Study of the course of the incidence angle during growth

Standing posture is made possible by hip extension and lumbar lordosis. Lumbar lordosis is correlated with pelvic parameters, such as the declivity angle of the upper surface of the sacrum and the incidence angle, which determine the sagittal morphotype. Incidence angle, which is different for each individual, is known to be very important for upright posture, but its course during life has not yet been established. Incidence angle was measured on radiographs of 30 fetuses, 30 children and 30 adults, and results were analysed using the correlation coefficientr and Student's t test. A statistically significant correlation between age and incidence angle was observed. Incidence angle considerably increases during the first months, continues to increase during early years, and stabilizes around the age of 10 years. Incidence is a mark of bipedism, and its role in sagittal balance is essential.     

The relationship between the Stiles–Crawford effect of the first kind (SCE-I) and myopia

The Stiles-Crawford effect of the first kind (SCE-I) was measured on both emmetropic and myopic subjects at six different retinal locations. The results revealed a number of significant discrepancies in receptor alignment between the groups of different refractive errors. In myopic subjects, the receptors in the nasal retina (i.e. between the fovea and the optic nerve head) were found to be aligned nasally towards the optic nerve head, whereas the receptors in the temporal retina were aligned towards the centre of the exit pupil. In emmetropic subjects, the receptors across the retina were finely tuned towards the centre of the exit pupil. The magnitude of the receptor displacement in myopic subjects was found to be directly associated with the length of the eyeball.     

Immunoglobulin mimicry by Hepatitis C Virus envelope protein E2

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) establishes persistent infection in the majority of infected individuals. The currently accepted hypothesis of immune evasion by antigenic variation in hypervariable region 1 (HVR1) of glycoprotein E2 does not however, explain the lack of subsequent immune recognition. Here, we show that the N-terminal region of E2 is antigenically and structurally similar to human immunoglobulin (Ig) variable domains. E2 is recognized by anti-human IgG antibodies and also possesses common amino acid (aa) sequence features of the conserved v-gene framework regions of human Ig light chains in particular but also heavy chains and T cell receptors. Using a position specific scoring system, the degree of similarity of HVR1 to Ig types correlated with immune escape and persistence in humans and experimentally infected chimpanzees. We propose a unique role for threshold levels of Ig molecular mimicry in HCV biology that not only advances our concept of viral immune escape and persistent infection but also provides insight into host-dependent disease patterns.     

Identification of a Thymidylate Synthase Gene within the Genome of Chilo Iridescent Virus

The thymidylate synthase (TS, EC 2.1.1.45) is essential for the de novo synthesis of dTMP in pro- and eucaryotic organisms. Consequently it plays a major role in the replication of the DNA genome of a cell or a DNA virus. The gene encoding the TS of Chilo iridescent virus (CIV) was identified by nucleotide sequence analysis of the viral genome and was mapped within the EcoRI CIV DNA fragments G and R. Computer assisted analysis of the DNA nucleotide sequence between the genome coordinates 0.482 and 0.489 revealed an open reading frame (ORF) of 885 nucleotides. This ORF was found to encode a polypeptide of 295 amino acid residues (33.9 kDa) that showed significant homologies to known TS of different species including mammals, plants, fungi, protozoa, bacteria, and DNA viruses. The highest amino acid homologies were found between the CIV-TS and the TS of herpesvirus ateles (54.0%), Saccharomyces cerevisiae (51.8%), herpesvirus saimiri (51.0%), rhesus monkey rhadinovirus (50.7%), mouse (50.5%), rat (50.2%), varicella-zoster virus (50.2%), equine herpesvirus 2 (50.0%), and the human TS (48.4%). The CIV-TS contains six amino acid domains that are highly conserved in the TS of other species. Within these domains the major amino acid residues are present for which a functional role has been reported. The CIV-TS was found to be more closely related to the TS of eucaryotes than to the TS of procaryotes indicating the phylogenetic origin of the CIV-TS gene. The identification of a TS gene in the genome of CIV is the first report of a viral TS that is not encoded by a herpesvirus or a bacteriophage.     

Glycoprotein B of bovine herpesvirus type 4: Its phylogenetic relationship to gB equivalents of the herpesviruses

In order to estimate the phylogenetic relationship of BHV-4 among the herpesviruses, we have cloned and sequenced its glycoprotein B (gB). The 2.6 kb open reading frame codes for a 874 amino acid long protein. The comparison of its deduced amino acid sequence with those of its counterparts in 19 distinct herpesviruses groups BHV-4 into the -herpesvirinae. The calculation of an evolutionary tree emphasized that BHV-4 is more closely related to herpesvirus saimiri (HVS) than to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). However, in contrast to EBV and HVS, the gB of BHV-4 contains a putative protease cleavage site and 20 potential N-glycosylation sites. The alignment of the amino acid sequences revealed that 10 cysteine and 7 proline residues, as well as the motifs SPF and GQLG, were completely conserved among the 20 investigated gBs.     

Molecular characterization and determination of the coding capacity of the genome of equine herpesvirus type 2 between the genome coordinates 0.235 and 0.258 (theEcoRI DNA fragment N; 4.2 kbp)

The complete DNA nucleotide sequence of theEcoRI DNA fragment N (0.235 to 0.258 viral map units) of equine herpes virus type 2 (EHV-2) strain T400/3 was determined. This DNA fragment comprises 4237 bp with a base composition of 55.23% G+C and 44.77% A+T. Nineteen open reading frames (ORFs) of 50-287 amino acid (aa) residues were detected. ORF number 10 is located between the nucleotide position 2220 and 2756 coding for a protein of 179 amino acid residues. This protein shows significant homology to the cytokine synthesis inhibitory factor (CSIF; interleukin 10) of human (76.4%) and mouse (68.5%), and to the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) protein BCRF1 (70.6%). The existence of an interleukin 10 (IL-10) analogous gene within the genome of the EHV-2 was confirmed by screening the genome of nine EHV-2 strains using specific oligonucleotide primers corresponding to the 5 and 3 region of this particular gene by polymerase chain reaction. In all experiments an 870 bp DNA product was amplified. The specifity of the amplified DNA fragments obtained from individual EHV-2 strains was confirmed by DNA-DNA hybridization experiments. The DNA sequence analysis of the amplified DNA products of the EHV-2 strain LK was carried out. This analysis revealed the identity of the corresponding IL-10 gene (540 bp) of this strain to the IL-10 gene of EHV-2 strain T400/3. The presented data indicate that the EHV-2 genome harbors a viral interleukin 10-like gene. This is further evidence that the IL-10 gene can be present in the genomes of members of the Herpesviridae family.     

The dorsal spino-olivocerebellar system in the cat

Summary The spino-olivocerebellar paths ascending through the dorsal funiculi (DF-SOCPs) were studied by recording climbing fiber field potentials in the cerebellar cortex. Several DF-SOCPs were identified on the basis of their response latencies, peripheral inputs, and projection areas. The projection areas consist of eight sagittal zones on each side of the anterior lobe denoted a, x, b, C₁, c₂, c₃, d₁, and d₂. The a and b zones, which are activated exclusively from hindlimb nerves (Oscarsson, 1969a) were not studied.The shortest response latencies in the x, c₁, c₃ and d₂ zones indicate that these zones are activated by direct paths between the dorsal funiculus nuclei and the inferior olive. These zones also have long latency responses evoked through indirect paths. The direct paths are activated from the flexor reflex afferents and the indirect paths from distal cutaneous afferents. The x zone is activated from forelimb nerves only. The c₁ and c₃ zones and presumably also the d₂ zone are activated from hindlimb and forelimb nerves and have a detailed somatotopical organization.The c₂ and d₁ zones have long latency responses evoked through indirect paths. Both zones are activated from distal cutaneous afferents. The c₂ zone has no distinct somatotopical organization, whereas the d₁ zone has largely separate forelimb and hindlimb areas. In contrast to all other zones, the c₂ zone is activated not only from ipsilateral but also from contralateral nerves.     

Approximately 80% of Japanese osteoarthritic patients fall out of the safety range in restricted kinematically-aligned total knee arthroplasty in an analysis of preoperative long-leg radiograms

BackgroundRestricted kinematically-aligned total knee arthroplasty (KA-TKA) is a reasonable modification to avoid the alignment outlier that may cause implant failure. However, despite a noted high incidence of constitutional varus in Japanese individuals, there has been no investigation into how many knees require the restriction in restricted KA-TKA (RKA-TKA) among Japanese patients. Therefore, we conducted a study using preoperative long-leg radiograms.MethodsWe studied long-leg radiographs of 228 knees in 114 consecutive patients. The numbers of knees within the safety range and their corrective osteotomy angle in the restriction algorithms advocated by Almaawi et al. (2017) and MacDessi et al. (2020) were evaluated.ResultsAccording to the algorithms used by Almaawi et al. and MacDessi et al., out of 228 knees, 46 (20%) and 39 (17%) fell within the safety range, respectively. The mean correction angles of the hip-knee-ankle angle, lateral distal femoral angle and medial proximal tibial angle were 2.8 ± 3.4°, 0.4 ± 1.4° and 2.4 ± 2.8° in the algorithm used by Almaawi et al., while they were −4.9 ± 4.7°, 1.1 ± 2.5° and −6.0 ± 3.4° in the algorithm used by MacDessi et al. Most of the knees needed to be restricted in order to perform RKA-TKA, regardless of the algorithm used.ConclusionsBased on a preoperative analysis of long-leg radiograms in a Japanese population, most knees fall out of the safety range in RKA-TKA. Surgeons must consider whether to allow component outlier or to perform corrective osteotomy that likely requires soft tissue release.     

术前颈椎过伸功能与颈椎后路单开门椎管扩大成形术后前凸角度丢失的关系

目的 探讨术前颈椎过伸功能与颈椎后路单开门椎管扩大成形术后前凸角度丢失的关系。方法 回顾性分析首都医科大学大兴教学医院骨科2017年1月-2018年12月58例行颈椎后路单开门椎管扩大成形术患者临床资料,其中男45例、女13例,年龄49~85岁(平均64.8岁)。术前测量患者中立侧位X线片上的T₁倾斜角、矢状面垂直轴(SVA),以及中立侧位、过伸位X线片的C₂~C₇ Cobb角。随访12~24个月,术后再次测量中立侧位X线片上的C₂~C₇ Cobb角。术前颈椎过伸功能测量值为术前过伸位X线片C₂~C₇ Cobb角度减去术前中立侧位X线片C₂~C₇ Cobb角。前凸角度丢失量为术前中立侧位片C₂~C₇ Cobb角减去末次随访时中立侧位片C₂~C₇ Cobb角。依据58例患者术前颈椎过伸功能均值(8.7°)分为两组,≥8.7°为A组,＜8.7°为 B 组。比较两组患者术前及术后影像及临床资料,同时对58例患者的影像学资料与临床资料进行相关性分析。结果 A组25例患者年龄54~83岁,B组33例患者年龄49~85岁,两组患者术前年龄、性别、疾病种类差异均无统计学意义(P值均>0.05)。术前A组颈椎过伸功能(14.09°±4.75°)大于B组(4.62°±2.54°),A组T₁倾斜角(17.00°±3.40°)小于B组(29.68°±6.34°),颈椎前凸角度丢失[1.10(-0.85,4.00)]小于B组[8.60 (7.70,12.40)],差异均有统计学意义(P值均＜0.01)。颈椎过伸功能与前凸角度丢失之间呈负相关(r=-0.965, P＜0.01),T₁倾斜角与前凸角度丢失之间呈正相关(r=0.954, P＜0.01),颈椎过伸功能与T₁倾斜角呈负相关(r=-0.900, P＜0.01);SVA与T₁倾斜角、颈椎过伸功能、术后前凸角度丢失均无相关性(r=-0.065、0.216、-0.202, P＞0.05)。术后JOA评分改善率与过伸角度变化、SVA及T₁倾斜角均无相关性(r=0.201、-0.034、-0.213, P值均＞0.05)。A组术后JOA改善率为69%±23%,B 组术后JOA改善率为62%±23%,两组差异无统计学意义(t=1.147, P＞0.05)。术后Odom's分级评价A组优良率为88.0%(22/25),B组优良率为63.6%(21/33),差异有统计学意义(χ² =4.403, P<0.05)。结论 对于后路单开门椎管扩大成形术患者,颈椎过伸功能与前凸角度丢失存在相关性,术前过伸功能越低,术后越易发生前凸角度丢失,可作为术前预判术后颈椎曲度变化的参数之一。