ASRA Pain Medicine consensus practice infection control guidelines for regional anesthesia and pain medicine.

Background: To provide recommendations on risk mitigation, diagnosis and treatment of infectious complications associated with the practice of regional anesthesia, acute and chronic pain management.

Methods: Following board approval, in 2020 the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine (ASRA Pain Medicine) commissioned evidence-based guidelines for best practices for infection control. More than 80 research questions were developed and literature searches undertaken by assigned working groups comprising four to five members.

Neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental roles for bulk lipid transporters and in movement disorders.

Background: Bridge-like lipid transfer proteins (BLTPs) mediate bulk lipid transport at membrane contact sites. Mutations in BLTPs are linked to both early-onset neurodevelopmental and later-onset neurodegenerative diseases, including movement disorders. The tissue specificity and temporal requirements of BLTPs in disease pathogenesis remain poorly understood.

Serum matrix metalloproteinase-7, Syndecan-1, and CA 19-9 as a biomarker panel for diagnosis of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

Aims And Background: Matrix metalloproteinase-7 (MMP-7) and Syndecan-1 (SDC1) are involved in multiple functions during tumorigenesis. We aimed to evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic performance of these serum proteins, as potential biomarkers, in patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and benign pancreatic cysts.

Methods: In this case-control study, patients with newly diagnosed PDAC (N = 121) were compared with the benign cyst (N = 66) and healthy control (N = 48) groups.

Unsedated colonoscopy utilizing virtual reality distraction: a pilot-controlled study.

Background: Sedation increases colonoscopy risks and prolongs recovery time. We examined whether virtual reality (VR) can substitute for sedation. The primary outcome was the overall satisfaction of patients who underwent colonoscopy with VR headset compared with patients who underwent standard sedation.

Amorphous calcium carbonate enhances osteogenic differentiation and myotube formation of human bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells and primary skeletal muscle cells under microgravity conditions.

Astronauts are exposed to severely stressful physiological conditions due to microgravity and increased space radiation. Space environment affects every organ and cell in the body and the significant adverse effects of long-term weightlessness include muscle atrophy and deterioration of the skeleton (spaceflight osteopenia). Amorphous Calcium Carbonate (ACC) emerges as a promising candidate for prevention of these effects, owing to its unique physicochemical properties and its potential to address the intricately linked nature of bone-muscle crosstalk.

Firearms Are Now the Leading Cause of Traumatic Brain Injury-Related Mortality in Children.

Recent studies have demonstrated a significant change in the epidemiology of injury fatalities in children, most notably a marked increase in firearm-related deaths. Few studies have specifically addressed pediatric TBI-related mortality trends. Studying these trends is important for both clinical preparedness and public health interventions.

Amorphous Calcium Carbonate Shows Anti-Cancer Properties That are Attributed to Its Buffering Capacity.

Aim: Amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) is a non-crystalline form of calcium carbonate, and it is composed of aggregated nano-size primary particles. Here, we evaluated its anti-cancer effect postulated relative to its buffering capabilities in lung cancer.

Methods: Tumors were evaluated in vivo using the Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) mouse cell line and A549 human lung cancer carcinoma cell line.

Striatonigral distribution of a fluorescent reporter following intracerebral delivery of genome editors.

Targeted gene editing is proposed as a therapeutic approach for numerous disorders, including neurological diseases. As the brain is organized into neural networks, it is critical to understand how anatomically connected structures are affected by genome editing. For example, neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) project to the striatum, and the striatum contains neurons that project to the substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNpr).

Middle small-bowel segment Lewis score may predict long-term outcomes among patients with quiescent Crohn's disease.

Background: Video capsule endoscopy (VCE) has been proven to accurately diagnose small-bowel inflammation and predict flares among patients with quiescent Crohn's disease (CD). However, data regarding its predictive role in this population over an extended follow-up are scarce.

Objectives: To predict clinical exacerbation and to assess the yield of Lewis score in identifying CD patients with future clinical exacerbation during an extended follow-up (>24 months).

Patency Capsule: A Novel Independent Predictor for Long-Term Outcomes Among Patients With Quiescent Crohn's Disease.

Introduction: Patency capsule (PC) is a recommended procedure to rule out small bowel stenosis before video capsule endoscopy (VCE). We examined future clinical outcomes among patients with a failed PC vs patients in whom the PC had passed (passed PC).

Methods: A post hoc analysis of 2 prospective cohort studies of adult patients with quiescent small bowel Crohn's disease (CD) who underwent PC between 2013 and 2020.

Efficient in vivo neuronal genome editing in the mouse brain using nanocapsules containing CRISPR-Cas9 ribonucleoproteins.

Genome editing of somatic cells via clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) offers promise for new therapeutics to treat a variety of genetic disorders, including neurological diseases. However, the dense and complex parenchyma of the brain and the post-mitotic state of neurons make efficient genome editing challenging. In vivo delivery systems for CRISPR-Cas proteins and single guide RNA (sgRNA) include both viral vectors and non-viral strategies, each presenting different advantages and disadvantages for clinical application.

The bridge-like lipid transfer protein (BLTP) gene group: introducing new nomenclature based on structural homology indicating shared function.

The HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee assigns unique symbols and names to human genes. The use of approved nomenclature enables effective communication between researchers, and there are multiple examples of how the usage of unapproved alias symbols can lead to confusion. We discuss here a recent nomenclature update (May 2022) for a set of genes that encode proteins with a shared repeating β-groove domain.

A novel superfamily of bridge-like lipid transfer proteins.

Lipid transfer proteins mediate nonvesicular transport of lipids at membrane contact sites to regulate the lipid composition of organelle membranes. Recently, a new type of bridge-like lipid transfer protein has emerged; these proteins contain a long hydrophobic groove and can mediate bulk transport of lipids between organelles. Here, we review recent insights into the structure of these proteins and identify a repeating modular unit that we propose to name the repeating β-groove (RBG) domain.

Serum Syndecan-1: A Novel Biomarker for Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma.

Introduction: Syndecan-1 (SDC1) has multiple functions in tumorigenesis in general and specifically in pancreatic cancer. We aimed to evaluate SDC1 as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker in patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).

Methods: In this case-control study, patients newly diagnosed with a biopsy-proven PDAC were enrolled alongside healthy individuals in a derivation-validation cohort design.

The Hob proteins are novel and conserved lipid-binding proteins at ER-PM contact sites.

Membrane contact sites are critical junctures for organelle signaling and communication. Endoplasmic reticulum-plasma membrane (ER-PM) contact sites were the first membrane contact sites to be described; however, the protein composition and molecular function of these sites is still emerging. Here, we leverage yeast and Drosophila model systems to uncover a novel role for the Hobbit (Hob) proteins at ER-PM contact sites.

A novel function for Rab1 and Rab11 during secretory granule maturation.

Regulated exocytosis is an essential process whereby specific cargo proteins are secreted in a stimulus-dependent manner. Cargo-containing secretory granules are synthesized in the trans-Golgi network (TGN); after budding from the TGN, granules undergo modifications, including an increase in size. These changes occur during a poorly understood process called secretory granule maturation.

The Hob proteins: Putative, novel lipid transfer proteins at ER-PM contact sites.

Nonvesicular transfer of lipids at membrane contact sites (MCS) has recently emerged as a critical process for cellular function. Lipid transfer proteins (LTPs) mediate this unique transport mechanism, and although several LTPs are known, the cellular complement of these proteins continues to expand. Our recent work has revealed the highly conserved but poorly characterized Hobbit/Hob proteins as novel, putative LTPs at endoplasmic reticulum-plasma membrane (ER-PM) contact sites.

Mistargeting of secretory cargo in retromer-deficient cells.

Intracellular trafficking is a basic and essential cellular function required for delivery of proteins to the appropriate subcellular destination; this process is especially demanding in professional secretory cells, which synthesize and secrete massive quantities of cargo proteins via regulated exocytosis. The Drosophila larval salivary glands are composed of professional secretory cells that synthesize and secrete mucin proteins at the onset of metamorphosis. Using the larval salivary glands as a model system, we have identified a role for the highly conserved retromer complex in trafficking of secretory granule membrane proteins.

Farewell to Professor David Yaffe - A pillar of the myogenesis field.

It is with great sadness that we have learned about the passing of Professor David Yaffe (1929-2020, Israel). Yehi Zichro Baruch - May his memory be a blessing. David was a man of family, science and nature.

Translational induction of ATF4 during integrated stress response requires noncanonical initiation factors eIF2D and DENR.

The Integrated Stress Response (ISR) helps metazoan cells adapt to cellular stress by limiting the availability of initiator methionyl-tRNA for translation. Such limiting conditions paradoxically stimulate the translation of ATF4 mRNA through a regulatory 5' leader sequence with multiple upstream Open Reading Frames (uORFs), thereby activating stress-responsive gene expression. Here, we report the identification of two critical regulators of such ATF4 induction, the noncanonical initiation factors eIF2D and DENR.

A novel PillCam Crohn's capsule score (Eliakim score) for quantification of mucosal inflammation in Crohn's disease.

Introduction: Capsule endoscopy is an important modality for monitoring of Crohn's disease. Recently, a novel panenteric capsule, PillCam Crohn's (Medtronic, USA), was approved for use. No quantitative index of inflammation for this method is currently available.

Serum MMP-9: a novel biomarker for prediction of clinical relapse in patients with quiescent Crohn's disease, a analysis.

Background: Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) is a novel marker of intestinal inflammation. The aim of this study was to assess if serum MMP-9 levels predict clinical flare in patients with quiescent Crohn's disease (CD).

Methods: This study was a analysis of a prospective observational study in which quiescent CD patients were included and followed until clinical relapse or the end of a 2-year follow-up period.

Human mesenchymal stromal cells ameliorate complement induced inflammatory cascade and improve renal functions in a rat model of ischemia-reperfusion induced acute kidney injury.

Introduction: The primary rational for using mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) to rejuvenate damaged tissue is mostly based on their capacity to trans-differentiate and repair injured organs. However, previous studies have demonstrated that MSCs are beneficial even at very early stages, before differentiation and proliferation can be expected. The aim of the current study was to investigate the multifaceted immunological effects of systemically administrating MSCs in the setting of acute kidney injury (AKI) induced by ischemic-reperfusion (I/R).

Assessment of small bowel mucosal healing by video capsule endoscopy for the prediction of short-term and long-term risk of Crohn's disease flare: a prospective cohort study.

Background: The optimal monitoring strategy for predicting disease course in Crohn's disease remains undefined. We aimed to evaluate the accuracy, safety, and tolerability of an intensive monitoring strategy designed to predict the future course of Crohn's disease in patients with quiescent disease.

Methods: In a prospective observational cohort study, we recruited patients older than 18 years with quiescent (for 3-24 months) Crohn's disease involving the small bowel with confirmed small bowel patency from three tertiary medical centres in Israel.