Quantifying the mechanics of locomotion of the schistosome pathogen with respect to changes in its physical environment.

Schistosomiasis is a chronic and morbid disease of poverty affecting approximately 200 million people worldwide. Mature schistosome flatworms wander in the host's hepatic portal and mesenteric venous system where they encounter a range of blood flow conditions and geometrical confinement. However, the mechanisms that support schistosome locomotion and underlie the pathogen's adaptation to its physical environment are largely unknown. By combining microfabrication and traction force microscopy, we developed various in vitro assays to quantify the mechanics of locomotion of adult male Schistosoma mansoni in different physiologically relevant conditions. We show that in unconfined settings, the parasite undergoes two-anchor marching mediated by the coordinated action of its oral and ventral suckers. This mode of locomotion is maintained when the worm faces an external flow, to which it responds by adjusting the strength of its suckers. In geometrically confined conditions, S. mansoni switches to a different crawling modality by generating retrograde peristaltic waves along its body, a mechanism shared with terrestrial and marine worms. However, while the surface of most worms has backward-pointing bristles that rectify peristaltic waves and facilitate forward locomotion, S. mansoni has isotropically oriented tubercles. This requires tight coordination between muscle contraction and substrate friction but gives S. mansoni the ability to reverse its direction of locomotion without turning its body, which is likely advantageous to manoeuvre in narrow-bore vessels. We show that the parasite can also coordinate the action of its suckers with its peristaltic body contractions to increase crawling speed. Throughout this study, we report on a number of biomechanical parameters to quantify the motility of adult schistosomes (e.g. sucker grabbing strength, the rate of detachment under flow, peristaltic wave properties and traction stresses). The new series of in vitro assays make it possible to quantify key phenotypical aspects of S. mansoni motility that could guide the discovery of new drugs to treat schistosomiasis.

Outcome of osteosynthesis for periprosthetic fractures after total knee arthroplasty: a retrospective study.

INTRODUCTION: Incidence of periprosthetic fractures around knee is going to rise in near future due to dramatic increase in total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Our study is a retrospective case series describing the outcome of osteosynthesis for periprosthetic fractures after TKA. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analyzed the outcome of osteosynthesis for periprosthetic fractures with stable implants in 43 patients having 45 fractures operated between 2010 and 2015. RESULTS: Out of 43 patients, the majority were female (M-15, F-28) with mean age of 65.95 years, majority had left knee involved (L-24, R-19), with fractures involving femur, tibia and patella, respectively, in 29, 11 and 5 patients. Fracture pattern was Rorabeck type 2 in 29, Felix type 2 in 6, type 3 in 5, Goldberg type 2 in 3, type 3a in 2, Unified classification system type A in 2, B1 in 35, C in 4, E in 2 cases. Anterior femoral cortex notching was found in 13 patients with femoral fractures. According to Tayside classification, 12 patients had type 1 and one had type 2 notching. Different implants were used according to the need of the fractures. After TKA, the mean Hospital for Special Surgery score was 84.2, which reduced to mean 76 at 9 months following osteosynthesis. Three patients had nonunion, one had delayed union and one had implant failure. CONCLUSIONS: Osteosynthesis for periprosthetic fractures around knee with locked compression plate gives promising results. Fractures involving patella are associated with inferior functional outcome. Understanding the fracture pattern and bone stock available for fixation with correct choice of implant and correct surgical technique gives promising outcome in periprosthetic fractures around knee.

Functional Outcome of Conservatively Treated Bilateral Neck of Femur Fracture in an Elderly: A Case Report.

Bilateral Neck of Femur (NOF) fractures is relatively rare. Surgery, either osteosynthesis or hemireplacement arthroplasty, is the mainstay of treatment. Significant complications are known to occur in such cases. In this case report, we present the functional outcome of a conservatively treated bilateral NOF fracture at one year, in a 93-year-old man. Our patient, a 93-year-old gentleman, sustained right side NOF fracture in May 2014 and left side NOF fracture in May 2015, both after trivial fall. He did not give consent for surgery considering high operative risk. Now, at one year follow-up he has no true or apparent limb length discrepancy. He is ambulant with walker, self reliant for toilet care and other personal needs. Harris hip score is 75.80 and 69.65 after 1 year from right and left NOF fracture respectively. In view of high mortality after surgery for NOF fracture in high risk patients or unavailability of resources, conservative treatment for bilateral NOF fracture can achieve satisfactory functional outcome in selected patients.

The Zebrafish GenomeWiki: a crowdsourcing approach to connect the long tail for zebrafish gene annotation.

A large repertoire of gene-centric data has been generated in the field of zebrafish biology. Although the bulk of these data are available in the public domain, most of them are not readily accessible or available in nonstandard formats. One major challenge is to unify and integrate these widely scattered data sources. We tested the hypothesis that active community participation could be a viable option to address this challenge. We present here our approach to create standards for assimilation and sharing of information and a system of open standards for database intercommunication. We have attempted to address this challenge by creating a community-centric solution for zebrafish gene annotation. The Zebrafish GenomeWiki is a 'wiki'-based resource, which aims to provide an altruistic shared environment for collective annotation of the zebrafish genes. The Zebrafish GenomeWiki has features that enable users to comment, annotate, edit and rate this gene-centric information. The credits for contributions can be tracked through a transparent microattribution system. In contrast to other wikis, the Zebrafish GenomeWiki is a 'structured wiki' or rather a 'semantic wiki'. The Zebrafish GenomeWiki implements a semantically linked data structure, which in the future would be amenable to semantic search. Database URL: http://genome.igib.res.in/twiki.

FishMap Zv8 update--a genomic regulatory map of zebrafish.

The advancements in genomics technologies and the amenability to large-scale computational analysis have contributed immensely to the understanding of the zebrafish genome, its organization, and its functional correlates. Translating genomics information into biological meaning would require integration and amenability of data and tools. FishMap is a community resource for genomic datasets on zebrafish created with a vision to provide relevant and readily available information to zebrafish researchers. The present update of FishMap has kept up with the availability of the latest zebrafish genome assembly (Zv8). In this update, particular emphasis has been given to noncoding RNAs and noncoding RNA-mediated regulation in addition to genomic regulatory motifs, which are emerging areas of vertebrate biology. FishMap Zv8 update also features a sequence mapping and analysis server. Consistent with its commitment to make the information freely available to the community, FishMap features options to share data between compatible resources in addition to making it amenable to programmatic access. FishMap Zv8 update is available at http://fishmap2.igib.res.in.