Parametrization of the Calcaneus and Medial Cuneiform to Aid Potential Advancements in Flatfoot Surgery.

Introduction: Flatfoot is a condition commonly seen in children; however, there is general disagreement over its incidence, characterization and correction. Painful flatfoot accompanied with musculoskeletal and soft tissue problems requires surgery to avoid arthritis in adulthood, the most common surgical approach being two osteotomies to the calcaneus and medial cuneiform bones of the foot.

Objectives: This study focuses on the parametrization of these two bones to understand their bone morphology differences in a population sample among 23 normal subjects.

Design and Usability of an Avatar-Based Learning Program to Support Diabetes Education: Quality Improvement Study in Colombia.

Background: This quality improvement study, entitled Avatar-Based LEarning for Diabetes Optimal Control (ABLEDOC), explored the feasibility of delivering an educational program to people with diabetes in Colombia. The aim was to discover how this approach could be used to improve awareness and understanding of the condition, the effects of treatment, and strategies for effective management of blood-glucose control.

Methods: Individuals with diabetes were recruited by Colombian endocrinologists to a human-centered study to codesign the educational program, using the Double Diamond model.

Tumour Seeding Following Core Biopsy of a Mucoepidermoid Carcinoma of the Parotid: Radiological Evidence and a Surgical Approach to En-Bloc Dissection of the Mass and Tract.

Tumour seeding along the needle tract following core needle biopsy of the parotid is a recognised complication. We present a unique case of mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the parotid in an 18-year-old patient with associated tumour seeding within the core needle biopsy tract. Tumour seeding was confirmed both histologically and radiologically on magnetic resonance imaging as early as 35 days post-biopsy.

Salvage intratympanic steroid therapy for sudden sensorineural hearing loss: our real-life experience in 32 patients.

Objective: To examine the role of salvage intratympanic steroid injections in patients presenting with idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss following a poor response to initial oral steroid treatment.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of patient records over the course of four years was conducted, and pure tone thresholds were reviewed before treatment, after oral steroid therapy and six weeks after intratympanic steroid injection therapy.

Results: After oral steroid therapy alone, there was a mean average threshold change of 6.

Submucosal Intraglossal Fish Bone Extraction: A Case for the Multidisciplinary Team.

Most impacted fish bones in the aerodigestive tract are easily removed or managed in the emergency department. Occasionally, they present as a diagnostic and surgical challenge. We present a case of a submucosal intraglossal fish bone extraction in a 38-year-old male who presented with localized pain in his tongue.

Laryngeal varices: an atypical cause of globus.

Laryngeal varices are rare and are usually associated with vocal cord trauma secondary to excessive use of voice. This report is the first documented case of laryngeal varices secondary to thyroid goitre. This is a report of an 83-year-old woman with a known retrosternal goitre chiefly with symptoms of globus.

An Unusual Case of Ludwig's Angina Following Mandibular Fracture.

The mandible is the most commonly fractured bone in the maxillofacial region following trauma. Severe infections are rare, and so we highlight an unusual presentation of Ludwig's angina following a late presentation of a mandibular fracture in a 68-year-old gentleman with significant medical co-morbidities. The recovery process was prolonged and involved multi-disciplinary input.

Assessing the quality of footwear marks recovered from simulated graves.

Footwear marks are one of the most frequently encountered evidence types recovered from a crime scene and can provide valuable scene intelligence regarding potential suspects. It has been acknowledged that impressions of footwear and tools can be recovered from graves, but previous studies have only focused on tool mark recovery. This has led to a lack of published information regarding footwear mark recovery from graves.

Collapse dynamics of spherical cavities in a solid under shock loading.

Extraordinary states of highly localised pressure and temperature can be generated upon the collapse of impulsively driven cavities. Direct observation of this phenomenon in solids has proved challenging, but recent advances in high-speed synchrotron radiography now permit the study of highly transient, subsurface events in real time. We present a study on the shock-induced collapse of spherical cavities in a solid polymethyl methacrylate medium, driven to shock states between 0.

The burden of gunshot wounding of UK military personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan from 2003-14.

Introduction: Gunshot wounding (GSW) is the second most common mechanism of injury in warfare after explosive injury. The aim of this study was to define the clinical burden of GSW placed on UK forces throughout the recent Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts.

Methods: This study was a retrospective review of data from the UK Military Joint Theatre Trauma Registry (JTTR).

NOMAD spectrometer on the ExoMars trace gas orbiter mission: part 2-design, manufacturing, and testing of the ultraviolet and visible channel.

NOMAD is a spectrometer suite on board the ESA/Roscosmos ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, which launched in March 2016. NOMAD consists of two infrared channels and one ultraviolet and visible channel, allowing the instrument to perform observations quasi-constantly, by taking nadir measurements at the day- and night-side, and during solar occultations. Here, in part 2 of a linked study, we describe the design, manufacturing, and testing of the ultraviolet and visible spectrometer channel called UVIS.

Defining Multiple Characteristic Raman Bands of α-Amino Acids as Biomarkers for Planetary Missions Using a Statistical Method.

Biomarker molecules, such as amino acids, are key to discovering whether life exists elsewhere in the Solar System. Raman spectroscopy, a technique capable of detecting biomarkers, will be on board future planetary missions including the ExoMars rover. Generally, the position of the strongest band in the spectra of amino acids is reported as the identifying band.

A potential new diagnostic tool to aid DNA analysis from heat compromised bone using colorimetry: A preliminary study.

Extracting viable DNA from many forensic sample types can be very challenging, as environmental conditions may be far from optimal with regard to DNA preservation. Consequently, skeletal tissue can often be an invaluable source of DNA. The bone matrix provides a hardened material that encapsulates DNA, acting as a barrier to environmental insults that would otherwise be detrimental to its integrity.

Factors influencing doctors' ability to calculate drug doses correctly.

Doctors and medical students are more likely to make errors in drug dose calculations when the strengths of drug solutions are expressed as ratios or percentages. We have already described how a doctor's specialty influences their drug dose calculation skills, having surveyed almost 3000 doctors in an online survey. Better teaching of drug administration skills or reinforcement of existing skills would appear to be needed.

An unusual case of post operative nausea, vomiting and neck pain.

A case is described of subarachnoid haemorrhage caused by vertebral artery dissection following general anaesthesia for laparoscopic cholecystectomy. It is postulated that the dissection may have been a result of neck manipulation during intubation or other movements whilst paralysed, or alternatively, due to intra-operative blood pressure changes occurring in a patient with a predisposition to arterial disruption. The case highlights the important symptom of neck pain in a patient with an intracranial catastrophe.

A soft solid surface on Titan as revealed by the Huygens Surface Science Package.

The surface of Saturn's largest satellite--Titan--is largely obscured by an optically thick atmospheric haze, and so its nature has been the subject of considerable speculation and discussion. The Huygens probe entered Titan's atmosphere on 14 January 2005 and descended to the surface using a parachute system. Here we report measurements made just above and on the surface of Titan by the Huygens Surface Science Package.

The effect of knife handle shape on stabbing performance.

A quantitative knowledge of stabbing ability is a pre-requisite to establishing protection standards for stab resistant body armour. In order to determine the validity of measurements it is necessary to understand all the mechanisms that determine performance. This paper describes a series of tests that were performed in order to determine the effect of handle size and shape on the forces and impact energy that could be produced during stabbing of an armoured target.

Doctors' confusion over ratios and percentages in drug solutions: the case for standard labelling.

The different ways of expressing concentrations of drugs in solution, as ratios or percentages or mass per unit volume, are a potential cause of confusion that may contribute to dose errors. To assess doctors' understanding of what they signify, all active subscribers to doctors.net.

Compartmentalisation of cytokines and cytokine inhibitors in ventilator-associated pneumonia.

Objective: To examine whether cytokine concentrations change in the pulmonary compartment during the development of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP).

Design: Non-directed bronchial lavage (NBL) was performed every 48 h in critically ill mechanically ventilated patients. Serial measurements of the cytokines tumor necrosis factor (TNF) alpha, interleukin (IL)-1alpha, IL-1beta, IL-6, and IL-10 and the cytokine inhibitors soluble TNFalpha receptor type I (sTNFalphaRI), IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra) and soluble IL-1 receptor II (sIL-1RII) were performed on the NBL fluid and matching plasma samples by ELISA.