Traditionally, point of care ultrasonography in nephrology has been used for renal biopsies and dialysis line placement. However, there is an emerging literature supporting the value of point of care lung ultrasonography in the assessment of volume status for dialysis patients. We conducted a review and identified 12 studies that examined the utility of lung ultrasonography in assessing volume status in patients with end-stage renal disease. We conclude that lung ultrasonography can be used to determine volume status in chronic dialysis patients by identifying lung congestion using the B-line score. Incorporating this technique into practice may have significant diagnostic and prognostic value for this high-risk population, as it provides the nephrologist with a useful bedside technique to assess extravascular lung water. Developing competence in lung ultrasonography is straightforward. The nephrology community should consider adding this useful tool into fellowship training, paralleling its broader use in other internal medicine specialties.
Axonal guidance signals are transduced through growth cone surface receptors to the interior leading to changes of actin dynamics and actin binding proteins, which are critical in determining the outcome of actin cytoskeleton reorganization. We report here the characterization of the Drosophila actin binding protein abLIM/Unc-115 homolog Dunc-115 and its role in the nervous system. Three Dunc-115 isoforms are identified as Dunc-115L, M and S, respectively. While Dunc-115L is a canonical homolog of Unc-115 with four LIM domains and one villin headpiece domain, Dunc-115M and S are novel isoforms without counterparts in other species. Our molecular modeling shows Dunc-115L is likely to bind to actin. Mutant analysis reveals that Dunc-115 is involved in axonal projection in both the visual and central nervous system.
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