Attending a social event and consuming alcohol is associated with changes in serum microRNA: a before and after study in healthy adults.

Purpose: Circulating microRNAs represent a reservoir for biomarker discovery. Our objective was to profile the change in human circulating microRNA associated with recreational use of alcohol at a social event.

Material And Methods: Blood was collected from healthy volunteers (N = 16) before and after recreational consumption of alcohol (ethanol).

Investigation of index finger triggering force using a cadaver experiment: Effects of trigger grip span, contact location, and internal tendon force.

A cadaver study was conducted to investigate the effects of triggering conditions (trigger grip span, contact location, and internal tendon force) on index finger triggering force and the force efficiency of involved tendons. Eight right human cadaveric hands were employed, and a motion simulator was built to secure and control the specimens. Index finger triggering forces were investigated as a function of different internal tendon forces (flexor digitorum profundus + flexor digitorum superficialis = 40, 70, and 100 N), trigger grip spans (40, 50, and 60 mm), and contact locations between the index finger and a trigger.

Ethanol consumption produces a small increase in circulating miR-122 in healthy individuals.

Introduction: MicroRNA 122 (miR-122) is a new circulating biomarker for liver injury, which increases earlier than conventional markers in patients with acetaminophen hepatotoxicity. However, as co-ingestion of ethanol is common with drug overdose, a confounding effect of acute ethanol consumption on serum miR-122 must be examined.

Methods: Blood was collected from healthy volunteers before and after recreational consumption of ethanol.

Femoral fixation strength following soft-tissue posterolateral corner reconstruction using fibular-based technique: Biomechanical analysis of four techniques in normal and low-density synthetic bone.

Background: Optimal femoral fixation of soft-tissue grafts has been described for anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. Posterolateral corner reconstruction differs from ACL reconstruction in two ways: (a) soft-tissue fixation into the femur requires two tails and (b) the line of force is different. Our purpose was to determine the optimal femoral fixation of soft-tissue grafts during posterolateral corner reconstructions.

In vivo anti-tumor efficacy of afucosylated anti-CS1 monoclonal antibody produced in glycoengineered Pichia pastoris.

Monoclonal antibody (mAb) therapy has been successfully used for the treatment of B-cell lymphomas and is currently extended for the treatment of multiple myeloma (MM). New developments in MM therapeutics have achieved significant survival gains in patients but the disease still remains incurable. Elotuzumab (HuLuc63), an anti-CS1 monoclonal IgG1 antibody, is believed to induce anti-tumor activity and MM cytotoxicity through antibody dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) and inhibition of MM cell adhesion to bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs).

Inactivation of a GAL4-like transcription factor improves cell fitness and product yield in glycoengineered Pichia pastoris strains.

With a completely reengineered and humanized glycosylation pathway, glycoengineered Pichia pastoris has emerged as a promising production host for the manufacture of therapeutic glycoproteins. However, the extensive genetic modifications have also negatively affected the overall fitness levels of the glycoengineered host cells. To make glycoengineered Pichia strains more compatible with a scalable industrial fermentation process, we sought to identify genetic solutions to broadly improve cell robustness during fermentation.

Segmental motion of forefoot and hindfoot as a diagnostic tool.

Segmental motions derived from non-invasive motion analysis are being used to investigate the intrinsic functional behavior of the foot and ankle in health and disease. The goal of this research was to examine the ability of a generic segmented model of the foot to capture and differentiate changes in internal skeletal kinematics due to neuromuscular disease and/or trauma. A robotic apparatus that reproduces the kinematics and kinetics of gait in cadaver lower extremities was employed to produce motion under normal and aberrant neuromuscular activation patterns of tibialis posterior and/or tibialis anterior.

Midtarsal joint locking: new perspectives on an old paradigm.

We investigated the existence of a midtarsal joint locking mechanism using cadaveric simulations of normal gait. Previous descriptions of this phenomenon led us to hypothesize that non-coupled rotations of the calcaneocuboid and talonavicular (i.e.

Production of sialylated O-linked glycans in Pichia pastoris.

The methylotrophic yeast, Pichia pastoris, is an important organism used for the production of therapeutic proteins. Previously, we have reported the glycoengineering of this organism to produce human-like N-linked glycans but up to now no one has addressed engineering the O-linked glycosylation pathway. Typically, O-linked glycans produced by wild-type P.

Partial sleep deprivation and energy balance in adults: an emerging issue for consideration by dietetics practitioners.

During the past 30 years, rates of partial sleep deprivation and obesity have increased in the United States. Evidence linking partial sleep deprivation, defined as sleeping <6 hours per night, to energy imbalance is relevant to weight gain prevention and weight loss promotion. With a majority of Americans overweight or obese, weight loss is a recommended strategy for reducing comorbid conditions.

Binding of DC-SIGN to glycoproteins expressed in glycoengineered Pichia pastoris.

Previous studies have shown that glycoproteins expressed in wild-type Pichia pastoris bind to Dendritic cell-SIGN (DC-Specific Intercellular adhesion molecule-3 Grabbing Nonintegrin), a mannose-binding receptor found on dendritic cells in peripheral tissues which is involved in antigen presentation and the initiation of an immune response. However, the binding of DC-SIGN to glycoproteins purified from P. pastoris strains engineered to express humanized N- and O-linked glycans has not been tested to date.

Optimization of erythropoietin production with controlled glycosylation-PEGylated erythropoietin produced in glycoengineered Pichia pastoris.

Pichia pastoris is a methylotropic yeast that has gained great importance as an organism for protein expression in recent years. Here, we report the expression of recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO) in glycoengineered P. pastoris.

The eldercare factory.

Rapid advances in service robotics together with dramatic shifts in population demographics have led to the notion that technology may be the answer to our eldercare problems. Robots are being developed for feeding, washing, lifting, carrying and mobilising the elderly as well as monitoring their health. They are also being proposed as a substitute for companionship.

Enhanced osteoclastic resorption and responsiveness to mechanical load in gap junction deficient bone.

Emerging evidence suggests that connexin mediated gap junctional intercellular communication contributes to many aspects of bone biology including bone development, maintenance of bone homeostasis and responsiveness of bone cells to diverse extracellular signals. Deletion of connexin 43, the predominant gap junction protein in bone, is embryonic lethal making it challenging to examine the role of connexin 43 in bone in vivo. However, transgenic murine models in which only osteocytes and osteoblasts are deficient in connexin 43, and which are fully viable, have recently been developed.

Elimination of β-mannose glycan structures in Pichia pastoris.

The methylotrophic yeast, Pichia pastoris, is an important organism used for the production of therapeutic proteins. However, the presence of fungal-like glycans, such as those containing β-mannose (Man) linkages, can elicit an immune response or bind to Man receptors, thus reducing their efficacy. Recent studies have confirmed that P.

Mechanical characteristics of a novel posterior-step prosthesis for biconcave glenoid defects.

Background: Posterior glenoid defects increase the risk of glenoid component loosening after total shoulder arthroplasty (TSA). The goal of this work was to evaluate the mechanical performance of a novel posterior-step glenoid prosthesis, designed to compensate for biconcave (type B2) glenoid defects. Two prototypes ("Poly-step" and "Ti-step") were constructed by attaching polyethylene or titanium step-blocks onto standard (STD) glenoid prostheses.

High-throughput screening and selection of yeast cell lines expressing monoclonal antibodies.

The methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris has recently been engineered to express therapeutic glycoproteins with uniform human N-glycans at high titers. In contrast to the current art where producing therapeutic proteins in mammalian cell lines yields a final product with heterogeneous N-glycans, proteins expressed in glycoengineered P. pastoris can be designed to carry a specific, preselected glycoform.

A biomechanical study of posterior glenoid bone loss and humeral head translation.

Background: Results of shoulder arthroplasty have been reported to be inferior with posterior glenoid wear and accompanying subluxation of the humeral head. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of posterior glenoid wear on posterior subluxation of the humeral head.

Material And Methods: A custom loading device was used to simulate physiologic loading conditions in 8 cadaver shoulders with the humerus positioned at neutral, forward flexion, and extension.

A high-throughput purification of monoclonal antibodies from glycoengineered Pichia pastoris.

Glycoengineered Pichia pastoris provides a unique platform for screening monoclonal antibody (mAb) leads and high expressing strains. A simple, economic, and high-throughput purification for mAb from P. pastoris fermentation has been developed that can be easily operated in various commercially available liquid handlers.