Dislocation of the Shoulder Joint - Radiographic Analysis of Osseous Abnormalities.

Radiography remains pivotal to the workup of instability lesions of the shoulder, both in the acute as well as the chronic settings. The goal of radiography is to detect osseous abnormalities and locate them in order to determine the direction of instability. In antero-inferior instability, Hill-Sachs lesions are often visible at radiography and should not be confused with various differential diagnoses, which are usually more laterally located. Bankart lesions are more difficult to detect on conventional radiography, but there are less false positives than for Hill-Sachs lesions. The Garth view represents an excellent radiographic view to detect antero-inferior instability impaction fractures at both the humeral and glenoid sides. Accurate quantification of bony abnormalities and detection of lesions to the soft-tissue stabilizers of the shoulder however require advanced cross-sectional imaging techniques

Evidence for Dinucleotide Flipping by DNA Photolyase

DNA photolyases repair pyrimidine dimers via a reaction in which light energy drives electron donation from a catalytic chromophore, FADH-, to the dimer. The crystal structure of Escherichia coli photolyase suggested that the pyrimidine dimer is flipped out of the DNA helix and into a cavity that leads from the surface of the enzyme to FADH-. We have tested this model using the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Phr1 photolyase which is >50% identical to E. coli photolyase over the region comprising the DNA binding domain. By using the bacterial photolyase as a starting point, we modeled the region encompassing amino acids 383-530 of the yeast enzyme. The model retained the cavity leading to FADH- as well as the band of positive electrostatic potential which defines the DNA binding surface. We found that alanine substitution mutations at sites within the cavity reduced both substrate binding and discrimination, providing direct support for the dinucleotide flip model. The roles of three residues predicted to interact with DNA flanking the dimer were also tested. Arg452 was found to be particularly critical to substrate binding, discrimination, and photolysis, suggesting a role in establishing or maintaining the dimer in the flipped state. A structural model for photolyase-dimer interaction is presented

A mathematical model for fibro-proliferative wound healing disorders

The normal process of dermal wound healing fails in some cases, due to fibro-proliferative disorders such as keloid and hypertrophic scars. These types of abnormal healing may be regarded as pathologically excessive responses to wounding in terms of fibroblastic cell profiles and their inflammatory growth-factor mediators. Biologically, these conditions are poorly understood and current medical treatments are thus unreliable. In this paper, the authors apply an existing deterministic mathematical model for fibroplasia and wound contraction in adult mammalian dermis (Olsenet al., J. theor. Biol. 177, 113–128, 1995) to investigate key clinical problems concerning these healing disorders. A caricature model is proposed which retains the fundamental cellular and chemical components of the full model, in order to analyse the spatiotemporal dynamics of the initiation, progression, cessation and regression of fibro-contractive diseases in relation to normal healing. This model accounts for fibroblastic cell migration, proliferation and death and growth-factor diffusion, production by cells and tissue removal/decay. Explicit results are obtained in terms of the model processes and parameters. The rate of cellular production of the chemical is shown to be critical to the development of a stable pathological state. Further, cessation and/or regression of the disease depend on appropriate spatiotemporally varying forms for this production rate, which can be understood in terms of the bistability of the normal dermal and pathological steady states—a central property of the model, which is evident from stability and bifurcation analyses. The work predicts novel, biologically realistic and testable pathogenic and control mechanisms, the understanding of which will lead toward more effective strategies for clinical therapy of fibro-proliferative disorders

MRI in multiple myeloma : a pictorial review of diagnostic and post-treatment findings

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is increasingly being used in the diagnostic work-up of patients with multiple myeloma. Since 2014, MRI findings are included in the new diagnostic criteria proposed by the International Myeloma Working Group. Patients with smouldering myeloma presenting with more than one unequivocal focal lesion in the bone marrow on MRI are considered having symptomatic myeloma requiring treatment, regardless of the presence of lytic bone lesions. However, bone marrow evaluation with MRI offers more than only morphological information regarding the detection of focal lesions in patients with MM. The overall performance of MRI is enhanced by applying dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI and diffusion weighted imaging sequences, providing additional functional information on bone marrow vascularization and cellularity. This pictorial review provides an overview of the most important imaging findings in patients with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance, smouldering myeloma and multiple myeloma, by performing a 'total' MRI investigation with implications for the diagnosis, staging and response assessment. Main message aEuro cent Conventional MRI diagnoses multiple myeloma by assessing the infiltration pattern. aEuro cent Dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI diagnoses multiple myeloma by assessing vascularization and perfusion. aEuro cent Diffusion weighted imaging evaluates bone marrow composition and cellularity in multiple myeloma. aEuro cent Combined morphological and functional MRI provides optimal bone marrow assessment for staging. aEuro cent Combined morphological and functional MRI is of considerable value in treatment follow-up

Characterization and plant expression of glyphosate-tolerant enolpyruvylshikimate phosphate synthase

Abstract BACKGROUND: Glyphosate tolerance is a dominant trait in modern biotech crops. RESULTS: A gene encoding a glyphosate-tolerant EPSP synthase (aroA 1398 ) from bacterial strain ATX1398 was cloned and characterized. The protein is initiated at a GTG translational start codon to produce a protein that provides robust glyphosate resistance in Escherichia coli (Mig) Cast & Chalm. The aroA 1398 protein was expressed and purified from E. coli, and key kinetic values were determined (K i = 161 µM; K m (PEP) = 11.3 µM; k cat = 28.3 s −1 ). The full-length enzyme is 800-fold more resistant to glyphosate than the maize EPSP synthase while retaining high affinity for the substrate phosphoenol pyruvate. To evaluate further the potential of aroA 1398 , transgenic maize events expressing the aroA 1398 protein were generated. T 0 plants were screened for tolerance to glyphosate sprays at 1.3× commercial spray rates, and T 1 plants were selected that completely resisted glyphosate sprays at 1×, 2× and 4× recommended spray rates in field trials. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that aroA 1398 is a suitable candidate for conferring glyphosate tolerance in transgenic crop plants

In Vivo Evaluation of the Presence of Bone Marrow in Cortical Porosity in Postmenopausal Osteopenic Women

This is the first observational study examining cortical porosity in vivo in postmenopausal osteopenic women and to incorporate data from two different imaging modalities to further examine the nature of cortical porosity. The goal of this study was to combine high-resolution peripheral computed tomography (HR-pQCT) images, which contain high spatial resolution information of the cortical structure, and magnetic resonance (MR) images, which allow the visualization of soft tissues such as bone marrow, to observe the amount of cortical porosity that contains bone marrow in postmenopausal osteopenic women. The radius of 49 and the tibia of 51 postmenopausal osteopenic women (age 56 ± 3.7) were scanned using both HR-pQCT and MR imaging. A normalized mutual information registration algorithm was used to obtain a three-dimensional rigid transform which aligned the MR image to the HR-pQCT image. The aligned images allowed for the visualization of bone marrow in cortical pores. From the HR-pQCT image, the percent cortical porosity, the number of cortical pores, and the size of each cortical pore was determined. By overlaying the aligned MR and HR-pQCT images, the percent of cortical pores containing marrow, the number of cortical pores containing marrow, and the size of each cortical pore containing marrow were measured. While the amount of cortical porosity did not vary greatly between subjects, the type of cortical pore, containing marrow vs. not containing marrow, varied highly between subjects. The results suggest that cortical pore spaces contain components of varying composition, and that there may be more than one mechanism for the development of cortical porosity

The spine in Paget’s disease

Paget’s disease (PD) is a chronic metabolically active bone disease, characterized by a disturbance in bone modelling and remodelling due to an increase in osteoblastic and osteoclastic activity. The vertebra is the second most commonly affected site. This article reviews the various spinal pathomechanisms and osseous dynamics involved in producing the varied imaging appearances and their clinical relevance. Advanced imaging of osseous, articular and bone marrow manifestations of PD in all the vertebral components are presented. Pagetic changes often result in clinical symptoms including back pain, spinal stenosis and neural dysfunction. Various pathological complications due to PD involvement result in these clinical symptoms. Recognition of the imaging manifestations of spinal PD and the potential complications that cause the clinical symptoms enables accurate assessment of patients prior to appropriate management

Masculinities, affect and the (re)place(ment) of stardom in Formula One fan leisure practices

Writing from an autoethnographic perspective, this article explores male leisure practices via the mediated relationships fans enter into with stars. More specifically, my own fandom for Formula One driver Jacques Villeneuve is the locus of study, revealing how this affective investment shapes and furnishes my corresponding leisure practices. Notions of gendered 'performativity' come to the fore, with my own displays evoking, enacting and revealing oscillating performances of masculinity. Moreover, there are interesting gendered dynamics that such fan leisure practices flag in terms of the intersection of female/male relationships and the potential 'fantasy' and/or narcissistic readings that a male fan identifying with and performing as another male sport star afford. Finally, my research reveals paradoxes for contemporary masculinities, with fans reliant upon mediation and commodification to facilitate and sustain their performative roles. © 2011 Taylor & Francis

Progress in gene therapy for neurological disorders

Diseases of the nervous system have devastating effects and are widely distributed among the population, being especially prevalent in the elderly. These diseases are often caused by inherited genetic mutations that result in abnormal nervous system development, neurodegeneration, or impaired neuronal function. Other causes of neurological diseases include genetic and epigenetic changes induced by environmental insults, injury, disease-related events or inflammatory processes. Standard medical and surgical practice has not proved effective in curing or treating these diseases, and appropriate pharmaceuticals do not exist or are insufficient to slow disease progression. Gene therapy is emerging as a powerful approach with potential to treat and even cure some of the most common diseases of the nervous system. Gene therapy for neurological diseases has been made possible through progress in understanding the underlying disease mechanisms, particularly those involving sensory neurons, and also by improvement of gene vector design, therapeutic gene selection, and methods of delivery. Progress in the field has renewed our optimism for gene therapy as a treatment modality that can be used by neurologists, ophthalmologists and neurosurgeons. In this Review, we describe the promising gene therapy strategies that have the potential to treat patients with neurological diseases and discuss prospects for future development of gene therapy

Hip Imaging: Normal Variants and Asymptomatic Findings.

With the increasing use of imaging as a diagnostic tool for hip pain, more and more anatomical variants are detected, and more findings are seen in asymptomatic populations, especially in older individuals. The radiologist must be aware of these variants and asymptomatic findings to avoid interpretative errors and overdiagnosis. In this review, we cover frequently encountered anatomical variants and asymptomatic findings that can be found in the bony structures of the hip, the joint itself, as well as in the surrounding soft tissue