elicit the physiological and musculoskeletal adaptations plus skill acquisition necessary for performance. High workloads, especially sudden rapid increases in training loads, are associated with the occurrence of fatigue. At present, there is limited evidence elucidating the underlying mechanisms associating the fatigue generated by higher workloads and with an increase in injury risk. The multidimensional nature and manifestation of fatigue have led to differing definitions and dichotomies of the term. Consequently, a plethora of physiological, biochemical, psychological and performance markers have been proposed to measure fatigue and recovery. Those include self-reported scales, countermovement jump performance, heart rate variability, and saliva and serum biomarker analyses. The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of fatigue and recovery plus methods of assessments.

Incidence and risk factors for poor ankle functional recovery, and the development and progression of posttraumatic ankle osteoarthritis after significant ankle ligament injury (SALI): the SALI cohort study protocol.

BACKGROUND: Ankle sprains are one of the most common musculoskeletal injuries, accounting for up to 5% of all Emergency Department visits in the United Kingdom. Ankle injury may be associated with future ankle osteoarthritis. Up to 70% of ankle osteoarthritis cases may be associated with previous ankle injury. There is limited research regarding the association between ankle sprain and ankle osteoarthritis development. The current study aims to phenotype those who suffer significant ankle ligament injuries, identify potential risk factors for ankle injuries and subsequent poor recovery, examine why individuals may develop osteoarthritis, and what factors influence this chance. METHODS: In this multicentre cohort study participants were recruited from nine Emergency Departments and two Urgent Care Centres in the United Kingdom. Participants (aged 18-70 years old) were defined as those who had suffered an isolated acute ankle sprain, which was Ottawa Ankle Rules positive, but negative for a significant ankle fracture on x-ray. Age and sex matched controls were also recruited. The controls were individuals who had not suffered a significant ankle injury, including ankle pain, function affected for more than 7 days, or the ankle caused them to report to an Emergency Department. Data is collected through a series of seven questionnaires (at baseline, 3 months, 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, 10 years, and 15 years later). The questionnaires include four sections (demographic questions; index injury, and injury history questions; functional assessment questions; and quality of life questions) and are designed to collect detailed information about the individual, their injury, potential risk factors for ankle sprains and ankle osteoarthritis, plus their medical history and any medication consumed. DISCUSSION: The Significant Ankle Ligament Injury (SALI) study aims to add to the limited knowledge regarding which factors can predict ankle sprains, complaints, and osteoarthritis. This is important because despite ankle sprains being regarded as a benign injury that resolves quickly, residual symptoms are not uncommon months and years after the injury.

The Plastic Surgeon as Employee: A Pilot Survey of the California Society of Plastic Surgeons.

INTRODUCTION: Plastic surgeons endure years of training yet remain poorly equipped to negotiate first employment contracts. Our aims were to evaluate typical plastic surgeon employment contracts and assess contract comprehensiveness. We sought elements that should be included to better preserve varied interests. METHODS: A brief, anonymous, e-mailed survey was sent to California Society of Plastic Surgeons members and responses collected over 2 months. We collected information such as years in practice, geographic area, types of practices and number of surgeons within them, and legal standing of partnerships. We asked whether respondents sought legal assistance and specific elements were elaborated. We asked how content they were with their contracts while allowing commentary. RESULTS: Our survey generated 113 responses. 50.0% of respondents reported being in practice for at least 20 years; 2.68% had been in practice for up to 5 years. 62.5% reported being in private practice and 27.7% reported being in academia. In-state geographic distribution of respondents accounted for 85.6%, whereas 14.4% reported practicing out-of-state.Practice size was diverse, with 41.4% of respondents having worked in a group practice of 3 or more, 27.9% in partnership, and 23.4% in solo practice. For partnerships, 29.9% had made formal legal arrangements, whereas 20.6% had made informal arrangements. 74.5% of respondents did not seek legal assistance.Malpractice coverage varied from 51.6% with claims-made, to 21.7% with tail, to 33.0% with no coverage at all. 63.9% reported having no group disability policy. 26.4% reported annual income of less than US $100,000; 49.1% reported US $101,000 to US $200,000; 17.9% reported US $201,000 to US $300,000; 6.60% reported greater than US $300,000. Using a 5-point scale, 7.69% of respondents reported being "extremely dissatisfied" with their first employment contracts (score of 1), whereas 24.0% were "perfectly happy" (5).Eighty-two respondents offered advice. Common themes included seeking legal counsel; considering eventual solo practice; planning long-term; seeking mentorship; and cautioning against third party interests. CONCLUSIONS: New plastic surgeons will find themselves employed by institutions. Seeking attorneys familiar with the profession is advisable. Lack of awareness regarding malpractice options and disability coverage are 2 areas of concern. We reveal critical contract elements that surgeons should negotiate to ensure smooth transition to practice.

Tubulin modulating antifungal and antiproliferative pyrazinone derivatives.

A novel class of synthetic tubulin polymerization disruptors, based on a substituted pyrazin-2-one core, has been discovered. These molecules have proven to be potent broad spectrum fungicides, with activity on agriculturally important ascomycete and basidiomycete pathogens. They have also been found to be particularly potent against human rhabdomyosarcoma cells. Using an efficient synthetic route, the agricultural and medicinal activity was explored.

A new concept for tuberosity repair in hemiarthroplasty for fracture: use of a clamp and underlying ledge to form a trapdoor.

BACKGROUND: Sutures are the most common method for tuberosity repair in hemiarthroplasty for fracture. Despite numerous suggested patterns, tuberosity repair remains a weak point leading to poor functional results. This study mechanically tested a new mechanism that avoids difficulties sutures may engender. The hallmark of the prosthesis is a "trapdoor" effect. Low-profile metallic clamps with undersurface stoppers are screwed across the tuberosity-tendon junction to an underlying ledge, creating a fixed metallic space. With cuff contraction, the tuberosities are too large to pull through this space. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Tests were carried out in line with the U.K. Human Tissue Authority regulations. Four-part fractures in 8 cadavers repaired with this method were subjected to simultaneous cyclic tension of 350N and passive glenohumeral motion for 8000 cycles. Both before and after machine stress, repairs were assessed by clasping each tuberosity with a forceps and attempting to displace it in a variety of directions. No movement was present before stressing. Any post-stress movement was considered a failure and recorded in millimeters. RESULTS: Six specimens after machine stress showed 0-mm movement (95% confidence interval, 34.9%-96.8%). Isolated movements of a single tuberosity occurred in 2 specimens. CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION: The trapdoor completely withstood challenging elements of cyclic load and passive motion in 75% of cases. The device may represent an alternative to sutures.

Angular and polarization response of multimode sensors with resistive-grid absorbers.

High-sensitivity receiver systems with near-ideal polarization sensitivity are highly desirable for development of millimeter and submillimeter radio astronomy. Multimoded bolometers provide a unique solution to achieve such sensitivity, for which hundreds of single-mode sensors would otherwise be required. The primary concern in employing such multimoded sensors for polarimetery is the control of the polarization systematics. In this work, we examine the angular- and polarization-dependent absorption pattern of a thin resistive grid or membrane, which models an absorber used for a multimoded bolometer. The result shows that a freestanding thin resistive absorber with a surface resistivity of η/2, where η is the impedance of free space, attains a beam pattern with equal E- and H-plane responses, leading to zero cross-polarization. For a resistive-grid absorber, the condition is met when a pair of grids is positioned orthogonal to each other and both have a resistivity of η/2. When a reflective backshort termination is employed to improve absorption efficiency, the cross-polar level can be suppressed below -30 dB if acceptance angle of the sensor is limited to ≲60°. The small cross-polar systematics have even-parity patterns and do not contaminate the measurements of odd-parity polarization patterns, for which many of the recent instruments for cosmic microwave background are designed. Underlying symmetry that suppresses these cross-polar systematics is discussed in detail. The estimates and formalism provided in this work offer key tools in the design consideration of the instruments using the multimoded polarimeters.

Micro-Spec: an ultracompact, high-sensitivity spectrometer for far-infrared and submillimeter astronomy.

High-performance, integrated spectrometers operating in the far-infrared and submillimeter ranges promise to be powerful tools for the exploration of the epochs of reionization and initial galaxy formation. These devices, using high-efficiency superconducting transmission lines, can achieve the performance of a meter-scale grating spectrometer in an instrument implemented on a 4 inch silicon wafer. Such a device, when combined with a cryogenic telescope in space, provides an enabling capability for studies of the early universe. Here, the optical design process for Micro-Spec (µ-Spec) is presented, with particular attention given to its two-dimensional diffractive region, where the light of different wavelengths is focused on the different detectors. The method is based on the stigmatization and minimization of the light path function in this bounded region, which results in an optimized geometrical configuration. A point design with an efficiency of ~90% has been developed for initial demonstration and can serve as the basis for future instruments. Design variations on this implementation are also discussed, which can lead to lower efficiencies due to diffractive losses in the multimode region.

Interactive H5P content for increased student engagement in a dental hygiene program.

Background: Presently, dental hygiene education is primarily divided into classroom lectures, simulation labs, and clinical experiences. Although the recent surge of curriculum renovation in dental and medical schools centres around enhancing student engagement and active learning, classroom teaching remains teacher-focussed, involving students mainly as passive learners. H5P is an open platform for creating and sharing interactive HTML5 learning content. A large set of H5P content was created and provided to students through the learning management system as supplementary material for an oral biology course in the dental hygiene program at a Canadian university. This study was conducted to evaluate the impact of this interactive H5P content on the students' learning experiences. Methods: The third-year dental hygiene students enrolled in the oral biology course were invited to participate in the study. Anonymised student performance data from the summative exam were analysed, and a survey regarding the student experience with the supplementary H5P content was administered. Results: Students performed better on questions for which H5P supplements were provided. The results from the survey showed satisfaction and perceived benefit of using H5P as supplementary content in didactic lectures. Discussion: The H5P content allowed students to apply knowledge and reproduce understanding, promoting active learning in the didactic oral biology course. Students appreciated the content's interactive nature and expressed willingness to have similar experiences in other courses. Conclusion: Using H5P, interactive learning content can promote self-directed and personalized learning. This open learning platform has the potential to redefine didactic teaching by fostering an active learning environment.

Contexte: À l'heure actuelle, la formation en hygiène dentaire s'appuie principalement sur des exposés en classe, des simulations en laboratoire et des expériences cliniques. Bien que la récente vague de révision des programmes d'études des écoles dentaires et de médecine soit axée sur le renforcement de l'engagement des étudiants et de l'apprentissage actif, le travail en classe reste axé sur l'enseignement par un enseignant : dans ce contexte, les étudiants sont principalement des apprenants passifs. H5P est une plateforme ouverte pour la création et le partage de contenu d'apprentissage interactif au format HTML5. Un vaste ensemble de contenu H5P a été créé et fourni aux étudiants, par l'entremise du système de gestion de l'apprentissage, à titre de matériel supplémentaire pour un cours de biologie buccale dans le cadre du programme d'hygiène dentaire d'une université canadienne. Cette étude a été effectuée pour évaluer les effets de ce contenu H5P interactif sur les expériences d'apprentissage des étudiants. Méthodes: Les étudiants en hygiène dentaire de troisième année inscrits au cours de biologie buccale ont été invités à participer à l'étude. Des données anonymisées sur le rendement des étudiants provenant de l'examen sommatif ont été analysées, et un sondage sur l'expérience des étudiants avec le contenu H5P supplémentaire a été mené. Résultats: Les résultats des étudiants étaient meilleurs pour les questions pour lesquelles du contenu H5P supplémentaire a été fourni. Les résultats de l'enquête ont révélé les avantages perçus de l'utilisation du contenu H5P supplémentaire dans les cours didactiques, ainsi que la satisfaction en la matière. Discussion: Le contenu H5P a permis aux étudiants d'appliquer les connaissances et de reproduire la compréhension, favorisant ainsi l'apprentissage actif dans le cadre des cours didactiques de biologie buccale. Les étudiants ont apprécié la nature interactive du contenu et se sont dits prêts à répéter l'expérience dans le cadre d'autres cours. Conclusion: Grâce à H5P, le contenu d'apprentissage interactif peut favoriser l'apprentissage autodirigé et personnalisé. Cette plateforme d'apprentissage ouverte a le potentiel de redéfinir l'enseignement didactique en favorisant un environnement d'apprentissage actif.

Discovery of cyantraniliprole, a potent and selective anthranilic diamide ryanodine receptor activator with cross-spectrum insecticidal activity.

Anthranilic diamides are an exceptionally active class of insect control chemistry that selectively activates insect ryanodine receptors causing mortality from uncontrolled release of calcium ion stores in muscle cells. Work in this area led to the successful commercialization of chlorantraniliprole for control of Lepidoptera and other insect pests at very low application rates. In search of lower logP analogs with improved plant systemic properties, exploration of cyano-substituted anthranilic diamides culminated in the discovery of a second product candidate, cyantraniliprole, having excellent activity against a wide range of pests from multiple insect orders. Here we report on the chemistry, biology and structure-activity trends for a series of cyanoanthranilic diamides from which cyantraniliprole was selected for commercial development.

Prevention of earlobe deformity in face-lifting.

"Pixie-ear" deformity is a postrhytidectomy sequela in which the ear lobe is pulled inferiorly. This deformity may be attributed to excessive skin excision inferior to the earlobe, direct suturing of the facial flap to lobule skin, or excessive scarring. When there is increased tension on the earlobe, the otobasion inferius (cephalic attachment point of lobe) migrates from a posterior cephalic position to an anterior caudal position. The authors present an operative technique to prevent pixie-ear deformity and optimize earlobe position in face-lifting.

Is failure of tuberosity suture repair in hemi-arthroplasty for fracture mechanical?

BACKGROUND: Tuberosity suture repair in hemiarthroplasty for fracture carries risk of malunion giving poor results. Is failure mechanical or biochemical? We investigated the mechanical aspect with repetitive loading in cadaveric repairs. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Tests were carried out in line with U.K. Human Tissue Authority regulations. A 4-part fracture was created in 8 cadaver shoulders by osteotomizing the tuberosities. A standard hemiarthroplasty implant was cemented in at correct height and retroversion, and standardized repairs applied. Initial firmness of repair was confirmed by attempting to manually displace the tuberosities with a forceps in multiple planes. All pre-stress tests showed 0 mm movement. Repairs were then subjected to cyclical tension on the cuff musculature and simultaneous gleno-humeral motion for 8000 cycles. The tuberosities were reprobed with a forceps to record any movement. RESULTS: Defining repair failure as the ability to manually displace a tuberosity more than 3 mm, every specimen failed: 100% failure (exact 95% confidence interval 65.2-100% due to sample size). Movements of at least 1 cm were commonly observed. The sutures were loose but had never snapped. Sutures were noted to dig into the tendon and cut partially through bone. Collapse of cancellous bony volume led to looseness and migration of the sutures. CONCLUSION: Suture repair of tuberosities has mechanical weaknesses; failure may be a mechanical phenomenon.

Impact of bisphosphonate drug burden in alveolar bone during orthodontic tooth movement in a rat model: a pilot study.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this pilot study was to investigate the effect of long-term bisphosphonate drug use (bone burden) on orthodontic tooth movement in a rat model. METHODS: Sprague Dawley rats were used for orthodontic protraction of the maxillary first molars with nickel-titanium coil springs and temporary anchorage devices as anchorage. Four groups of 5 rats each were included in the study; the first 2 groups were dosed with alendronate or a vehicle during concurrent orthodontic tooth movement. The third and fourth groups were pretreated for 3 months with alendronate or vehicle injections, and bisphosphonate drug treatment was discontinued before orthodontic tooth movement. Tooth movement measurements were obtained at 0, 4, and 8 weeks using high-resolution in-vivo microcomputed tomography, and the tissues were analyzed with histology and dynamic labeling of bone turnover. RESULTS: Appreciable tooth movement was achieved during the 8-week duration of this study with nickel-titanium coil springs and temporary anchorage devices. Both bisphosphonate treatment groups exhibited reduced tooth movement compared with the vehicle-dosed controls with a tendency toward more severe reduction in the bisphosphonate predosed group. Concurrent dosing of the bisphosphonate drug resulted in 56% and 65% reductions in tooth protraction at the 4-week and 8-week times, respectively. The impact of bisphosphonate bone burden in retarding tooth movement was even greater, with 77% and 86% reductions in tooth movement at 4 and 8 weeks, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, we used a robust rat model of orthodontic tooth movement with temporary anchorage devices. It has provided evidence that the bone burden of previous bisphosphonate use will significantly inhibit orthodontic tooth movement.

A bending rigidity parameter for stress granule condensates.

Interfacial tension plays an important role in governing the dynamics of droplet coalescence and determining how condensates interact with and deform lipid membranes and biological filaments. We demonstrate that an interfacial tension-only model is inadequate for describing stress granules in live cells. Harnessing a high-throughput flicker spectroscopy pipeline to analyze the shape fluctuations of tens of thousands of stress granules, we find that the measured fluctuation spectra require an additional contribution, which we attribute to elastic bending deformation. We also show that stress granules have an irregular, nonspherical base shape. These results suggest that stress granules are viscoelastic droplets with a structured interface, rather than simple Newtonian liquids. Furthermore, we observe that the measured interfacial tensions and bending rigidities span a range of several orders of magnitude. Hence, different types of stress granules (and more generally, other biomolecular condensates) can only be differentiated via large-scale surveys.

Bioisosteric Tactics in the Discovery of Tetflupyrolimet: A New Mode-of-Action Herbicide.

The last new herbicidal modes-of-action with commercial significance were introduced to the marketplace multiple decades ago. Serious weed resistance to most herbicidal classes have since emerged with widespread use. Aryl pyrrolidinone anilides represent an entirely new mode-of-action class of herbicides that interfere with de novo pyrimidine biosynthesis in plants via inhibition of dihydroorotate dehydrogenase. The chemical lead for this new herbicide class discovery was identified from high-volume sourced greenhouse screening that required structural reassignment of the hit molecule followed by an extensive synthetic optimization effort. With excellent grass weed control and pronounced safety on rice, the selected commercial development candidate has a proposed common name of tetflupyrolimet and represents the first member of the new HRAC (Herbicide Resistance Action Committee) Group 28. This paper describes the discovery path to tetflupyrolimet with an added focus on the bioisosteric modifications pursued in optimization, including replacements of the lactam core itself.

Mobilising a workforce to combat COVID-19: An account, reflections, and lessons learned.

With the declaration of coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) as a pandemic, intensive care units across the globe began to prepare for large numbers of patients. For many years, UK Intensive Care Units (ICUs) have been at high capacity, while facing staffing shortages. In order to prepare for the predicted increased work caring for large numbers with COVID-19, staff were redeployed from other clinical areas to help. Many of these staff had no previous ICU experience. In this article, we share our experiences redeploying medical staff from an extensive range of backgrounds, and how we utilised those staff to maximise use of their existing skills, together with reflections from a variety of redeployed staff members.

Autologous fat grafting for primary breast augmentation: a systematic review.

As the technique of autologous fat grafting is being refined and perfected, its clinical applications are expanding. The use of autologous fat grafting for primary breast augmentation is controversial due to a lack of clarity regarding its safety and efficacy. Most notably, concerns about interference with the detection of breast cancer have been raised, but these have not been clearly addressed in the literature. To help surgeons gain further insight, the authors conducted a systematic review of the literature, carefully comparing technique, clinical outcome, radiologic impact, and complications in all available data on this subject. Although an optimal method of autologous fat grafting for primary breast augmentation is yet to be standardized, further strong evidence-based studies are necessary to confirm the findings of this approach.

Association of Sports Participation With Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: The association between participating in sport and osteoarthritis is not fully understood. PURPOSE: To investigate the association between osteoarthritis and participating in sports not listed in previous reviews: American football, archery, baseball, bobsleigh, curling, handball, ice hockey, shooting, skeleton, speed skating, and wrestling. STUDY DESIGN: Systematic review; Level of evidence, 3. METHODS: We searched 4 electronic databases and hand searched recent/in-press editions of relevant journals. The criteria for study selection were case-control studies, cohort studies, nested case-control studies, and randomized trials with a control group that included adults to examine the effect of exposure to any of the included sports on the development of osteoarthritis. RESULTS: The search returned 6197 articles after deduplication. Nine studies were included in the final review, covering hip, knee, and ankle osteoarthritis. There were no studies covering archery, baseball, skeleton, speed skating, or curling. The 6 sports included in the review were analyzed as a collective; the results of the meta-analysis indicated that participation in the sports analyzed was associated with an increased risk of developing osteoarthritis of the hip (relative risk [RR] = 1.67 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.15-2.41]; P = .04), knee (RR = 1.60 [95% CI, 1.23-2.08]; P < .001), and ankle (RR = 7.08 [95% CI, 1.24-40.51]; P = .03) as compared with controls. Meta-analysis suggested a significantly increased likelihood of developing hip osteoarthritis through participating in wrestling (RR = 1.78 [95% CI, 1.20-2.64]; P = .004) and ice hockey (RR = 1.70 [95% CI, 1.27-2.29]; P < .001), while there was no significant difference through participating in handball (RR = 2.50 [95% CI, 0.85-7.36]; P = .10). Likelihood of developing knee osteoarthritis was significantly increased in wrestling (RR = 2.22 [95% CI, 1.59-3.11]) and ice hockey (RR = 1.52 [95% CI, 1.18-1.96]; both P < .002). According to the meta-analysis, shooting did not have a significant effect on the RR of knee osteoarthritis as compared with other sports (RR = 0.43 [95% CI, 0.06-2.99]; P = .39). CONCLUSION: The likelihood of developing hip and knee osteoarthritis was increased for ice hockey and wrestling athletes, and the risk of developing hip osteoarthritis was increased for handball athletes. The study also found that participation in the sports examined, as a collective, resulted in an increased risk of developing hip, knee, and ankle osteoarthritis.

Distally based sural lesser saphenous neuro-veno-adipo-fascial (NVAF) flap for reconstruction in the foot: lessons learned.

We report nine cases in which the neuro-veno-adipo-fascial (NVAF) flap was used to perform reconstruction of foot wounds over a 7-year period. Complications occurred in five (56%) patients. One patient suffered total loss of the flap and four experienced partial loss of the NVAF flap. Complications are to be expected with the use of the NVAF flap for foot wounds, but in most cases the flap is salvageable. The NVAF flap is an option in foot reconstruction when free tissue transfer is not available, contraindicated due to patient factors or when a prior free flap has failed.