Q-angle, Pelvic width, and Intercondylar notch width as predictors of knee injuries in women soccer players in South Africa

Objective

To investigate the association between the three anatomical factors of Q-angle (QA), pelvic width (PW) and Intercondylar notch width (INW) and knee injuries among the U-23 female soccer players of South Africa

Methods

The study is a case-control prospective study design. Twenty four U-23 women soccer players of the South African team were purposively chosen to participate in this study. Participants were divided into two groups: group1 (Case) was those with knee injuries, while those without injuries were in group-2 (Control). PW and INW were measured after X-rays of the hip were taken while the QA was measured manually with the goniomenter. Association between anatomical factors and knee injuries were tested with ANOVA.

Results

Q-angle ranged from 14° to 18° for both injured and non injured groups. PW was between 24 –29 cm for both injured and non injured groups. INW was between 1.3mm and 2.8mm for the right and between 1.4mm and 2.5mm for the left notch for the injured group, while INW for the right and left of the non injured group were between 1.7mm to 2.1mm and 1.8mm to 2.1mm, respectively No significant association between knee injuries and each of the anatomical factors was found QA (p= 0.74), PW (p=0.34), INW (right and left respectively) (p=0.142 & p=0.089).

Conclusion

The three anatomical factors of QA, PW and INW could not be used to predict knee injuries amongst the U-23 female players in South Africa.     

Gamma (immune) interferon production by leukocytes from a patient with a TG cell proliferative disease

We report a patient with a disease characterized by proliferation of T cells with Fc receptors for IgG (TG). However, unlike lymphoid cells from normal individuals or from patients with other lymphoid malignancies, the patient's lymphocytes spontaneously produced gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) in vitro. The peripheral lymphocytes consisted of 95% TG cells, which exhibited the morphological characteristics of T- cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and were normal on cytochemical and chromosome analysis. The majority of TG cells were OKT3+, OKT8+, and OKT4-, 3A1-. These cells failed to express suppressor cell activity and displayed depressed levels of natural killer activity, but mediated antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity. The spontaneous production of IFN-gamma by human peripheral lymphoid cells as demonstrated in this study may serve as a probe for studying the relationship between IFN-gamma and the proliferation of human T-cell subsets.     

Elevated expression and altered pattern of activity of DNA methyltransferase in liver tumors of rats fed methyl-deficient diets

DNA methyltransferase (MTase) activity in nuclear extracts from neoplastic and preneoplastic livers of rats fed a methyl-deficient diet (MDD) is elevated compared with that seen in the livers of control rats. Nuclear proteins were prepared in the presence of protease inhibitors including trans-epoxy succinyl-L-leucylamido-(4- guanido)butane and were fractionated by isoelectric focusing. In normal, control liver, two distinct MTase fractions were observed. In MDD-induced malignant liver, a third fraction, in addition to the previous two, was also seen. Both the DNA substrate and the cytosine site specificities of the third MTase fraction differ from those of the other two fractions. The distinct MTase activity in liver tumor has significantly more de novo MTase activity than do the MTase fractions of normal, control liver. Thus, normal and neoplastic rat livers differ in DNA MTase fractionation patterns and site specificities. The altered DNA MTase activity observed in rat liver tumors caused by MDDs may be one of the critical factors contributing to cancer formation through abnormal DNA methylation.      

Use of the Complete Rockall Score and the Forrest Classification to Assess Outcome in Patients with Non-variceal Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding Subject to After-hours Endoscopy: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Objectives:

To evaluate the usefulness of the Forrest classification and the complete Rockall score with customary cut-off values for assessing the risk of adverse events in patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGI-B) subject to after-hours emergency oesophago-gastro-duodenoscopy (E-EGD) within six hours after admission.

Methods:

The medical records of patients with non-variceal UGI-B proven by after-hours endoscopy were analysed. For ''high risk'' situations (Forrest stage Ia–IIb/complete Rockall score > 2), univariate analysis was conducted to evaluate odds ratio for reaching the study endpoints (30-day and one-year mortality, re-bleeding, hospital stay ≥ 3 days).

Results:

During the study period (75 months), 86 cases (85 patients) met the inclusion criteria. Patients ''age was 66.36 ± 14.38 years; 60.5% were male. Mean duration of hospital stay was 15.21 ± 19.24 days. Mortality rate was 16.7% (30 days) and 32.9% (one year); 14% of patients re-bled. Univariate analysis of post-endoscopic Rockall score ≥ 2 showed an odds ratio of 6.09 for death within 30 days (p = 0.04). No other significant correlations were found.

Conclusion:

In patients with UGI-B subject to after-hours endoscopy, a ''high-risk'' Rockall score permits an estimation of the risk of death within 30 days but not of re-bleeding. A ''high-risk '' Forrest score is not significantly associated with the study endpoints.     

E-Cigarette Use in the Past and Quitting Behavior in the Future: A Population-Based Study

Objectives. We examined whether smokers who used e-cigarettes are more likely to quit after 1 year than smokers who had never used e-cigarettes.Methods. We surveyed California smokers (n = 1000) at 2 time points 1 year apart. We conducted logistic regression analyses to determine whether history of e-cigarette use at baseline predicted quitting behavior at follow-up, adjusting for demographics and smoking behavior at baseline. We limited analyses to smokers who reported consistent e-cigarette behavior at baseline and follow-up.Results. Compared with smokers who never used e-cigarettes, smokers who ever used e-cigarettes were significantly less likely to decrease cigarette consumption (odds ratio [OR] = 0.51; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.30, 0.87), and significantly less likely to quit for 30 days or more at follow-up (OR = 0.41; 95% CI = 0.18, 0.93). Ever-users of e-cigarettes were more likely to report a quit attempt, although this was not statistically significant (OR = 1.15; 95% CI = 0.67, 1.97).Conclusions. Smokers who have used e-cigarettes may be at increased risk for not being able to quit smoking. These findings, which need to be confirmed by longer-term cohort studies, have important policy and regulation implications regarding the use of e-cigarettes among smokers.The use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes)—also known as electronic nicotine delivery systems, personal vaporizers, and vaping cigarettes—is a recent and rapidly expanding phenomenon. These names refer to a battery-operated device that electronically heats a liquid (sometime referred to as “e-juice”) containing nicotine and propylene glycol, plus flavors, to create a misty vapor mimicking cigarette smoke that is inhaled by the smoker (who is commonly known as the “vaper”). This increasing use of e-cigarettes has become a controversial issue among health professionals, policymakers, vapers, and the general public. According to the surgeon general’s recent recommendations, e-cigarettes need to be regulated and their use in the population closely monitored, especially given the doubling of use among youths within just 1 year (between 2011 and 2012).1The main controversy surrounding the use of e-cigarettes is whether they are of benefit to smokers, as an alternative to cigarettes and for harm reduction, or whether they cause more harm to society by introducing and propagating new forms of nicotine addiction.2 At present, there is a scarcity of data to help guide decisions regarding the potential harm versus benefits of e-cigarettes, a situation that has led to claims and counterclaims by opponents and proponents of e-cigarette use.3 If smokers quit traditional cigarettes and instead use e-cigarettes to maintain their nicotine addiction (but without the degree of exposure to known carcinogenic byproducts of tobacco combustion), this may be a viable harm reduction strategy that can become a powerful tool for tobacco control.Most of the evidence that users and proponents of e-cigarettes employ have been anecdotal and not scientifically validated; recently, however, more studies on this topic have appeared. One of the first, a pilot study funded by the manufacturers of an e-cigarette brand from Italy, included 40 smokers who were given e-cigarettes and followed up for 24 weeks. The authors reported a 22.5% rate of sustained abstinence from cigarettes among e-cigarette users, a rate comparable to the effects of nicotine replacement therapy in experimental settings.4 However, this study was underpowered because of the small number of participants. A more recent and larger 3-arm trial of e-cigarette use from New Zealand randomized participants to use e-cigarettes (nicotine or placebo) or nicotine patches to quit smoking. Abstinence rates at 6-month follow-up were low across conditions (4.1%–7.8%), with the highest rate found with nicotine e-cigarettes and the lowest with placebo e-cigarettes,5 but no significant differences emerged. In addition to its low statistical power, the study included a potential methodological bias because those in the e-cigarette arm of the trial were mailed the device and cartridges while those in the nicotine patch arm were mailed a voucher (thus requiring that they obtain the nicotine patches). The difference in dose of nicotine and type of e-cigarettes is an additional major limiting factor in interpreting these results across different studies.An earlier study of a convenience sample of 81 ever-users of e-cigarettes concluded that most participants were using them to quit smoking,6 but it provided no clear indication of how successful they were. A larger follow-up survey of e-cigarette users by the same authors indicated that almost all former smokers (96%) agreed that e-cigarettes helped them quit smoking and 57.7% of current smokers believed that e-cigarettes would help them quit or avoid relapsing.7 However, these studies were biased toward self-selected current users without any comparison groups, and the actual influence on quitting among ever-users versus never-users is unknown. More recently, a meta-analysis by Grana et al. found that all 4 prospective studies that assessed the influence of e-cigarette use on quitting behavior found that e-cigarette use did not assist smokers in quitting.8We prospectively assessed how ever using e-cigarettes, compared with never using them, affected abstinence and smoking habits among smokers in the general population. Given that previous data suggest that smokers mostly use e-cigarettes to quit smoking, we hypothesized that smokers in the general population who have tried or who currently use e-cigarettes are more likely to succeed in quitting than smokers who never used them, after controlling for level of addiction, quitting intentions, and smoking behavior.