Ventilatory muscle strength, diaphragm thickness and pulmonary function in world-class powerlifters.

Resistance training activates the ventilatory muscles providing a stimulus similar to ventilatory muscle training. We examined the effects of elite powerlifting training upon ventilatory muscle strength, pulmonary function and diaphragm thickness in world-class powerlifters (POWER) and a control group (CON) with no history of endurance or resistance training, matched for age, height and body mass

Balance of mechanical forces drives endothelial gap formation and may facilitate cancer and immune-cell extravasation

The formation of gaps in the endothelium is a crucial process underlying both cancer and immune cell extravasation, contributing to the functioning of the immune system during infection, the unfavorable development of chronic inflammation and tumor metastasis. Here, we present a stochastic-mechanical multiscale model of an endothelial cell monolayer and show that the dynamic nature of the endothelium leads to spontaneous gap formation, even without intervention from the transmigrating cells. These gaps preferentially appear at the vertices between three endothelial cells, as opposed to the border between two cells. We quantify the frequency and lifetime of these gaps, and validate our predictions experimentally. Interestingly, we find experimentally that cancer cells also preferentially extravasate at vertices, even when they first arrest on borders. This suggests that extravasating cells, rather than initially signaling to the endothelium, might exploit the autonomously forming gaps in the endothelium to initiate transmigration

A922 Sequential measurement of 1 hour creatinine clearance (1-CRCL) in critically ill patients at risk of acute kidney injury (AKI)

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Alterations in gene expression profiles correlated with cisplatin cytotoxicity in the glioma U343 cell line

Gliomas are the most common tumors in the central nervous system, the average survival time of patients with glioblastoma multiforme being about 1 year from diagnosis, in spite of harsh therapy. Aiming to study the transcriptional profiles displayed by glioma cells undergoing cisplatin treatment, gene expression analysis was performed by the cDNA microarray method. Cell survival and apoptosis induction following treatment were also evaluated. Drug concentrations of 12.5 to 300 μM caused a pronounced reduction in cell survival rates five days after treatment, whereas concentrations higher than 25 μM were effective in reducing the survival rates to ~1%. However, the maximum apoptosis frequency was 20.4% for 25 μM cisplatin in cells analyzed at 72 h, indicating that apoptosis is not the only kind of cell death induced by cisplatin. An analysis of gene expression revealed 67 significantly (FDR < 0.05) modulated genes: 29 of which down- and 38 up-regulated. These genes belong to several classes (metabolism, protein localization, cell proliferation, apoptosis, adhesion, stress response, cell cycle and DNA repair) that may represent several affected cell processes under the influence of cisplatin treatment. The expression pattern of three genes (RHOA, LIMK2 and TIMP2) was confirmed by the real time PCR method

Head and neck cancer surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic: An international, multicenter, observational cohort study

Background: The aims of this study were to provide data on the safety of head and neck cancer surgery currently being undertaken during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Methods: This international, observational cohort study comprised 1137 consecutive patients with head and neck cancer undergoing primary surgery with curative intent in 26 countries. Factors associated with severe pulmonary complications in COVID-19–positive patients and infections in the surgical team were determined by univariate analysis. Results: Among the 1137 patients, the commonest sites were the oral cavity (38%) and the thyroid (21%). For oropharynx and larynx tumors, nonsurgical therapy was favored in most cases. There was evidence of surgical de-escalation of neck management and reconstruction. Overall 30-day mortality was 1.2%. Twenty-nine patients (3%) tested positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) within 30 days of surgery; 13 of these patients (44.8%) developed severe respiratory complications, and 3.51 (10.3%) died. There were significant correlations with an advanced tumor stage and admission to critical care. Members of the surgical team tested positive within 30 days of surgery in 40 cases (3%). There were significant associations with operations in which the patients also tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 within 30 days, with a high community incidence of SARS-CoV-2, with screened patients, with oral tumor sites, and with tracheostomy. Conclusions: Head and neck cancer surgery in the COVID-19 era appears safe even when surgery is prolonged and complex. The overlap in COVID-19 between patients and members of the surgical team raises the suspicion of failures in cross-infection measures or the use of personal protective equipment. Lay Summary: Head and neck surgery is safe for patients during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic even when it is lengthy and complex. This is significant because concerns over patient safety raised in many guidelines appear not to be reflected by outcomes, even for those who have other serious illnesses or require complex reconstructions. Patients subjected to suboptimal or nonstandard treatments should be carefully followed up to optimize their cancer outcomes. The overlap between patients and surgeons testing positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 is notable and emphasizes the need for fastidious cross-infection controls and effective personal protective equipment

Suboptimal herd performance amplifies the spread of infectious disease in the cattle industry

Farms that purchase replacement breeding cattle are at increased risk of introducing many economically important diseases. The objectives of this analysis were to determine whether the total number of replacement breeding cattle purchased by individual farms could be reduced by improving herd performance and to quantify the effects of such reductions on the industry-level transmission dynamics of infectious cattle diseases. Detailed information on the performance and contact patterns of British cattle herds was extracted from the national cattle movement database as a case example. Approximately 69% of beef herds and 59% of dairy herds with an average of at least 20 recorded calvings per year purchased at least one replacement breeding animal. Results from zero-inflated negative binomial regression models revealed that herds with high average ages at first calving, prolonged calving intervals, abnormally high or low culling rates, and high calf mortality rates were generally more likely to be open herds and to purchase greater numbers of replacement breeding cattle. If all herds achieved the same level of performance as the top 20% of herds, the total number of replacement beef and dairy cattle purchased could be reduced by an estimated 34% and 51%, respectively. Although these purchases accounted for only 13% of between-herd contacts in the industry trade network, they were found to have a disproportionately strong influence on disease transmission dynamics. These findings suggest that targeting extension services at herds with suboptimal performance may be an effective strategy for controlling endemic cattle diseases while simultaneously improving industry productivity

ESB Clinical Biomechanics Award 2020: Pelvis and hip movement strategies discriminate typical and pathological femoral growth – Insights gained from a multi-scale mechanobiological modelling framework

Background: Many children with cerebral palsy (CP) develop skeletal deformities during childhood. So far, it is unknown why some children with CP develop bony deformities whereas others do not. The aims of this study were to (i) investigate what loading characteristics lead to typical and pathological femoral growth, and (ii) evaluate why some children with CP develop femoral deformities whereas other do not. Methods: A multi-scale mechanobiological modelling workflow was used to simulate femoral growth based on three-dimensional motion capture data of six typically developing children and 16 children with CP. Based on the growth results, the participants with CP were divided into two groups: typical growth group and pathological growth group. Gait kinematics and femoral loading were compared between simulations resulting in typical growth and those resulting in pathologic growth. Findings: Hip joint contact forces were less posteriorly-oriented in the pathological growth simulations compared to the typical ones. Compared to the typically developing participants, the CP group with pathological femoral growth presented increased knee flexion and no hip extension. The CP group with simulated typical growth presented similar sagittal plane joint kinematics but differed in the frontal plane pelvic and hip movement strategy, which normalized the hip joint contact force and therefore contributed to typical femoral growth trends. Interpretation: Our simulation results identified specific gait features, which may contribute to pathological femoral growth. Furthermore, the hip joint contact force orientation in the sagittal plane seems to be the dominant factor for determining femoral growth simulations.Full Tex