Cephalopod Sex Determination and its Ancient Evolutionary Origin.

Octopuses, squids, and cuttlefishes - the coleoid cephalopods - are a remarkable branch in the tree of life whose members exhibit a repertoire of sophisticated behaviors (Hanlon and Messenger, 2018). As a clade, coleoids harbor an incredible variety of novel traits including the most complex nervous system among invertebrates, derived camera-type eyes, and rapid adaptive camouflage abilities (Young, 1971; Hanlon, 2007). The burst of evolutionary novelty that distinguishes cephalopods is even more striking in a phylogenetic context; cephalopods are a deeply diverged lineage that last share a common ancestor with other extant molluscs in the Cambrian period, roughly 550 million years ago (Ponder and Lindberg, 2008; Huang et al.

Role of lateral soft tissues release in percutaneous hallux valgus correction: A medium term retrospective study.

Background: In the field of minimally invasive surgery (MIS) for the treatment of hallux valgus (HV), different techniques have begun to emerge in the literature concerning the distal osteotomy of the first metatarsal bone, the synthesis or not of the metatarsal head, the possible association with lateral soft tissues release (LSTR) and osteotomy of the base of the first phalanx.

Aim: To evaluate the role of LSTR on percutaneous HV correction, evaluating functional and radiographical results.

Methods: From January 2012 to May 2016 a total of 396 patients with mild to moderate symptomatic HV treated with the MIS technique were included in this retrospective study.

Revision of total knee arthroplasty with press-fit condylar SIGMA TC3-mobile bearing system and porous metaphyseal sleeves in type AORI type II and III bone defects. A long-term follow-up study.

Background And Aim: Revision total knee arthroplasty(rTKA) is a challenging and expensive treatment for orthopedic surgeons who have to deal with poor bone quality and bone loss. This study aims to retrospectively evaluate the clinical and radiological results of patients undergoing rTKA and porous metaphyseal sleeves in AORI type II and III bone defects.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective series of continuous patients treated for mechanical failure of TKA.

The major proximal femoral defects: megaprosthesis in non oncological patients - A case series.

We identified 39 patients (23 female and 16 male) underwent hip revisions through mega-prosthesis. The most common causes were periprosthetic fractures, periprosthetic osteolysis and consequences of infected arthroplasty. The average follow-up was 5 years (2.

Cell types and molecular architecture of the Octopus bimaculoides visual system.

Cephalopods have a remarkable visual system, with a camera-type eye and high acuity vision that they use for a wide range of sophisticated visually driven behaviors. However, the cephalopod brain is organized dramatically differently from that of vertebrates and invertebrates, and beyond neuroanatomical descriptions, little is known regarding the cell types and molecular determinants of their visual system organization. Here, we present a comprehensive single-cell molecular atlas of the octopus optic lobe, which is the primary visual processing structure in the cephalopod brain.

WHICH PROBLEMATICS IN THA AFTER ACETABULAR FRACTURES: EXPERIENCE OF 38 CASES.

Background: Within a timeframe of 8 years (2008-2016), 38 patients have undergone total hip replacement surgery for coxarthrosis or aseptic necrosis secondary to acetabulum fractures.

Materials And Methods: The study included 27 males and 11 females between 42 and 70 years of age, all of whom came from other institutions. The follow-up period ranged between a minimum of 4.

ACUTE DESTRUCTIVE HIP SEPTIC ARTHRITIS IN A YOUNG ADULT PATIENT: CASE REPORT (v2).

The Authors describe a case of rapid right hip destructive septic arthritis in a 50-year-old male patient with no previous noteworthy medical history. Patient arrived to our attention following a one week history of right hip pain. Laboratory markers and imaging at presentation were negative.

Distal femur complex fractures in elderly patients treated with megaprosthesis: Results in a case series of 11 patients.

Background: Surgical treatment of complex fractures of the distal femur in the elderly is controversial. Osteoporosis and pre-existent osteoarthritis are common comorbidities in the elderly which add to the need for early walking and rapid restoration of function and also pose significant obstacles to achievement of satisfactory results with standard fixation techniques. Recently, several authors have suggested that primary arthroplasty could be a viable alternative option to standard fixation techniques in selected patients with complex distal femur fractures.

Revision arthroplasty with megaprosthesis after Girdlestone procedure for periprosthetic joint infection as an option in massive acetabular and femoral bone defects.

Background And Aim: To evaluate the clinical outcomes of patients treated with Girdlestone procedure (GP) or excision arthroplasty (EA) for periprosthetic infection with massive bone defects and undergoing revision arthroplasty.

Methods: All patients treated with EA or GP for hip periprosthetic infection between 2014 and 2017 and sustaining revision arthroplasty (RA) were included in the study. Patients with less than 24 months of follow-up or less than 12 months between GP or EA and RA were excluded.

Cortical signatures of wakeful somatosensory processing.

Sensory inputs carry critical information for the survival of an organism. In mice, tactile information conveyed by the whiskers is of high behavioural relevance, and is broadcasted across cortical areas beyond the primary somatosensory cortex. Mesoscopic voltage sensitive dye imaging (VSDI) of cortical population response to whisker stimulations has shown that seemingly 'simple' sensory stimuli can have extended impact on cortical circuit dynamics.

Changes in white matter in mice resulting from low-frequency brain stimulation.

Recent reports have begun to elucidate mechanisms by which learning and experience produce white matter changes in the brain. We previously reported changes in white matter surrounding the anterior cingulate cortex in humans after 2-4 weeks of meditation training. We further found that low-frequency optogenetic stimulation of the anterior cingulate in mice increased time spent in the light in a light/dark box paradigm, suggesting decreased anxiety similar to what is observed following meditation training.

Rhythmic brain stimulation reduces anxiety-related behavior in a mouse model based on meditation training.

Meditation training induces changes at both the behavioral and neural levels. A month of meditation training can reduce self-reported anxiety and other dimensions of negative affect. It also can change white matter as measured by diffusion tensor imaging and increase resting-state midline frontal theta activity.

Visual Processing: Hungry Like the Mouse.

In this issue of Neuron, Burgess et al. (2016) explore how motivational state interacts with visual processing, by examining hunger modulation of food-associated visual responses in postrhinal cortical neurons and their inputs from amygdala.

White matter and reaction time: Reply to commentaries.

We appreciate the many comments we received on our discussion paper and believe that they reflect a recognition of the importance of this topic worldwide. We point out in this reply that there appears to be a confusion between the role of oscillations in creating white matter and other functions of oscillations in communicating between neural areas during task performance or at rest. We also discuss some mechanisms other than the enhancement of white matter that must influence reaction time.

How changes in white matter might underlie improved reaction time due to practice.

Why does training on a task reduce the reaction time for performing it? New research points to changes in white matter pathways as one likely mechanism. These pathways connect remote brain areas involved in performing the task. Genetic variations may be involved in individual differences in the extent of this improvement.

Large-scale imaging of cortical dynamics during sensory perception and behavior.

Sensory-driven behaviors engage a cascade of cortical regions to process sensory input and generate motor output. To investigate the temporal dynamics of neural activity at this global scale, we have improved and integrated tools to perform functional imaging across large areas of cortex using a transgenic mouse expressing the genetically encoded calcium sensor GCaMP6s, together with a head-fixed visual discrimination behavior. This technique allows imaging of activity across the dorsal surface of cortex, with spatial resolution adequate to detect differential activity in local regions at least as small as 100 μm.

Brief cognitive training interventions in young adulthood promote long-term resilience to drug-seeking behavior.

Environmental stress and deprivation increase vulnerability to substance use disorders in humans and promote drug-seeking behavior in animal models. In contrast, experiences of mastery and stability may shape neural circuitry in ways that build resilience to future challenges. Cognitive training offers a potential intervention for reducing vulnerability in the face of environmental stress or deprivation.

Cocaine-induced structural plasticity in frontal cortex correlates with conditioned place preference.

Contextual cues associated with previous drug exposure can trigger drug craving and seeking, and form a substantial obstacle in substance use recovery. Using in vivo imaging in mice, we found that cocaine administration induced a rapid increase in the formation and accumulation of new dendritic spines, and that measures of new persistent spine gain correlated with cocaine conditioned place preference. Our data suggest that new persistent spine formation in the frontal cortex may be involved in stimulant-related learning driving appetitive behavior.

Diverse visual features encoded in mouse lateral geniculate nucleus.

The thalamus is crucial in determining the sensory information conveyed to cortex. In the visual system, the thalamic lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) is generally thought to encode simple center-surround receptive fields, which are combined into more sophisticated features in cortex, such as orientation and direction selectivity. However, recent evidence suggests that a more diverse set of retinal ganglion cells projects to the LGN.

Ultrafiltration characteristics of glucose polymers with low polydispersity.

Background: Icodextrin, a glucose polymer with a polydispersity [ratio of weight-average molecular weight (Mw) to number-average molecular weight] of approximately 2.6, has been shown, compared with glucose, to provide superior ultrafiltration (UF) efficiency [ratio of UF to carbohydrate (CHO) absorbed] when used as an osmotic agent during a long-dwell peritoneal dialysis exchange. In an experimental rabbit model, we evaluated the effect of Mw on the UF and UF efficiency of glucose polymers with low polydispersity.

Developments in real-time radon monitoring at Stromboli volcano.

We present the results of one year of continuous radon monitoring at Stromboli volcano collected at two automated real-time stations. These were deployed on the NE flank (at 520 m a.s.

Identification of the GATA factor TRPS1 as a repressor of the osteocalcin promoter.

A proteomic analysis of proteins bound to the osteocalcin OSE2 sequence of the mouse osteocalcin promoter identified TRPS1 as a regulator of osteocalcin transcription. Mutations in the TRPS1 gene are responsible for human tricho-rhino-phalangeal syndrome, which is characterized by skeletal and craniofacial abnormalities. TRPS1 has been shown to bind regulatory promoter sequences containing GATA consensus binding sites and to repress transcription of genes involved in chondrocyte differentiation.

A role for the cyclin box in the ubiquitin-mediated degradation of cyclin G1.

Cyclin G1 was identified as a transcriptional target of p53 that encodes a protein with strong homology to the cyclin family of cell cycle regulators. We show that either ectopically expressed or endogenous cyclin G1 protein is very unstable, undergoes modification with ubiquitin, and is likely degraded by the proteasome. Ectopic cyclin G1 protein stability is increased by cyclin box mutation or by association with inactive cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) subunits, suggesting that a function of cyclin G1 as a CDK regulator may be required for its rapid turnover.

Cornichon regulates transport and secretion of TGFalpha-related proteins in metazoan cells.

Cornichon proteins are structurally related transmembrane proteins that have been studied in and Drosophila and yeast. In Drosophila, Cornichon (Cni) is involved in embryo polarization by the TGFalpha-related Gurken. In yeast, the Cni-related Erv14 is required for axial budding.

Terminal osteoblast differentiation, mediated by runx2 and p27KIP1, is disrupted in osteosarcoma.

The molecular basis for the inverse relationship between differentiation and tumorigenesis is unknown. The function of runx2, a master regulator of osteoblast differentiation belonging to the runt family of tumor suppressor genes, is consistently disrupted in osteosarcoma cell lines. Ectopic expression of runx2 induces p27KIP1, thereby inhibiting the activity of S-phase cyclin complexes and leading to the dephosphorylation of the retinoblastoma tumor suppressor protein (pRb) and a G1 cell cycle arrest.