Modular stem in total hip arthroplasty for patients with trochanter valgus deformity: surgical technique and case series.

BACKGROUND: Trochanter valgus deformity (TVD) is a rare condition of total hip arthroplasty (THA). Femoral osteotomy could be required in correcting the deformity to implant femoral stem in severe TVD. In this study, we described one unpublished technique of reverse sleeve of S-ROM to get through the complex situation. This study aimed to summarize and evaluate its technical challenges, safety and effectiveness. METHODS: From January 2006 to December 2014, we enrolled patients whose sleeves were implanted towards the great trochanter in THA with TVD. Their demographics, perioperative and postoperative information were recorded. To explore its indication, we measured and analyzed the ratio of greater trochanter/lesser trochanter (G/L ratio) and trochanter valgus angle (TVA). RESULTS: Twelve patients (1 male and 11 female, average age 42.30 ± 10.23) had mean follow-up of 6 years. Among them, only two patients had intraoperative femoral fracture. The survivorship of femoral prosthesis was 100%. The Harris hip score (HHS) increased from preoperative 34.31 ± 14.43 to postoperative 84.12 ± 11.33. All patients\u27 G/L ratio were larger than 1.50. CONCLUSIONS: The reverse sleeve of S-ROM was a reliable method for the patients with severe TVD, which brought satisfying clinical outcomes in mid-term follow-up

Effects of intramuscular fat on meat quality and its regulation mechanism in Tan sheep

Intramuscular fat (IMF) contributes importantly to various aspects of meat quality, and genetic regulation is an effective pathway to improve IMF deposition in sheep. In this study, we systematically explored the effect of IMF content on meat quality in Tan sheep and investigated the regulatory mechanism of flavor precursors metabolism and IMF deposition. The results revealed that IMF significantly affected meat color, total muscle fiber numbers, and muscle fiber types in Tan sheep. Widely-targeted metabolomic analysis showed that amino acids were the main differential flavor precursors between lambs with different IMF content. Importantly, the comparison of fatty acid profiles revealed that saturated fatty acids and monounsaturated fatty acids are beneficial for IMF deposition. Furthermore, integrated analysis between metabolome and transcriptome indicated that MME is a key gene resulting in the reduction of amino acids in lambs with high IMF content; and the joint analysis between fatty acid profiles and transcript profiles showed that ADIPOQ, FABP4, PLIN1, PPARGC1A, SLC2A1 accelerated IMF deposition through positive regulation of saturated fatty acids and monounsaturated fatty acids metabolism. These results revealed key changes in meat quality affected by IMF content and the corresponding genetic mechanism, which may provide a new insight for understanding the IMF differential deposition and for improving meat quality in Tan sheep

Adopting the direct anterior approach: experience and learning curve in a Chinese patient population.

BACKGROUND: There are concerns regarding the complications encountered during the learning curve when switching to a direct anterior approach (DAA) for total hip arthroplasty (THA). The purpose of our study is to report our outcomes and complications after adopting a new approach in a Chinese patient population. METHODS: From 2016 to 2018, a single surgeon\u27s first 100 cases with unilateral DAA for THA were reviewed. The patients were divided into 2 groups, the first 50 cases were designated as group A and the second 50 cases were designated as group B. The preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative clinical data were analyzed. The cumulative summation method (CUSUM) was used to determine the learning curve. RESULTS: There was a significant decrease in the complication rate from 44% in the first 50 cases to 16% in the second 50. The first 50 cases showed a significant increase in operating time, length of hospitalization, fluoroscopy, and complications. There was no significant difference in implant position, postoperative leg length discrepancy (LLD), Harris score, or creatine kinase. CUSUM analysis showed that complication rates and operating time reached acceptable and steady state after 88 cases and 72 cases respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Adopting DAA in a Chinese patient population has its own unique considerations and challenges. Even in the hands of an experienced surgeon, DAA is still a technically demanding procedure

A Surgeon\u27s handedness in direct anterior approach-hip replacement.

BACKGROUND: The impact of handedness on clinical outcomes was easily overlooked in hip replacement. This study aimed to find whether the component positioning and hip function were affected by the handedness in total hip arthroplasty (THA) through direct anterior approach (DAA). METHODS: Total 102 patients who underwent bilateral DAA-THAs simultaneously between May 2016 and November 2018 in our institute were reviewed. All surgeries were operated by one right-handed surgeon. Their demographic, cup positioning, stem alignment, femoral stem fit, Harris hip score (HHS), intraoperative and postoperative complications were used to evaluate the role of handedness in DAA. RESULTS: The inclination of left cups was significantly larger than that of right cups (42.61 ± 7.32 vs 39.42 ± 7.19, p = 0.000). The stem fit of left femur was significantly larger than that of right femur (84.34 ± 4.83 vs 82.81 ± 6.07, p = 0.043). No significant differences in safe zone ratio, HHS and complications between bilateral hips were found. CONCLUSIONS: A surgeon\u27s handedness had significant impact on cup\u27s inclination and femoral stem fit in DAA-THA. However, there were no significant differences of cup malpositioning, stem alignment, hip function scores and complications between bilateral DAA-THAs

Rationally Designed Vaccines Targeting the V2 Region of HIV-1 gp120 Induce a Focused, Cross-Clade-Reactive, Biologically Functional Antibody Response

Strong antibody (Ab) responses against V1V2 epitopes of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) gp120 envelope (Env) correlated with reduced infection rates in studies of HIV, simian-human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV), and simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV). In order to focus the Ab response on V1V2, we used six V1V2 sequences and nine scaffold proteins to construct immunogens which were tested using various immunization regimens for their ability to induce cross-reactive and biologically active V2 Abs in rabbits. A prime/boost immunization strategy was employed using gp120 DNA and various V1V2-scaffold proteins. The rabbit polyclonal Ab responses (i) were successfully focused on the V1V2 region, with weak or only transient responses to other Env epitopes, (ii) displayed broad cross-reactive binding activity with gp120s and the V1V2 regions of diverse strains from clades B, C, and E, (iii) included V2 Abs with specificities similar to those found in HIV-infected individuals, and (iv) remained detectable \u3e /=1 year after the last boosting dose. Importantly, sera from rabbits receiving V1V2-scaffold immunogens displayed Ab-dependent cellular phagocytosis whereas sera from rabbits receiving only gp120 did not. The results represent the first fully successful example of reverse vaccinology in the HIV vaccine field with rationally designed epitope scaffold immunogens inducing Abs that recapitulate the epitope specificity and biologic activity of the human monoclonal Abs from which the immunogens were designed. Moreover, this is the first immunogenicity study using epitope-targeting, rationally designed vaccine constructs that induced an Fc-mediated activity associated with protection from infection with HIV, SIV, and SHIV. IMPORTANCE: Novel immunogens were designed to focus the antibody response of rabbits on the V1V2 epitopes of HIV-1 gp120 since such antibodies were associated with reduced infection rates of HIV, SIV, and SHIV. The vaccine-induced antibodies were broadly cross-reactive with the V1V2 regions of HIV subtypes B, C and E and, importantly, facilitated Fc-mediated phagocytosis, an activity not induced upon immunization of rabbits with gp120. This is the first immunogenicity study of vaccine constructs that focuses the antibody response on V1V2 and induces V2-specific antibodies with the ability to mediate phagocytosis, an activity that has been associated with protection from infection with HIV, SIV, and SHIV

A novel porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus vector system that stably expresses enhanced green fluorescent protein as a separate transcription unit

Abstract Here we report the rescue of a recombinant porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) carrying an enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) reporter gene as a separate transcription unit. A copy of the transcription regulatory sequence for ORF6 (TRS6) was inserted between the N protein and 3′-UTR to drive the transcription of the EGFP gene and yield a general purpose expression vector. Successful recovery of PRRSV was obtained using an RNA polymerase II promoter to drive transcription of the full-length virus genome, which was assembled in a bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC). The recombinant virus showed growth replication characteristics similar to those of the wild-type virus in the infected cells. In addition, the recombinant virus stably expressed EGFP for at least 10 passages. EGFP expression was detected at approximately 10 h post infection by live-cell imaging to follow the virus spread in real time and the infection of neighbouring cells occurred predominantly through cell-to-cell-contact. Finally, the recombinant virus generated was found to be an excellent tool for neutralising antibodies and antiviral compound screening. The newly established reverse genetics system for PRRSV could be a useful tool not only to monitor virus spread and screen for neutralising antibodies and antiviral compounds, but also for fundamental research on the biology of the virus.This study was funded by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (U0931003/L01) and the National High-Tech R&D Program of China (2011AA10A208) to EMZ, the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31302103) to WCB, the European Community’s Seventh Frame-work Programme (PoRRSCon, FP7-KBBE-2009-3-245141) and the Ministry of Science and Innovation of Spain (MCINN) (BIO2010-16075) to FA and LE.Peer Reviewe

Iron Metabolism Regulates p53 Signaling through Direct Heme-p53 Interaction and Modulation of p53 Localization, Stability, and Function

Iron excess is closely associated with tumorigenesis in multiple types of human cancers, with underlying mechanisms yet unclear. Recently, iron deprivation has emerged as a major strategy for chemotherapy, but it exerts tumor suppression only on select human malignancies. Here, we report that the tumor suppressor protein p53 is downregulated during iron excess. Strikingly, the iron polyporphyrin heme binds to p53 protein, interferes with p53-DNA interactions, and triggers both nuclear export and cytosolic degradation of p53. Moreover, in a tumorigenicity assay, iron deprivation suppressed wild-type p53-dependent tumor growth, suggesting that upregulation of wild-type p53 signaling underlies the selective efficacy of iron deprivation. Our findings thus identify a direct link between iron/heme homeostasis and the regulation of p53 signaling, which not only provides mechanistic insights into iron-excess-associated tumorigenesis but may also help predict and improve outcomes in iron-deprivation-based chemotherapy

Large expert-curated database for benchmarking document similarity detection in biomedical literature search

Document recommendation systems for locating relevant literature have mostly relied on methods developed a decade ago. This is largely due to the lack of a large offline gold-standard benchmark of relevant documents that cover a variety of research fields such that newly developed literature search techniques can be compared, improved and translated into practice. To overcome this bottleneck, we have established the RElevant LIterature SearcH consortium consisting of more than 1500 scientists from 84 countries, who have collectively annotated the relevance of over 180 000 PubMed-listed articles with regard to their respective seed (input) article/s. The majority of annotations were contributed by highly experienced, original authors of the seed articles. The collected data cover 76% of all unique PubMed Medical Subject Headings descriptors. No systematic biases were observed across different experience levels, research fields or time spent on annotations. More importantly, annotations of the same document pairs contributed by different scientists were highly concordant. We further show that the three representative baseline methods used to generate recommended articles for evaluation (Okapi Best Matching 25, Term Frequency-Inverse Document Frequency and PubMed Related Articles) had similar overall performances. Additionally, we found that these methods each tend to produce distinct collections of recommended articles, suggesting that a hybrid method may be required to completely capture all relevant articles. The established database server located at https://relishdb.ict.griffith.edu.au is freely available for the downloading of annotation data and the blind testing of new methods. We expect that this benchmark will be useful for stimulating the development of new powerful techniques for title and title/abstract-based search engines for relevant articles in biomedical research.Peer reviewe

Potential threat of SARS-CoV-2 in coastal waters

A novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has caused more than 150 million confirmed infections worldwide, while it is not clear whether it affects the coastal waters. This paper proposed a biophysical model based on 16 scenarios with different virus half-life parameters to assess potential viral contamination from 25 municipal sewage outfalls into the Bohai Sea. Viral concentration maps showing spatial and temporal changes are provided based on a biophysical model under multiple scenarios. Results demonstrate that adjacent sea areas can become exposed to SARS-CoV-2 via water-borne transport from outfalls, with a higher risk in winter, because SARS-CoV-2 can be highly stable at low temperature. As coastal waters are the ultimate sink for wastewater and the epidemic will last for long time, this work is of great importance to raise awareness, identify vulnerable areas for marine mammals, and avoid the risk of exposure of tourists at bathing beach