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Abstract Background Various fixation methods are available for tibiotalocalcaneal arthrodesis: nail, plate, or screws. An intramedullary bone stabilization system within a balloon catheter has not previously been used in tibiotalocalcaneal arthrodesis. The aim of this study was to compare the stability of these techniques. Methods Twenty-four lower legs from fresh-frozen human cadavers were used. Tibiotalocalcaneal arthrodesis was performed with a retrograde nail, a lateral locking plate, three cancellous screws, or an intramedullary bone stabilization system. The ankles were loaded cyclically in plantarflexion and dorsiflexion. Results For cyclic loading at 125 N, the mean range of motion was 1.7 mm for nail, 2.2 mm for plate, 6.0 mm for screws, and 9.0 mm for the bone stabilization system (P

Abstract Background The incidence of sepsis increases significantly with age, including a high incidence of bacterial infection in the old adults. Eosinopenia and the CIBLE score have been proposed in critically ill adults and in internal medicine wards. This study aimed to assess whether a low eosinophil count was associated with acute bacterial infection among hospitalized older adults, and to find the most efficient eosinophil count cut-off to differentiate acute bacterial infection from other inflammatory states. Methods This was a prospective study from July 2020 to July 2022 in geriatric wards of the University Paul Brousse Hospital (Villejuif, France) including patients aged of 75 y/o or over suffering from fever or biological inflammation. Acute bacterial infection was assessed using biological identification and/or clinical and radiological data. Results A total of 156 patients were included. Eighty-two (53%) patients suffered from acute bacterial infection (mean age (SD) 88.7 (5.9)). Low eosinophil count was independently associated with acute bacterial infection: OR [CI95%] 3.03 [1.04–9.37] and 6.08 [2.42–16.5] for eosinophil count 0–0.07 G/L and 0.07–0.172 G/L respectively (vs. eosinophil count > 0.172 G/L). Specificity and sensitivity for eosinophil count

Campylobacter sp. is widely considered a leading causative agent of bacterial food-borne gastrointestinal illness. Discitis and endocarditis caused by Campylobacter spp. are extremely rare. We describe the case of a 94-year-old man who was admitted for recent lumbar pain, diarrhea, and fever. C. fetus and C. coli were identified by MALDI-TOF from blood and stool samples respectively. MRI of the spine showed L5–S1 discitis. Patient was treated with 6 weeks of amoxicillin with clinical and microbiological response until cardiac implantable electronic device (CIED) related endocarditis occurred four weeks after the end of the antibiotic treatment. He was treated with another 6 weeks amoxicillin regimen, with a favorable outcome after a 6-month follow-up. Enteric infection with Campylobacter spp. in a debilitated patient should raise the possibility of a co-infection with another more invasive species such as C. fetus, leading to systemic invasion. In case of Campylobacter fetus bacteremia, a search for endocarditis and spondylodiscitis is recommended even in the absence of specific clinical signs.

IntroductionSarcocystis is a genus of cyst-forming parasites that infest both humans and livestock. Some parasites cause clinical and subclinical diseases in their hosts, resulting in economic losses.MethodsEsophagus, diaphragm, and skeletal muscle from slaughtered sheep and goats were examined macroscopically, microscopically, and ultrastructurally and subjected to DNA analysis.ResultsWe isolated macrocysts of S. gigantea and of S. caprafelis moulei from naturally infected sheep (Ovis aries) and goats (Capra hircus). The macrocyst wall thickness was 18.9 µm in sheep and 15.3 µm in goats, and consisted of an inner Periodic acid Schiff- (PAS) negative primary wall and an outer glycoconjugates containing i.e. PAS-positive secondary wall. The walls inner surface was compartmentalized and filled with bradyzoites. In S. gigantea the bradyzoites were approximently 12.3 x 2.6 µm in size, while in S. caprafelis moulei they were 13.9 x 4.4 µm. Ultrastructurally, both species have nearly identical morphology: cauliflower-like protrusions with numerous microtubules and often dendritic-like filaments, branching from the primary wall. The 18S rRNA gene in S. gigantea was 85.9% identical to that in S. medusiformis and 80.4% to the S. caprafelis moulei gene. The 28S rRNA gene in S. gigantea was 94.6% identical to that in S. medusiformis and 97.3% to the S. caprafelis moulei.ConclusionThis study is the first to (i) detail the ultrastructure of the macrocyst wall of S. caprafelis moulei, (ii) identify S. medusiformis in Iraqi sheep, and (iii) compare the prevalence of macroscopic Sarcocystis at different time periods within the same region. A positive finding was the reduction of macroscopic sarcocystosis occurrences (0.01% in sheep and 0.02% in goats) compared to our previous data from 1992 (4.1%: sheep, 33.6%: goats).

Understanding of the origin, as well as the shape of the protohistoric settlement of Reims/Durocortorum (Marne), was garnered from historical observations dating back to the beginning of the 20th c. Research carried out over the last forty years has also long relied on ancient hypotheses due to the lack of new and precise data, in particular, regarding the chronology and nature of ditched enclosures surrounding the site. Recent investigations have reopened questions that remained unanswered and suggest the need for a systematic re-examination of the archaeological data and its implications. This includes both the data that was collected over the course of ancient discoveries, as well as during better documented, more recent excavations. In light of recent knowledge, this renewed examination obliges us to question the hypotheses that we have long relayed. The new chronological elements, collected in the ditch of the great enclosure, as well as along the roads at the city’s exit, tend to date these structural installations to well before the Conquest. Moreover, the existence of not one, but two enclosure ditches, which run roughly parallel and in close proximity to one another, was revealed. This is a significant finding, not least because it is the first time this phenomenon has been observed within a building site. The layout of the most important one, with its much wider and deeper outline, would not have been polygonal, but rather circular and would have belonged to a Gallic period rampart. In contrast, the second one, was dug during the Augustan period following the backfill of the earlier one. Indeed, it was a reduced replica of the first version, and would mostly have served a simple administrative purpose, separating the urban space from the necropolis. The apparent differences between the two enclosures highlight this revelation of the initial presence of a large-scale Gallic site, whose origin might date as far back as the Early Iron Age. Several necropolises from this period trace an outline of the plan that would later be materialized by the enclosure. This explanation offers an interesting understanding of the organization of these necropolises along the periphery of the site, which had, until now, remained enigmatic. This new interpretation calls into question the origins of Durocortorum. It also has the effect of reconsidering the impact of the Augustan period developments on the general configuration of the urban plan. Indeed, it would appear that the Gallo-Roman city, like a majority of its important overland routes, was quite faithfully superimposed atop an organization that had already been shaped for centuries within this central and atypical site of the Remi territory. And this site is undeniably atypical, highlighted especially by the unusual absence of a developed craft industry within the protohistoric conurbation. This might indicate origins linked more closely to political and religious function rather than to a purely economic role, though the existence of an emporium can be proposed. The strategic position of Durocortorum, at the crossroads of two major north-south and east-west thoroughfares, accompanied by an impressive star shaped rotary branching off toward the various oppida within the Remi territory would appear to confirm such a function. This in turn explains why the hypothesis of an ancient sanctuary previously occupying the same site as the impressive Roman one, allows us to decipher a reality that is otherwise difficult to understand. Of course, this proposed interpretation requires detailed confirmation, even if the currently available clues appear encouraging. The hypotheses set out here make it possible to propose a renewed interpretation and vision of the ancient sources, one in which the echo of such a representation is discernable. In order to adequately develop this introductory statement, new converging elements remain to be highlighted, and the investigation broadened by comparing, point by point, what we know about the formation of neighboring cities.

Background and purposeAfter peripheral nerve lesions, surgical reconstruction facilitates axonal regeneration and motor reinnervation. However, functional recovery is impaired by aberrant reinnervation.Materials and methodsWe tested whether training therapy by treadmill exercise (9 × 250 m/week) before (run–idle), after (idle–run), or both before and after (run–run) sciatic nerve graft improves the accuracy of reinnervation in rats. Female Lewis rats (LEW/SsNHsd) were either trained for 12 weeks (run) or not trained (kept under control conditions, idle). The right sciatic nerves were then excised and reconstructed with 5 mm of a congenic allograft. One week later, training started in the run–run and idle–run groups for another 12 weeks. No further training was conducted in the run–idle and idle–idle groups. Reinnervation was measured using the following parameters: counting of retrogradely labeled motoneurons, walking track analysis, and compound muscle action potential (CMAP) recordings.ResultsIn intact rats, the common fibular (peroneal) and the soleus nerve received axons from 549 ± 83 motoneurons. In the run–idle group, 94% of these motoneurons had regenerated 13 weeks after the nerve graft. In the idle–run group, 81% of the normal number of motoneurons had regenerated into the denervated musculature and 87% in both run–run and idle–idle groups. Despite reinnervation, functional outcome was poor: walking tracks indicated no functional improvement of motion in any group. However, in the operated hindlimb of run–idle rats, the CMAP of the soleus muscle reached 11.9 mV (normal 16.3 mV), yet only 6.3–8.1 mV in the other groups.ConclusionTreadmill training neither altered the accuracy of reinnervation nor the functional recovery, and pre-operative training (run–idle) led to a higher motor unit activation after regeneration.

Après de premières recherches remontant au xixe s., l’archéologie urbaine a vraiment pris forme à Reims dans les années 1960 et elle a pu s’y enraciner grâce à la pérennité d’une équipe regroupant des bénévoles avec des archéologues du ministère de la culture, de l’Association pour les fouilles archéologiques nationales (Afan) puis de l’Institut national de recherches archéologiques préventives (Inrap), active des années 1970 jusqu’au début du xxie s. Les nouvelles lois sur l’archéologie ont grandement facilité la progression des interventions.En une cinquantaine d’années, les surfaces ouvertes à l’étude archéologique ont régulièrement augmenté pour atteindre, à ce jour, une surface de plus de 21 hectares représentant environ 3,5 % de la surface de la ville antique. Malgré la relative modestie de ces surfaces reconnues, les fouilles préventives ont permis un renouvellement remarquable des connaissances.Ces progrès sont en grande partie dus à l’augmentation régulière des moyens financiers et humains consacrés à la recherche. L’adaptation des méthodes d’intervention sur le terrain aux conditions spécifiques de la recherche en milieu urbain et une meilleure maitrise de l’enregistrement des données, grâce à l’outil informatique très tôt mis à contribution, ont permis des progrès significatifs dans la maitrise des problématiques thématiques.Malheureusement, l’introduction de la concurrence et la multiplication des opérateurs a largement hypothéqué ces progrès. La dispersion des informations et la disparité des compétences et des méthodologies mises en œuvre ont freiné d’autant le maintien d’une approche cohérente à l’échelle du site urbain.Malgré cela, et bien que les problématiques de recherche soient en grande partie tributaires des zones touchées par les aménagements à partir des années 1970, les vertus du travail en équipe ont permis de maintenir jusqu’à récemment un traitement thématique des données issues des chantiers et d’aboutir à des publications reflétant cet esprit de recherche dans une collection réunissant douze livraisons à ce jour. Le recours systématique aux spécialistes de différentes disciplines a contribué à l’élaboration de synthèses très abouties sur bon nombre de sujets. In Reims, after the first studies carried out during the 19th century, urban archaeology really took shape in the 1960s. Its assets lie in the permanent team of archaeologists from the Ministry of Culture, Afan and then Inrap, and the committed contribution of volunteers from the 1970s to the beginning of the 21st century. The new laws on archaeology have greatly facilitated a progression in archaeological intervention.Over the past fifty years, the surface area available for archaeological study has steadily increased to reach, to date, a surface area of more than 21 hectares, representing about 3.5% of the old city centre. Despite the relatively small excavations, this approach has greatly contributed to increasing our knowledge of the area. This progress is largely due to the regular increase in financial and human resources that has been devoted to research. Adapting methods in the field and putting computer assisted data recording into practice at an early stage have enabled significant progress in research in this particular environment.However, competition from multiple professional archaeology services has largely undermined this progress through the dispersal of information and experience, the disparity in skills and implemented methodologies, and made it difficult to maintain the coherent study of sites that have seen multiple interventions in this urban context.Despite these issues and that fact that current research focusses on areas affected by development from the 1970s onwards, the solid teamwork has made it possible to maintain a theme based approach when conducting excavations and to publish the results of this research in a collection that has so far included 12 issues. The systematic use of specialists from different disciplines has contributed to accomplishing syntheses on a good number of subjects.

The structural and electronic properties of the dimethylmethylene‐bridged P‐heterotriangulene have been systematically modulated by functionalization of its phosphorus center. The optoelectronic properties of the obtained derivatives in solution were characterized by UV/Vis absorption and emission spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry and 31P NMR spectroscopy. The solid state structures were analyzed by X‐ray crystallography. The experimental results were corroborated by density functional theory calculations which revealed the crucial influence of the axial substitution on the bowl‐shaped geometry of the phosphorus‐centered polycyclic scaffold, which is proportional to the s‐character of the P−X bond. The advantage of the bowl‐shaped P‐heterotriangulene scaffold was demonstrated by successful co‐crystallization with fullerene C60. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PurposeNimodipine and FK506 (Tacrolimus) are drugs that have been reported to accelerate peripheral nerve regeneration. We therefore tested these substances aiming to improve the final functional outcome of motoric reinnervation after facial nerve injury.MethodsIn 18 female rats, the transected facial nerve was repaired by an artificial nerve conduit. The rats were then treated with either placebo, nimodipine, or FK506, for 56 days. Facial motoneurons were pre-operatively double-labeled by Fluoro-Gold and again 56 days post-operation by Fast-Blue to measure the cytological accuracy of reinnervation. The whisking motion of the vibrissae was analyzed to assess the quality of functional recovery.ResultsOn the non-operated side, 93–97% of those facial nerve motoneurons innervating the vibrissae were double-labeled. On the operated side, double-labeling only amounted to 38% (placebo), 40% (nimodipine), and 39% (FK506), indicating severe misdirection of reinnervation. Regardless of post-operative drug or placebo therapy, the whisking frequency reached 83–100% of the normal value (6.0 Hz), but whisking amplitude was reduced to 33–48% while whisking velocity reached 39–66% of the normal values. Compared to placebo, statistically neither nimodipine nor FK506 improved accuracy of reinnervation and function recovery.ConclusionDespite previous, positive data on the speed and quantity of axonal regeneration, nimodipine and FK506 do not improve the final functional outcome of motoric reinnervation in rats.

Recently, Kohn–Sham (KS) methods with new correlation functionals, called σ-functionals, have been introduced. Technically, σ-functionals are closely related to the well-known random phase approximation (RPA); formally, σ-functionals are rooted in perturbation theory along the adiabatic connection. If employed in a post-self-consistent field manner in a Gaussian basis set framework, then, σ-functional methods are computationally very efficient. Moreover, for main group chemistry, σ-functionals are highly accurate and can compete with high-level wave-function methods. For reaction and transition state energies, e.g., chemical accuracy of 1 kcal/mol is reached. Here, we show how to calculate first derivatives of the total energy with respect to nuclear coordinates for methods using σ-functionals and then carry out geometry optimizations for test sets of main group molecules, transition metal compounds, and non-covalently bonded systems. For main group molecules, we additionally calculate vibrational frequencies. σ-Functional methods are found to yield very accurate geometries and vibrational frequencies for main group molecules superior not only to those from conventional KS methods but also to those from RPA methods. For geometries of transition metal compounds, not surprisingly, best geometries are found for RPA methods, while σ-functional methods yield somewhat less good results. This is attributed to the fact that in the optimization of σ-functionals, transition metal compounds could not be represented well due to the lack of reliable reference data. For non-covalently bonded systems, σ-functionals yield geometries of the same quality as the RPA or as conventional KS schemes combined with dispersion corrections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Der vorliegende Beitrag beschäftigt sich mit der Frage, ob eine Bindung von Kleinkindern an Medien im Alter von drei Jahren während der Medienaneignung in einer „Fremden Situation“ empirisch beobachtbar ist. Unter anderem wurde der Frage nachgegangen, ob Unterschiede bei Kleinkindern aus Kernfamilien und Multiproblemfamilien auf der affektiven Verhaltensebene festgestellt werden können. Aufgrund der Gegebenheit, dass empirischen Forschungen zur frühen Kindheit bisher nur wenig Beachtung im Forschungsfeld der Mediensozialisation beigemessen wurde, erschien es notwendig, selbst eine Methode zu entwickeln. Diesbezüglich wurde ein qualitatives Datenerhebungsverfahren anhand einer verdeckten, teilnehmenden Beobachtung innerhalb eines strukturierten, experimentellen Settings entwickelt, um das Bindungsverhalten von Kleinkindern zu Medien aus bindungstheoretischer Sicht anhand des unmittelbaren, affektiven Ausdrucks klassifizieren zu können. Mithilfe der vorliegenden Methode konnte gezeigt werden, dass eine Bindung an Medien während der Medienaneignung bei Kleinkindern empirisch beobachtbar ist.

Background: Spinal deformities are frequently seen in osteogenesis imperfecta (OI). We investigated contemporary spinal fusion techniques including pedicle screw fixation with or without cement augmentation in OI patients with scoliosis. Materials and Methods: OI patients with posterior-only scoliosis surgery were reviewed retrospectively (2005–2017). Preoperative and postoperative clinical status was compared. The radiographic review included pelvic obliquity, major curve magnitude, coronal balance, apical vertebral translation (AVT), lowest instrumented vertebrae (LIV) tilt angle, proximal and distal junctional angle, T1–S1 distance, and T1-pelvic angle. Results: Sixteen patients were included in the study. The mean age at surgery was 14 years (range, 6–19). The average follow-up period was 80 ± 40 months (range, 24–148). Mean preoperative curve magnitude of 76° ± 19° was significantly larger than the initial (31° ± 16°) and final (32° ± 17°) postoperative curve magnitudes (58% correction; P < 0.001). Mean preoperative AVT and LIV tilt angle were significantly higher than the initial and final postoperative measurements (P < 0.001 and P < 0.001, respectively). There was no difference between the measurements of coronal balance, pelvic obliquity, and T1–S1 distance among the preoperative, initial postoperative, and final follow-up measurements (P = 0.479, P= 0.125, and P= 0.05, respectively). There was no proximal junctional failure but one distal junctional failure led to revision surgery. Ambulatory status was unchanged in all patients, but an improvement in subjective self-reported clinical complaints was observed. Conclusion: Pedicle screw instrumentation with or without cement augmentation provided stability with few complications and improved clinical outcomes. Although preoperative activity level did not change compared with postoperative activity, there was an improvement in self-reported clinical complaints.