Notes

Substantial Chondrolysis and Mutual Destruction following Unnatural Anterior Cruciate Tendon Repair.
Environmental factors can influence the composition of gut microbiota, but understanding the combined effect of lifestyle factors on adult gut microbiota is limited. Here, we investigated whether changes in the modifiable lifestyle factors, such as cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, sleep duration, physical exercise, and body mass index affected the gut microbiota of Korean navy trainees. The navy trainees were instructed to stop smoking and alcohol consumption and follow a sleep schedule and physical exercise regime for eight weeks. For comparison, healthy Korean civilians, who had no significant change in lifestyles for eight weeks were included in this study. A total of 208 fecal samples were collected from navy trainees (n = 66) and civilians (n = 38) at baseline and week eight. Gut flora was assessed by sequencing the highly variable region of the 16S rRNA gene. The α-and β -diversity of gut flora of both the test and control groups were not significantly changed after eight weeks. However, there was a significant difference among individuals. Smoking had a significant impact in altering α-diversity. Our study showed that a healthy lifestyle, particularly cessation of smoking, even in short periods, can affect the gut microbiome by enhancing the abundance of beneficial taxa and reducing that of harmful taxa.Fibromyalgia (FM) is a multifactorial syndrome of unknown etiology, characterized by widespread chronic pain and various somatic and psychological manifestations. The management of FM requires a multidisciplinary approach combining both pharmacological and nonpharmacological strategies. Among nonpharmacological strategies, growing evidence suggests a potential beneficial role for nutrition. This review summarizes the possible relationship between FM and nutrition, exploring the available evidence on the effect of dietary supplements and dietary interventions in these patients. Analysis of the literature has shown that the role of dietary supplements remains controversial, although clinical trials with vitamin D, magnesium, iron and probiotics' supplementation show promising results. With regard to dietary interventions, the administration of olive oil, the replacement diet with ancient grains, low-calorie diets, the low FODMAPs diet, the gluten-free diet, the monosodium glutamate and aspartame-free diet, vegetarian diets as well as the Mediterranean diet all appear to be effective in reducing the FM symptoms. These results may suggest that weight loss, together with the psychosomatic component of the disease, should be taken into account. Therefore, although dietary aspects appear to be a promising complementary approach to the treatment of FM, further research is needed to provide the most effective strategies for the management of FM.The socially parasitic Alcon blue butterfly (Phengaris alcon) starts its larval stage by feeding on the seeds of gentians, after which it completes development in the nests of suitable Myrmica ant species. The host plant and host ant species can differ at the population level within a region, and local adaptation is common, but some host switches are observed. It has been suggested that one mechanism of change is through the re-adoption of caterpillars by different ant species, either through occupation of abandoned nests or take-over of established nests by competitively superior colonies. To test this question in the lab we introduced relatively strong colonies (50 workers) of alien Myrmica species to the arenas of weaker colonies (two caterpillars with six workers), and to orphaned caterpillars (two caterpillars without ants). We used caterpillars from a xerophylic population of P. alcon, and both local hosts, M. sabuleti and M. scabrinodis, testing the possibility of host switch between these two host ant species during larval development. Most of the caterpillars were successfully readopted by alien ants, and survived well. Our results suggest higher ecological plasticity in host ant usage of this butterfly than generally thought.Access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) is critical for preventing the spread of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) including leprosy. WASH-related transmission factors remain largely unexplored in the leprosy transmission cycle. The aim of this project is to better understand WASH exposures among leprosy cases through a case-control study in North Gondar, Ethiopia. We hypothesized that leprosy cases were more likely to have inadequate WASH access and were more likely to have concurrent schistosomiasis, as schistosomiasis immune consequences may facilitate leprosy infection. Forty leprosy cases (forty-one controls) were enrolled, tested for Schistosomamansoni, administered a demographic and WASH survey, and assigned a WASH index score. WASH factors significantly associated with leprosy on adjusted analyses included open defecation (aOR = 19.9, 95% CI 2.2, 176.3) and lack of access to soap (aOR = 7.3, 95% CI 1.1, 49.9). S. mansoni was detected in 26% of participants and in stratified analysis those with leprosy had a 3.6 (95% CI (0.8, 15.9)) greater odds of schistosomiasis in districts bordering the lake, compared to 0.33 lower odds of schistosomiasis in districts not bordering the lake (95% CI (0.09, 1.2)). Overall, results suggest that leprosy transmission may be related to WASH adequacy and access as well as to schistosomiasis co-infection.Energy-efficient computing paradigms beyond conventional von-Neumann architecture, such as neuromorphic computing, require novel devices that enable information storage at nanoscale in an analogue way and in-memory computing. Memristive devices with long-/short-term synaptic plasticity are expected to provide a more capable neuromorphic system compared to traditional Si-based complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor circuits. Here, compositionally graded oxide films of Al-doped Mg x Zn1-xO (g-AlMgZnO) are studied to fabricate a memristive device, in which the composition of the film changes continuously through the film thickness. Compositional grading in the films should give rise to asymmetry of Schottky barrier heights at the film-electrode interfaces. The g-AlMgZnO films are grown by using aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition. The current-voltage (I-V) and capacitance-voltage (C-V) characteristics of the films show self-rectifying memristive behaviors which are dependent on maximum applied voltage and repeated application of electrical pulses. Endurance and retention performance tests of the device show stable bipolar resistance switching (BRS) with a short-term memory effect. The short-term memory effects are ascribed to the thermally activated release of the trapped electrons near/at the g-AlMgZnO film-electrode interface of the device. The volatile resistive switching can be used as a potential selector device in a crossbar memory array and a short-term synapse in neuromorphic computing.This review presents an overview of the "lab-on-fiber technology" vision and the main milestones set in the technological roadmap to achieve the ultimate objective of developing flexible, multifunctional plug and play fiber-optic platforms designed for specific applications. The main achievements, obtained with nanofabrication strategies for unconventional substrates, such as optical fibers, are discussed here. The perspectives and challenges that lie ahead are highlighted with a special focus on full spatial control at the nanoscale and high-throughput production scenarios. The rapid progress in the fabrication stage has opened new avenues toward the development of multifunctional plug and play platforms, discussed here with particular emphasis on new functionalities and unparalleled figures of merit, to demonstrate the potential of this powerful technology in many strategic application scenarios. The paper also analyses the benefits obtained from merging lab-on-fiber (LOF) technology objectives with the emerging field of optomechanics, especially at the microscale and the nanoscale. We illustrate the main advances at the fabrication level, describe the main achievements in terms of functionalities and performance, and highlight future directions and related milestones. All achievements reviewed and discussed clearly suggest that LOF technology is much more than a simple vision and could play a central role not only in scenarios related to diagnostics and monitoring but also in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) field, where optical fibers have already yielded remarkable results.Complex formation of nickel(II) tetrafluoroborate and tert-butyl 5-phenyl-2-pyridyl nitroxide (phpyNO) in the presence of sodium cyanate gave a discrete molecule [Ni(phpyNO)2(X)2] (X = NCO). The Ni-O-N-Csp2 torsion angles were reduced on heating; 33.5(5)° and 36.2(4)° at 100 K vs. 25.7(10)° and 32.3(11)° at 400 K. The magnetic behavior was almost diamagnetic below ca. 100 K, and the χmT value reached 1.04 cm3 K mol-1 at 400 K. An analysis using the van't Hoff equation indicates a possible spin transition at T1/2 > 400 K. Density functional theory calculation shows that the singlet-quintet energy gap decreases as the structural change from 100 to 400 K. The geometry optimization results suggest that the diamagnetic state has the Ni-O-N-Csp2 torsion angles of 32.7° while the Stotal = 2 state has those of 11.9°. The latter could not be experimentally observed even at 400 K. After overviewing the results on the known X = Br, Cl, and NCS derivatives, the magnetic behavior is described in a common phase diagram. The Br and Cl compounds undergo the energy level crossing of the high-/low-spin states, but the NCS and NCO compounds do not in a conventional experimental temperature range. The spin transition mechanism in this series involves the exchange coupling switch between ferro- and antiferromagnetic interactions, corresponding to the high- and low-spin phases, respectively.The escalating obesity among adolescents is of major concern, especially among those from an ethnic minority background. Penicillin-Streptomycin in vivo The adolescent period offers a key opportunity for the implementation of positive lifestyle behaviours as children transition to adulthood. The objective of this review was to examine the effectiveness of lifestyle interventions for adolescents and their impact in ethnic and racial minorities for the prevention of overweight and obesity. Seven electronic databases were searched from 2005 until March 2019 for randomized controlled trials of lifestyle programs conducted in this population. The main outcome was change in Body Mass Index (BMI) z-score (kg/m2) or change in BMI and secondary outcomes were changes in physical activity and diet. Thirty studies met the inclusion criteria. Seven studies reported and/or conducted subgroup analysis to determine if ethnic/racial group affected weight change. None demonstrated an overall decrease in BMI z-score. However, six of the seven demonstrated changes in secondary measures such as fruit and vegetable intake and screen time. Results did not differ by ethnic/racial group for primary and secondary outcomes. Overweight and obesity prevention among adolescents from ethnic minorities is an area that needs further research. There is a lack of interventions that include analyses of effectiveness in ethnic minorities.
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