awaywithwords: On the possibilities in unavailable designs

Constraints in our use of communication materials are often socially and historically produced; to ask after the constraints as we teach or compose can help us understand how material choices in producing communications articulate to social practices we may not otherwise wish to reproduce. In this writing, I consider the constraints Gunther Kress often applied to “word” and “image,” questioning their temporal and spatial structures.     

Relationship of the meniscofemoral ligaments of the knee to lateral meniscus tears: magnetic resonance imaging evaluation

This study sought to determine if the presence or absence of meniscofemoral ligaments exerts an influence on the prevalence of tears of the lateral meniscus. We reviewed the sagittal and coronal magnetic resonance images of 173 knees for lateral meniscus tears and the presence of the meniscofemoral ligaments. One or both meniscofemoral ligaments were present in 142 of 173 knees (82%). Fifty-four knees had lateral meniscus tears, 27 of which involved the posterior horn. Thirty-three percent of knees with meniscofemoral ligaments had a lateral meniscus tear, and 23% of knees without meniscofemoral ligaments had a lateral meniscus tear (no significant difference). We found no association between the presence of the meniscofemoral ligaments and tears of the lateral meniscus. Our study questions the importance of preserving or reconstructing these ligaments in instances of meniscal transplantation.     

Postpartum hemorrhage of the uterine artery rupture

Fatty masses, especially solid lipomas, in the paediatric abdomen are very rare. We present such a case, that of an 11-year-old boy who was admitted with abdominal pain and distension. The pre-operative diagnosis of lipoma was suggested by US and CT. The diagnosis of simple lipoma arising in the leaves of the small bowel mesentery, without immature cells, was verified microscopically after the operation. The tumour was enucleated from the mesenterium leaving the intestine intact. We underline the importance of US and CT as pre-operative diagnostic tools.     

A method for shape optimization of a hip prosthesis to maximize the fatigue life of the cement

The long term success of total joint replacement can be limited by fatigue failure of the acrylic cement and the resulting disruption of the bone-cement interface. The incidence of such problems may be diminished by reduction of the fatigue notch factor in the cement, so that stress concentrations are avoided and the fatigue crack initiation time maximized. This study describes a method for numerical shape optimization whereby the finite element method is used to determine an optimal shape for the femoral stem of a hip prosthesis in order to minimize the fatigue notch factor in the cement layer and at interfaces with the bone and stem. A two-dimensional model of the proximal end of a femur fitted with a total hip prosthesis was used which was equivalent to a simplified three-dimensional axisymmetric model. Software was developed to calculate the fatigue notch factor in the cement along the cement/stem and cement/bone interfaces and in the proximal bone. The fatigue notch factor in the cement at the cement/stem interface was then minimized using the ANSYS finite element program while constraining the fatigue notch factor at the cement/bone interface at or below its initial level and maintaining levels of stress in the proximal bone to prevent stress shielding. The results were compared with those from other optimization studies.     

Perforation repair comparing mineral trioxide aggregate and amalgam using an anaerobic bacterial leakage model

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ability of mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) and amalgam to seal furcal perforations in extracted human molars using an anaerobic bacterial leakage model. Furcal perforations were made in 39 maxillary and mandibular human molars with a high-speed bur. These were randomly divided into two experimental groups of 18, with the remaining three teeth used as positive controls. Experimental group 1 was repaired with MTA and group 2 with amalgam. Three additional teeth without perforations served as negative controls. A dual chamber anaerobic bacterial leakage model was assembled. Brain heart infusion broth with yeast extract, hemin, menadione, and the chromogenic indicator bromcresol purple was used as the culture broth for Fusobacterium nucleatum. Eight of 18 amalgam samples leaked, whereas none of the 18 MTA samples leaked. MTA was significantly better than amalgam in preventing leakage of F. nucleatum past furcal perforation repairs.     

Structure-activity relationships among substituted N-benzoyl derivatives of phenylalanine and its analogs in a microbial antitumor prescreen I: Derivatives of o-fluoro-DL-phenylalanine

Twelve derivatives of 0-fluoro-dl-phenylalanine containing fluorine, chlorine, methoxy, and nitro radicals in various positions of the aromatic ring of the benzoyl group were prepared and tested in a Lactobacillus casei system. It was found that most substitutions in the benzoyl phenyl ring resulted in a compound exhibiting greater growth-inhibiting activity than the nonsubstituted benzoyl-o-fluorophenylalanine. The greatest activity was observed in the ortho-substituted fluoro compound and the meta- and para-substituted chloro and nitro compounds. With the methoxy group, the position of substitution appeared unimportant, since all three methoxy isomers exhibited essentially equal inhibition. Nitro substitution in the ortho position had a protective effect in that the product was less active than the unsubstituted benzoyl-o-fluoro-dl-phenylalanine.     

Health conditions of workers chronically exposed to ethyl gasoline and other petroleum products

Results of 5-year periodic examinations and SDH, LAP and GGTP activity in blood serum of 207 workers chronically exposed to ethyl gasoline and other petroleum products were analysed. In addition, in the selected groups, the levels of IgA, IgG and IgM immunoglobulins, complement C3 fraction and alpha2 macroglobulins were determined. Results of objective and enzymatic examinations indicate a slight toxic liver lesion. No significant changes in albuminous fractions were found, except a significant reduction in alpha2 macroglobulins.