A comparison between flexible electrogoniometers,inclinometers and three-dimensional video analysis system for recording neck movement

This study compared neck range of movement recording using three different methods goniometers (EGM), inclinometers (INC) and a three-dimensional video analysis system (IMG) in simultaneous and synchronized data collection. Twelve females performed neck flexion-extension, lateral flexion, rotation and circumduction. The differences between EGM, INC, and IMG were calculated sample by sample. For flexion-extension movement, IMG underestimated the amplitude by 13%; moreover, EGM showed a crosstalk of about 20% for lateral flexion and rotation axes. In lateral flexion movement, all systems showed similar amplitude and the inter-system differences were moderate (4–7%). For rotation movement, EGM showed a high crosstalk (13%) for flexion-extension axis. During the circumduction movement, IMG underestimated the amplitude of flexion-extension movements by about 11%, and the inter-system differences were high (about 17%) except for INC–IMG regarding lateral flexion (7%) and EGM–INC regarding flexion-extension (10%). For application in workplace, INC presents good results compared to IMG and EGM though INC cannot record rotation. EGM should be improved in order to reduce its crosstalk errors and allow recording of the full neck range of movement. Due to non-optimal positioning of the cameras for recording flexion–extension, IMG underestimated the amplitude of these movements.     

Pain and quality of life after endodontic surgery with or without advanced platelet-rich fibrin membrane application: a randomized clinical trial

Clinical Oral Investigations - Clinical evidence of the autologous platelet concentrates effects on the patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) after endodontic surgery is still limited. To...     

Transneuronal tracing of diverse CNS circuits by Cre-mediated induction of wheat germ agglutinin in transgenic mice

Systems neuroscience addresses the complex circuits made by populations of neurons in the CNS and the cooperative function of these neurons. Improved approaches to the neuroanatomical analysis of CNS circuits are thus of great interest. In fact, significant advances in tract-tracing methods have recently been made by using transgenic mice that express transneuronal lectin tracers under the control of neuron-specific promoters. The utility of those animals, however, is limited to the CNS circuit influenced by the particular promoter. Here, we describe a new transgenic mouse that can be used for transneuronal tracing analysis of circuits in any region of the brain or spinal cord. The transgene in these mice results in expression of LacZ in neurons throughout the CNS. Excision of the LacZ gene by Cre-mediated recombination initiates expression of the lectin, wheat germ agglutinin (WGA). To illustrate the diverse uses of these ZW (LacZ-WGA) mice, we triggered WGA expression either by crossing the mice with two Cre-expressing transgenic mouse lines or by microinjecting a Cre-expressing adeno-associated virus into the cerebellum or cerebral cortex. Both approaches resulted in extensive WGA expression in the cell bodies and dendrites of neurons in which the recombination event occurred, as well as anterograde and transneuronal transport of the lectin to second and third order neurons. Because the lectin can be induced in developing and adult animals, and in all regions of the brain and spinal cord, these ZW may prove extremely valuable for numerous studies of CNS circuit analysis.     

Marcadores de daño miocárdico en la predicción del pronóstico a corto plazo de los pacientes con COVID-19

Introduction and objectivesCOVID-19 is currently causing high mortality and morbidity worldwide. Information on cardiac injury is scarce. We aimed to evaluate cardiovascular damage in patients with COVID-19 and determine the correlation of high-sensitivity cardiac-specific troponin T (hs-cTnT) and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) with the severity of COVID-19.MethodsWe included 872 consecutive patients with confirmed COVID-19 from February to April 2020. We tested 651 patients for high-sensitivity troponin T (hs-TnT) and 506 for NT-proBNP on admission. Cardiac injury was defined as hs-TnT > 14 ng/L, the upper 99th percentile. Levels of NT-proBNP > 300 pg/mL were considered related to some extent of cardiac injury. The primary composite endpoint was 30-day mortality or mechanical ventilation (MV).ResultsCardiac injury by hs-TnT was observed in 34.6% of our COVID-19 patients. Mortality or MV were higher in cardiac injury than noncardiac injury patients (39.1% vs 9.1%). Hs-TnT and NT-proBNP levels were independent predictors of death or MV (HR, 2.18; 95%CI, 1.23-3.83 and 1.87 (95%CI, 1.05-3.36), respectively) and of mortality alone (HR, 2.91; 95%CI, 1.211-7.04 and 5.47; 95%CI, 2.10-14.26, respectively). NT-ProBNP significantly improved the troponin model discrimination of mortality or MV (C-index 0.83 to 0.84), and of mortality alone (C-index 0.85 to 0.87).ConclusionsMyocardial injury measured at admission was a common finding in patients with COVID-19. It reliably predicted the occurrence of mortality and need of MV, the most severe complications of the disease. NT-proBNP improved the prognostic accuracy of hs-TnT.