The development of defect-free flint glass for use in telescopes and navigational instruments was a key technological challenge facing European chemists, natural philosophers, and artisans that emerged in the 1750s. In 1805, Pierre-Louis Guinand, a Swiss artisan, invented a fireclay stirrer used to stir molten flint glass to create a homogenous mixture relatively free of defects. In this paper, I show it was not Guinand, but French chemist Antoine Baumé, who first came up with the idea of using a fireclay stirrer.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFReconstruction of the medial patellofemoral ligament (MPFL) is a common procedure for treatment of recurrent patellofemoral instability. Over the last two decades, multiple surgical techniques for MPFL reconstruction have been described with no clear consensus on a superior reconstruction technique. Appropriate graft tensioning is one of the most important factors for a successful MPFL reconstruction.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHypothesis And Background: Although on-field performance metrics are useful in measuring overall success of ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) reconstruction (UCLR) in professional baseball pitchers, they may not comprehensively quantify athletic performance after returning to playing in the league. To utilize fantasy baseball score (FBS) as a novel and objective outcome to assess the quality of return to play in major league baseball (MLB) pitchers who went back to professional pitching after UCLR.
Methods: This is a retrospective observational cohort study of 216 established MLB pitchers who underwent UCLR while in the MLB between the years 1974 and 2018.
The development of cancer vaccines to induce tumor-antigen specific immune responses was sparked by the identification of antigens specific to or overexpressed in cancer cells. However, weak immunogenicity and the mutational heterogeneity in many cancers have dampened cancer vaccine successes. With increasing information about mutational landscapes of cancers, mutational neoantigens can be predicted computationally to elicit strong immune responses by CD8 +cytotoxic T cells as major mediators of anticancer immune response.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Access to primary care was hindered by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
Objective: Evaluate changes in health screening rates before and during the pandemic.
Design: Retrospective analysis of health maintenance and disease management screening rates among primary care patients before and during the pandemic.
Arthrosc Sports Med Rehabil
December 2021
Purpose: To assess whether reimbursement for orthopaedic sports procedures adequately compensates for operative time and surgical complexity.
Methods: The National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) database was queried for all orthopedic sports medicine procedures performed greater than 150 times from 2016 to 2018 with regard to operative time, preoperative risk factors, morbidity, and mortality data. Physician work relative value units (wRVU) data were obtained from the 2020 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) fee schedule.
Background: The physician work relative value unit (wRVU) scale is the primary determinant of compensation. Operative time, technical skill, effort, and surgical complexity contribute to wRVU allocation. The aim of this study was to identify the relationship between these factors and reimbursement for trauma procedures.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Depression causes significant morbidity, which impacts mental health, overall general health outcomes, everyday functioning and quality of life. This study aims to contribute to knowledge in the field through enhanced understanding of factors that influence depression response and remission, with consideration for design of treatment services to optimize depression outcomes within integrated care programs.
Methods: Using routine behavioral health screening and electronic health record data, we identified a retrospective cohort consisting of 615 adult patients receiving depression treatment within an integrated care program.
Background: Given the high rates at which patients present with behavioural health (BH) concerns in primary care (PC), this setting has become the de facto mental health system. As a result, screening for depression and other BH conditions in PC has become a critical target for improving patient outcomes. However, integration of screening into busy PC workflows can be challenging due to barriers such as limited time and resources.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn his only known historical sketch addressing the origin of the chemical atomic theory, John Dalton stated that different atoms have different sizes, a conclusion which led him to an investigation of combining number of atoms and relative weights. Although he stated the idea occurred to him in 1805, his laboratory notes show he developed the first table of atomic weights in 1803. Historians over the years have provided conflicting narratives to explain the different dates.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To assess whether weakly recognized epitope variants induce anergy in HIV-1-specific CD8 T lymphocyte (CTL) clones as a mechanism of dysfunction.
Design: HIV-1-specific CTL clones were exposed to suboptimally recognized epitope variants, and screened for anergy and other T-cell dysfunction markers, and subsequent capability to kill target cells bearing index epitope.
Methods: In addition to the optimally recognized index epitope, two suboptimally recognized epitope variants were selected based on titration curves for killing of peptide-labeled target cells by three HIV-1-specific CTL clones targeting the epitopes SLYNTVATL (Gag 77-85, A02-restricted), RPAEPVPLQL (Rev 66-75, B07-restricted), and KRWIIMGLNK (Gag 263-272, B27-restricted).
Introduction: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a common but largely preventable disease with suboptimal screening rates despite national guidelines to screen individuals age 50-75. Single-component interventions aimed to improve screening uptake only modestly improve rates; data suggest that multi-modal approaches may be more effective.
Methods: We designed, implemented, and evaluated the impact of a multi-modal intervention on CRC screening uptake among unscreened patients in a large managed care population.
Br J Hist Sci
December 2017
During the years 1814-1819, William Higgins, an Irish chemist who worked at the Dublin Society, claimed he had anticipated John Dalton in developing the atomic theory and insinuated that Dalton was a plagiarist. This essay focuses not on William Higgins, but on his uncle Bryan Higgins, a well-known chemist of his day, who had developed his own theories of caloric and chemical combination, similar in many respects to that of Dalton. New evidence is first introduced addressing Bryan's disappearance from the scientific community after 1803.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe MYC oncoprotein regulates transcription of a large fraction of the genome as an obligatory heterodimer with the transcription factor MAX. The MYC:MAX heterodimer and MAX:MAX homodimer (hereafter MYC/MAX) bind Enhancer box (E-box) DNA elements (CANNTG) and have the greatest affinity for the canonical MYC E-box (CME) CACGTG. However, MYC:MAX also recognizes E-box variants and was reported to bind DNA in a "non-specific" fashion in vitro and in vivo.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPatients with behavioral health disorders often have worse health outcomes and have higher health care utilization than patients with medical diseases alone. As such, people with behavioral health conditions are important populations for accountable care organizations (ACOs) seeking to improve the efficiency of their delivery systems. However, ACOs have historically faced numerous barriers in implementing behavioral health population-based programs, including acquiring reimbursement, recruiting providers, and integrating new services.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The incidence of patellar subluxation or dislocation has been documented up to 43/100,000 with females more prevalent then males. There are many contributing factors involving the hip, knee, and ankle that lead to patellar subluxation. A patellar position of lateral tilt with lateral glide may indicate weakness of the vastus medialis oblique (VMO) and adductors, increased tightness in the iliotibial band, and overpowering of the vastus lateralis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe posterior interosseous nerve (PIN) is at risk for injury during surgical dissection for distal biceps repair, yet the optimal position of elbow flexion to avoid a PIN injury has never been established for the 2-incision approach. The purpose of this study was to determine the proximity of the PIN to the radial tuberosity during surgical dissection in different degrees of elbow flexion. Ten cadaveric specimens with an intact elbow and forearm were dissected in full pronation using a modified Boyd-Anderson approach.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the time-zero biomechanical strength and the surface area of repair between a single-row modified Mason-Allen rotator cuff repair and a double-row arthroscopic repair.
Methods: Six matched pairs of sheep infraspinatus tendons were repaired by both techniques. Pressure-sensitive film was used to measure the surface area of repair for each configuration.
Anterior instability of the shoulder is classically treated with a capsulolabral repair, but in cases of capsular redundancy, shortening or shifting of the capsule is added. This study compared glenohumeral translations in intact shoulders after rotational stretching of the capsule and after progressive increasing of anterior-inferior capsular shifts. Seven cadaveric shoulders were mounted on a custom biomechanical testing apparatus.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: It has been speculated that a shift of the throwing arc commonly develops in athletes who perform overhead activities, resulting in greater external rotation and decreased internal rotation caused by anterior capsular laxity and posterior capsular contracture, respectively. Osseous adaptation in the form of increased humeral and glenoid retroversion may provide a protective function in the asymptomatic athlete but cannot explain the pathological changes seen in the shoulder of the throwing athlete. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to examine the biomechanical effects of capsular changes in a cadaveric model.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: With the increasing number of primary anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstructions, revisions are more frequent. The literature quotes inferior results for revision cases when compared with primary ACL reconstruction. The purpose of the study was to review our institution's experience with revision ACL reconstruction.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTwo novel cadaveric models of a thrower's shoulder were evaluated. Both models included the capsuloligamentous and osseous components of the glenohumeral joint. In model 1 the coracohumeral ligament was retained and the glenoid was positioned parallel to the ground whereas the humerus was positioned at 60 degrees of glenohumeral elevation in the scapular plane.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe records of 47 consecutive patients with metastatic pathologic fractures of the lower extremity were analyzed with respect to thromboembolic complications. All patients were unable to receive pharmacologic deep venous thrombosis prophylaxis, and were stratified into two groups, based on use of an inferior vena cava filter. Group I (n = 24) consisted of patients who had an inferior vena cava filter plus mechanical deep venous thrombosis prophylaxis (compression stockings and sequential compression boots); Group II (n = 23) consisted of a group of patients receiving only mechanical deep venous thrombosis prophylaxis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTwelve matched pairs of humerii were instrumented with suture anchor at 90 degrees, 75 degrees, 45 degrees, and 30 degrees relative to the cortical border at the junction of the greater tuberosity and articular surface. Two fixtures were inserted into each specimen at different angles and loaded to failure. Suture anchors failed at an average of 171, 219, 169, and 192 N with 90 degrees, 75 degrees, 45 degrees, and 30 degrees insertion angles, respectively.
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