Objective: Elbow extension deficit following brachial plexus
injuries can sometimes be overlooked. Elbow flexion deficit is
more prominent in the early stages of obstetric paralysis and is
used as an ...indication for early nerve surgery. However, in the
future extension deficits may become more numerous.
Residual disabilities following obstetric paralyses can be dynamically
addressed by tendon transfers. In patients with obstetric
paralysis, canonical donor muscles such as the deltoid or biceps
may be insufficient for restoration of elbow extension. The brachialis
muscle, because of its deep and secluded position, may
be considered as one of the more recent options for selection as
a donor in these patient groups.
In this study, the efficiency of brachialis to triceps transfer both in
elbow extension and in shoulder abduction was assessed.
Materials and Methods: Seven obstetrical palsy patients with
varying degrees of sequelae around the shoulder and elbow underwent
a brachialis to triceps transfer procedure. All patients
had previously undergone a modified Hoffer procedure. Ranges
of motion in shoulder and elbow joints were recorded before
and after the transfer. A minimum of M3+ in elbow flexion was
set as a prerequisite for the transfer. Results: The elbow extension was improved from a median of
-70° (interquertile range, IQR: 20º) to a median of -10° (IQR: 35º)
in the follow-up (p<0.05). Shoulder abduction was improved
from a median of 140° (IQR: 5º) to a median of 170° (IQR: 15º)
(p<0.05). Elbow flexion power was found to be diminished
from median M4 (Q1: M3+, Q3: M5) to M3 (Q1: M3, Q3: M3+)
(p<0.05).
Conclusions: Brachialis to triceps transfer was found to be a suitable
alternative in palliative surgery of obstetric palsy patients
in terms of elbow extension. Loss of elbow flexion power was
within acceptable range.
Objective: Severe supination deformity may be seen in brachial
plexus birth palsy (BPBP). The aim of this study was to determine
the efficacy of pronating radius osteotomy in the management
of this ...deformity.
Material and Methods: BPBP patients with severe supination
deformity were included in this study and they were operated
between November 2003 and December 2015, by the same
operative team. Pronating radius osteotomy was performed and
internal fixation was maintained either by Kirschner wires or semitubular
plates. In some patients, tendon transfers were performed
during the same operation for the restoration of shoulder
and thumb abduction and wrist extension.
Results: Forty one patients had supination deformities caused
by BPBP. The mean age was 9.2 years (4-22). The mean follow-up
was 5 years (1-7). The mean active pronation was -60° before the
operation, and the passive one was -10°. The mean active pronation
of the patients was 9° after the operation, and the passive
one was 45°. The mean active supination of the patients was 75°
before the operation, and the passive one was 85°. The mean
active supination of the patients was 45° after the operation,
and the passive one was 65°. One malunion was detected at the
second year after the operation (1/41). Three patients had low
pronation degrees during the follow-up (3/41).
Conclusion: Satisfactory postural and functional improvement
can be achieved with the use of pronating radius osteotomy for
patients with severe supination contractures.
Objectives: Serum‐ and glucocorticoid‐inducible kinase 1 (SGK1) inhibits the ubiquitin ligase neuronal cell expressed developmentally downregulated 4‐2 (Nedd4‐2), which retards the retrieval of the ...epithelial Na+ channel ENaC. Accordingly, SGK1 enhances ENaC abundance in the cell membrane. The significance of this effect is shown by an association of an E8CC/CT;I6CC polymorphism in the SGK1 gene with increased blood pressure. However, strong expression of SGK1 in enterocytes not expressing ENaC points to further functions of SGK1. This study was performed to test for regulation of Na+‐coupled glucose transporter 1 (SGLT1) by Nedd4‐2, SGK1, and/or the related kinases SGK3 and PKB. Additional studies searched for an association of the SGK1 gene with BMI.
Research Methods and Procedures: mRNA encoding SGLT1, wild‐type Nedd4‐2, inactive C938SNedd4‐2, wild type SGK1, constitutively active S422DSGK1 or inactive K127NSGK1, wild‐type SGK3, and constitutively active T308DS473DPKB or inactive T308AS473APKB were injected into Xenopus oocytes, and glucose transport was quantified from glucose‐induced current (Iglc). BMI was determined in individuals with or without the E8CC/CT;I6CC polymorphism.
Results: Iglc was significantly decreased by coexpression of Nedd4‐2 but not of C938SNedd4‐2. Coexpression of SGK1, S422DSGK1, SGK3, or T308DS473DPKB, but not of K127NSGK1 or T308AS473APKB, enhanced Iglc and reversed the effect of Nedd4‐2. SGK1 and SGK3 phosphorylated Nedd4‐2. Deletion of the SGK/PKB phosphorylation sites in Nedd4‐2 blunted the kinase effects. BMI was significantly (p < 0.008) greater in individuals with the E8CC/CT;I6CC polymorphism than in individuals without.
Discussion: Overactivity of SGK1 may lead not only to excessive ENaC activity and hypertension but also to enhanced SGLT1 activity and obesity.
Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) belonging to Poaceae family is a valuable staple food all over the world. Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici is one of the major limiting factor in wheat production, ...causing stem rust disease. RNA interference (RNAi) is an effective technique for plant production against abiotic stresses. One of the most investigated RNAi molecules is microRNAs (miRNAs). It is well established that miRNAs play important role for the regulation of gene expression at post-transcriptional and pos-translational level. In the present study, wheat miRNAs-stem rust interactions were investigated by in silico methods. For this purpose, reference mature wheat miRNAs were retrieved from miRBase, and the sequences of avirulence gene (AvrSr35) in Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici were obtained from NCBI. RNAhybrid algorithm was used to predict the relationships between miRNAs and avirulence gene targets. Moreover, a phylogenetic tree was constructed by using miRNAs via MEGA X. We determined that AvrSr35 gene was targeted by a total of 12 miRNAs including tae-miR9657a-3p, tae-miR9671-5p, tae-miR1122c-3p, tae-miR1130b-3p, tae-miR9678-3p, tae-miR9781, tae-miR9666b-3p, tae-miR531, tae-miR9773, tae-miR9778, tae-miR9677b and tae-miR10516. All miRNAs were separated into three major groups. All miRNAs showed close relationship. The first main group consisted of only tae-miR9778. Obtaining findings are expected to contribute roles of miRNAs in the interaction between disease-related miRNAs in plants and pathogens.
The serum- and glucose-regulated kinase (SGK1) gene has recently been identified as an important aldosterone-induced protein kinase that mediates trafficking of the renal epithelial Na(+) channel ...(ENaC) to the cell membrane. Thus, SGK1 is an appealing candidate for blood pressure regulation and possibly essential hypertension. To test this hypothesis, we recruited monozygotic (126 pairs) and dizygotic (70 pairs) normotensive twin subjects and parents of dizygotic twins. Blood pressure was measured in a controlled fashion: recumbent, sitting, and upright. We documented genetic variance on blood pressure in all positions. We then relied on microsatellite markers at the SGK1 gene locus (D6S472, D6S1038, and D6S270) and 2 single nucleotide polymorphisms within the SGK1 gene. We found significant linkage of the SGK1 gene locus to diastolic blood pressure (P<0.0002) and suggestive evidence for linkage for systolic blood pressure (P<0.04), documenting the locus as a quantitative trait locus for blood pressure. We next performed association, using all dizygotic twins and a monozygotic member from each pair. We found significant associations between both single nucleotide polymorphism variants and blood pressure, as well as a significant interaction between the single nucleotide polymorphisms enhancing the effect. This combined effect of the polymorphisms was confirmed in an independent sample of 260 young normotensive men. We conclude that the SGK1 gene is relevant to blood pressure regulation and probably to hypertension in man.
The surgical management of obstetrical brachial plexus palsy can generally be divided into two groups; early reconstructions in which the plexus or affected nerves are addressed and late or ...palliative reconstructions in which the residual deformities are addressed. Tendon transfers are the mainstay of palliative surgery. Occasionally, surgeons are required to utilise already denervated and subsequently reinnervated muscles as motors. This study aimed to compare the outcomes of tendon transfers for residual shoulder dysfunction in patients who had undergone early nerve surgery to the outcomes in patients who had not.
A total of 91 patients with obstetric paralysis-related shoulder abduction and external rotation deficits who underwent a modified Hoffer transfer of the latissimus dorsi/teres major to the greater tubercle of the humerus tendon between 2002 and 2009 were retrospectively analysed. The patients who had undergone neural surgery during infancy were compared to those who had not in terms of their preoperative and postoperative shoulder abduction and external rotation active ranges of motion.
In the early surgery groups, only the postoperative external rotation angles showed statistically significant differences (25 degrees and 75 degrees for total and upper type palsies, respectively). Within the palliative surgery-only groups, there were no significant differences between the preoperative and postoperative abduction and external rotation angles. The significant differences between the early surgery groups and the palliative surgery groups with total palsy during the preoperative period diminished postoperatively (p < 0.05 and p > 0.05, respectively) for abduction but not for external rotation. Within the upper type palsy groups, there were no significant differences between the preoperative and postoperative abduction and external rotation angles.
In this study, it was found that in patients with total paralysis, satisfactory shoulder abduction values can be achieved with tendon transfers regardless of a previous history of neural surgery even if the preoperative values differ.
Surveys were carried out in garlic cultivation areas of Gaziantep province in April 2018 and April 2019 to determine the prevalence of fungal diseases of garlic. After the isolation process was ...conducted according to routine mycological methods, fungi were identified according to their cultural and morphological characteristics. Fungi belonging to genera of Fusarium, Rhizoctonia, Macrophomina and Puccinia were determined in garlic production areas. The most prevalent genus among all fungi was determined as the Fusarium isolated from all areas. The rust disease caused by Puccinia porri has not been detected in the Islahiye district and its prevalence in other areas varies between 5,1-18 %.
Autosomal-dominant hypertension and brachydactyly (Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man 112410) is a prototype-translational research project. We used interphase fluorescent in situ hybridization and ...discovered complex rearrangements on chromosome 12p in 5 families but elucidated a common inverted region in the linkage interval. The inversion contains no known gene. However, we found 5 expressed sequence tags in databases. We used 5'- and 3'-Rapid Amplification of cDNA Ends PCR for elongation of the transcripts in phenotype-relevant tissue (fetal aorta, fetal brain, and fetal cartilage). We detected tissue-specific multiple splicing with different exon usage of 32 exons in the gene-related structure. These different transcripts lack both open reading frames and Kozak sequences. In vitro transcription/translation experiments did not identify any peptide-related molecules. We then performed quantitative RT-PCR to test for differential expression of the various spliced transcripts in the total fibroblast RNA of affected and nonaffected Turkish family members. Skin fibroblasts of affected individuals have a significantly increased proliferation rate compared with nonaffected individuals. Ten of 12 spliced exon combinations representing all of the spliced variants do not show a significantly different RNA expression rate. However, 2 RT-PCR products are exclusively expressed in nonaffected individuals. Both reverse transcription amplicons share 1 exon. This result is surprising because of the autosomal-dominant mode of inheritance of the trait. RNA secondary prediction of this single exon results in a stable stem-loop structure known to be essential for microRNA processing. We are pursuing the possibility of microRNA expression in affected patients that leads to complete down regulation of a spliced transcript.
Clinical measurement and cross-sectional study.
Numerous scales have been developed to examine activities of daily living and function in children with brachial plexus palsy. The Brachial Plexus ...Outcome Measure (BPOM) scale was developed in 2012 by Emily S. Ho and contains 14 items that measure activity and self-evaluation.
The aim of the study was to cross-culturally translate the BPOM scale into Turkish and test its measurement properties in children with brachial plexus palsy.
The scale was translated into Turkish using standard cross-cultural translation procedures. Forty-eight children with obstetric brachial plexus palsy (OBPP) were included in psychometric evaluations. Internal structure consistency and test-retest reliability were measured for reliability analyses. For each item on the scale, Cronbach alpha coefficient and item-total score correlations for all subscales were calculated. The scale was administered at baseline and 1 week later by 2 different physiotherapists to evaluate test-retest reliability. Concurrent construct validity was assessed using Pearson correlations between the OBPP and the Mallet classification system.
Eighteen (37.5%) girls and 30 (62%) boys, in total 48 children, whose mean age was 8.7 ± 2.4 (minimum-maximum = 5-14) years were included in the study; 9 (18.9%) have a history of both early microsurgery and tendon transfers and 39 (81.3%) have a history of only tendon transfer. Cronbach alpha ranged from 0.89 to 0.96, and for the whole scale, it was calculated as 0.938.
Test-retest reliability was high. Moderate correlations were observed between the measures.
The Turkish BPOM scale is a valid and reliable measurement for assessing function in children with OBPP in the Turkish population.
•The studies specified that developing new evaluation scales that take into account the ICF and include spontaneous use of the upper limb in daily life in children with obstetric brachial plexus palsy (OBPP) is necessary.•The Brachial Plexus Outcome Measure (BPOM) classified the effect of functionality within the ICF activity and participation.
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