Materials and methods: The Duncan, HU, SMC, Pretzel, Nicky's and square knots were selected for comparisons with UM knot. All knots were prepared with size 2 HiFi® suture by a single experienced surgeon and tested with cyclic loading and load to failure tests. The ease of learning was assessed objectively by recording the time to learn the first correct knot and the total number of knots completed in 5 min by surgeons and trainees.
Results: The UM knot average failure load is significantly superior to the HU knot (p
METHODS: A 32-year-old man with type 1 neurofibromatosis presented with bilateral neck masses. Magnetic resonance imaging showed parapharyngeal masses consistent with neurogenic tumours, most likely neurofibromas.
RESULTS: Surgical exploration through lateral cervical approach revealed unexpected finding of the tumour that arose from the hypoglossal nerve. The tumour had totally engulfed the nerve with no normal nerve fascicles identifiable, thus resected in toto. In the postoperative course, the patient developed right hypoglossal palsy and vocal fold palsy treated with augmentation of the paralysed vocal fold with temporary injection material.
CONCLUSIONS: The authors described a patient with type 1 neurofibromatosis with neurofibroma originating from cervical part of hypoglossal nerve. This paper discussed this rare condition and the management on how to improve the treatment outcome.
METHODS: The study involved 235 Malaysian subjects who were randomly selected (66 normal weight subjects, 97 overweight, 59 obese subjects, and 13 subjects who were underweight). Serum sDPP4 and active GLP-1 levels were examined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Also, body mass index kg/m(2) (BMI), lipid profiles, insulin and glucose levels were evaluated. Insulin resistance (IR) was estimated via the homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR).
RESULTS: Serum sDPP4 levels were significantly higher in obese subjects compared to normal weight subjects (p=0.034), whereas serum levels of active GLP-1 were lower (p=0.021). In obese subjects, sDPP4 levels correlated negatively with active GLP-1 levels (r(2)=-0.326, p=0.015). Furthermore, linear regression showed that sDPP4 levels were positively associated with insulin resistance (B=82.28, p=0.023) in obese subjects.
CONCLUSION: Elevated serum sDPP4 levels and reduced GLP-1 levels were observed in obese subjects. In addition, sDPP4 levels correlated negatively with active GLP-1 levels but was positively associated with insulin resistance. This finding provides evidence that sDPP4 and GLP-1 may play an important role in the pathogenesis of obesity, suggesting that sDPP4 may be valuable as an early marker for the augmented risk of obesity and insulin resistance.
EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH: The chemical composition of the OCS02® cold water extract was determined, and the antioxidant activities were examined using ferric reducing, DPPH• and O2 •- scavenging assays. Tetrazolium dye (MTT) cytotoxic assay was performed to assess the antiproliferative activity of the extract. Bioactive proteins in the active fraction of the extract were identified using liquid chromatography (LC) and tandem-mass spectrometry (MS/MS).
RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The OCS02® extract exhibited strong O2 •- scavenging (expressed as Trolox equivalents (18.4±1.1) mol/g) and potent cytotoxic activities against adenocarcinomic human alveolar basal epithelial (A549) cells (IC50=(58.2±6.8) µg/mL). High molecular mass polysaccharides, proteins and protein-polysaccharide complexes could have contributed to the antioxidant and cytotoxic selectivity of the OCS02®. LC-MS/MS analysis identified several potential cytotoxic proteases and an oxalate decarboxylase protein which may exhibit protection effects on kidneys.
NOVELTY AND SCIENTIFIC CONTRIBUTIONS: The findings demonstrate the potential of OCS02® to be developed into functional food due to its promising superoxide anion radical scavenging capacity, cytotoxic effect and presence of biopharmaceutically active proteins.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: We traced CT scans of 106 knees with no patellofemoral pathology from 59 subjects from the database system and converted all 2-D images into 3-D models to determine the values for each parameter. We compared the intra- and interobserver reliability of each method using intraclass correlation (ICC) and Bland-Altman method.
RESULTS: The values of TT-TG measured by 2-D and 3-D methods were 16.1 ± 4.6 mm and 16.2 ± 4.2 mm, respectively. The ICC values of both methods were comparable (95% limits of agreement between the same observer: - 3.3 to 3.8 mm versus - 2.4 to 2.7 mm and different observers: - 4.3 to 4.9 mm versus - 3.9 to 2.7 mm), with 3-D method results in narrower limits of agreement.
CONCLUSION: TT-TG measurement is reliable using the 2-D method without using advanced radiographic software. The 3-D method of measuring TT-TG provides measurement with narrower variation when compared with the 2-D method. However, both TT-TG distances' measurement methods in the current study were comparable as the variations are not significant.