METHODS: In this study, we investigated the response of cartilage to the trauma sustained during extraction and determined the time needed for the cartilage to stabilize. Explants were extracted aseptically from bovine metacarpal-phalangeal joints and cultured for up to 17 days.
RESULTS: The cell viability, cell number, proteoglycan content, and collagen content of the harvested explants were analyzed at 0, 2, 10, and 17 days after explantation. A high percentage of the cartilage explants were found to be viable. The cell density initially increased significantly but stabilized after two days. The proteoglycan content decreased gradually over time, but it did not decrease to a significant level due to leakage through the distorted peripheral collagen network and into the bathing medium. The collagen content remained stable for most of the culture period until it dropped abruptly on day 17.
CONCLUSION: Overall, the tested cartilage explants were sustainable over long-term culture. They were most stable from day 2 to day 10. The degradation of the collagen on day 17 did not reach diseased levels, but it indicated the potential of the cultures to develop into degenerated cartilage. These findings have implications for the application of cartilage explants in pathophysiological fields.
OBJECTIVE: This study investigated whether the inclusion of video games in the upper limb amputee rehabilitation protocol could have a beneficial impact for muscle preparation, coordination, and patient motivation among individuals who have undergone transradial upper limb amputation.
METHODS: Ten participants, including five amputee participants and five able-bodied participants, were enrolled in 10 1-hour sessions within a 4-week rehabilitation program. In order to investigate the effects of the rehabilitation protocol used in this study, virtual reality box and block tests and electromyography (EMG) assessments were performed. Maximum voluntary contraction was measured before, immediately after, and 2 days after interacting with four different EMG-controlled video games. Participant motivation was assessed with the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI) questionnaire and user evaluation survey.
RESULTS: Survey analysis showed that muscle strength and coordination increased at the end of training for all the participants. The results of Pearson correlation analysis indicated that there was a significant positive association between the training period and the box and block test score (r8=0.95, P
METHODS: A user-friendly software was developed to accurately predict the individual size-specific dose estimation of paediatric patients undergoing computed tomography (CT) scans of the head, thorax, and abdomen. The software includes a calculation equation developed based on a novel SSDE prediction equation that used a population's pre-determined percentage difference between volume-weighted computed tomography dose index (CTDIvol) and SSDE with age. American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM RPT 204) method (manual) and segmentation-based SSDE calculators (indoseCT and XXautocalc) were used to assess the proposed software predictions comparatively.
RESULTS: The results of this study show that the automated equation-based calculation of SSDE and the manual and segmentation-based calculation of SSDE are in good agreement for patients. The differences between the automated equation-based calculation of SSDE and the manual and segmentation-based calculation are less than 3%.
CONCLUSION: This study validated an accurate SSDE calculator that allows users to enter key input values and calculate SSDE.
IMPLICATION FOR PRACTICE: The automated equation-based SSDE software (PESSD) seems a promising tool for estimating individualised CT doses during CT scans.