Immunohistochemical characterization of interstitial cells and their spatial relationship to motor neurons within the mouse esophagus.

Interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) and PDGFRα cells regulate smooth muscle motility in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, yet their function in the esophagus remains unknown. The mouse esophagus has been described as primarily skeletal muscle; however, ICC  have been identified in this region. This study characterizes the distribution of skeletal and smooth muscle cells (SMCs) and their spatial relationship to ICC, PDGFRα cells, and intramuscular motor neurons in the mouse esophagus.

Intravenous Ketamine to Facilitate Transport of Agitated Patients to the ECT Clinic.

Objectives: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) can be effective for a variety of psychiatric conditions, including for some patients who are very psychotic or agitated. Transferring such patients from the psychiatric ward to the ECT clinic can pose significant challenges for treating teams, as they try to minimize the use of restraint.

Methods: We developed a protocol for safe transfer of such patients using sedation with ketamine.

Immunohistochemical characterization of interstitial cells and their relationship to motor neurons within the mouse esophagus.

Interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) and PDGFRα cells regulate smooth muscle motility in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. However, their role(s) in esophageal motility are still unclear. The mouse esophagus has traditionally been described as almost entirely skeletal muscle in nature though ICC have been identified along its entire length.

Modulation of intracellular calcium activity in interstitial cells of Cajal by inhibitory neural pathways within the internal anal sphincter.

The internal anal sphincter (IAS) functions to maintain continence. Previous studies utilizing mice with cell-specific expression of GCaMP6f revealed two distinct subtypes of intramuscular interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC-IM) with differing Ca activities in the IAS. The present study further examined Ca activity in ICC-IM and its modulation by inhibitory neurotransmission.

Differential influence of quadriceps rate of torque development on single- and double-leg landing mechanics in anterior cruciate ligament reconstructed and control females.

Purpose: The capacity to explosively contract quadriceps within the critical timeframe associated with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, quantified by the rate of torque development, is potentially essential for safe landing mechanics. This study aimed to investigate the influence of explosive quadriceps strength on ACL-related sagittal-plane landing mechanics in females with and without ACL reconstruction (ACLR).

Methods: Quadriceps explosive strength and landing mechanics were assessed in 19 ACLR and 19 control females during isometric contractions and double- and single-leg jump landings.

Deceleration Profiles Between the Penultimate and Final Steps of Planned and Reactive Side-Step Cutting.

Context: Noncontact anterior cruciate ligament injury often occurs during rapid deceleration and change-of-direction maneuvers. These activities require an athlete to generate braking forces to slow down the center of mass and change direction in a dynamic environment. During preplanned cutting, athletes can use the penultimate step for braking before changing direction, resulting in less braking demand during the final step.

Ca signalling in interstitial cells of Cajal contributes to generation and maintenance of tone in mouse and monkey lower oesophageal sphincters.

The lower oesophageal sphincter (LES) generates tone and prevents reflux of gastric contents. LES smooth muscle cells (SMCs) are relatively depolarised, facilitating activation of Ca 1.2 channels to sustain contractile tone.

Explosive Quadriceps Strength Symmetry and Landing Mechanics Limb Symmetry After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction in Females.

Context: Emerging evidence suggests that a lower quadriceps rate of torque development (RTD) after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction (ACLR) may be associated with altered landing mechanics. However, the influence of quadriceps RTD magnitude and limb symmetry on landing mechanics limb symmetry remains unknown.

Objective: To assess the influence of quadriceps RTD magnitude and limb symmetry on limb symmetry in sagittal-plane landing mechanics during functional landing tasks in females with or without ACLR.

Greater explosive quadriceps strength is associated with greater knee flexion at initial contact during landing in females.

This study investigated the influences of explosive quadriceps strength and landing task on sagittal plane knee biomechanics. Forty female participants performed isometric knee extensions on a dynamometer and had lower extremity biomechanics assessed during double-leg jump-landings (DLJL) and single-leg jump-cuts (SLJC). Explosive quadriceps strength was quantified by calculating rate of torque development (RTD) between torque onset and 100 ms after onset on a dynamometer.

A novel intramuscular Interstitial Cell of Cajal is a candidate for generating pacemaker activity in the mouse internal anal sphincter.

The internal anal sphincter (IAS) generates phasic contractions and tone. Slow waves (SWs) produced by interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) underlie phasic contractions in other gastrointestinal regions. SWs are also present in the IAS where only intramuscular ICC (ICC-IM) are found, however the evidence linking ICC-IM to SWs is limited.

The Effects of the Short Foot Exercise on Navicular Drop: A Critically Appraised Topic.

Clinical Scenario: Deformation of the arch, as measured by navicular drop (ND), is linked to lower-extremity musculoskeletal injuries. The short foot exercise (SFE) has been used to strengthen the intrinsic foot muscles that support the arch. Clinical Question: Does the SFE decrease ND in healthy adults? Summary of Key Findings: Three studies that examined the use of the SFE on ND were included.

Rhythmic calcium transients in smooth muscle cells of the mouse internal anal sphincter.

Background: The internal anal sphincter (IAS) exhibits slow waves (SWs) and tone that are dependent upon L-type Ca channels (Cav ) suggesting that phasic events (ie, SWs) play a fundamental role in tone generation. The present study further examined phasic activity in the IAS by measuring the spatiotemporal properties of Ca transients (CTs) in IAS smooth muscle cells (SMCs).

Methods: Ca transients were recorded with spinning disk confocal microscopy from the IAS of SM-GCaMP mice.

β-adrenergic-mediated dynamic augmentation of sarcolemmal Ca 1.2 clustering and co-operativity in ventricular myocytes.

Key Points: Prevailing dogma holds that activation of the β-adrenergic receptor/cAMP/protein kinase A signalling pathway leads to enhanced L-type Ca 1.2 channel activity, resulting in increased Ca influx into ventricular myocytes and a positive inotropic response. However, the full mechanistic and molecular details underlying this phenomenon are incompletely understood.

Comparison of inhibitory neuromuscular transmission in the Cynomolgus monkey IAS and rectum: special emphasis on differences in purinergic transmission.

Key Points: Inhibitory neuromuscular transmission (NMT) was compared in the internal anal sphincter (IAS) and rectum of the Cynomolgus monkey, an animal with high gene sequence identity to humans. Nitrergic NMT was present in both muscles while purinergic NMT was limited to the rectum and VIPergic NMT to the IAS. The profile for monkey IAS more closely resembles humans than rodents.

Ground State Depletion Super-resolution Imaging in Mammalian Cells.

Advances in fluorescent microscopy and cell biology are intimately correlated, with the enhanced ability to visualize cellular events often leading to dramatic leaps in our understanding of how cells function. The development and availability of super-resolution microscopy has considerably extended the limits of optical resolution from ~250-20 nm. Biologists are no longer limited to describing molecular interactions in terms of colocalization within a diffraction limited area, rather it is now possible to visualize the dynamic interactions of individual molecules.

The role of Ca-activated Cl current in tone generation in the rabbit corpus cavernosum.

Rabbit corpus cavernosum smooth muscle (RCCSM) cells express ion channels that produce Ca-activated Cl () current, but low sensitivity to conventional antagonists has made its role in tone generation difficult to evaluate. We have reexamined this question using two new generation blockers, T16A-A01 and CaCC-A01. Isolated RCCSM cells were studied using the perforated patch method.

Athletic Training and Public Health Summit.

Objective: To introduce athletic trainers to the benefits of using a population-based approach to injury and illness prevention and to explore opportunities for partnering with public health professionals on these initiatives.

Background: Athletic trainers play leading roles in individual injury and illness prevention but are less familiar with policy development, evaluation, and implementation from a population-level standpoint. The Athletic Training and Public Health Summit was convened to understand, explore, and develop the intersection of athletic training and public health.

Effect of a novel BKCa opener on BKCa currents and contractility of the rabbit corpus cavernosum.

Large-conductance Ca(2+)-activated K(+) (BKCa) channels are thought to play a key role in the regulation of corpus cavernosum smooth muscle (CCSM) excitability. Few BKCa channel openers have been accepted for clinical development. The effect of the novel BKCa channel opener GoSlo-SR5-130 on electrical activity in isolated rabbit CCSM cells and mechanical activity in strips of rabbit CCSM was examined.

Evaluation of cumulative cognitive deficits from electroconvulsive therapy.

Background: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is the most effective acute treatment for severe depression, but widely held concerns about memory problems may limit its use.

Aims: To find out whether repeated or maintenance courses of ECT cause cumulative cognitive deterioration.

Method: Analysis of the results of 10 years of cognitive performance data collection from patients who have received ECT.

Identification of novel PARP-1 inhibitors by structure-based virtual screening.

Poly(ADP-ribose)polymerase-1 (PARP-1) is an abundant and ubiquitous chromatin-bound nuclear protein. PARP-1, a DNA repair enzyme, has been in the limelight as a chemotherapeutic target. In this study, we demonstrated the successful use of structure-based virtual screening to identify inhibitors of PARP-1 from Otava databases comprised of nearly 260,000 compounds.

Effects of decision making on landing mechanics as a function of task and sex.

Background: Factors that contribute to sex-differences in the incidence of anterior cruciate ligament injuries among athletes are not well understood. Of interest is whether decision making during landing influences biomechanical factors associated with anterior cruciate ligament injury. This study examined the effects of decision making on the mechanics of two-footed landing tasks in women and men.

Eosinophil peroxidase induces the expression and function of acid-sensing ion channel-3 in allergic rhinitis: in vitro evidence in cultured epithelial cells.

Background: Acid-sensing ion channels (ASIC) are a family of acid-activated ligand-gated cation channels. As tissue acidosis is a feature of inflammatory conditions, such as allergic rhinitis (AR), we investigated the expression and function of these channels in AR.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to assess expression and function of ASIC channels in the nasal mucosa of control and AR subjects.

A phase I trial of a 5-day schedule of intravenous topotecan and etoposide in previously untreated patients with small-cell lung cancer.

A phase I dose-escalation study was undertaken to determine the maximum tolerated dose of the intravenous combination of topotecan and etoposide in previously untreated patients with small-cell lung cancer. Nineteen patients were treated with 30-min infusions of topotecan (0.5 mg/m(2)/day for cohort 1; 0.

Role of a perivascular ultrasonic micro-flow probe in aneurysm surgery.

There are various intraoperative monitoring devices available today for helping the neurosurgeons the progress of the intracranial aneurysm surgery. Till now the intraoperative ultrasonic blood flow probes has been used only in vascular, cardiac, and transplant surgery. In the University of Illinois at Chicago we have been able to use the same technology in various neurovascular surgeries.

Cerebral interstitial tissue oxygen tension, pH, HCO3, CO2.

Background: There are many techniques for monitoring the injured brain following trauma, subarachnoid hemorrhage, or surgery. It is thought that the major determinants for recovery of injured cerebral tissue are oxygen, glucose delivery, and the clearance of metabolites. These factors, at optimal levels, are probably responsible for the regaining of neuronal functions.