Effects of Sex and Load Carried per Kilogram of Body Mass on Landing Technique

International Journal of Exercise Science 14(1): 633-643, 2021. Sex differences and heavy load carriage may contribute to the high rate of musculoskeletal injury in military recruits, particularly within the female population. Thus, the purposes of this study were to determine if load influenced landing quality differently in females compared to males and if load carried per kg body mass was associated to quality of landing. Twenty-eight participants were recruited for this study (males: n = 14; females: n = 14). Participants were grouped by sex. All twenty-eight participants performed three drop-jumps (DJ) under unloaded and loaded conditions. The loaded condition included a combat helmet, tactical vest, and rucksack (22 kg). Two cameras recorded in the frontal and sagittal directions during the three DJ trials. DJ trials were scored using the LESS. There was no significant difference in LESS difference scores between males and females, t(26) = -1.014, p = 0.320, 95% CI = -2.01 to 0.68. Load carried per kg body mass (rs= 0.401, p = 0.034) was significantly correlated to LESS rank order. The results suggest load does not significantly alter landing quality as measured by the LESS. However, participant body mass and load per kg of body may play a role in a person’s ability to adapt to heavy loads

Homologous recombination deficiency and cyclin E1 amplification are correlated with immune cell infiltration and survival in high-grade serous ovarian cancer

Background: How molecular profiles are associated with tumor microenvironment (TME) in high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) is incompletely understood. Therefore, we analyzed the TME and molecular profiles of HGSOC and assessed their associations with overall survival (OS). Methods: Patients with advanced-stage HGSOC treated in three Dutch hospitals between 2008–2015 were included. Patient data were collected from medical records. BRCA1/2 mutation, BRCA1 promotor methylation analyses, and copy number variations were used to define molecular profiles. Immune cells were assessed with immunohistochemical staining. Results: 348 patients were categorized as BRCA mutation (BRCAm) (BRCAm or promotor methylation) (30%), non-BRCA mutated HRD (19%), Cyclin E1 (CCNE1)-amplification (13%), non-BRCAmut HRD and CCNE1-amplification (double classifier) (20%), and no specific molecular profile (NSMP) (18%). BRCAm showed highest immune cell densities and CCNE1-amplification lowest. BRCAm showed the most favorable OS (52.5 months), compared to non-BRCAmut HRD (41.0 months), CCNE1-amplification (28.0 months), double classifier (27.8 months), and NSMP (35.4 months). Higher immune cell densities showed a favorable OS compared to lower, also within the profiles. CD8+, CD20+, and CD103+ cells remained associated with OS in multivariable analysis. Conclusions: Molecular profiles and TME are associated with OS. TME differs per profile, with higher immune cell densities showing a favorable OS, even within the profiles. HGSOC does not reflect one entity but comprises different entities based on molecular profiles and TME

Genome-wide association identifies nine common variants associated with fasting proinsulin levels and provides new insights into the pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes.

OBJECTIVE: Proinsulin is a precursor of mature insulin and C-peptide. Higher circulating proinsulin levels are associated with impaired β-cell function, raised glucose levels, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes (T2D). Studies of the insulin processing pathway could provide new insights about T2D pathophysiology. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We have conducted a meta-analysis of genome-wide association tests of ∼2.5 million genotyped or imputed single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and fasting proinsulin levels in 10,701 nondiabetic adults of European ancestry, with follow-up of 23 loci in up to 16,378 individuals, using additive genetic models adjusted for age, sex, fasting insulin, and study-specific covariates. RESULTS: Nine SNPs at eight loci were associated with proinsulin levels (P < 5 × 10(-8)). Two loci (LARP6 and SGSM2) have not been previously related to metabolic traits, one (MADD) has been associated with fasting glucose, one (PCSK1) has been implicated in obesity, and four (TCF7L2, SLC30A8, VPS13C/C2CD4A/B, and ARAP1, formerly CENTD2) increase T2D risk. The proinsulin-raising allele of ARAP1 was associated with a lower fasting glucose (P = 1.7 × 10(-4)), improved β-cell function (P = 1.1 × 10(-5)), and lower risk of T2D (odds ratio 0.88; P = 7.8 × 10(-6)). Notably, PCSK1 encodes the protein prohormone convertase 1/3, the first enzyme in the insulin processing pathway. A genotype score composed of the nine proinsulin-raising alleles was not associated with coronary disease in two large case-control datasets. CONCLUSIONS: We have identified nine genetic variants associated with fasting proinsulin. Our findings illuminate the biology underlying glucose homeostasis and T2D development in humans and argue against a direct role of proinsulin in coronary artery disease pathogenesis

Improving Cardiovascular Performance and Decreasing Perceived Exertion with Lactate Supplement

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of a supplement containing Calcium Lactate, Magnesium Lactate Dihydrate, and Zinc Oxide (Muscle Sentry LLS, Cleveland, OH) (MS) versus a placebo (PLA) on physiological performance and muscle recovery. Twelve male subjects (23.7 ± 2.1 yrs) underwent an exercise protocol while ingesting a single dosage of both MS and PLA for two separate trials. Experimental testing was used to investigate the differences in maximum aerobic capacity (VO2 max), creatine kinase levels (CK), perceived exertion index (PEI), and blood flow (BF) during single dosage supplementation. Paired samples t-tests demonstrated a significant improvement in VO2 and PEI following MS supplementation when compared to PLA (P0.05), however change scores demonstrated less muscle damage following MS ingestion. From these findings, it appears that MS supplementation resulted in increased performance and decreased the perceived difficulty of the exercise when compared to PLA

Immune landscape of breast tumors with low and intermediate estrogen receptor expression

Abstract Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) is currently approved for patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), whereas responses to ICB are also observed in a small subgroup of Estrogen Receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer. The cut-off for ER-positivity (≥1%) is based on likelihood of endocrine treatment response, but ER-positive breast cancer represents a very heterogeneous group. This raises the question whether selection based on ER-negativity should be revisited to select patients for ICB treatment in the context of clinical trials. Stromal tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (sTILs) and other immune parameters are higher in TNBC compared to ER-positive breast cancer, but it is unknown whether lower ER levels are associated with more inflamed tumor microenvironments (TME). We collected a consecutive series of primary tumors from 173 HER2-negative breast cancer patients, enriched for tumors with ER expression between 1 and 99% and found levels of stromal TILs, CD8 + T cells, and PD-L1 positivity in breast tumors with ER 1–9% and ER 10–50% to be comparable to tumors with ER 0%. Expression of immune-related gene signatures in tumors with ER 1–9% and ER 10–50% was comparable to ER 0%, and higher than in tumors with ER 51–99% and ER 100%. Our results suggest that the immune landscape of ER low tumors (1–9%) and ER intermediate tumors (10–50%) mimic that of primary TNBC

Efficacy of neoadjuvant treatment with or without pertuzumab in patients with stage II and III HER2-positive breast cancer: A nationwide cohort analysis of pathologic response and 5-year survival

Background: Pathologic complete response (pCR) rates in early stage HER2-positive breast cancer improved after pertuzumab was added to neoadjuvant treatment. However, survival benefit is less-well established and seems mostly limited to node-positive patients. We used national cancer registry data to compare outcomes of patients treated with and without pertuzumab. Methods: We identified stage II-III HER2-positive breast cancer patients treated with neoadjuvant trastuzumab-based chemotherapy between November 2013 until January 2016 from the Netherlands Cancer Registry. During that period pertuzumab was only available in the 37 hospitals that participated in the TRAIN-2 study. Missing grade and pCR-status were obtained from the Dutch Pathology Registry (PALGA) and cause of death from Statistics Netherlands. We used multiple imputation to impute missing data, multivariable logistic regression to evaluate the association between pertuzumab and pCR (ypT0/is, ypN0) and multivariable Cox regression models for overall survival and breast cancer specific survival (BCSS). Results: We identified 1124 patients of whom 453 received pertuzumab. Baseline characteristics were comparable, although tumor grade was missing more often in patients treated without pertuzumab (12% vs. 2%). Pertuzumab improved pCR rates (41% vs 65%, adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 2.91; 95% CI:2.20–3.94). After a median follow-up of 6.0 years, 5-year BCSS rates were 95% and 98% respectively (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR]: 0.58; 95% CI:0.36–0.95). Younger patients derived more benefit from pertuzumab, but no other significant interactions were found. Conclusion: These results support earlier data of a small survival benefit with the addition of pertuzumab to trastuzumab-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy which is most meaningful in younger patients