Metric Systems Corporation (United States)

Background: Deep gluteal syndrome (DGS) is an underdiagnosed cause of sciatica-like pain, involving the entrapment of the sciatic nerve by various structures within the subgluteal space. While cases of ossification or calcification in the context of severe pelvic imbalance have been rarely reported, isolated SSL calcification as a primary cause of DGS remains largely unexplored and undocumented. This case report presents the first documented instance of sacrospinous ligament (SSL) calcification identified as the primary cause of DGS and its successful management with ultrasound-guided prolotherapy. Case Presentation: A 51-year-old female presented with severe, worsening left-sided sciatica of several months’ duration. Physical examination revealed an antalgic gait, positive sacroiliac joint tests, and multiple positive DGS-specific provocative tests (FAIR, Pace sign, Seated Piriformis Stretch). Radiographs and musculoskeletal ultrasound (MSK-US) confirmed calcification within the left sacrospinous ligament, with associated sciatic nerve swelling. The patient underwent three sessions of ultrasound-guided prolotherapy (dextrose 10% with lidocaine) targeting the calcification site, followed by a structured rehabilitation program. Results: The patient reported a significant reduction in pain, from a Visual Analog Scale (VAS) score of 10/10 to 1/10 within one month. All previously positive provocative tests converted to negative, indicating a resolution of the nerve entrapment. Functional mobility was fully restored. Conclusions: This case highlights isolated sacrospinous ligament calcification as a potential and previously overlooked pathological entity responsible for deep gluteal syndrome. To our knowledge, this is the first report to implicate ligamentous calcification as a primary etiological factor in DGS. Musculoskeletal ultrasound proved indispensable for both diagnosis and treatment guidance. Furthermore, ultrasound-guided prolotherapy emerged as a successful and minimally invasive therapeutic option in this case, potentially by stabilizing the ligament and reducing neurogenic inflammation. This case expands the differential diagnosis of sciatica, introduces a new target for intervention in refractory cases, and underscores the need for future studies in larger patient cohorts to validate these findings.

Background: Ultrasound is increasingly used in plastic surgery for real-time guidance in minimally invasive procedures. However, standardized approaches for targeting the facial nerve (FN) trunk, particularly for motor nerve interventions, remain limited. This study aimed to evaluate the anatomical feasibility of an ultrasound-guided approach to the FN trunk using the posterior belly of the digastric muscle (PBDM) as a landmark. Methods: An exploratory feasibility design was used with a single fresh-frozen cadaver to perform ultrasound-guided dye injections targeting the anterior and posterior surfaces of the PBDM. Subsequent layer-by-layer dissection evaluated dye distribution relative to the facial and hypoglossal nerves. Additionally, real-time Doppler ultrasound in a live participant was conducted to visualize adjacent vascular structures, including the occipital and vertebral arteries. Results: The FN trunk was located deep to the PBDM and near the stylomastoid foramen. Anterior injections reached the FN trunk, whereas posterior injections followed the trajectory of the hypoglossal nerve. Doppler ultrasound enabled clear visualization of major vascular structures, supporting safe needle trajectory planning. Conclusions: This cadaveric feasibility study demonstrates a potentially reproducible ultrasound-guided anatomical approach to the FN trunk using consistent musculoskeletal and vascular landmarks. Incorporating Doppler vascular mapping enhances procedural safety and accuracy, providing a practical framework to facilitate clinical translation of image-guided motor nerve interventions in plastic and reconstructive surgery.

Third molars are one of the greatest challenges in oral surgery due to the many different positions these teeth can be found in the dental arch, as suggested by the classifications described by Pell and Gregory, according to MEDEIROS(1) et al. In addition, there are also morphological variations in the number and shape of the roots. This case report aims to provide a preventive approach to the extraction of ectopic third molars, which have a high risk of migrating to other anatomical spaces during surgery, bringing more peace of mind to the dental surgeon's actions in outpatient or inpatient surgeries. After confirming the need through a CT scan, the patient underwent surgery to remove the third molar tooth, following the normal surgical protocols until the tooth was exposed, where a tie wire was used to pierce the tooth after drilling it, to guarantee traction without the possibility of it being pulled into the submandibular space. The surgical procedure was carried out smoothly due to the approach used, and the patient was monitored during and after surgery, with excellent results. We conclude that the strategy used is an efficient method for reducing the occurrence of trans-operative accidents in noble areas of the facial anatomy.

We investigate experimentally three-dimensional (3D) hydrodynamic turbulence at scales larger than the forcing scale. We manage to perform a scale separation between the forcing scale and the container size by injecting energy into the fluid using centimetric magnetic particles. We measure the statistics of the fluid velocity field at scales larger than the forcing scale (energy spectra, velocity distributions, and energy flux spectrum). In particular, we show that the large-scale dynamics are in statistical equilibrium and can be described with an effective temperature, although not isolated from the turbulent Kolmogorov cascade. In the large-scale domain, the energy flux is zero on average but exhibits intense temporal fluctuations. Our work paves the way to use equilibrium statistical mechanics to describe the large-scale properties of 3D turbulent flows.

Abstract Rice husk disposal has become a great challenge for Pakistan being one of the largest rice producer across the globe. Rice Husk Ash (RHA) contains sufficient pozzolanic properties which opens up opportunities for its usage as cementitious material as partial replacement of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC). In this research RHA was added as cement replacement in different percentages by weight of cement i.e. 0%, 6%, 12%, 18% and 24% at constant mix ratio of 1:2:4 and water-cement ratio of 0.6 that is M15 grade concrete with a target strength of 15-20 MPa. The properties of concrete like workability, compressive strength, tensile strength, flexure strength, and water permeability were investigated by casting standard concrete samples in the form of cubes, cylinders and beams in addition to cost comparison study The outcomes show that workability of fresh concrete increases with an increase in RHA content and almost all concrete properties studied in this research gave more favorable results at 6% replacement level compared with the control mix.

Introdução: A fibromialgia é caracterizada como uma doença crónica na qual a principal característica é a dor músculo-esquelética generalizada, associada a pontos dolorosos com localizações anatomicamente precisas quando sujeitas a palpação. Em situações normais estes estímulos não provocariam dor. Predominantemente o género feminino é o mais afetado e frequentemente está associada a sintomas como fadiga, dificuldades cognitivas, perturbações de humor, cefaleias, alterações gastrointestinais e a distúrbios do sono. A relação sono e dor, sintoma primordial da fibromialgia é consistente, sendo os distúrbios do sono muito comuns sugerindo que estes têm uma elevada relevância no agravamento da sintomatologia. Objetivo: Avaliação através de questionários a relação entre qualidade de sono e sintomatologia da fibromialgia. Métodos: Estudo analítico, observacional e transversal, com uma amostra do tipo não probabilístico, realizado em 38 indivíduos. O estudo implicou o autopreenchimento de inquéritos nomeadamente Informação Geral, Escala Visual Analógica da Intensidade da Dor, Questionário Impacto da Fibromialgia, Índice Qualidade de Sono de Pittsburgh e Questionário qualidade de vida SF-12. A análise estatística foi executada com recurso ao programa SPSS® (Statistic Product and Service Solution). Resultados: Verificou-se que as variáveis PSQI global e SF-12 apresentaram uma correlação negativa fraca com significância marginalmente significativa (p=0,072) e uma correlação positiva moderada estatisticamente significativa foi verificada entre a depressão e ansiedade (p<0,001). As restantes variáveis não apresentaram quaisquer associações. Conclusão: A sintomatologia da fibromialgia está relacionada com os distúrbios do sono, devendo estes pacientes realizar uma avaliação do sono tanto subjetiva como objetiva. Da mesma forma, deve ser incentivada uma intervenção multidisciplinar de maneira a potenciar o aumento da qualidade de vida destes pacientes, melhorando e adaptando o seu acompanhamento clínico e adotando abordagens não apenas farmacológicas.

The deformability of red blood cells is an essential parameter that controls the rheology of blood as well as its circulation in the body. Characterizing the rigidity of the cells and their heterogeneity in a blood sample is thus a key point in the understanding of occlusive phenomena, particularly in the case of erythrocytic diseases in which healthy cells coexist with pathological cells. However, measuring intracellular rheology in small biological compartments requires the development of specific techniques. We propose a technique based on molecular rotors-viscosity-sensitive fluorescent probes-to evaluate the above key point. DASPI molecular rotor has been identified with spectral fluorescence properties decoupled from those of hemoglobin, the main component of the cytosol. After validation of the rotor as a viscosity probe in model fluids, we showed by confocal microscopy that, in addition to binding to the membrane, the rotor penetrates spontaneously and uniformly into red blood cells. Experiments conducted on temperature-stiffened red blood cells show that molecular rotors can probe their overall rigidity. A simple model allowed us to separate the contribution of the cytosol from that of the membrane, providing a quantification of cytosol rigidification with temperature, consistent with independent measurements of the viscosity of hemoglobin solutions. Our experiments demonstrate that the rotor can be used to quantify the intracellular rheology of red blood cells at the cellular level, as well as the heterogeneity of this stiffness in a blood sample. This technique opens up new possibilities for biomedical applications, diagnosis and disease monitoring.

The study was undertaken with the objective of characterization of the single exon region of potassium inwardly rectifying channel, subfamily J, member 11 (KCNJ11) gene in Labrador retriever breeds of dogs. The gene encodes the islet ATP-sensitive potassium channel Kir6.2 which plays a major role in insulin secretion and is of substantial interest as a candidate gene for type 2 diabetes. The genomic DNA was isolated from six pedigreed Labrador retriever breeds of dogs and a 1173 bp fragment of the coding region of KCNJ11 gene was amplified by PCR technique using synthetic oligonucleotide primer pairs and the confirmation of PCR product was done by agarose gel electrophoresis. The PCR amplified products were purified and sequenced commercially. The sequenced data was compared with nucleotide sequences available in the data bank using suitable software. The nucleotide sequence showed 99 per cent homology between Labrador and Boxer breeds of dogs with two bases found to be replaced among the two sequences whereas, 100 per cent homology was observed between sequences of Labrador, Basenji and Great Dane dogs. Predicted amino acid sequence and the secondary protein structure revealed no characteristic change between the dog breeds suggestive of the highly conserved nature of the gene studied. The study can be extended in larger dog population to find out any polymorphism in the respective gene studied which might serve as a breed specific marker for screening diabetic dog population in future.