Terminal Sterilization of Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) Allografts: A Systematic Review of Outcomes

Introduction. Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries are common and reconstruction can be completed with either autograft or allograft tissue. However, there is concern about an increased failure rate with allograft tissue. The purpose of this study was to systematically review the available evidence to determine the effect of irradiation and level of dose on the failure rates of allograft in ACL reconstruction. Methods. A literature search was performed using PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science from January 2000 to September 2013. Inclusion criteria consisted of the following: (1) primary, unilateral, single-bundle allograft ACL procedure, (2) studies with data documenting graft type and terminal sterilization technique, (3) subjective assessments of outcome, and (4) objective assessments of outcome. Studies without reported subjective and objective outcomes and those pertaining to revision ACL reconstruction were excluded. Failures were defined and compared between irradiated and non-irradiated grafts, as well as between grafts irradiated with 1.2 - 1.8 Mrad and those with 2.0 - 2.5 Mrad. Results. Of the 242 articles identified via initial search, 17 studies met the final inclusion criteria. A total of 1,090 patients were evaluated in this study, all having undergone unilateral primary ACL reconstruction with allograft tissue with 155 failures. The failure rate between non-irradiated (98/687, 14.7%) and irradiated (57/408, 14.0%) was not statistically significant (p = 0.86). Grafts in the high-dose irradiation group (27/135, 20.0%) had a statistically significant higher (p < 0.001) rate of failure than those in the low-dose irradiation group (30/273, 10.6%). Conclusion. The irradiation of an allograft increases the risk of failure after an ACL reconstruction but the use of lower doses of radiation decreases that risk

Characterisation of solid hydrodynamics in a three-phase stirred tank reactor with positron emission particle tracking (PEPT)

It is challenging to measure the hydrodynamics of stirred tank reactors when they contain multiphase flows comprising liquid, gas bubbles and particles. Radioactive particle tracking techniques such as positron emission particle tracking (PEPT) are the only established techniques to determine internal flow behaviour due to the inherent opacity and density of fluid and the vessel walls. The profiles of solids flow are an important tool for robust reactor design and optimisation and offer insight into underlying transport processes and particle–fluid–bubble interactions for applications such as froth flotation. In this work, measurements with PEPT were performed with two tracer particles differing in surface hydrophobicity to characterise the solids hydrodynamics in a baffled vessel agitated with a Rushton turbine. The location data from PEPT were averaged with time to estimate the probability density function (PDF) of particle velocity in individual voxels. The peaks of these voxel distributions were used to produce profiles of solids flow in different azimuthal and horizontal slices. Bimodal vertical velocity distributions were observed in the impeller radial jet which suggest the particles experienced trajectory crossing effects due to inertia. Statistical tests were performed to compare the velocity distributions of the hydrophilic and hydrophobic tracer particles, which indicated similar average flow behaviour in the liquid or pulp phase of the vessel and differences near the air inlet, in the impeller discharge stream and pulp–froth interface. With tracers designed to represent gangue and valuable mineral species, the differences in velocity reveal interactions such as bubble–particle attachment and entrainment

Disease-specific gene repositioning in breast cancer

The nuclear repositioning of specific genes may be a novel diagnostic strategy to distinguish malignant from normal tissue

Correlation of Pain Scores, Analgesic Use, and Beck Anxiety Inventory Scores During Hospitalization in Lower Extremity Amputees

Post amputation pain can be debilitating for patients and families. Chronic pain is a common phenomenon after lower extremity amputation, occurring in up to 80% of this population. The purpose of this pilot study was to correlate post amputation pain scores to opioid analgesic consumption and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) scores. Twenty-three patients with lower extremity amputation at an 827-bed acute care inner-city hospital were surveyed pre-operatively and post-operatively to determine if there was a significant correlation between anxiety and pain. A numeric scale was utilized by patients to rate their pain level, while the BAI was utilized to measure their anxiety levels

Building agroecology with people. Challenges of participatory methods to deepen on the agroecological transition in different contexts

This article was supported by the Fund “Grants for the Third Sector” from the Spanish Ministry for the Ecological Transition (2020).N

In vitro nuclear interactome of the HIV-1 Tat protein

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>One facet of the complexity underlying the biology of HIV-1 resides not only in its limited number of viral proteins, but in the extensive repertoire of cellular proteins they interact with and their higher-order assembly. HIV-1 encodes the regulatory protein Tat (86–101aa), which is essential for HIV-1 replication and primarily orchestrates HIV-1 provirus transcriptional regulation. Previous studies have demonstrated that Tat function is highly dependent on specific interactions with a range of cellular proteins. However they can only partially account for the intricate molecular mechanisms underlying the dynamics of proviral gene expression. To obtain a comprehensive nuclear interaction map of Tat in T-cells, we have designed a proteomic strategy based on affinity chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Our approach resulted in the identification of a total of 183 candidates as Tat nuclear partners, 90% of which have not been previously characterised. Subsequently we applied <it>in silico </it>analysis, to validate and characterise our dataset which revealed that the Tat nuclear interactome exhibits unique signature(s). First, motif composition analysis highlighted that our dataset is enriched for domains mediating protein, RNA and DNA interactions, and helicase and ATPase activities. Secondly, functional classification and network reconstruction clearly depicted Tat as a polyvalent protein adaptor and positioned Tat at the nexus of a densely interconnected interaction network involved in a range of biological processes which included gene expression regulation, RNA biogenesis, chromatin structure, chromosome organisation, DNA replication and nuclear architecture.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We have completed the <it>in vitro </it>Tat nuclear interactome and have highlighted its modular network properties and particularly those involved in the coordination of gene expression by Tat. Ultimately, the highly specialised set of molecular interactions identified will provide a framework to further advance our understanding of the mechanisms of HIV-1 proviral gene silencing and activation.</p

Utilizing the chicken as an animal model for human craniofacial ciliopathies

The chicken has been a particularly useful model for the study of craniofacial development and disease for over a century due to their relatively large size, accessibility, and amenability for classical bead implantation and transplant experiments. Several naturally occurring mutant lines with craniofacial anomalies also exist and have been heavily utilized by developmental biologist for several decades. Two of the most well known lines, talpid(2) (ta(2)) and talpid(3) (ta(3)), represent the first spontaneous mutants to have the causative genes identified. Despite having distinct genetic causes, both mutants have recently been identified as ciliopathic. Excitingly, both of these mutants have been classified as models for human craniofacial ciliopathies: Oral-facial-digital syndrome (ta(2)) and Joubert syndrome (ta(3)). Herein, we review and compare these two models of craniofacial disease and highlight what they have revealed about the molecular and cellular etiology of ciliopathies. Furthermore, we outline how applying classical avian experiments and new technological advances (transgenics and genome editing) with naturally occurring avian mutants can add a tremendous amount to what we currently know about craniofacial ciliopathies