The discovery of novel noncoding RNAs in 50 bacterial genomes.

Structured noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) contribute to many important cellular processes involving chemical catalysis, molecular recognition and gene regulation. Few ncRNA classes are broadly distributed among organisms from all three domains of life, but the list of rarer classes that exhibit surprisingly diverse functions is growing. We previously developed a computational pipeline that enables the near-comprehensive identification of structured ncRNAs expressed from individual bacterial genomes.

Architectures and complex functions of tandem riboswitches.

Riboswitch architectures that involve the binding of a single ligand to a single RNA aptamer domain result in ordinary dose-response curves that require approximately a 100-fold change in ligand concentration to cover nearly the full dynamic range for gene regulation. However, by using multiple riboswitches or aptamer domains in tandem, these ligand-sensing structures can produce additional, complex gene control outcomes. In the current study, we have computationally searched for tandem riboswitch architectures in bacteria to provide a more complete understanding of the diverse biological and biochemical functions of gene control elements that are made exclusively of RNA.

Patient Perceptions of Wearable and Smartphone Technologies for Remote Outcome Monitoring in Total Knee Arthroplasties.

While there is enthusiasm for wearables and smartphone technologies in evaluating clinical outcomes among clinicians, less is known about the willingness of patients who have osteoarthritis (OA) to consent for remote outcome monitoring. We developed an Institutional Review Board-approved questionnaire to assess patient perceptions of remote monitoring technologies in a high-volume orthopaedic clinical center. Fifty total knee arthroplasty (TKA) patients (56% female; mean age: 61 years, range: 23-89) and fifty nonoperative OA knee patients (54% female; mean age: 58 years, range: 25-89) routinely consulted in the clinic as part of their OA treatment and consented to participate in the study.

Investigating the impact of bank branch closures on access to financial services in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.

There is a longstanding policy interest in understanding the impacts of changes in access to public and private services in rural areas. To date much of the empirical analysis concerning changing patterns of accessibility has been predicated on assumptions regarding the mode of transport used to access such facilities. The availability of new and open sources of data, and the increasing sophistication of spatial analytical tools, has enabled alternative transportation modes to be included when investigating the impact of service changes.

Patient Perceptions of Wearable and Smartphone Technologies for Remote Outcome Monitoring in Patients Who Have Hip Osteoarthritis or Arthroplasties.

Background: Although there is interest in wearables and smartphone technologies for remote outcome monitoring, little is known regarding the willingness of hip osteoarthritis (OA) and/or total hip arthroplasty (THA) patients to authorize and adhere to such treatment.

Methods: We developed an Institutional Review Board-approved questionnaire to evaluate patient perceptions of remote monitoring technologies in a high-volume orthopedic center. Forty-seven THA patients (60% female; mean age: 66 years) and 50 nonoperative OA hip patients (52% female; mean age: 63 years) participated.

Towards an understanding of inequalities in accessing residential and nursing home provision: The role of geographical approaches.

Suggestions of the existence of so-called 'social care deserts' in England in the years leading up to the COVID-19 pandemic drew attention to the potential impact of geographical inequalities on the availability of residential, nursing and domiciliary care. To date, much of this analysis has been conducted at spatially aggregated scales such as that of local authorities or postcode sector. Hidden within such aggregate-level analysis however are geographical differences in the local provision of care services.

Hospital Costs for Unsuccessful Two-Stage Revisions for Periprosthetic Joint Infection.

Background: Although 2-stage exchange arthroplasty is the preferred surgical treatment for periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) in the United States, little is known about the risk of complications between stages, mortality, and the economic burden of unsuccessful 2-stage procedures.

Methods: The 2015-2019 Medicare 100% inpatient sample was used to identify 2-stage PJI revisions in total hip and knee arthroplasty patients using procedural codes. We used the Fine and Gray sub-distribution adaptation of the conventional Kaplan-Meier method to estimate the probability of completing the second stage of the 2-stage PJI infection treatment, accounting for death as a competing risk.

Comprehensive discovery of novel structured noncoding RNAs in 26 bacterial genomes.

Comparative sequence analysis methods are highly effective for uncovering novel classes of structured noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) from bacterial genomic DNA sequence datasets. Previously, we developed a computational pipeline to more comprehensively identify structured ncRNA representatives from individual bacterial genomes. This search process exploits the fact that genomic regions serving as templates for the transcription of structured RNAs tend to be present in longer than average noncoding 'intergenic regions' (IGRs) that are enriched in G and C nucleotides compared to the remainder of the genome.

Sodium distribution in the bovine brain.

Fatal sodium intoxication can occur in many species, including cattle, and postmortem confirmation often includes brain sodium concentration determination. Published information regarding brain sodium distribution in cattle was not found in a literature review. Our study was designed to determine whether sodium is uniformly distributed throughout the bovine brain.

Using machine learning tools to investigate factors associated with trends in 'no-shows' in outpatient appointments.

Missed appointments are estimated to cost the UK National Health Service (NHS) approximately £1 billion annually. Research that leads to a fuller understanding of the types of factors influencing spatial and temporal patterns of these so-called "Did-Not-Attends" (DNAs) is therefore timely. This research articulates the results of a study that uses machine learning approaches to investigate whether these factors are consistent across a range of medical specialities.

A second riboswitch class for the enzyme cofactor NAD.

A bacterial noncoding RNA motif almost exclusively associated with genes was uncovered using comparative sequence analysis. Some PnuC proteins are known to transport nicotinamide riboside (NR), which is a component of the ubiquitous and abundant enzyme cofactor nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD). Thus, we speculated that the newly found " motif" RNAs might function as aptamers for a novel class of NAD-sensing riboswitches.

Genome-wide discovery of structured noncoding RNAs in bacteria.

Background: Structured noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) play essential roles in many biological processes such as gene regulation, signaling, RNA processing, and protein synthesis. Among the most common groups of ncRNAs in bacteria are riboswitches. These cis-regulatory, metabolite-binding RNAs are present in many species where they regulate various metabolic and signaling pathways.

Using Geographic Information Systems to investigate variations in accessibility to 'extended hours' primary healthcare provision.

There are ongoing policy concerns surrounding the difficulty in obtaining timely appointments to primary healthcare services and the potential impact on, for example, attendance at accident and emergency services and potential health outcomes. Using the case study of potential access to primary healthcare services in Wales, Geographic Information System (GIS)-based tools that permit a consideration of population-to-provider ratios over space are used to examine variations in geographical accessibility to general practitioner (GP) surgeries offering appointment times outside of 'core' operating hours. Correlation analysis is used to explore the association of accessibility scores with potential demand for such services using UK Population Census data.

An exploratory analysis of spatial variations in organ donation registration rates in Wales prior to the implementation of the Human Transplantation (Wales) Act 2013.

Spatial variations in rates of registered organ donors have not been studied in the UK at detailed spatial scales despite some evidence of national and regional differences. By drawing on the findings from the existing literature, this study examines associations between small-area variations in rates of new registrants to the UK organ donor register (ODR) within Wales and key demographic factors. Using map-based visualisations and statistical regression methods, spatial patterns in new registrants to the ODR are identified within Wales, a country which moved to an opt-out system of consent for organ donation following the Human Transplantation (Wales) Act 2013.

Oxidation, Damage Mechanisms, and Reasons for Revision of Sequentially Annealed Highly Crosslinked Polyethylene in Total Knee Arthroplasty.

Background: Sequentially annealed, highly crosslinked polyethylene (HXLPE) has been used clinically in total knee arthroplasty (TKA) for over a decade. However, little is known about the revision reasons; its surface damage mechanisms; or its in vivo oxidative stability relative to conventional polyethylene. We asked whether retrieved HLXPE tibial inserts exhibited: (1) similar revision reasons; (2) improved resistance to surface damage; and (3) improved oxidative stability, when compared with conventional gamma inert sterilized polyethylene inserts.

Implantation of a Novel Cryopreserved Viable Osteochondral Allograft for Articular Cartilage Repair in the Knee.

Restoration and repair of articular cartilage injuries remain a challenge for orthopaedic surgeons. The standard first-line treatment of articular cartilage lesions is marrow stimulation; however, this procedure can often result in the generation of fibrous repair cartilage rather than the biomechanically superior hyaline cartilage. Marrow stimulation is also often limited to smaller lesions, less than 2 cm.

Trunnion Failure of the Recalled Low Friction Ion Treatment Cobalt Chromium Alloy Femoral Head.

Background: Gross trunnion failure (GTF) is a rare complication in total hip arthroplasty (THA) reported across a range of manufacturers. Specific lots of the Stryker low friction ion treatment (LFIT) anatomic cobalt chromium alloy (CoCr) V40 femoral head were recalled in August 2016. In part, the recall was based out of concerns for disassociation of the femoral head from the stem and GTF.

Does Taper Size Have an Effect on Taper Damage in Retrieved Metal-on-Polyethylene Total Hip Devices?

Background: Taper design has been identified as a possible contributor to fretting corrosion damage at modular connections in total hip arthroplasty systems, but variations in as-manufactured taper interfaces may confound this analysis. This study characterized taper damage in retrievals with 2 different taper sizes but comparable taper surface finishes and investigated if fretting and corrosion damage is related to taper size in the context of a multivariable analysis for metal-on-polyethylene bearings.

Methods: A total of 252 cobalt chromium femoral heads were identified in a collection of retrievals: 77 with taper A and 175 with taper B.

Total Knee Post-Cam Design Variations and Their Effects on Kinematics and Wear Patterns.

Post-cam designs for posterior-stabilized total knee arthroplasy (TKA) implants have evolved over the last 2 decades. These designs have evolved from symmetric post and cam to asymmetric designs that include anterior post interactions to affect a kinematic change in full extension. All design changes have consequences on the resulting femorotibial contact kinematics and, depending on the amount of constraint built into the design, these changes may have significant consequences on the wear patterns on the tibial polyethylene insert.

Multi-modal two-step floating catchment area analysis of primary health care accessibility.

Two-step floating catchment area (2SFCA) techniques are popular for measuring potential geographical accessibility to health care services. This paper proposes methodological enhancements to increase the sophistication of the 2SFCA methodology by incorporating both public and private transport modes using dedicated network datasets. The proposed model yields separate accessibility scores for each modal group at each demand point to better reflect the differential accessibility levels experienced by each cohort.

Similar striatal gene expression profiles in the striatum of the YAC128 and HdhQ150 mouse models of Huntington's disease are not reflected in mutant Huntingtin inclusion prevalence.

Background: The YAC128 model of Huntington's disease (HD) shows substantial deficits in motor, learning and memory tasks and alterations in its transcriptional profile. We examined the changes in the transcriptional profile in the YAC128 mouse model of HD at 6, 12 and 18 months and compared these with those seen in other models and human HD caudate.

Results: Differential gene expression by genotype showed that genes related to neuronal function, projection outgrowth and cell adhesion were altered in expression.

Contractility of single cardiomyocytes differentiated from pluripotent stem cells depends on physiological shape and substrate stiffness.

Single cardiomyocytes contain myofibrils that harbor the sarcomere-based contractile machinery of the myocardium. Cardiomyocytes differentiated from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSC-CMs) have potential as an in vitro model of heart activity. However, their fetal-like misalignment of myofibrils limits their usefulness for modeling contractile activity.

Aerosol optical depth as a measure of particulate exposure using imputed censored data, and relationship with childhood asthma hospital admissions for 2004 in athens, Greece.

An understanding of human health implications from atmosphere exposure is a priority in both the geographic and the public health domains. The unique properties of geographic tools for remote sensing of the atmosphere offer a distinct ability to characterize and model aerosols in the urban atmosphere for evaluation of impacts on health. Asthma, as a manifestation of upper respiratory disease prevalence, is a good example of the potential interface of geographic and public health interests.

CREB regulates spine density of lateral amygdala neurons: implications for memory allocation.

Neurons may compete against one another for integration into a memory trace. Specifically, neurons in the lateral nucleus of the amygdala with relatively higher levels of cAMP Responsive Element Binding Protein (CREB) seem to be preferentially allocated to a fear memory trace, while neurons with relatively decreased CREB function seem to be excluded from a fear memory trace. CREB is a ubiquitous transcription factor that modulates many diverse cellular processes, raising the question as to which of these CREB-mediated processes underlie memory allocation.

MEMS-based shear characterization of soft hydrated samples.

We have designed, fabricated, calibrated and tested actuators for shear characterization to assess microscale shear properties of soft substrates. Here we demonstrate characterization of dry silicone and hydrated polyethelyne glycol. Microscale tools, including atomic force microscopes and nanoindenters, often have limited functionality in hydrated environments.