Niemann-Pick type C (NPC) is a lysosomal storage disorder that will cause eventual brain damage with limited treatment options available. Though clinical trials are undergoing with repurposed pharmaceuticals, no novel chemotype exists purely for the treatment of NPC. In 2021, an azasterol was found to bind to both NPC1 and NPC2 proteins and is considered as a cholesterol mimic.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Recovery after anatomic total shoulder arthroplasty (aTSA) and reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (rTSA) has many similarities; however, recently surgeons have suggested patients undergoing rTSA have a less difficult postoperative course with less pain compared with aTSA patients. Given the heightened awareness to postoperative pain control and opioid consumption, as well as the expanding indications for rTSA, we sought to determine the differences in pain and opioid consumption between aTSA and rTSA patients in a 12-week postoperative period.
Methods: A retrospective chart review was performed to identify all patients who underwent a primary aTSA or rTSA from January 2013 to April 2018 at a single institution.
Diverse dopamine (DA) pathways send distinct reinforcement signals to different striatal regions. In adult songbirds, a DA pathway from the ventral tegmental area (VTA) to Area X, the striatal nucleus of the song system, carries singing-related performance error signals important for learning. Meanwhile, a parallel DA pathway to a medial striatal area (MST) arises from a distinct group of neighboring DA neurons that lack connectivity to song circuits and do not encode song error.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiofilm formation is an important virulence factor for methicillin-resistant (MRSA). The extracellular matrix of MRSA biofilms contains significant amounts of double-stranded DNA. MRSA cells also secrete micrococcal nuclease (Nuc1) which degrades double-stranded DNA.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Periprosthetic femoral fractures (PFFs) in total hip arthroplasty (THA), especially those in contact with the diaphyseal stem, carry high morbidity. This study evaluated how stem design influences the risk of early Vancouver B PFF or other PFF requiring operative intervention after THA.
Methods: A multicenter, retrospective study of 3,433 primary cementless THAs performed from 2014 to 2021 included 2,302 single-taper (micro M/L [n = 1,169]; M/L [n = 1,133]) and 1,131 double-taper (fit-and-fill [n = 420]; compaction-collared [n = 711]) stems.
Background: The opioid epidemic has become a central focus in health care. In an effort to reduce opioid use, orthopedic surgeons use multimodal strategies to control postoperative pain. However, no clear consensus exists on ideal pain management strategies after shoulder arthroplasty, and most protocols are opioid-driven.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRare diseases affect an estimated 6-10% of the Australian population, a prevalence similar to that seen in other regions worldwide. These multi-system conditions are often severely debilitating and affect multiple domains of a person's life. A salient necessity for effective care provision thus, is holistic care, achieved by appropriate and continual multi-disciplinary and cross-sectoral collaboration.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChem Commun (Camb)
June 2021
The cleavage of alkyl ethers by hydrosilylation is a powerful synthetic tool for the generation of silyl ethers. Previous attempts to apply this transformation to carbohydrate derivatives have been constrained by poor selectivity and preferential reduction of the anomeric position. O-Aryl glycosides are found to be stable under iridium- and borane-catalyzed hydrosilylation conditions, allowing for alkyl ether cleavage without loss of anomeric functionality.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Research has shown that many physicians rely solely on abstracts to make clinical decisions. However, many abstracts have been shown to be misleading. The primary objective of this study was to identify the prevalence of spin - bias towards particular results - within the abstracts of systematic reviews and meta-analyses pertaining to the treatment of proximal humerus fractures, one of the most common osteoporotic fractures among elderly patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStudents' educational and behavioural outcomes can be adversely impacted by the unique challenges posed by chronic health conditions. As some children and adolescents may live with these challenges throughout their education, hospital-based educators play a crucial role in reducing the impacts of health conditions on educational outcomes. This study assessed the extent to which the support provided by the School of Special Educational Needs: Medical and Mental Health (SSEN:MMH, Western Australia) attenuated the negative association between higher absences and lower student outcomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Nitrate (NO3-), through its conversion to nitrite (NO2-) and nitric oxide, has been shown to increase exercise tolerance in healthy younger adults and older diseased patients. Nitrate's effect in well-trained middle to older-aged adults has not been studied. Therefore, the purpose of this investigation was to examine the effects of a NO3- rich beverage on submaximal constant work rate exercise time in well-trained middle to older-aged adults.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The insertion of a chest tube is a common procedure in trauma care, and the Advanced Trauma Life Support program teaches the insertion of chest tubes as an essential and life-saving skill. It is also recognized that the insertion of chest tubes is not without risks or complications. The purpose of this study was to evaluate complications of chest tube placement in a level 1 trauma center compared with those placed in surrounding referral hospitals.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe purpose of our study was to examine the preoperative clinical factors and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings associated with peroneal pathology in chronic lateral ankle instability patients, as well as the clinical factors associated with peroneal lesions being detected on MRI. Peroneal pathology was determined from intraoperative findings. Patients with/without peroneal pathology were compared regarding their preoperative clinical findings.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOrg Biomol Chem
February 2019
Catalysts capable of heterolytic silane activation have been successfully applied to the conversion of alkyl ethers to silyl ethers via C-O bond cleavage. The previously-reported cationic pincer-supported iridium complex for this transformation suffers from poor selectivity with regard to monodealkylation of substrate ethers. We demonstrate that a simple non-pincer iridium complex offers improved selectivity and is capable of benzylic ether cleavage in the presence of reductively-labile alkyl and aryl halide functionality.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this era of high health care cost and limited research resources, open access to de-identified clinical research study data may promote increased scientific transparency and rigor, allow for the combination and re-analysis of similar data sets, and decrease un-necessary replication of unpublished negative studies. Driven by expanded computing capabilities, advocacy for data sharing to maximize research value is growing in both translational and clinical research communities. The focus of this study is to report on the current status of publicly available research data from studies published in the top 40 neurology and neurosurgery clinical research journals by impact factor.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe purpose of this study was to compare the accuracy of commercially-available physical activity devices when walking and running at various treadmill speeds using CTA 2056: Physical Activity Monitoring for Fitness Wearables: Step Counting, standard by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). Twenty participants (10 males and 10 females) completed self-paced walking and running protocols on the treadmill for five minutes each. Eight devices (Apple iWatch series 1, Fitbit Surge, Garmin 235, Moto 360, Polar A360, Suunto Spartan Sport, Suunto Spartan Trainer, and TomTom Spark 3) were tested two at a time, one per wrist.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTibiotalocalcaneal arthrodesis is a salvage procedure for various end-stage foot and ankle pathologic entities. Several factors are known to influence the union rate after these procedures, including construct rigidity. The data on locked plates as a fixation technique have been inconclusive, with variable union rates reported.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnlabelled: Distal fibula fractures represent a common problem in orthopaedics. When fibula fractures require operative fixation, implants are typically made from stainless steel or titanium alloys. Carbon fiber implants have been used elsewhere in orthopaedics for years, and their advantages include a modulus of elasticity similar to that of bone, biocompatibility, increased fatigue strength, and radiolucency.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTibiotalocalcaneal arthrodesis (TTCA) is a well-established operative procedure for different severe pathologic conditions of the ankle and hindfoot joints. We present our results with a modified technique of TTCA using an intramedullary fibular strut graft in a series of complex cases of patients treated for multiple etiologies shown to have improved union rates. The technique involves inserting the fibular strut graft intramedullary after joint preparation and the use of either a Taylor spatial frame or plate and screws for definitive fixation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFoot Ankle Spec
February 2018
Background: Various treatment modalities have been described for Achilles tendinopathy with varying degrees of success. The rationale for the gastrocnemius recession procedure is to decrease the mechanical overload of the Achilles tendon arising from an equinus contracture.
Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 25 patients who underwent an isolated gastrocnemius recession procedure at our institution between May 2013 and April 2015 by a single surgeon.
Evolutionary transitions between feeding and nonfeeding larval development have occurred many times in marine invertebrates, but the developmental changes underlying these frequent and ecologically important transitions are poorly known, especially in spiralians. We use phylogenetic comparative methods to test the hypothesis that evolutionary changes in egg size and larval nutritional mode are associated with parallel changes in allocation of cytoplasm to macromere cell lineages in diverse annelids and molluscs. Our analyses show that embryos of species with large eggs and nonfeeding larvae tend to allocate relatively more embryonic cytoplasm to macromeres at 3rd cleavage than do embryos of species with small eggs and feeding larvae.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNeutrophils (PMNs) are key mediators of inflammatory processes throughout the body. In this study, we investigated the role of acrolein, a highly reactive aldehyde that is ubiquitously present in the environment and produced endogenously at sites of inflammation, in mediating PMN-mediated degradation of collagen facilitating proline-glycine-proline (PGP) production. We treated peripheral blood neutrophils with acrolein and analyzed cell supernatants and lysates for matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) and prolyl endopeptidase (PE), assessed their ability to break down collagen and release PGP, and assayed for the presence of leukotriene A4 hydrolase (LTA4H) and its ability to degrade PGP.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAim: There are limited data regarding the educational backgrounds and associated psychological and developmental outcomes of refugee children resettling in Western Australia (WA). The WA paediatric Refugee Health Service (RHS) revised its first consult questionnaire (August 2011) to increase educational and psychosocial documentation, concurrent with engagement of a School of Special Educational Needs: Medical and Mental Health (SSEN: MMH) liaison teacher. This study aims to utilise these data to increase understanding of this cohort's educational, developmental and psychological needs and to describe SSEN: MMH's role within the RHS.
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