Effect of Storage Temperature on Storage Life and Sensory Attributes of Packaged Mustard Microgreens.

Short shelf life limits the commercial value of mustard microgreens. The present study was conducted to evaluate the effects of different storage temperatures on postharvest quality and sensory attributes of mustard microgreens to identify the optimum storage temperature. Mustard microgreens were stored at 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 °C in 150 µm polyethylene bags. Samples were drawn at 0, 1, 2, 4, 7, 10, and 14 days and tested for changes in total chlorophyll content, tissue electrolyte leakage, weight loss, antioxidant activity, and sensory attributes. Storage temperature significantly (p < 0.05) affected the product quality, shelf life, and sensory quality. When stored at 5 °C, mustard microgreens showed no significant changes in antioxidant activity or tissue electrolyte leakage and minimal change in other parameters and maintained good overall sensory quality for 14 days. Samples stored at 10 and 15 °C retained good overall sensory quality for 4 and 2 days, respectively. When stored at 20 and 25 °C, microgreens deteriorated beyond consumption within one day. A storage temperature of 5 °C in 150 µm polythene bags can preserve high postharvest quality and sensory attributes for 14 days.

Return to Play and Player Performance After Foot Fracture in UEFA Soccer Players.

Background: There is a paucity of information on rate and time to return to play (RTP) in elite-level soccer players who have sustained foot fractures. Purpose: To (1) determine the rate and timing of RTP after foot fracture (eg, tarsal, metatarsal, or phalangeal), (2) investigate foot fracture reinjury incidence after RTP, and (3) evaluate performance after foot fracture as compared with matched, uninjured controls. Study Design: Descriptive epidemiology study. Methods: Athletes sustaining foot fractures were identified across the 5 major European soccer leagues (English Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga, Ligue 1, and Serie A) between 2000 and 2016. Injured athletes were matched to controls (1:1) using demographic characteristics and performance metrics from 1 season before injury. The authors recorded RTP rate, reinjury incidence, player characteristics associated with RTP within 2 seasons of injury, player availability, field time, and performance metrics during the 4 seasons after injury. Results: A total of 192 elite soccer players sustaining a foot fracture were identified; 40 players (20.8%) underwent operative treatment. Athletes missed an average of 69.41 ± 59.43 days and 5.15 ± 23.28 games. In the 4 seasons after injury, 80% of players returned to play, with 72% returning to play within 1 season of injury. Nine players (5%) sustained a subsequent foot fracture. Athletes with a foot fracture demonstrated significantly longer league retention compared with uninjured controls (P < .001). Elite soccer players older than 30 years of age were less likely to RTP (odds ratio, 0.67; P = .002), whereas career experience, field position, and baseline performance showed no significant association with RTP rates. Injured athletes demonstrated similar performance to controls during the 4 years after injury, and there were no position-dependent differences on subgroup analysis. The players who underwent operative treatment had more assists per 90 minutes and more team points per game during the first season after injury compared with athletes treated nonoperatively. Conclusion: Foot fractures in elite soccer players resulted in moderate loss of play time (69.41 days). RTP rates were high at 80%, although players older than 30 years of age were less likely to RTP. On RTP, athletes who sustained a foot fracture maintained performance similar to preinjury levels and to uninjured controls.

Incidence of Intraoperative and Postoperative Complications After Posterolateral Corner Reconstruction or Repair: A Systematic Review of the Current Literature.

BACKGROUND: Posterolateral corner (PLC) injuries of the knee are being increasingly recognized and treated in current orthopaedic practice. While there are numerous systematic reviews evaluating the management and outcomes after PLC injuries, there are limited data investigating complications after PLC reconstruction or repair. PURPOSE: To systematically review the literature to determine the incidence of postoperative complications after the surgical treatment of PLC injury. STUDY DESIGN: Systematic review; Level of evidence, 4. METHODS: The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, PubMed (2008-2019), Embase (2008-2019), and MEDLINE (2008-2019) were queried for literature reporting on PLC reconstruction or repair, with or without concomitant ligamentous or meniscal surgery. Data including type of surgery performed, concomitant procedures, and follow-up time were extracted. Complications recorded included intra- and postoperative complications. RESULTS: After the intra- and postoperative complication data of 60 studies (1747 cases) were combined, surgical management of PLC injuries was associated with an intraoperative complication rate of 0.34% (range, 0%-2.8%) and a postoperative complication rate of 20% (range, 0%-51.2%). The most common postoperative complication was arthrofibrosis (range, 0%-20%). The overall infection rate was 1.3% (range, 0%-10%). Four cases of postoperative common peroneal nerve palsy were reported. Failure of reconstruction or repair was reported in 164 (9.4%) of all cases examined (range, 0%-37.1%). CONCLUSION: Although the intraoperative rate of complications during PLC reconstructions is low, postoperative complications rates of 20% can be expected, including arthrofibrosis, infection, and neurovascular injury. PLC structures repaired or reconstructed failed in 9.4% of the cases.

Therapeutic targeting of cathepsin C: from pathophysiology to treatment.

Cathepsin C (CatC) is a highly conserved tetrameric lysosomal cysteine dipeptidyl aminopeptidase. The best characterized physiological function of CatC is the activation of pro-inflammatory granule-associated serine proteases. These proteases are synthesized as inactive zymogens containing an N-terminal pro-dipeptide, which maintains the zymogen in its inactive conformation and prevents premature activation, which is potentially toxic to the cell. The activation of serine protease zymogens occurs through cleavage of the N-terminal dipeptide by CatC during cell maturation in the bone marrow. In vivo data suggest that pharmacological inhibition of pro-inflammatory serine proteases would suppress or attenuate deleterious effects mediated by these proteases in inflammatory/auto-immune disorders. The pathological deficiency in CatC is associated with Papillon-Lefèvre syndrome (PLS). The patients however do not present marked immunodeficiency despite the absence of active serine proteases in immune defense cells. Hence, the transitory pharmacological blockade of CatC activity in the precursor cells of the bone marrow may represent an attractive therapeutic strategy to regulate activity of serine proteases in inflammatory and immunologic conditions. A variety of CatC inhibitors have been developed both by pharmaceutical companies and academic investigators, some of which are currently being employed and evaluated in preclinical/clinical trials.

Genetic Contributions to The Association Between Adult Height and Head and Neck Cancer: A Mendelian Randomization Analysis.

With the aim to dissect the effect of adult height on head and neck cancer (HNC), we use the Mendelian randomization (MR) approach to test the association between genetic instruments for height and the risk of HNC. 599 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified as genetic instruments for height, accounting for 16% of the phenotypic variation. Genetic data concerning HNC cases and controls were obtained from a genome-wide association study. Summary statistics for genetic association were used in complementary MR approaches: the weighted genetic risk score (GRS) and the inverse-variance weighted (IVW). MR-Egger regression was used for sensitivity analysis and pleiotropy evaluation. From the GRS analysis, one standard deviation (SD) higher height (6.9 cm; due to genetic predisposition across 599 SNPs) raised the risk for HNC (Odds ratio (OR), 1.14; 95% Confidence Interval (95%CI), 0.99-1.32). The association analyses with potential confounders revealed that the GRS was associated with tobacco smoking (OR = 0.80, 95% CI (0.69-0.93)). MR-Egger regression did not provide evidence of overall directional pleiotropy. Our study indicates that height is potentially associated with HNC risk. However, the reported risk could be underestimated since, at the genetic level, height emerged to be inversely associated with smoking.

Online media coverage of air pollution risks and current policies in India: A content analysis.

Background Air pollution is of particular concern in India, which contains 11 of the 20 most polluted cities in the world. Media coverage of air pollution issues plays an important role in influencing public opinion and increasing citizen demand for action on clean air policy. Hence, this study was designed to assess news coverage of air pollution in India and its implications for policy advancement. Methods Articles published online between 1 January 2014 and 31 October 2015 that discussed air pollution in India were systematically content analysed. From 6435 articles in the national media and 271 articles in the international media, a random selection of 500 articles (400 from national and 100 from international media) were analysed and coded by two independent coders, after high inter-rater reliability (kappa statistic above 0.8) was established. Results There was an increase in the number of news stories on air pollution in India in the national media over the study period; 317 (63%) stories described the risk to health from air pollution as moderately to extremely severe, and 393 (79%) stories described the situation as needing urgent action. Limited information was provided on the kinds of illnesses that can result from exposure. Less than 30% of stories in either media specifically mentioned the common illnesses resulting from air pollution. Very few articles in either media mentioned the population groups most at risk from air pollution, such as children or older people. Vehicles were presented most often as the cause of air pollution in India (in over 50% of articles in both national and international media). Some of the most important sources of air pollution were mentioned less often: 6% of national and 18% of international media articles mentioned unclean sources of household energy; 3% of national and 9% of international media articles mentioned agricultural field burning. Finally, the majority of articles (405; 81%) did not mention any specific institution or organization - such as the government or industry groups - as the primary responsible stakeholder, thus leaving ambiguous the organizations whose leadership was necessary to mitigate air pollution. Conclusion Gaps exist in the current media discourse on air pollution, suggesting the need for strengthening engagement with the media as a means of creating citizen engagement and enabling policy action. Through greater elaboration of the health burdens and evidence-based policy actions, the media can play a critical role in galvanizing India's action on air quality. These data may suggest opportunities for media advocacy and greater public and policy engagement to address issues around air quality in India.

Online media coverage of air pollution risks and current policies in India: a content analysis

Background Air pollution is of particular concern in India, which contains 11 of the 20 most polluted citiesin the world. Media coverage of air pollution issues plays an important role in influencing public opinion andincreasing citizen demand for action on clean air policy. Hence, this study was designed to assess newscoverage of air pollution in India and its implications for policy advancement.Methods Articles published online between 1 January 2014 and 31 October 2015 that discussed air pollutionin India were systematically content analysed. From 6435 articles in the national media and 271 articles in theinternational media, a random selection of 500 articles (400 from national and 100 from international media)were analysed and coded by two independent coders, after high inter-rater reliability (kappa statistic above0.8) was established.Results There was an increase in the number of news stories on air pollution in India in the national mediaover the study period; 317 (63%) stories described the risk to health from air pollution as moderately toextremely severe, and 393 (79%) stories described the situation as needing urgent action. Limited informationwas provided on the kinds of illnesses that can result from exposure. Less than 30% of stories in either mediaspecifically mentioned the common illnesses resulting from air pollution. Very few articles in either mediamentioned the population groups most at risk from air pollution, such as children or older people. Vehicleswere presented most often as the cause of air pollution in India (in over 50% of articles in both national andinternational media). Some of the most important sources of air pollution were mentioned less often: 6%of national and 18% of international media articles mentioned unclean sources of household energy; 3%of national and 9% of international media articles mentioned agricultural field burning. Finally, the majorityof articles (405; 81%) did not mention any specific institution or organization – such as the government orindustry groups – as the primary responsible stakeholder, thus leaving ambiguous the organizations whoseleadership was necessary to mitigate air pollution.Conclusion Gaps exist in the current media discourse on air pollution, suggesting the need for strengtheningengagement with the media as a means of creating citizen engagement and enabling policy action. Throughgreater elaboration of the health burdens and evidence-based policy actions, the media can play a criticalrole in galvanizing India’s action on air quality. These data may suggest opportunities for media advocacy andgreater public and policy engagement to address issues around air quality in India.

Observation of Phase-Filling Singularities in the Optical Dielectric Function of Highly Doped n-Type Ge.

Phase-filling singularities in the optical response function of highly doped (>10^{19} cm^{-3}) germanium are theoretically predicted and experimentally confirmed using spectroscopic ellipsometry. Contrary to direct-gap semiconductors, which display the well-known Burstein-Moss phenomenology upon doping, the critical point in the joint density of electronic states associated with the partially filled conduction band in n-Ge corresponds to the so-called E_{1} and E_{1}+Δ_{1} transitions, which are two-dimensional in character. As a result of this reduced dimensionality, there is no edge shift induced by Pauli blocking. Instead, one observes the "original" critical point (shifted only by band gap renormalization) and an additional feature associated with the level occupation discontinuity at the Fermi level. The experimental observation of this feature is made possible by the recent development of low-temperature, in situ doping techniques that allow the fabrication of highly doped films with exceptionally flat doping profiles.

A rare truncating BRCA2 variant and genetic susceptibility to upper aerodigestive tract cancer.

Deleterious BRCA2 genetic variants markedly increase risk of developing breast cancer. A rare truncating BRCA2 genetic variant, rs11571833 (K3326X), has been associated with a 2.5-fold risk of lung squamous cell carcinoma but only a modest 26% increase in breast cancer risk. We analyzed the association between BRCA2 SNP rs11571833 and upper aerodigestive tract (UADT) cancer risk with multivariable unconditional logistic regression adjusted by sex and combinations of study and country for 5942 UADT squamous cell carcinoma case patients and 8086 control patients from nine different studies. All statistical tests were two-sided. rs11571833 was associated with UADT cancers (odds ratio = 2.53, 95% confidence interval = 1.89 to 3.38, P = 3x10(-10)) and was present in European, Latin American, and Indian populations but extremely rare in Japanese populations. The association appeared more apparent in smokers (current or former) compared with never smokers (P het = .026). A robust association between a truncating BRCA2 variant and UADT cancer risk suggests that treatment strategies orientated towards BRCA2 mutations may warrant further investigation in UADT tumors.

The 12p13.33/RAD52 locus and genetic susceptibility to squamous cell cancers of upper aerodigestive tract.

Genetic variants located within the 12p13.33/RAD52 locus have been associated with lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC). Here, within 5,947 UADT cancers and 7,789 controls from 9 different studies, we found rs10849605, a common intronic variant in RAD52, to be also associated with upper aerodigestive tract (UADT) squamous cell carcinoma cases (OR = 1.09, 95% CI: 1.04-1.15, p = 6x10(-4)). We additionally identified rs10849605 as a RAD52 cis-eQTL inUADT(p = 1x10(-3)) and LUSC (p = 9x10(-4)) tumours, with the UADT/LUSC risk allele correlated with increased RAD52 expression levels. The 12p13.33 locus, encompassing rs10849605/RAD52, was identified as a significant somatic focal copy number amplification in UADT(n = 374, q-value = 0.075) and LUSC (n = 464, q-value = 0.007) tumors and correlated with higher RAD52 tumor expression levels (p = 6x10(-48) and p = 3x10(-29) in UADT and LUSC, respectively). In combination, these results implicate increased RAD52 expression in both genetic susceptibility and tumorigenesis of UADT and LUSC tumors.

Using prior information from the medical literature in GWAS of oral cancer identifies novel susceptibility variant on chromosome 4--the AdAPT method.

BACKGROUND: Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) require large sample sizes to obtain adequate statistical power, but it may be possible to increase the power by incorporating complementary data. In this study we investigated the feasibility of automatically retrieving information from the medical literature and leveraging this information in GWAS. METHODS: We developed a method that searches through PubMed abstracts for pre-assigned keywords and key concepts, and uses this information to assign prior probabilities of association for each single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) with the phenotype of interest--the Adjusting Association Priors with Text (AdAPT) method. Association results from a GWAS can subsequently be ranked in the context of these priors using the Bayes False Discovery Probability (BFDP) framework. We initially tested AdAPT by comparing rankings of known susceptibility alleles in a previous lung cancer GWAS, and subsequently applied it in a two-phase GWAS of oral cancer. RESULTS: Known lung cancer susceptibility SNPs were consistently ranked higher by AdAPT BFDPs than by p-values. In the oral cancer GWAS, we sought to replicate the top five SNPs as ranked by AdAPT BFDPs, of which rs991316, located in the ADH gene region of 4q23, displayed a statistically significant association with oral cancer risk in the replication phase (per-rare-allele log additive p-value [p(trend)] = 2.5×10(-3)). The combined OR for having one additional rare allele was 0.83 (95% CI: 0.76-0.90), and this association was independent of previously identified susceptibility SNPs that are associated with overall UADT cancer in this gene region. We also investigated if rs991316 was associated with other cancers of the upper aerodigestive tract (UADT), but no additional association signal was found. CONCLUSION: This study highlights the potential utility of systematically incorporating prior knowledge from the medical literature in genome-wide analyses using the AdAPT methodology. AdAPT is available online (url: http://services.gate.ac.uk/lld/gwas/service/config).

A sex-specific association between a 15q25 variant and upper aerodigestive tract cancers.

BACKGROUND: Sequence variants located at 15q25 have been associated with lung cancer and propensity to smoke. We recently reported an association between rs16969968 and risk of upper aerodigestive tract (UADT) cancers (oral cavity, oropharynx, hypopharynx, larynx, and esophagus) in women (OR = 1.24, P = 0.003) with little effect in men (OR = 1.04, P = 0.35). METHODS: In a coordinated genotyping study within the International Head and Neck Cancer Epidemiology (INHANCE) consortium, we have sought to replicate these findings in an additional 4,604 cases and 6,239 controls from 10 independent UADT cancer case-control studies. RESULTS: rs16969968 was again associated with UADT cancers in women (OR = 1.21, 95% CI = 1.08-1.36, P = 0.001) and a similar lack of observed effect in men [OR = 1.02, 95% CI = 0.95-1.09, P = 0.66; P-heterogeneity (P(het)) = 0.01]. In a pooled analysis of the original and current studies, totaling 8,572 UADT cancer cases and 11,558 controls, the association was observed among females (OR = 1.22, 95% CI = 1.12-1.34, P = 7 × 10(-6)) but not males (OR = 1.02, 95% CI = 0.97-1.08, P = 0.35; P(het) = 6 × 10(-4)). There was little evidence for a sex difference in the association between this variant and cigarettes smoked per day, with male and female rs16969968 variant carriers smoking approximately the same amount more in the 11,991 ever smokers in the pooled analysis of the 14 studies (P(het) = 0.86). CONCLUSIONS: This study has confirmed a sex difference in the association between the 15q25 variant rs16969968 and UADT cancers. IMPACT: Further research is warranted to elucidate the mechanisms underlying these observations.

[Medico-legal features of early discharge in acute myocardial infarction and chest pain]. / Aspetti medico-legali della dimissione precoce nell'infarto miocardico acuto e nel dolore toracico

The authors' aim is to outline some of the main medico-legal problems in cardiology, especially those regarding the premature hospital discharge of patients with undefined chest pain and/or with acute myocardial infarction. After a brief overview on the etiology and clinical definition of chest pain and myocardial infarction, premature hospital discharge is defined and the incidental medico-legal risks that physicians operating in such situations are exposed to are pointed out. Next, the profiles regarding both the positive and negative views of professional medical responsibility are described. In the negative frame, the authors outline the most frequent civil and penal aspects of the unpremeditated responsibility. Then the physician's error, in both qualitative (generic or specific guilt) and quantitative (degree) terms, is considered; particularly, negligence, imprudence and inexperience, as qualitatively accepted meanings of generic guilt, are dealt with by adopting illustrative cases settled in the light of the right legal interpretation. The phases of the diagnostic or prognostic error are evaluated, and clinical protocols, as a reference parameter for the identification of error, are considered. Lastly, the problem of causality, essential condition for the judgment about the professional responsibility, and the problem of the patient's consent, including an evaluation of the legal capability or incapability about the declaration of consent, are examined closely.