Ergonomic and Anthropometric Evaluation of Locally Manufactured Vehicle Seats.

Background: Most of the cars are imported as cargo vehicles and then converted into commercial passenger vehicles in Ethiopia. Seats are locally manufactured and installed as part of the conversion to passenger cars, with little regard permitted for the standard specifications required.

Objective: A descriptive survey, an ergonomics assessment of passenger seats was conducted, and subjective evaluations of seat comfort were collected.

Surveillance imaging of type II endoleak with contrast-enhanced ultrasound.

Type II endoleak is the most common type of endoleak after endovascular repair of abdominal aortic aneurysm and has been reported in up to 20-50% of patients. Patients undergo lifelong surveillance of aortic graft stents to monitor for endoleak. Contrast-enhanced ultrasound can be an adjunct to CT angiography (CTA) which is the preferred imaging modality for surveillance.

Protection of the membrane permeability barrier by annexins.

Biological membranes are exposed to a number of chemical and physical stresses that may alter the structure of the lipid bilayer in such a way that the permeability barrier to hydrophilic molecules and ions is degraded. These stresses include amphiphilic molecules involved in metabolism and signaling, highly charged polyamines, membrane-permeating peptides, and mechanical and osmotic stresses. As annexins are known to bind to lipid headgroups in the presence of calcium and increase the order of the bilayer lipids, this study addressed whether this activity of annexins provides a potential benefit to the membrane by protecting the bilayer against disruptions of this nature or can promote restoration of the permeability barrier after damage by such agents.