Unilateral hypertrophy of the tensor fascia lata muscle: a need to revisit and review.

Background: Unilateral hypertrophy of the tensor fascia lata muscle is a rare phenomenon with a variety of aetiological causes. It may mimic soft tissue sarcoma, which can lead to misdiagnosis and unnecessary invasive procedures.

Methods: A retrospective review was conducted of all adult patients referred to a statewide sarcoma service lata between January 2010 to June 2023 with confirmed unilateral hypertrophy of the tensor fascia.

What Factors Are Associated With Stem Breakage in Distal Femoral Endoprosthetic Replacements Undertaken for Primary Bone Tumors?

Background: The advantages of distal femoral replacement prostheses for reconstructions after tumors are well known; one such implant, the Global Modular Replacement System (GMRS), has been widely used since 2003. Although implant breakage has been reported, the frequency of this event has varied across different studies.

Questions/purposes: (1) What percentage of patients who underwent distal femur resection and replacement using the GMRS for primary bone tumors at one center experienced stem breakage? (2) At what timepoints did these breakages occur, and what factors were common among the stems that broke?

Methods: We performed a retrospective study of all patients who underwent distal femur resection and replacement using the GMRS for a diagnosis of primary bone sarcoma by the Queensland Bone and Soft-tissue Tumor service from 2003 to 2020 who had a minimum of 2 years of follow-up.

Endoprosthetic reconstruction for lower extremity soft tissue sarcomas with bone involvement.

Background And Objectives: Bone resection and endoprosthetic reconstruction (EPR) in the setting of soft tissue sarcoma (STS) management is rare and incurs unique challenges. We aim to report on the surgical and oncological outcomes of this relatively previously undocumented cohort.

Methods: This is a single-center retrospective review of prospectively collected data for patients who required EPRs following resection of STSs of the lower extremity.

A Size-Based Criteria for Flap Reconstruction After Thigh-Adductor, Soft-Tissue Sarcoma Resection.

Background: Resection of soft-tissue sarcomas from the adductor compartment is associated with significant complications. Free/pedicled flaps often are used for wound closure, but their effect on healing is unclear. We compared wound complications, oncologic, and functional outcomes for patients undergoing flap reconstruction or primary closure following resection of adductor sarcomas.

The eTRANSAFE Project on Translational Safety Assessment through Integrative Knowledge Management: Achievements and Perspectives.

eTRANSAFE is a research project funded within the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI), which aims at developing integrated databases and computational tools (the eTRANSAFE ToxHub) that support the translational safety assessment of new drugs by using legacy data provided by the pharmaceutical companies that participate in the project. The project objectives include the development of databases containing preclinical and clinical data, computational systems for translational analysis including tools for data query, analysis and visualization, as well as computational models to explain and predict drug safety events.

Selective Affimers Recognise the BCL-2 Family Proteins BCL-x and MCL-1 through Noncanonical Structural Motifs*.

The BCL-2 family is a challenging group of proteins to target selectively due to sequence and structural homologies across the family. Selective ligands for the BCL-2 family regulators of apoptosis are useful as probes to understand cell biology and apoptotic signalling pathways, and as starting points for inhibitor design. We have used phage display to isolate Affimer reagents (non-antibody-binding proteins based on a conserved scaffold) to identify ligands for MCL-1, BCL-x , BCL-2, BAK and BAX, then used multiple biophysical characterisation methods to probe the interactions.

Constrained or unconstrained shoulder replacement for musculoskeletal tumor resections?

Background: Many options exist for reconstructing the shoulder after large bony resections of the proximal humerus. One of the more widely used is endoprosthetic replacement. Proximal migration of unconstrained hemiarthroplasty articulations may cause difficulties particularly in the setting of loss of the rotator cuff and/or deltoid musculature.

Is an Acetabular Cage and Cement Fixation Sufficiently Durable for the Treatment of Destructive Acetabular Metastases?

Background: Destructive bony acetabular metastases cause pain, pathological fractures, and loss of mobility. Although multiple fixation options are available, we have favored a rigid stainless steel partial pelvic cage for acetabular fixation in these patients; however, little is known about the durability of this approach. QUESTION/PURPOSES: (1) How common was loss of fixation in a small series of metastatic acetabular defects treated with an acetabular cage and cemented total hip replacement? (2) What is the implant survival free from reoperation or revision at 2 and 4 years using a competing-risks survivorship estimator in patients thus treated? (3) What complications were associated with the treatment? (4) What level of postoperative mobility was achieved?

Methods: Between 2006 and 2017, we treated all acetabular metastases that needed surgical intervention, not amenable to conventional cemented THA alone with our single technique of acetabular partial pelvic cage and cemented total hip replacement.

Hydrocarbon constrained peptides - understanding preorganisation and binding affinity.

The development of constrained peptides represents an emerging strategy to generate peptide based probes and hits for drug-discovery that address challenging protein-protein interactions (PPIs). In this manuscript we report on the use of a novel α-alkenylglycine derived amino acid to synthesise hydrocarbon constrained BH3-family sequences (BIM and BID). Our biophysical and structural analyses illustrate that whilst the introduction of the constraint increases the population of the bioactive α-helical conformation of the peptide in solution, it does not enhance the inhibitory potency against pro-apoptotic Bcl-x and Mcl-1 PPIs.

Probing Protein Surfaces: QSAR Analysis with Helix Mimetics.

α-Helix-mediated protein-protein interactions (PPIs) are important targets for small-molecule inhibition; however, generic approaches to inhibitor design are in their infancy and would benefit from QSAR analyses to rationalise the noncovalent basis of molecular recognition by designed ligands. Using a helix mimetic based on an oligoamide scaffold, we have exploited the power of a modular synthesis to access compounds that can readily be used to understand the noncovalent determinants of hDM2 recognition by this series of cell-active p53/hDM2 inhibitors.

Telehealth in paediatric orthopaedic surgery in Queensland: a 10-year review.

Background: Telemedicine is a patient consultation method commonly available to patients in rural and remote areas throughout Australia. Its use in paediatric orthopaedics has been rarely described. The primary aim of this study was to identify the patient cohort accessing the orthopaedic paediatric telehealth service through the Royal Children's Hospital Queensland, so as to better allocate this resource.

Neuronal nicotinic receptor agonists improve gait and balance in olivocerebellar ataxia.

Clinical studies have reported that the nicotinic receptor agonist varenicline improves balance and coordination in patients with several types of ataxia, but confirmation in an animal model has not been demonstrated. This study investigated whether varenicline and nicotine could attenuate the ataxia induced in rats following destruction of the olivocerebellar pathway by the neurotoxin 3-acetylpyridine (3-AP). The administration of 3-AP (70 mg/kg followed by 300 mg niacinamide/kg; i.

Nicotine does not reduce blood flow to healthy bone in rats.

Given the increased incidence of orthopedic complications among smokers, we tested the null hypothesis that nicotine, the most vasoactive substance in cigarettes, does not reduce blood flow to long bones. Nicotine was administered to adult rats at a rate of 2.4 or 3.

Impaired spatial working memory and altered choline acetyltransferase (CHAT) immunoreactivity and nicotinic receptor binding in rats exposed to intermittent hypoxia during sleep.

Exposure to intermittent hypoxia (IH), such as occurs in sleep-disordered breathing (SDB), is associated with cognitive impairment, neurodegeneration, oxidative stress, and inflammatory responses within rodent brain regions such as the basal forebrain. In this region, damage to cholinergic neurons correlates with working memory deficits in a number of neurodegenerative disorders, suggesting that degeneration of cholinergic systems may also contribute to the working memory impairments observed after IH exposures. We therefore examined basal forebrain choline acetyltransferase (CHAT) immunohistochemistry, nicotinic receptor binding in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), and working memory, in male rats tested on a delayed matching to place (DMP) task in the water maze following exposure to either room air (RA) or intermittent hypoxia (IH; alternating 90s epochs of 21% and 10% O(2) during sleep).

How much may I eat? Calorie estimates based upon energy expenditure prediction equations.

How much may I eat? Most healthcare workers, when asked this question, have insufficient knowledge to educate their patients on a healthy energy intake level. In this review we examine the available methods for estimating adult energy requirements with a focus on the newly developed National Academy of Sciences/Institute of Medicine (NAS/IOM) doubly-labelled water total energy expenditure (TEE) prediction equations. An overview is first provided of the traditional factorial method of estimating energy requirements.

Reduced alpha adrenergic mediated contraction of renal preglomerular blood vessels as a function of gender and aging.

As human males age, a decline in baroreflex-mediated elevation of blood pressure occurs due, at least in part, to a reduction in alpha-1 adrenergic vasoconstrictor function. Alpha adrenergic constriction is mediated by guanosine triphosphate binding Protein (G Protein) coupled signaling pathways. Alpha-1 A/C, B, and D adrenergic receptor expressions, measured by GeneChip array, are not reduced during aging in renal blood vessels of male or female rats.

Alpha 1 adrenergic receptor control of renal blood vessels during aging.

Aging humans and rats have a reduced renal vascular constriction response to stress, change in posture, or exercise. In this study, renal interlobar arteries from 9- (intermediate age) to 15-month-old (aging) male Wistar rats constricted less to alpha-adrenergic agonists than those of 4-month-old (young adult) rats. The reduced contraction to A61603 (alpha 1 A agonist) was similar to that to norepinephrine and phenylephrine.

Appropriateness of care: the case for changing the focus of "quality" measurement.

"Quality" of care has become one of the main foci of the American health care system during the last 20 years. As costs escalated in all areas of health care, the purchasers and consumers of health care have begun to demand accountability for the products they purchase. The initial focus of the system was "quality of care.

Short-term distribution of nicotine in the rat lung.

Nicotine is a dibasic amine with a pK(a) of 8.0. At physiological pH roughly 1/4 of the compound is nonionized and able to cross membranes, most notably the alveolar membranes of the lung.

Using growth models to relate acquisition of nicotine self-administration to break point and nicotinic receptor binding.

Growth modeling can be used to characterize individual and mean acquisition trajectories for drug self-administration. Individual characteristics can also be incorporated into the growth model, providing a powerful tool for investigating the relationship between acquisition and other behavioral and biological measures. We illustrate the utility of this method by examining the relationship between acquisition of nicotine self-administration and (1) break point on a progressive ratio schedule of reinforcement, and (2) the density of brain nicotinic receptors (B(max)).

Subsets of acetylcholine-stimulated 86Rb+ efflux and [125I]-epibatidine binding sites in C57BL/6 mouse brain are differentially affected by chronic nicotine treatment.

Nicotinic cholinergic receptor (nAChR) sites that bind nicotine with high affinity (likely alpha4beta2-nAChR) increase following chronic nicotine treatment. Effects of chronic treatment on other nAChR binding sites and functional responses of nAChRs are less well studied. Therefore, C57BL/6 mice were intravenously infused for 10 days with saline or nicotine (five doses, 0.

Nicotinic activation of mesolimbic neurons assessed by rubidium efflux in rat accumbens and ventral tegmentum.

Dopaminergic mesolimbic neurons, with cell bodies in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) projecting to the nucleus accumbens (NAc), have been shown to be involved in the development of drug dependence. The application of nicotine to either the VTA or NAc produces an increase in dopamine release; however, the positive reinforcement produced by the systemic injection of nicotine is primarily due to stimulation of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) in the VTA. Because the brain levels of nicotine would likely be the same in both brain areas, the nAChRs in the NAc may be less sensitive than those in the VTA.

Pituitary suppression in ultrasound-monitored frozen embryo replacement cycles. A randomised study.

Background: This study was designed to assess the value of using a gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist prior to exogenous steroid supplementation for endometrial preparation in frozen-thawed embryo replacement (FER) cycles.

Methods: A prospective randomized trial of 234 patients undergoing FER cycles was conducted. The study population was randomly divided into two groups according to a computer-generated list.

The Professional Nursing Association's role in patient safety.

The purpose of this article is to describe the documents and activities of nursing's multipurpose, professional nursing association, the American Nurses Association, that promote patient safety. The roles of the professional nursing association in promoting the safety of the recipient of nursing care are numerous. These roles include developing and disseminating foundation documents, lobbying for legislation and regulations that protect and serve users of nursing services, and advocating for patients and issues which affect a nurse's ability to deliver safe care.