Automating radiological measurements of the hip in children with cerebral palsy.

Aims: The aims of this study were to develop an automatic system capable of calculating four radiological measurements used in the diagnosis and monitoring of cerebral palsy (CP)-related hip disease, and to demonstrate that these measurements are sufficiently accurate to be used in clinical practice.

Methods: We developed a machine-learning system to automatically measure Reimer's migration percentage (RMP), acetabular index (ACI), head shaft angle (HSA), and neck shaft angle (NSA). The system automatically locates points around the femoral head and acetabulum on pelvic radiographs, and uses these to calculate measurements.

Intraoperative Predictors of Salvage in Infected Breast Implants: A Retrospective Study.

Background: Infectious complications associated with implant-based breast reconstruction (IBBR) can be devastating and may lead to reconstructive failure. While there are known demographic risk factors for reconstructive failure, few studies have identified intraoperative findings that predict failure after attempted salvage.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to identify intraoperative findings in infected breasts that may be predictive of implant failure.

Identifying signals of memory from observations of animal movements.

Incorporating memory (i.e., some notion of familiarity or experience with the landscape) into models of animal movement is a rising challenge in the field of movement ecology.

Calcium and magnesium abnormalities in puppies with parvoviral enteritis.

Objective: To determine the association between ionized calcium (iCa) and/or total magnesium (tMg) and the development of sepsis and to investigate whether iCa or tMg is associated with mortality in puppies with canine parvoviral enteritis (CPE).

Methods: 64 client-owned puppies with CPE were enrolled in this prospective cohort study. Serum iCa and tMg were measured daily from admission until death or discharge.

Mutant-selective AKT inhibition through lysine targeting and neo-zinc chelation.

Somatic alterations in the oncogenic kinase AKT1 have been identified in a broad spectrum of solid tumours. The most common AKT1 alteration replaces Glu17 with Lys (E17K) in the regulatory pleckstrin homology domain, resulting in constitutive membrane localization and activation of oncogenic signalling. In clinical studies, pan-AKT inhibitors have been found to cause dose-limiting hyperglycaemia, which has motivated the search for mutant-selective inhibitors.

The Effects of Colchicine on Lipoprotein(a) and Oxidized Phospholipid Associated Cardiovascular Disease Risk.

Aims: Inflammatory lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] and oxidized phospholipids (OxPLs) on lipoproteins convey residual cardiovascular disease risk. The LoDoCo2 (low-dose colchicine 2) trial showed that colchicine reduced the risk for cardiovascular events occurring on standard therapies in patients with chronic coronary disease (CCS). We explored the effects of colchicine on Lp(a) and oxidized lipoprotein associated risk in a LoDoCo2 biomarker subpopulation.

Plasma Protein Biomarkers and Long-Term Cardiovascular Mortality Risk in Patients With Chronic Coronary Heart Disease.

Background: Protein biomarkers that reflect different pathophysiological pathways have been associated with the risk of adverse cardiovascular events. However, it is uncertain whether these associations are sustained with increasing years after the biomarkers are measured.

Methods And Results: In this cohort study, 7745 patients with coronary heart disease who participated in the LIPID (Long-Term Intervention With Pravastatin in Ischemic Disease) trial, BNP (B-type natriuretic peptide), troponin I, cystatin-C, C-reactive protein, d-dimer and midregional proadrenomedullin were measured at baseline and after 1 year.

Evidence for Horizontal Transmission and Recirculation of Shiga Toxin-Producing in the Beef Production Chain in South Africa Using Whole Genome Sequencing.

We used whole genome sequencing (WGS) as an epidemiologic surveillance tool to elucidate the transmission dynamics of Shiga toxin-producing (STEC) strains along the beef production chain in South Africa. Isolates were obtained from a cattle farm, abattoirs and retail outlets. Isolates were analysed using WGS on a MiSeq platform (Illumina, San Diego, CA, USA) and phylogenetic analysis was carried out.

Exploration of the regional effects of colchicine in the LoDoCo2 trial.

Background: The Low Dose Colchicine 2 (LoDoCo2) trial randomized 5,522 patients with chronic coronary disease to colchicine 0.5mg daily or placebo in a 1:1 ratio and demonstrated the cardiovascular benefits of colchicine. In the trial, which was conducted in Australia and The Netherlands, a prespecified subgroup analysis suggested a difference in magnitude of treatment effect of colchicine by region (Australia: HR 0.

Exploring senescence as a modifier of β cell extracellular vesicles in type 1 diabetes.

Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) is a chronic metabolic disease resulting from insulin deficiency due to autoimmune loss of pancreatic β cells. In addition to β cell destruction, it is now accepted that β cell stress and dysfunction, such as senescence, plays a crucial role in the development of the disease. Accumulation of senescent β cells occurs during development of T1D in humans and contributes to the progression of T1D in the nonobese diabetic (NOD) mouse model.

Trichinella murrelli identified in red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in Pennsylvania, USA.

Trichinella infections have been eliminated from pork where pigs are raised in biosecure facilities, but wildlife infections persist. Trichinella murrelli is the primary zoonotic species in wild carnivores in the United States, having been identified in several species of omnivores and carnivores. Here, we document its occurrence in seven of 21 (33.

Secreted GDF15 maintains transcriptional responses during DNA damage-mediated senescence in human beta cells.

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a chronic metabolic disease resulting from an autoimmune destruction of pancreatic beta cells. Beta cells activate various stress responses during the development of T1D, including senescence, which involves cell cycle arrest, prosurvival signaling, and a proinflammatory secretome termed the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP). We previously identified growth and differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) as a major SASP factor in human islets and human EndoC-βH5 beta cells in a model of DNA damage-mediated senescence that recapitulates features of senescent beta cells in T1D.

Optical coherence tomography assessment of the impact of colchicine on non-culprit coronary plaque composition after myocardial infarction.

Background: Low-dose colchicine reduces the risk of cardiovascular events after myocardial infarction (MI). The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of colchicine post-MI on coronary plaque morphology in non-culprit segments by optical coherence tomography (OCT).

Methods And Results: COCOMO-ACS was a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial that randomized 64 patients (median age 61.

Structure-driven development of a biomimetic rare earth artificial metalloprotein.

The 2011 discovery of the first rare earth-dependent enzyme in methylotrophic AM1 prompted intensive research toward understanding the unique chemistry at play in these systems. This enzyme, an alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), features a La ion closely associated with redox-active coenzyme pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) and is structurally homologous to the Ca-dependent ADH from the same organism. AM1 also produces a periplasmic PQQ-binding protein, PqqT, which we have now structurally characterized to 1.

Inflammatory β-Cell Stress and Immune Surveillance in Type 1 Diabetes.

Recent years have seen increased recognition for the role of β-cell stress as a contributing factor to the autoimmune destruction process that ultimately results in symptomatic type 1 diabetes (T1D). Preclinical studies have discovered a variety of stress responses in the β-cell that occur at presymptomatic stages and contribute to disease progression, but unifying explanations of how these mechanisms operate to promote disease progression remain incomplete. We propose that stressed β-cells transition into β-cells expressing inflammatory molecules that provoke an immune response to restore homeostasis by coordinating islet repair and the removal of stressed cells.

Trichinella: Becoming a parasite.

Phylogenetic evidence indicates that free-living nematodes gave rise to parasitic nematodes where parasitism evolved independently at least 15 times. The high level of genetic and biological diversity among parasites dictates an equally high level of diversity in the transition to parasitism. We previously hypothesized that horizontal gene transfer (HGT) played an important role in the evolution of parasitism among early ancestors of Trichinella, mediated by an interplay of ecological and evolutionary pathways that contributed to persistence and diversification.

Monitoring for Breast Cancer Recurrence Following Goldilocks Breast Reconstruction.

Background: The Goldilocks breast reconstruction utilizes redundant mastectomy skin flaps to fashion a breast mound; however, there is concern that imbrication of these skin flaps may predispose to fat necrosis and make detection of local breast cancer recurrence more difficult. Goldilocks patients follow a traditional postmastectomy screening pathway that includes clinical examination for locoregional recurrence, but it is unclear if this is sufficient. We evaluate our Goldilocks reconstruction case series to determine rates of diagnostic imaging, biopsy, and locoregional and distant recurrence.

Scalp Reconstruction With Free Tissue Transfer as a Palliative Surgical Intervention in a High-Risk Population.

Microvascular reconstruction of the scalp is frequently indicated in patients with locally advanced tumors, among other etiologies, in a relatively high-risk, older patient population that often has multiple medical comorbidities. A retrospective analysis was performed on patients undergoing microvascular scalp reconstruction at Emory University Hospital and Grady Memorial Hospital between 2011 and 2021. Patient demographics, wound characteristics, operative details, and complications were recorded.