Investigating Fryette's mechanics in computed tomography scans: an analysis of vertebrae spinal physiology using open-sourced datasets and three-dimensional vertebral orientation.

CONTEXT: Fryette's mechanics is taught as a simplistic model of coupled vertebral movement, fundamental in osteopathic practice. This study seeks to better understand the likelihood of Fryette's model by calculating vertebral orientation in computed tomography (CT) scans. Given previous findings of low angular coupled movements during overall spinal motion, static calculations provide a unique perspective on the likelihood of Fryette's mechanics. OBJECTIVES: This analysis aims to evaluate the efficacy of Fryette's principles in predicting vertebral positioning in CT scans by comparing their 3-dimensional (3D) orientation to movements described by Fryette. METHODS: 3D models of 953 thoracic and lumbar vertebrae were obtained from 82 CT scans within the VerSe`20 open-source dataset. A stepwise algorithm generated three unique symmetry planes for each vertebra, offering 3D angular orientation with respect to the vertebral level below. A total of 422 vertebrae were omitted from the analysis due to the presence of pathologies significant enough to affect their motion, inaccurate symmetry plane calculations, or absence of vertebral level below. The remaining 531 vertebra were analyzed to compare quantitative coupled positioning against expected coupled spinal movements in line with Fryette's mechanics. One-sample proportional z-scoring was implemented for all vertebral levels with an ∝=0.05 and a null hypothesis of Fryette's primed positioning occurring by chance of 50 %. Further analysis was performed with individual z-scoring for each individual level to see which levels were statistically significant. RESULTS: Data from the VerSe`20 dataset revealed that 56.9 % of successfully analyzed vertebrae demonstrated positions compatible with Fryette's mechanics (p=0.0014, power=89 %). The 302 vertebral levels that did display coupled positioning consisted of Type I (166 vertebrae) and Type II (136 vertebrae) compatible with Fryette's mechanics. Levels that demonstrated statistical significance consisted of T5 (p=0, power=99 %), T6 (p=0.0023, power=77 %), T7 (p=0.041, power=46 %), and T10 (p=0.017, power=60 %). CONCLUSIONS: Our analysis suggests that the static positions of vertebrae in CT scans may align with Fryette's descriptions, although not very often. Notably, vertebral levels T5-T7 and T10 exhibit strong evidence of their static positions aligning with expected movements, warranting further investigation into the Fryette phenomenon at these levels. Future studies should explore the dynamic implications of these findings to enhance our understanding of spinal biomechanics.

Prediction of compost organic matter via color sensor.

Composted materials serve as an effective soil nutrient amendment. Organic matter in compost plays an important role in quantifying composted materials overall quality and nutrient content. Measuring organic matter content traditionally takes considerable time, resources, and various laboratory equipment (e.g., oven, muffle furnace, crucibles, precision balance). Much like the quantitative color indices (e.g., sRGB R, sRGB G, sRGB B, CIEL*a* b*) derived from the low-cost NixPro2 color sensor have proven adept at predicting soil organic matter in-situ, the NixPro2 color sensor has the potential to be effective for predicting organic matter in composted materials without the need for traditional laboratory methods. In this study, a total of 200 compost samples (13 different compost types) were measured for organic matter content via traditional loss-on-ignition (LOI) and via the NixPro2 color sensor. The NixPro2 color sensor showed promising results with an LOI-prediction model utilizing the CIEL*a* b* color model through the application of the Generalized Additive Model (GAM) algorithm yielding an excellent prediction accuracy (validation R2 = 0.87, validation RMSE = 4.66 %). Moreover, the PCA scoreplot differentiated the three lowest organic matter compost types from the remaining 10 compost types. These results have valuable practical significance for the compost industry by predicting compost organic matter in real time without the need for laborious, time-consuming methods.

Chronic pain treatment with pregabalin in end stage respiratory failure patients awaiting lung transplantation on ambulatory veno-venous extra corporeal membrane oxygenator support; a series of nine cases.

Background: End-stage respiratory failure is non-treatable with mechanical ventilation and can be treated with veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenators (VV-ECMO). It can also be used as a bridge to lung transplantation or recovery of lung function. This patient group can suffer from chronic pain, which is further exacerbated by painful procedures required as part of treatment. Pregabalin is licensed for chronic neuropathic pain and generalized anxiety disorder. Thus far, it has not been tried in routine analgesia protocols for pain relief of patients on VV-ECMO. Case Series: We included nine patients aged 17-54 years on VV-ECMO awaiting lung transplantation. Exclusion criteria were acute kidney injury and chronic kidney disease. All patients had morphine patient-control analgesia. In addition, pregabalin 50 mg twice daily was initiated in all patients with dose escalation as required. Pain scores and quality of sleep were evaluated daily. All patients experienced significant pain relief, demonstrated by reduced pain scores after treatment commencement. The mean visual analogue scale score was reduced significantly from 6 ± 2 to 3 ± 1. A significant increase in good-quality sleep duration was recorded from 5 ± 1.7 hours per day before to 8 ± 2.1 hours per day after pregabalin treatment. All patients except for two reported reduced anxiety levels of at least 2 ± 1 scale improvement (p <0.05). Conclusions: Pregabalin is an efficient analgesic with accompanying anxiolytic effects in this group of patients with unique characteristics such as high analgesia requirements and exacerbated psychological and emotional stress. HIPPOKRATIA 2023, 27 (1):22-24.

Exigências de energia de borregas mestiças alimentadas com níveis crescentes de concentrado na dieta / Energy requirements of crossbreed ewe lambs fed with increasing dietary levels of concentrate

Objetivou-se estimar as exigências energéticas de borregas mestiças confinadas, alimentadas com níveis crescentes de concentrado na dieta. Foram avaliadas 36 borregas, com peso corporal inicial de 23,7±3,67kg. Seis animais foram abatidos no início do experimento para obtenção dos valores do grupo referência. Os demais (30 animais) foram distribuídos em cinco tratamentos: mantença (alimentação restrita com feno de capim Tifton) e suplementados com níveis crescentes de concentrado (20, 40, 60 e 80%) em base de matéria seca (seis animais por tratamento). As borregas foram abatidas quando atingiram 37,70±9,89kg. Os níveis de concentrado influenciaram a eficiência de utilização da energia metabolizável para mantença (km) e consequentemente as exigências diárias de energia metabolizável para mantença. A exigência de energia líquida para mantença de borregas mestiças em crescimento é 57 kcal/PCJ0,75/dia, em que PCJ é o peso corporal em jejum. As borregas com 20kg apresentaram exigência de energia líquida para 100g de ganho de peso diário de 465kcal/dia. As borregas com 40kg de peso corporal exigiram 930kcal/dia de energia líquida para o mesmo ganho. A exigência líquida para mantença de borregas pode ser estimada pela equação: ELm (Mcal/dia) = 0,057* PCJ0,75. A exigência líquida de energia para ganho de borregas mestiças (Mcal/dia) pode ser estimada a partir da equação: ELg = 0,524 x PVJ0,75 x GPCVZ1,21, em que GPCVZ é o ganho de peso do corpo vazio. As dietas influenciam as eficiências de usos da energia metabolizável para mantença (km) e ganho (kg).(AU)

The aim of this study was to estimate the energy requirements of crossbreed ewe lambs in a feedlot fed with increasing levels of concentrate in the diet. 36 ewe lambs were evaluated with initial body weight of 23.7±3.67kg. Six animals were slaughtered at the beginning of the experiment to obtain the reference group values. Animals (30) were distributed in five treatments: maintenance (feed restricted with Tifton grass hay) and those supplemented with increasing dietary levels of concentrate (20, 40, 60 and 80%) on a dry matter basis (six animals per treatment). The ewe lambs were slaughtered when they reached 37.70±9.89kg. The concentrate levels influenced the utilization efficiency of metabolizable energy for maintenance (km) and consequently the daily requirements of metabolizable energy for maintenance. The net energy requirements for maintenance of crossbred lambs in growth is 57kcal/FCW 0.75/day, where FCW is body weight on fasting. The ewe lambs with 20kg presented net energy requirement for 100g daily weight gain of 465kcal/day. The ewe lambs with 40kg of body weight required 930 kcal/day of net energy for the same gain. The net energy requirement for maintenance of ewe lambs can be estimated by the equation: NEm (Mcal/day) = 0.057 * FCW0.75. The net energy requirement for crossbred ewe lambs gain (Mcal/day) can be estimated from the equation: NEg (Mcal/day) = 0.524*FCW 0.75*GEBW1.21, where GEBW represented gain empty body weight. Diets affect the efficiencies of uses of metabolizable energy for maintenance (km) and gain (kg).(AU)

Del rostro al texto: tras las huellas de la hiperlaxitud y la disautonomía en escritores / From the face to the text: after the fingerprints of the hyperlaxity and the dysautonomia in writers

At present there is a renew interest in delineating diagnostic criteria for the Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome type III (EDS-III), condition than even though is not serious, can produce poor quality of life, due to alteration of various organs and the presence of dysautonomia. The fragility of tissues, that causes the symptomatology, can frequently be reflected in some external signs. In this study, some authors have been selected that present facial signs that are characteristic of this syndrome and gives us the opportunity to look in their texts some tracts of this disease, by looking in their autobiographic texts or in their fiction works. This exercise of free association helps us to have a more complete view of their rich and complex personalities and helps us also to appreciate the importance in detecting and preventing the consequences of this disease, that with an adequate management can produce a notable improvement in the quality of life...

Hoy se está produciendo un renovado interés por afinar los criterios diagnósticos del síndrome de hipermovilidad articular (similar al SED-III), condición que, aunque no suele ser grave, puede traducirse en una mala calidad de vida, por trastornos en diversos órganos y la presencia de disautonomía. La debilidad de los tejidos conectivos, causante de la sintomatología, suele reflejarse también en algunos signos externos. En este estudio se seleccionan algunos escritores que presentan signos en el rostro característicos de este síndrome y que nos dan la oportunidad de buscar entre sus textos algunas pistas de esta enfermedad, ya sea en textos autobiográficos o en sus obras de ficción. Este ejercicio de libre asociación nos ayuda a tener una mirada más completa de sus ricas y complejas personalidades, y nos ayuda también a tomar conciencia de la importancia de detectar y prevenir las consecuencias de esta enfermedad, que con manejo adecuado puede traducirse en una mejoría notable de la calidad de vida...

Neumoperitoneo espontáneo no quirúrgico en un recién nacido / Non surgical spontaneous pneumoperitoneum in a newborn

El neumoperitoneo espontáneo no quirúrgico es un cuadro extraordinariamente infrecuente en pediatría. Su aparición implica un gran dilema diagnóstico y el manejo clínico. Este cuadro ha sido reportado a partir de la década del 50 en pacientes adultos para hacer hincapié en la presencia de neumoperitoneo en ausencia de lesión de algún órgano intraabdominal. Se presenta el caso de un recién nacido de 3 semanas de edad con esta afección asociada a una neumopatía aguda

Etiología viral en la infección respiratoria aguda baja en recién nacidos / Viral etiology of lower respiratory tract infection in newborns

Con el objetivo de determinar la etiología de la infección respiratoria aguda baja en los recién nacidos hospitalizados en la Unidad de Neonatología y conocer algunas características epidemiológicas clínicas, de tratamiento y evolución, se estudiaron prospectivamente 260 recién nacidos hospitalizados por infección respiratoria aguda baja entre agosto de 1995 y septiembre de 1998. En 150 de ellos (57,7 por ciento) se aisló virus respiratorio sincicial mediante inmunofluorescencia y en dos de ellos se encontró asociación con virus parainfluenza. No se aisló adenovirus ni virus influenza A y B. El 80,5 por ciento correspondió a RN de término, sin predominio por sexo. El promedio de edad al ingreso fue de 19,3 días, siendo los síntomas más frecuentes tos (84,6 por ciento), dificultad respiratoria (66,7 por ciento), coriza (64,0 por ciento) y rechazo alimentario (58,8 por ciento). El manejo fue básicamente kinésico y con broncodilatadores. Menos de la mitad de los casos requirió oxigenoterapia y sólo el 7,3 por ciento necesitó ventilación mecánica. en el 55,4 por ciento de los RN se indicó antibióticos, suspendiéndose en el 66,7 por ciento de ellos al conocerse la etiología viral. La evolución clínica fue benigna con un promedio de estadía hospitalaria de 10,8 días y una letalidad de 0,67 por ciento. Se concluye que en los recién nacidos hospitalizados por infección respiratoria aguda baja predominó la etiología viral, aislándose virus respiratorio sincicial en todos los casos en que el examen de inmunofluorescencia fue positiva. La evolución fue sastisfactoria sin requerir el uso de antibióticos. Se observó además una muy baja tasa de infección intrahospitalaria con las estrictas medidas de aislamiento implementadas y reforzadas especialmente durante los meses de invierno y primavera