The influence of iliotibial tract thickness on clinical outcomes in women with patellofemoral pain

BackgroundThe assessment of iliotibial tract thickness by ultrasonography may help identify a key, previously unexplored factor that may contribute directly to the homeostasis imbalance of the femoropatellar joint in people with patellofemoral pain (PFP).ObjectivesTo compare the iliotibial tract thickness of people with PFP and asymptomatic people; and to correlate the iliotibial tract thickness with self-reported pain and function of people with PFP.MethodsEighty women, separated into two groups: PFP group (n = 40) and control group consisting of asymptomatic participants (CG; n = 40). The participants answered the Anterior Knee Pain Scale (AKPS) questionnaire, to identify the self-reported knee function; they evaluated the pain in millimeters by the Visual Analog Scale for pain (VAS). For the imaging evaluation, an ultrasound was used, with a linear transducer at the distal portion of the iliotibial tract (coronal plane), with the participants positioned in dorsal decubitus, with 20° of knee flexion. The iliotibial band was visualized in its long axis, and three sequential images were recorded between the lateral femoral condyle and the lateral tibial condyle. The measurements were normalized and correlated.ResultsThe groups had no differences (P > 0.001) between participants for: age/weight/height/IMC. Participants in the PFP group had moderate levels of pain (58 + 2.1 mm), considerable self-reported functional limitation (d = 3.05) and greater iliotibial tract thickness compared with the CG (d = 2.41).ConclusionThe iliotibial tract of women diagnosed with PFP have greater thickness compared with asymptomatic women. There was no association between iliotibial tract thickness and subjective measures of pain and function.     

Increased alpha suppression with age during involuntary memory retrieval

Recent work suggests that while voluntary episodic memory declines with age, involuntary episodic memory, which comes to mind spontaneously without intention, remains relatively intact. However, the neurophysiology underlying these differences has yet to be established. The current study used electroencephalography (EEG) to investigate voluntary and involuntary retrieval in older and younger adults. Participants first encoded sounds, half of which were paired with pictures, the other half unpaired. EEG was then recorded as they listened to the sounds, with participants in the involuntary group performing a sound localization cover task, and those in the voluntary group additionally attempting to recall the associated pictures. Participants later reported which sounds brought the paired picture to mind during the localization task. Reaction times on the localization task were slower for voluntary than involuntary retrieval and for paired than unpaired sounds, possibly reflecting increased attentional demands of voluntary retrieval and interference from reactivation of the associated pictures respectively. For the EEG analyses, young adults showed greater alpha event-related desynchronization (ERD) during voluntary than involuntary retrieval at frontal and occipital sites, while older adults showed pronounced alpha ERD regardless of intention. Additionally, older adults showed greater ERD for paired than unpaired sounds at occipital sites, likely reflecting visual reactivation of the associated pictures. Young adults did not show this alpha ERD memory effect. Taken together, these data suggest that involuntary memory is largely preserved with age, but this may be due to older adults' greater recruitment of top-down control even when demand for such control is limited.     

基于全球视角的中国骨关节炎疾病负担分析

目的 掌握我国30岁以上人群骨关节炎的疾病负担现状与趋势，发现重点人群，为制定骨关节炎综合防制策略提供科学依据。方法 利用全球疾病负担数据库2019（GBD 2019），对中国30岁以上人群按照性别、年龄分组描述骨关节炎的发病率、患病率、伤残损失健康生命年（Years lived with disability, YLD），并与全球和日本、印度进行比较，分析1990—2019年骨关节炎的疾病负担与其变化趋势。作图使用GraphPad Prism 8软件。结果 2019年，中国骨关节炎患病人数约1.33亿，所致YLD约472.49万人年，占中国全因YLD的3.07%，占全球骨关节炎导致YLD的24.93%；其发病率高峰在50～54岁年龄组，各年龄段女性发病率均约为男性的1.5倍。1990—2019年，中国骨关节炎发病率、患病率、YLD率均呈逐年上升趋势，2019年依次为750.96/10万、9337.15/10万、224.78/10万，较1990年分别增加93.62%、113.53%、116.13%，均远超同期日本、印度及全球的增幅；年龄标准化后的以上指标显示，中国骨关节炎疾病负担低于日本、高于印度、接近全球平均水平。结论 随着人口老龄化程度的加深，1990—2019年我国30岁以上人群骨关节炎疾病负担越来越重，一级预防重点人群为35岁以下和未患病人群，尤其是女性，可见制定科学有效的骨关节炎综合防制方案已迫在眉睫。     

口腔科门诊应对新型冠状病毒感染防疫探讨

目前新型冠状病毒感染疫情在全国蔓延，疫情防控成为医院工作的重点。口腔科门诊患者人流量大、口腔疾患多、口腔内病菌种类复杂、诊疗过程中患者无法戴口罩、医务人员的手和器械需要接触患者的唾液、血液、病菌等，特别是在相对封闭的环境中长时间暴露于高浓度气溶胶情况下存在经气溶胶传播的可能。本院口腔科门诊通过开诊前准备、就诊期间应急管理、消毒隔离管理等方面细化防疫措施，成果显著，有效保障医患安全。     

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

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