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Adding robotic surgery to bionic reconstruction might open a new dimension. The objective was to evaluate if a robotically harvested rectus abdominis (RA) transplant is a feasible procedure to improve soft-tissue coverage at the residual limb (RL) and serve as a recipient for up to three nerves due to its unique architecture and to allow the generation of additional signals for advanced myoelectric prosthesis control. A transradial amputee with insufficient soft-tissue coverage and painful neuromas underwent the interventions and was observed for 18 months. RA muscle was harvested using robotic-assisted surgery and transplanted to the RL, followed by end-to-end neurroraphy to the recipient nerves of the three muscle segments to reanimate radial, median, and ulnar nerve function. The transplanted muscle healed with partial necrosis of the skin mesh graft. Twelve months later, reliable, and spatially well-defined Hoffmann–Tinel signs were detectable at three segments of the RA muscle flap. No donor-site morbidities were present, and EMG activity could be detected in all three muscle segments. The linear discriminant analysis (LDA) classifier could reliably distinguish three classes within 1% error tolerance using only the three electrodes on the muscle transplant and up to five classes outside the muscle transplant. The combination of these surgical procedure advances with emerging (myo-)control technologies can easily be extended to different amputation levels to reduce RL complications and augment control sites with a limited surface area, thus facilitating the usability of advanced myoelectric prostheses.

The oncological impact of portal vein resection (PVR) in pancreatic cancer surgery remains contradictory. Different variables might have an impact on the outcome. The aim of the present study is the retrospective assessment of the frequency of PVR, histological confirmation of tumor infiltration, and comparison of oncological outcomes in PVR patients. We retrieved n = 90 patients from a prospectively collected data bank who underwent pancreas surgery between 2012 and 2019 at the University Medical Centre Göttingen (Germany) and showed a histologically confirmed pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). While 50 patients (55.6%) underwent pancreatic resection combined with PVR, 40 patients (44.4%) received standard pancreatic surgery. Patients with distal pancreatectomy or a tumor other than PDAC were excluded. PVR was performed either as local excision or circular resection of the portal vein. Clinical/patient data and follow-ups were retrieved. The median follow-up period was 20.5 months. Regarding the oncological outcome, a statistically poorer CSS (p = 0.04) was observed in PVR patients. There was no difference (p = 0.18) in patients’ outcomes between tangential and complete PVR, while n = 21 (42% of PVR patients) showed portal vein infiltration. The correlation between performed PVR and resection status was statistically significant: 48.6% of PVR patients achieved R0 resections compared to 75% in non-PVR patients (p = 0.03). Patients who underwent PDAC surgery with PVR show a significantly poorer outcome regardless of PVR type. Tumor size and R-status remain two important variables significantly associated with outcome. Since there is a lack of standardization for the indication of PVR, it remains unknown if the need for resection of vein structures during pancreatic resection represents the biological aggressiveness of the tumor or is biased by the experience of the surgeon.

Recently, we have developed novel highly promising gene expression (GE) classifiers discriminating localized nodal (LFL) from systemic follicular lymphoma (SFL) with prognostic impact. However, few data are available in LFL especially concerning hotspot genetic alterations that are associated with the pathogenesis and prognosis of SFL. A total of 144 LFL and 527 SFL, enrolled in prospective clinical trials of the German Low Grade Lymphoma Study Group, were analyzed by fluorescence in situ hybridization to detect deletions in chromosomes 1p, 6q, and 17p as well as BCL2 translocations to determine their impact on clinical outcome of LFL patients. The frequency of chromosomal deletions in 1p and 17p was comparable between LFL and SFL, while 6q deletions and BCL2 translocations more frequently occurred in SFL. A higher proportion of 1p deletions was seen in BCL2-translocation–positive LFL, compared with BCL2-translocation–negative LFL. Deletions in chromosomes 1p, 6q, and 17p predicted clinical outcome of patients with SFL in the entire cohort, while only deletions in chromosome 1p retained its negative prognostic impact in R-CHOP–treated SFL. In contrast, no deletions in one of the investigated genetic loci predicted clinical outcome in LFL. Likewise, the presence or absence of BCL2 translocations had no prognostic impact in LFL. Despite representing a genetic portfolio closely resembling SFL, LFL showed some differences in deletion frequencies. BCL2 translocation and 6q deletion frequency differs between LFL and SFL and might contribute to distinct genetic profiles in LFL and SFL.

Context: Sleep serves many important functions for athletes, particularly in the processes of learning, memory, recovery, and cognition. Objectives: Define the sleep parameters of Paralympic athletes and identify the instruments used to assess and monitor sleep Paralympic athletes. Evidence Acquisition: This systematic review was carried out based on the PRISMA guidelines. The survey was conducted in April 2020, the searches were carried out again in September 2021 to check whether there were new scientific publications in the area of sleep and Paralympic sport, searches were performed in the following databases: PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, SPORTDiscus, Virtual Health Library (BIREME), and SciELO. This systematic review has included studies that investigated at least one of the following sleep parameters: total sleep time, sleep latency, sleep efficiency, number of awakenings, quality of sleep, daytime sleepiness, and chronotype; the participants were comprised of athletes with disabilities. Studies published at any time in English, Portuguese, and Spanish, were included. Evidence Synthesis: Data extraction and study selection were performed by 2 researchers independently, and a third author was consulted as necessary. The search returned a total of 407 studies. Following the screening based on exclusion and inclusion criteria, a total of 13 studies were considered. Paralympic athletes have a low amount (7.06 h) of sleep with poor quality and sleep latency (28.05 min), and 57.2% have daytime sleepiness, with the majority belonging to the indifferent chronotype (53, 5%). Moreover, 11 studies assess sleep using subjective instruments (questionnaires), and 2 studies used an objective instrument (actigraphy). Conclusions: Sleep disorders are common among Paralympic athletes, poor sleep quality and quantity, and high rates of daytime sleepiness. Subjective methods are most commonly used to assess sleep. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This systematic review aims to identify the sleep parameters of Olympic athletes and the instruments used to assess and monitor the sleep of these athletes. The search was conducted until February 2023 and was performed in PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases. This systematic review has included studies that investigated at least one of the following sleep parameters: total sleep time (TST), sleep onset latency (SOL), sleep efficiency (SE), awakenings after sleep onset (WASO), quality of sleep, daytime sleepiness, and chronotype; the participants were Olympic athletes. The search returned a total of 280 studies. After screening based on exclusion and inclusion criteria, 11 studies were included. The main results demonstrate that Olympic athletes have TST of 06:10 h, SE of 84%, SOL of 28 min, and WASO of 49 min. The most predominant chronotype is indifferent; over half of the athletes have poor sleep quality and complaints. Furthermore, actigraphy was the most used method to assess sleep. It is concluded that Olympic athletes have TST, SE, and WASO poor than the recommended values. In addition, sleep complaints and poor sleep quality were also observed. Among the objective sleep assessment methods, actigraphy was the method most frequently used in this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing frequency and duration of marine heatwaves (MHWs) due to climate change pose severe threats to aquaculture, causing drastic physiological and growth impairments in farmed fish, undermining their resilience against additional environmental pressures. To ensure sustainable production that meets the global seafood demand and animal welfare standards, cost-effective and eco-friendly strategies are urgently needed. This study explored the efficacy of the red macroalga Asparagopsis taxiformis on juvenile white seabream Diplodus sargus reared under optimal conditions and upon exposure to a MHW. Fish were fed with four experimental diets (0%, 1.5%, 3% or 6% of dried powdered A. taxiformis) for a prophylactic period of 30 days (T30) and subsequently exposed to a Mediterranean category II MHW for 15 days (T53). Biometric data and samples were collected at T30, T53 and T61 (8 days post-MHW recovery), to assess performance indicators, biomarker responses and histopathological alterations. Results showed that A. taxiformis supplementation improved catalase and glutathione S-transferase activities and reduced lipid peroxidation promoted by the MHW, particularly in fish biofortified with 1.5% inclusion level. No histopathological alterations were observed after 30 days. Additionally, fish biofortified with 1.5% A. taxiformis exhibited increased citrate synthase activity and fish supplemented with 1.5% and 3% showed improved digestive enzyme activities (e.g., pepsin and trypsin activities). Overall, the present findings pointed to 1.5% inclusion as the optimal dosage for aquafeeds biofortification with A. taxiformis, and confirmed that this seaweed species is a promising cost-effective ingredient with functional properties and great potential for usage in a climate-smart context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Myostatin (MSTN) is one of the key factors regulating myogenesis. Because of its role as a negative regulator of muscle mass deposition, much interest has been given to its protein and, in recent years, several studies have analysed MSTN gene regulation. This review discusses the MSTN gene promoter, focusing on its structure in several animal species, both vertebrate and invertebrate. We report the important binding sites considering their degree of phylogenetic conservation and roles they play in the promoter activity. Finally, we discuss recent studies focusing on MSTN gene regulation via promoter manipulation and the potential applications they have both in medicine and agriculture.

In this paper, the most suited analog-to-digital (A/D) converters (ADCs) for Internet of Things (IoT) applications are compared in terms of complexity, dynamic performance, and energy efficiency. Among them, an innovative hybrid topology, a digital–delta (Δ) modulator (ΔM) ADC employing noise shaping (NS), is proposed. To implement the active building blocks, several standard-cell-based synthesizable comparators and amplifiers are examined and compared in terms of their key performance parameters. The simulation results of a fully synthesizable Digital-ΔM with NS using passive and standard-cell-based circuitry show a peak of 72.5 dB in the signal-to-noise and distortion ratio (SNDR) for a 113 kHz input signal and 1 MHz bandwidth (BW). The estimated FoMWalden is close to 16.2 fJ/conv.-step.