Detecting T-cell clonal expansions and quantifying clone survival using deep profiling of immune repertoires.

An individual's T-cell repertoire constantly changes under the influence of external and internal factors. Cells that do not receive a stimulatory signal die, while those that encounter and recognize a pathogen or receive a co-stimulatory signal divide, resulting in clonal expansions. T-cell clones can be traced by monitoring the presence of their unique T-cell receptor (TCR) sequence, which is assembled through a process known as V(D)J rearrangement.

Exercise therapy for tendinopathy: a mixed-methods evidence synthesis exploring feasibility, acceptability and effectiveness.

Background: Tendinopathy is a common, painful and functionally limiting condition, primarily managed conservatively using exercise therapy.

Review Questions: (i) What exercise interventions have been reported in the literature for which tendinopathies? (ii) What outcomes have been reported in studies investigating exercise interventions for tendinopathy? (iii) Which exercise interventions are most effective across all tendinopathies? (iv) Does type/location of tendinopathy or other specific covariates affect which are the most effective exercise therapies? (v) How feasible and acceptable are exercise interventions for tendinopathies?

Methods: A scoping review mapped exercise interventions for tendinopathies and outcomes reported to date (questions i and ii). Thereafter, two contingent systematic review workstreams were conducted.

Water-soluble triazole chitin derivative and its based nanoparticles: Synthesis, characterization, catalytic and antibacterial properties.

In this work, we treated chitin with 2-(azidomethyl)oxirane and successfully involved the resultant azido chitin derivatives in the ultrasound-assisted Cu(I)-catalyzed azido-alkyne click (CuAAC) reaction with propargylic ester of N,N,N-trimethyl glycine. Thus, we obtained novel water-soluble triazole chitin derivatives. The triazole chitin derivatives and their nanoparticles are characterized by a high in vitro antibacterial activity, which is the same or even higher than that of commercial antibiotics ampicillin and gentamicin.

Motor development in infancy and spine shape in early old age: Findings from a British birth cohort study.

Spine shape changes dramatically in early life, influenced by attainment of developmental milestones such as independent walking. Whether these associations persist across life is unknown. Therefore, we investigated associations between developmental milestones and spine shape, as determined using statistical shape models (SSMs) of lumbar spine from dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scans in 1327 individuals (688 female) at 60 to 64 years in the MRC National Survey of Health and Development.

Perinatal factors associate with vertebral size and shape but not lumbar lordosis in 10-year-old children.

The intrauterine environment is known to influence foetal development and future health. Low birthweight has been linked to smaller vertebral canals in children and decreased adulthood spine bone mineral content. Perinatal factors affecting lumbar spine curvature have not yet been considered but could be important for adult spinal health, as lumbar movement during lifting, a risk factor for backpain, is associated with lordosis.

Age at Onset of Walking in Infancy Is Associated With Hip Shape in Early Old Age.

Bones' shapes and structures adapt to the muscle and reaction forces they experience during everyday movements. Onset of independent walking, at approximately 12 months, represents the first postnatal exposure of the lower limbs to the large forces associated with bipedal movements; accordingly, earlier walking is associated with greater bone strength. However, associations between early life loading and joint shape have not been explored.

Associations between back pain across adulthood and spine shape in early old age in a British birth cohort.

We aimed to examine whether back pain across adulthood was associated with spine shape at age 60-64 years. Data were from 1405 participants in the MRC National Survey of Health and Development, a nationally representative British birth cohort. Back pain was ascertained during nurse interviews at ages 36, 43, 53 and 60-64 years.

Variation in lifting kinematics related to individual intrinsic lumbar curvature: an investigation in healthy adults.

Objective: Lifting postures are frequently implicated in back pain. We previously related responses to a static load with intrinsic spine shape, and here we investigate the role of lumbar spine shape in lifting kinematics.

Methods: Thirty healthy adults (18-65 years) performed , and lifts with a weighted box (6-15 kg, self-selected) while being recorded by Vicon motion capture.

Body mass index and waist circumference in early adulthood are associated with thoracolumbar spine shape at age 60-64: The Medical Research Council National Survey of Health and Development.

This study investigated associations between measures of adiposity from age 36 and spine shape at 60-64 years. Thoracolumbar spine shape was characterised using statistical shape modelling on lateral dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry images of the spine from 1529 participants of the MRC National Survey of Health and Development, acquired at age 60-64. Associations of spine shape modes with: 1) contemporaneous measures of total and central adiposity (body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC)) and body composition (android:gynoid fat mass ratio and lean and fat mass indices, calculated as whole body (excluding the head) lean or fat mass (kg) divided by height2 (m)2); 2) changes in total and central adiposity between age 36 and 60-64 and 3) age at onset of overweight, were tested using linear regression models.

Associations between body mass index across adult life and hip shapes at age 60 to 64: Evidence from the 1946 British birth cohort.

Objective: To examine the associations of body mass index (BMI) across adulthood with hip shapes at age 60-64years.

Methods: Up to 1633 men and women from the MRC National Survey of Health and Development with repeat measures of BMI across adulthood and posterior-anterior dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry bone mineral density images of the proximal femur recorded at age 60-64 were included in analyses. Statistical shape modelling was applied to quantify independent variations in hip mode (HM), of which the first 6 were examined in relation to: i) BMI at each age of assessment; ii) BMI gain during different phases of adulthood; iii) age first overweight.

Statistical shape modelling of hip and lumbar spine morphology and their relationship in the MRC National Survey of Health and Development.

The anatomical shape of bones and joints is important for their proper function but quantifying this, and detecting pathological variations, is difficult to do. Numerical descriptions would also enable correlations between joint shapes to be explored. Statistical shape modelling (SSM) is a method of image analysis employing pattern recognition statistics to describe and quantify such shapes from images; it uses principal components analysis to generate modes of variation describing each image in terms of a set of numerical scores after removing global size variation.

The lumbar spine has an intrinsic shape specific to each individual that remains a characteristic throughout flexion and extension.

Purpose: We have previously shown that the lumbar spine has an intrinsic shape specific to the individual and characteristic of sitting, standing and supine postures. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that this intrinsic shape is detectable throughout a range of postures from extension to full flexion in healthy adults.

Methods: Sagittal images of the lumbar spine were taken using a positional MRI with participants (n = 30) adopting six postures: seated extension, neutral standing, standing with 30, 45 and 60° and full flexion.