A study of the diagnostic accuracy and reliability of the Scoliometer and Adam's forward bend test

STUDY DESIGN: Study of the diagnostic accuracy and interexaminer reliability of scoliosis diagnostic tests. OBJECTIVES: To estimate the sensitivity, specificity, and predictive value of the Scoliometer (National Scoliosis Foundation, Watertown, MA) and Adam's forward bend test in diagnosing scoliosis, and to determine the interexaminer reliability of the Scoliometer and Adam's forward bend test. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Exposure to diagnostic radiation in patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis may result in a small but significant increase in cancer rates. The full-spine radiographic examination remains the standard procedure for the assessment of scoliosis. There is a need for a valid and reliable noinvasive test to assess scoliosis. METHODS: Two examiners independently assessed 105 patients presenting to a scoliosis clinic for trunk asymmetry with Adam's forward bend test and axial trunk rotation with the Scoliometer. The Cobb method served as the gold standard. RESULTS: The interexaminer agreement for the Scoliometer is excellent in the thoracic spine and substantial in the lumbar spine. The interexaminer measurement error shows poor precision for thoracic and lumbar Scoliometer measurements. The interexaminer agreement for Adam's forward bend test is substantial in the thoracic spine and poor in the lumbar spine. Adam's forward bend test is more sensitive than the Scoliometer in detecting thoracic curves measuring 20 degrees or more by the Cobb method. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis suggests that the use of the Scoliometer marginally improves the ability of diagnosing a scoliosis in the thoracic spine. CONCLUSIONS: The Scoliometer and Adam's forward bend tests have adequate interexaminer reliability for the assessment of thoracic curves. The Scoliometer has better interexaminer agreement in the lumbar spine. However, the Scoliometer has a high level of interexaminer measurement error that limits its use as an outcome instrument. Because Adam's forward bend test is more sensitive than the Scoliometer, the authors believe that it remains the best noninvasive clinical test to evaluate scoliosis.     

Experimental and calculated liquid-liquid interfacial tension in demixing metal alloys

Liquid-liquid interracial tension in binary and temary Al-based monotectic systems has been determined experimentally with a tensiometric method in a wide temperature interval. The temperature dependence of the interfacial tension is well described by a power law function of the type σαβ - （1 - T/Tc）δ with the critical exponent δ= 1.3 and a critical temperature Tc. Theoretical models describing the liquid-liquid interface in monotectic alloys and their applicability for calculation of the interfacial tension and its temperature dependence in binary systems are considered.     

Morphometry and Stiffness of Red Blood Cells—Signatures of Neurodegenerative Diseases and Aging

Human red blood cells (RBCs) are unique cells with the remarkable ability to deform, which is crucial for their oxygen transport function, and which can be significantly altered under pathophysiological conditions. Here we performed ultrastructural analysis of RBCs as a peripheral cell model, looking for specific signatures of the neurodegenerative pathologies (NDDs)—Parkinson’s disease (PD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD), utilizing atomic force (AFM) and conventional optical (OM) microscopy. We found significant differences in the morphology and stiffness of RBCs isolated from patients with the selected NDDs and those from healthy individuals. Neurodegenerative pathologies’ RBCs are characterized by a reduced abundance of biconcave discoid shape, lower surface roughness and a higher Young’s modulus, compared to healthy cells. Although reduced, the biconcave is still the predominant shape in ALS and AD cells, while the morphology of PD is dominated by crenate cells. The features of RBCs underwent a marked aging-induced transformation, which followed different aging pathways for NDDs and normal healthy states. It was found that the diameter, height and volume of the different cell shape types have different values for NDDs and healthy cells. Common and specific morphological signatures of the NDDs were identified.     

Experiences with Ozone Treatment Of Drinking Water in Yugoslavia

Ozone currently is being used in several drinking water treatment plants in Yugoslavia. The new Belgrade water treatment plant “Makis” is the largest one with 42 kg/h of installed ozone generating capacity and has been in operation since 1987. This paper describes the main features of ozone application in drinking water treatment. The experimental results of “Makis” pilot-plant investigations and a few examples of ozone application in Yugoslavia are presented.     

Enzymatic synthesis of monoglycerides in a membrane bioreactor with an in-line adsorption column

The chemical synthesis of monoglycerides requires high temperatures, which may lead to the polymerization of unsaturated fatty acids. The enzymatic synthesis of these esters is performed at moderate temperatures and, hence, polymerization is avoided. However, enzymatic processes often end up with a mixture of the product, by-product, substrate and enzyme. An alternative process is an immobilized enzyme membrane reactor equipped with an inline adsorption column to adsorb the monoglycerides, preferentially onto the adsorbate. A silica 60 column has shown preferential adsorption of monocaprinate. The adsorption of a mixture of decanoic acid, mono- and diglycerides is based on two different mechanisms. The decanoic acid will interact with hydroxyl groups at the silica gel surface, which results in a noncompetitive decanoic acid adsorption onto 25% of the silica gel surface. On the remaining part of the silica gel surface, mono- and diglycerides adsorb competitively. When a mild eluant is used, such as 5% ethanol in hexane, only the competitively adsorbed molecules are desorbed. This results in a purification factor of approximately 90% after desorption. The column can be desorbed off-line in a continuous membrane/repeated batch column process. This results in an estimated production of monoglycerides of 60 mol (15 kg) of monoester per gram enzyme.     

Effect of temperature on activity and selectivity of carbon supported Mo sulfide in simultaneous hydrodenitrogenation of pyridine and hydrodesulfurization of thiophene

Activity and selectivity of carbon supported Mo catalyst was tested in parallel hydrodenitrogenation (HDN) of pyridine and hydrodesulfurization (HDS) of thiophene in the temperature range 260–350 °C at 2 MPa of hydrogen pressure and compared with that of commercial NiMo-alumina catalyst Shell 324. The main advantages of carbon supported Mo sulfide over commercial NiMo catalyst can be summarized as follows: the markedly higher HDN and better HDS activities normalized to moles of active metals, the lower content of piperidine in the reaction products and the distinctly better selectivity towards HDN reaction.     

Oxidative dimerisation of propene to 1,5-hexadiene on Bi-Zn-O catalysts

The oxidative dimerisation of propene to 1,5-hexadiene has been investigated on Bi-Zn-O catalysts. The Bi₄₈ZnO₇₃ phase, observed in the catalysts calcined at 700 ° C is an active and selective catalyst for the formation of 1,5-hexadiene. The best catalytic performance (1,5-hexadiene selectivity 64%) has been obtained at 525 ° C, with a propene to oxygen ratio of 26, on a catalyst formed by Bi₄₈ZnO₇₃ with a small excess of ZnO.     

Curing process of powdered phenol–formaldehyde resol resins and the role of water in the curing systems

The curing behavior of two kinds of commercial powdered resol phenolic resins was studied by differential scanning calorimetry. Liquid‐state ¹³C‐NMR spectroscopy was used to aid in understanding the curing behavior by detecting the structure of powdered resins. The reaction mechanism was interpreted with the dependency of activation energy on the degree of conversion. The results indicate that there are differences in the curing mechanism between core and face phenolic resins. The curing process of core resin was faster than that of face resin at the same reaction temperature. The water added in the curing system played an important role of plasticizer or diluent according to different curing stages and water content. In the initial curing stage, water mainly diluted the system and retarded the curing reactions. However, at the higher degrees of conversion, water played the role of plasticizer to decrease the effect of diffusion on the curing reactions to make the curing reactions more complete. The excess water added in the curing system played the role of diluent at almost all stages during the curing process. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 89: 1371–1378, 2003     

Propolis and carnauba wax-based safflower oil oleogels as fat substitutes in cakes: Production,oxidative stability,and characterization

In this study, safflower oil oleogels were made using propolis wax and carnauba wax in three different concentrations each, and their effectiveness as a fat substitute in cake was evaluated afterward. Oleogels' oxidative stability and characterization were looked into. In oleogels, the oil binding capacity, solid fat content, and crystallization time were all assessed. The cakes underwent an examination for moisture content, texture, and sensory evaluation. Additionally, analyses of fatty acid composition, free fatty acidity, oxidative stability (peroxide value, conjugated diene-triene), 3-monochloropropane-1,2-diol (3-MCPD), and glycidyl were carried out both before and after baking in oleogels and shortening. Several of the physical, textural, and sensory qualities of the oleogel-based cakes were acceptable when compared to those of the shortening-based cakes. The general acceptability of cakes made with carnauba wax was very high and almost under control. The acceptability of cakes made with propolis wax oleogels was lower than this. The study of these criteria has shown that safflower oil-based carnauba and propolis wax oleogels can be utilized to produce high-quality, healthful cakes with a high amount of unsaturated fatty acids. Practical Applications : To replace fat phases in cake products high in saturated fatty acids and to enhance the fatty acid profile of the cakes, safflower oil-based oleogels with propolis wax and carnauba wax are a very good option. The results obtained provide useful information for the production of high-quality cakes with higher unsaturated fatty acid content, recommended for a healthier diet, with these oleogels containing different concentrations of oleogelator.     

Imaging of KCa3.1 Channels in Tumor Cells with PET and Small-Molecule Fluorescent Probes

The Ca²⁺ activated K⁺ channel K_Ca3.1 is overexpressed in several human tumor cell lines, e. g. clear cell renal carcinoma, prostate cancer, non-small cell lung cancer. Highly aggressive cancer cells use this ion channel for key processes of the metastatic cascade such as migration, extravasation and invasion. Therefore, small molecules, which are able to image this K_Ca3.1 channel in vitro and in vivo represent valuable diagnostic and prognostic tool compounds. The [¹⁸F]fluoroethyltriazolyl substituted senicapoc was used as positron emission tomography (PET) tracer and showed promising properties for imaging of K_Ca3.1 channels in lung adenocarcinoma cells in mice. The novel senicapoc BODIPY conjugates with two F-atoms ( 9 a ) and with a F-atom and a methoxy moiety ( 9 b ) at the B-atom led to the characteristic punctate staining pattern resulting from labeling of single K_Ca3.1 channels in A549-3R cells. This punctate pattern was completely removed by preincubation with an excess of senicapoc confirming the high specificity of K_Ca3.1 labeling. Due to the methoxy moiety at the B-atom and the additional oxyethylene unit in the spacer, 9 b exhibits higher polarity, which improves solubility and handling without reduction of fluorescence quantum yield. Docking studies using a cryo-electron microscopy (EM) structure of the K_Ca3.1 channel confirmed the interaction of 9 a and 9 b with a binding pocket in the channel pore.