Ankle MRI for Anterolateral Soft Tissue Impingement: Increased Accuracy with the Use of Contrast-Enhanced Fat-Suppressed 3D-FSPGR MRI

OBJECTIVE: To validate the use of contrast-enhanced (CE) fat-suppressed three-dimensional (3D) fast gradient-recalled acquisition in the steady state with radiofrequency spoiling (FSPGR) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for the diagnosis of anterolateral soft tissue impingement of the ankle, as compared to the use of routine ankle MRI. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Contrast-enhanced fat-suppressed 3D-FSPGR MRI and routine MRI scans were retrospectively reviewed for 45 patients with arthroscopically proven anterolateral impingement. In addition, scans were reviewed in 45 control subjects with diagnoses other than impingement. Two radiologists independently reviewed the two sets of images in random order. Using areas (Az) under the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC), we compared the depiction of anterolateral soft tissue impingement in the two sets of images. RESULTS: The overall accuracy for lesion characterization was significantly higher (p < 0.05) using the CE fat-suppressed 3D-FSPGR MR images (Az = 0.892 and 0.881 for reader 1 and 2, respectively) than using the routine MR images (Az = 0.763 and 0.745). The use of CE fat-suppressed 3D-FSPGR MRI enhanced impingement depiction in most cases. However, in cases with a thickened non-enhancing scar or joint effusion, the routine images better depicted a soft tissue mass that intruded into anterolateral gutter than the CE images. CONCLUSION: The use of CE fat-suppressed 3D-FSPGR MRI of the ankle allows a more accurate assessment of anterolateral soft tissue impingement of the ankle, as compared to the use of routine MRIope

Histidine 454 plays an important role in polymerization of human glutamate dehydrogenase

AbstractAlthough previous chemical modification studies have suggested several residues to be involved in the maintenance of the quaternary structure of glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH), there are conflicting views for the polymerization process and no clear evidence has been reported yet. In the present study, cassette mutagenesis at seven putative positions (Lys333, Lys337, Lys344, Lys346, Ser445, Gly446, and His454) was performed using a synthetic human GDH gene to examine the polymerization process. Of the mutations at the seven different sites, only the mutagenesis at His454 results in depolymerization of the hexameric GDH into active trimers as determined by HPLC gel filtration analysis and native gradient polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The mutagenesis at His454 has no effects on expression or stability of the protein. The KM values for NADH and 2-oxoglutarate were 1.5-fold and 2.5-fold greater, respectively, for the mutant GDH than for wild-type GDH, indicating that substitution at position 454 had appreciable effects on the affinity of the enzyme for both NADH and 2-oxoglutarate. The Vmax values were similar for wild-type and mutant GDH. The kcat/KM value of the mutant GDH was reduced up to 2.8-fold. The decreased efficiency of the mutant, therefore, results from the increase in KM values for NADH and 2-oxoglutarate. The results with cassette mutagenesis and HPLC gel filtration analysis suggest that His454 is involved in the polymerization process of human GDH

Comparison of the effects of intraoperative remifentanil and sufentanil infusion on postoperative pain management in robotic gynecological surgery: a retrospective cohort study

Background Remifentanil and sufentanil are potent short-acting synthetic opioid analgesics. The administration of remifentanil has been associated with the incidence of opioid-induced hyperalgesia. Opioid-induced hyperalgesia may be alleviated when opioids, such as morphine, are switched to sufentanil. Therefore, this retrospective observational study aimed to compare the effects of remifentanil and sufentanil on postoperative pain in patients undergoing robotic gynecological surgery. Methods We retrospectively analyzed the electronic medical records of patients who underwent elective robotic gynecological surgery between January 2016 and February 2021. The patients were classified into sufentanil (n = 159) or remifentanil (n = 359) groups according to the opioids administered continuously during anesthesia. The primary outcome assessed in this study was the postoperative pain score measured using the numeric rating scale (NRS). The secondary outcomes assessed included the recovery time (from discontinuation of opioid infusion to extubation) and frequency of rescue analgesic administration in the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU). Results The recovery time did not differ significantly between the two groups. The NRS score for pain (median [1Q, 3Q]) in the PACU was significantly lower in the sufentanil group than in the remifentanil group (2 [2, 3] vs. 4 [3, 7], P < 0.001). The frequency of rescue analgesic administration in the PACU was 6.3% and 35.4% in the sufentanil and remifentanil groups, respectively (P < 0.001). Conclusions Sufentanil, as an adjunct to sevoflurane anesthesia is more advantageous than remifentanil in terms of postoperative pain control during robotic gynecological surgery

Nanomechanical In Situ Monitoring of Proteolysis of Peptide by Cathepsin B

Characterization and control of proteolysis of peptides by specific cellular protease is a priori requisite for effective drug discovery. Here, we report the nanomechanical, in situ monitoring of proteolysis of peptide chain attributed to protease (Cathepsin B) by using a resonant nanomechanical microcantilever immersed in a liquid. Specifically, the detection is based on measurement of resonant frequency shift arising from proteolysis of peptides (leading to decrease of cantilever's overall mass, and consequently, increases in the resonance). It is shown that resonant microcantilever enables the quantification of proteolysis efficacy with respect to protease concentration. Remarkably, the nanomechanical, in situ monitoring of proteolysis allows us to gain insight into the kinetics of proteolysis of peptides, which is well depicted by Langmuir kinetic model. This implies that nanomechanical biosensor enables the characterization of specific cellular protease such as its kinetics

Comparative analysis of gut microbiota in elderly people of urbanized towns and longevity villages

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited.Background To understand differences in the gut microbiota between elderly people of urbanized town communities (UTC) and longevity village communities (LVC), we analyzed fecal microbiota collected from individuals living in 2 UTC (Seoul and Chuncheon) and 3 LVC (Gurye, Damyang, and Soonchang) selected on the basis of indices for superlongevity (the ratio of centenarians to the total population) and longevity (the ratio of those aged 85 years or greater to those aged 65 years or greater) in South Korea by 454 pyrosequencing. Results Taxonomy-based analysis showed that The relative abundance of Firmicutes, Tenericutes, and Actinobacteria was significantly lower in LVC than in UTC. Due to an increase of Firmicutes and a reduction of Bacteroidetes, the ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes in the gut microbiota was greater in UTC adults than in UTC children or LVC adults. The population levels of Bacteroides, Prevotella, and Lachnospira were significantly higher in LVC than in UTC, but the levels of Dialister, Subdoligranulum, Megamonas, EF401882_g, and AM275436_g were lower in LVC than in UTC. Although most of the species detected in LVC were detected in UTC, some Bacteroides spp. and Faecalibacterium spp. were detected only in LVC. Among Bacteroides spp., ACWH_s, EF403317_s, and EF403722_s were detected in children and LVC samples only but FJ363527_s, 4P000677_s, and 4P000015_s were detected in UTC samples. EF402172_s and EF404388_s, members of Faecalibacterium spp., which are known to have anti-inflammatory properties, were detected in LVC and children only (>3.9% of total sequence). In addition, the fecal lipopolysaccharides (LPS) content was significantly higher in UTC than in LVC. Conclusions These findings suggest that maintaining gut microbiota, including Faecalibacterium spp. EF402172_s and EF404388_s, as well as low LPS levels may play an important role in preserving residents health in LVC