Estimating the collapse of Afghanistan's economy using nightlights data.

The Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021 is associated with a rapid collapse of the Afghan economy. However, assessing the scale of this collapse is proving difficult as official data are scarce. To complement qualitative measures obtained through rapid surveys of the population, we employ monthly nightlights data as a proxy measure for changes in economic activity.

Behavioral changes and dendritic remodeling of hippocampal neurons in adolescent alcohol-treated rats.

Earlier, we and others have reported that alcohol exposure in adolescent rat impaired performance of a spatial memory task in the Morris water maze. The goal of the present study was to investigate the effects of acute adolescent alcohol treatment on the hippocampus-dependent (contextual fear conditioning) and hippocampus-independent (cued fear) memories. The study also looked at the structural changes in anterior CA1 hippocampal neurons in adolescent alcohol-treated rats.

Protein Expression and Bioinformatics Study of Granulosa Cells of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Expressed Under the Influence of DHEA.

Background: The reproductive system is heavily dependent on ovarian follicles, which are made up of germ cells (oocytes) and granulosa cells (GCs), including cumulus granulosa cells (CGCs) and mural granulosa cells (MGCs). Understanding their normal and steroid-induced functions is the key to understanding the pathophysiology of endocrinal diseases in women.

Objective: This study investigated the differentially expressed proteins by CGCs and MGCs of patients with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) and without subsequent exposure to dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) and functional differentiation.

Differential Gene Expression Analysis of Human Ovarian Follicular Cumulus and Mural Granulosa Cells Under the Influence of Insulin in IVF Ovulatory Women and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Patients Through Network Analysis.

Background: Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is a commonly occurring reproductive disorder among the reproductive-aged women. Its global occurrence varies based on diagnostic guidelines, ethnicities, and locations of concern. Insulin resistance (IR) is commonly observed around 65-70% of women diagnosed with PCOS, representing a prevalent association.

Free-Hand MIS TLIF without 3D Navigation-How to Achieve Low Radiation Exposure for Both Surgeon and Patient.

Background: Transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) is one of the most frequently performed spinal fusion techniques, and this minimally invasive (MIS) approach has advantages over the traditional open approach. A drawback is the higher radiation exposure for the surgeon when conventional fluoroscopy (2D-fluoroscopy) is used. While computer-assisted navigation (CAN) reduce the surgeon's radiation exposure, the patient's exposure is higher.

Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program: an overview for the pediatric radiologist.

In terms of number of beneficiaries, Medicaid is the single largest health insurance program in the US. Along with the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Medicaid covers nearly half of all births and provides health insurance to nearly half of the children in the country. This article provides a broad introduction to Medicaid and CHIP for the pediatric radiologist with a special focus on topics relevant to pediatric imaging and population health.

Patched 1 regulates Smoothened by controlling sterol binding to its extracellular cysteine-rich domain.

Smoothened (SMO) transduces the Hedgehog (Hh) signal across the plasma membrane in response to accessible cholesterol. Cholesterol binds SMO at two sites: one in the extracellular cysteine-rich domain (CRD) and a second in the transmembrane domain (TMD). How these two sterol-binding sites mediate SMO activation in response to the ligand Sonic Hedgehog (SHH) remains unknown.

Patched 1 reduces the accessibility of cholesterol in the outer leaflet of membranes.

A long-standing mystery in vertebrate Hedgehog signaling is how Patched 1 (PTCH1), the receptor for Hedgehog ligands, inhibits the activity of Smoothened, the protein that transmits the signal across the membrane. We previously proposed (Kinnebrew et al., 2019) that PTCH1 inhibits Smoothened by depleting accessible cholesterol from the ciliary membrane.

Bile acid biosynthesis in Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome bypassing cholesterol: Potential importance of pathway intermediates.

Bile acids are the end products of cholesterol metabolism secreted into bile. They are essential for the absorption of lipids and lipid soluble compounds from the intestine. Here we have identified a series of unusual Δ-unsaturated bile acids in plasma and urine of patients with Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome (SLOS), a defect in cholesterol biosynthesis resulting in elevated levels of 7-dehydrocholesterol (7-DHC), an immediate precursor of cholesterol.

Radiation Exposure to Scrub Nurse, Assistant Surgeon, and Anesthetist in Minimally Invasive Spinal Fusion Surgery Comparing 2D Conventional Fluoroscopy With 3D Fluoroscopy-based Navigation: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Study Design: A randomized controlled trial.

Objective: To compare the radiation exposure with the scrub nurse, assistant surgeon, and anesthetist during minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion using conventional 2-dimensional (2D) fluoroscopy or 3D fluoroscopy-based navigation.

Summary Of Background Data: Minimally invasive spinal fusion techniques are related to higher radiation exposures compared with open techniques.

Radiation Exposure in Minimally Invasive Lumbar Fusion Surgery: A Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing Conventional Fluoroscopy and 3D Fluoroscopy-based Navigation.

Study Design: Randomized controlled trial.

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the dosemetrically determined radiation exposure of surgeon and patient during minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (MIS TLIF) using conventional 2D fluoroscopy (FLUORO) or 3D fluoroscopy-based navigation (NAV).

Summary Of Background Data: MIS TLIF was shown to exhibit higher radiation exposures compared to open techniques.

Repeated unpredictable stress blunts alcohol-induced memory deficit in adolescent rat.

Objective: There exists a complex interaction between alcohol and stress on brain and behavior. Alcohol and stress are both known to affect memory. Whether stress and alcohol together can modulate memory functions in adolescent rats is not known.

How Safe Is Minimally Invasive Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion for Octogenarians?: A Perioperative Complication Analysis.

Background: Technical advances in minimally invasive spine surgery have reduced blood loss, access trauma, and postoperative length of stay. However, operating on the susceptible group of octogenarians still poses a dilemma because of a plethora of age-related comorbidities. The aim of this study was to investigate the safety of minimally invasive surgery (MIS) transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) in octogenarians.

Estrogen Modulates Ethanol-Induced Memory Deficit in Postpubertal Adolescent Rats.

Background: Our laboratory and others have reported that ethanol (EtOH) impairs hippocampus-associated memory formation in prepubertal adolescent rats. Acute alcohol exposure in humans produces a syndrome of memory loss ("blackouts") that is similar to impairments caused by hippocampal damage. The ability to form new long-term explicit memories is affected, but not short-term memory storage or recall of information from long-term storage.

Transcytosis of payloads that are non-covalently complexed to bispecific antibodies across the hCMEC/D3 blood-brain barrier model.

A transcellular shuttle system was generated for the delivery of non-covalently linked payloads across blood-brain barrier (BBB) endothelial cells. Transcytosis-enabling shuttles are composed of bispecific antibodies (bsAbs) that simultaneously bind transferrin receptor (TfR) and haptens such as digoxigenin or biocytinamide. Haptenylated payloads are attached to these vehicles via non-covalent hapten-antibody complexation.

G protein-coupled receptors control the sensitivity of cells to the morphogen Sonic Hedgehog.

The morphogen Sonic Hedgehog (SHH) patterns tissues during development by directing cell fates in a concentration-dependent manner. The SHH signal is transmitted across the membrane of target cells by the heptahelical transmembrane protein Smoothened (SMO), which activates the GLI family of transcription factors through a mechanism that is undefined in vertebrates. Using CRISPR-edited null alleles and small-molecule inhibitors, we systematically analyzed the epistatic interactions between SMO and three proteins implicated in SMO signaling: the heterotrimeric G protein subunit Gα, the G protein-coupled receptor kinase 2 (GRK2), and the Gα-coupled receptor GPR161.

Incidental Durotomy in Open Versus Tubular Revision Microdiscectomy: A Retrospective Controlled Study on Incidence, Management, and Outcome.

Study Design: Retrospective case-control study.

Objective: To compare the incidence, management, and outcome of incidental durotomy in revision microdiscectomy with open and minimal-access surgery.

Summary Of Background Data: Incidental durotomy occurs with a variable incidence of 3%-27% in spine surgery.

Comparative Study of C-Arms for Intraoperative 3-dimensional Imaging and Navigation in Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery Part II: Radiation Exposure.

Study Design: A radiation exposure study in vitro.

Objective: This study aimed to compare the radiation exposure of 2 different 3-dimensional (3D) C-arm devices on an anthropomorphic phantom.

Summary Of Background Data: Minimally invasive pedicle screw placement requires intraoperative imaging techniques for visualization of the unexposed spine.

Comparative Study of C-arms for Intraoperative 3-dimensional Imaging and Navigation in Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery Part I: Applicability and Image Quality.

Study Design: This was a retrospective analysis.

Objective: This study compares 2 different 3-dimensional (3D) C-arm devices for intraoperative imaging and navigation with regard to clinical applicability and image quality.

Summary Of Background Data: Minimally invasive spine surgery requires intraoperative imaging techniques to adequately visualize the unexposed spine.

Ethanol alters N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor regulation in the hippocampus of adolescent rats.

Our laboratory and others have shown that ethanol disrupts hippocampus-associated memory formation in adolescent rats, but the signaling pathway involved remains largely unknown. Phosphorylation of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor, particularly the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor subunit 2B (NR2B), has been implicated in several ethanol effects and in memory formation. The present study investigated the effects of repeated ethanol exposure on the phosphorylation of the NR2B subunit and src protein in the hippocampus of adolescent rats.

Production, characterization, and assessment of a stable analog of the response regulator CheY-phosphate from Thermotoga maritima.

Phosphorylation of CheY promotes association with the flagellar motor and ultimately controls the directional bias of the motor. However, biochemical studies of activated CheY-phosphate have been challenging due to the rapid hydrolysis of the aspartyl-phosphate in vitro. An inert analog of Tm CheY-phosphate, phosphono-CheY, was synthesized by chemical modification and purified by cation-exchange chromatography.

Co-Folding of a FliF-FliG Split Domain Forms the Basis of the MS:C Ring Interface within the Bacterial Flagellar Motor.

The interface between the membrane (MS) and cytoplasmic (C) rings of the bacterial flagellar motor couples torque generation to rotation within the membrane. The structure of the C-terminal helices of the integral membrane protein FliF (FliF) bound to the N terminal domain of the switch complex protein FliG (FliG) reveals that FliG folds around FliF to produce a topology that closely resembles both the middle and C-terminal domains of FliG. The interface is consistent with solution-state nuclear magnetic resonance, small-angle X-ray scattering, in vivo interaction studies, and cellular motility assays.

Cholesterol activates the G-protein coupled receptor Smoothened to promote Hedgehog signaling.

Cholesterol is necessary for the function of many G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs). We find that cholesterol is not just necessary but also sufficient to activate signaling by the Hedgehog (Hh) pathway, a prominent cell-cell communication system in development. Cholesterol influences Hh signaling by directly activating Smoothened (SMO), an orphan GPCR that transmits the Hh signal across the membrane in all animals.

Structural basis of Smoothened regulation by its extracellular domains.

Developmental signals of the Hedgehog (Hh) and Wnt families are transduced across the membrane by Frizzledclass G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) composed of both a heptahelical transmembrane domain (TMD) and an extracellular cysteine-rich domain (CRD). How the large extracellular domains of GPCRs regulate signalling by the TMD is unknown. We present crystal structures of the Hh signal transducer and oncoprotein Smoothened, a GPCR that contains two distinct ligand-binding sites: one in its TMD and one in the CRD.

Improvement in γ-hydroxybutyrate-induced contextual fear memory deficit by systemic administration of NCS-382.

Low, nonsedative doses of γ-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) produce short-term anterograde amnesia in humans and memory impairments in experimental animals. We have previously shown that acute systemic treatment of GHB in adolescent female rats impairs the acquisition, but not the expression, of contextual fear memory while sparing both the acquisition and the expression of auditory cued fear memory. In the brain, GHB binds to specific GHB-binding sites as well as to γ-aminobutyric acid type B (GABAB) receptors.