Effects of Supervised Exercise Therapy on Muscle Function During Walking in Patients with Peripheral Artery Disease.

Background: Although supervised exercise therapy (SET) is a primary treatment for peripheral artery disease (PAD), the current literature is limited regarding the mechanisms contributing to increased walking distances, including how lower extremity muscle function is altered after SET. This study aimed to investigate the effects of SET on lower extremity muscle function during walking in patients with PAD.

Methods: Twelve patients with PAD participated in a 6-month SET program consisting of three weekly exercise sessions (a total of 72 sessions) and adhered to the American College of Sports Medicine's (ACSM) recommendations.

Contributing Factors to Endothelial Dysfunction in Individuals with Spinal Cord Injuries.

Background: Patients with spinal cord injuries (SCIs) are at a greater risk for the development of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) than able-bodied individuals due to the high risk of endothelial dysfunction.

Summary: For instance, patients with SCIs lose autonomic control of the heart and vasculature, which results in severe fluctuations in blood pressure. These oscillations between hypotension and hypertension have been shown to damage blood vessel endothelial cells and may contribute to the development of atherosclerosis.

Electrical Pulse Stimulation Protects C2C12 Myotubes against Hydrogen Peroxide-Induced Cytotoxicity via Nrf2/Antioxidant Pathway.

Skeletal muscle contraction evokes numerous biochemical alterations that underpin exercise benefits. This present study aimed to elucidate the mechanism for electrical pulse stimulation (EPS)-induced antioxidant adaptation in C2C12 myotubes. We found that EPS significantly upregulated Nrf2 and a broad array of downstream antioxidant enzymes involved in multiple antioxidant systems.

Predominantly unilateral laryngomalacia in infants with unilateral vocal fold paralysis.

Background: Neonatal unilateral vocal fold paralysis may arise iatrogenically, idiopathically, or in the context of an underlying neurologic disorder. Management is often supportive, focusing on diet modification to allow for safe oral feeding. We describe the clinical course of six infants with unilateral vocal fold paralysis who developed predominantly unilateral laryngomalacia ipsilateral to the affected vocal fold with associated severe respiratory symptoms and feeding difficulty.

MINIMALLY INVASIVE SURGICAL REPAIR FOR ABDOMINAL WALL HERNIAS IN NONHUMAN PRIMATES, TWO CASES IN WESTERN LOWLAND GORILLAS ().

A 33-yr-old female Western lowland gorilla () was diagnosed with a congenital umbilical hernia that was reducible and asymptomatic; change in the hernia was noted after parturition and concerns regarding increased risk of bowel incarceration developed. The hernia was successfully repaired with robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery. A 5-mon-old male Western lowland gorilla presented with bilateral inguinal hernias that were repaired via elective laparoscopic repair.

Acquired predator recognition via epidermal alarm cues but not dietary alarm cues by isolated pupfish.

We tested whether Shoshone pupfish and Amargosa River pupfish respond behaviourally to conspecific chemical alarm cues released when epidermal tissue is damaged by a predator. We found that both subspecies reduced activity and vertical position in the water column in response to alarm cues. We then tested if pupfish can use alarm cue to acquire recognition of a novel predator.

Attenuated reactive hyperemia after prolonged sitting is associated with reduced local skeletal muscle metabolism: insight from artificial intelligence.

Blunted post-occlusive reactive hyperemia (PORH) after prolonged sitting (PS) has been used as evidence of microvascular dysfunction. However, it has not been determined if confounding variables are responsible for the reduction in PORH after PS. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the PS-mediated changes in cardiovascular and metabolic factors that affect PORH using artificial intelligence (AI).

Moderate dose of dietary nitrate improves skeletal muscle microvascular function in patients with peripheral artery disease.

Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is an atherosclerotic disease characterized by compromised lower-extremity blood flow that impairs walking ability. We showed that a moderate dose of dietary nitrate in the form of beetroot juice (BRJ, 0.11 mmol/kg) can improve macrovascular function and maximal walking distance in patients with PAD.

Ignorance is not bliss: evolutionary naiveté in an endangered desert fish and implications for conservation.

Predator naiveté has been invoked to explain the impacts of non-native predators on isolated populations that evolved with limited predation. Such impacts have been repeatedly observed for the endangered Pahrump poolfish, , a desert fish species that evolved in isolation since the end of the Pleistocene. We tested Pahrump poolfish anti-predator responses to conspecific chemical alarm cues released from damaged epidermal tissue in terms of fish activity and water column position.

Assessing pulse transit time to the skeletal muscle microcirculation using near-infrared spectroscopy.

Pulse transit time (PTT) is the time it takes for pressure waves to propagate through the arterial system. Arterial stiffness assessed via PTT has been extensively examined in the conduit arteries; however, limited information is available about PTT to the skeletal muscle microcirculation. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess PTT to the skeletal muscle microcirculation (PTTm) with near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and to determine whether PTTm provides unique information about vascular function that PTT assessed in the conduit arteries (PTTc) cannot provide.

Impaired microcirculatory function, mitochondrial respiration, and oxygen utilization in skeletal muscle of claudicating patients with peripheral artery disease.

Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is an atherosclerotic disease that impairs blood flow and muscle function in the lower limbs. A skeletal muscle myopathy characterized by mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative damage is present in PAD; however, the underlying mechanisms are not well established. We investigated the impact of chronic ischemia on skeletal muscle microcirculatory function and its association with leg skeletal muscle mitochondrial function and oxygen delivery and utilization capacity in PAD.

Muscle forces and power are significantly reduced during walking in patients with peripheral artery disease.

Patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) have significantly reduced lower extremity muscle strength compared with healthy individuals as measured during isolated, single plane joint motion by isometric and isokinetic strength dynamometers. Alterations to the force contribution of muscles during walking caused by PAD are not well understood. Therefore, this study used simulations with PAD biomechanics data to understand lower extremity muscle functions in patients with PAD during walking and to compare that with healthy older individuals.

Proceedings of the Dual Use Research of Concern Panel Discussion: challenges and perspectives.

To address real and perceived emerging risks originating from the ever-accelerating breakthroughs in life science research, the Dual Use Research of Concern (DURC) Panel Discussion, organized by Synbio Canada and the Alberta RNA Research and Training Institute (ARRTI), took place on June 23rd, 2021. It brought together six stakeholders from different levels of academic research, administration, governance, and science publishing to explore the current and future challenges in addressing DURC. Technological advancements within the life sciences, especially within the field of omics technology, make it difficult to apply a simple checklist for dual-use assessment and require continuous and integrated effort.

Effects of passive and active leg movements to interrupt sitting in mild hypercapnia on cardiovascular function in healthy adults.

Prolonged sitting in a mild hypercapnic environment impairs peripheral vascular function. The effects of sitting interruptions using passive or active skeletal muscle contractions are still unclear. Therefore, we sought to examine the vascular effects of brief periods (2 min every half hour) of passive and active lower limb movement to interrupt prolonged sitting with mild hypercapnia in adults.

Microvascular Dysfunction in Peripheral Artery Disease: Is Heat Therapy a Viable Treatment?

Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is characterized by the development of atherosclerotic plaques in the lower-body conduit arteries. PAD is commonly accompanied by microvascular disease, which may result in poor wound healing, plantar ulcer development, and subsequent limb amputation. Understanding the mechanisms underlying the development of plantar ulcers is a critical step in the development of adequate treatment options for patients with PAD.

Evaluating a Veterans Affairs Home-Based Primary Care Population for Patients at High Risk of Osteoporosis.

A retrospective chart review of patients in a home-based primary care program suggests that patients who are at high risk for osteoporosis may not be receiving adequate dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry screening.

Asthma and Chronic Rhinosinusitis: Diagnosis and Medical Management.

Asthma is a prevalent inflammatory condition of the lower airways characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR). Symptomatically, these patients may demonstrate wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness, and coughing. This disease is a substantial burden to a growing population worldwide that currently exceeds 300 million individuals.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging-Guided Transplantation of Neural Stem Cells into the Porcine Spinal Cord.

Background: Cell-based therapies are a promising treatment option for traumatic, tumorigenic and degenerative diseases of the spinal cord. Transplantation into the spinal cord is achieved with intravascular, intrathecal, or direct intraparenchymal injection. The current standard for direct injection is limited by surgical invasiveness, difficulty in reinjection, and the inability to directly target anatomical or pathological landmarks.