Early life malnutrition and fluctuating asymmetry in the rat bony labyrinth

Maternal malnutrition during gestation and lactation is known to have adverse effects on offspring. We evaluate the impact of maternal diet on offspring bony labyrinth morphology. The bony labyrinth develops early and is thought to be stable to protect vital sensory organs within. For these reasons, bony labyrinth morphology has been used extensively to assess locomotion, hearing function, and phylogeny in primates and numerous other taxa. While variation related to these parameters has been documented, there is still a component of intraspecific variation that is unexplained. Although the labyrinthine developmental window is small, it may provide the opportunity for developmental instability to produce corresponding shape differences, as measured by fluctuating asymmetry (FA). We hypothesized that (a) offspring with poor maternal diet would exhibit increased FA, but (b) no unilateral shape difference. To test these hypotheses, we used two groups of rats (Rattus norvegicus; Crl:WI[Han] strain), one control group and one group exposed to a isocaloric, protein-restricted maternal diet during gestation and suckling. Individuals were sampled at weaning, sexual maturity, and old age. A Procrustes analysis of variance identified statistically significant FA in all diet-age subgroups. No differences in level of FA were identified among the subgroups, rejecting our first hypothesis. A principal components analysis identified no unilateral shape differences, supporting our second hypothesis. These results indicate that bony labyrinth morphology is remarkably stable and likely protected from a poor maternal diet during development. In light of this result, other factors must be explored to explain intraspecific variation in labyrinthine shape.     

Future Interventional Radiologists and Where to Find Them–Insights from Five UK Interventional Radiology Symposia for Junior Doctors and Medical Students

CardioVascular and Interventional Radiology - The interventional radiology (IR) trainee recruitment in the UK is lagging behind the pace of service expansion and is potentially hindered by...     

Pathways to earned-security: The role of alternative support figures

This study explored the kinds of relationship experiences associated with earned-security, i.e., the extent to which mothers who report early negative relationship histories with their parents are later able to form a secure working model of attachment (indicated by the ability to speak clearly and coherently about these histories). Mothers from a low-risk sample (N = 121) expecting their first child completed the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI), which was used to assess earned-security retrospectively using the stringent definition recommended by Main and Hesse (Hesse, 2008 Hesse, E. 2008. “The Adult Attachment Interview: Protocol, method of analysis, and empirical studies”. In The handbook of attachment: Theory, research and clinical applications, Edited by: Cassidy, J. and Shaver, P. R. 552–598. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.  [Google Scholar]; Main, Goldwyn, & Hesse, 2002 Main, M., Goldwyn, R. and Hesse, E. 2002/2008. Adult attachment scoring and classification system, Unpublished scoring manual, University of California at Berkeley.  [Google Scholar]), as well as to identify alternative support figures. Participants also completed self-report measures of depressive symptomatology, questionnaires concerning their experiences in therapy, and later, when their babies were 12 to 15 months old, the Strange Situation procedure. Sixteen mothers were classified as earned-secure (25% of those classified as secure-autonomous and 13% of the whole sample). Women who were earned-secure (vs. insecure and continuous-secure) reported significantly higher levels of emotional support, but not instrumental support, from alternative support figures. They also spent more time in therapy than did insecure and continuous-secure women and were more likely to form secure attachments with their infants than insecure women. These findings were obtained even after controlling for depressive symptoms.     

Reliability of the Cutting Alignment Scoring Tool (CAST) to Assess Trunk and Limb Alignment During a 45-Degree Side-Step Cut

BackgroundThree-dimensional (3D) motion analysis is considered the gold standard for evaluating human movement. However, its clinical utility is limited due to cost, operating expertise, and lengthy data processing time. Numerous qualitative scoring systems have been introduced to assess trunk and lower extremity biomechanics during functional tasks. However, the reliability of qualitative scoring systems to evaluate cutting movements is understudied. Purpose/Hypotheses: To assess the inter-rater and intra-rater reliability of the Cutting Alignment Scoring Tool (CAST) among sports medicine providers and to evaluate rater agreement of each component of the CAST. The hypotheses were: 1) there would be good–to-excellent inter-rater and intra-rater reliability among sports medicine providers, 2) there would be good to almost perfect agreement for cut width and trunk lean variables and moderate to good agreement for valgus variables of the CAST.Study DesignRepeated MeasuresMethodsTen videos of a 45-degree side-step cut performed by adolescent athletes were independently rated on two occasions by six raters (2 medical doctors, 2 physical therapists, and 2 athletic trainers). The variables assessed include trunk lean to the opposite direction of the cut, increased cut width, knee valgus at initial load acceptance (static), and knee valgus throughout the task (dynamic). Variables were scored as either present, which were given a score of “1”, or not present, which were given a score of “0”. Video sequence was randomized in each rating session, and a two-week wash out period was given.ResultsThe cumulative inter-rater and intra-rater reliabilities were good (ICC: 0.808 and ICC: 0.753). Almost perfect kappa coefficients were recorded for cut width (k=0.949). Moderate kappa coefficients were found for trunk lean (k= 0.632) and fair kappa coefficients were noted for dynamic and static valgus (k=0.462 and k= 0.533 respectively).ConclusionThese findings suggest that the CAST is a reliable tool to evaluate trunk and LE alignment during a cutting task by sports medicine providers.Level of EvidenceLevel 2 Diagnosis     

Evidence for a Direct Effect of the NAD+ Precursor Acipimox on Muscle Mitochondrial Function in Humans

Recent preclinical studies showed the potential of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD⁺) precursors to increase oxidative phosphorylation and improve metabolic health, but human data are lacking. We hypothesize that the nicotinic acid derivative acipimox, an NAD⁺ precursor, would directly affect mitochondrial function independent of reductions in nonesterified fatty acid (NEFA) concentrations. In a multicenter randomized crossover trial, 21 patients with type 2 diabetes (age 57.7 ± 1.1 years, BMI 33.4 ± 0.8 kg/m²) received either placebo or acipimox 250 mg three times daily dosage for 2 weeks. Acipimox treatment increased plasma NEFA levels (759 ± 44 vs. 1,135 ± 97 μmol/L for placebo vs. acipimox, P < 0.01) owing to a previously described rebound effect. As a result, skeletal muscle lipid content increased and insulin sensitivity decreased. Despite the elevated plasma NEFA levels, ex vivo mitochondrial respiration in skeletal muscle increased. Subsequently, we showed that acipimox treatment resulted in a robust elevation in expression of nuclear-encoded mitochondrial gene sets and a mitonuclear protein imbalance, which may indicate activation of the mitochondrial unfolded protein response. Further studies in C2C12 myotubes confirmed a direct effect of acipimox on NAD⁺ levels, mitonuclear protein imbalance, and mitochondrial oxidative capacity. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to demonstrate that NAD⁺ boosters can also directly affect skeletal muscle mitochondrial function in humans.