Spinal Muscular Atrophy Scoliosis in the Era of Background Therapies-A Review of the Literature.

Spinal deformities are considered an important complication of neuromuscular disorders such as spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). SMA patients typically develop progressive early-onset scoliosis, which is associated with increased functional decline, discomfort, and respiratory dysfunction. Over the second decade of the twenty-first century, a lot has changed in terms of the therapeutic options available to people with SMA.

Placement of ilio-sacral screws in fusionless technique for pediatric neuromuscular scoliosis utilizing planning software, in conjunction with intraoperative navigation, results in a safer optimal screw: a CT-based study.

Purpose: The insertion of ilio-sacral (IS) screws for distal anchoring in the instrumentation of pediatric neuromuscular scoliosis (NS) presents a significant challenge, often leading to elevated rates of complications. Utilizing computed tomography (CT) navigation and preoperative planning technology is proposed as a potential solution to mitigate these challenges. This study aims to assess the precision of IS screw placement through CT-graphic measurements, both with and without preoperative planning, followed by navigated IS screw insertion, in pediatric neuromuscular scoliosis.

VisCARS: Knowledge Graph-based Context-Aware Recommender System for Time-Series Data Visualization and Monitoring Dashboards.

Data visualization recommendation aims to assist the user in creating visualizations from a given dataset. The process of creating appropriate visualizations requires expert knowledge of the available data model as well as the dashboard application that is used. To relieve the user from requiring this knowledge and from the manual process of creating numerous visualizations or dashboards, we present a context-aware visualization recommender system (VisCARS) for monitoring applications that automatically recommends a personalized dashboard to the user, based on the system they are monitoring and the task they are trying to achieve.

Three- instead of two-dimensional evaluation of key parameters alters the choice of the lowest instrumented vertebra in Lenke 1 and 2 AIS patients.

Purpose: Treatment of AIS, a three-dimensional spinal (3D) deformity, is guided by a two-dimensional (2D) evaluation. Novel 3D approaches that address the 2D limitations have not been adopted in AIS care due to their lengthy and complex 3D reconstruction procedures. This study aims to introduce a simple 3D method that translates the 2D key parameters (Stable vertebra (SV), Lenke lumbar modifier, Neutral vertebra (NV)) into 3D and to quantitively compare these 3D corrected parameters to the 2D assessment.

Monitoring the initial recovery after fusion surgery using activity trackers in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis: going in the lumbar spine decreases the daily step count.

Purpose: Although the functional outcome (e.g. the return to daily activities) plays an important role in the evaluation of treatment success for the paediatric patient, clinicians currently cannot make accurate and objective predictions regarding the very early (≤ 6 weeks) functional outcome and its recovery over time.

Hypertension alters the function and expression profile of the peptide cotransporters PEPT1 and PEPT2 in the rodent renal proximal tubule.

Hypertension is a major risk factor for kidney and cardiovascular disease. The treatment of hypertensive individuals by selected ACE inhibitors and certain di-and tripeptides halts the progression of renal deterioration and extends life-span. Renal reabsorption of these low molecular weight substrates are mediated by the PEPT1 and PEPT2 cotransporters.

A Semi-Supervised Approach with Monotonic Constraints for Improved Remaining Useful Life Estimation.

Remaining useful life is of great value in the industry and is a key component of Prognostics and Health Management (PHM) in the context of the Predictive Maintenance (PdM) strategy. Accurate estimation of the remaining useful life (RUL) is helpful for optimizing maintenance schedules, obtaining insights into the component degradation, and avoiding unexpected breakdowns. This paper presents a methodology for creating health index models with monotonicity in a semi-supervised approach.

A preliminary study of the localization of infectious laryngotracheitis virus glycoprotein E within specific peripheral blood lymphocytes.

Infectious laryngotracheitis virus (ILTV) DNA has been detected in blood fractions, but the cell phenotype with which the virus is associated is unknown. This study investigated the presence of ILTV antigen in peripheral blood cells of six acutely ILTV-infected chickens (5 or 9 days post ocular inoculation with a virulent isolate) and three sham-inoculated chickens using immunofluorescent staining. Blood fractions were separated by Ficoll-Paque density gradient centrifugation, and smears were prepared from erythrocyte and leukocyte fractions.

Complication rate after scoliosis surgery in children with cerebral palsy.

Scoliosis is an important problem in children with cerebral palsy (CP). However, the choice for a spinal fusion has to be weighed against the risks of major surgery in this vulnerable population. Paediatricians are frequently consulted preoperatively to assess the (respiratory) risk involved, but data on this question specific for CP are rare.

Risk and Resilience Predictors of Recovery After Spinal Fusion Surgery in Adolescents.

Objective: This prospective study examined risk and resilience predictors of pain and functional recovery in the first 6 months after spinal fusion surgery in adolescents.

Methods: Adolescents with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis undergoing spinal fusion surgery (n=100, aged 12 to 18 y, 77% girls) completed assessments before surgery and at 3 weeks, 6 weeks, and 6 months after surgery. Recovery trajectories in pain, health-related quality of life (HRQOL), and objectively registered physical activity were identified.

Evaluation of autofluorescence quenching techniques on formalin- fixed chicken tissues.

Autofluorescence (AF) in formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tissues limit their use in immunofluorescence staining techniques. Various methods have been used to reduce AF in human and animal tissues but no protocol has been optimized for avian tissues. The present study was undertaken to evaluate different treatment methods including ammonium chloride, glycine, Trypan blue, sodium borohydride, Sudan Black B, potassium permanganate, LED light, cupric sulphate combined with glycine, ammonium chloride and cupric sulphate in reducing AF in FFPE chicken tissues for the detection of FITC labelled antibodies against immune cell markers.

Intra operative assessment of the coronal balance in spinal deformity surgery : a technical note and retrospective study.

Obtaining a spine that is well balanced after fusion for scoliotic deformity is primordial for the patients' quality of life. A simple T-shaped instrument combined with standard intraoperative fluoroscopy can be of great help to evaluate the coronal alignment quickly. The aim of this study was to evaluate if a T-shaped device could predict the postoperative coronal balance.

Effect of methionine feeding on oxidative stress, intracellular calcium and contractility in cardiomyocytes isolated from male and female rats.

Homocysteine (Hcy) is a breakdown product of methionine metabolism. The risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) correlates with an increase in plasma Hcy levels. The aim of this study was to investigate whether 1% methionine supplementation of adult rats altered intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, intracellular Ca content, and contractile activity in freshly isolated cardiomyocytes.

The prevalence of scoliosis within Belgian myelomeningocele population and the correlation with ambulatory status and neurological comorbidities: a chart audit.

Study Design: Retrospective chart audit.

Objectives: Firstly determining the prevalence of scoliosis in myelomeningocele (MMC) patients of the University Hospitals Leuven. Secondly analyzing whether there are differences concerning distribution of radiological level, ambulatory status, hydrocephalus, tethered cord, and syringomyelia in MMC patients with/without scoliosis.

Effect of ageing and hypertension on the expression and activity of PEPT2 in normal and hypertrophic hearts.

Some dipeptides have been implicated in myocardial protection, but little is known about their membrane transporter PEPT2. The aim of this study was to determine whether the expression and activity of the cardiac-type PEPT2 cotransporter could be affected by ageing and/or hypertension. Sarcolemmal vesicles (SV) were isolated from the hearts of all rat groups using a standard procedure to investigate the transport activity and protein abundance by fluorescence spectroscopy and Western blot, respectively.

Scalable Fleet Monitoring and Visualization for Smart Machine Maintenance and Industrial IoT Applications.

The wide adoption of smart machine maintenance in manufacturing is blocked by open challenges in the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) with regard to robustness, scalability and security. Solving these challenges is of uttermost importance to mission-critical industrial operations. Furthermore, effective application of predictive maintenance requires well-trained machine learning algorithms which on their turn require high volumes of reliable data.

Profilin: many facets of a small protein.

Profilin is a ubiquitously expressed protein well known as a key regulator of actin polymerisation. The actin cytoskeleton is involved in almost all cellular processes including motility, endocytosis, metabolism, signal transduction and gene transcription. Hence, profilin's role in the cell goes beyond its direct and essential function in regulating actin dynamics.

A Dynamic Dashboarding Application for Fleet Monitoring Using Semantic Web of Things Technologies.

In industry, dashboards are often used to monitor fleets of assets, such as trains, machines or buildings. In such industrial fleets, the vast amount of sensors evolves continuously, new sensor data exchange protocols and data formats are introduced, new visualization types may need to be introduced and existing dashboard visualizations may need to be updated in terms of displayed sensors. These requirements motivate the development of dynamic dashboarding applications.

The Transverse Gravitational Deviation Index, a Novel Gravity Line-Related Spinal Parameter, Relates to Balance Control and Health-Related Quality of Life in Adults With Spinal Deformity.

Study Design: Prospective cross-sectional case-control study design.

Objective: This study aims to analyze the relation between balance control as well as health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in patients with adult spinal deformity (ASD), with a novel gravity line (GL)-related 3D spinal alignment parameter, the transverse gravitational deviation index (TGDI), defined to quantify the transverse plane position of any vertebra with respect to the GL.

Summary Of Background Data: Demographic data and balance control have both been identified as important determinants of HRQOL in ASD patients during a preoperative setting.

Degenerative changes of the hip following fixation for slipped capital femoral epiphysis: a minimum 18-year follow-up study.

Introduction: fixation (ISF) is currently still the 'gold standard' treatment for slipped capital femoral epiphysis (SCFE) and has shown acceptable results at mid-term follow-up. This study aims to evaluate functional, clinical and radiographic long-term outcomes after this procedure.

Methods: We reviewed 64 SCFE patients (76 SCFE hips) treated with ISF between 1983 and 1998.

Cofilin and profilin: partners in cancer aggressiveness.

This review covers aspects of cofilin and profilin regulations and their influence on actin polymerisation responsible for cell motility and metastasis. The regulation of their activity by phosphorylation and nitration, miRs, PI(4,5)P binding, pH, oxidative stress and post-translational modification is described. In this review, we have highlighted selected similarities, complementarities and differences between the two proteins and how their interplay affects actin filament dynamics.

Molecular changes to the rat renal cotransporters PEPT1 and PEPT2 due to ageing.

Renal PEPT1 and PEPT2 cotransporters play an important role in the balance of circulating body oligopeptides and selected peptidomimetic drugs. We aim to comprehensively characterise age-related changes of the renal PEPT cotransporters at the gene, protein, and functional level. Brush border membrane vesicles (BBMV) and outer medulla membrane vesicles (OMMV) were isolated from the kidneys of young, middle-aged and old rats.

The Prevalence of Scoliosis in Spina Bifida Subpopulations: A Systematic Review.

Prevalence of scoliosis within spina bifida subpopulations is important for diagnostics and therapeutic purposes. This review determined the prevalence of scoliosis within spina bifida subpopulations by means of a systematic literature review by using the following databases: Medline PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, and Pedro. All Dutch- and English-written literature using the MESH terms "spinal dysraphism," "neural tube defects," and "scoliosis" was analyzed using the exclusion criteria: animal studies, case reports, studies regarding the prevalence of spina bifida among patients with scoliosis, studies with inclusion of patients with scoliosis of less than 11 degrees without possibility to identify subgroups with scoliosis of greater than 10 degrees, studies without an own study group, articles comprising the same patient group as another article, neural tube defects besides spina bifida, and articles without specification of spina bifida subtype.

1D Self-Assembly and Ice Recrystallization Inhibition Activity of Antifreeze Glycopeptide-Functionalized Perylene Bisimides.

Antifreeze glycoproteins (AFGPs) are polymeric natural products that have drawn considerable interest in diverse research fields owing to their potent ice recrystallization inhibition (IRI) activity. Self-assembled materials have emerged as a promising class of biomimetic ice growth inhibitor, yet the development of AFGP-based supramolecular materials that emulate the aggregative behavior of AFGPs have not yet been reported. This work reports the first example of the 1D self-assembly and IRI activity of AFGP-functionalized perylene bisimides (AFGP-PBIs).