From research to practice: bridging the implementation gap on the use of tranexamic acid in total knee arthroplasty.

Background: The use of intravenous tranexamic acid (TXA), an antifibrinolytic agent, has been shown to effectively reduce total blood loss and transfusion rates in total knee arthroplasty (TKA). The aim of this paper is to evaluate the implementation lag and clinical uptake of the use of TXA for primary TKA after publication of two landmark studies. Additionally, it assessed the efficacy of TXA use in TKA in reducing post-operative blood transfusions and hospital length of stay (LOS).

Branched oligosaccharides cause atypical starch granule initiation in Arabidopsis chloroplasts.

Plant chloroplasts store starch during the day, which acts as a source of carbohydrates and energy at night. Starch granule initiation relies on the elongation of malto-oligosaccharide primers. In Arabidopsis thaliana, PROTEIN TARGETING TO STARCH 2 (PTST2) and STARCH SYNTHASE 4 (SS4) are essential for the selective binding and elongation of malto-oligosaccharide primers, respectively, and very few granules are initiated in their absence.

Dual Role of Ibuprofen and Indomethacin in Promoting Peripheral Nerve Regeneration .

Peripheral nerve injuries (PNI) can result in significant losses of motor and sensory function. Although peripheral nerves have an innate capacity for regeneration, restoration of function after severe injury remains suboptimal. The gold standard for peripheral nerve regeneration (PNR) is autologous nerve transplantation, but this method is limited by the generation of an additional surgical site, donor-site morbidity, and neuroma formation at the site of harvest.

Anatomical Features and Material Properties of Human Surrogate Head Models Affect Spatial and Temporal Brain Motion under Blunt Impact.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a biomechanical problem where the initiating event is dynamic loading (blunt, inertial, blast) to the head. To understand the relationship between the mechanical parameters of the injury and the deformation patterns in the brain, we have previously developed a surrogate head (SH) model capable of measuring spatial and temporal deformation in a surrogate brain under blunt impact. The objective of this work was to examine how material properties and anatomical features affect the motion of the brain and the development of injurious deformations.

MCC950 Attenuates Microglial NLRP3-Mediated Chronic Neuroinflammation and Memory Impairment in a Rat Model of Repeated Low-Level Blast Exposure.

Blast-induced traumatic brain injury is typically regarded as a signature medical concern for military personnel who are exposed to explosive devices in active combat zones. However, soldiers as well as law enforcement personnel may be repeatedly exposed to low-level blasts during training sessions with heavy weaponries as part of combat readiness. Service personnel who sustain neurotrauma from repeated low-level blast (rLLB) exposure do not display overt pathological symptoms immediately but rather develop mild symptoms including cognitive impairments, attention deficits, mood changes, irritability, and sleep disturbances over time.

MFP1 defines the subchloroplast location of starch granule initiation.

Starch is one of the major carbohydrate storage compounds in plants. The biogenesis of starch granules starts with the formation of initials, which subsequently expand into granules. Several coiled-coil domain-containing proteins have been previously implicated with the initiation process, but the mechanisms by which they act remain largely elusive.

Best of Both Worlds? Fixation of Distal Femur Fractures with the Nail-Plate Construct.

Objectives: Distal femoral fractures are a significant injury sustained by low- and high-energy trauma. Common treatment practices are lateral locking plate or intramedullary nail fixation, with disadvantages including risk of non and malunion and limited post-operative weightbearing status. Combining both techniques as a nail-plate construct (NPC) theoretically achieves enhanced fixation to allow immediate weightbearing.

Soluble and insoluble α-glucan synthesis in yeast by enzyme suites derived exclusively from maize endosperm.

Molecular mechanisms that distinguish the synthesis of semi-crystalline α-glucan polymers found in plant starch granules from the synthesis of water-soluble polymers by nonplant species are not well understood. To address this, starch biosynthetic enzymes from maize (Zea mays L.) endosperm were isolated in a reconstituted environment using yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) as a test bed.

LIKE EARLY STARVATION 1 and EARLY STARVATION 1 promote and stabilize amylopectin phase transition in starch biosynthesis.

Starch, the most abundant carbohydrate reserve in plants, primarily consists of the branched glucan amylopectin, which forms semi-crystalline granules. Phase transition from a soluble to an insoluble form depends on amylopectin architecture, requiring a compatible distribution of glucan chain lengths and a branch-point distribution. Here, we show that two starch-bound proteins, LIKE EARLY STARVATION 1 (LESV) and EARLY STARVATION 1 (ESV1), which have unusual carbohydrate-binding surfaces, promote the phase transition of amylopectin-like glucans, both in a heterologous yeast system expressing the starch biosynthetic machinery and in plants.

Dorsal root ganglion neurons recapitulate the traumatic axonal injury of CNS neurons in response to a rapid stretch .

models of traumatic brain injury (TBI) commonly use neurons isolated from the central nervous system. Limitations with primary cortical cultures, however, can pose challenges to replicating some aspects of neuronal injury associated with closed head TBI. The known mechanisms of axonal degeneration from mechanical injury in TBI are in many ways similar to degenerative disease, ischemia, and spinal cord injury.

A Method for Evaluating Brain Deformation Under Sagittal Blunt Impacts Using a Half-Skull Human-Scale Surrogate.

Unlabelled: Trauma to the brain is a biomechanical problem where the initiating event is a dynamic loading (blunt, inertial, blast) to the head. To understand the relationship between the mechanical parameters of the injury and the spatial and temporal deformation patterns in the brain, there is a need to develop a reusable and adaptable experimental traumatic brain injury (TBI) model that can measure brain motion under varying parameters. In this effort, we aim to directly measure brain deformation (strain and strain rates) in different brain regions in a human head model using a drop tower.

Tuning heterologous glucan biosynthesis in yeast to understand and exploit plant starch diversity.

Background: Starch, a vital plant-derived polysaccharide comprised of branched glucans, is essential in nutrition and many industrial applications. Starch is often modified post-extraction to alter its structure and enhance its functionality. Targeted metabolic engineering of crops to produce valuable and versatile starches requires knowledge of the relationships between starch biosynthesis, structure, and properties, but systematic studies to obtain this knowledge are difficult to conduct in plants.

Learning Environments and Evidence-Based Practices in Bioengineering and Biomedical Engineering.

This paper provides a synopsis of discussions related to the Learning Environments track of the Fourth BME Education Summit held at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio in May 2019. This summit was organized by the Council of Chairs of Bioengineering and Biomedical Engineering, and participants included over 300 faculty members from 100+ accredited undergraduate programs. The Learning Environments track had six interactive workshops that provided facilitated discussion and provide recommendations in the areas of: (1) Authentic project/problem identification in clinical, industrial, and global settings, (2) Experiential problem/project-based learning within courses, (3) Experiential learning in co-curricular learning settings, (4) Team-based learning, (5) Teaching to reach a diverse classroom, and (6) innovative platforms and pedagogy.

Animal model of repeated low-level blast traumatic brain injury displays acute and chronic neurobehavioral and neuropathological changes.

Blast-induced neurotrauma (BINT) is not only a signature injury to soldiers in combat field and training facilities but may also a growing concern in civilian population due to recent increases in the use of improvised explosives by insurgent groups. Unlike moderate or severe BINT, repeated low-level blast (rLLB) is different in its etiology as well as pathology. Due to the constant use of heavy weaponry as part of combat readiness, rLLB usually occurs in service members undergoing training as part of combat readiness.

Steroid switching in dystrophinopathy treatment: a US chart review of patient characteristics and clinical outcomes.

To describe reasons for switching from prednisone/prednisolone to deflazacort and associated clinical outcomes among patients with Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophy (DMD and BMD, respectively) in the USA. A chart review of patients with DMD (n = 62) or BMD (n = 30) who switched from prednisone to deflazacort (02/2017-12/2018) collected demographic/clinical characteristics, reasons for switching, outcomes and common adverse events. The mean ages at switch were 20.

Engineering Fiber-Based Nervous Tissue Constructs for Axon Regeneration.

Biomaterial-based scaffolds used in nerve conduits including channels for confining regenerating axons and 3-dimensional (3D) gels as substrates for growth have made improvements in models of nerve repair. Many biomaterial strategies, however, continue to fall short of autologous nerve grafts, which remain the current gold standard in repairing severe nerve lesions (<20 mm). Intraluminal nerve conduit fibers have also shown considerable promise in directing regenerating axons in vitro and in vivo and have gained increasing interest for nerve repair.

Increased orthopaedic presentations as a result of COVID-19-related social restrictions in a regional setting, despite local and global trends.

Background: The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has affected the utilisation of emergency department (ED) services worldwide. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of COVID-19-related public health measures on orthopaedic presentations to a regional Australian hospital.

Methods: A case-control study was performed at a regional trauma hospital in New South Wales (NSW), Australia.

Single-run HPLC Quantification of Plant Cell Wall Monosaccharides.

The plant cell wall is a complex network of polysaccharides and proteins that provides strength and structural integrity to plant cells, as well as playing a vital role in growth, development, and defense response. Cell wall polysaccharides can be broadly grouped into three categories: cellulose, pectins, and hemicelluloses. Dynamic interactions between polysaccharides and cell wall-associated proteins contribute to regions of flexibility and rigidity within the cell wall, allowing for remodeling when necessary during growth, environmental adaptation, or stress response activation.

A multifaceted analysis reveals two distinct phases of chloroplast biogenesis during de-etiolation in .

Light triggers chloroplast differentiation whereby the etioplast transforms into a photosynthesizing chloroplast and the thylakoid rapidly emerges. However, the sequence of events during chloroplast differentiation remains poorly understood. Using Serial Block Face Scanning Electron Microscopy (SBF-SEM), we generated a series of chloroplast 3D reconstructions during differentiation, revealing chloroplast number and volume and the extent of envelope and thylakoid membrane surfaces.

Biomechanical Forces Regulate Gene Transcription During Stretch-Mediated Growth of Mammalian Neurons.

At birth, there are 100 billion neurons in the human brain, with functional neural circuits extending through the spine to the epidermis of the feet and toes. Following birth, limbs and vertebrae continue to grow by several orders of magnitude, forcing established axons to grow by up to 200 cm in length without motile growth cones. The leading regulatory paradigm suggests that biomechanical expansion of mitotic tissue exerts tensile force on integrated nervous tissue, which synchronizes ongoing growth of spanning axons.

Behavioral Deficits in Animal Models of Blast Traumatic Brain Injury.

Blast exposure has been identified to be the most common cause for traumatic brain injury (TBI) in soldiers. Over the years, rodent models to mimic blast exposures and the behavioral outcomes observed in veterans have been developed extensively. However, blast tube design and varying experimental parameters lead to inconsistencies in the behavioral outcomes reported across research laboratories.

Safe and rapid implementation of telemedicine fracture clinics: the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: The coronavirus disease outbreak in December 2019 rapidly spread around the world with profound effects on healthcare systems. In March 2020, all elective surgery and elective outpatient clinics were cancelled in our institution, a regional hospital in Northern New South Wales, Australia. With regard to orthopaedic fracture clinics, a telehealth system was implemented on an emergency basis for patient and staff safety to prevent disease transmission.

Outcome measures from experimental traumatic brain injury in male rats vary with the complete temporal biomechanical profile of the injury event.

Millions suffer a traumatic brain injury (TBI) each year wherein the outcomes associated with injury can vary greatly between individuals. This study postulates that variations in each biomechanical parameter of a head trauma lead to differences in histological and behavioral outcome measures that should be considered collectively in assessing injury. While trauma severity typically scales with the magnitude of injury, much less is known about the effects of rate and duration of the mechanical insult.

Blast exposure predisposes the brain to increased neurological deficits in a model of blast plus blunt traumatic brain injury.

Soldiers are often exposed to more than one traumatic brain injury (TBI) over the course of their service. In recent years, more attention has been drawn to the increased risk of neurological deficits caused by the 'blast plus' polytrauma, which typically is a blast trauma combined with other forms of TBI. In this study, we investigated the behavioral and neuronal deficits resulting from a blast plus injury involving a mild-moderate blast followed by a mild blunt trauma using the fluid percussion injury model.