Turning placenta into brain: placental mesenchymal stem cells differentiate into neurons and oligodendrocytes

We aimed to induce neural stem (NSC) and progenitor cells (NPC) from human placental tissues.

Changes in volumetric BMD of radius and tibia upon antidepressant drug administration in young depressive patients

To determine longitudinal changes in trabecular volumetric BMD (vBMD) at tibia and radius in young depressive patients under antidepressants using pQCT.

Comparison of different radiography systems in an experimental study for detection of forearm fractures and evaluation of the Müller-AO and Frykman classification for distal radius fractures

OBJECTIVES: We sought to compare the diagnostic performance of screen-film radiography, storage-phosphor radiography, and a flat-panel detector system in detecting forearm fractures and to classify distal radius fractures according to the Müller-AO and Frykman classifications compared with the true extent, depicted by anatomic preparation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 71 cadaver arms were fractured in a material testing machine creating different fractures of the radius and ulna as well as of the carpal bones. Radiographs of the complete forearm were evaluated by 3 radiologists, and anatomic preparation was used as standard of reference in a receiver operating curve analysis. RESULTS: The highest diagnostic performance was obtained for the detection of distal radius fractures with area under the receiver operating curve (AUC) values of 0.959 for screen-film radiography, 0.966 for storage-phosphor radiography, and 0.971 for the flat-panel detector system (P > 0.05). Exact classification was slightly better for the Frykman (kappa values of 0.457-0.478) compared with the Müller-AO classification (kappa values of 0.404-0.447), but agreement can be considered as moderate for both classifications. CONCLUSIONS: The 3 imaging systems showed a comparable diagnostic performance in detecting forearm fractures. A high diagnostic performance was demonstrated for distal radius fractures and conventional radiography can be routinely performed for fracture detection. However, compared with anatomic preparation, depiction of the true extent of distal radius fractures was limited and the severity of distal radius fractures tends to be underestimated.

Distal radius attachments of the radiocarpal ligaments: an anatomical study

Background Understanding the anatomy of the ligaments of the distal radius aids in the surgical repair of ligamentous injuries and the prediction of intraarticular fracture patterns. Purposes (1) to measure the horizontal and vertical distances of the origins of the radiocarpal ligaments from the most ulnar corner of the sigmoid notch and the joint line, respectively; and (2) to express them as a percentile of the total width of the bony distal radius. Methods We dissected 8 cadaveric specimens and identified the dorsal radiocarpal, radioscaphocapitate, and the long and short radiolunate ligaments. Results The dorsal radiocarpal ligament attached from the 16th to the 52nd percentile of the radial width. The radioscaphocapitate ligament attached around the radial styloid from the 86th percentile volarly to the 87th percentile dorsally. The long radiolunate ligament attached from the 59th to the 85th percentile, and the short radiolunate ligament attached from the 14th to the 41st percentile. Discussion There was a positive correlation between the radial width and the horizontal distance of the ligaments from the sigmoid notch. These findings may aid individualized surgical repair or reconstruction adjusted to patient size and enable further standardized research on distal radial fractures and their relationship with radiocarpal ligaments.

Climatic drivers of hourly to yearly tree radius variations along a 6°C natural warming gradient

Climate affects the timing, rate and dynamics of tree growth, over time scales ranging from seconds to centuries. Monitoring how a tree's stem radius varies over these time scales can provide insight into intra-annual stem dynamics and improve our understanding of climate impacts on tree physiology and growth processes. Here, we quantify the response of radial conifer stem size to environmental fluctuations via a novel assessment of tree circadian cycles. We analyze four years of sub-hourly data collected from 56 larch and spruce trees growing along a natural temperature gradient of ∼6 °C in the central Swiss Alps. During the growing season, tree stem diameters were greatest at mid-morning and smallest in the late evening, reflecting the daily cycle of water uptake and loss. Along the gradient, amplitudes calculated from the stem radius cycle were ∼50% smaller at the upper site (∼2200 m a.s.l.) relative to the lower site (∼800 m a.s.l.). We show changes in precipitation, temperature and cloud cover have a substantial effect on typical growing season diurnal cycles; amplitudes were nine times smaller on rainy days (>10 mm), and daily amplitudes are approximately 40% larger when the mean daily temperature is 15–20 °C than when it is 5–10 °C. We find that over the growing season in the sub-alpine forests, spruce show greater daily stem water movement than larch. However, under projected future warming, larch could experience up to 50% greater stem water use, which may severely affect future growth on already dry sites. Our data further indicate that because of the confounding influences of radial growth and short-term water dynamics on stem size, conventional methodology probably overstates the effect of water-linked meteorological variables (i.e. precipitation and relative humidity) on intra-annual tree growth. We suggest future studies use intra-seasonal measurements of cell development and consider whether climatic factors produce reversible changes in stem diameter. These study design elements may help researchers more accurately quantify and attribute changes in forest productivity in response to future warming.

Measurement of the jet radius and transverse momentum dependence of inclusive jet suppression in lead-lead collisions at sqrtsNN=2.76 TeV with the AT detector

Measurements of inclusive jet suppression in heavy ion collisions at the LHC provide direct sensitivity to the physics of jet quenching. In a sample of lead-lead collisions at root S-NN = 2.76 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of approximately 7 mu b(-1), ATLAS has measured jets with a calorimeter system over the pseudorapidity interval vertical bar eta vertical bar < 2.1 and over the transverse momentum range 38 < pT <210 GeV. Jets were reconstructed using the anti-k(t) algorithm with values for the distance parameter that determines the nominal jet radius of R = 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5. The centrality dependence of the jet yield is characterized by the jet "central-to-peripheral ratio," R-CP. Jet production is found to be suppressed by approximately a factor of two in the 10% most central collisions relative to peripheral collisions. R-CP varies smoothly with centrality as characterized by the number of participating nucleons. The observed suppression is only weakly dependent on jet radius and transverse momentum. These results provide the first direct measurement of inclusive jet suppression in heavy ion collisions and complement previous measurements of dijet transverse energy imbalance at the LHC.

Turning univalent stimuli bivalent: Synesthesia can cause cognitive conflict in task switching

In this study we investigated whether synesthetic color experiences have similar effects as real colors in cognitive conflict adaptation. We tested 24 synesthetes and two yoke-matched control groups in a task-switching experiment that involved regular switches between three simple decision tasks (a color decision, a form decision, and a size decision). In most of the trials the stimuli were univalent, that is, specific for each task. However, occasionally, black graphemes were presented for the size decisions and we tested whether they would trigger synesthetic color experiences and thus, turn them into bivalent stimuli. The results confirmed this expectation. We were also interested in their effect for subsequent performance (i.e., the bivalency effect). The results showed that for synesthetic colors the bivalency effect was not as pronounced as for real colors. The latter result may be related to differences between synesthetes and controls in coping with color conflict.

Reference values for digital X-ray radiogrammetry parameters in children and adolescents in comparison to estimates in patients with distal radius fractures.

The first objective of this study was to determine normative digital X-ray radiogrammetry (DXR) values, based on original digital images, in a pediatric population (aged 6-18 years). The second aim was to compare these reference data with patients suffering from distal radius fractures, whereas both cohorts originated from the same geographical region and were evaluated using the same technical parameters as well as inclusion and exclusion criteria. DXR-BMD and DXR-MCI of the metacarpal bones II-IV were assessed on standardized digital hand radiographs, without printing or scanning procedures. DXR parameters were estimated separately by gender and among six age groups; values in the fracture group were compared to age- and gender-matched normative data using Student's t tests and Z scores. In the reference cohort (150 boys, 138 girls), gender differences were found in bone mineral density (DXR-BMD), with higher values for girls from 11 to 14 years and for boys from 15 to 18 years (p < 0.05). Girls had higher normative metacarpal index (DXR-MCI) values than boys, with significant differences at 11-14 years (p < 0.05). In the case-control investigation, the fracture group (95 boys, 69 girls) presented lower DXR-BMD at 15-18 years in boys and 13-16 years in girls vs. the reference cohort (p < 0.05); DXR-MCI was lower at 11-18 years in boys and 11-16 years in girls (p < 0.05). Mean Z scores in the fracture group for DXR-BMD were -0.42 (boys) and -0.46 (girls), and for DXR-MCI were -0.51 (boys) and -0.53 (girls). These findings indicate that the fully digital DXR technique can be accurately applied in pediatric populations ≥ 6 years of age. The lower DXR-BMD and DXR-MCI values in the fracture group suggest promising early identification of individuals with increased fracture risk, without the need for additional radiation exposure, enabling the initiation of prevention strategies to possibly reduce the incidence of osteoporosis later in life.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: the turning point is now!

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic progressive lung disease with poor survival. Recent studies have improved understanding of IPF and new discoveries have led to novel treatment options, which now have become available for patients. In face of the newly available therapies we present an update on the pathophysiology and epidemiology of IPF. We discuss the typical clinical findings and elaborate diagnostic procedures according to current guidelines and our daily practice approach. The role of biomarkers will briefly be outlined. Finally, we discuss novel antifibrotic treatment options for IPF (pirfenidone, nintedanib) and the management of patients regarding to comorbidities and complications. Both pirfenidone and nintedanib were shown to reduce the progression of IPF and therefore represent novel therapeutic strategies in this so far untreatable chronic lung disease.