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Purpose: Depressive symptoms during the perinatal period have broad and enduring health implications for birthing parents and their offspring. Rising prevalence rates of perinatal depression highlight the need for research examining factors influencing depressive symptoms during pregnancy, and trajectories during the early postnatal period. Grounded in bioecological systems theory, this longitudinal multimethod study examined whether prenatal bioecological factors predict depressive symptoms from pregnancy to 36 months postpartum., Methods: Participants were 162 pregnant individuals, oversampled for high emotion dysregulation, who completed a life stress interview and physiological assessment during the 3rd trimester and a self-report measure of depression at five time-points (3rd trimester, within 48 h of birth, 7, 18, and 36 months postpartum). Multilevel models were used to test study aims., Results: Participants exhibited the highest levels of depressive symptoms at 3rd trimester, and substantial variability in depressive symptom trajectories over time. Lower resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), an index of parasympathetic nervous system functioning, in the 3rd trimester was associated with higher concurrent depressive symptoms. Higher levels of stress related to partner relationships, finances, and health were concurrently associated with more depressive symptoms during pregnancy and decreases in depressive symptoms over time. Specifically, depressive symptoms decreased only for individuals who reported high levels of stress during pregnancy., Limitations: Although grounded in bioecological systems theory, this study did not assess the macrosystem., Conclusions: Results of this study underscore the importance of multilevel predictors of perinatal health and highlights potential targets for preventing depression and promoting well-being during the perinatal transition., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare they have no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory disease that affects ∼10 % of women. A significant fraction of patients experience limited or no efficacy with current therapies. Tissue adjacent to endometriosis lesions often exhibits increased neurite and vascular density, suggesting that disease pathology involves neurotrophic activity and angiogenesis., Objectives: We aim to evaluate the potential for key tyrosine-kinase-receptor-coupled neurotrophic molecules to contribute to endometriosis-associated pain in mice., Methods: Peritoneal fluid was collected from endometriosis patients undergoing surgery and the levels of NGF and VEGFR1 regulators (VEGFA, VEGFB, PLGF, and sVEGFR1) were quantified by ELISA. VEGFR1 regulator concentrations were used to calculate VEGFR1 occupancy. We used genetic depletion, neutralizing antibodies, and pharmacological approaches to specifically block neurotrophic ligands (NGF or BDNF) or receptors (VEGFR1, TRKs) in a murine model of endometriosis-associated pain. Endometriosis-associated pain was measured using von Frey filaments, quantification of spontaneous abdominal pain-related behavior, and thermal discomfort. Disease parameters were evaluated by lesion size and prevalence. To evaluate potential toxicity, we measured the effect of entrectinib dose and schedule on body weight, liver and kidney function, and bone structure (via micro-CT)., Results: We found that entrectinib (pan-Trk inhibitor) or anti-NGF treatments reduced evoked pain, spontaneous pain, and thermal discomfort. In contrast, even though calculated receptor occupancy revealed that VEGFR1 agonist levels are sufficient to support signaling, blocking VEGFR1 via antibody or tamoxifen-induced knockout did not reduce pain or lesion size in mice. Targeting BDNF-TrkB with an anti-BDNF antibody also proved ineffective. Notably, changing dosing schedule to once weekly eliminated entrectinib-induced bone-loss without decreasing efficacy against pain., Conclusions: This suggests NGF-TrkA signaling, but not BDNF-TrkB or VEGF-VEGFR1, mediates endometriosis-associated pain. Moreover, entrectinib blocks endometriosis-associated pain and reduces lesion sizes. Our results also indicated that entrectinib-like molecules are promising candidates for endometriosis treatment., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V.)

Evaluation of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for adsorbed natural gas (ANG) technology employs pure methane as a surrogate for natural gas (NG). This approximation is problematic, as it ignores the impact of other heavier hydrocarbons present in NG, such as ethane and propane, which generally have more favorable adsorption interactions with MOFs compared to methane. Herein, using quantitative Raman spectroscopic analysis and Monte Carlo calculations, we demonstrate the adsorption selectivity of high-performing MOFs, such as MOF-5, MOF-177, and SNU-70, for a methane and ethane mixture (95:5) that mimics the composition of NG. The impact of selectivity on the storage and deliverable capacities of these adsorbents during successive cycles of adsorption and desorption, simulating the filling and emptying of an ANG tank, is also demonstrated. The study reveals a gradual reduction in the storage performance of MOFs, particularly with smaller pore volumes, due to ethane accumulation over long-term cycling, until a steady state is reached with substantially degraded storage performance.

Objective: The intrauterine environment during pregnancy is a critical factor in the development of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease in offspring. Maternal exercise prevents the detrimental effects of a maternal high fat diet on the metabolic health in adult offspring, but the effects of maternal exercise on offspring cardiovascular health have not been thoroughly investigated., Methods: To determine the effects of maternal exercise on offspring cardiovascular health, female mice were fed a chow (C; 21% kcal from fat) or high-fat (H; 60% kcal from fat) diet and further subdivided into sedentary (CS, HS) or wheel exercised (CW, HW) prior to pregnancy and throughout gestation. Offspring were maintained in a sedentary state and chow-fed throughout 52 weeks of age and subjected to serial echocardiography and cardiomyocyte isolation for functional and mechanistic studies., Results: High-fat fed sedentary dams (HS) produced female offspring with reduced ejection fraction (EF) compared to offspring from chow-fed dams (CS), but EF was preserved in offspring from high-fat fed exercised dams (HW) throughout 52 weeks of age. Cardiomyocytes from HW female offspring had increased kinetics, calcium cycling, and respiration compared to CS and HS offspring. HS offspring had increased oxidation of the RyR2 in cardiomyocytes coupled with increased baseline sarcomere length, resulting in RyR2 overactivity, which was negated in female HW offspring., Conclusions: These data suggest a role for maternal exercise to protect against the detrimental effects of a maternal high-fat diet on female offspring cardiac health. Maternal exercise improved female offspring cardiomyocyte contraction, calcium cycling, respiration, RyR2 oxidation, and RyR2 activity. These data present an important, translatable role for maternal exercise to preserve cardiac health of female offspring and provide insight on mechanisms to prevent the transmission of cardiovascular diseases to subsequent generations., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier GmbH.. All rights reserved.)

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are demonstrated to be readily activated by treatment with the low surface tension, low boiling point solvent dimethyl ether (DME). The mildness of the method enables access to high surface areas by avoiding structural changes in the framework that often plague thermal activation methods. A distinction from previous methods is that DME activation succeeds for materials with coordinatively unsaturated sites (CUS) and non-CUS MOFs as well. DME displaces solvent molecules occupying the pores of the MOF as well as those coordinated to metal centers; reducing evacuation temperature by using a coordinating, yet highly volatile guest enables low temperature activation with structural retention as demonstrated surface area measurements that match or exceed existing activation protocols., (© 2022 The Authors. Angewandte Chemie International Edition published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Decreased adipose tissue regulatory T cells contribute to insulin resistance in obese mice, however, little is known about the mechanisms regulating adipose tissue regulatory T cells numbers in humans. Here we obtain adipose tissue from obese and lean volunteers. Regulatory T cell abundance is lower in obese vs. lean visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue and associates with reduced insulin sensitivity and altered adipocyte metabolic gene expression. Regulatory T cells numbers decline following high-fat diet induction in lean volunteers. We see alteration in major histocompatibility complex II pathway in adipocytes from obese patients and after high fat ingestion, which increases T helper 1 cell numbers and decreases regulatory T cell differentiation. We also observe increased expression of inhibitory co-receptors including programmed cell death protein 1 and OX40 in visceral adipose tissue regulatory T cells from patients with obesity. In human obesity, these global effects of interferon gamma to reduce regulatory T cells and diminish their function appear to instigate adipose inflammation and suppress adipocyte metabolism, leading to insulin resistance., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Obesity is increasing at epidemic rates across the US and worldwide, as are its co-morbidities, including type-2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Thus, targeted interventions to reduce the prevalence of obesity are of the utmost importance. The sigma-1 receptor (S1R) and sigma-2 receptor (S2R; encoded by Tmem97 ) belong to the same class of drug-binding sites, yet they are genetically distinct. There are multiple ongoing clinical trials focused on sigma receptors, targeting diseases ranging from Alzheimer's disease through chronic pain to COVID-19. However, little is known regarding their gene-specific role in obesity. In this study, we measured body composition, used a comprehensive laboratory-animal monitoring system, and determined the glucose and insulin tolerance in mice fed a high-fat diet. Compared to Sigmar1+/+ mice of the same sex, the male and female Sigmar1-/- mice had lower fat mass (17% and 12% lower, respectively), and elevated lean mass (16% and 10% higher, respectively), but S1R ablation had no effect on their metabolism. The male Tmem97-/- mice exhibited 7% lower fat mass, 8% higher lean mass, increased volumes of O 2 and CO 2 , a decreased respiratory exchange ratio indicating elevated fatty-acid oxidation, and improved insulin tolerance, compared to the male Tmem97+/+ mice. There were no changes in any of these parameters in the female Tmem97-/- mice. Together, these data indicate that the S1R ablation in male and female mice or the S2R ablation in male mice protects against diet-induced adiposity, and that S2R ablation, but not S1R deletion, improves insulin tolerance and enhances fatty-acid oxidation in male mice. Further mechanistic investigations may lead to translational strategies to target differential S1R/S2R regulations and sexual dimorphism for precision treatments of obesity.

DNA-based FluoroCubes were recently developed as a solution to photobleaching, a ubiquitous limitation of fluorescence microscopy (Niekamp; ; Stuurman; ; Vale Nature Methods , 2020). FluoroCubes, that is, compact ∼4 × 4 × 5.4 nm 3 four-helix bundles coupled to ≤6 fluorescent dyes, remain fluorescent up to ∼50× longer than single dyes and emit up to ∼40× as many photons. The current work answers two important questions about the FluoroCubes. First, what is the mechanism by which photostability is enhanced? Second, are FluoroCubes compatible with Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) and similar techniques? We use single particle photobleaching studies to show that photostability arises through interactions between the fluorophores and the four-helix DNA bundle. Supporting this, we discover that smaller ∼4 × 4 × 2.7 nm 3 FluoroCubes also confer ultraphotostability. However, we find that certain dye-dye interactions negatively impact FluoroCube performance. Accordingly, 4-dye FluoroCubes lacking these interactions perform better than 6-dye FluoroCubes. We also demonstrate that FluoroCubes are compatible with FRET and dark quenching applications.

The synthesis of MOF-74 (MOF = metal-organic framework) proceeds first through the generation of chemically and topologically distinct materials, referred to as phases, displaying exclusively carboxylate coordination, followed by further deprotonation to enable oxo coordination and MOF-74 formation. The synthesis of Mg-MOF-74 at high concentrations of linker and metal enables the stabilization and characterization of the previously unobserved, exclusively carboxylate coordinating phases. Ex situ and in situ approaches are leveraged to provide the time-resolved observation of Mg-MOF-74 synthesis and the formation of phases that precede Mg-MOF-74 formation as well as metastable phase dissolution. These data support dissolution and redeposition as the mechanism of MOF-74 formation and provide insight into the formation mechanism of MOFs with multiple linker coordination types.

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common sustained arrhythmia, with growing evidence identifying obesity as an important risk factor for the development of AF. Although defective atrial myocyte excitability due to stress-induced remodeling of ion channels is commonly observed in the setting of AF, little is known about the mechanistic link between obesity and AF. Recent studies have identified increased cardiac late sodium current (I Na,L ) downstream of calmodulin-dependent kinase II (CaMKII) activation as an important driver of AF susceptibility., Methods: Here, we investigated a possible role for CaMKII-dependent I Na,L in obesity-induced AF using wild-type (WT) and whole-body knock-in mice that ablates phosphorylation of the Na v 1.5 sodium channel and prevents augmentation of the late sodium current (S571A; SA mice)., Results: A high-fat diet (HFD) increased susceptibility to arrhythmias in WT mice, while SA mice were protected from this effect. Unexpectedly, SA mice had improved glucose homeostasis and decreased body weight compared to WT mice. However, SA mice also had reduced food consumption compared to WT mice. Controlling for food consumption through pair feeding of WT and SA mice abrogated differences in weight gain and AF inducibility, but not atrial fibrosis, premature atrial contractions or metabolic capacity., Conclusions: These data demonstrate a novel role for CaMKII-dependent regulation of Na v 1.5 in mediating susceptibility to arrhythmias and whole-body metabolism under conditions of diet-induced obesity.

Background: Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is an important tissue for thermogenesis, making it a potential target to decrease the risks of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, and recent studies have also identified BAT as an endocrine organ. Although BAT has been implicated to be protective in cardiovascular disease, to this point there are no studies that identify a direct role for BAT to mediate cardiac function., Methods: To determine the role of BAT on cardiac function, we utilized a model of BAT transplantation. We then performed lipidomics and identified an increase in the lipokine 12,13-dihydroxy-9Z-octadecenoic acid (12,13-diHOME). We utilized a mouse model with sustained overexpression of 12,13-diHOME and investigated the role of 12,13-diHOME in a nitric oxide synthase type 1 deficient (NOS1 -/- ) mouse and in isolated cardiomyocytes to determine effects on function and respiration. We also investigated 12,13-diHOME in a cohort of human patients with heart disease., Results: Here, we determined that transplantation of BAT (+BAT) improves cardiac function via the release of the lipokine 12,13-diHOME. Sustained overexpression of 12,13-diHOME using tissue nanotransfection negated the deleterious effects of a high-fat diet on cardiac function and remodeling, and acute injection of 12,13-diHOME increased cardiac hemodynamics via direct effects on the cardiomyocyte. Furthermore, incubation of cardiomyocytes with 12,13-diHOME increased mitochondrial respiration. The effects of 12,13-diHOME were absent in NOS1 -/- mice and cardiomyocytes. We also provide the first evidence that 12,13-diHOME is decreased in human patients with heart disease., Conclusions: Our results identify an endocrine role for BAT to enhance cardiac function that is mediated by regulation of calcium cycling via 12,13-diHOME and NOS1.

Poor maternal environments, such as under- or overnutrition, can increase the risk for the development of obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease in offspring 1-9 . Recent studies in animal models have shown that maternal exercise before and during pregnancy abolishes the age-related development of impaired glucose metabolism 10-15 , decreased cardiovascular function 16 and increased adiposity 11,15 ; however, the underlying mechanisms for maternal exercise to improve offspring's health have not been identified. In the present study, we identify an exercise-induced increase in the oligosaccharide 3'-sialyllactose (3'-SL) in milk in humans and mice, and show that the beneficial effects of maternal exercise on mouse offspring's metabolic health and cardiac function are mediated by 3'-SL. In global 3'-SL knockout mice (3'-SL -/- ), maternal exercise training failed to improve offspring metabolic health or cardiac function in mice. There was no beneficial effect of maternal exercise on wild-type offspring who consumed milk from exercise-trained 3'-SL -/- dams, whereas supplementing 3'-SL during lactation to wild-type mice improved metabolic health and cardiac function in offspring during adulthood. Importantly, supplementation of 3'-SL negated the detrimental effects of a high-fat diet on body composition and metabolism. The present study reveals a critical role for the oligosaccharide 3'-SL in milk to mediate the effects of maternal exercise on offspring's health. 3'-SL supplementation is a potential therapeutic approach to combat the development of obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

A comparative proteomic analysis was utilized to evaluate similarities and differences in membrane samples derived from the cariogenic bacterium Streptococcus mutans, including the wild-type strain and four mutants devoid of protein translocation machinery components, specifically ∆ffh, ∆yidC1, ∆yidC2, or ∆ffh/yidC1. The purpose of this work was to determine the extent to which the encoded proteins operate individually or in concert with one another and to identify the potential substrates of the respective pathways. Ffh is the principal protein component of the signal recognition particle (SRP), while yidC1 and yidC2 are dual paralogs encoding members of the YidC/Oxa/Alb family of membrane-localized chaperone insertases. Our results suggest that the co-translational SRP pathway works in concert with either YidC1 or YidC2 specifically, or with no preference for paralog, in the insertion of most membrane-localized substrates. A few instances were identified in which the SRP pathway alone, or one of the YidCs alone, appeared to be most relevant. These data shed light on underlying reasons for differing phenotypic consequences of ffh, yidC1 or yidC2 deletion. Our data further suggest that many membrane proteins present in a ∆yidC2 background may be non-functional, that ∆yidC1 is better able to adapt physiologically to the loss of this paralog, that shared phenotypic properties of ∆ffh and ∆yidC2 mutants can stem from impacts on different proteins, and that independent binding to ribosomal proteins is not a primary functional activity of YidC2. Lastly, genomic mutations accumulate in a ∆yidC2 background coincident with phenotypic reversion, including an apparent W138R suppressor mutation within yidC1., (© 2019 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Objective: To assess the difference in pharmacy error detection rates when using a manual process compared to an intravenous workflow management system for the preparation of parenteral medications., Methods: Baseline error data were collected by staff using a standard form over a four-day time period before intravenous workflow management system implementation and compared to 48 weeks of electronically collected data following implementation. The chi-square test was used for statistical comparisons., Results: The ability to detect an error during the intravenous preparation process increased immediately following implementation, but this difference was not sustained and was not statistically different when the entire post-implementation time period was compared to the baseline sample. The most prevalent errors at baseline were wrong drug amount (36.4%) and wrong base solution (22.7%). Post-implementation product expiration (26.1%), wrong diluent or base (17.9%), and wrong drug amount (19.2%) were the most prevalent errors. Barcode scanning technology detected 60% of the errors during the post-implementation period. A decrease in error detection over time was observed post-implementation and was attributed to corrections and additions to the intravenous workflow management library and better prospective identification of potential errors by staff as they adjusted to the system. The use of serial imaging enabled pharmacists to detect errors prospectively, which may have previously been undetected using the traditional intravenous preparation process., Conclusion: The implementation of intravenous workflow management technology was unable to detect a statistically significant greater percentage of sterile product preparation errors compared with the baseline time period. Statistical significance was achieved during three of the first four months following implementation ( P < 0.05); however, this statistically significant increase was not maintained when the entire post-implementation sample was included.

Play behaviors and signals during playful interactions with juvenile conspecifics are important for both the social and cognitive development of young animals. The social organization of a species can also influence juvenile social play. We examined the relationships among play behaviors, candidate play signals, and play bout termination in Tibetan macaques (Macaca thibetana) during juvenile and infant social play to characterize the species play style. As Tibetan macaques are despotic and live in groups with strict linear dominance hierarchies and infrequent reconciliation, we predicted that play would be at risk of misinterpretation by both the individuals engaged in the play bout and by those watching, possibly leading to injury of the players. Animals living in such societies might need to frequently and clearly signal playful intent to play partners and other group members to avoid aggressive outcomes. We gathered video data on 21 individually-identified juvenile and infant macaques (one month to five years of age) from the Valley of the Wild Monkeys, Mt. Huangshan, China. We used all-occurrence sampling to record play behaviors and candidate play signals based on an ethogram. We predicted that play groups would use multiple candidate play signals in a variety of contexts and in association with the number of audience members in proximity to the players and play bout length. In the 283 playful interactions we scored, juvenile and infant macaques used multiple body and facial candidate play signals. Our data showed that juvenile and infant Tibetan macaques use a versatile repertoire of play behaviors and signals to sustain play.

Endometriosis is a chronic, painful condition with unknown etiology. A differential expression of microRNAs in the endometriotic tissues from women with endometriosis with pain compared to those without suggested a plausible role for miRNA or epigenetic mechanisms in the etiology of endometriotic pain. The peritoneal milieu is involved in maintenance of endometriotic lesion and nociception. We recently showed the mechanistic role for oxidized-lipoproteins (ox-LDLs) present in peritoneal fluid (PF) in endometriosis and pain. We explored the possibility of ox-LDLs modulating the expression of miRNAs in a manner similar to PF from women with endometriosis. Expression levels of miRNAs and their predicted nociceptive and inflammatory targets were determined in PF and ox-LDL treated human endometrial cell-lines. Samples from IRB-approved and consented patients with and without endometriosis or pain were used. These were compared to endometrial cell-lines treated with various forms of oxidized-lipoproteins. RNA (including miRNAs) were isolated from treated endometrial cells and expression levels were determined using commercial miRNome arrays. Cell lysates were used in immunoblotting for inflammatory proteins using a protein array. Twenty miRNAs including isoforms of miR-29, miR-181 and let-7 were mutually differentially expressed in cells treated with PF from endometriosis patients with pain and those treated with ox-LDL components. The ox-LDLs and endo-PF treatment also produced significant overexpression of microRNA predicted target genes nerve growth factor, interleukin-6 and prostaglandin E synthase and overexpression of their downstream protein targets Mip1α and MCP1. This study showed similarities between miRNA regulation in PF from endometriotic women and ox-LDLs present in abundance in the PF of these women. Key miRNAs responsible for targeting nociceptive and inflammatory molecules were downregulated in the presence of ox-LDLs and endo-PF, thus playing a role in the etiology of endometriotic pain. These redox-sensitive miRNAs can be of potential use as targets in the treatment of endometriosis-associated pain., (Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

The recovery of Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucophalus), after DDT and other organochlorine insecticides were banned in the United States, can be regarded as one of the most iconic success stories resulting from the Endangered Species Act. Interest remains high in the recovery and growth of the Bald Eagle population. Common to evaluating growth and recovery rates are counts at nesting sites and analyses of individuals fledged per season. But this is merely one snapshot that ignores survival rates as eagles grow to maturity. By analyzing indices from migration counts, we get a different snapshot better reflecting the survival of young birds. Different populations of Bald Eagles breed at different sites at different times of the year. Typical migration count analyses do not separate the populations. A separation of two distinct populations can be achieved at spring count sites by taking advantage of the tendency for northern summer breeding birds to migrate north in spring earlier than southern winter breeding birds who disperse north later in spring. In this paper I analyze migratory indices at a spring site along Lake Ontario. The analysis shows that eagles considered to be primarily of the northern summer breeding population showed an estimated growth rate of 5.3 ± 0.85% (SE) per year with 49% of eagles tallied in adult plumage, whereas the migrants considered to be primarily of the southern breeding population had an estimated growth rate of 14.0 ± 1.79% with only 22% in adult plumage. Together these results argue that the populations of southern breeding Bald Eagles are growing at a substantially higher rate than northern breeding eagles. These findings suggest that aggregate population indices for a species at migration counting sites can sometimes obscure important differences among separate populations at any given site and that separating counts by time period can be a useful way to check for differences among sub-populations.

Introduction: Traditional pulp regeneration procedures that use a blood clot as a scaffold have produced histologic evidence of bone, cementum, and connective tissue growth within the root. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is a bioactive scaffold containing growth factors that enhance wound healing., Aim: The aim of this study was to histologically compare the tissues generated when PRP or a blood clot is placed into teeth with preexisting necrotic pulps and periapical lesions., Methods: Twenty-four canine teeth from 6 immature ferrets were used. Two ferrets served as positive controls. Sixteen experimental canine teeth from 4 ferrets were infected, debrided, treated with a triple antibiotic paste, and randomly distributed to the following groups: group 1 (blood clot/Gelfoam), group 2 (PRP), and group 3 (no scaffold). At 3 months, the ferrets were sacrificed, and the tissues were evaluated histologically. Data were analyzed by using the Fisher exact test (P < .05)., Results: In 3 of 6 teeth in the PRP group, 2 of 6 teeth in the blood clot group, and 1 of 4 teeth in the no scaffold group, an ingrowth of hard tissues was observed in the apical third of the roots. When using PRP or a blood clot as a scaffold, we found significantly more apical narrowing and hard tissue deposition in comparison to not using a scaffold (P < .05)., Conclusions: The use of PRP or blood clots as scaffolds results in the ingrowth of bone-like, cementum-like, and connective tissue in the apical third of the roots at inconsistent rates., (Copyright © 2015 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: A growing body of evidence is building a case for the possibility of tissue regeneration within the root canal of necrotic teeth, allowing for continued root development. However, it remains unknown what type of tissue is produced after regenerative endodontics. The purpose of this study was to use blood clots and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) as scaffolds in regenerative endodontics under ideal conditions in a ferret model to examine the tissues generated within the root canals., Methods: The pulps of 21 canine teeth from 7 young ferrets were extirpated using broaches without filing the canal walls. Bleeding was stimulated from the periapical tissues, and a blood clot was induced in the canal space to the level of the cementoenamel junction in 12 teeth. PRP was prepared and placed in the canals to the level of the cementoenamel junction in 9 teeth. The coronal access was sealed with mineral trioxide aggregate. Seven canines were not operated on and served as controls. Three months later, block sections including each canine and its surrounding tissues were removed for histologic evaluation. The tissues found in the canals of experimental teeth were compared with those in the control teeth., Results: Almost all of the experimental teeth showed the presence of intracanal bonelike tissue. No evidence of dentinal wall thickening or apical narrowing was noted in the experimental teeth., Conclusions: In this experimental model, the use of either PRP or blood clots during regenerative endodontics leads to the formation of intracanal bonelike tissue without continual root maturation., (Copyright © 2014 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background and Context: Patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and a five-year stroke risk >15% should be on long-term oral anticoagulant therapy with adjusted dose warfarin unless there is a clear contraindication., Assessment of Problem: Ad hoc adjustments of warfarin dose and anticoagulation monitoring by a general practitioner is less efficient than a standardised protocol administered by the practice nurses. This study was a retrospective audit of patient anticoagulation control before and after a change in method of warfarin adjustment. Measures were frequency of testing, time spent in the therapeutic range and mean International Normalised Ratio., Results: Thirty-two patients were studied over a 12-month period. The method change resulted in important improvements in practice efficiency while maintaining the standard of anticoagulation control with no significant increase in frequency of venesection., Strategies for Improvement: General practices still using ad hoc adjustments of warfarin therapy can adopt a standardised nurse-managed protocol to achieve greater efficiency without adversely affecting patient care., Lessons: A move from the heavily doctor-intensive ad hoc system to the entirely nurse-led system improved practice efficiency. The doctor was liberated from the process. The nurse no longer had to act as liaison with the doctor. The receptionist did not have to ask patients to ring back once the doctor had seen the results. Patients received their instructions more quickly and their care was not compromised.

Using an FLP/FRT-based method to create germline clones, we screened Drosophila chromosome arms 2L and 3R for new female meiotic mutants. The screen was designed to recover mutants with severe effects on meiotic exchange and/or segregation. This screen yielded 11 new mutants, including six alleles of previously known meiotic genes (c(2)M and ald/mps1). The remaining five mutants appear to define at least four new genes whose ablation results in severe meiotic defects. Three of the novel meiotic mutants were identified at the molecular level. Two of these, mcm5(A7) and trem(F9), define roles in meiotic recombination, while a third, cona(A12), is important for synaptonemal complex assembly. Surprisingly, five of the nine mutants for which the lesion has been identified at the molecular level are not the result of mutations characteristic of EMS mutagenesis, but rather due to the insertion of the transposable element Doc. This study demonstrates the utility of germline clone-based screens for the discovery of strong meiotic mutants, including mutations in essential genes, and the use of molecular genetic techniques to map the loci.

In this study, pain during mammography in women treated conservatively for breast cancer was examined. It studied pain intensity and its relation to a variety of demographic, medical, and pain coping variables as well as to objective measures of breast compression. Ninety-nine women, treated with lumpectomy (with or without radiation) and undergoing follow-up screening mammography, were asked about strategies they use to cope with everyday pain and then were asked to report pain experienced during the mammogram. Treated and untreated breasts were rated separately and compared with a sample of 125 control women with no history of breast cancer. Women reported significantly greater pain in the treated breast (41% greater than the untreated breast and 32% greater than the control group). There was no consistent relationship between mammography pain and pain coping. Average intensity of pain at last mammogram was the best predictor of pain in both breasts. Women treated conservatively for breast cancer experience significantly greater pain during mammography of their treated breast. Radiologists and technologists can identify women at risk for a painful mammogram by asking about the pain at last mammogram. By applying pain-reducing interventions, they might be able to make the mammography experience more tolerable for these women.

Bone is modeled during embryonic development by endochondral and membranous ossification and is continuously remodeled thereafter under the influence of local and systemic factors to provide structural support and assist in calcium homeostasis. Recent studies of knockout and transgenic mice have increased understanding of the regulation of bone modeling during development and of remodeling of mature bone and have shed new light on the pathogenesis of a number of bone disorders. For example, fibroblast growth factor receptor-3, parathyroid hormone-related protein, and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase affect the function of chondrocytes during endochondral ossification (the latter two by regulating their life spans and thus growth plate thickness and bone length). Some ubiquitously expressed genes seem unexpectedly to have unique functions that are largely confined to bone cells: M-CSF, C-Fos, PU.1, and NF-kappaB are required for osteoclast formation, whereas c-Src and Mitf (microphthalmia transcription factor) are required for osteoclast activity after the cells have formed. Knockout of these genes results in osteopetrosis, a disorder characterized by persistence in marrow cavities of unresorbed osteocartilaginous matrix and, as in some affected humans, by increased mortality. Some proteins seem to act as negative regulators of bone cell function, for example osteoprotegerin (a soluble TNF receptor) in osteoclasts; osteocalcin, bone sialoprotein, and 5-lipoxygenase in osteoblasts. Regulation of osteoclast life span may be an important mechanism by which estrogen and bisphosphonates prevent bone loss in conditions characterized by increased bone resorption, such as postmenopausal osteoporosis. The unique requirement of bone cells for certain gene products raises the possibility that these cells may have specific responses to inhibitory or stimulatory agents, and that signaling molecules in these response pathways could be specific targets for novel therapies to treat or prevent common bone diseases.

For the purpose of identifying genes that affect bone volume, we previously identified two inbred mouse strains (C57BL/6J and C3H/HeJ) with large differences in femoral bone density and medullary cavity volume. The lower density and larger medullary cavity volume in C57BL/6J mice could result from either decreased formation or increased resorption or both. We recently reported evidence suggesting that bone formation was increased in vivo and that osteoblast progenitor cells are more numerous in the bone marrow of C3H/HeJ compared with C57BL/6J mice. In the present study, we determined whether osteoclast numbers in vivo and osteoclast formation from bone marrow cells in vitro might also differ between the two mouse strains. We have found that the number of osteoclasts on bone surfaces of distal humerus secondary spongiosa was 2-fold higher in 5.5-week-old C57BL/6J mice than in C3H/HeJ mice of the same age (p < 0.001). Bone marrow cells of C57BL/6J mice cocultured with Swiss/Webster mouse osteoblasts consistently produced more osteoclasts than did C3H/HeJ bone marrow cells at all ages tested from 3.5-14 weeks of age (p < 0.001). Osteoclast formation was also greater from spleen cells of 3.5-week-old C57BL/6J mice than C3H/HeJ mice. The distribution of nuclei per osteoclast and the 1, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 dose dependence of osteoclast production from bone marrow cells were similar. Osteoclasts that developed from both C57BL/6J and C3H/HeJ marrow cells formed pits in dentin slices. Cultures from C57BL/6J marrow cells formed 2.5-fold more pits than cultures from C3H/HeJ marrow cells (p < 0.02). We compared the abilities of C57BL/6J and C3H/HeJ osteoblasts to support osteoclast formation. When bone marrow cells from either C57BL/6J or C3H/HeJ mice were cocultured with osteoblasts from either C57BL/6J or C3H/HeJ newborn calvaria, the strain from which osteoblasts were derived did not affect the number of osteoclasts formed from marrow cells of either strain. Together, these observations suggest that genes affecting the bone marrow osteoclast precursor population may contribute to the relative differences in bone density that occur between C3H/HeJ and C57BL/6J mouse strains.

Bisphosphonates inhibit bone resorption and are therapeutically effective in diseases of increased bone turnover, such as Paget's disease and hypercalcemia of malignancy. The mechanisms by which they act remain unclear. Proposed mechanisms include inhibition of osteoclast formation from precursors and inhibitory or toxic effect on mature osteoclasts. We have developed a new in vitro model to study osteoclast survival and in this paper present in vitro and in vivo evidence that may explain both the observed reduction in osteoclast numbers and in bone resorption by mature osteoclasts, namely that bisphosphonates induce programmed cell death (apoptosis). Three bisphosphonates (risedronate, pamidronate, and clodronate) caused a 4- to 24-fold increase in the proportion of osteoclasts showing the characteristic morphology of apoptosis in vitro. This observation was confirmed in vivo in normal mice, in mice with increased bone resorption, and in nude mice with osteolytic cancer metastases, with similar-fold increases to those observed in vitro. Of the three compounds, risedronate, the most potent inhibitor of bone resorption in vivo, was the strongest inducer of osteoclast apoptosis in vitro. Osteoclast apoptosis may therefore be a major mechanism whereby bisphosphonates reduce osteoclast numbers and activity, and induction of apoptosis could be a therapeutic goal for new antiosteoclast drugs.

Human breast cancer frequently metastasizes to the skeleton to cause osteolysis and subsequent pain, pathological fracture, and hypercalcemia. Because bone continuously releases growth factors stored in bone matrix by bone resorption during physiological remodeling and, thus, possibly provides a favorable microenvironment for metastatic breast cancer cells to proliferate, inhibitors of bone resorption used either prophylactically or in patients with established disease, therefore, would seem likely to be useful adjuvant therapy in patients with breast cancer. However, the parameters for monitoring progressive osteolytic bone disease in humans are imprecise. We examined the effects of the third generation bisphosphonate, risedronate, which is a specific inhibitor of osteoclastic bone resorption, in a bone metastasis model in nude mice in which intracardiac injection of the human breast cancer cell line MDA-231 leads to osteolytic bone metastases. Risedronate (4 micrograms/animal/day) was given s.c. to animals (a) after radiologically small but defined osteolytic metastases were observed; (b) simultaneously with MDA-231 cell inoculation through the entire experimental period; or (c) by short-term prophylactic administration before inoculation of MDA-231 cells. In all experiments, risedronate either slowed progression or inhibited the development of bone metastases assessed radiographically. Furthermore, mice treated continuously with risedronate showed significantly longer survival than did control mice. Histomorphometrical analysis revealed that osteoclast numbers were diminished at metastatic tumor sites. Unexpectedly, there was also a marked decrease in tumor burden in bone in risedronate-treated animals. In contrast, the growth of metastatic breast cancer in soft tissues surrounding bones was not affected by risedronate. Moreover, risedronate had no effects on the local growth of s.c. implanted MDA-231 breast cancers in nude mice or on MDA-231 cell proliferation in culture. These data demonstrate that risedronate decreases metastatic MDA-231 breast cancer burden selectively in bone, as well as suppresses progression of established osteolytic lesions and prevents the development of new osteolytic lesions; thus, the data suggest that inhibition of osteoclastic bone resorption may be a useful adjunctive therapy for the treatment of cancers that have colonized in bone.

In the rat, 1 week of a calcium-deficient diet will recruit large numbers of osteoclasts to long bone endosteal surfaces. Subsequent calcium supplementation causes the osteoclasts to disappear in 1-3 days but as little as 3 hours of calcium supplementation reduces the extent of their ruffled borders. To test the hypothesis that at some point there is an irreversible inhibition of osteoclasts, male, weanling, calcium-deficient, SD rats were given various amounts of calcium-containing diet followed by a 12-hour fast. No changes in seven morphological indices of osteoclast activity were found. The hypothesis that the fast had reversed the effects of the calcium diet was supported by a second experiment indicating that no inhibition threshold had been reached. Another experiment showed differences in the degree of osteoclast inhibition with different amounts of calcium supplementation, again without evidence of a threshold. These experiments raised two questions: (1) Will fasting recruit osteoclasts in calcium-replete rats? and (2) Is osteoclast recruitment facilitated by the presence of postosteoclasts? The results of experiments testing these hypotheses support the conclusion that fasting and calcium deficiency maintain plasma calcium levels by different mechanisms, and post-osteoclasts are not available for reactivation. It is concluded that inhibition of osteoclasts by dietary calcium is a graded phenomenon, and when osteoclasts have lost contact with the bone surface they are unavailable for reactivation; a threshold has been reached.