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Background: Posterior glenohumeral instability is much less common than anterior instability, and there is a paucity of studies looking at glenoid bone loss as it relates to posterior instability. However, while the data are not as robust, posterior glenoid bone loss can lead to recurrent instability and failed soft tissue procedures. Arthroscopic posterior glenoid augmentation with distal tibial allograft (DTA) is a minimally invasive option to restore stability and preserve function. Indications: The primary indication for posterior glenoid augmentation is posterior instability with >20% to 25% posterior glenoid bone loss or recurrent posterior instability after prior stabilization procedure. In this case, the patient is a 21-year-old man with recurrent instability after 2 prior soft tissue stabilization procedures. Technique Description: The patient was positioned in lateral decubitus, and portals were established. Arthroscopic evaluation was performed to assess the labrum, biceps, rotator cuff, glenoid, and humeral head. Glenoid mobilization was performed, and an incision was made for introduction of the bone block. The glenoid was prepared, and a trial was used to guide preparation of the graft, which was harvested from the articular cartilage of the distal tibia. The graft was irrigated and bathed in platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and then introduced and positioned for maximal coverage of the defect. Screw fixation was performed with two 3.75-mm screws. The posterior capsule was reapproximated, and a layered closure was performed. Results: Previous studies have reported significant improvements in patient-reported outcomes, high rates of healing, and no cases of recurrent instability after DTA for anterior glenoid bone loss. Additional studies have reported few patients with recurrent instability and no instances of partial or non-union. Significant loss of range of motion has not been reported in the most recent case series. One previous study reported significantly improved patient-reported outcomes and near-complete osseous reabsorption with DTA after failed Latarjet procedure. Discussion/Conclusion: Arthroscopic posterior glenoid augmentation with DTA is a viable treatment option for patients with shoulder pain and instability with >20% to 25% posterior glenoid bone loss and/or following prior stabilization procedures.

Within the framework of a circular economy, we aim to efficiently use raw materials and reduce waste generation. In this context, the longevity of biomimetic material systems can significantly contribute by providing robustness and resilience of system functionality inspired by biological models. The aim of this review is to outline various principles that can lead to an increase in robustness (e.g., safety factor, gradients, reactions to environmental changes) and resilience (e.g., redundancy, self-repair) and to illustrate the principles with meaningful examples. The study focuses on plant material systems with a high potential for transfer to biomimetic applications and on existing biomimetic material systems. Our fundamental concept is based on the functionality of the entire system as a function of time. We use functionality as a dimensionless measure of robustness and resilience to quantify the system function, allowing comparison within biological material systems and biomimetic material systems, but also between them. Together with the enclosed glossary of key terms, the review provides a comprehensive toolbox for interdisciplinary teams. Thus, allowing teams to communicate unambiguously and to draw inspiration from plant models when developing biomimetic material systems with great longevity potential.

Faced with the environmental challenges posed by climate change, architects are creating nature-based solutions for urban areas, such as transforming living trees into artificial architectural structures. In this study, we have analyzed stem pairs of five tree species conjoined for more than eight years by measuring the stem diameters below and above the resulting inosculation and by calculating the respective diameter ratio. Our statistical analyses reveal that Platanus × hispanica and Salix alba stems do not differ significantly in diameter below inosculation. However, in contrast to P. × hispanica, the diameters of the conjoined stems above inosculation differ significantly in S. alba. We provide a binary decision tree based on diameter comparisons above and below inosculation as a straightforward tool for identifying the likelihood of full inosculation with water exchange. Moreover, we have compared branch junctions and inosculations by means of anatomical analyses, micro-computed tomography, and 3D reconstructions showing similarities in the formation of common annual rings that increase the capacity for water exchange. Due to the highly irregular cell arrangement in the center of the inosculations, cells cannot be assigned clearly to either of the stems. In contrast, cells in the center of branch junctions can always be attributed to one of the branches.

Background Breath analysis is a burgeoning field, with interest in volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as a noninvasive diagnostic tool or an outcome measure, but no randomised controlled trials (RCTs) have yet evaluated this technology in a clinical trial longitudinally. In a pilot RCT, our exploratory objectives were feasibility of measuring VOCs via multiple techniques, assessing relationships between VOCs and Haemophilus colonisation and whether CXCR2 antagonism with danirixin altered lung microbiome composition in individuals with COPD. Method 43 participants had VOCs and sputum biomarkers evaluated. VOCs and induced sputum were collected after 6 h of fasting at screening and at days 1, 7 and 14. VOCs were analysed via gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS), field asymmetric ion mobility spectrometry (FAIMS) and eNose. The primary outcome for these analyses was the relationship between VOCs and Haemophilus abundance determined by 16S rRNA sequencing. Results A joint-effects model demonstrated a modest relationship between four exhaled VOCs and Haemophilus relative abundance (R2=0.55) measured only by GC-MS, but not as measured using gas chromtaography FAIMS or eNose. There was considerable variability in absolute quantities of individual VOCs longitudinally. Conclusions VOC measurement in clinical trials to identify subsets of COPD is feasible, but assessment of new VOC technologies must include concurrent GC-MS validation. Further work to standardise collection of VOCs and measuring a background or “housekeeper” VOC is required to understand and normalise individual VOC quantities.

Licuala ferruginea Becc., a tropical forest understorey palm, is observed to have fruits that appear red in colour when unripe, turning pink, then white, purple and finally black in colour as they ripen. We monitored 13 fruiting palms in rainforest fragments and recorded the consumption of fruits by animals via camera traps. We also documented the fruiting phenology of two palms in the nursery. In the rainforest fragments, a Cream‐vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus simplex) was observed plucking a mature purple fruit from a L. ferruginea palm, before flying away with the fruit in its beak. This was the only bird that was observed feeding on the mature fruit. A range of mammals, dominated by edge species such as the Long‐tailed Macaque and Wild Boar, were observed to consume L. ferruginea fruits indiscriminately across all five colour stages, thereby limiting the dispersal of the fruits. Forest bulbul gape sizes also matched the fruit size, suggesting that forest bulbuls are the likely dispersers of the palm in the original forest where edge species are not in high densities. We further posit that the initial phase of red fruits, with high contrasting red reflectance against a green foliage background, might be a form of early advertisement to birds. The fruit then turns pink and white, which have high green reflectance and is less contrasting, thereby reducing the conspicuity of the fruit. This allows the fruit to ripen with high fructose and glucose content, and turn purple and black, which are known visual cues for birds. This study provides indicative support for the dispersal syndrome hypothesis and highlights the potential effects of forest fragmentation on plant–frugivore interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new time-resolved opacity spectrometer (OpSpecTR) is currently under development for the National Ignition Facility (NIF) opacity campaign. The spectrometer utilizes Icarus version 2 (IV2) hybridized complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor sensors to collect gated data at the time of the opacity transmission signal, unlocking the ability to collect higher-temperature measurements on NIF. Experimental conditions to achieve higher temperatures are feasible; however, backgrounds will dominate the data collected by the current time-integrating opacity spectrometer. The shortest available OpSpecTR integration time of ∼2 ns is predicted to reduce self-emission and other late-time backgrounds by up to 80%. Initially, three Icarus sensors will be used to collect data in the self-emission, backlighter, and absorption regions of the transmission spectrum, with plans to upgrade to five Daedalus sensors in future implementations with integration times of ∼1.3 ns. We present the details of the diagnostic design along with recent characterization results of the IV2 sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plans for habitat restoration will benefit from predictions of timescales for recovery. Theoretical models have been a powerful tool for informing practical guidelines in planning marine protected areas, suggesting restoration planning could also benefit from a theoretical framework. We developed a model that can predict recovery times following restoration action, under dispersal, recruitment and connectivity constraints. We apply the model to a case study of seagrass restoration and find recovery times following restoration action can vary greatly, from <1 to >20 years. The model also shows how recovery can be accelerated when restoration actions are matched to the constraints on recovery. For example, spreading of propagules can be used when connectivity is the critical restriction. The recovery constraints we articulated mathematically also apply to the restoration of coral reefs, mangroves, saltmarsh, shellfish reefs and macroalgal forests, so our model provides a general framework for choosing restoration actions that accelerate coastal habitat recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European mistletoe (Viscum album) is a dioecious epiphytic evergreen hemiparasite that develops an extensive endophyte enabling the absorption of water and mineral salts from the host tree, whereas the exophytic leaves are photosynthetically active. The attachment mode and host penetration are well studied, but little information is available about the effects of mistletoe age and sex on haustorium-host interactions. We harvested 130 plants of Viscum album ssp. album growing on host branches of Aesculus flava for morphological and anatomical investigations. Morphometric analyses of the mistletoe and the (hypertrophied) host interaction site were correlated with mistletoe age and sex. We recorded the morphology of the endophytic systems of various ages by using X-ray microtomography scans and corresponding stereomicroscopic images. For detailed anatomical studies, we examined thin stained sections of the mistletoe-host interface by light microscopy. The diameter and length of the branch hypertrophy showed a positive linear correlation with the age of the mistletoe. Correlations with their sex were only found for ratios between host branch and hypertrophy size. A female bias of about 76% was found. In a 4-year-old mistletoe, several small, almost equally sized sinkers and the connected cortical strands extend over more than 5 cm within the host branch. In older mistletoes, one main sinker was predominant and occupied an increasingly large proportion of the stem cross-section. Bands of vessels ran along the axis of the wedge-shaped haustoria and sinkers and bent sideways toward the mistletoe-host interface. At the interface, the vascular elements of the host wood changed their direction and formed vortices near the haustorium.