Machine Learning Identifies Chronic Low Back Pain Patients from an Instrumented Trunk Bending and Return Test.

Nowadays, the better assessment of low back pain (LBP) is an important challenge, as it is the leading musculoskeletal condition worldwide in terms of years of disability. The objective of this study was to evaluate the relevance of various machine learning (ML) algorithms and Sample Entropy (SampEn), which assesses the complexity of motion variability in identifying the condition of low back pain. Twenty chronic low-back pain (CLBP) patients and 20 healthy non-LBP participants performed 1-min repetitive bending (flexion) and return (extension) trunk movements.

Sample Entropy as a Tool to Assess Lumbo-Pelvic Movements in a Clinical Test for Low-Back-Pain Patients.

Low back pain (LBP) obviously reduces the quality of life but is also the world's leading cause of years lived with disability. Alterations in motor response and changes in movement patterns are expected in LBP patients when compared to healthy people. Such changes in dynamics may be assessed by the nonlinear analysis of kinematical time series recorded from one patient's motion.

Three-Dimensional Spinal Position With and Without Manual Distraction Load Increases Spinal Height.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate if spinal height increases using 3-dimensional (3-D) spinal position with and without manual distraction load and to assess the correlation between spine height changes and degrees of trunk rotation.

Methods: Fifty-six participants were randomly placed in one of two groups: (1) 3-D spinal position with manual distraction load, and (2) without manual distraction load. Spinal height was measured before and after the interventions using a stadiometer.

Short-term increase in discs' apparent diffusion is associated with pain and mobility improvements after spinal mobilization for low back pain.

Pain perception, trunk mobility and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) within all lumbar intervertebral discs (IVDs) were collected before and shortly after posterior-to-anterior (PA) mobilizations in 16 adults with acute low back pain. Using a pragmatic approach, a trained orthopaedic manual physical therapist applied PA mobilizations to the participants' spine, in accordance with his examination findings. ADC was computed from diffusion maps as the mean of anterior (ADC ), middle (ADC ), and posterior (ADC ) portions of the IVD.

Plasma functionalization of AFM tips for measurement of chemical interactions.

In this paper, a new, fast, reproducible technique for atomic force microscopy (AFM) tips functionalization used for chemical interaction measurements is described. Precisely, the deposition of an aminated precursor is performed through plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) in order to create amine functional groups on the AFM tip and cantilever. The advantages of the precursor, aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES), were recently demonstrated for amine layer formation through PECVD deposition on polymeric surfaces.

Orientational analysis of dodecanethiol and p-nitrothiophenol SAMs on metals with polarisation-dependent SFG spectroscopy.

Polarisation-dependent sum frequency generation (SFG) spectroscopy is used to investigate the orientation of molecules on metallic surfaces. In particular, self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of dodecanethiol (DDT) and of p-nitrothiophenol (p-NTP), grown on Pt and on Au, have been chosen as models to highlight the ability of combining ppp and ssp polarisations sets (representing the polarisation of the involved beams in the conventional order of SFG, Vis and IR beam) to infer orientational information at metallic interfaces. Indeed, using only the ppp set of data, as it is usually done for metallic surfaces, is not sufficient to determine the full molecular orientation.

Theoretical simulation of vibrational sum-frequency generation spectra from density functional theory: application to p-nitrothiophenol and 2,4-dinitroaniline.

The molecular orientation of adsorbed molecules forming self-assembled monolayers can be determined by combining vibrational sum-frequency generation (SFG) measurements with quantum chemical calculations. Herein, we present a theoretical methodology used to simulate the SFG spectra for different combinations of polarizations. These simulations are based on calculations of the IR vectors and Raman tensors, which are obtained from density functional theory computations.

Another patient with a de novo deletion further delineates the 2q33.1 microdeletion syndrome.

A male patient, who had intra-uterine growth retardation, a low birth weight and hypotonia due to a chromosome 2q33.1 deletion, is described. At the age of 20 years, he displays short stature, microcephaly, a high forehead, microstomia, large teeth and is hypertonic.

Adsorption properties of the penicillin derivative DTPA on gold substrates.

Despite the large number of articles and patents dealing with penicillin and other beta-lactam antibiotics, there have been no reports about the self-assembly of such substances as monolayers on gold surfaces. The main reason stems from the high reactivity of the beta-lactam ring, which hinders the development of molecules possessing this entity together with a metal-anchoring function. Herein, we present the synthesis of a novel molecule, 6-[(R,S)-5-(1,2-dithiolan-3-yl)pentanoyl-amino]-penicillanic acid, which combines the beta-lactam ring and a metal-anchoring group.

Sum-frequency generation spectroscopy of DNA monolayers.

The anchoring of thiolated single-stranded DNA (HS-ssDNA) monolayers onto platinum substrates was investigated by sum-frequency generation spectroscopy. Different buffer solutions were used for the preparation of the adlayers. Vibrational fingerprints in the 2700-3100 cm(-1) spectral range showed the intercalation of Tris/EDTA (TE) buffer molecules within the HS-ssDNA self-assembled monolayer.

Follow-up of adult males with chromosome 18p deletion.

The 18p- syndrome has been known for over 40 years, the first report being by de Grouchy et al. [Comptes Rendus Hebdomadaires Séances l'Acad Sci 256 (1963) 1028]. Mental retardation of varying severity is the most constant feature.

Use of specific functionalised tips with STM: a new identification method of ester groups and their molecular structure in self-assembled overlayers.

The influence of chemical modification of scanning tunnelling microscopy tips on image contrast is studied. This technique is applied to the identification of an ester functional group, hardly visible otherwise. Self-assembled overlayers of wax esters [CH3-(CH2)14-CO-O-(CH2)15-CH3], adsorbed at the interface between highly oriented pyrolitic graphite and a solution of phenyloctane, are imaged.

Probing ligand-protein recognition with sum-frequency generation spectroscopy: the avidin-biocytin case.

Infrared/visible sum-frequency generation (SFG) spectroscopy is used to study the recognition of a protein (avidin) by a derived vitamin (biocytin) adsorbed on a calcium fluoride substrate. The specificity of the process is tested by replacing avidin with bovine serum albumin or presaturated avidin. The SFG spectroscopy shows drastic modifications in the CH and NH spectral ranges only upon exposure of the biocytin film to avidin.

Severe myoclonic epilepsy in infancy: toward an optimal treatment.

Severe myoclonic epilepsy in infancy, or Dravet syndrome, is one of the catastrophic epilepsy syndromes. In the past, treatment was mainly based on valproate and phenobarbital. Recently, some of the new antiepilepsy drugs, such as topiramate and stiripentol, have been shown to be promising in the treatment of this epilepsy syndrome.

Picosecond laser for performance of efficient nonlinear spectroscopy from 10 to 21 microm.

Laser tunability from 10 to 21 microm is obtained by use of an optical parametric oscillator based on a KTP crystal followed by a difference-frequency stage with a CdSe crystal. An all-solid-state picosecond Nd:YAG oscillator mode locked by a frequency-doubling nonlinear mirror is used for synchronous pumping.

De novo SCN1A mutations are a major cause of severe myoclonic epilepsy of infancy.

Severe myoclonic epilepsy of infancy (SMEI or Dravet syndrome) is a rare disorder occurring in young children often without a family history of a similar disorder. The earliest disease manifestations are usually fever-associated seizures. Later in life, patients display different types of afebrile seizures including myoclonic seizures.