Psychometric evaluation of the Arabic language version of the Profile of Mood States

We estimated the psychometrics of the parent and a short form of the Arabic language version of the Profile of Mood States (POMS). A sample of 537 Arab immigrants completed the POMS and a battery of other measures. Data analyses included confirmatory factor analyses and tests of reliability and concurrent validity. The fit of the proposed factor structure was acceptable if 14 pairs of error terms were allowed to correlate, but a better fit was obtained by creating a short form. The short form demonstrated good reliability and concurrent validity, but some factors were highly correlated. High factor correlations were not explainable by group differences in education or level of distress.     

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia relapse in the breast diagnosed with gray-scale and color Doppler sonography

Extramedullary relapses of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in children and young adults are rare and in most cases are localized in the central nervous system, testes, or both. We describe a rare case of extramedullary relapse of ALL in the breast of a 17-year-old girl. The patient, who had been diagnosed with ALL 1 year before and had been in complete remission for 5 months, was admitted to the hospital for investigation of a mass in her left breast. On clinical examination, she had a large, palpable, nontender mass in her left breast. Mammography revealed a very dense mass. On gray-scale and power Doppler sonography, the appearance of the mass was consistent with malignancy. Histopathologic examination of a surgical biopsy specimen permitted accurate diagnosis of ALL.     

Nosocomial bloodstream infections in a neonatal intensive care unit

A study was performed to assess the incidence density of, and to identify the risk factors associated with, nosocomial bloodstream infection (BSI) in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in Athens. Twenty-four of 105 patients developed nosocomial BSI (22.9%). The incidence density of BSI was 10.9 per 1000 patient-days. A multivariate model showed that only two factors were significantly and independently responsible for nosocomial BSI: central venous catheter use and umbilical catheter use. Results showed that the incidence density rate was high and the factors that had most influence on the development of nosocomial BSI were associated with the treatment received by neonates during their stay in the NICU. Therefore, surveillance of nosocomial BSI and strategies such as infection control, nursery design and staffing should be implemented to reduce the incidence of these infections. This effort should be multidisciplinary, involving staff who insert and maintain intravascular catheters, and healthcare managers who allocate resources.     

Effect of parathyroidectomy versus risedronate on volumetric bone mineral density and bone geometry at the tibia in postmenopausal women with primary hyperparathyroidism

The objective of the study was to evaluate the effect of parathyroidectomy (PTX) versus 35 mg once-weekly (ow) risedronate administration on volumetric bone mineral density (vBMD) and bone geometry at the tibia in postmenopausal women with primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT). Our open-label prospective observational study included 32 postmenopausal women with PHPT as the study group: 16 underwent PTX and 16 were treated with 35 mg ow risedronate for 2 years. We assessed areal BMD (aBMD) by DXA, and vBMD and bone mineral content (BMC) (cortical and trabecular area) by peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT) at the tibia at baseline and at 2 years. Risedronate did not result in any significant change on vBMD and structural pQCT indices. PTX resulted in significant increase in trabecular (trab) BMC (6.44 %) and vBMD (4.64 %), with percent increase being significantly higher than risedronate (p < 0.05). At cortical sites, there was no significant change following PTX. However, the percent change in cortical (cort) vBMD was higher following PTX versus risedronate (0.39 % vs. ?0.26 %, p < 0.05). In conclusion, in postmenopausal women with PHPT, PTX is superior to ow risedronate, in terms of improvement of trabecular mineralization and vBMD at the tibia, whereas the effect at cortical sites is less pronounced.     

Urine neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin to predict acute kidney injury in preterm neonates. A pilot study

Background

The efficacy of urine neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (uNGAL) as an early acute kidney injury (AKI) biomarker in preterm neonates was evaluated.

Methods

Thirty-five preterm neonates were prospectively evaluated for serum creatinine (sCre)-documented AKI during the first 14 days of life. Urine samples were collected daily throughout the study period. Of the neonates evaluated, we analyzed 11 who developed AKI (cases) and an equal number of neonates without AKI (controls) matched for gestational and postnatal age (case–control study). uNGAL was measured on the day of AKI occurrence (day 0) and on the 2 days preceding the event (day ?1 and day ?2, respectively) using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Results

Cases had significantly higher sCre levels than controls on day 0 (1.21?±?0.48 vs. 0.83?±?0.16 mg/dL, p?=?0.031) but not on days ?1 and ?2. Similarly, uNGAL levels (ng/mL) were significantly higher in cases than in controls only on day 0 (19.1?±?3.5 vs. 13.3?±?7.3, p?=?0.017) and not on days ?1 (18.8?±?3.4 vs. 16.3?±?5.9, p?=?0.118) and ?2 (19.3?±?1.8 vs. 19.4?±?0.8, p?=?0.979). The receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed no significant ability of uNGAL to predict AKI on days ?2 and ?1.

Conclusions

In this pilot study in preterm neonates, although uNGAL detected sCre-based AKI upon its documentation, it failed to predict its development 1–2 days earlier.     

Modulation of 5-HT7 receptor: effect on object recognition performances in mice

Objective

Recent data suggest that 5-HT₇ receptors (5-HT₇R) are involved in memory processes and, particularly, those related to novelty-induced arousal, even though this remains so far speculative and controversial. In order to assess the role of 5-HT₇R in episodic-like memory, mice were administered 5-carboxamidotryptamine (5-CT, a 5-HT_1A/1B/1D/7R agonist) and/or SB-269970 (a selective 5-HT₇R antagonist) immediately after the acquisition session of the novel object recognition test.

Materials and methods

The object recognition test was performed in order to assess the effects of modulation of 5-HT₇R during consolidation phase on episodic-like memory performances in mice. A protocol including 3 days of familiarisation to the apparatus has been realised in order to decrease the effect of novelty-induced arousal.

Results

With a 2-h delay, SB-269970 (3 and 10 mg/kg, administered subcutaneously) impaired the discrimination of the novel object. With a 4-h delay, while control mice were not able to discriminate the novel object, mice treated with 5-CT (1 mg/kg) showed a significant discrimination. This promnesic effect with a long delay is effectively mediated by 5-HT₇R activation since it was blocked by SB-269970 (10 mg/kg), but not by WAY-100135 (10 mg/kg) or by GR-127935 (10 mg/kg).

Conclusion

These data suggest that 5-HT₇R tonically modulates cognitive processes involved in consolidation performances in object recognition. Therefore, 5-HT₇R could be a promising target to treat memory dysfunctions (especially episodically related deficits) related to normal or pathological ageing.     

Joint modeling of two longitudinal outcomes and competing risk data

Aortic gradient and aortic regurgitation are echocardiographic markers of aortic valve function. Both are biomarkers repeatedly measured in patients with valve abnormalities, and thus, it is expected that they are biologically interrelated. Loss of follow‐up could be caused by multiple reasons, including valve progression related, such as an intervention or even the death of the patient. In that case, it would be of interest and appropriate to analyze these outcomes jointly. Joint models have recently received much attention because they cover a wide range of clinical applications and have promising results. We propose a joint model consisting of two longitudinal outcomes, one continuous (aortic gradient) and one ordinal (aortic regurgitation), and two time‐to‐events (death and reoperation). Moreover, we allow for more flexibility for the average evolution and the subject‐specific profiles of the continuous repeated outcome by using B‐splines. A disadvantage, however, is that when adopting a non‐linear structure for the model, we may have difficulties when interpreting the results. To overcome this problem, we propose a graphical approach. In this paper, we apply the proposed joint models under the Bayesian framework, using a data set including serial echocardiographic measurements of aortic gradient and aortic regurgitation and measurements of the occurrence of death and reoperation in patients who received a human tissue valve in the aortic position. The interpretation of the results will be discussed. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Arachnoid cyst of the frontal part of the temporal lobe producing exopthtalmos CT and MRI evaluation

Twenty-three patients with an arachnoid cyst in the frontal part of the temporal bone, which produced exopthtalmos, were evaluated with CT and MRI. The majority of the patients had the peak of the bowing of the bony orbit wall in the posterior third (20/23) and only three in the middle. Arachnoid cyst are classified as small (13/23), medium (5/23) or large (5/20) size. Exopthtalmos are also classified as mild, moderate or large. CT and MRI clearly revealed the exopthtalmos, the bone remodelling process and the relationship of the orbit muscles, optic nerve and posterior bony wall of the orbit.