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We compared the accuracy of the fluoroscopic dorsal tangential view (DTV) and an ultrasound (US) examination in detecting dorsal screw penetration during volar distal radius plating. In six fresh cadaveric distal radii, seven periarticular locking screws in two rows for each plate were inserted according to the measured length using a depth gauge and then replaced with another that was 1 and 2 mm longer, respectively. The actual protruded length of each screw was determined using computed tomography (CT) images. The accuracy of US and DTV measurements was determined using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), as both measurements were compared with CT measurements. The ICC of US and DTV was 0.96 and 0.75, respectively, for all screws. After excluding the data for proximal-row screws, the ICC of US remained unchanged at 0.96, and that of DTV improved to 0.86. The ICC of US was significantly higher than that of DTV (p 0.01). US had a 100% detection rate for screw protrusion of more than 1.0 mm. US examination showed excellent consistency with CT measurements and its accuracy was not affected by screw location. US might thus be a practical tool for detecting dorsal cortex screw penetration during volar distal radius plating.

There are two widely used distal humerus fracture (DHF) fixation methods with either orthogonal or parallel double-plate osteosynthesis. However, biomechanical studies have shown inconsistent results on which technique is more effective. We performed a meta-analysis to compare these two fixation methods for adult DHF fixation. We searched the literature for entries discussing the biomechanical testing of orthogonal and parallel fixation techniques for DHFs. We then performed a meta-analysis of the following biomechanical outcome measures: axial/sagittal/coronal/torsional stiffness, load to failure, and torque to failure. Seventeen studies comparing both constructs were included. The parallel configuration exhibited greater mechanical strength with respect to axial stiffness/load to failure, torsional stiffness, and posterior bending load to failure than the orthogonal constructs. Subgroup analysis revealed that parallel constructs also had higher torsional stiffness in supracondylar fractures. This meta-analysis shows that parallel constructs provide greater axial stiffness, axial strength, and torsional stiffness than orthogonal plate for DHF fixation. A subgroup analysis revealed that parallel constructs had better torsional stiffness in supracondylar fracture fixation. IA

We present a two-way coupling technique for simulating the complex interaction between hair and fluids. In our approach, the motion of hair and fluids is simulated by evaluating the hydrodynamic forces based on boundary handling techniques used in SPH (Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics) fluids. Water absorption inside the hair volume is simulated with a diffusion process by treating the hair volume as porous media with anisotropic permeability. The saturation of each hair strand is then used in boundary density estimation as well as fluid-boundary force computation to greatly stabilize the simulation. We also utilize the saturation of hair to derive the adhesive force between wet hair strands. This enables us to simulate the formation of hair clumps dynamically without the need to employ post clumping processes. As a result, the proposed method realistically reproduces subtle fluid-hair interactions and can be easily applied to any SPH fluid as well as hair solvers. Graphical abstractDisplay Omitted HighlightsA generic two-way coupling technique for simulating hair-fluid interactions is proposed.Water absorption inside hair volume is considered to evaluate the hydrodynamic forces.Hair clump formation is achieved by a self-adhesive force between wet hair strands.The proposed technique has been validated on different fluid solvers.

Understanding the irregular yield pattern of greenhouse-grown sweet peppers (Capsicum annuum L.) has been a challenge to researchers and greenhouse producers. Experimental data from 4 years, each consisting of 26 production weeks, were used in a time series analysis, neural network (NN) modeling, and regression analysis. Time series analysis revealed that weekly yield was influenced by yields from the preceding 2 weeks (Yd_1 and Yd_2), cumulative light 2 and 4 weeks prior (L_2 and L_4), and average 24-h air temperature 5 weeks prior (T_5). Cumulative light (L) data were transformed into kL by dividing by 1000 for subsequent NN modeling and regression analysis. These five inputs were used to establish a NN model, which illustrated the positive influence of Yd_1, kL_4, and kL_2 and negative influence of Yd_2 and T_5. Again, these five inputs were used in a regression analysis illustrating the positive influence of Yd_1 and the negative influence of Yd_2. Each input was further modified to include its squared value before entering the regression, which resulted in significant inputs of Yd_1, Yd_1 squared, and Yd_2 squared. Among these three analyses, the most consistent parameters were Yd_1 and Yd_2, confirming that the irregular yield pattern of greenhouse-grown peppers is of a biological nature. Environmental factors kL_2, kL_4, and T_5 did not show a consistent effect on yield in all three analyses, indicating yield pattern is less influenced by growing environment.

Traditionally, the “lead time” of inventory model is often regarded as given or random variable. In other words, the lead time is not controllable. A different viewpoint is proposed in comparison with the unit time demand hypothesis of the lead time and ordering quantities based inventory model that r(re-order point)=μL+KσL½ is proposed by Ben-Daya and Raouf and Ouyang. In this paper we suggests to utilize negative exponential function for crash cost, and then to construct an inventory model based on ordering quantities and lead time under the hypothesis of demand frequency and quantities corresponding Poisson and Normal distribution respectively. The result indicates: Under the reordering point specified in this paper and the same demand expectation value, the probability of the occurrence of stock insufficiency is lower than that assumed by above scholars. After simulating the actual ordering case, the variance of total expectation cost (EAC) is small relatively. This finding validates the corr...

C/EBPbeta is one of the key transcription factors responsible for the induction of a wide array of genes. Like many proto-oncogenes and transcription factors, transcription of C/EBPbeta gene can be induced by multiple extracellular signals. Using nuclear extracts from lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated mouse liver, five trans-acting factor-binding motifs, URE1 (-376 to -352), URE2 (-253 to -223), URE3 (-220 to -190), URE4 (-123 to -103), and URE5 (-72 to -45) were identified by DNAse I footprinting assays. Competition and supershift analysis of the complexes formed at the URE2 and URE4 indicated that they contain CREB/ATF and AP-1 family factors. Furthermore, recombinant ATF2 and c-Jun proteins from mammalian and bacterial cells can bind to URE2 and URE4 but not URE1. Cotransfection experiments showed that ATF2 and c-Jun activate the C/EBPbeta gene expression cooperatively through URE2 and URE4, and this activation was greatly increased under the treatment of low concentration of anisomycin. During acute phase response, the phosphorylation of c-Jun and ATF2 was found to correlate with C/EBPbeta gene expression. Taken together, our results provide the evidences that both c-Jun and ATF2 are the regulators of C/EBPbeta gene.

This paper tackles the problem of modeling the behavior of hair influenced by particle-based fluid. At each time step, the collisions of hair strands with fluid particles are detected. The dynamics of each colliding hair strand is simulated by taking into consideration the external forces exerted by fluid, such as fluid contact force, buoyant force, and the force from the surface tension of water. The hair clumping effect is simulated in a clumping process at the end of each time step. Additionally, a visually plausible hair shader is also proposed to synthesize the appearance of wet hair.

The main purpose of this paper is to develop a lightweight portable pulse of the physiological signal sensing circuit, and through acquisition and reconstruction of the pulse signals will be presented on a personal computer, so the content is divided into hardware production and signal processing. The hardware realization of the system, we will be divided into three blocks, namely with conductive polymer as a material of the sensor used to measure physiological signals of weak pulse, then for the amplifier circuit, filter and Schmitt trigger circuit is used to enlarge the pulse of weak physiological signals, filtering noise, and convert a continuous signal into pulse signals, finally there is the beating pulse of abnormal warning circuit. In signal processing, we are through DAQ card and signal capture device and LabVIEW platform, the pulse signal waveform reconstruction. This study can be applied to future wireless transmission and personal physical build the database to achieve the goal of long-distance medical treatment and care.

Greenhouse-grown butter lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) can potentially be stored for 21 days at constant 0°C. When storage temperature was increased to 5°C or 10°C, shelf life was shortened to 14 or 10 days, respectively, in our previous observations. Also, commercial shelf life of 7 to 10 days is common, due to postharvest temperature fluctuations. The objective of this study was to establish neural network (NN) models to predict the remaining shelf life (RSL) under fluctuating postharvest temperatures. A box of 12 - 24 lettuce heads constituted a sample unit. The end of the shelf life of each head was determined when it showed initial signs of decay or yellowing. Air temperatures inside a shipping box were recorded. Daily average temperatures in storage and averaged shelf life of each box were used as inputs, and the RSL was modeled as an output. An R2 of 0.57 could be observed when a simple NN structure was employed. Since the "future" (or remaining) storage temperatures were unavailable at the time of making a prediction, a second NN model was introduced to accommodate a range of future temperatures and associated shelf lives. Using such 2-stage NN models, an R2 of 0.61 could be achieved for predicting RSL. This study indicated that NN modeling has potential for cold chain quality control and shelf life prediction.

International audience; The syllable's role in Chinese (Mandarin.) speech production was investigated using masked syllable priming combined with a word naming task. In three experiments, the prime (shown in the form of a Chinese character but masked) shared the first few segments with the beginning of the disyllabic target word. The segmental overlap either corresponded to a syllable or it did not. Aside from a neutral prime, there were two types of related primes: a CV or a CVG syllable, and two types of targets: a CV-GV or a CVG-CVX word, where numbers stand for tones. In Experiment 1, when the prime-target overlap corresponded to a syllable, the tones and the orthographies were also the same. In Experiment 2, the syllable overlap included the tone but not the orthography. In Experiment 3, the syllable overlap was restricted to the syllable only, the tone and the orthography being different. A crossover interaction of the prime by target type was observed not only in Exp. 1 but also in Exp. 2 and Exp. 3, the effect being larger in Exp. 1 and about the same in Exps. 2 and 3. The crossover interaction effects from the last two experiments support the view that the syllable is a stored phonological chunk and plays an independent role as a planning unit in Chinese word production.

Heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein K (hnRNP K) is a multifunctional protein known to be involved in the regulation of transcription, translation, nuclear transport, and signal transduction. To systematically obtain insight into mechanisms of hnRNP K activities, we set out to identify protein factors that interact with hnRNP K by using glutathione S-transferase-hnRNP K affinity chromatography followed by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry analysis. Several partner proteins in the K562 cell lysates were identified through this method. One of them is a DEAD box-containing putative RNA helicase, DDX1. In vitro binding and co-immunoprecipitation studies confirmed the protein-protein interaction between hnRNP K with DDX1, and the region spanning amino acids 1–276 of hnRNP K is apparently responsible for its physical interaction with DDX1. Interestingly, their interaction was disrupted by the addition of poly(C), poly(A), and poly(U) RNA substrates. We found that DDX1 was a homopolymeric poly(A) RNA-binding protein. On the other hand, the ATPase activity of the purified recombinant DDX1 protein was stimulated by these homopolymeric RNAs and yeast total RNA but not by DNA. Moreover, the immunoprecipitated DDX1 complex but not purified DDX1 can unwind double-stranded RNA having single-stranded poly(A) overhangs.