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It is widely believed digital technologies are transforming all aspects of economy and society, driven by scientific advances across interdisciplinary fields and innovations relating to artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, robotics, etc. But what, if anything, is revolutionary about these developments and what are the implications for the neo-liberal opportunity bargain based on a market competition where 'learning equals earning'. This article outlines different interpretations of the 'fourth industrial revolution' presenting contrasting theories of labour scarcity and job scarcity, to highlight why we need to rethink education, opportunity and the future of work in a context of increasing job scarcity. This is urgent not because we are approaching the end of work, but the end of 'knowledge' work as understood in public policy, with no viable solution to how to create in a new opportunity bargain for a fair and efficient future of work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Listeria monocytogenes is a facultative intracellular foodborne pathogen and the causative agent of the severe disease listeriosis. It is found ubiquitously in the environment and exhibits innate resistance to certain antimicrobials, but acquired antimicrobial resistance remains relatively uncommon. Given the potentially dire health outcomes associated with listeriosis, acquisition of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) by this pathogen is of considerable public health concern. AMR in L. monocytogenes has been surveyed frequently in strains of clinical and food origin, but much less commonly in wildlife. We analyzed 158 strains of L. monocytogenes and 27 of non-pathogenic Listeria spp. isolated from wild black bears (Ursus americanus) for resistance to a panel of antimicrobials. AMR was uncommon and noted mostly for tetracycline. Tetracycline resistance was more common in Listeria innocua than in L. monocytogenes. All tetracycline-resistant L. monocytogenes strains belonged to sequence type ST1039 and harbored the Tn916-like tet(M) transposon Tn916.1039 in a conserved chromosomal location. In contrast, three different tetracycline resistance elements, i.e., the tet(M) elements Tn5801.UAM and Tn5801.551 and the tet(S) element Tn6000.205, were ident ified among tetracycline-resistant strains of L. innocua. The greater prevalence and diversity of tetracycline resistance elements among bear-derived non-pathogenic Listeria strains suggest the potential of the latter to serve as reservoirs for retention and dive rsification of AMR determinants in this wildlife host and warrant their further monitoring and study. IMPORTANCE Listeria monocytogenes causes severe foodborne illness and is the only human pathogen in the genus Listeria. Previous surveys of AMR in Listeria focused on clinical sources and food or food processing environments, with AMR in strains from wildlife and other natural ecosystems remaining under-explored. We analyzed 185 sequenced strains from wild black bears (Ursus americanus) from the United States, including 158 and 27 L. monocytogenes and L. innocua, respectively. Tetracycline resistance was the most prevalent resistance trait. In L. monocytogenes, it was encountered exclusively in serotype 4b strains with the novel Tn916-like element Tn916.1039. In contrast, three distinct, novel tetracycline resistance elements (Tn5801.UAM, Tn5801.551, and Tn6000.205) were identified in L. innocua. Interestingly, Tn5801.551 was identical to elements in L. monocytogenes from a major foodborne outbreak in the United States in 2011. The findings suggest the importance of wildlife and non-pathogenic Listeria species as reservoir for resistance elements in Listeria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A fundamental shift is taking place in the way we think about the future of work and its relationship to education, training and the labour market. Until recently, expanding higher education was widely believed to result in higher earnings, reflecting an insatiable demand for knowledge workers. In the United Kingdom, this race to higher education included a major transfer of resources from further and adult provision to higher education. This paper raises a number of issues in rethinking tertiary education in a context of digital disruption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policy and academic circles in India put forth the argument that the country's demographic dividend puts it in an optimal position to win the race between education and technology across nations by expanding higher education opportunities. This article examines the recruitment practices of 13 leading corporations in highgrowth sectors in India. Based on detailed qualitative interviews, it explains why these corporations are unlikely to increase the demand for graduates in ways imagined by policy-makers or proponents of skills-biased technological change. Companies in India are locked into an intense 'war for talent', but only for graduates in India's top-tier universities. We argue that there is a close correspondence between India's highly elitist university system and corporate talent management strategies, creating a narrow pool of highly mobile Indian corporate elite, but resulting in limited prospects for the wider Indian workforce. In this talent market, the success of the top corporate elite rests on keeping the elitist character of higher education, rather than widening labour market opportunities. This paper also seeks to explain why top corporations in India engage in this 'war for talent' when they are not always certain their investments pay off. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A major focus of sociological research is on the role of the credential as a 'currency of opportunity', mediating the relationship between education and occupational destinations. However, the labour market has largely remained a 'black box' in sociological and education policy studies. This article draws on 'big data' from over 21,000,000 job adverts to explore how employers in the UK describe job requirements, with particular reference to the role of credentials. It challenges existing theories premised upon the notion that higher levels of formal education determine individual (dis)advantage in the competition for jobs. Although they have different views of the relationship between credentials, opportunity and efficiency, these theories assume that credentials largely determine occupational hiring. Our analysis suggests that formal academic credentials play a relatively minor differentiating role in the UK labour market, as the majority of employer's place greater emphasis on 'job readiness'. This raises a number of issues for sociological and policy analysis, including the future role of credentials in the (re)production of educational and labour market inequalities. Methodologically, the article highlights how the use of big data can contribute to the analysis of education, skills and the labour market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Technology-related changes in work processes often led to the destruction of jobs at the firm level, even in the short-term. • Organisational human capital and skills are not a barrier to labour substitution. As such, supply-side strategies based on educational reform are unlikely to provide strong protection against automation by themselves. • Business strategies are important in mediating the relationship between the introduction of technological change and job reduction. • Management perceptions on workforce commitment and competence, can also protect workers against the introduction of labour replacing technology. • Attention to the social relations and the labour process, and not only to the limits of technological possibilities or economic calculations, is required when analysing the future of work. Human capital, and related theories such as skills biased technological change, argue that skills development is a central strategy for individuals to succeed in an increasingly global and digitalised labour market. One of the main shortcomings of these theories, however, is their focus on the individual and their detachment from the organisational context in which workers operate and deploy their skills. In this article, we incorporate this context in the analysis, and explore the importance of the company characteristics in sheltering workers from unemployment when technological change occurs in their firm, using rich establishment-level data. Our results suggest that 'high-skilled' workplaces do not protect workers against automation. By contrast, the results point to the importance of companies' competitive strategies and management perceptions in sheltering workers from automation. The findings underline the relevance of social relations in the analysis of the future of work, and question accounts that focus exclusively on skills and educational reform to protect workers and create inclusive labour markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines student accounts of credentials, talent and academic success, against a backdrop of the enduring liberal ideal of an education-based meritocracy. The article also examines Bourdieu’s account of academic qualifications as the dominant source of institutionalised cultural capital, and concludes that it does not adequately account for comparative differences in the social structure of competition and ideological shifts in class (re)production in different national contexts. This analysis is based on an empirical investigation of elite students at Oxford University and Sciences Po in Paris. We investigated how they understand the competition for a livelihood and whether they see themselves as more ‘talented’ than students from non-elite universities. This investigation revealed important similarities and differences between British and French students that have significant sociological implications for the (re)production and legitimation of educational and labour market inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

There is increasing interest in the emergence of a 'global middle class' in which high achieving young graduates increasingly look to develop careers that transcend national boundaries. This paper explores this issue through comparing and contrasting the aspirations and orientations of two 'elite' cohorts of graduates. Interviews with students at the University of Oxford, England, and Sciences- Po, France, reveal very different ambitions and allegiances. Our Oxford respondents portray their futures as projects of self-fulfilment as they build portfolio careers by moving from job to job and from country to country with limited social allegiances - epitomizing the nomadic worker of the transnational elite. Our Parisian respondents, on the other hand, display strong allegiances to the nation, state and civic duty. Their projects of the self involve reconciling their personal aspirations with strong allegiances to France. The paper concludes by discussing the significance of these differences. It argues that the enduring role of education in the formation of national identities should not be overlooked and that more detailed research is needed on the contextual specifity of transnationalism and the (re)production of elites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editors discuss several topics appearing elsewhere in the issue, including information on education and social mobility, meritocratic societies and intergenerational mobility, and life chances in emerging economies.

There has been renewed policy interest in intergenerational social mobility as a route to a fairer society, but in ignoring the sociological evidence this article will argue that the current policy agenda will fail to achieve its goal. Based on an analysis of ‘social congestion’, ‘social exclusion’, and ‘social justice’, it also argues that existing sociological research on education and social mobility needs to be extended. In the early decades of the twenty-first century, the experiences of working-class and middle-class students and families are not defined by intergenerational social mobility, but by social congestion and an opportunity trap. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents the AutoQual elastography method: a novel algorithm that improves the quality of 2D displacement field calculation from ultrasound radio frequency (RF) sequences of acutely ruptured Achilles tendons to determine image-lateral strain fields and has potential use for ligaments and muscles. This method uses 2D bicubic spline interpolation of the RF signal, Quality Determined Search, Automatic Search Range and Adaptive Block Size components as a novel combination that is designed to improve continuity and decrease displacement field noise, especially in areas of low signal strength. We present a simple experiment for quantitatively comparing the AutoQual method to a multiscale (MS) elastography method from ultrasound RF sequences of a 5% agar phantom for rigid body motion and known lateral strain loads with speeds up to 5 mm/s. We finally present examples of four in vivo Achilles tendons in various damage states and with manual or artificially controlled passive flexion of the foot. Results show that the AutoQual method offers a substantial improvement on the MS method, achieving similar performance for rigid body tracking at all speeds, a lower normalized square error at all strains induced and a more continuous strain field at higher compression rates. AutoQual also showed a greater average normalized cross correlation for image blocks in the area of interest, a lower standard deviation of the strain field and a visually more acceptable point tracking for in vivo examples. This work demonstrates lateral ultrasound elastography which is robust to the complex passive motion of the Achilles and to various imaging artifacts associated with imaging tendon rupture. This method potentially has a wide clinical application for assessing in vivo strains in and hence mechanical function of any near skin surface tissues that are longitudinally loaded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author examines the canonical norms for the formation and ordination of priests with respect to candidates from diocesan institutes and societies of apostolic life. Noting that the principal responsibility is always that of a candidate's "proper" bishop (c. 1015), major superiors also always have a significant role to play. For pontifical right institutes and societies the major superior can grant dimissorials for the diaconate and the presbyterate for his members (c. 1019), but for diocesan right institutes and societies it is ultimately for the bishop to ordain or grant dimissorials. Bishops and major superiors should collaborate in all aspects of formation and evaluation of such candidates. The author reviews the relevant canonical norms and offers suggestions about how major superiors and bishops might better collaborate in this ecclesial task. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the transformation of the labour market worldwide. The increase in the global supply of highly-qualified skilled workers leads to the competition of prices and knowledge in the labour market. It is stated that the global working trend is towards high-end work in low-cost locations. The problems for the "business as usual" model are discussed including the death of the human capital, the stifling of the entrepreneurial spirit and disregard of education in capitalism.

The article explores the underlying requirements of canon law for establishing and administering Catholic schools. The two central issues that must be considered when making decisions about a school's legal structure and provisions for its day-to-day administration are cited, namely, governance and property ownership. It stresses the importance for school administrators to understand the canonical meaning of Catholic school. The kinds of Catholic schools are explained, including schools established by the competent authority, schools operated by other ecclesiastical public juristic persons and schools recognized as Catholic.

This paper examines the sociology of education from the perspective of its recent history and attempts to assess the current state of the field. The authors argue that cognate disciplines such as economics and social policy have taken over some of the key questions that were once the preserve of sociology of education. This raises the question of what is lost if the sociology of education is no longer making a significant contribution, in key areas, to the major educational, social and economic issues of the day. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Talk of the rise of a global war for talent and emergence of a new global meritocracy has spread from the literature on human resource management to shape nation-state discourse on managed migration and immigration reform. This article examines the implications that the global war for talent have for education policy. Given that this talent war is a product of neoliberalism, it raises many of the same concerns for educators as neoliberalism in general: the embrace and promotion of social, economic and educational inequality; and a narrow, market-based conception of education, skill and talent. This article argues, however, that the global war for talent represents a new phase in neoliberalism, as it seeks to liberalise the global movement not just of capital and commodities, but of high skill labour as well. In this, it threatens to undercut some of the founding assumptions and goals that have shaped national education policy in OECD countries throughout the post-World War II period, and raises serious concerns for how we are to think about and pursue equality, inclusion and fairness in and through education in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• HE Reforms to create employable talent will not increase Social Mobility; • Corporate 'War for Talent' is contributing to educational inequalities; • Inequity and social mobility need wider reforms beyond education. • Digital Innovation unlikely to lead to a major increase in 'knowledge' work • Positional theory shows why more access to HE may not increase social inclusion. This article examines China's response to issues of social inequity, talent management and social mobility through an analysis of HE policies aimed at transforming China into an innovation nation, alongside the views of corporate managers and executives. Our analysis identifies a positional convergence between China's elite universities and corporate hiring strategies, which renders the 'vocational turn' in HE as part of its digtial innovation strategy, unlikely to narrow educational and labor market inequalities in relative life-chances. What is identified in China is widely applicable, highlighting that social equity and social mobility cannot be delivered through neo-liberal models of technological change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article evaluates the varieties of capitalism (VoC) approach to institutional convergence, globalization, and divergence as represented by the skill formation and welfare state theory of Margarita Estevez-Abe, Torben Iversen, and David Soskice. The article explains that the VoC approach addresses business strategies, which are based on distinctive national institutional structures generated by provisional solutions to specific problems that businesses in any capitalist economy are forced to address.

This article examines the dominant view of the changing relationship between education, jobs and rewards in the global knowledge economy. This asserts that the developed economies can resolve issues of individual aspirations, economic efficiency and social justice through the creation of a high-skills, high-wage ‘magnet’ economy. Here the authors examine four of the key dimensions of this account and argue that while there has been a fundamental change in the relationship between education, economy and society, their conclusions are far removed from the assumptions that currently inform public and policy debates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents information on books for Certificate of Proficiency in English examination. A coursebook is essentially a good teaching-aid, a catalyst of ideas. It seeks to contextualise grammatical and lexical bits of language into topics or themes so that structures and lexis can be seen to grow out of them, and are thus given an anchor in real life. Coursebooks should be teacher and student friendly, which means that they should take into account the inevitable realities and practilities of examination preparation by allowing sufficient scope for teachers and teaching.

This paper advances the position that sociology needs to develop an approach to research which focuses on fundamental social problems. In doing so it shares many of the intellectual values and goals of political arithmetic while seeking to move methodologically beyond it. Since such problems are complex they will require, typically, interdisciplinary input and a concomitant approach to the development and appraisal of theories. We are not, therefore, advocating the primacy of sociology but arguing that it has a distinctive part to play in addressing the fundamental problems of the twenty-first century. However, a policy-oriented sociology has also to take up the task, so clearly defined by the tradition of political arithmetic, which is to hold governments to account. Consequently a central principle of a new policy science is that it should contribute to democratic debate about policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the concept of employability. The recent policy emphasis on employability rests on the assumption that the economic welfare of individuals and the competitive advantage of nations have come to depend on the knowledge, skills and enterprise of the workforce. Those with degree-level qualifications are seen to play a particularly important role in managing the 'knowledge-driven' economy of the future. But the rhetoric that shrouds the idea of employability has been subjected to little conceptual examination. The purpose of this article is to show that the way employability is typically defined in official statements is seriously flawed because it ignores what will be called the 'duality of employability'. It also introduces 'positional conflict theory' as a way of conceptualising the changing relationship between education, employment and the labour market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sphere drag data from throughout the twentieth century are available in tabular form. However, much of the data arose from experiments in small diameter cylindrical vessels, where the results might have been influenced by the wall effect. Wall effect corrections developed by others were applied to 178 of the 480 data points collected. This corrected data set is believed to be free of the influence of wall effects. Existing drag and settling velocity correlations were compared to this data set. In addition, new correlations of the same forms were developed using the corrected data. Two new correlations of sphere terminal velocity are proposed, one applicable for all Reynolds numbers less than 2×10[sup 5], and the other designed to predict settling velocities with exceptional accuracy for terminal Reynolds numbers less than 4,000, a region that contains almost all applications of interest in environmental engineering. The trial and error solution for settling velocity using the Fair and Geyer equation for drag should be retired in favor of the direct calculation available from these new correlations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Positional competition for credentials and jobs has been a major focus of sociological inquiry. However, there has been little attempt to examine the impact of economic globalisation on competition for a livelihood. This is an important question for sociological analysis as centre-left Modernisers, including New Labour in Britain and the Democrats in the United States, assume that globalisation has transformed the nature of positional class conflict. They argue that it is now the absolute standards of educational achievement, rather than the relative standing of credential holders within local or national labour markets, which are of primary importance. Drawing on neo-Weberian theories of social closure, this article will argue that the Modernisers' description of the global labour market and its impact on positional class conflict is seriously flawed. It will also be argued that existing theories of social closure are inadequate and need to be developed in terms of what we call Positional Conflict Theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rise of information technology coupled with the globalization of the economy has thrust the identity and sovereignty of the nation-state into sharp focus over the last two decades. Against this fast-changing background, the response of many countries has been to develop policies aimed at creating national information infrastructures (NII) – often with educational networking initiatives as an integral or pioneering element. Given the emerging global policyscape (Ball 1999) towards creating educational information networks this paper presents a comparative analysis of policy-making across Europe, East Asia and the USA. In analysing education networking in seven case-study countries, the paper emphasizes a political economy perspective; thus focusing attention on the role of the state and the varying relationship between education, economy and society. Having explored the varying motivations and objectives behind countries' education networking programmes the paper concludes by outlining an educational research agenda for future examination of NII policies as they continue to be implemented in developed nations over the next decade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies the features of globalization and the economics of skill formation in Great Britain. Factors determining the trade-offs on advanced economies; Essence of human capital as a determining factor of economic success; Expansion on higher education and the value of lifelong learning.

Looks at land tenures in early modern Japan, with reference to Hideyoshi's land survey. Details on the survey; Important patterns of domain/village administrative initiative in establishing and managing repartition systems.

In this paper it will be argued that we are entering a 'third wave' in the socio-historical development of British education and that similar trends are also evident in the USA, Australia and, New Zealand. The 'first wave' can be characterised by the rise of mass schooling for the working classes in the late nineteenth century. The 'second wave' involved a shift from the provision of education based upon what Dewey called the "feudal dogma of social predestination" to one organised on the basis of individual merit and achievement. What is distinct about the 'third wave' is the move towards a system whereby the education a child receives must conform to the wealth and wishes of parents rather than the abilities and efforts of pupils. In other words, we have witnessed a shift away from the 'ideology of meritocracy' to what I will call the 'ideology of parentocracy'. This paper will consider the evidence to support this conclusion and examine its sociological significance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compares orally administered single-dose 400 mg fleroxacin and 3,000 mg amoxicillin for the treatment of women with acute uncomplicated symptomatic urinary tract infections (UTI). Bacteriologic and clinical outcomes; Safety evaluation; Gastrointestinal adverse effects; Lower incidence of adverse events with amoxicillin.

The article examines how the educational system in Western industrial societies should be organized to meet the social and economic challenge of the late twentieth century. In advanced industrial societies the educational system has been identified as making a major contribution to national economic prosperity. In recent decades Western societies have been experiencing a major transformation heralding a new era which can be described as post-industrial, post-modern, post-fordist or in terms of the rise of the information society. This transformation has been the result of a number of factors including the technological revolution in communications, computers and robotics; globalization; and the rising competitive force of Pacific Rim countries. So long as industrial production is distinguished by the routine tasks symbolized by the assembly line, where the majority need only to conform to the demands of the task in hand and a minority conceive and develop policy, a rigid division of labour based on bureaucratic procedures proves a reliable technology for the administration of production. The aim of education in this context is to process the raw material of human abilities into workers who are then fed into the appropriate level of the productive hierarchy. Consequently, despite the shift to a fairer system of educational selection during the twentieth century and major gains in economic efficiency, the way in which systems of education and training have been organized in industrial societies on the principles of machine bureaucracy has resulted in a massive waste of talent.

• The expansion of higher education is unlikely to reduce poverty. • Policy debates on education and poverty need to focus on the rich as well as the poor. • Education as a source of social mobility is extremely limited without expanding job opportunities. • Poverty reduction depends on address inequalities of condition as well as inequalities in educational opportunities. • The policy debates on education and poverty needs to be reframed. This article examines the role of education in alleviating poverty in a context of high rates of income inequalities. It will argue that despite public attention on the incomes of top earners, education policy has been largely silent on the education of elites. Rather it has focused on extending opportunities to those at the other end of the income distribution. By improving school performance and widening access to higher education, it is claimed that poverty can be alleviated by increasing rates of social mobility from disadvantaged families. This article will highlight several problems with this analysis that amount to a fundamental contradiction at the heart of education policy as a route to poverty reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Listeria monocytogenes raises major food safety and public health concerns due to its potential for severe foodborne disease and persistent colonization of food processing facilities. Copper is often employed to control pathogens in agriculture and is increasingly used in healthcare facilities, but mechanisms mediating tolerance of L. monocytogenes to copper remain poorly understood. A mariner-based mutant library of L. monocytogenes 2011L-2858, implicated in the 2011 listeriosis outbreak via whole cantaloupe, was screened for growth at sublethal levels of copper yielding mutant G2B4 with decreased copper tolerance. The transposon was localized in pbp4 (lmo2229 homolog), encoding a penicillin-binding protein (PBP). In addition to reduced copper tolerance, G2B4 exhibited increased susceptibility to β-lactam antibiotics, reduced biofilm formation and reduced virulence in the Galleria mellonella model. Mutant phenotypes were fully restored upon genetic complementation of G2B4 with intact pbp4. Findings provide the first evidence for the role of a PBP in copper tolerance of L. monocytogenes and suggest that pbp4 may be a suitable target to enable the use of lower levels of copper or enhance the effectiveness of levels currently in use. Given the wide distribution of PBPs and their highly conserved nature, this could have profound impacts in regard to ecology and control of L. monocytogenes and other microorganisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years the development of affordable virtual reality has opened up enormous possibilities for virtual rehabilitation, and the introduction of ultra-low cost mobile VR such as Google Cardboard has real potential to put virtual rehabilitation right into patient's homes. However, the limited interaction possibilities when a mobile phone is mounted into a headset mean that these devices are generally used for little more than passive viewing. In this paper we present an evaluation of three approaches to supporting navigation in mobile VR, and discuss some of the potential hazards and limitations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Study design: An animal study was conducted to evaluate the biological response to titanium particles from an artificial intervertebral disc in terms of serology and histologic changes. Objectives: To determine the biological response to wear debris in the retroperitoneal and epidural space. Summary of background data: Few wear studies exist about mechanical artificial discs. Methods: Twenty-three New Zealand white rabbits were used for two approaches of the lumbar spine. In a retroperitoneal group (10 rabbits), lateral flank approach at the L2–L3 area was used. In an epidural group (13 rabbits), a dorsal laminotomy of L2 was performed. The wear debris was obtained from mechanical test cycling of the implantable intervertebral disc. At 4 and 12 weeks postoperatively, five or six animals from each group were killed. The tissues, including deposition site, regional lymph nodes and major organs, were evaluated with hematoxylin and eosin staining. Results: At death all rabbits were found to be healthy. Blood results from the predeath samples were found to be consistent with the preoperative blood work values. Scar tissue was minimal with good healing. All organs were found to be normal in appearance. On histopathology sections, adverse reactions such as fibrosis, granuloma formation or necrosis were not found in any tissues. Free particles were found sparingly in all tissue sections with minimal cellular response. No remarkable difference was found according to groups or time intervals. Smaller particles were found to be engulfed in macrophages without adverse biological consequences. Conclusion: Titanium particles traveled from the sites of deposition but elicited no to minimal biological response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Study design: An animal study was conducted to evaluate the biological response to titanium particles from an artificial intervertebral disc in terms of serology and histologic changes. Objectives: To determine the biological response to wear debris in the retroperitoneal and epidural space. Summary of background data: Few wear studies exist about mechanical artificial discs. Methods: Twenty-three New Zealand white rabbits were used for two approaches of the lumbar spine. In a retroperitoneal group (10 rabbits), lateral flank approach at the L2–L3 area was used. In an epidural group (13 rabbits), a dorsal laminotomy of L2 was performed. The wear debris was obtained from mechanical test cycling of the implantable intervertebral disc. At 4 and 12 weeks postoperatively, five or six animals from each group were killed. The tissues, including deposition site, regional lymph nodes and major organs, were evaluated with hematoxylin and eosin staining. Results: At death all rabbits were found to be healthy. Blood results from the predeath samples were found to be consistent with the preoperative blood work values. Scar tissue was minimal with good healing. All organs were found to be normal in appearance. On histopathology sections, adverse reactions such as fibrosis, granuloma formation or necrosis were not found in any tissues. Free particles were found sparingly in all tissue sections with minimal cellular response. No remarkable difference was found according to groups or time intervals. Smaller particles were found to be engulfed in macrophages without adverse biological consequences. Conclusion: Titanium particles traveled from the sites of deposition but elicited no to minimal biological response. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]