How Frequently are Words used on Naming Tests used in Spoken Conversation?

Naming, or word-finding ability, is typically assessed using measures that require a patient to name a pictured object. Words used less frequently tend to be more difficult to find when speaking; thus word frequency can be used as a measure of item difficulty on such tests. However, frequency data for words on naming measures has either not been used in the creation of these tests or has been derived from data on how frequently words have been used in written materials. The present study determined how frequently words on the Boston Naming Test (BNT), the Neuropsychological Assessment Battery (NAB) naming subtest, the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) naming subtest, and auditory naming measures developed by Hamberger and Seidel (2003, Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 9, 479) and Brandt et al. (2010, The Clinical Neuropsychologist, 24, 1326) are used in spoken language. Items on the auditory naming measures had the highest mean frequency, and the BNT items 30–60 had the lowest mean frequency. Furthermore, item frequency on the full BNT, NAB naming forms 1 and 2, and RBANS forms A correlated with item number, indicating items increase in difficulty on these tests, with trends in the same direction found for RBANS form B and Hamberger and Seidel’s auditory naming measure. Finally, differences in mean word frequency between tests underscore how interpretation of change in naming ability based on different measures should be made with caution.     

Regeneration of a deactivated surface functionalised polyacrylonitrile supported Fenton catalyst for use in wastewater treatment

Successful attempts to regenerate a used surface functionalised nanocoated polyacrylonitrile (PAN) catalyst are described here. During use in wastewater treatment, the novel Fenton catalyst (F1) is deactivated due to iron loss caused by acid hydrolysis. In this study the deactivated catalyst (D1) is subjected to reactions with 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-carbodiimide (EDC), followed by reactions with either hydroxylamine to give sample T1 or hydroxylamine and hydrazine to give sample T2. The samples were then impregnated with iron(iii) salt to give either Fe-T1 or Fe-T2. The catalysts were characterized by Attenuated Total Reflectance Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR), Atomic Absorption (AA) and UV/VIS spectroscopies, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) with energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy and Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) spectroscopy. The iron on the regenerated catalyst was found to be in complexed form but had deposited iron oxide species as well. The catalysts were tested in batch mode and compared with the fresh modified PAN catalyst in the degradation of the dye Reactive Orange 16 (RO-16) with analysis by UV/VIS spectroscopy. The reactivated catalysts prepared with EDC were found to be more active and faster (as measured at 120 min) in decolourising RO-16 than the fresh catalytic mesh but also with a higher degree of Fe leaching (0.85% loss of iron per gram of Fe-T2 catalyst over 6 cycles compared to 0.32% loss of Fe per gram of F1 catalyst over 6 cycles). This leaching was found not to contribute significantly to degradation of the dye and the preliminary results suggest that the regime can be used for catalyst regeneration encouraging industrial uptake.

Successful attempts to regenerate a used surface functionalised nanocoated polyacrylonitrile (PAN) catalyst are described here.     

Risk of renal cell carcinoma and polymorphism in phase I xenobiotic metabolizing CYP1A1 and CYP2D6 enzymes

The progressive increase in sporadic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) observed in industrialized countries supports the opinion that certain carcinogens present in the environment (tobacco smoke, drugs, pollutants, and dietary constituents) may affect the occurrence and progression of this disease in developing countries like India. The polymorphism of the enzymes involved in metabolism of such environmental factors may, therefore, confer variable propensity to RCC. The possible association between RCC and a polymorphism of the CYP1A1 and CYP2D6 genes specific to the Indian population was examined using peripheral blood DNA from 196 RCC cases and 250 population controls with detailed data of clinicopathologic characteristics for the disease. The CYP1A1 (val) “variant” genotype, which contains at least 1 copy of the CYP1A1 variant alleles, was found to be associated with a 2.03-fold [GG ver. AA/AG, unadjusted OR = 2.03; 95%CI = 1.233–3.342; P = 0.005] increase in the risk of RCC. There was also a significant association (p^trend = 0.034) between higher frequency of RCC subjects containing at least of copy of the CYP1A1 (val) “variant” genotype with III or IV Fuhrman's grade. Whereas, the CYP2D6 polymorphism did not show any association with RCC risk [TT ver. CT/CC, unadjusted OR = 95%CI = 1.233–3.342; P = 0.005]. There was a significant association (p^trend = 0.001) between the poor metabolizer CYP2D6 (TT) and progression towards higher pathological stage of RCC. Our data demonstrate for the first time a significant association between pharmacogenetic polymorphisms of CYP1A1 and risk of RCC development in the Indian population. The findings suggest that inter-individual variation in the phase I metabolic enzymes involved in the fictionalization and detoxification of specific xenobiotics is an important susceptibility factor for development and progression of RCC in Indians.     

Locking Compression Plate in Musculoskeletal Oncology 'a Friend in Need'

Background

We are presenting our experience in the use of locking compression plate (LCP) after juxta-articular oncological resections in addition to its use in pathologic fracture.

Methods

A retrospective audit of skeletal reconstruction using LCP in 25 cases of long bone tumors was performed from 2008 to 2010. Reconstruction following limb salvage surgery was done in 17 patients and internal fixation of pathological fracture was done in 8 patients. All patients were available for > 12 months of follow-up, and thus assessed for union at the resected ends.

Results

There were 8 males and 17 females in the study. The average age at the time of surgery was 30 years (range, 9 to 66 years). The minimum follow-up was 12 months (range, 12 to 32 months). All patients except three went on to heal successfully. Complications occurred in those three patients: wound infection in one, nonunion in another, and periprosthetic fracture in the other patient. In the remaining patients, union was achieved at an average of 6.5 months after reconstruction in curative resection and 4.75 months after fixation of pathological fractures.

Conclusions

Joint sparing limb salvage surgery was made successfully possible after sekeletal reconstruction with LCP. Its use was also quite effective in pathological fractures with poor bone quality. Use of locking plates for musculoskeletal oncological reconstruction resulted in a good and predictable rate of union.     

Cholinergic control of morphine‐induced locomotion in rostromedial tegmental nucleus versus ventral tegmental area sites

M5 muscarinic acetylcholine receptors expressed on ventral tegmental dopamine (DA) neurons are needed for opioid activation of DA outputs. Here, the M5 receptor gene was bilaterally transfected into neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) or the adjacent rostromedial tegmental nucleus (RMTg) in mice by means of a Herpes simplex viral vector (HSV) to increase the effect of endogenous acetylcholine. Three days after HSV‐M5 gene infusion in VTA sites, morphine‐induced locomotion more than doubled at two doses, while saline‐induced locomotion was unaffected. When the HSV‐M5 gene was infused into the adjacent RMTg, morphine‐induced locomotion was strongly inhibited. The sharp boundary between these opposing effects was found where tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and cholinesterase labelling decreases (?4.00 mm posterior to bregma). The same HSV‐M5 gene transfections in M5 knockout mice induced even stronger inhibitory behavioural effects in RMTg but more variability in VTA sites due to stereotypy. The VTA sites where HSV‐M5 increased morphine‐induced locomotion receive direct inputs from many RMTg GAD‐positive neurons, and from pontine ChAT‐positive neurons, as shown by cholera‐toxin B retrograde tracing. Therefore, morphine‐induced locomotion was decreased by M5 receptor gene expression in RMTg GABA neurons that directly inhibit VTA DA neurons. Conversely, enhancing M5 receptor gene expression on VTA DA neurons increased morphine‐induced locomotion via cholinergic inputs.     

Failure of the first step of two-stage revision due to polymicrobial prosthetic joint infection of the hip

Background

The unsuccessful treatment of prosthetic joint infection (PJI) with two-stage revision leads to infection recurrence. The objectives of the study were to assess the clinical and demographic characteristics of patients with polymicrobial PJI, and to evaluate the role of the microbial profile involved in PJI in the risk of infection recurrence after the first step of two-stage revision surgery.

Materials and methods

A retrospective analysis of 189 cases of culture-positive PJI following total hip replacement over a 5-year period was performed. The demographic characteristics of patients, clinical symptoms, microbiology cultures of intraoperative biopsies, laboratory values of C-reactive protein (CRP), white blood cell count and erythrocyte sedimentation rate were analyzed. Patients were divided into two groups—135 with monomicrobial and 54 with polymicrobial infection.

Results

Of all patients, 68.9 % in the monomicrobial and 83.3 % in the polymicrobial group had a body mass index >25 kg/m² (p = 0.05). The median CRP values were 5.7 mg/L (IQR 4.0–10.0 mg/L) in the monomicrobial compared to 8.8 mg/L (IQR 5.0–27 mg/L) in the polymicrobial group (p = 0.01). The percentage of successful outcomes was 27.8 % in patients with microbial associations (p < 0.0001). Gram-negative pathogens caused polymicrobial PJI in 61.5 % of cases with infection recurrence (OR 4.4; 95 % CI 1.18–16.37; p = 0.03).

Conclusions

Overweight and obese patients or those with elevated CRP had a greater risk of polymicrobial PJI. They were predisposed to recurrence of infection after the first step of two-stage revision. An unsuccessful outcome was more likely in cases with polymicrobial infection compared to those with monomicrobial infection. In addition, the presence of multidrug-resistant strains of Gram-negative bacteria substantially increased the risk of PJI treatment being unsuccessful.

Level of evidence

Level III, therapeutic study.