A force sensor improves trainee technique for rigid endoscopy.

OBJECTIVE: Developing skills in rigid endoscopy poses challenges to the surgical trainee. This study investigates whether a modified manikin can improve the technical skill of junior operators by providing direct quantitative feedback. METHODS: A force-sensing pad was incorporated into the oral cavity of a life support manikin. Junior trainees and senior otolaryngologists were invited to perform rigid endoscopy and received real-time feedback from the force sensor during the procedure. RESULTS: There was a significant inverse correlation between operator seniority and the weight applied to the oral cavity (p < 0.0001). All junior trainee operators applied less weight after five attempts (346 ± 90.95 g) compared to their first attempt (464 ± 85.79 g). This gave a statistically significant decrease of 118 g (standard deviation = 107.27 g, p = 0.007) when quantitative feedback was provided to learning operators. CONCLUSION: This low-cost, simple model allows trainees to rehearse a high-risk procedure in a safe environment and adjust their operative technique.

SGBS cells as a model of human adipocyte browning: A comprehensive comparative study with primary human white subcutaneous adipocytes.

The Simpson Golabi Behmel Syndrome (SGBS) pre-adipocyte cell strain is widely considered to be a representative in vitro model of human white pre-adipocytes. A recent study suggested that SGBS adipocytes exhibit an unexpected transient brown phenotype. Here, we comprehensively examined key differences between SGBS adipocytes and primary human white subcutaneous (PHWSC) adipocytes. RNA-Seq analysis revealed that extracellular matrix (ECM)-receptor interaction and metabolic pathways were the top two KEGG pathways significantly enriched in SGBS adipocytes, which included positively enriched mitochondrial respiration and oxidation pathways. Compared to PHWSC adipocytes, SGBS adipocytes showed not only greater induction of adipogenic gene expression during differentiation but also increased levels of UCP1 mRNA and protein expression. Functionally, SGBS adipocytes displayed higher ISO-induced basal leak respiration and overall oxygen consumption rate, along with increased triglyceride accumulation and insulin-stimulated glucose uptake. In conclusion, we confirmed that SGBS adipocytes, which are considered of white adipose tissue origin can shift towards a brown/beige adipocyte phenotype. These differences indicate SGBS cells may help to identify mechanisms leading to browning, and inform our understanding for the use of SGBS vis-à-vis primary human subcutaneous adipocytes as a human white adipocyte model, guiding the selection of appropriate cell models in future metabolic research.