Effects of Losartan and Fisetin on Microfracture-Mediated Cartilage Repair of Ankle Cartilage in a Rabbit Model.

Background: Microfracture is one surgical treatment strategy for osteochondral lesions of the talus (OLTs) but results in fibrocartilage repair tissue, which has inferior mechanical properties to native hyaline cartilage. Biological regulation of microfracture has been suggested to improve the quality of cartilage repair in patients.

Purpose: To determine if administration of losartan, fisetin, or losartan and fisetin combined can enhance microfracture-mediated cartilage repair of OLTs in a rabbit model.

TIPE2 gene transfer ameliorates aging-associated osteoarthritis in a progeria mouse model by reducing inflammation and cellular senescence.

Osteoarthritis (OA) pain is often associated with the expression of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), suggesting that TNF-α is one of the main contributing factors that cause inflammation, pain, and OA pathology. Thus, inhibition of TNF-α could potentially improve OA symptoms and slow disease progression. Anti-TNF-α treatments with antibodies, however, require multiple treatments and cannot entirely block TNF-α.

[Nursing care for top-level athletes at Insep].

At the Institut national du sport, de l'expertise et de la performance, the aim of the nursing team of three nurses who have been working there since 2014, 2022 and 2023 is to provide the best possible support for these top athletes. Their work is divided into several tasks: medical surveillance, prevention, stress and hypoxia tests and day-to-day care.

Murine Progeria Model Exhibits Delayed Fracture Healing with Dysregulated Local Immune Response.

Background: Bone fracture is one of the most globally prevalent injuries, with an estimated 189 million bone fractures occurring annually. Delayed union or nonunion occurs in up to 15% of fractures and involves the interruption or complete failure of bone continuity following fracture. Preclinical testing is essential to support the translation of novel strategies to promote improved fracture repair treatment, but there is a paucity of small animal models that recapitulate clinical attributes associated with delayed fracture healing.

Specific reprogramming of alpha cells to insulin-producing cells by short glucagon promoter-driven Pdx1 and MafA.

Endogenous reprogramming of pancreas-derived non-beta cells into insulin-producing cells is a promising approach to treat type 1 diabetes (T1D). One strategy that has yet to be explored is the specific delivery of insulin-producing essential genes, Pdx1 and MafA, to pancreatic alpha cells to reprogram the cells into insulin-producing cells in an adult pancreas. In this study, we used an alpha cell-specific glucagon (GCG) promoter to drive Pdx1 and MafA transcription factors to reprogram alpha cells to insulin-producing cells in chemically induced and autoimmune diabetic mice.

MRL/MpJ Mice Resist to Age-Related and Long-Term Ovariectomy-Induced Bone Loss: Implications for Bone Regeneration and Repair.

Osteoporosis and age-related bone loss increase bone fracture risk and impair bone healing. The need for identifying new factors to prevent or treat bone loss is critical. Previously, we reported that young MRL/MpJ mice have superior bone microarchitecture and biomechanical properties as compared to wild-type (WT) mice.

The use of heparin/polycation coacervate sustain release system to compare the bone regenerative potentials of 5 BMPs using a critical sized calvarial bone defect model.

Nonunion following bone fracture and segmental bone defects are challenging clinical conditions. To combat this clinical dilemma, development of new bone tissue engineering therapies using biocompatible materials to deliver bone growth factors is desirable. This aim of this study is to use a heparin/polycation coacervate sustained-release platform to compare 5 bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) for promoting bone defect healing in a critical sized calvarial defect model.

Wireless Measurements Using Electrical Impedance Spectroscopy to Monitor Fracture Healing.

There is an unmet need for improved, clinically relevant methods to longitudinally quantify bone healing during fracture care. Here we develop a smart bone plate to wirelessly monitor healing utilizing electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) to provide real-time data on tissue composition within the fracture callus. To validate our technology, we created a 1-mm rabbit tibial defect and fixed the bone with a standard veterinary plate modified with a custom-designed housing that included two impedance sensors capable of wireless transmission.

Are running stitches needed in DT4 Single Anteromedial Bundle Biological Augmentation transplant preparation?

Partial running whipstitches are commonly used in DT4 SAMBBA (Single Anteromedial Bundle Biological Augmentation) transplant preparation. We wanted to determine whether or not running whipstitches all over the graft affected the risk of iterative rupture and the overall outcome of the procedure. Two groups of 32 patients comparable in terms of sex, age, sport level and type of sport practiced were recruited in this prospective cohort study.

Bone morphogenetic protein 4 rescues the bone regenerative potential of old muscle-derived stem cells via regulation of cell cycle inhibitors.

Background: Bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP4) promotes the osteogenic differentiation and the bone regenerative potential of muscle-derived stem cells (MDSCs). BMP4 also promotes the self-renewal of both embryonic and somatic stem cells; however, BMP4 signaling activity significantly decreases with age. Cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors P16 (P16) and P18 (P18) induce early G1-phase cell cycle blockade by targeting cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6.

Effects of oral losartan administration on homeostasis of articular cartilage and bone in a rabbit model.

Background And Aims: Previous work has shown that oral losartan can enhance microfracture-mediated cartilage repair in a rabbit osteochondral defect injury model. In this study, we aimed to determine whether oral losartan would have a detrimental effect on articular cartilage and bone homeostasis in the uninjured sides.

Methods: New Zealand rabbits were divided into 4 groups including normal uninjured (Normal), contralateral uninjured side of osteochondral defect (Defect), osteochondral defect plus microfracture (Microfracture) and osteochondral defect plus microfracture and losartan oral administration (10 mg/kg/day) (Losartan).

Kick-off meeting of the TOWWERS showcase project: 1 collaborative value-based healthcare anchored on real-world data involving the 5P.

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need to modernize healthcare systems to the reality of the 21st century. The first world-wide Strategic Committee to launch Collaborative Value-Based Healthcare (C-VBHC) anchored on populational Real World Data and structured collaboration, took place in Montreal, via TOWWERS showcase project. The meeting covered a broad range of topics from the perspective of each of the various Real-World healthcare actors, the 5P+: Patient, Prescriber, Producer, Policymaker, Payer, including Data and Research stakeholders.

In vitro analysis of genome-engineered muscle-derived stem cells for autoregulated anti-inflammatory and antifibrotic activity.

Traumatic muscle injury leads to chronic and pathologic fibrosis in skeletal muscles, primarily driven through upregulation of transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1). Cell-based therapies, such as injection of muscle-derived stem cells (MDSCs), have shown promise in muscle repair. However, injected MDSCs in injured skeletal muscle can differentiate into myofibroblasts under the influence of TGF-β1, and contribute to the development of fibrosis, limiting their regenerative potential.

Enhancement of myogenic potential of muscle progenitor cells and muscle healing during pregnancy.

The decline of muscle regenerative potential with age has been attributed to a diminished responsiveness of muscle progenitor cells (MPCs). Heterochronic parabiosis has been used as a model to study the effects of aging on stem cells and their niches. These studies have demonstrated that, by exposing old mice to a young systemic environment, aged progenitor cells can be rejuvenated.

Heterogenetic parabiosis between healthy and dystrophic mice improve the histopathology in muscular dystrophy.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a progressive muscle disease, characterized by mutations in the X-linked dystrophin, that has several therapeutic options but no curative treatment. Transplantation of muscle progenitor cells for treatment of DMD has been widely investigated; however, its application is hindered by limited cell survival due to the harmful dystrophic microenvironment. An alternative approach to utilize progenitor cells and circulatory factors and to improve the dystrophic muscle pathology and microenvironment is through parabiotic pairing, where mice are surgically sutured to create a joint circulatory system.

Alpha Defensin: A Diagnostic Accuracy Depending on the Infection Definition Used.

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the alpha defensin qualitative detection (ADLF) sensitivity and specificity as compared with 3 standard classifications in the diagnostic management of chronic prosthetic joint infections.

Materials And Methods: A multicenter cohort of 136 patients with a painful arthroplasty was classified into either infected or noninfected according to the Musculoskeletal Infection Society (MSIS) score, Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) score, European Bone and Joint Infection Society (EBJIS) score. The sensitivity and specificity of the ADLF test were calculated for each score.

Long-range modulation of a composite crystal in a five-dimensional superspace.

The intergrowth crystal of -tetracosane/urea presents a misfit parameter, defined by the ratio = / (/), that is very close to a commensurate value ( ≅ 1/3). High-resolution diffraction studies presented here reveal an aperiodic misfit parameter of = 0.3369, which is found to be constant at all temperatures studied.

Creatinine and specific gravity normalization in biological monitoring of occupational exposures.

Reference values for the biological monitoring of occupational exposures are generally normalized on the basis of creatinine (CR) concentration or specific gravity (SG) to account for fluctuations in urine dilution. For instance, the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH(®)) uses a reference value of 1g/L for CR. The comparison of urinary concentrations of biomarkers between studies requires the adjustment of results based on a reference CR and/or SG value, although studies have suggested that age, sex, muscle mass, and time of the day can exert non-negligible influences on CR excretion, while SG appears to be less affected.

Intracellular fate of carbon nanotubes inside murine macrophages: pH-dependent detachment of iron catalyst nanoparticles.

Background: Carbon nanotubes (CNT) are a family of materials featuring a large range of length, diameter, numbers of walls and, quite often metallic impurities coming from the catalyst used for their synthesis. They exhibit unique physical properties, which have already led to an extensive development of CNT for numerous applications. Because of this development and the resulting potential increase of human exposure, an important body of literature has been published with the aim to evaluate the health impact of CNT.

A molecular "phase ordering" phase transition leading to a modulated aperiodic composite in n-heptane/urea.

n-Heptane/urea is an aperiodic inclusion compound in which the ratio of host and guest repeats along the channel axis is very close to unity and is found to have a constant value (0.981) from 280 K to 90 K. Below 280 K, two phase transitions are observed.

Confined linear molecules inside an aperiodic supramolecular crystal: the sequence of superspace phases in n-hexadecane/urea.

High-resolution studies of the host-guest inclusion compound n-hexadecane/urea are reported at atmospheric pressure, using both cold neutrons and x-ray diffraction. This intergrowth crystal presents a misfit parameter, defined by the ratio c(h)/c(g) (c(host)/c(guest)), which is temperature independent and irrational (γ = 0.486 ± 0.

Evolution of genes and genomes on the Drosophila phylogeny.

Comparative analysis of multiple genomes in a phylogenetic framework dramatically improves the precision and sensitivity of evolutionary inference, producing more robust results than single-genome analyses can provide. The genomes of 12 Drosophila species, ten of which are presented here for the first time (sechellia, simulans, yakuba, erecta, ananassae, persimilis, willistoni, mojavensis, virilis and grimshawi), illustrate how rates and patterns of sequence divergence across taxa can illuminate evolutionary processes on a genomic scale. These genome sequences augment the formidable genetic tools that have made Drosophila melanogaster a pre-eminent model for animal genetics, and will further catalyse fundamental research on mechanisms of development, cell biology, genetics, disease, neurobiology, behaviour, physiology and evolution.