Idiopathic Synovial Osteochondromatosis of the Hip: Radiographic and MR Appearances in 15 Patients

[Objective] To evaluate the radiographic and MR appearance of idiopathic synovial osteochondromatosis of the hip. [Materials and Methods]Radiographs and MR images of 15 patients with idiopathic synovial osteochondromatosis of the hip were assessed. The former were analysed in terms of the presence of 1) juxta-articular calcified and/ or ossified bodies, 2) osteophytes, 3) bone erosion, 4) juxta-articular osteopenia, and 5) joint space narrowing, while for the latter, analysis focused on 1) the configuration of intra-articular bodies, 2) bone erosion, 3) synovial thickening, 4) conglomeration of intra-articular bodies, and 5) extra-articular extension. [Results]At hip radiography, juxta-articular calcified and/ or ossified bodies were seen in 12 of the 15 patients (80%), bone erosion in eight (53%), osteophytes in seven (47%), juxta-articular osteopenia in five (33%) and joint space narrowing in five (33%). In eight patients (53%), MR imaging depicted intra-articular bodies of focal low signal intensity at all pulse sequences, and areas of iso-intensity at T1WI and hyperintensity at T2WI. In three (20%), intra-articular bodies of focal low signal intensity and areas of hyperintensity at all pulse sequences were observed, with areas of iso-intensity at T1WI and hyperintensity at T2WI, while in four (27%), intra-articular bodies of only focal low signal intensity at all pulse sequences were apparent. Synovial thickening was present in 13 patients (87%), bone erosion in 11 (73%), conglomeration of the intra-articular bodies in 11 (73%), and an extra-articular herniation sac in six (40%). [Conclusion]The most common radiographic finding of synovial osteochondromatosis of the hip was the presence of juxta-articular calcified and/ or ossified bodies. MR imaging depicted intra-articular bodies of focal low signal intensity at all pulse sequences, with areas of iso-intensity at T1WI and hyperintensity at T2WI. In addition, the presence of an extra-articular herniation sac was not uncommon.ope

Validity and reliability of the semi-quantitative self-report Home Food Availability Inventory Checklist (HFAI-C) in White and South Asian populations.

Despite interest in the importance of the home food environment and its potential influence on children's diets and social norms, there remain few self-report checklist methods that have been validated against the gold standard of researcher-conducted inventories. This study aimed to assess the criterion validity and reliability of the 'Home Food Availability Inventory Checklist' (HFAI-C), a 39-item checklist including categories of fruit, vegetables, snacks and drinks.The HFAI-C was completed by 97 participants of White and Pakistani origin in the UK. Validity was determined by comparing participant-reported HFAI-C responses to data from researcher observations of home food availability using PABAK and weighted kappa statistics. The validity of measuring the amount of items (in addition to presence/absence) available was also determined. Test-retest reliability compared repeated administrations of the HFAI-C using intra-class correlation coefficients.Validity and reliability was fair to moderate overall. For validity, the average category-level PABAK ranged from 0.31 (95 % CI: 0.25, 0.37) for vegetables to 0.44 (95 % CI: 0.40, 0.49) for fruits. Assessment of the presence/absence of items demonstrated higher validity compared to quantity measurements. Reliability was increased when the HFAI-C was repeated close to the time of the first administration. For example, ICCs for reliability of the measurement of fruits were 0.52 (95 %CI: 0.47, 0.56) if re-administered within 5 months, 0.58 (95 % CI: 0.51, 0.64) within 30 days and 0.97 (95 %CI: 0.94, 1.00) if re-administered on the same day.Overall, the HFAI-C demonstrated fair to moderate validity and reliability in a population of White and South Asian participants. This evaluation is consistent with previous work on other checklists in less diverse, more affluent populations. Our research supports the use of the HFAI-C as a useful, albeit imperfect, representation of researcher-conducted inventories. The feasibility of collecting information using the HFAI-C in large, multi-ethnic samples can facilitate examination of home food availability in relation to exposures such as ethnicity and outcomes including behavioural, social and health outcomes. Future work using the HFAI-C could provide important insights into a modifiable influence with potential to impact health

Australia's Oldest Marsupial Fossils and their Biogeographical Implications

Background: We describe new cranial and post-cranial marsupial fossils from the early Eocene Tingamarra Local Fauna in Australia and refer them to Djarthia murgonensis, which was previously known only from fragmentary dental remains. Methodology/Principal Findings: The new material indicates that Djarthia is a member of Australidelphia, a pan-Gondwanan clade comprising all extant Australian marsupials together with the South American microbiotheres. Djarthia is therefore the oldest known crown-group marsupial anywhere in the world that is represented by dental, cranial and postcranial remains, and the oldest known Australian marsupial by 30 million years. It is also the most plesiomorphic known australidelphian, and phylogenetic analyses place it outside all other Australian marsupials. Conclusions/Significance: As the most plesiomorphic and oldest unequivocal australidelphian, Djarthia may approximate the ancestral morphotype of the Australian marsupial radiation and suggests that the South American microbiotheres may be the result of back-dispersal from eastern Gondwana, which is the reverse of prevailing hypotheses

Effects of DNA supercoiling on chromatin architecture

Disruptions in chromatin structure are necessary for the regulation of eukaryotic genomes, from remodelling of nucleosomes at the base pair level through to large-scale chromatin domains that are hundreds of kilobases in size. RNA polymerase is a powerful motor which, prevented from turning with the tight helical pitch of the DNA, generates over-wound DNA ahead of itself and under-wound DNA behind. Mounting evidence supports a central role for transcription-dependent DNA supercoiling in disrupting chromatin structure at all scales. This supercoiling changes the properties of the DNA helix in a manner that substantially alters the binding specificity of DNA binding proteins and complexes, including nucleosomes, polymerases, topoisomerases and transcription factors. For example, transient over-wound DNA destabilises nucleosome core particles ahead of a transcribing polymerase, whereas under-wound DNA facilitates pre-initiation complex formation, transcription factor binding and nucleosome core particle association behind the transcribing polymerase. Importantly, DNA supercoiling can also dissipate through DNA, even in a chromatinised context, to influence both local elements and large chromatin domains. We propose a model in which changes in unconstrained DNA supercoiling influences higher levels of chromatin organisation through the additive effects of DNA supercoiling on both DNA-protein and DNA-nucleosome interactions. This model links small-scale changes in DNA and chromatin to the higher-order fibre and large-scale chromatin structures, providing a mechanism relating gene regulation to chromatin architecture in vivo

Solid-state fluorescence of the trihydrate phases of ampicillin and amoxicillin

The purpose of this work was to study the effects of crystal structure on the solid-state photoluminescence of the trihydrate phases of ampicillin and amoxicillin, and to contrast these spectra with analogous spectra obtained on the molecules dissolved in a solution phase. The polymorphic identity of the analytes was established using x-ray powder diffraction and Fourier transform infrared absorption spectroscopy, and the solid-state luminescence spectra obtained under ambient conditions. It was found that the solid-state excitation and emission spectra of ampicillin trihydrate and amoxicillin trihydrate were dominated by energy transfer and exciton effects, which were manifested as decreases in the energy of the excitation and emission bands of the solid-state systems relative to those of the free molecule in solution. The photoluminescence data revealed that in spite of the known structural similarity of ampicillin trihydrate and amoxicillin trihydrate, the magnitude of the Davydov splitting, and the degree of band energy shifting differed between the 2 systems. This finding indicates that the small differences in crystal structure existing between the 2 compounds leads to measurable differences in the patterns of energy transfer

Rewired m6A epitranscriptomic networks link mutant p53 to neoplastic transformation

The dysregulation of the m6A epitranscriptomic networks have been reported to contribute to the development of gliomas. Here, the authors utilize induced pluripotent stem cell-derived astrocytes with a p53 mutation and demonstrate that mutant p53 upregulates the m6A reader YTHDF2, resulting in the initiation of gliomas