Molecular composition of skeletal muscle in infants and adults: a comparative proteomic and transcriptomic study.

To gain a deeper understanding of skeletal muscle function in younger age and aging in elderly, identification of molecular signatures regulating these functions under physiological conditions is needed. Although molecular studies of healthy muscle have been conducted on adults and older subjects, there is a lack of research on infant muscle in terms of combined morphological, transcriptomic and proteomic profiles. To address this gap of knowledge, we performed RNA sequencing (RNA-seq), tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), morphometric analysis and assays for mitochondrial maintenance in skeletal muscle biopsies from both, infants aged 4-28 months and adults aged 19-65 years.

Slaughtering processes impact microbial communities and antimicrobial resistance genes of pig carcasses.

Several steps in the abattoir can influence the presence of microbes and associated resistance genes (ARGs) on the animal carcasses used for further meat processing. We investigated how these processes influence the resistome-microbiome of groups of pigs with different on-farm antimicrobial exposure status, from the moment they entered the abattoir until the end of carcass processing. Using a targeted enrichment metagenomic approach, we identified 672 unique ARGs conferring resistance to 43 distinct AMR classes from pooled skin (N = 42) and carcass swabs (N = 63) collected sequentially before, during, and after the slaughter process and food safety interventions.

Synaptopodin-2 Isoforms Have Specific Binding Partners and Display Distinct, Muscle Cell Type-Specific Expression Patterns.

Synaptopodin-2 (SYNPO2) is a protein associated with the Z-disc in striated muscle cells. It interacts with α-actinin and filamin C, playing a role in Z-disc maintenance under stress by chaperone-assisted selective autophagy (CASA). In smooth muscle cells, SYNPO2 is a component of dense bodies.

Filamin-A-interacting protein 1 (FILIP1) is a dual compartment protein linking myofibrils and microtubules during myogenic differentiation and upon mechanical stress.

Variations in the gene encoding filamin-A-interacting protein 1 (FILIP1) were identified to be associated with a combination of neurological and muscular symptoms. While FILIP1 was shown to regulate motility of brain ventricular zone cells, a process important for corticogenesis, the function of the protein in muscle cells has been less well characterized. The expression of FILIP1 in regenerating muscle fibres predicted a role in early muscle differentiation.

A Biologic Surgical Implant in Complex Abdominal Wall Repair: 3-Year Follow-Up Results of a Multicentric Prospective Study.

Purpose: Despite the advancements in the reinforcement and closure techniques available, complex abdominal wall reconstruction (CAWR) remains a challenging surgical undertaking with considerable risk of postoperative complications. Biological meshes were developed that may help to complement standard closure techniques and offer an alternative to synthetic meshes, which carry significant risks with their use in complex cases.

Patients And Methods: A total of 114 patients underwent surgical treatment for CAWR with a Permacol™ (a biologic surgical implant).

Overexpression of human BAG3 in mice causes restrictive cardiomyopathy.

An amino acid exchange (P209L) in the HSPB8 binding site of the human co-chaperone BAG3 gives rise to severe childhood cardiomyopathy. To phenocopy the disease in mice and gain insight into its mechanisms, we generated humanized transgenic mouse models. Expression of human BAG3-eGFP in mice caused Z-disc disintegration and formation of protein aggregates.

The p.Ala2430Val mutation in filamin C causes a "hypertrophic myofibrillar cardiomyopathy".

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) often leads to heart failure. Mutations in sarcomeric proteins are most frequently the cause of HCM but in many patients the gene defect is not known. Here we report on a young man who was diagnosed with HCM shortly after birth.

Homozygous expression of the myofibrillar myopathy-associated p.W2710X filamin C variant reveals major pathomechanisms of sarcomeric lesion formation.

Filamin C (FLNc) is mainly expressed in striated muscle cells where it localizes to Z-discs, myotendinous junctions and intercalated discs. Recent studies have revealed numerous mutations in the FLNC gene causing familial and sporadic myopathies and cardiomyopathies with marked clinical variability. The most frequent myopathic mutation, p.

[Patient satisfaction after thyroidectomy - the width of the scar is more important than the length].

Objective:  To avoid a scar on the neck, alternative methods of thyroidectomy have been developed. The aim of our study was to determine the significance of the scar and the factors influencing satisfaction after classical thyroidectomy in the long term.

Material And Methods:  228 patients who underwent partial or total thyroidectomy for benign thyroid disease between 2001 and 2014 participated in a telephone interview.

Zinc oxide nanoparticle toxicity in embryonic zebrafish: Mitigation with different natural organic matter.

Exposure experiments were conducted to evaluate the influence of dissolved organic matter (DOM) on the toxicity of ZnO-NPs (10-30 nm) and dissolved Zn at sub-lethal doses (50 and 5 ppm, respectively) to zebrafish (Danio rerio). Humic acid, alginic acid, bovine serum albumin and various natural DOM isolated from rivers as the Milwaukee River-WI (NOMW), Yukon River-AK (NOMA) and Suwannee River-GA DOM (NOMS) were used to represent humic substances (HA), carbohydrates (CHO), proteins (PTN), and natural organic matter (NOM), respectively. Initial experiments were carried out to confirm the toxic effect of ZnO-NPs at 50 ppm, followed by mitigation experiments with different types and concentrations of DOM (0.

[Surgical treatment of colorectal carcinoma in the elderly].

Colorectal carcinoma is one of the most frequent tumor entities worldwide. The treatment of elderly and mostly polymorbid patients is an outstanding challenge in view of the demographic change with a continuously aging community. Due to the demographic changes the numbers of elderly (>65 years) and very old (≥80 years) patients are steadily increasing in surgical cohorts.

Sarcomeric lesions and remodeling proximal to intercalated disks in overload-induced cardiac hypertrophy.

Pressure overload induces cardiac remodeling involving both the contractile machinery and intercalated disks (IDs). Filamin C (FlnC) and Xin actin-binding repeat-containing proteins (XIRPs) are multi-adapters localizing in IDs of higher vertebrates. Knockout of the gene encoding Xin (Xirp1) in mice leads to a mild cardiac phenotype with ID mislocalization.

Postsplinting x-rays of nondisplaced hand, wrist, ankle, and foot fractures are unnecessary.

Background: Acute nondisplaced fractures (NDFs) are common in the emergency department (ED), and providers often obtain postsplinting x-rays to identify displacement that potentially occurs during the splinting process. Our objectives are to (1) determine how often x-rays are obtained after splinting of NDFs, (2) identify if postsplinting x-rays change treatment management in the ED, and (3) identify if there are medical complications at follow-up.

Methods: A retrospective chart review of ED patients who were discharged with hand, wrist, ankle, or foot fractures was conducted to determine patients with definite NDFs that were verified by a radiologist, underwent splinting, and either had postsplint x-rays or not.

Single-Layer Continuous Versus Double-Layer Continuous Suture in Colonic Anastomoses-a Randomized Multicentre Trial (ANATECH Trial).

Purpose: Apart from stapling methods, single- or double-layer continuous hand sutures are established techniques for colonic anastomoses. It is unclear which hand suture technique has superior anastomotic safety. This randomized trial evaluated the incidence of postoperative complications depending on anastomosis technique.

Myofibrillar instability exacerbated by acute exercise in filaminopathy.

Filamin C (FLNC) mutations in humans cause myofibrillar myopathy (MFM) and cardiomyopathy, characterized by protein aggregation and myofibrillar degeneration. We generated the first patient-mimicking knock-in mouse harbouring the most common disease-causing filamin C mutation (p.W2710X).

Acute Cholecystitis.

Background: The treatment of acute cholecystitis has been controversially discussed in the literature as there are no high-evidence-level data yet for determining the optimal point in time for surgical intervention. So far, the laparoscopic removal of the gallbladder within 72 h has been the most preferred approach in acute cholecystitis.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review by including randomized trials of early laparoscopic cholecystectomy for acute cholecystitis.

Anal sphincter function after total mesorectal excision is comparable to that of healthy subjects: results of a matched pair analysis.

Aim: The aim of this paper was to compare healthy subjects and patients after total mesorectal excision concerning anal resting/squeeze pressure and surface-electromyography of the sphincter.

Methods: Forty patients (9 female/31 male) after total mesorectal excision due to low or middle rectal cancer were compared to a sex-, age- and BMI-matched group of healthy volunteers by means of anorectal pull-through manometry using a microtip-transducer system and by means of endoanal surface electromyography using a bipolar plug electrode.

Results: Resting pressure (59.

Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma in a transplant liver--selective internal radiation therapy followed by right hemihepatectomy: report of a case.

Intra- or extrahepatic cholangiocarcinomas are the second most common primary liver malignancies behind hepatocellular carcinoma. Whereas the incidence for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma is rising, the occurrence of extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma is trending downwards. The treatment of choice for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma remains liver resection.

The role of cryosurgery in the treatment of colorectal liver metastases: a matched-pair analysis of cryotherapy vs. liver resection.

Background/aims: Although liver resection is the gold standard for patients with colorectal liver metastases (CRLM), only 15-20% of the patients are candidates for surgery. As ablative therapies may extend this low rate of curative option, the aim of the present study was to analyze the impact of cryosurgery (cryo) on survival of patients with CRLM compared to liver resection (Phx).

Methodology: In a matched-pair analysis, patients undergoing Phx or cryo were compared (n = 39 each).

Liver resections of isolated liver metastasis in breast cancer: results and possible prognostic factors.

Background. Breast cancer liver metastasis is a hematogenous spread of the primary tumour. It can, however, be the expression of an isolated recurrence.