Structural Characterization of the ACCH Domain of Angiomotin Family Members

poster abstractThe Angiomotin (Amot) family of adaptor proteins directly coordinates signaling events during cellular and neural differentiation and proliferation. A critical feature of all Amot proteins is a novel lipid binding domain, the Amot coiled-coil homology (ACCH) domain, which confers its association with membranes and affects membrane curvature and deformation. Specifically, this domain has the unique ability to selectively bind monophosphorylated phosphatidylinositols (PIs) and cholesterol. Furthermore, Amot family members bind core polarity proteins that control the organization of the apical domain of epithelial cells as well as Yap, a transcriptional coactivator that appears to be the key regulator of cell growth. Amots have been shown to have a critical role in endothelial and epithelial cell migration, invasion, and tubule formation, and they are believed to regulate angiogenesis, which promotes tumor growth and metastasis. Amot overexpression and mutations have been linked to neuroepithelial tumors, such as glioblastomas, brain hemangioendotheliomas, neurofibromatosis, and many other cancers, such as breast cancer. The role of Amots in epithelial and endothelial cancer growth and metastasis have been linked to poor prognosis and unfavorable clinical outcomes. Understanding the structure-function relationship of the ACCH domain may provide pathways to modulate protein sorting and downstream signaling events inducing cellular differentiation, cancer cell proliferation, and cell migration. The goal of this project is to generate a solution structure of the Amot80/130 and AmotL2 (Mascot) ACCH domains using SAXS and WAXS data as well as various protein modeling software, thereby suggesting possible routes to modulate their activity associated with various tumors. Additionally, this structure will be compared against theoretical models to determine the statistical accuracy of the theoretical models. Furthermore, we hypothesize that generating these models will allow us to determine the structure of another analogue of A80/130, the Angiomotin-like 1 (JEAP) ACCH domain

A Bibliometric Study of Authorship and Collaboration Trends Over the Past 30 Years in Four Major Musculoskeletal Science Journals

This study explored changes in bibliometric variables over the last 30 years for four major musculoskeletal science journals (BONE®), Calcified Tissue International® (CTI®), Journal of Bone and Mineral Research® (JBMR®), and Journal of Orthopaedic Research® (JOR®), with a specific focus on author gender. Bibliometric data were collected for all manuscripts in 1985 (BONE®, CTI®, JOR®), 1986 (JBMR®), 1995, 2005, and 2015; 2776 manuscripts met inclusion criteria. Manuscripts from Europe were more often published in BONE® or CTI®, while those from North America in JBMR® or JOR®. All journals demonstrated an increase over time in the number of authors (3.67–7.3), number of countries (1.1–1.4), number of institutions (1.4–3.1), and number of references (25.1–45.4). The number of manuscript pages increased (6.6–8.9) except for JOR® which showed a decline. CTI® had the lowest number of authors (4.9 vs. 5.6–6.8). There was a change in the corresponding author position from first to last for all journals; this change was highest for CTI® (35%) and lowest for BONE® (14.0%). All journals demonstrated an increase over time in female authors; however, CTI® was the highest amongst these four journals. The percentage of female first authors rose from 24.6 to 44.3% (CTI® 29.1–52.3%). The percentage of corresponding female authors rose from 17.5 to 33.6% (CTI® 22.9–40.0%). The proportion of female authors is increasing, likely reflecting the increasing number of women obtaining doctorates in science, medicine, and engineering

Handover Practices in Trauma and Acute Care Surgery: A Multicenter Survey Study

BACKGROUND: The handover period has been identified as a particularly vulnerable period for communication breakdown leading to patient safety events. Clear and concise handover is especially critical in high-acuity care settings such as trauma, emergency general surgery, and surgical critical care. There is no consensus for the most effective and efficient means of evaluating or performing handover in this population. We aimed to characterize the current handover practices and perceptions in trauma and acute care surgery. METHODS: A survey was sent to 2265 members of the Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma via email regarding handoff practices at their institution. Respondents were queried regarding their practice setting, average census, level of trauma center, and patients (trauma, emergency general surgery, and/or intensive care). Data regarding handover practices were gathered including frequency of handover, attendees, duration, timing, and formality. Finally, perceptions of handover including provider satisfaction, desire for improvement, and effectiveness were collected. RESULTS: Three hundred eighty surveys (17.1%) were completed. The majority (73.4%) of respondents practiced at level 1 trauma centers (58.9%) and were trauma/emergency general surgeons (86.5%). Thirty-five percent of respondents reported a formalized handover and 52% used a standardized tool for handover. Only 18% of respondents had ever received formal training, but most (51.6%) thought this training would be helpful. Eighty-one percent of all providers felt handover was essential for patient care, and 77% felt it prevented harm. Seventy-two percent thought their handover practice needed improvement, and this was more common as the average patient census increased. The most common suggestions for improvement were shorter and more concise handover (41.6%), different handover medium (24.5%), and adding verbal communication (13.9%). CONCLUSION: Trauma and emergency general surgeons perceive handover as essential for patient care and the majority desire improvement of their current handover practices. Methods identified to improve the handover process include standardization, simplification, and verbal interaction, which allows for shared understanding. Formal education and best practice guidelines should be developed