Do Astronauts have a Higher Rate of Orthopedic Shoulder Conditions than a Cohort of Working Professionals?

Occupational surveillance of astronaut shoulder injuries began with operational concerns at the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) during Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA) training. NASA has implemented several occupational health initiatives during the past 20 years to decrease the number and severity of injuries, but the individual success rate is unknown. Orthopedic shoulder injury and surgery rates were calculated, but classifying the rates as normal, high or low was highly dependent on the comparison group. The purpose of this study was to identify a population of working professionals and compare orthopedic shoulder consultation and surgery rates

Spontaneous Autologous Graft-versus-Host Disease in Plasma Cell Myeloma Autograft Recipients: Flow Cytometric Analysis of Hematopoietic Progenitor Cell Grafts

Nine plasma cell myeloma patients spontaneously developed histologically proven autologous graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) limited predominantly to the gastrointestinal tract within 1 month of initial autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation (AHCT) using high-dose melphalan conditioning. All recipients responded promptly to systemic and nonabsorbable oral corticosteroid therapy. All patients previously received systemic therapy with thalidomide, lenalidomide, or bortezomib before AHCT. Using enzymatic amplification staining-enhanced flow cytometry, we evaluated expression of selected transcription regulators, pathway molecules, and surface receptors on samples of the infused hematopoietic cell grafts. We demonstrated significantly enhanced expression of GATA-2, CD130, and CXCR4 on CD34+ hematopoietic progenitor cells of affected patients compared with 42 unaffected AHCT controls. These 3 overexpressed markers have not been previously implicated in autologous GVHD. Although we did not specifically evaluate T cells, we postulate that exposure over time to the various immunomodulating therapies used for induction treatment affected not only the CD34+ cells but also T cells or relevant T cell subpopulations capable of mediating GVHD. After infusion, the affected hematopoietic progenitor cells then encounter a host that has been further altered by the high-dose melphalan preparative regimen; such a situation leads to the syndrome. These surface markers could be used to develop a model to predict development of this syndrome. Autologous GVHD potentially is a serious complication of AHCT and should be considered in plasma cell myeloma patients with otherwise unexplained gastrointestinal symptoms in the immediate post-AHCT period. Prompt recognition of this condition and protracted treatment with nonabsorbable or systemic corticosteroids or the combination may lead to resolution

La influencia de la posición anatómica sobre la capacidad de retención del agua y sobre la blandura de la carne de caballo

Cilj istraživanja bio je utvrditi sposobnost zadržavanja vode (kalo odmrzavanja, kalo kuhanja) i mekoću (silu presijecanja) najdužeg leđnog mišića (LT) i polutetivastog mišića (ST) konjskog mesa izuzetih nakon uobičajene klaoničke prakse. Prosječna vrijednost kala odmrzavanja LT mišića bila je 8,65 %, dok je prosječna vrijednost kala odmrzavanja ST mišića bila 6,69 %. Prosječna vrijednost kala kuhanja LT mišića bila je 19,35 %. Znatno veća prosječna vrijednost kala kuhanja utvrđena je u ST mišiću (23,41 %). Prosječna vrijednost sile presijecanja LT mišića bila je 28,10 N. Prosječna vrijednost sile presijecanja ST mišića bila je znatno veća od one utvrđene u LT mišiću te je iznosila 45,64 N. Usporednom analizom razlika srednjih vrijednosti kala odmrzavanja, kala kuhanja i mekoće utvrđene su statistički značajne razlike između LT i ST (p<0,0001) mišića konjskog mesa. Nadalje, rezultati potvrđuju umjereno visoku i pozitivnu korelaciju (r=0,60; p<0,0001) kala odmrzavanja između LT i ST mišića. Zaključno, anatomska pozicija je čimbenik kojeg je potrebno uzeti u obzir ne samo u istraživanjima nego i pri tehnološkoj obradi te izboru i kupnji konjskog mesa.The aim of the study was to investigate water-holding capacity (thawing loss, cooking loss) and tenderness (shear force) of longissimus thoracis muscle (LT) and semitendinosus muscle (ST) of horse meat. The thawing loss value for LT muscle was 8.65%, whereas for ST muscle was 6.69%. The cooking loss for LT muscle was 19.35%, whereas for ST muscle was 23.41%. The shear force for LT muscle was 28.10 N, whereas for ST muscle was higher (45.64 N). Paired t-test analysis showed significant differences for thawing loss, cooking loss, and shear force between LT and ST muscles (p<0.0001). Furthermore, the results showed high correlation (r=0.60; p<0.0001) for cooking loss between LT and ST muscles. Finally, it could be concluded that the anatomical location is a trait that surely must be considered in further investigations, in meat processing and purchasing of horse meat.Ziel dieser Arbeit bestand darin, das Wasserhaltevermögen (Wasserverlust beim Auftauen, Wasserverlust beim Kochen) und die Zartheit (Scherkraft) des längsten Rückenmuskels (LT) und des halbsehnigen Muskels (ST) beim Pferdefleisch zu untersuchen, deren Proben nach der üblichen Schlachtpraxis entnommen wurde. Der durchschnittliche Wert des Wasserverlusts beim Auftauen betrug beim LT Muskel 8,65%, während der durchschnittliche Wert des Wasserverlusts beim Auftauen beim ST Muskel 6,69% betrug. Der durchschnittliche Wert des Verlusts beim Kochen betrug beim LT Muskel 19,35%, während beim ST Muskel ein bedeutend höherer mittlerer Wert des Verlusts beim Kochen festgelegt wurde (23,41%). Der mittlere Wert der Scherkraft betrug beim LT Muskel 28,10 N. Der mittlere Wert der Scherkraft beim ST Muskel war mit einem Wert von 45,64 N bedeutend höher als beim LT Muskel. Bei einer vergleichenden Auswertung der mittleren Werte des Verlusts beim Auftauen, Kochen und bei der Zartheit wurden zwischen dem LT und ST Muskel beim Pferdefleisch statistisch relevante Unterschiede festgestellt (p<0,0001). Die Ergebnisse bestätigen darüber hinaus eine relativ hohe und positive Korrelation (r=0,60; p<0,0001) des Verlustes beim Auftauen zwischen dem LT und ST Muskel. Als Schlussfolgerung kann konstatiert werden, dass die anatomische Lage ein Faktor ist, der nicht nur bei Untersuchungen berücksichtigt werden sollte, sondern auch bei der technologischen Verarbeitung sowie bei der Wahl und dem Kauf von Pferdefleisch.Lo scopo della ricerca è consistito nell\u27accertare la capacità di trattenere l\u27acqua (calo da scongelamento, calo da cottura) e la tenerezza (forza di taglio) del muscolo lunghissimo (LT) e del muscolo semitendinoso (ST) della carne equina prelevati dopo la consueta prassi di macellazione. Circa il calo da scongelamento del muscolo LT, la ricerca ha evidenziato un valore medio dell\u278,65%, mentre, riguardo al calo da scongelamento del muscolo ST, ha evidenziato un valore medio del 6,69%. Circa il calo da cottura del muscolo LT, la ricerca ha evidenziato un valore medio del 19,35%. Il valore medio del calo da cottura evidenziato riguardo al muscolo ST è stato di molto maggiore (23,41%). Il valore medio della forza di taglio del muscolo LT è risultato di 28,10 N. Il valore medio della forza di taglio del muscolo ST, pari a 45,64 N, è risultato molto maggiore del valore medio registrato riguardo al muscolo LT. Mediante l\u27analisi comparativa delle differenze dei valori medi del calo da scongelamento, del calo da cottura e della tenerezza, sono state accertate differenze statisticamente significative tra il muscolo LT e il muscolo ST (p<0,0001) della carne equina. I risultati confermano anche una correlazione mediamente elevata e positiva (r=0,60; p<0,0001) del calo da scongelamento tra i muscoli LT e ST. In conclusione, la posizione anatomica è un fattore che va preso in considerazione non soltanto in sede di ricerca, ma anche nel processo tecnologico, nella scelta e nell\u27acquisto della carne equina.El fin de esta investigación fue determinar la capacidad de retención del agua (merma por descongelación, merma por cocción) y la blandura (fuerza de corte) del músculo más largo de la espalda (LT) y el músculo ST de la carne de caballo tomadas después de la práctica habitual en el matadero. El valor medio de la merma por descongelación del músculo LT fue 8,65%, mientras el valor medio de la merma por descongelación del músculo ST fue 6,69%. El valor medio de la merma por cocción del músculo LT fue 19,35%. El valor medio de la merma por cocción del músculo ST fue considerablemente más alto, (23,41%). El valor medio de la fuerza de corte del músculo LT fue 28,10 N. El valor medio de la fuerza de corte del músculo ST fue considerablemente más alto que el valor determinado para el músculo LT y fue 45,64 N. Por el análisis comparativo de los valores medio de la merma por descongelación, de la merma por cocción y de la blandura fueron determinadas diferencias estadísticamente significantes entre los músculos LT y ST (p<0,0001) de carne de caballo. Además, los resultados confirman la correlación positiva moderada (r=0,60; p<0,0001) de la merma por descongelación entre los músculos LT y ST. En conclusión, la posición anatómica es un factor que hay que tomar en cuenta no sólo en las investigaciones sino también durante el procesamiento tecnológico y en la compra de la carne de caballo

Perspective:Dietary Biomarkers of Intake and Exposure - Exploration with Omics Approaches

While conventional nutrition research has yielded biomarkers such as doubly labeled water for energy metabolism and 24-h urinary nitrogen for protein intake, a critical need exists for additional, equally robust biomarkers that allow for objective assessment of specific food intake and dietary exposure. Recent advances in high-throughput MS combined with improved metabolomics techniques and bioinformatic tools provide new opportunities for dietary biomarker development. In September 2018, the NIH organized a 2-d workshop to engage nutrition and omics researchers and explore the potential of multiomics approaches in nutritional biomarker research. The current Perspective summarizes key gaps and challenges identified, as well as the recommendations from the workshop that could serve as a guide for scientists interested in dietary biomarkers research. Topics addressed included study designs for biomarker development, analytical and bioinformatic considerations, and integration of dietary biomarkers with other omics techniques. Several clear needs were identified, including larger controlled feeding studies, testing a variety of foods and dietary patterns across diverse populations, improved reporting standards to support study replication, more chemical standards covering a broader range of food constituents and human metabolites, standardized approaches for biomarker validation, comprehensive and accessible food composition databases, a common ontology for dietary biomarker literature, and methodologic work on statistical procedures for intake biomarker discovery. Multidisciplinary research teams with appropriate expertise are critical to moving forward the field of dietary biomarkers and producing robust, reproducible biomarkers that can be used in public health and clinical research

Validation of the IBIS breast cancer risk evaluator for women with lobular carcinoma in-situ.

BACKGROUND: Management advice for women with lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) is hampered by the lack of accurate personalised risk estimates for subsequent invasive breast cancer (BC). Prospective validation of the only tool that estimates individual BC risk for a woman with LCIS, the International Breast Cancer Intervention Study Risk Evaluation Tool (IBIS-RET), is lacking. METHODS: Using population-based cancer registry data for 732 women with LCIS, the calibration and discrimination accuracy of IBIS-RET Version 7.2 were assessed. RESULTS: The mean observed 10-year risk of invasive BC was 14.1% (95% CI:11.3%-17.5%). IBIS-RET overestimated invasive BC risk (p = 0.0003) and demonstrated poor discriminatory accuracy (AUC 0.54, 95% CI: 0.48 - 0.62). CONCLUSIONS: Clinicians should understand that IBIS-RET Version 7.2 may overestimate 10-year invasive BC risk for Australian women with LCIS. The newer IBIS-RET Version 8.0, released September 2017, includes mammographic density and may perform better, but validation is needed

Isotopic techniques to measure N2O, N2 and their sources

GHG emissions are usually the result of several simultaneous processes. Furthermore, some gases such as N2 are very difficult to quantify and require special techniques. Therefore, in this chapter, the focus is on stable isotope methods. Both natural abundance techniques and enrichment techniques are used. Especially in the last decade, a number of methodological advances have been made. Thus, this chapter provides an overview and description of a number of current state-of-theart techniques, especially techniques using the stable isotope 15N. Basic principles and recent advances of the 15N gas flux method are presented to quantify N2 fluxes, but also the latest isotopologue and isotopomer methods to identify pathways for N2O production. The second part of the chapter is devoted to 15N tracing techniques, the theoretical background and recent methodological advances. A range of different methods is presented from analytical to numerical tools to identify and quantify pathway-specific N2O emissions. While this chapter is chiefly concerned with gaseous N emissions, a lot of the techniques can also be applied to other gases such as methane (CH4), as outlined in Sect. 5.3

World Health Organization cardiovascular disease risk charts: revised models to estimate risk in 21 global regions

BACKGROUND: To help adapt cardiovascular disease risk prediction approaches to low-income and middle-income countries, WHO has convened an effort to develop, evaluate, and illustrate revised risk models. Here, we report the derivation, validation, and illustration of the revised WHO cardiovascular disease risk prediction charts that have been adapted to the circumstances of 21 global regions. METHODS: In this model revision initiative, we derived 10-year risk prediction models for fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular disease (ie, myocardial infarction and stroke) using individual participant data from the Emerging Risk Factors Collaboration. Models included information on age, smoking status, systolic blood pressure, history of diabetes, and total cholesterol. For derivation, we included participants aged 40-80 years without a known baseline history of cardiovascular disease, who were followed up until the first myocardial infarction, fatal coronary heart disease, or stroke event. We recalibrated models using age-specific and sex-specific incidences and risk factor values available from 21 global regions. For external validation, we analysed individual participant data from studies distinct from those used in model derivation. We illustrated models by analysing data on a further 123 743 individuals from surveys in 79 countries collected with the WHO STEPwise Approach to Surveillance. FINDINGS: Our risk model derivation involved 376 177 individuals from 85 cohorts, and 19 333 incident cardiovascular events recorded during 10 years of follow-up. The derived risk prediction models discriminated well in external validation cohorts (19 cohorts, 1 096 061 individuals, 25 950 cardiovascular disease events), with Harrell's C indices ranging from 0·685 (95% CI 0·629-0·741) to 0·833 (0·783-0·882). For a given risk factor profile, we found substantial variation across global regions in the estimated 10-year predicted risk. For example, estimated cardiovascular disease risk for a 60-year-old male smoker without diabetes and with systolic blood pressure of 140 mm Hg and total cholesterol of 5 mmol/L ranged from 11% in Andean Latin America to 30% in central Asia. When applied to data from 79 countries (mostly low-income and middle-income countries), the proportion of individuals aged 40-64 years estimated to be at greater than 20% risk ranged from less than 1% in Uganda to more than 16% in Egypt. INTERPRETATION: We have derived, calibrated, and validated new WHO risk prediction models to estimate cardiovascular disease risk in 21 Global Burden of Disease regions. The widespread use of these models could enhance the accuracy, practicability, and sustainability of efforts to reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease worldwide. FUNDING: World Health Organization, British Heart Foundation (BHF), BHF Cambridge Centre for Research Excellence, UK Medical Research Council, and National Institute for Health Research

Basic science232. Certolizumab pegol prevents pro-inflammatory alterations in endothelial cell function

Background: Cardiovascular disease is a major comorbidity of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and a leading cause of death. Chronic systemic inflammation involving tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF) could contribute to endothelial activation and atherogenesis. A number of anti-TNF therapies are in current use for the treatment of RA, including certolizumab pegol (CZP), (Cimzia ®; UCB, Belgium). Anti-TNF therapy has been associated with reduced clinical cardiovascular disease risk and ameliorated vascular function in RA patients. However, the specific effects of TNF inhibitors on endothelial cell function are largely unknown. Our aim was to investigate the mechanisms underpinning CZP effects on TNF-activated human endothelial cells. Methods: Human aortic endothelial cells (HAoECs) were cultured in vitro and exposed to a) TNF alone, b) TNF plus CZP, or c) neither agent. Microarray analysis was used to examine the transcriptional profile of cells treated for 6 hrs and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) analysed gene expression at 1, 3, 6 and 24 hrs. NF-κB localization and IκB degradation were investigated using immunocytochemistry, high content analysis and western blotting. Flow cytometry was conducted to detect microparticle release from HAoECs. Results: Transcriptional profiling revealed that while TNF alone had strong effects on endothelial gene expression, TNF and CZP in combination produced a global gene expression pattern similar to untreated control. The two most highly up-regulated genes in response to TNF treatment were adhesion molecules E-selectin and VCAM-1 (q 0.2 compared to control; p > 0.05 compared to TNF alone). The NF-κB pathway was confirmed as a downstream target of TNF-induced HAoEC activation, via nuclear translocation of NF-κB and degradation of IκB, effects which were abolished by treatment with CZP. In addition, flow cytometry detected an increased production of endothelial microparticles in TNF-activated HAoECs, which was prevented by treatment with CZP. Conclusions: We have found at a cellular level that a clinically available TNF inhibitor, CZP reduces the expression of adhesion molecule expression, and prevents TNF-induced activation of the NF-κB pathway. Furthermore, CZP prevents the production of microparticles by activated endothelial cells. This could be central to the prevention of inflammatory environments underlying these conditions and measurement of microparticles has potential as a novel prognostic marker for future cardiovascular events in this patient group. Disclosure statement: Y.A. received a research grant from UCB. I.B. received a research grant from UCB. S.H. received a research grant from UCB. All other authors have declared no conflicts of interes

TRY plant trait database – enhanced coverage and open access

Plant traits - the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants - determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait‐based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits - almost complete coverage for ‘plant growth form’. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait–environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives