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Topic Review
Investigating Creep of Intervertebral Discs under Axial Compression
Creep responses of intervertebral discs (IVDs) are essential for spinal biomechanics clarification. Yet, there still lacks a well-recognized investigation protocol for this phenomenon. Researchers aim at providing an overview of the in vitro creep tests reported by previous studies, specifically specimen species, testing environment, loading regimes and major results, based on which a preliminary consensus that may guide future creep studies is proposed. Specimens used in creep studies can be simplified as a “bone–disc–bone” structure where three mathematical models can be adopted for describing IVDs’ responses. The preload of 10–50 N for 30 min or three cycles followed by 4 h-creep under constant compression is recommended for ex vivo simulation of physiological condition of long-time sitting or lying. It is worth noticing that species of specimens, environment temperature and humidity all have influences on biomechanical behaviors, and thus are summarized and compared. All factors should be carefully set according to a guideline before tests are conducted to urge comparable results across studies. To this end, researchers also provide a guideline, as mentioned before, and specific steps that might facilitate the community of biomechanics to obtain more repeatable and comparable results from both natural specimens and novel biomaterials.
  • 1.3K
  • 22 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Imprinted Brain Theory
The imprinted brain theory is an evolutionary psychology theory regarding the causes of autism spectrum disorders and psychosis. In certain ways, autistic traits are the opposite of schizotypal traits, such as autism being associated with literal-mindedness while schizotypy is associated with imagination. These differences tend to resemble sex differences, such as autism being linked to larger brain size and schizotypy to slower brain growth. Bernard Crespi proposes that these tendencies show that autism is linked to epigenetic imprinting of the X chromosome by the father, in the case of autism, or by the mother, in the case of psychosis.
  • 1.3K
  • 08 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Bread wheat grain yield
Bread wheat is one of the most important cereals for food and feed and also one of the crops most affected by environmental changes. With the increasing frequency of extreme heat events become urgent to acquire a deeper understanding of their effects in wheat grain yield and nutritional parameters, such as protein content. The assessment of these parameters in distinct wheat varieties will enrich breeding programs contributing to assure food security. Comparative analysis of grains from control and treated plants disclosed intervarietal diversity in high temperature response regarding grain number, weight and macro components, such as protein. Moreover, both analyses showed that the intervarietal diversity observed in control conditions was significantly reduced in HT treated plants. 
  • 1.3K
  • 30 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Imaging for Normal BP
High resolution ultrasound is an emerging tool for evaluation of neuromuscular diseases. It has been widely used in assessment of brachial plexus disorders. However, ultrasound imaging is user-dependent. It is not easy to master the nerve tracking technique on that region. In this regard, we would like share certain tips to help investigators scan the brachial plexus in a prompt and precise way. 
  • 1.3K
  • 09 Jun 2020
Topic Review
Anthropocene Cultural Landscapes for Sustainability
Cultural landscapes emerge from the artificialization of nature and the opening of the land, resulting in a landscape that conforms to the culture and the availability of technologies, thus creating a whole system with either higher or lower levels of life quality and sustainability. Three central elements operate interactively in the construction of cultural landscapes: the territory, the social actors who act in the territory, and the articulators (e.g., technology and regulations). The construction of cultural landscapes gives rise to a gradient of territorial typologies, including wildland, rural and urban, which have different requirements and consumption of resources and energy. 
  • 1.3K
  • 10 Aug 2020
Topic Review
Fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia (FM) is a complex multifactorial syndrome characterized by chronic widespread pain that is often accompanied by fatigue, cognitive problems and sleep disturbances causing a considerable decline in patient quality of life.
  • 1.3K
  • 25 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Supercapacitors
Supercapacitors are a category of energy-storage devices based on high-speed electrostatic or Faradaic electrochemical processes. The charge is mainly stored at the electrode−electrolyte interface of the active materials, such as high surface porous carbons, metal oxides, or conducting polymers. They consist of one positive electrode and one negative electrode soaked in an electrolyte and separated by an ion-permeable, electronically insulating separator.Compared with batteries, supercapacitors can supply much faster charge and discharge rates within seconds or minutes time scales but lower specific energy. Besides the high power densities, supercapacitors also have some other advantages over batteries, such as high operating safety, long cycling life, high efficiency, and high performance stability.
  • 1.3K
  • 19 Feb 2021
Topic Review
Congenital Hypothyroidism
Congenital hypothyroidism is a partial or complete loss of function of the thyroid gland (hypothyroidism) that affects infants from birth (congenital). The thyroid gland is a butterfly-shaped tissue in the lower neck. It makes iodine-containing hormones that play an important role in regulating growth, brain development, and the rate of chemical reactions in the body (metabolism). People with congenital hypothyroidism have lower-than-normal levels of these important hormones.
  • 1.3K
  • 07 Apr 2023
Topic Review
Respiratory Syncytial Virus Vaccines
Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is the main cause of acute respiratory tract infections in infants and it also induces significant disease in the elderly, with a potentially severe clinical course and a large number of deaths in developing countries and of intensive care hospitalizations worldwide. To date, prevention strategies against RSV infection are based on hygienic measures and passive immunization with humanized monoclonal antibodies limited to selected high-risk children due to their high costs. The development of a safe and effective vaccine is a global health need and an important objective of research in this field. A growing number of RSV vaccine candidates in different formats (particle-based vaccines, vector-based vaccines, subunit vaccines, and live-attenuated vaccines) are being developed and are now at different stages. While waiting for commercially available safe and effective vaccines, immune prophylaxis in selected groups of high-risk populations is still mandatory.
  • 1.3K
  • 04 Jan 2021
Topic Review
Head and Neck Squamous Carcinomas
Head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC) are among the most common and lethal tumors worldwide, occurring mostly in oral cavity, pharynx, and larynx tissues. The squamous epithelia homeostasis is supported by the extracellular matrix (ECM), and alterations in this compartment are crucial for cancer development and progression. Laminin is a fundamental component of ECM, where it represents one of the main components of basement membrane (BM), and data supporting its contribution to HNSCC genesis and progression has been vastly explored in oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma. Laminin subtypes 111 (LN-111) and 332 (LN-332) are the main isoforms associated with malignant transformation, contributing to proliferation, adhesion, migration, invasion, and metastasis, due to its involvement in the regulation of several pathways associated with HNSCC carcinogenesis, including the activation of the EGFR/MAPK signaling pathway. Therefore, it draws attention to the possibility that laminin may represent a convergence point in HNSCC natural history, and an attractive potential therapeutic target for these tumors. 
  • 1.3K
  • 25 May 2021
Topic Review
Sepsis Physiopathology
Sepsis is a major health problem worldwide. It is a time-dependent disease, with a high rate of morbidity and mortality. In this sense, an early diagnosis is essential to reduce these rates.
  • 1.3K
  • 28 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Artificial Intelligence Surgery
Most surgeons are skeptical as to the feasibility of autonomous actions in surgery. Interestingly, many examples of autonomous actions already exist and have been around for years. Since the beginning of this millennium, the field of artificial intelligence (AI) has grown exponentially with the development of machine learning (ML), deep learning (DL), computer vision (CV) and natural language processing (NLP). This entry will highlight the most recent issues regarding how AI will get us to more autonomous actions in surgery by discussing the different degrees of surgical autonomy, recent advances with reinforcement learning and the ethical roadblocks that lie ahead.
  • 1.3K
  • 25 Aug 2021
Topic Review
Prestressed Fibre-Reinforced Polymer Matrix Composites
Composite materials are developed by combining materials offering unique properties that cannot be achieved individually by the constituent materials. To produce a fibre-reinforced polymer composite, fibres of various configurations and stiffness are embedded into a polymer matrix of lower stiffness. While the fibre is responsible for carrying the load and offering much needed strength and stiffness, the polymer matrix is responsible for the mobility of the load to other parts of the fibre by providing the required binding forces. The matrices also prevent the reinforced fibres from absorbing moisture, propagating micro-cracking due to microbial and chemical attacks.
  • 1.3K
  • 28 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Automatic Identification of Addresses
Address matching continues to play a central role at various levels, through geocoding and data integration from different sources, with a view to promote activities such as urban planning, location-based services, and the construction of databases like those used in census operations. Closely associated to address matching is the task of address parsing or address segmentation, which consists of decomposing an address into its different components, such as a street name or a postal code. However, these tasks continue to face several challenges, such as non-standard or incomplete address records or addresses written in more complex languages.
  • 1.3K
  • 10 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Environmental Contaminants and Disparities in Women's Health
Environmental contaminants generally fall into three categories: persistent organic pollutants (POPs), endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), and heavy metals.
  • 1.3K
  • 27 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Precision Livestock Farming Systems and Dairy Animals Improvement
Precision livestock farming (PLF) technologies have been developed with the intention to improve farm management and minimize aversive handling practices. Precision livestock farming systems could serve as useful support tools for the farmer’s decision making and improve the sustainability and competitiveness of dairy farms through the implementation of automated procedures that minimize the labour demand, animal disturbances and environmental impact.
  • 1.3K
  • 29 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Components of Post-Liver Transplantation Metabolic Syndrome
Survival rates after liver transplantation have increased dramatically over the past 20 years. Cardiovascular disease is the most common extra-hepatic cause of mortality in the long-term post liver transplant. This is intimately linked with both the higher pre-existing rates of metabolic syndrome in these patients as well as increased propensity to develop de novo metabolic syndrome post-transplant. This unfavorable metabolic profile that contributes to cardiovascular disease is multifactorial and largely preventable. 
  • 1.3K
  • 06 Jun 2022
Topic Review
Ketogenic Diet for Preoperative Weight Reduction
Bariatric surgery (BS) is the most effective treatment in patients with severe obesity in terms of durable weight loss and reduction of comorbidity burden and mortality. Pre-operative weight loss can limit anesthesiological and surgical risks. Ketogenic diet (KD) is an “umbrella term” under which different low-carbohydrate dietary protocols are included. The effect of KD for preoperative weight reduction in BS is described. 
  • 1.3K
  • 22 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Helios Prototype
The Helios Prototype was the fourth and final aircraft developed as part of an evolutionary series of solar- and fuel-cell-system-powered unmanned aerial vehicles. AeroVironment, Inc. developed the vehicles under NASA's Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology (ERAST) program. They were built to develop the technologies that would allow long-term, high-altitude aircraft to serve as atmospheric satellites, to perform atmospheric research tasks as well as serve as communications platforms. It was developed from the NASA Pathfinder and NASA Centurion aircraft.
  • 1.3K
  • 31 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Diagnosis and Prognosis of HGSOC
High-grade serous ovarian carcinoma (HGSOC) represents the most common form of epithelial ovarian carcinoma. The absence of specific symptoms leads to late-stage diagnosis, making HGSOC one of the gynecological cancers with the worst prognosis. The cellular origin of HGSOC, the role of reproductive hormones, the genetic and chromosomal traits, or the pathways mainly involved in the physiopathology of this cancer, as well as when evaluating prognosis and response to therapy in  patients. Despite the growing knowledge on this field, the detection of HGSOC is still based on traditional methods such as carbohydrate antigen 125 (CA125) detection and ultrasound, and the combined use of these methods has yet to support significant reductions in overall mortality rates, which opens new avenues to guide research towards the early diagnosis of HGSOC.
  • 1.3K
  • 30 Nov 2022
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