A rare case of caseous necrosis of mitral valve

Caseous calcification of the mitral annulus, an uncommon kind of intracardiac mass, is a form of degenerative disease that afflicts the mitral valve causing liquefactive or caseous necrosis. Caseous calcification of mitral annulus is rarely encountered in practice; however, it should be on the list of differential diagnosis of any intracardiac masses located close to the mitral annulus

A Single-center Comparison Using Exoskeleton Rehabilitation for Cerebrovascular Accidents and Traumatic Brain Injury in a Cohort of Hispanic Patients

Background Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is one of the leading causes of disability in the United States. The EKSO GT Bionics® (EKSO®) is a robotic exoskeleton approved by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) for rehabilitation following a cerebrovascular accident (CVA or stroke) and recently received approval for use in patients with TBI. The aim of the study was to examine if the use of exoskeleton rehabilitation in patients with TBI will produce beneficial outcomes. Methods This retrospective chart-review reports the use of the (EKSO®) robotic device in the rehabilitation of patients with TBI compared to patients with CVA. We utilized data from a single, private rehabilitation hospital for patients that received post-CVA or post-TBI robotic exoskeleton intervention. All patients that used the exoskeleton were discharged from the hospital between 01/01/2017 to 04/30/2020. Ninety-four percent of patients in the CVA groups and 100% of patients in the TBI group were of Hispanic or Latino ethnicity. Gains in total Functional Independence Measure (FIM), walking and cognition, and length of stay in the rehabilitation facility were measured. Results Patients in the TBI group (n = 11) were significantly younger than the patients in the CVA group (n = 66; p \u3c 0.05). Both groups spent a similar amount of time active, number of steps taken, and the number of sessions in the exoskeleton. Both groups also started with similar admission FIM scores. The FIM gain in the TBI group was similar to that of the CVA group (37.5 and 32.0 respectively). The length of stay between groups was not different either. Conclusions The use of exoskeleton rehabilitation in patients with TBI appear to produce similar outcomes as for patients with CVA, prompting further attention of this intervention for this type of injury. Trial registration: Retrospectively registered on 07/09/2020 in clinicaltrials.gov number NCT4465019

3-Carbamoylquinoxalin-1-ium chloride

The title compound, C9H8N3O+·Cl−, was isolated from a liquid culture of streptomyces sp. In the cation, the ring system makes a dihedral angle of 0.2 (2)° with the amide group. The protonation creating the cation occurs at ome of the N atoms in the quinoxaline ring system. In the crystal, the ions are linked through N—H⋯O and N—H⋯Cl hydrogen bonds, forming a two-dimensional network parallel to (10)

The conformation of alkyl sulfoxides

Parameters for sulfoxides used in force field MM1 were modified to be incorporated into force field MM2. The conformations of ten alkyl sulfoxides were then calculated using MM2 with these new parameters. The alkyl groups used were methyl, ethyl, isopropyl, and t -butyl. It was found that of the many possible conformations for these compounds, only one or two stable conformers exist, and that the number of these conformers agrees with the number of reported S[bond]O stretching frequencies in almost every case. No apparent correlation between the vibration frequency and the molecular structure was found.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/38273/1/540020205_ftp.pd

Minimum energy conformations of DNA dimeric subunits: Potential energy calculations for dGpdC, dApdA, dCpdC, dGpdG, and dTpdT

Minimum energy conformations have been calculated for the deoxydinucleoside phosphates dGpdC, dApdA, dCpdC, dGpdG, and dTpdT. In these potential energy calculations the eight diheldral angles and the sugar pucker were flexible parameters. A substantial survey of conformation space was made in which all staggred combination of the dihedral angles ω′,ω, and ψ, in conjunction with C(2′)-endo pucker, were used as starting conformers for the energy minimization. The most important conformations in the C(3′)-endo-puckering domain have ψ = g+; ω′,ω = g−,g−(A-form),g+, g+, and g−,t. With C(2′)-endo-type pucker the most important conformations have ψ = g+; ω′,ω =g-,g-(B-form) and g+,t; and ψ =t; ω′,ω =g-,t(Watson-Crick from) and t,g+ (skewed). Stacked bases are a persistent feature of the low-energy conformations, the g+ conformer being an exception. Freeing the suger pucker allowed this conformation to become low energy, with C(3′)-exo pucker. It also caused other low-energy forms, such and the Waston-Crick conformation, to become more favourable. Conformation flexibility in the sugar pucker and in ψ, as well as the ω′,ω angle pair, is indicated for the dimeric subunits of DNA

Supramolecular layers and versatile packing modes: the solid state behavior of ortho, ortho-linked bisphenols

A series of ortho-ortho-linked bisphenols featuring electron-withdrawing groups (EWGs) attached to the phenolic rings is reported. Their respective molecular structures and packing behaviors have been studied by X-ray diffraction, comparatively discussed and put into relation with the unsubstituted mother compound. Except for the mother compound, the molecular structures of all bisphenols studied here exhibit distorted aromatic moieties. Hence, the substituents studied here prevent proximal positioning of phenolic units and the formation of strong O-H···O hydrogen bonds. In the packing of the underivatized bisphenol we found a strand-like molecular arrangement featuring strong O-H···O hydrogen bonds and extensive edge-to-face contacts (C-H···π) between the bisphenol molecules. The introduction of EWGs to the aromatic moieties changes these intermolecular interactions into face-to-face contacts resulting either in bisphenol stacks or handshake-like motifs between two bisphenol molecules. In both cases, the C-H···π interactions are more or less replaced by C-H···O contacts as the prevalent non-covalent interaction. In the packing of two nitro bisphenols in their DMSO inclusion compounds an exciting layered arrangement is observed, which also matches with the pronounced foliated habitus of their crystals. Additionally, proton NMR was used to establish the binding coefficients between the respective bisphenols and DMSO in solution

Recent developments in bisintercalator natural products

The bisintercalator natural products are a family of nonribosomal peptides possessing a range of biological properties that include antiviral, antibiotic, and anticancer activities. The name bisintercalator is derived from the ability to directly bind to duplex DNA through two planar intercalating moieties. Although 19 members of this family of compounds have been identified over the past 50 years, the biosynthetic genes responsible for the formation of four of these molecules (thiocoraline, SW-163, triostin A, and echinomycin) were identified only recently. This recent progress opens an avenue towards understanding how Nature produces these bisintercalating products and provides the potential to develop and identify novel potent analogous lead compounds for clinical applications. This review discusses the mode of action of bisintercalators and summarizes recent genetic and biochemical insights into their biosynthetic production, analog formation, and possible mechanisms by which resistance to these compounds is achieved by their producing organisms. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biopolymers 93: 777–790, 2010.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/77426/1/21489_ftp.pd