Intraoperative radial nerve injury during coronary artery surgery – report of two cases

BACKGROUND: Peripheral nerve injury and brachial plexopathy are known, though rare complications of coronary artery surgery. The ulnar nerve is most frequently affected, whereas radial nerve lesions are much less common accounting for only 3% of such intraoperative injuries. CASE PRESENTATIONS: Two 52- and 50-year-old men underwent coronary artery surgery. On the first postoperative day they both complained of wrist drop on the left. Neurological examination revealed a paresis of the wrist and finger extensor muscles (0/5), and the brachioradialis (4/5) with hypoaesthesia on the radial aspect of the dorsum of the left hand. Both biceps and triceps reflexes were normoactive, whereas the brachioradialis reflex was diminished on the left. Muscles innervated from the median and ulnar nerve, as well as all muscles above the elbow were unaffected. Electrophysiological studies were performed 3 weeks later, when muscle power of the affected muscles had already begun to improve. Nerve conduction studies and needle electromyography revealed a partial conduction block of the radial nerve along the spiral groove, motor axonal loss distal to the site of the lesion and moderate impairment in recruitment with fibrillation potentials in radial innervated muscles below the elbow and normal findings in triceps and deltoid. Electrophysiology data pointed towards a radial nerve injury in the spiral groove. We assume external compression as the causative factor. The only apparatus attached to the patients' left upper arm was the sternal retractor, used for dissection of the internal mammary artery. Both patients were overweight and lying on the operating table for a considerable time might have caused the compression of their left upper arm on the self retractor's supporting column which was fixed to the table rail 5 cm above the left elbow joint, in the site where the radial nerve is directly apposed to the humerus. CONCLUSION: Although very uncommon, external compression due to the use of a self retractor during coronary artery surgery can affect – especially in obese subjects – the radial nerve within the spiral groove leading to paresis and should therefore be included in the list of possible mechanisms of radial nerve injury

Forced swim test induces divergent global transcriptomic alterations in the hippocampus of high versus low novelty-seeker rats

BACKGROUND: Many neuropsychiatric disorders, including stress-related mood disorders, are complex multi-parametric syndromes. Susceptibility to stress and depression is individually different. The best animal model of individual differences that can be used to study the neurobiology of affect regards spontaneous reactions to novelty. Experimentally, when naive rats are exposed to the stress of a novel environment, they display a highly variable exploratory activity and are classified as high or low responders (HR or LR, respectively). Importantly, HR and LR rats do not seem to exhibit a substantial differentiation in relation to their ‘depressive-like’ status in the forced swim test (FST), a widely used animal model of ‘behavioral despair’. In the present study, we investigated whether FST exposure would be accompanied by phenotype-dependent differences in hippocampal gene expression in HR and LR rats. RESULTS: HR and LR rats present a distinct behavioral pattern in the pre-test session but develop comparable depressive-like status in the second FST session. At 24 h following the second FST session, HR and LR rats (stressed and unstressed controls) were sacrificed and hippocampal samples were independently analyzed on whole rat genome Illumina arrays. Functional analysis into pathways and networks was performed using Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) software. Notably, hippocampal gene expression signatures between HR and LR rats were markedly divergent, despite their comparable depressive-like status in the FST. These molecular differences are reflected in both the extent of transcriptional remodeling (number of significantly changed genes) and the types of molecular pathways affected following FST exposure. A markedly higher number of genes (i.e., 2.28-fold) were statistically significantly changed following FST in LR rats, as compared to their HR counterparts. Notably, genes associated with neurogenesis and synaptic plasticity were induced in the hippocampus of LR rats in response to FST, whereas in HR rats, FST induced pathways directly or indirectly associated with induction of apoptotic mechanisms. CONCLUSIONS: The markedly divergent gene expression signatures exposed herein support the notion that the hippocampus of HR and LR rats undergoes distinct transcriptional remodeling in response to the same stress regimen, thus yielding a different FST-related ‘endophenotype’, despite the seemingly similar depressive-like phenotype

Εμπειρική προσέγγιση της απόλυτης φτώχειας στην Ελλάδα: οι ανάγκες για κατοικία, διατροφή, ένδυση, υπόδηση, μεταφορά

Η έρευνα αυτή αποτελεί μια αντικειμενική αποτύπωση της σύγχρονης κοινωνικής πραγματικότητας αλλά και ένα χρήσιμο εργαλείο για τους σύγχρονους και μελλοντικούς αγώνες της εργατικής τάξης. Παραπέρα, συνεισφέρει στο δημόσιο διάλογο γύρω από το φλέγον ζήτημα των αναγκών, όπως έχουν οριστεί σύγχρονα και κοινωνικά, χρησιμεύοντας ως βάση για την οργάνωση και το σχεδιασμό μιας καλύτερης, πιο ορθολογικής και δίκαιης κοινωνίας. Συμπεραίνεται ότι α) ανεξάρτητα από τον τρόπο μέτρησης το φαινόμενο της απόλυτης φτώχειας φαίνεται να είναι αρκετά διαδεδομένο στην ελληνική κοινωνία, β) το «επίσημο» όριο της φτώχειας (δηλαδή αυτό που μετράται και ανακοινώνεται από την ΕΣΥΕ με βάση τον ορισμό της σχετικής φτώχειας) υποτιμά την πραγματική έκταση του φαινόμενου για όλα τα μεγέθη νοικοκυριών, γ) ότι ο βασικός μισθός δεν επαρκεί για την κάλυψη βασικών αναγκών, ενώ δ) αναδεικνύεται η δύναμη που έχει ένας δείκτης απόλυτης φτώχειας, στην περίπτωση που ο τελευταίος στηρίζεται σε έναν στέρεο θεωρητικό ισχυρισμό σχετικά με την έκταση και το ύψος των σύγχρονων βασικών αναγκών

optimization of enzymatic synthesis of l arabinose ferulate catalyzed by feruloyl esterases from myceliophthora thermophila in detergentless microemulsions and assessment of its antioxidant and cytotoxicity activities

The feruloyl esterases FaeA1, FaeA2, FaeB1, FaeB2 from Myceliophthora thermophila C1 and MtFae1a from M. thermophila ATCC 42464 were used as biocatalysts for the transesterification of vinyl ferula ..

Accuracy in Diagnosis of Celiac Disease Without Biopsies in Clinical Practice

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Genetic prediction of ICU hospitalization and mortality in COVID-19 patients using artificial neural networks

There is an unmet need of models for early prediction of morbidity and mortality of Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19). We aimed to a) identify complement-related genetic variants associated with the clinical outcomes of ICU hospitalization and death, b) develop an artificial neural network (ANN) predicting these outcomes and c) validate whether complement-related variants are associated with an impaired complement phenotype. We prospectively recruited consecutive adult patients of Caucasian origin, hospitalized due to COVID-19. Through targeted next-generation sequencing, we identified variants in complement factor H/CFH, CFB, CFH-related, CFD, CD55, C3, C5, CFI, CD46, thrombomodulin/THBD, and A Disintegrin and Metalloproteinase with Thrombospondin motifs (ADAMTS13). Among 381 variants in 133 patients, we identified 5 critical variants associated with severe COVID-19: rs2547438 (C3), rs2250656 (C3), rs1042580 (THBD), rs800292 (CFH) and rs414628 (CFHR1). Using age, gender and presence or absence of each variant, we developed an ANN predicting morbidity and mortality in 89.47% of the examined population. Furthermore, THBD and C3a levels were significantly increased in severe COVID-19 patients and those harbouring relevant variants. Thus, we reveal for the first time an ANN accurately predicting ICU hospitalization and death in COVID-19 patients, based on genetic variants in complement genes, age and gender. Importantly, we confirm that genetic dysregulation is associated with impaired complement phenotype.- Pfizer Pharmaceuticals(undefined

The challenge of setting restoration targets for macroalgal forests under climate changes

Este artículo contiene 10 páginas, 5 figuras, 1 tabla.The process of site selection and spatial planning has received scarce attention in the scientific literature dealing with marine restoration, suggesting the need to better address how spatial planning tools could guide restoration interventions. In this study, for the first time, the consequences of adopting different restoration targets and criteria on spatial restoration prioritization have been assessed at a regional scale, including the consideration of climate changes. We applied the decision-support tool Marxan, widely used in systematic conservation planning on Mediterranean macroalgal forests. The loss of this habitat has been largely documented, with limited evidences of natural recovery. Spatial priorities were identified under six planning scenarios, considering three main restoration targets to reflect the objectives of the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030. Results show that the number of suitable sites for restoration is very limited at basin scale, and targets are only achieved when the recovery of 10% of regressing and extinct macroalgal forests is planned. Increasing targets translates into including unsuitable areas for restoration in Marxan solutions, amplifying the risk of ineffective interventions. Our analysis supports macroalgal forests restoration and provides guiding principles and criteria to strengthen the effectiveness of restoration actions across habitats. The constraints in finding suitable areas for restoration are discussed, and recommendations to guide planning to support future restoration interventions are also included.This study was funded by the EASME–EMFF (Sustainable Blue Economy) Project AFRIMED (http://afrimed-project.eu/, grant agreement N. 789059), supported by the European Community.Peer reviewe