MR imaging in sports-related glenohumeral instability

Sports-related shoulder pain and injuries represent a common problem. In this context, glenohumeral instability is currently believed to play a central role either as a recognized or as an unrecognized condition. Shoulder instabilities can roughly be divided into traumatic, atraumatic, and microtraumatic glenohumeral instabilities. In athletes, atraumatic and microtraumatic instabilities can lead to secondary impingement syndromes and chronic damage to intraarticular structures. Magnetic resonance (MR) arthrography is superior to conventional MR imaging in the diagnosis of labro-ligamentous injuries, intrinsic impingement, and SLAP (superior labral anteroposterior) lesions, and thus represents the most informative imaging modality in the overall assessment of glenohumeral instability. This article reviews the imaging criteria for the detection and classification of instability-related injuries in athletes with special emphasis on the influence of MR findings on therapeutic decisions

The genetic architecture of low-temperature adaptation in the wine yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

[Background] Low-temperature growth and fermentation of wine yeast can enhance wine aroma and make them highly desirable traits for the industry. Elucidating response to cold in Saccharomyces cerevisiae is, therefore, of paramount importance to select or genetically improve new wine strains. As most enological traits of industrial importance in yeasts, adaptation to low temperature is a polygenic trait regulated by many interacting loci.[Results] In order to unravel the genetic determinants of low-temperature fermentation, we mapped quantitative trait loci (QTLs) by bulk segregant analyses in the F13 offspring of two Saccharomyces cerevisiae industrial strains with divergent performance at low temperature. We detected four genomic regions involved in the adaptation at low temperature, three of them located in the subtelomeric regions (chromosomes XIII, XV and XVI) and one in the chromosome XIV. The QTL analysis revealed that subtelomeric regions play a key role in defining individual variation, which emphasizes the importance of these regions’ adaptive nature.[Conclusions] The reciprocal hemizygosity analysis (RHA), run to validate the genes involved in low-temperature fermentation, showed that genetic variation in mitochondrial proteins, maintenance of correct asymmetry and distribution of phospholipid in the plasma membrane are key determinants of low-temperature adaptation.This work has been financially supported from the Spanish Government through MINECO and FEDER funds (AGL2013-47300-C3-3-R and PCIN-2015-143 grants) and from Generalitat Valenciana through PROMETEOII/2014/042 grant, awarded to JMG. This study has been carried out in the context of the European Project ERA-IB “YeastTempTation” EGR thanks the Spanish government for an FPI grant BES-2011-044498 and MM also thanks the Generalitat Valenciana for a VALi+d ACIF/2015/194 grant. We acknowledge support of the publication fee by the CSIC Open Access Publication Support Initiative through its Unit of Information Resources for Research (URICI).Peer reviewe

Oral Health in Women During Preconception and Pregnancy: Implications for Birth Outcomes and Infant Oral Health

The mouth is an obvious portal of entry to the body, and oral health reflects and influences general health and well being. Maternal oral health has significant implications for birth outcomes and infant oral health. Maternal periodontal disease, that is, a chronic infection of the gingiva and supporting tooth structures, has been associated with preterm birth, development of preeclampsia, and delivery of a small-for-gestational age infant. Maternal oral flora is transmitted to the newborn infant, and increased cariogenic flora in the mother predisposes the infant to the development of caries. It is intriguing to consider preconception, pregnancy, or intrapartum treatment of oral health conditions as a mechanism to improve women's oral and general health, pregnancy outcomes, and their children's dental health. However, given the relationship between oral health and general health, oral health care should be a goal in its own right for all individuals. Regardless of the potential for improved oral health to improve pregnancy outcomes, public policies that support comprehensive dental services for vulnerable women of childbearing age should be expanded so that their own oral and general health is safeguarded and their children's risk of caries is reduced. Oral health promotion should include education of women and their health care providers ways to prevent oral disease from occurring, and referral for dental services when disease is present

Proliferation Index: A Continuous Model to Predict Prognosis in Patients with Tumours of the Ewing's Sarcoma Family

The prognostic value of proliferation index (PI) and apoptotic index (AI), caspase-8, -9 and -10 expression have been investigated in primary Ewing's sarcoma family of tumours (ESFT). Proliferating cells, detected by immunohistochemistry for Ki-67, were identified in 91% (91/100) of tumours with a median PI of 14 (range 0–87). Apoptotic cells, identified using the TUNEL assay, were detected in 96% (76/79) of ESFT; the median AI was 3 (range 0–33). Caspase-8 protein expression was negative (0) in 14% (11/79), low (1) in 33% (26/79), medium (2) in 38% (30/79) and high (3) in 15% (12/79) of tumours, caspase-9 expression was low (1) in 66% (39/59) and high (3) in 34% (20/59), and caspase-10 protein was low (1) in 37% (23/62) and negative (0) in 63% (39/62) of primary ESFT. There was no apparent relationship between caspase-8, -9 and -10 expression, PI and AI. PI was predictive of relapse-free survival (RFS; p = 0.011) and overall survival (OS; p = <0.001) in a continuous model, whereas AI did not predict outcome. Patients with tumours expressing low levels of caspase-9 protein had a trend towards a worse RFS than patients with tumours expressing higher levels of caspase-9 protein (p = 0.054, log rank test), although expression of caspases-8, -9 and/or -10 did not significantly predict RFS or OS. In a multivariate analysis model that included tumour site, tumour volume, the presence of metastatic disease at diagnosis, PI and AI, PI independently predicts OS (p = 0.003). Consistent with previous publications, patients with pelvic tumours had a significantly worse OS than patients with tumours at other sites (p = 0.028); patients with a pelvic tumour and a PI≥20 had a 6 fold-increased risk of death. These studies advocate the evaluation of PI in a risk model of outcome for patients with ESFT

In vitro antiproliferative/cytotoxic activity on cancer cell lines of a cardanol and a cardol enriched from Thai Apis mellifera propolis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Propolis is a complex resinous honeybee product. It is reported to display diverse bioactivities, such as antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor properties, which are mainly due to phenolic compounds, and especially flavonoids. The diversity of bioactive compounds depends on the geography and climate, since these factors affect the floral diversity. Here, <it>Apis mellifera </it>propolis from Nan province, Thailand, was evaluated for potential anti-cancer activity.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Propolis was sequentially extracted with methanol, dichloromethane and hexane and the cytotoxic activity of each crude extract was assayed for antiproliferative/cytotoxic activity <it>in vitro </it>against five human cell lines derived from duet carcinoma (BT474), undifferentiated lung (Chaco), liver hepatoblastoma (Hep-G₂), gastric carcinoma (KATO-III) and colon adenocarcinoma (SW620) cancers. The human foreskin fibroblast cell line (Hs27) was used as a non-transformed control. Those crude extracts that displayed antiproliferative/cytotoxic activity were then further fractionated by column chromatography using TLC-pattern and MTT-cytotoxicity bioassay guided selection of the fractions. The chemical structure of each enriched bioactive compound was analyzed by nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectroscopy.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The crude hexane and dichloromethane extracts of propolis displayed antiproliferative/cytotoxic activities with IC₅₀values across the five cancer cell lines ranging from 41.3 to 52.4 μg/ml and from 43.8 to 53.5 μg/ml, respectively. Two main bioactive components were isolated, one cardanol and one cardol, with broadly similar <it>in vitro </it>antiproliferation/cytotoxicity IC₅₀values across the five cancer cell lines and the control Hs27 cell line, ranging from 10.8 to 29.3 μg/ml for the cardanol and < 3.13 to 5.97 μg/ml (6.82 - 13.0 μM) for the cardol. Moreover, both compounds induced cytotoxicity and cell death without DNA fragmentation in the cancer cells, but only an antiproliferation response in the control Hs27 cells However, these two compounds did not account for the net antiproliferation/cytotoxic activity of the crude extracts suggesting the existence of other potent compounds or synergistic interactions in the propolis extracts_.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This is the first report that Thai <it>A. mellifera </it>propolis contains at least two potentially new compounds (a cardanol and a cardol) with potential anti-cancer bioactivity. Both could be alternative antiproliferative agents for future development as anti-cancer drugs.</p

SARS-CoV-2 variants, spike mutations and immune escape.

Although most mutations in the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) genome are expected to be either deleterious and swiftly purged or relatively neutral, a small proportion will affect functional properties and may alter infectivity, disease severity or interactions with host immunity. The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 in late 2019 was followed by a period of relative evolutionary stasis lasting about 11 months. Since late 2020, however, SARS-CoV-2 evolution has been characterized by the emergence of sets of mutations, in the context of 'variants of concern', that impact virus characteristics, including transmissibility and antigenicity, probably in response to the changing immune profile of the human population. There is emerging evidence of reduced neutralization of some SARS-CoV-2 variants by postvaccination serum; however, a greater understanding of correlates of protection is required to evaluate how this may impact vaccine effectiveness. Nonetheless, manufacturers are preparing platforms for a possible update of vaccine sequences, and it is crucial that surveillance of genetic and antigenic changes in the global virus population is done alongside experiments to elucidate the phenotypic impacts of mutations. In this Review, we summarize the literature on mutations of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, the primary antigen, focusing on their impacts on antigenicity and contextualizing them in the protein structure, and discuss them in the context of observed mutation frequencies in global sequence datasets

Design and construction of the DEAP-3600 dark matter detector

The Dark matter Experiment using Argon Pulse-shape discrimination (DEAP) has been designed for a direct detection search for particle dark matter using a single-phase liquid argon target. The projected cross section sensitivity for DEAP-3600 to the spin-independent scattering of Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) on nucleons is 10 cm for a 100 GeV/c WIMP mass with a fiducial exposure of 3 tonne-years. This paper describes the physical properties and construction of the DEAP-3600 detector. −46 2