Imaging Pediatric Spondylolysis: A Systematic Review.

Study Design: A systematic review.

Objective: The aim of this study was to provide an evidence-based recommendation for when and how to employ imaging studies when diagnosing back pain thought to be caused by spondylolysis in pediatric patients.

Summary Of Background Data: Spondylolysis is a common structural cause of back pain in pediatric patients.

One-Lung Ventilation: A Pediatric Simulation Case for Anesthesiology Residents.

Introduction: This activity is designed for midlevel and senior anesthesia trainees to experience the complexities of one-lung ventilation in pediatrics in a high-fidelity simulated environment. With the use of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) becoming increasingly common in pediatrics, we identified this area as an opportunity for the development of a dedicated educational simulation activity.

Methods: Our simulated patient is a 3-year-old girl with empyema presenting for decortication via VATS who subsequently develops hypoxemia.

Structural basis of laminin binding to the LARGE glycans on dystroglycan.

Dystroglycan is a highly glycosylated extracellular matrix receptor with essential functions in skeletal muscle and the nervous system. Reduced matrix binding by α-dystroglycan (α-DG) due to perturbed glycosylation is a pathological feature of several forms of muscular dystrophy. Like-acetylglucosaminyltransferase (LARGE) synthesizes the matrix-binding heteropolysaccharide [-glucuronic acid-β1,3-xylose-α1,3-]n.

LARGE2-dependent glycosylation confers laminin-binding ability on proteoglycans.

Both LARGE1 (formerly LARGE) and its paralog LARGE2 are bifunctional glycosyltransferases with xylosy- and glucuronyltransferase activities, and are capable of synthesizing polymers composed of a repeating disaccharide [-3Xylα1,3GlcAβ1-]. Post-translational modification of the O-mannosyl glycan of α-dystroglycan (α-DG) with the polysaccharide is essential for it to act as a receptor for ligands in the extracellular matrix (ECM), and both LARGE paralogs contribute to the modification in vivo. LARGE1 and LARGE2 have different tissue distribution profiles and enzymatic properties; however, the functional difference of the homologs remains to be determined, and α-DG is the only known substrate for the modification by LARGE1 or LARGE2.

Initial experience with percutaneous coronary sinus catheter placement in minimally invasive cardiac surgery in an academic center.

Background: Placement of a percutaneous coronary sinus catheter (CSC) by an anesthesiologist for retrograde cardioplegia in minimally invasive cardiac surgery is relatively safe in experienced hands. However, the popularity of its placement remains limited to a small number of centers due to its perceived complexity and potential complications.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed all cardiac cases performed by one surgeon between December 2009 and April 2012.

Blebbistatin-Loaded Poly(d,l-lactide--glycolide) Particles For Treating Arthrofibrosis.

Joint immobility is a debilitating complication of articular trauma that is characterized by thickening and stiffening of the joint capsule and the formation of fibrotic lesions inside joints. Capsule release surgery can temporarily restore mobility, but contraction often recurs due to the contractile activities of fibroblasts, which exert tension on the capsule ECM via nonmuscle myosin II. Based on these findings we hypothesized that blebbistatin, a drug that reversibly inhibits the activity of this protein, would relax ECM tension imposed by fibroblasts and reduce fibrosis.

Trauma in CT: The Role of Severe Injury on Satisfaction of Search Revised.

Purpose: The satisfaction-of-search (SOS) effect occurs when an abnormality on an image is missed because another is found. The aim of this experiment was to test whether severe distracting fractures control the magnitude of SOS on other fractures when both appear in a single CT image.

Methods: The institutional review board approved this study.

Five-year follow-up of people diagnosed with compulsive shopping disorder.

Background: The authors assessed clinical symptoms and self-reported shopping and spending behavior in people diagnosed with compulsive shopping (CS) at a 5-year follow-up interview.

Methods: All met the criteria of McElroy et al. for lifetime CS and had the disorder for >1year.

Backbone and side-chain chemical shift assignments for the C-terminal domain of Tcb2, a cytoskeletal calcium-binding protein from Tetrahymena thermophila.

Tcb2 is a putative calcium-binding protein from the membrane-associated cytoskeleton of the ciliated protozoan Tetrahymena thermophila. It has been hypothesized to participate in several calcium-mediated processes in Tetrahymena, including ciliary movement, cell cortex signaling, and pronuclear exchange. Sequence analysis suggests that the protein belongs to the calmodulin family, with N- and C-terminal domains connected by a central linker, and two helix-loop-helix motifs in each domain.

Validation of the delirium observation screening scale in a hospitalized older population.

Delirium is challenging to diagnose in older populations. It is often reversible, and when detected, treatment can improve patient outcomes. Delirium detection currently relies on trained staff to conduct neurocognitive interviews.

The Influence of a Vocalized Checklist on Detection of Multiple Abnormalities in Chest Radiography.

Rationale And Objectives: Although a checklist has been recommended for preventing satisfaction of search (SOS) errors, a previous research study did not demonstrate that benefit. However, observers in that study had to turn away from the image display to use the checklist. The current study tested a vocalized checklist to avoid this constraint.

Collagen VI deficiency reduces muscle pathology, but does not improve muscle function, in the γ-sarcoglycan-null mouse.

Muscular dystrophy is characterized by progressive skeletal muscle weakness and dystrophic muscle exhibits degeneration and regeneration of muscle cells, inflammation and fibrosis. Skeletal muscle fibrosis is an excessive deposition of components of the extracellular matrix including an accumulation of Collagen VI. We hypothesized that a reduction of Collagen VI in a muscular dystrophy model that presents with fibrosis would result in reduced muscle pathology and improved muscle function.

Intergenerational Childhood Maltreatment in Persons with DSM-IV Pathological Gambling and Their First-Degree Relatives.

This study investigates the characteristics of individuals with DSM-IV pathological gambling (PG) who experienced childhood maltreatment and rates of maltreatment occurring in their first-degree relatives (FDRs). 94 subjects with DSM-IV PG, 91 controls, and 312 FDRs were assessed for childhood maltreatment as part of a family study of PG. Maltreatment was evaluated using the Revised Childhood Experiences Questionnaire.

Do people with borderline personality disorder complicated by antisocial personality disorder benefit from the STEPPS treatment program?

Systems Training for Emotional Predictability and Problem Solving (STEPPS) is a group treatment for persons with borderline personality disorder (BPD). We describe results from two data sets on outcome in persons who participated in STEPPS with BPD alone or BPD plus antisocial personality disorder (ASPD). In Study 1, we examined the effect of comorbid ASPD on outcome in 65 persons with BPD who participated in a randomized controlled trial at an academic medical centre.

FOXM1 is a therapeutic target for high-risk multiple myeloma.

The transcription factor forkhead box M1 (FOXM1) is a validated oncoprotein in solid cancers, but its role in malignant plasma cell tumors such as multiple myeloma (MM) is unknown. We analyzed publicly available MM data sets and found that overexpression of FOXM1 prognosticates inferior outcome in a subset (~15%) of newly diagnosed cases, particularly patients with high-risk disease based on global gene expression changes. Follow-up studies using human myeloma cell lines (HMCLs) as the principal experimental model system demonstrated that enforced expression of FOXM1 increased growth, survival and clonogenicity of myeloma cells, whereas knockdown of FOXM1 abolished these features.

Genetic characterization and improved genotyping of the dysferlin-deficient mouse strain Dysf (tm1Kcam).

Background: Mouse models of dysferlinopathies are valuable tools with which to investigate the pathomechanisms underlying these diseases and to test novel therapeutic strategies. One such mouse model is the Dysf (tm1Kcam) strain, which was generated using a targeting vector to replace a 12-kb region of the dysferlin gene and which features a progressive muscular dystrophy. A prerequisite for successful animal studies using genetic mouse models is an accurate genotyping protocol.

Satisfaction of Search in Chest Radiography 2015.

Rationale And Objectives: Two decades have passed since the publication of laboratory studies of satisfaction of search (SOS) in chest radiography. Those studies were performed using film. The current investigation tests for SOS effects in computed radiography of the chest.

Intubation Biomechanics: Laryngoscope Force and Cervical Spine Motion during Intubation in Cadavers-Cadavers versus Patients, the Effect of Repeated Intubations, and the Effect of Type II Odontoid Fracture on C1-C2 Motion.

Background: The aims of this study are to characterize (1) the cadaver intubation biomechanics, including the effect of repeated intubations, and (2) the relation between intubation force and the motion of an injured cervical segment.

Methods: Fourteen cadavers were serially intubated using force-sensing Macintosh and Airtraq laryngoscopes in random order, with simultaneous cervical spine motion recorded with lateral fluoroscopy. Motion of the C1-C2 segment was measured in the intact and injured state (type II odontoid fracture).

Lateral Cervical Spine Radiography to Demonstrate Absence of Bony Displacement After Intubation in a Patient with an Acute Type III Odontoid Fracture.

A 72-year-old patient with an acute traumatic Type III odontoid fracture presented to the operating room for an urgent orthopedic procedure with a history of uncontrolled gastroesophageal reflux, a full stomach, and active vomiting. Rather than fiberoptic intubation, a rapid sequence intubation with manual inline stabilization was performed using a videolaryngoscope. A lateral cervical spine radiograph immediately after intubation showed no change in alignment of the fracture of C1-C2.

Tumour promotion versus tumour suppression in chronic hepatic iron overload.

Although iron-catalysed oxidative damage is presumed to be a major mechanism of injury leading to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma in hemochromatosis, these events have been difficult to recapitulate in an animal model. In this study, we evaluated regulators of hepatocarcinogenesis in a rodent model of chronic iron overload. Sprague-Dawley rats were iron loaded with iron dextran over 6 months.

Monocytosis and a Low Lymphocyte to Monocyte Ratio Are Effective Biomarkers of Ulcerative Colitis Disease Activity.

Background: Current biomarkers in ulcerative colitis (UC) are limited by their performance, cost, and limited availability in daily practice. This study examined alterations in the leukocyte profiles as biomarkers of UC activity, including the effects of age, gender, and medications.

Methods: Case-control study that included 110 UC subjects, 75 subjects with Clostridium difficile infection, and 75 non-inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) subjects, randomly selected from a single-institution IBD database.

Age at onset of DSM-IV pathological gambling in a non-treatment sample: Early- versus later-onset.

Background: Pathological gambling (PG) is a prevalent and impairing public health problem. In this study we assessed age at onset in men and women with PG and compared the demographic and clinical picture of early- vs. later-onset individuals.