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Carboxysomes are bacterial microcompartments encapsulating Rubisco and carbonic anhydrase for carbon fixation. Here, authors determine the organization of Rubisco and its interaction with the linker protein CsoS2 within two distant α-carboxysomes.

Decompressive craniectomies are a neurosurgical operation aimed at normalizing intracranial pressure (ICP). Occasionally, there is delayed replacement of the skull resulting in an acquired skull defect. When managing laboring patients with an acquired skull defect there is often fear associated with traditional labor involving the Valsalva maneuver and with neuraxial anesthesia. These fears typically stem from potential ICP changes and risk of herniation. In reviewing the literature, only 15 cases are described detailing labor management after decompressive craniectomy (DC), mostly with incomplete labor histories. We aim to expand that literature by reporting two cases of safe labor with epidural anesthesia in patients with large skull defects. The first described patient underwent a cranioplasty during pregnancy because of trauma. Later, because of concerns for pre‐eclampsia, induction of labor was initiated and she received neuraxial anesthesia via epidural. The patient ultimately underwent cesarean delivery 48 h after induction began due to nonreassuring fetal heart tones. The second patient underwent a cranioplasty because of infection prior to pregnancy. Once in labor, she was cleared by neurosurgery and the anesthesia team placed her epidural. She later underwent an uncomplicated standard vaginal delivery. The existing literature on labor following DC is sparse. Retrospective review of case reports can advance discussion and standardization regarding care for laboring women with a history of DC. We advocate that the Valsalva maneuver and epidural anesthesia is safe for pregnant women who are neurologically asymptomatic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ruptured intracranial aneurysms lead to significant mortality and morbidity. Recent advancements have suggested staged coiling with subsequent flow diverter stent placement may reduce the risk of hemorrhage with dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) or stent thrombosis in the acute inflammatory phase after aneurysm rupture while still appropriately mitigating risk of aneurysmal rehemorrhage.A systematic review and single-arm meta-analysis was conducted. Studies reporting patients receiving coiling followed by delayed flow diverter placement on a separate day were included.Five studies, comprising 94 patients, were included for meta-analysis. Average time between procedures ranged from 9.8 to 169 days; 24% (95% CI: 10–41%) of patients had a poor functional neurologic outcome (modified Rankin Scale > 2) at discharge compared to 4% (0–11%) at last follow-up. There was one incidence of rehemorrhage between treatments, 0% (0–4%). Vasospasm after coiling was the most common adverse event, 16% (1–41%). There was low risk of ischemic complications [1% (0–8%) with coil placement and 5% (1–11%) with stent placement]. Intraprocedural intracranial hemorrhage was also rare (two patients during coil placement; no cases during stent placement). There were no significant differences if flow diversion was performed less than or greater than 100 days from coiling.Our study highlights the benefit of primary coiling with staged flow diversion for the management of ruptured intracranial aneurysms with a low risk for complications. Namely, the rate of rebleeding between treatments was exceptionally low. We advocate for the greater consideration of this treatment combination in the treatment of ruptured intracranial aneurysms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether application of bipolar galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS) would influence the common modulation of motor unit discharge rate in bilateral soleus muscles during quiet standing. Soleus motor unit activity was recorded with fine wire electrodes in each leg. Subjects stood, with eyes closed, on two adjacent force platforms to record postural sway with the head facing straight ahead, turned to right, or turned left. Subjects also swayed voluntarily without GVS to the same position as evoked during the GVS. There was no difference in the common drive to bilateral soleus motoneurons during quiet standing and voluntary sway tasks. Common drive was significantly lower during right cathode GVS with the head straight or turned to the right. These results demonstrate that manipulation of vestibular afferent input influences the common modulation of bilateral soleus motor unit pairs during quiet standing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

- The evolution of a collagen/vicryl composite membrane designed as a prosthetic material for use in urinary tract surgery is described. The early experiments in which collagen film alone was used to repair experimental ureterotomies are reviewed together with our first experiments with the collagen/vicryl prosthesis in the repair of partial nephrectomies and of full thickness defects created in the urinary bladder of experimental rabbits. These early results led to the preparation of a composite using a more highly purified collagen and employing a method of sterilisation (gamma irradiation) which would be acceptable for regular use in medical products. The results of a further series of partial nephrectomy and full thickness bladder repairs show that irradiation does not compromise the efficacy of the collagen/vicryl composite in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

- One hundred and fifty children with proven urinary tract infection who were assessed by renal ultrasound (U/S), intravenous urography (IVU) and dimercaptosuccinic acid (M99mTc DMSA) scan, were studied to identify the sensitivity of each examination and the pick-up rate of renal scarring secondary to vesicoureteric reflux. Sixty-three of these children who had the examinations carried out within a 6-month period were assessed in detail. A scan is the most accurate method of detecting early renal scars in the young age group (0-2 and 2-5 years), followed by ultrasound. The examinations are equally sensitive over the age of 5. A new grading system of the severity of renal scarring is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Describes a procedure that communication departments, advisors and graduate students can utilize to help students cope with the task and social pressures that accompany working on a dissertation. Written from the phenomenological perspective of two recent PhDs who went through the process of completing their dissertations together. All but dissertation (ABD); Formal support for individuals of ABD status; Functions of dissertation partner; More.

Background: Transmitted HIV-1 drug resistance can compromise initial antiretroviral therapy (ART); therefore, its detection is important for patient management. The absence of drug-associated selection pressure in treatment-naïve persons can cause drug-resistant viruses to decline to levels undetectable by conventional bulk sequencing (minority drug-resistant variants). We used sensitive and simple tests to investigate evidence of transmitted drug resistance in antiretroviral drug-naïve persons and assess the clinical implications of minority drug-resistant variants.Methods and Findings: We performed a cross-sectional analysis of transmitted HIV-1 drug resistance and a case-control study of the impact of minority drug resistance on treatment response. For the cross-sectional analysis, we examined viral RNA from newly diagnosed ART-naïve persons in the US and Canada who had no detectable (wild type, n = 205) or one or more resistance-related mutations (n = 303) by conventional sequencing. Eight validated real-time PCR-based assays were used to test for minority drug resistance mutations (protease L90M and reverse transcriptase M41L, K70R, K103N, Y181C, M184V, and T215F/Y) above naturally occurring frequencies. The sensitive real-time PCR testing identified one to three minority drug resistance mutation(s) in 34/205 (17%) newly diagnosed persons who had wild-type virus by conventional genotyping; four (2%) individuals had mutations associated with resistance to two drug classes. Among 30/303 (10%) samples with bulk genotype resistance mutations we found at least one minority variant with a different drug resistance mutation. For the case-control study, we assessed the impact of three treatment-relevant drug resistance mutations at baseline from a separate group of 316 previously ART-naïve persons with no evidence of drug resistance on bulk genotype testing who were placed on efavirenz-based regimens. We found that 7/95 (7%) persons who experienced virologic failure had minority drug resistance mutations at baseline; however, minority resistance was found in only 2/221 (0.9%) treatment successes (Fisher exact test, p = 0.0038).Conclusions: These data suggest that a considerable proportion of transmitted HIV-1 drug resistance is undetected by conventional genotyping and that minority mutations can have clinical consequences. With no treatment history to help guide therapies for drug-naïve persons, the findings suggest an important role for sensitive baseline drug resistance testing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study Design: Retrospective review., Objective: We sought to characterize complications associated with anterior column release (ACR)., Summary of Background Data: Correction of positive sagittal imbalance was traditionally completed with anterior column grafts or posterior osteotomies. ACR is a minimally invasive technique for addressing sagittal plane deformity by restoring lumbar lordosis., Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of consecutive patients who underwent ACR in a prospectively kept database at a tertiary care academic center from January 2012 to December 2018. The prespecified complications were hardware failure (rod fracture, hardware loosening, or screw fracture), proximal junctional kyphosis, ipsilateral thigh numbness, ipsilateral femoral nerve weakness, arterial injury requiring blood transfusion, bowel injury, and abdominal pseudohernia., Results: Thirty-eight patients were identified. Thirty-five patients had ACR at L3-4, 1 had ACR at L4-5, and 1 patient had ACR at L2-3 and L3-4. Eighteen patients (47.4%) had one of the prespecified complications (10 patients had multiple). Ten patients developed hardware failure (26.3%); 8 patients (21.1%) had rod fracture, 4 (10.5%) had screw fracture, and 1 (2.6%) had screw loosening. At discharge, rates of ipsilateral thigh numbness (37.8%) and hip flexor (37.8%)/quadriceps weakness (29.7%) were the highest. At follow-up, 6 patients (16.2%) had ipsilateral anterolateral thigh numbness, 5 (13.5%) suffered from ipsilateral hip flexion weakness, and 3 patients (5.4%) from ipsilateral quadriceps weakness. Arterial injury occurred in 1 patient (2.7%). Abdominal pseudohernia occurred in 1 patient (2.7%). There were no bowel injuries observed., Conclusions: ACR is associated with a higher than initially anticipated risk of neurological complications, hardware failure, and proximal junctional kyphosis., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Chiari malformations (CM) are often diagnosed in childhood and younger adults, with an incidence of only 0.77% in adult populations. Patients with CM may develop syringomyelia and increased intracranial pressure (ICP) due to cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) obstruction and altered fluid dynamics at the cervicomedullary junction. We describe the case of a 65-year-old female presenting with an angionegative subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) with concomitant new diagnosis of CM type I with syringomyelia. After ruling out any aneurysm or vascular malformations, she underwent a suboccipital craniectomy for a Chiari decompression with a C1 laminectomy. There were no complications with the surgery and her symptoms improved. This case report highlights the unusual presentation of a CM., (Copyright © 2024 Sociedad Española de Neurocirugía. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Traumatic spinal cord injuries (SCI) result in devastating impairment to an individual's functional ability. The pathophysiology of SCI is related to primary injury but further propagated by secondary reactions to injury, such as inflammation and oxidation. The inflammatory and oxidative cascades ultimately cause demyelination and Wallerian degeneration. Currently, no treatments are available to treat primary or secondary injury in SCI, but some studies have shown promising results by lessening secondary mechanisms of injury. Interleukins (ILs) have been described as key players in the inflammation cascade after neuronal injury; however, their role and possible inhibition in the context of acute traumatic SCIs have not been widely studied. Here, we review the relationship between SCI and IL-6 concentrations in the CSF and serum of individuals after traumatic SCIs. Furthermore, we explore the dual IL-6 signaling pathways and their relevance for future IL-6 targeted therapies in SCI., Competing Interests: None declared., (Thieme. All rights reserved.)