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During aging, disruptions in various signaling pathways become more common. Some older patients will exhibit irregular bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling, which can lead to osteoporosis (OP)—a debilitating bone disease resulting from an imbalance between osteoblasts and osteoclasts. In 2002, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved recombinant human BMP-2 (rhBMP-2) for use in spinal fusion surgeries as it is required for bone formation. However, complications with rhBMP-2 arose and primary osteoblasts from OP patients often fail to respond to BMP-2. Although patient samples are available for study, previous medical histories can impact results. Consequently, the C57BL/6 mouse line serves as a valuable model for studying OP and aging. We find that BMP receptor type Ia (BMPRIa) is upregulated in the bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) of 15-month-old mice, consistent with prior data. Furthermore, conjugating BMP-2 with Quantum Dots (QDot®s) allows effective binding to BMPRIa, creating a fluorescent tag for BMP-2. Furthermore, after treating BMSCs with methyl-β-cyclodextrin (MβCD), a disruptor of cellular endocytosis, BMP signaling is restored in 15-month-old mice, as shown by von Kossa assays. MβCD has the potential to restore BMPRIa function, and the BMP signaling pathway offers a promising avenue for future OP therapies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the fears people have concerning retirement and the importance of one's job to one's self-image. The author suggests steps one can take to help prepare for retirement, such as promoting alternate aspects of your life, associating with people outside of your job arena, and developing and maintaining outside interests. (CT)

This article discusses the issues concerning the future of the book. Considering the future of the book could not have been relevant to Benjamin Henry Blackwell, City Librarian of Oxford, when he opened his small bookshop on Broad Street to sell used books to students and faculty. To booksellers, librarians, and information specialists 125 years later, the topic is of great significance. As those familiar with James Joyce will recall, June 6 is Bloomsday, that single day in which all events in Joyce's Ulysses, one of the most important books of modern time, take place. June 16, 2004 was the 100th anniversary of that day. The timing seems ironic because Joyce would have been helped enormously by computers in the editing process. No doubt, the concept of reading Ulysses in digital form would have seemed to Joyce to be ludicrous, at best. In a 1994 symposium on the future of the book, Umberto Eco, author and historian, relating the fears of an ever changing world in which it is believed that new technology makes the old ways obsolete state that the idea that something will kill something else is a very ancient one. The expansion of the definition of the book to include eBooks, digital reference, and online journals will not make the need for or the use of printed material obsolete. The print book still has a large role in providing access to the discourse of the field.

Objective: To validate the ISGPS definition and grading system of PPAP after pancreatoduodenectomy (PD)., Summary Background Data: In 2022, the International Study Group for Pancreatic Surgery (ISGPS) defined post-pancreatectomy acute pancreatitis (PPAP) and recommended a prospective validation of its diagnostic criteria and grading system., Methods: This was a prospective, international, multicenter study including patients undergoing PD at 17 referral pancreatic centers across Europe, Asia, Oceania, and the United States. PPAP diagnosis required the following three parameters: (1) postoperative serum hyperamylasemia /hyperlipasemia (POH) persisting on postoperative days 1 and 2, (2) radiologic alterations consistent with PPAP, and (3) a clinically relevant deterioration in the patient's condition. To validate the grading system, clinical and economic parameters were analyzed across all grades., Results: Among 2902 patients undergoing PD, 7.5% (n=218) developed PPAP (6.3% grade B and 1.2% grade C). POH occurred in 24.1% of patients. Hospital stay was associated with PPAP grades (No POH/PPAP 10 days (IQR 7-17) days, grade B 22 days (IQR 15-34) days, and grade C 43 days (IQR 27-54) days; P<0.001), as well as intensive care unit admission (No POH/PPAP 5.4%, grade B 12.6%, grade C 82.9%; P<0.010), and hospital readmission rates (No POH/PPAP 7.3%, grade B 16.1%, grade C 18.5%; P<0.05). Costs of grade B and C PPAP were 2 and 11 times greater than uncomplicated clinical course, resp. (P<0.001)., Conclusions: This first prospective, international validation study of the ISGPS definition and grading system for PPAP highlighted the relevant clinical and financial implications of this condition. These results stress the importance of routine screening for PPAP in patients undergoing PD., Competing Interests: The authors report no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)