Hydropy : Python package for hydrological time series handling based on Python Pandas

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SOST/Sclerostin Improves Posttraumatic Osteoarthritis and Inhibits MMP2/3 Expression After Injury.

Patients with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture are two times as likely to develop posttraumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA). Annually, there are ∼900,000 knee injuries in the United States, which account for ∼12% of all osteoarthritis (OA) cases. PTOA leads to reduced physical activity, deconditioning of the musculoskeletal system, and in severe cases requires joint replacement to restore function. Therefore, treatments that would prevent cartilage degradation post-injury would provide attractive alternatives to surgery. Sclerostin (Sost), a Wnt antagonist and a potent negative regulator of bone formation, has recently been implicated in regulating chondrocyte function in OA. To determine whether elevated levels of Sost play a protective role in PTOA, we examined the progression of OA using a noninvasive tibial compression overload model in SOST transgenic (SOSTTG ) and knockout (Sost-/- ) mice. Here we report that SOSTTG mice develop moderate OA and display significantly less advanced PTOA phenotype at 16 weeks post-injury compared with wild-type (WT) controls and Sost-/- . In addition, SOSTTG built ∼50% and ∼65% less osteophyte volume than WT and Sost-/- , respectively. Quantification of metalloproteinase (MMP) activity showed that SOSTTG had ∼2-fold less MMP activation than WT or Sost-/- , and this was supported by a significant reduction in MMP2/3 protein levels, suggesting that elevated levels of SOST inhibit the activity of proteolytic enzymes known to degrade articular cartilage matrix. Furthermore, intra-articular administration of recombinant Sost protein, immediately post-injury, also significantly decreased MMP activity levels relative to PBS-treated controls, and Sost activation in response to injury was TNFα and NF-κB dependent. These results provide in vivo evidence that sclerostin functions as a protective molecule immediately after joint injury to prevent cartilage degradation. © 2018 The Authors. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research Published by Wiley Periodicals Inc

Osteocytes and mechanical loading: The Wnt connection

Bone adapts to the mechanical forces that it experiences. Orthodontic tooth movement harnesses the cell‐ and tissue‐level properties of mechanotransduction to achieve alignment and reorganization of the dentition. However, the mechanisms of action that permit bone resorption and formation in response to loads placed on the teeth are incompletely elucidated, though several mechanisms have been identified. Wnt/Lrp5 signalling in osteocytes is a key pathway that modulates bone tissue's response to load. Numerous mouse models that harbour knock‐in, knockout and transgenic/overexpression alleles targeting genes related to Wnt signalling point to the necessity of Wnt/Lrp5, and its localization to osteocytes, for proper mechanotransduction in bone. Alveolar bone is rich in osteocytes and is a highly mechanoresponsive tissue in which components of the canonical Wnt signalling cascade have been identified. As Wnt‐based agents become clinically available in the next several years, the major challenge that lies ahead will be to gain a more complete understanding of Wnt biology in alveolar bone so that improved/expedited tooth movement becomes a possibility

Evidence for long-term sensitization of the bowel in patients with post-infectious-IBS.

Post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome (PI-IBS) is a common gastrointestinal disorder characterized by persistent abdominal pain despite recovery from acute gastroenteritis. The underlying mechanisms are unclear, although long-term changes in neuronal function, and low grade inflammation of the bowel have been hypothesized. We investigated the presence and mechanism of neuronal sensitization in a unique cohort of individuals who developed PI-IBS following exposure to contaminated drinking water 7 years ago. We provide direct evidence of ongoing sensitization of neuronal signaling in the bowel of patients with PI-IBS. These changes occur in the absence of any detectable tissue inflammation, and instead appear to be driven by pro-nociceptive changes in the gut micro-environment. This is evidenced by the activation of murine colonic afferents, and sensitization responses to capsaicin in dorsal root ganglia (DRGs) following application of supernatants generated from tissue biopsy of patients with PI-IBS. We demonstrate that neuronal signaling within the bowel of PI-IBS patients is sensitized 2 years after the initial infection has resolved. This sensitization appears to be mediated by a persistent pro-nociceptive change in the gut micro-environment, that has the capacity to stimulate visceral afferents and facilitate neuronal TRPV1 signaling

Traduire la mode : un art à part entière

Traductrice indépendante (de l’anglais et de l’allemand vers le néerlandais) depuis 2007, ma toute première incursion dans le domaine de la mode a été la traduction d’articles de blog d’une marque de vêtements. À l’époque, mon expérience en la matière se limitait à un exposé en langue française sur l’histoire de la mode lorsque j’étais encore au lycée, bien des années auparavant. Passionnée très rapidement par le sujet, j’ai trouvé tout naturel d’en faire l’une de mes spécialisations. Les tex..

Bone morphogenetic protein-2/4 and bone morphogenetic protein receptor type IA expression in metastatic and nonmetastatic oral squamous cell carcinoma

Purpose The study aimed to analyze the expression of bone morphogenetic protein-2/4 (BMP-2/4) and its receptor BMPR-IA (BMP receptor type IA) in metastatic and nonmetastatic oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and its implications for disease prognosis. Materials and methods The experimental group included 16 cases of OSCC without metastasis and 7 cases of OSCC with metastasis. The presence or absence of nodal metastasis was used as a parameter for the evaluation of disease prognosis. Ten cases of oral fibroepithelial hyperplasia were selected as the control group. The expression of BMP-2/4 and BMPR-IA was analyzed by immunohistochemistry. Results In the experimental group with metastasis, strong expression of BMP-2/4 was observed in most cases (71.4%), whereas BMPR-IA exhibited weak expression (85.7%). In the experimental group without metastasis, there was strong expression of BMP-2/4 (62.5%) and BMPR-IA (100%). A significant association was observed between the prognosis of OSCC and the intensity of BMP-2/4 staining (P = .002). Weak immunoreactivity to BMP-2/4 and BMPR-IA was observed in all control specimens. Conclusions The results suggest that strong expression of BMP-2/4, associated with low expression of BMPR-IA, observed in metastatic OSCC has a prognostic value, with the loss of responsiveness to BMPs through the loss of expression of their receptors being indicative of the development of metastasis