Useless hand syndrome (UHS) refers to clumsiness of complex finger movements and loss of manual dexterity due to cervical cord lesions, often associated with multiple sclerosis (MS). This condition may represent the first demyelinating event in MS or may occur in a patient with pre-existing MS. We report 3 patients with UHS, 2 of whom had not been previously diagnosed with MS. The history and physical examinations, EMG/NCV studies of the arms, and radiological findings are presented. Presenting symptoms in all 3 cases included paresthesia and difficulty with manual dexterity which led the family physician to refer these patients to a hand surgeon. Pre-EMG neurological examination detected myriad abnormalities such as loss of position sense, two-point discrimination, stereognosis, graphesthesia, and difficulty performing rapid alternating movements. EMG/NCV findings were normal in 2 cases and, in the third case, showed abnormalities which did not explain the clinical picture and pointed to involvement of the central somatosensory pathways. Cervical MRIs revealed demyelinating lesions in all patients. Patients with acute onset of sensory disturbance and clumsy hands are often first referred for EMG/NCV studies. Absence of significant abnormalities may suggest central somatosensory pathway dysfunction and should alert to the possibility of UHS and underlying MS.Patients with acute onset of sensory disturbance and clumsy hands are often first referred for EMG/NCV studies. Absence of significant abnormalities may suggest central somatosensory pathway dysfunction and should alert to the possibility of UHS and underlying MS.Ion channels are necessary for correct lysosomal function including degradation of cargoes originating from endocytosis. Almost all enveloped viruses, including coronaviruses (CoVs), enter host cells via endocytosis, and do not escape endosomal compartments into the cytoplasm (via fusion with the endolysosomal membrane) unless the virus-encoded envelope proteins are cleaved by lysosomal proteases. With the ongoing outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-CoV-2, endolysosomal two-pore channels represent an exciting and emerging target for antiviral therapies. This review focuses on the latest knowledge of the effects of lysosomal ion channels on the cellular entry and uncoating of enveloped viruses, which may aid in development of novel therapies against emerging infectious diseases such as SARS-CoV-2.Chitosan has generated enormous interest in the scientific community because of its distinctive biological and physicochemical properties, which allow new advanced structures and applications. Porous chitosan scaffolds have been extensively studied and explored in bone generation, however it is still a challenge to obtain bioabsorbable orthopedic implants that involves pure 3D dense chitosan geometries due to the inherent difficulties in producing and shaping such structures. In this work, chitosan was blended with 10% glycerol and 10% glycerol + 10% biphasic mixture of calcium phosphate (70% hydroxyapatite with 30% β-tricalcium phosphate) to produce dense chitosan-based blocks, which were then shaped into rods. The introduction of plasticizer aimed to improve the materials ductility while the ceramic particles were used to increase stiffness and strength. The mechanical behavior of the two chitosan-based compositions was evaluated by uniaxial compression tests using a customized split-Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB). Etrumadenant manufacturer The specimens were analysed in quasi-static conditions (less than 0.1 s-1) and medium strain rate conditions (200-800 s-1), both in dry state and in different hydrated conditions, in the latter case to approximate the in vivo implant conditions. The results showed promising results for the intended application. The chitosan blends present excellent ductility with an elastic perfect-plastic behavior in quasi-static conditions, with yield stresses around 40 MPa for the dry state, with a decay for 3 MPa after 48h hydration. An empirical model was proposed to describe the flow stress curves, with a good agreement with the experimental data, allowing future modelling of this material behavior. This study evaluates the effect of dynamic-loading on the microgap of the IAC when different supratructure heights are applied. Forty-eight dental implants (24 each of butt-joint (H) and internal-conical connections (C)) were tested in this study. Each group was further divided into three groups (n=8) according to the applied suprastructure height (H1, C1 10mm, H2, C2 14mm and H3, C3 18mm). All specimens were subjected to cyclic loading in a chewing-simulator with a load of 98N for 5×10 chewing cycles. The microgap at the IAC was inspected before and after loading, using synchrotron-based micro computed tomography (SRμCT) and light microscopy (LM). SRμCT revealed an internal microgap range between 0.26μm and 0.5μm in the group C, whereas the group H exhibited a microgap range between 0.26μm and 0.47μm prior to loading. After chewing simulation, a smaller microgap size in all groups was detected ranging from 0.11μm to 0.26μm (group C 0.11μm-0.26μm; group H 0.21μm-0.25μm). The LM investigation showed mean microgap values at the outer IAC junction before loading from 5.8μm to 11.3μm and from 3.9μm to 7.2μm after loading. All specimens exhibited a vertical intrusion displacement of the abutment. Regardless of the crown height, the microgap between the abutment and implant systematically decreased after loading in both butt-joint and internal-conical connections.Regardless of the crown height, the microgap between the abutment and implant systematically decreased after loading in both butt-joint and internal-conical connections.After myocardial infarction (MI), the infarcted tissue undergoes dynamic and time-dependent changes. Previous knowledge on MI biomechanical alterations has been obtained by studying the explanted scar tissues. In this study, we decellularized MI scar tissue and characterized the biomechanics of the obtained pure scar ECM. By thoroughly removing the cellular content in the MI scar tissue, we were able to avoid its confounding effects. Rat MI hearts were obtained from a reliable and reproducible model based on permanent left coronary artery ligation (PLCAL). MI heart explants at various time points (15 min, 1 week, 2 weeks, 4 weeks, and 12 weeks) were subjected to decellularization with 0.1% sodium dodecyl sulfate solution for ~1-2 weeks to obtain acellular scar ECM. A biaxial mechanical testing system was used to characterize the acellular scar ECM under physiologically relevant loading conditions. After decellularization, large decrease in wall thickness was observed in the native heart ECM and 15 min scar ECM, implying the collapse of cardiomyocyte lacunae after removal of heart muscle fibers.