Anatomical Variation of Abdominal Wall Musculature: An Objective Assessment Using Cross-Sectional Imaging.

To determine normal anatomical variation of abdominal wall musculature. A retrospective analysis of CT scans was performed on adults (>18 years) with normal abdominal wall muscles. Two radiologists analysed the images independently.

An active electronic, high-density epidural paddle array for chronic spinal cord neuromodulation.

Epidural electrical stimulation (EES) has shown promise as both a clinical therapy and research tool for studying nervous system function. However, available clinical EES paddles are limited to using a small number of contacts due to the burden of wires necessary to connect each contact to the therapeutic delivery device, limiting the treatment area or density of epidural electrode arrays. We aimed to eliminate this burden using advanced on-paddle electronics.

A Ventral Hernia Management Pathway; A "Getting It Right First Time" approach to Complex Abdominal Wall Reconstruction.

Introduction: Abdominal wall reconstruction (AWR) is an emerging specialty, involving complex multi-stage operations in patients with high medical and surgical risk. At our hospital, we have developed a growing interest in AWR, with a commitment to improving outcomes through a regular complex hernia MDT. An MDT approach to these patients is increasingly recognized as the path forward in management to optimize patients and improve outcomes.

X-Ray Visible Protein Scaffolds by Bulk Iodination.

Protein-based biomaterial use is expanding within medicine, together with the demand to visualize their placement and behavior in vivo. However, current medical imaging techniques struggle to differentiate between protein-based implants and surrounding tissue. Here a fast, simple, and translational solution for tracking transplanted protein-based scaffolds is presented using X-ray CT-facilitating long-term, non-invasive, and high-resolution imaging.

A Review of Functional Restoration From Spinal Cord Stimulation in Patients With Spinal Cord Injury.

Traumatic spinal cord injury often leads to loss of sensory, motor, and autonomic function below the level of injury. Recent advancements in spinal cord electrical stimulation (SCS) for spinal cord injury have provided potential avenues for restoration of neurologic function in affected patients. This review aims to assess the efficacy of spinal cord stimulation, both epidural (eSCS) and transcutaneous (tSCS), on the return of function in individuals with chronic spinal cord injury.

Fast inference of spinal neuromodulation for motor control using amortized neural networks.

Epidural electrical stimulation (EES) has emerged as an approach to restore motor function following spinal cord injury (SCI). However, identifying optimal EES parameters presents a significant challenge due to the complex and stochastic nature of muscle control and the combinatorial explosion of possible parameter configurations. Here, we describe a machine-learning approach that leverages modern deep neural networks to learn bidirectional mappings between the space of permissible EES parameters and target motor outputs.

Spatiotemporal Distribution of Electrically Evoked Spinal Compound Action Potentials During Spinal Cord Stimulation.

Objectives: Recent studies using epidural spinal cord stimulation (SCS) have demonstrated restoration of motor function in individuals previously diagnosed with chronic spinal cord injury (SCI). In parallel, the spinal evoked compound action potentials (ECAPs) induced by SCS have been used to gain insight into the mechanisms of SCS-based chronic pain therapy and to titrate closed-loop delivery of stimulation. However, the previous characterization of ECAPs recorded during SCS was performed with one-dimensional, cylindrical electrode leads.

Concurrent stimulation and sensing in bi-directional brain interfaces: a multi-site translational experience.

. To provide a design analysis and guidance framework for the implementation of concurrent stimulation and sensing during adaptive deep brain stimulation (aDBS) with particular emphasis on artifact mitigations..

Intraoperative Monitoring of Spinal Cord Perfusion using Ultrasound in an Ovine Model.

Ultrasound imaging can be used to visualize the spinal cord and assess localized cord perfusion. We present in vivo data in an ovine model undergoing spinal cord stimulation and propose development of transcutaneous US imaging as a potential non-invasive imaging modality in spinal cord injury.Clinical Relevance- Ultrasound imaging can be used to aid in prognosis and diagnosis by providing qualitative and quantitative characterization of the spinal cord.

Development of Fluoride Protective Values for Aquatic Life Using Empirical Bioavailability Models.

The derivation of protective values for aquatic life can be enhanced by the development and use of bioavailability models. Recent advances to metals bioavailability modeling are applicable to other analyte groups and should be widely considered. We conducted a meta-analysis of the available aquatic toxicity literature for fluoride to evaluate the utility of hardness, alkalinity, and chloride as toxicity-modifying factors (TMFs) in empirical bioavailability models of freshwater taxa.

Definitions for Loss of Domain: An International Delphi Consensus of Expert Surgeons.

Background: No standardized written or volumetric definition exists for 'loss of domain' (LOD). This limits the utility of LOD as a morphological descriptor and as a predictor of peri- and postoperative outcomes. Consequently, our aim was to establish definitions for LOD via consensus of expert abdominal wall surgeons.

Incisional Hernia in Renal Transplant Recipients: A Systematic Review.

Incisional hernia follows midline laparotomy in 8 to 20 per cent of cases, but the rate following lateral incision is not well documented. This systematic review summarizes incisional hernia rate after open renal transplant. We searched EMBASE, MEDLINE, and the Cochrane Library databases from January 2000 to November 2016 inclusive.

"It's ok if it's hidden": The discursive construction of everyday racism for refugees and asylum seekers in Wales.

Wales has a long history of migration; however, the introduction of dispersed asylum seekers in 2001 has led to Wales becoming a more superdiverse nation. Wales has often been positioned as a more "tolerant nation" than England; however, the increasingly superdiverse nature of Wales in a postdevolution era may now be calling this tolerance thesis into question. Models of refugee and asylum seeker integration suggest that the absence of racism plays a key role in integration.

A systematic methodological review of reported perioperative variables, postoperative outcomes and hernia recurrence from randomised controlled trials of elective ventral hernia repair: clear definitions and standardised datasets are needed.

Background: This systematic review assesses the perioperative variables and post-operative outcomes reported by randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of VH repair. This review focuses particularly on definitions of hernia recurrence and techniques used for detection.

Objective: Our aim is to identify and quantify the inconsistencies in perioperative variable and postoperative outcome reporting, so as to justify future development of clear definitions of hernia recurrence and a standardised dataset of such variables.

Nomenclature in Abdominal Wall Hernias: Is It Time for Consensus?

Abdominal wall reconstruction is a rapidly evolving area of surgical interest. Due to the increase in prevalence and size of ventral hernias and the high recurrence rates, the academic community has become motivated to find the best reconstruction techniques. Whilst interrogating the abdominal wall reconstruction literature, we discovered an inconsistency in hernia nomenclature that must be addressed.

Penta-fluoro-phenyl (3R,4R,5S)-5-{[(3R,4R,5S)-5-azido-methyl-3,4-dimeth-oxy-2,3,4,5-tetra-hydro-furan-3-carboxamido]-meth-yl}-3,4-dimeth-oxy-2,3,4,5-tetra-hydro-furan-3-carboxyl-ate.

The title compound, C(22)H(25)F(5)N(4)O(9), is a stable penta-fluoro-phenyl ester inter-mediate in the synthesis of novel homo-oligomeric structures containing branched carbon chains. The structure is epimeric to the previously characterized dimeric penta-fluoro-phenyl ester with stereochemistry (3R,4R,5R), which was synthesized using d-ribose as starting material. The crystal structure of the title mol-ecule removes any ambiguities arising from the relative stereochemistries of the six chiral centres.

Cytosolic aconitase and ferritin are regulated by iron in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Iron regulatory protein-1 (IRP-1) is a cytosolic RNA-binding protein that is a regulator of iron homeostasis in mammalian cells. IRP-1 binds to RNA structures, known as iron-responsive elements, located in the untranslated regions of specific mRNAs, and it regulates the translation or stability of these mRNAs. Iron regulates IRP-1 activity by converting it from an RNA-binding apoprotein into a [4Fe-4S] cluster protein exhibiting aconitase activity.