A systematic review of capacity assessment tools in pediatric surgery: Global Assessment in Pediatric Surgery (GAPS) Phase I

Background

The Lancet Commission on Global Surgery highlighted global surgical need but offered little insight into the specific surgical challenges of children in low-resource settings. Efforts to strengthen the quality of global pediatric surgical care have resulted in a proliferation of partnerships between low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) and high-income countries (HICs). Standardized tools able to reliably measure gaps in delivery and quality of care are important aids for these partnerships. We undertook a systematic review (SR) of capacity assessment tools (CATs) focused on needs assessment in pediatric surgery.

Neural Correlates of Failed Inhibitory Control as an Early Marker of Disordered Eating in Adolescents

BackgroundBinge eating and other forms of disordered eating behavior (DEB) are associated with failed inhibitory control. This study investigated the neural correlates of failed inhibitory control as a potential biomarker for DEB.MethodsThe study used prospective longitudinal data from the European IMAGEN study adolescent cohort. Participants completed baseline assessments (questionnaires and a brain scan [functional magnetic resonance imaging]) at 14 years of age and a follow-up assessment (questionnaires) at 16 years of age. Self-reported binge eating and/or purging were used to indicate presence of DEB. Neural correlates of failed inhibition were assessed using the stop signal task. Participants were categorized as healthy control subjects (reported no DEB at both time points), maintainers (reported DEB at both time points), recoverers (reported DEB at baseline only), and developers (reported DEB at follow-up only). Forty-three individuals per group with complete scanning data were matched on gender, age, puberty, and intelligence (N = 172).ResultsAt baseline, despite similar task performance, incorrectly responding to stop signals (failed inhibitory control) was associated with greater recruitment of the medial prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex in the developers compared with healthy control subjects and recoverers.ConclusionsGreater recruitment of the medial prefrontal and anterior cingulate regions during failed inhibition accords with abnormal evaluation of errors contributing to DEB development. As this precedes symptom onset and is evident despite normal task performance, neural responses during failed inhibition may be a useful biomarker of vulnerability for DEB. This study highlights the potential value of prospective neuroimaging studies for identifying markers of illness before the emergence of behavior changes.     

The impact of a total knee arthroplasty on jaw movements,upper body posture,plantar pressure distribution,and postural control

ABSTRACT

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of a total knee arthroplasty (TKA) on linked cranial and caudal structures.

Methods: Thirty-five (14f/21m) subjects participated in this study: 15 subjects (9f, 6m) pre- and post- TKA and a control group of 20 subjects (5f, 15m). The measurements included: jaw condyle position and movement, back scan, plantar pressure distribution, and body sway.

Results: There were no significant differences in electronic position analysis of the jaw; however, the protrusion of the TKA group improved (p = 0.001). The test group had a more anteriorly inclined thoracic spine and a less pronounced lumbar lordosis. Before and after surgery, the body sway in the test group was larger.

Conclusion: The TKA affected most prominently the static mechanisms of the postural control and the spine position. The trajectories of the mandible during protrusion also changed slightly.     

Correcting forensic DNA errors

DNA mixture interpretation can produce opposing conclusions by qualified forensic analysts, even within the same laboratory. The long-delayed publication of the National Institutes of Standards and Technology (NIST) study of 109 North American crime laboratories in this journal demonstrates this most clearly. This latest study supports earlier work that shows common methods such as the Combined Probability of Inclusion (CPI) have wrongly included innocent people as contributors to DNA mixtures. The 2016 President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology report concluded, “In summary, the interpretation of complex DNA mixtures with the CPI statistic has been an inadequately specified—and thus inappropriately subjective—method. As such, the method is clearly not foundationally valid” [7]. The adoption of probabilistic genotyping by many laboratories will certainly prevent some of these errors from occurring in the future, but the same laboratories that produced past errors can also now review old cases with their new software—without additional bench work. It is critical that laboratories adopt procedures and policies to do this.     

2016—2021年灌云县手足口病流行病学特征分析

目的 分析灌云县2016—2021年手足口病流行特征,为手足口病的防控提供参考依据。方法 采用描述性统计方法,分析灌云县手足口病的流行特征以及病原学变化等。结果 2016 —2021年灌云县手足口病 4 205例,呈现出“隔年高发”特征,年平均发病率为67.50/10万;4 —6月和10 —12月为高发期;男性占比明显高于女性;0～4岁散居儿童居多;伊山镇、侍庄街道和东王集镇发病率位居前三。2016 —2017年确诊患儿病原以EV71为主,2018—2021年以Cox A6为主。8例重症病例集中在1～5岁,确诊的重症患者以EV71感染为主。结论 灌云县手足口病疫情具有“隔年高发”和季节性“双峰流行”特征,以0～4岁散居儿童为高发人群和灌云县县城及周边镇(街)为高发区域。EV71灭活疫苗接种能有效预防EV71病毒引发的手足口病。     

Efficient polymer nanoparticle-mediated delivery of gene editing reagents into human hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells

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