Chondrosarcoma of the Mobile Spine: An Update on Patients Treated at a Single Institution.

Study Design: Retrospective study.

Objective: The objective of this study was to report the clinical data for patients treated with mobile spine chondrosarcoma.

Summary Of Background Data: Chondrosarcoma of the mobile spine is a rare and challenging entity.

Does Operative Time Affect Complication Rate in Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy.

Background: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is the most common laparoscopic procedure performed in the United States. Our aim was to determine if increased operative time (OT) is associated with increased morbidity following laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

Methods: Using ACS NSQIP from 2006 to 2015, we identified all adult (≥18 years) patients that underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy for cholecystitis performed within 3 days of admission.

PROMIS Global Physical Health Subscale Strongly Correlates and Performs Similarly to the QuickDASH in Hand and Upper Extremity Patients.

Background: The Quick Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (QuickDASH) is a validated, static hand and upper extremity patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) commonly used. However, with the growth of PROM implementation across orthopedic and plastic surgery clinics, it is beneficial to determine whether a more general PROM can be used to capture the same insights. This would ease implementation broadly.

The impact of primary immunization route on the outcome of infection with SARS-CoV-2 in a hamster model of COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, has resulted in over 6.7 million deaths worldwide. COVID-19 vaccines administered parenterally via intramuscular or subcutaneous (SC) routes have reduced the severity of respiratory infections, hospitalization rates, and overall mortality.

Chronically hypertensive transgenic mice expressing human AT1R haplotype-I exhibit increased susceptibility to .

Age-related illnesses, including hypertension and accompanying metabolic disorders, compromise immunity and exacerbate infection-associated fatalities. Renin-angiotensin system (RAS) is the key mechanism that controls blood pressure. Upregulation of RAS through angiotensin receptor type 1 (AT1R), a G-protein coupled receptor, contributes to the pathophysiological consequences leading to vascular remodeling, hypertension, and end-organ damage.

Comparative analysis of absent in melanoma 2-inflammasome activation in and .

is a highly virulent Gram-negative bacterium that causes the fatal zoonotic disease tularemia. The mechanisms and signaling pathways leading to the absent in melanoma 2 (Aim2) inflammasome activation have been elegantly elucidated using as a model. Although not pathogenic for humans, .

The severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection in K18-hACE2 mice is attenuated by a novel steroid-derivative in a gender-specific manner.

Background And Purpose: COVID-19 infections caused by SARS-CoV-2 disseminated through human-to-human transmission can evoke severe inflammation. Treatments to reduce the SARS-CoV-2-associated inflammation are needed and are the focus of much research. In this study, we investigated the effect of N-ethyl-N'-[(3β,5α)-17-oxoandrostan-3-yl] urea (NEOU), a novel 17α-ketosteroid derivative, on the severity of COVID-19 infections.

Pediatric extremity rhabdomyosarcoma treated with re-brachytherapy in recurrent setting.

Rhabdomyosarcomas (RMS) are pediatric soft-tissue sarcomas arising from immature mesenchymal cells that are intended to form striated skeletal muscles. Brachytherapy delivers high-dose of precised radiation to the target tissue with high conformity, sparing the nearby normal tissues, hence allowing dose escalation and reducing the likelihood of normal tissue toxicity. There is a scarcity of reports on the use of brachytherapy for extremity RMS.

ThioredoxinA1 Controls the Oxidative Stress Response of Francisella tularensis Live Vaccine Strain (LVS).

Francisella tularensis is an intracellular, Gram-negative bacterium known for causing a disease known as tularemia in the Northern Hemisphere. F. tularensis is classified as a category A select agent by the CDC based on its possible use as a bioterror agent.

Interleukin-35 Mitigates ox-LDL-Induced Proatherogenic Effects via Modulating miRNAs Associated with Coronary Artery Disease (CAD).

Purpose: Recent emergence of miRNAs as important regulators of processes involving lesion formation and regression has highlighted miRNAs as potent therapeutic targets for the treatment of atherosclerosis. Few studies have reported the atheroprotective role of IL-35, a novel immunosuppressive and anti-inflammatory cytokine; however, miRNA-dependent regulation underlying the anti-atherosclerotic potential of IL-35 remains elusive.

Methods: THP-1 macrophages were incubated with human recombinant IL-35 (rIL-35) either in the presence or absence of ox-LDL.

Nlrp3 Increases the Host's Susceptibility to Tularemia.

() is a Gram-negative, intracellular bacterium and the causative agent of a fatal human disease known as tularemia. The CDC has classified as a Tier 1 Category A select agent based on its ease of aerosolization, low infectious dose, past use as a bioweapon, and the potential to be used as a bioterror agent. has a unique replication cycle.

An AraC/XylS Family Transcriptional Regulator Modulates the Oxidative Stress Response of Francisella tularensis.

Francisella tularensis is a Gram-negative bacterium that causes a fatal human disease known as tularemia. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have classified F. tularensis as a category A tier 1 select agent.

Cecal bascule - A rare cause of cecal volvulus after cesarean section.

Introduction And Importance: Cecal bascule is a rare form of a cecal volvulus characterized by an anterior and superiorly displaced cecum in turn causing compression of the ascending colon that can result in a large bowel obstruction. We report a case of cecal bascule in a newly postpartum patient, with emphasis on clinical presentation, radiologic findings and treatment.

Case Presentation: A 37-year-old female who underwent an uncomplicated c-section and bilateral salpingectomy developed severe abdominal pain, vomiting, and peritonitis 12 h after surgery.

Aim2 and Nlrp3 Are Dispensable for Vaccine-Induced Immunity against Francisella tularensis Live Vaccine Strain.

Francisella tularensis is a facultative, intracellular, Gram-negative bacterium that causes a fatal disease known as tularemia. Due to its extremely high virulence, ease of spread by aerosolization, and potential to be used as a bioterror agent, F. tularensis is classified by the CDC as a tier 1 category A select agent.

Stringent response governs the oxidative stress resistance and virulence of Francisella tularensis.

Francisella tularensis is a Gram-negative bacterium responsible for causing tularemia in the northern hemisphere. F. tularensis has long been developed as a biological weapon due to its ability to cause severe illness upon inhalation of as few as ten organisms and, based on its potential to be used as a bioterror agent is now classified as a Tier 1 Category A select agent by the CDC.

Disruption of valosin-containing protein activity causes cardiomyopathy and reveals pleiotropic functions in cardiac homeostasis.

Valosin-containing protein (VCP), also known as p97, is an ATPase with diverse cellular functions, although the most highly characterized is targeting of misfolded or aggregated proteins to degradation pathways, including the endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation (ERAD) pathway. However, how VCP functions in the heart has not been carefully examined despite the fact that human mutations in VCP cause Paget disease of bone and frontotemporal dementia, an autosomal dominant multisystem proteinopathy that includes disease in the heart, skeletal muscle, brain, and bone. Here we generated heart-specific transgenic mice overexpressing WT VCP or a VCP mutant with deficient ATPase activity.

Aberrant DNA methylation of M1-macrophage genes in coronary artery disease.

M1 and M2 macrophage balance in atherosclerosis has attracted much interest. Though, it remains unknown how macrophage heterogeneity is regulated. Moreover, the regulation of macrophage polarization and activation also involve DNA methylation.

Impact of recreational and medicinal marijuana on surgical patients: A review.

Background: As medicinal and recreational marijuana use broadens across the United States, knowledge of its effects on the body will become increasingly important to all health care providers, including surgeons.

Data Sources: We performed a literature review of Pubmed for articles discussing the basic science related to cannabinoids, as well as articles regarding cannabinoid medications, and cannabis use in surgical patients.

Conclusions: The primary components in the cannabis plant, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD), have been made available in numerous forms and formulations to treat multiple medical conditions, and recreational access to marijuana is increasing.

An Improved Tobacco Mosaic Virus (TMV)-Conjugated Multiantigen Subunit Vaccine Against Respiratory Tularemia.

, the causative agent of the fatal human disease known as tularemia is classified as a Category A Select Agent by the Centers for Disease Control. No licensed vaccine is currently available for prevention of tularemia in the United States. Previously, we published that a tri-antigen tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) vaccine confers 50% protection in immunized mice against respiratory tularemia caused by .

Defective Flux of Thrombospondin-4 through the Secretory Pathway Impairs Cardiomyocyte Membrane Stability and Causes Cardiomyopathy.

Thrombospondins are stress-inducible secreted glycoproteins with critical functions in tissue injury and healing. Thrombospondin-4 (Thbs4) is protective in cardiac and skeletal muscle, where it activates an adaptive endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response, induces expansion of the ER, and enhances sarcolemmal stability. However, it is unclear if Thbs4 has these protective functions from within the cell, from the extracellular matrix, or from the secretion process itself.

Intranasal administration of a two-dose adjuvanted multi-antigen TMV-subunit conjugate vaccine fully protects mice against Francisella tularensis LVS challenge.

Tularemia is a fatal human disease caused by Francisella tularensis, a Gram-negative encapsulated coccobacillus bacterium. Due to its low infectious dose, ease of aerosolized transmission, and lethal effects, the CDC lists F. tularensis as a Category A pathogen, the highest level for a potential biothreat agent.

Acute cholecystitis in a parastomal hernia causing a small bowel obstruction.

A parastomal hernia is the abnormal protrusion of intra-abdominal tissue and organs through a defect in the abdominal wall around an ostomy. Commonly, they involve intra-abdominal fat, omentum or bowel. However, there are rare cases that involve other organs.

Characterization of a Unique Outer Membrane Protein Required for Oxidative Stress Resistance and Virulence of Francisella tularensis.

, the causative agent of tularemia, lacks typical bacterial virulence factors and toxins but still exhibits extreme virulence. The bacterial multidrug efflux systems consist of an inner membrane, a transmembrane membrane fusion protein, and an outer membrane (OM) component that form a contiguous channel for the secretion of a multitude of bacterial products. contains three orthologs of the OM proteins; two of these, termed TolC and FtlC, are important for tularemia pathogenesis.