Gender Differences in Child Abuse,Emotional Processing Difficulties,Alexithymia, Psychological Symptoms and Behavioural Problems among Chinese Adolescents

Psychiatric Quarterly - Child abuse among adolescents in China has been documented and can lead to a whole range of psychological and behavioural problems. This study examined whether male and...     

In vitro synthesis of tissue-specific type ii collagen by healing cartilage

The healing of surgically induced defects in mature rabbits' hyaline cartilage was examined histologically and biochemically. The subchondral bone underneath the lesion was the source of repair. At the end of the first month, mushroom-shaped chondroid buds were seen sprouting from the subchondral bone. By the tenth week, these buds fused to a cartilagenous plug filling the lesion. The repaired cartilage synthesized Type II collagen.     

A Longitudinal Cohort Study of Youth Mental Health and Substance use Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Ontario,Canada: An Exploratory Analysis

BackgroundYouth mental health appears to have been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The impact on substance use is less clear, as is the impact on subgroups of youth, including those with pre-existing mental health or substance use challenges.ObjectiveThis hypothesis-generating study examines the longitudinal evolution of youth mental health and substance use from before the COVID-19 pandemic to over one year into the pandemic among youth with pre-existing mental health or substance use challenges.MethodA total of 168 youth aged 14–24 participated. Participants provided sociodemographic data, as well as internalizing disorder, externalizing disorder, and substance use data prior to the pandemic’s onset, then every two months between April 2020–2021. Linear mixed models and Generalized Estimating Equations were used to analyze the effect of time on mental health and substance use. Exploratory analyses were conducted to examine interactions with sociodemographic and clinical characteristics.ResultsThere was no change in internalizing or externalizing disorder scores from prior to the pandemic to any point throughout the first year of the pandemic. Substance use scores during the pandemic declined compared to pre-pandemic scores. Exploratory analyses suggest that students appear to have experienced more mental health repercussions than non-students; other sociodemographic and clinical characteristics did not appear to be associated with mental health or substance use trajectories.ConclusionsWhile mental health remained stable and substance use declined from before the COVID-19 pandemic to during the pandemic among youth with pre-existing mental health challenges, some youth experienced greater challenges than others. Longitudinal monitoring among various population subgroups is crucial to identifying higher risk populations. This information is needed to provide empirical evidence to inform future research directions.     

Comparison of the urine-based ligase chain reaction test to culture for detection of Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae in pediatric sexual abuse victims

BACKGROUND: The urine-based ligase chain reaction (LCR) assay for Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae is an attractive alternative to culture because of the relative ease with which specimens may be collected, transported and processed. In addition LCR offers superior sensitivity while maintaining high specificity when compared with culture in various studies of adolescents and adults. A study comparing LCR to culture has not been published concerning children. METHODS: We conducted a prospective, comparison trial of the urine-based LCR test for Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae as compared with culture among children at a specialized referral center for evaluation for alleged sexual assault. Of the 1,010 children presenting to the center during the study period, 164 met the study requirements for risk of a sexually transmissible disease and collection of both culture and urine LCR specimens. RESULTS: Eight specimens tested positive by both methods for C. trachomatis. Another 10 specimens tested positive for C. trachomatis by LCR but were negative by culture. No patient with a negative LCR for C. trachomatis had a positive culture. For N. gonorrhoeae 2 specimens tested positive by both methods, and 3 specimens tested positive by LCR but negative by culture. No patient with a negative LCR for N. gonorrhoeae had a positive culture. CONCLUSIONS: The low prevalence of disease in the study population precluded statistical analysis. LCR may prove to be as specific and more sensitive than culture for the detection of C. trachomatis and N. gonorrhoeae in children. Further studies are needed.     

Norepinephrine regulation of fetal heart rate: multiple mechanisms of action

Norepinephrine was infused intravenously for 30 minutes into chronically catheterized sheep fetuses averaging 133 days' gestation. At infusion rates of 3.9, 12, and 39 micrograms/min, heart rate initially decreased as much as 40 bpm and then gradually increased to 50 bpm above the control value by the end of the infusion. Thereafter, heart rate increased further, and by the end of a 30-minute recovery period, heart rate was still 66 bpm above the control value. In fetuses pretreated with either a ganglionic blocker or a parasympathetic blocker, norepinephrine caused a large and sustained rise in heart rate by 124 bpm, which declined rapidly when the infusion was terminated. These results suggest that circulating norepinephrine affects fetal heart rate by several mechanisms: a baroreceptor-mediated suppression, a direct stimulation by norepinephrine, a gradual weakening of the vagal and an increase in cardiac sensitivity to sympathetic stimulation. In addition, there appears to be a long-term positive correlation between fetal heart rate and circulating norepinephrine levels.     

Success of targeted transperineal biopsy in patients on surveillance for grade group 1 prostate cancer

IntroductionWe aimed to determine the minimum cross-sectional ellipsoid area on magnetic resonance (MR) of intraprostatic nodules that best predicts for subsequent targeted biopsies revealing ≥ grade group (GG) 2 disease.MethodsForty-six patients previously diagnosed with GG 1 prostate adenocarcinoma who received cognitively fused, MR-guided, transperineal targeted biopsies in addition to six random biopsies were included in this analysis. A Youden cutpoint analysis was used to determine the ellipsoid area in the axial plane best predicting for ≥GG 2 disease within the targeted biopsy cores and logistic regression used to assess the result.ResultsMedian time from MR imaging to targeted biopsy was 2.4 (1.4–5.5) months. Forty of 46 (87%) patients had one nodule and 6/46 (13%) had two separate nodules on MR that received targeted biopsy. Of the 52 nodules, five (10%), 33 (63%), and 14 (27%) were Prostate Imaging-Reporting and Data System (PI-RADS) 3, 4, and 5, respectively. Thirteen (25%), six (12%), and 33 (64%) were in the anterior, medial, and posterior regions of the prostate, respectively. Median area was 0.72 (0.49–1.29) cm² (average diameter 9.5 mm). Fifteen of 46 (33%) patients had ≥1 random biopsy and 20/52 (38%) nodules had ≥1 targeted biopsy revealing ≥GG 2 disease. The optimal area cutpoint was ≥0.7 cm², with an area under the curve of 0.671 (0.510–0.832). On logistic regression, area ≥0.7 cm² was solely predictive of targeted biopsy revealing ≥GG 2 disease (odds ratio 6.5, 1.3–32.4, p=0.022).ConclusionsNodule area ≥0.7 cm² may predict for transperineal-based targeted biopsies being positive for ≥GG 2 disease when 1–2 cores are taken.     

Histological findings in a case of alobar holoprosencephaly diagnosed at 10 weeks of pregnancy.

A case of alobar holoprosencephaly diagnosed at 10 + 3 weeks' gestation by transabdominal and transvaginal ultrasound examination followed by histological confirmation is presented. The diagnosis was based on two sonographic criteria: intracranial finding of a single ventricle with a mantle and no visible midline structures but fusion of the thalami and corpus striatum, and facial abnormalities, including hypotelorism and proboscis. The fetal karyotype was triploidy. The ultrasound findings were confirmed by pathological examination. The histological findings of proboscis, single lens and single ventricle with neural tissue remnants are presented.