Prospective examination of adolescent sleep patterns and behaviors before and during COVID-19

Study ObjectivesTo prospectively examine changes in adolescent sleep before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in adolescents with and without ADHD.MethodsParticipants were 122 adolescents (ages 15–17; 61% male; 48% with ADHD). Parents reported on adolescents’ sleep duration and difficulties initiating and maintaining sleep (DIMS); adolescents reported on sleep patterns, sleep duration, delayed sleep/wake behaviors, and daytime sleepiness before (September 2019 to February 2020) and during (May–June 2020) COVID-19. Adolescents also reported on their health behaviors, COVID-19-related negative affect, and difficulties concentrating due to COVID-19.ResultsParents reported adolescents had more DIMS during COVID-19 than before COVID-19, with clinically elevated rates increasing from 24% to 36%. Both bedtimes and waketimes shifted later during COVID-19, and adolescents reported more delayed sleep/wake behaviors. Adolescents also reported less daytime sleepiness and longer school night sleep duration during COVID-19. In considering differences between adolescents with and without ADHD, adolescents with ADHD did not experience an increase in school night sleep duration and were less likely to obtain recommended sleep duration during COVID-19. In the full sample, controlling for ADHD status, COVID-19-related sadness/loneliness was associated with increases in DIMS, and spending less time outside and more COVID-19-related worries/fears were associated with increases in delayed sleep/wake behaviors during COVID-19.ConclusionsCOVID-19 had negative and positive impacts on adolescent sleep. Adolescents with ADHD did not experience the benefit of increased school night sleep duration during COVID-19 like adolescents without ADHD. Negative affect and health behaviors may be useful intervention targets for reducing negative impacts of COVID-19 for adolescent sleep.     

保健食品微生物限度检查的方法学验证

目的:确认对保健食品进行微生物限度检查时,昕采用的细菌、霉菌及酵母菌计数和控制菌检查方法是否适合于该保健食品的微生物限度检查。方法:按2005年版中国药典微生物限度检查法及方法学验证实验要求,对21种保健食品进行了方法学验证。结果:10个品种(血尔口服液、金舒通胶囊、事轻松胶囊、梦玉胶囊等)分别对金黄色葡萄球菌和枯草芽孢杆菌有明显的抑菌作用,阳性对照菌回收率均低于70%。结论:保健食品采用 GB/T4789-2003食品卫生微生物学检查法进行检查时,其检验结果可能不够科学,建议参照2005年版中国药典要求,通过方法验证实验建立合理的检验方法。     

Inhibition of tumorigenic potential and prostate-specific antigen expression in LNCaP human prostate cancer cell line by 13-cis-retinoic acid

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is a member of the kallikrein family and has been an important biological marker for prostate cancer. The mechanisms regulating PSA expression in prostatic cancer cells are unclear. The present study was designed to elucidate the role of 13-cis-retinoic acid (RA) in regulation of PSA and the tumorigenic potential of the human prostate cancer cell line LNCaP. The growth regulation of LNCaP cells was examined by DNA synthesis and doubling time. The tumorigenic potential of prostate cancer cells was analyzed by soft agar colony-forming assay, in vitro invasion assay, type IV collagenase assay and binding to extracellular matrix assay. The nuclear receptors for retinoic acid (RARα, -β, -γ and RXRα, -β,-γ) as well as PSA mRNA were determined by Northern blot using specific oligonucleotide probes. Our results suggest that 13-cis-RA significantly inhibits PSA secretion and expression both at the mRNA and protein levels compared with untreated cells. Electron microscopic studies suggest that after 13-cis-RA treatment, cells become more differentiated as they contain lumina, lined by plasma membrane and microvilli. Prostate cancer cell growth and tumorigenic potential after 13-cis-RA treatment was significantly decreased compared with controls. Nude mice tumorigenicity studies showed that 13-cis-RA-treated cells produced significantly smaller tumors compared with untreated cell tumors. There was also a significant increase in the expression of RXRa mRNA after 13-cis-RA treatment compared with untreated cells.     

Selenium status of New Zealand infants fed either a selenium supplemented or a standard formula

Objective: New Zealand soils are deficient in the essential micronutrient, selenium. New Zealand infants have low selenium levels at birth and experience a further decline if fed cows milk based formula. This study examined the selenium status of infants fed with a new commercially available selenium supplemented formula.
Methodology Forty-four newborn infants, whose mothers wished to formula feed, were randomized in an open controlled trial to be fed a commercially available selenium supplemented cows milk formula (containing 17 μg Se/L) or an unsupplemented formula (containing 4.6 μg Se/L). Cord, 1 and 3 month blood samples were obtained for selenium status (plasma and red cell selenium and glutathione peroxidase) and thyroid function.
Results Mean plasma selenium and glutathione peroxidase values were significantly higher in supplemented than unsupplemented infants at 1 month (unpaired t -tests; P <0.0001 and P = 0.001 respectively) and 3 months ( P <0.0001 and P = 0.0005). Analysis within treatment groups between time points (paired t -tests) showed that selenium supplementation prevented the fall in plasma selenium from birth to 1 month seen in unsupplemented infants and was associated with a rise in levels between 1 and 3 months ( P = 0.002).
Conclusions Supplementing cows milk formula with selenium to replicate the levels found in breast milk is nutritionally sound. Feeding from a few days of age with a formula containing 17 μg Se/L in infants with low selenium status at birth is sufficient to cause a rise to 80% of adult levels at 3 months of age.     

Lateral supratentorial endodermal cyst: case report and review of literature

OBJECTIVE AND IMPORTANCE: Epithelial cysts of the central nervous system are unusual entities, with the majority reported to occur in the spinal canal. More unusual is the intracranial presentation, which shows a predilection for midline localization in the posterior fossa, brainstem, and suprasellar regions. This report discusses the differential diagnosis, pathogenesis, radiographic presentation, and therapeutic considerations of a laterally positioned cerebral convexity endodermal cyst. CLINICAL PRESENTATION: A 49-year-old right-handed man presented with approximately a 30-month history of short- and long-term memory difficulties. A magnetic resonance imaging study revealed a large, nonenhancing, extra-axial cystic lesion overlying the right lateral frontal convexity. INTERVENTION: A right frontoparietal craniotomy exposed a large extra-axial cyst with an opaque, yellowish-white membrane containing a mucoid fluid. Histological analysis disclosed a layer of unremarkable, ciliated columnar epithelium with a basement membrane that stained positive for cytokeratin, periodic acid-Schiff, and Alcian blue. No evidence of either a muscular or cartilaginous layer around the mucosa was present to further delineate neurenteric versus bronchogenic origin of the cyst. CONCLUSION: This case involved the occurrence of a solitary endodermal cyst as an extra-axial mass localized over the lateral frontal lobe. The lateral supratentorial localization of this lesion illustrates the need for consideration of the pathogenesis of this entity as well as its diagnostic differentiation from other cystic abnormalities in this region. A review of the histochemistry of endodermal, neuroepithelial, and other cerebral cysts is presented.     

Architectonics and cortical connections of the upper bank of the superior temporal sulcus in the rhesus monkey: an analysis in the tangential plane

Area TPO in the upper bank of the superior temporal sulcus (STS) of macaque monkeys is thought to correspond to the superior temporal polysensory (STP) cortex, but has been shown to have neurochemical/connectional subdivisions. To examine directly the relationship between chemoarchitecture and cortical connections of area TPO, the upper bank of the STS was sectioned tangential to the cortical surface. Three subdivisions of area TPO (TPOr, TPOi, and TPOc) were examined with cytochrome oxidase (CO) histochemistry and neurofilament protein (NF) immunoreactivity and architectonic patterns were compared with connections on the same or adjacent sections. Area TPOc, which may partly overlap with the location of the medial superior temporal area MST, exhibited regular patchy staining for CO in layers III/IV and a complementary pattern in the NF stain. Area TPOr, but not TPOi, also had a patchy pattern of complementary staining in CO and neurofilament similar to TPOc, although not as distinct. Tracer injections within cortex including the frontal eye fields (areas 46 and 8) labeled areas TPOc, TPOi, and TPOr. The caudal inferior parietal lobule (IPL) projected to all three areas. The projections from prearcuate and posterior parietal cortices showed both overlap and nonoverlap with each other within TPOc, TPOi, and TPOr. Projections were to all neurochemical components within the subdivisions of TPO. The findings support the parcellation of area TPO into three subdivisions and extend findings of chemoarchitectonic modules within high-order association cortices.     

Accounting for unprotected sex: stories of agency and acceptability

Based on the idea that risks are knowable, calculable and preventable, dominant social scientific and health promotion discourses foster an image of individual risk control and responsibility. The presentation of the self is a moral enterprise. Accounts of unprotected sex by HIV positive people who have the potential to transmit HIV to their sexual partners can be particularly morally charged. Drawing on 73 depth qualitative interviews with HIV positive people and their sexual partners, this paper explores how the interview accounts of unprotected sex can illuminate the way in which the self is presented within the context of situated norms of risk acceptability and moral responsibility. We identify two forms of account: stories of agency; and stories of acceptability. Stories of agency tend to deny agency and abdicate individual responsibility given the circumstances, and were also a key feature of accounts in which the sexual partners of HIV positive people were placed at risk of HIV transmission. Categories of appeal included the denial of agency as a consequence of: risk calculus and condom accidents; alcohol and drug effects; powerlessness and coercion; and forces of nature. By contrast, stories of acceptability tend to justify unprotected sex as acceptable. Categories of appeal included: HIV positive concordance; and commitment in relationships. Other forms of justification included: alter responsibility; and intentional HIV transmission. We conclude that accounts of risk management are risk managed. We call for greater attention by social scientists to the way in which accounts are constructed, and in particular, to 'anti-rational' forms of explanation within accounts.     

An evaluation of resident training in breast procedures

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to determine if senior residents are participating in advanced level breast cases. METHODS: A retrospective review of 1,583 breast procedures on 1,213 patients over 2 years was performed. Each case was evaluated for the type of case: (1) junior level (PGY 1 and 2)--core needle biopsy, fine needle aspirate, excisional biopsy, needle localized biopsy, lumpectomy, partial mastectomy, and simple mastectomy; and (2) senior level--stereotactic breast biopsy, sentinel lymph node biopsy, axillary dissection, and modified radical mastectomy. All cases were reviewed for level of resident involved. RESULTS: Overall, seniors performed 31% of the cases, junior residents performed 42%, and 27% were unattended by any resident. Senior level breast cases were specifically examined to compare whether a senior or junior was present. Overall, 891 defined senior cases were performed. A senior level resident attended 34% of these, leaving 66% covered by junior residents or uncovered altogether. CONCLUSIONS: It is clear when evaluating breast procedures that senior residents are less involved than junior residents. Furthermore, the fact that many of the reported cases (28%) and, more significantly, senior level cases (26%) have no resident involved leads us to conclude that senior level residents are not taking advantage of the opportunity to gain experience in performing advanced level breast procedures in our surgical program.     

Construct stiffness of different fixation methods for supracondylar femoral fractures above total knee prostheses

Supracondylar fracture of the femur after total knee arthroplasty has an estimated frequency of 0.6%-2.5% among total knee recipients and presents an extremely difficult problem when encountered. The goal of this study is to determine the most stable method of fixation of these supracondylar fractures among currently available devices. Synthetic composite femurs with properties similar to human bone were used, and identical, unstable supracondylar fractures were created in each. Osteotomized specimens were placed into four groups of five. Each group was then tested with one of four devices: the Green-Seligson-Henry (GSH) intramedullary nail, AO 95 degrees blade plate, dynamic condylar screw and sideplate, and condylar buttress plate. After stabilization with the different types of fixation, the constructs were tested individually for bending stiffness in four modes: flexion, extension, varus, and valgus bending. The stiffest fixation was determined in each of the four bending planes. Resistance to all tested directions was greatest for the condylar screw and sideplate construct. Resistance to flexion (stiffness = 30.96 N/mm), extension (stiffness = 36.36 N/mm), varus (stiffness = 35.46 N/mm), and valgus forces (stiffness = 32.26 N/mm) was highest in the group fixed with the dynamic condylar screw. This may be due to the purchase gained by the large lag screw into the distal femur, or it may be the result of the total rigidity of the implant. Although the femoral samples used in this study do not duplicate the typical osteopenic bone encountered at the site of a total knee arthroplasty, they do allow direct comparison of the fixation devices by removing the variability associated with cadaveric bone samples.