High resolution ultrasound in posterior interosseous nerve syndrome

Introduction: Posterior interosseous nerve (PIN) syndrome is a rare compression neuropathy of the PIN in the region of the supinator muscle, most common by the arcade of Frohse. We aimed to specify ultrasonographic findings in patients with PIN syndrome in comparison to healthy volunteers. Methods: Ultrasound images and clinical data of 13 patients with PIN syndrome confirmed by neurological examination and electrophysiological testing were evaluated retrospectively. Anteroposterior nerve diameters measured at the arcade of Frohse were compared with those of 20 healthy volunteers. The echotexture and the presence of a caliber change of the PIN were additionally assessed. Results: Enlargement of the PIN was seen in all patients with PIN syndrome, but not in volunteers (statistically significant difference in mean diameter P < 0.05). Furthermore, edema and caliber change of the PIN were present in all patients. Conclusions: High‐resolution ultrasound allows for differentiation between patients with PIN syndrome and healthy volunteers. Muscle Nerve 49 : 35–39, 2014     

腹腔镜治疗交通性鞘膜积液的疗效观察(附25例报告)

目的:探讨腹腔镜下鞘状突高位结扎术治疗交通性鞘膜积液的效果。方法:回顾我院2010年8月~2013年12月间腹腔镜下鞘状突高位结扎术治疗交通性鞘膜积液的患儿共25例,平均年龄5岁,左侧8例,右侧17例,术中发现对侧隐性鞘状突未闭2例。结果:手术均获成功,单侧手术时间15~20min,术中无精索血管和输精管损伤,随访无复发、睾丸萎缩、切口瘢痕等。结论:腹腔镜鞘状突高位结扎术治疗交通性鞘膜积液,操作简单、创伤小、并发症少、复发率低,可同时处理对侧隐匿性未闭鞘状突。     

Summary of knowledge gaps related to quality and efficacy of current influenza vaccines

Influenza viruses are a public health threat, as they are pathogenic, highly transmissible and prone to genetic changes. For decades vaccination strategies have been based on trivalent inactivated vaccines, which are regulated by specific guidelines. The progress in scientific knowledge and the lessons learned from the A(H1N1)2009 pandemic have highlighted further the need to improve current guidelines, including the immunogenicity criteria set by the CHMP in 1997, and to promote the discussion on the shortcomings encountered, e.g. the evaluation of vaccine efficacy in the paediatric and elderly populations, the measurement of the naivety of a population, the impact of prior immunity on subsequent vaccinations, and the technical issues with the serological assays for detection of immunity and immunogenicity.     

Covariance adjustment for batch effect in gene expression data

Batch bias has been found in many microarray gene expression studies that involve multiple batches of samples. A serious batch effect can alter not only the distribution of individual genes but also the inter‐gene relationships. Even though some efforts have been made to remove such bias, there has been relatively less development on a multivariate approach, mainly because of the analytical difficulty due to the high‐dimensional nature of gene expression data. We propose a multivariate batch adjustment method that effectively eliminates inter‐gene batch effects. The proposed method utilizes high‐dimensional sparse covariance estimation based on a factor model and a hard thresholding. Another important aspect of the proposed method is that if it is known that one of the batches is produced in a superior condition, the other batches can be adjusted so that they resemble the target batch. We study high‐dimensional asymptotic properties of the proposed estimator and compare the performance of the proposed method with some popular existing methods with simulated data and gene expression data sets. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modeling the cardiac indices of stress and performance of nuclear power plant operators during simulated fault scenarios

Acute stress can affect cognitive processing and decrease performance in demanding, stressful situations. Here, we recorded the cardiac indices of stress, that is, the heart rate and heart rate variability together with the physical activity of nuclear power plant operators, and examined their association with crew performance, while the operator crews were managing simulated incident and accident situations. Crew performance was evaluated both by the operator instructor and as the time taken to resolve the situation. In total, 64% of the variance in the information-seeking performance (adj-R² = .64, p < .01), and 41% of variation in the performance time (adj-R² = .41, p < .01) were explained by the psychophysiology. The cardiac measures indicated that increased stress was associated with poorer information-seeking performance and longer performance time. Increased physical activity was associated with poorer information seeking only. Otherwise, crew performance was robust, as the diagnosis and corrective actions, use of emergency operations procedures, and collaboration, were only weakly associated with the stress physiology. The association between information-seeking performance and stress might be explained by the larger requirement for cognitive processing at the information-gathering phase of the task. The results of the study show that psychophysiological measurements of stress and activity can provide valuable information on stress and its association with cognitive performance at work.     

The impact of afterschool program attendance on academic outcomes of middle school students

This evaluation examined the effects of afterschool programs—supported by an afterschool system intermediary organization (ASIO)—on middle school students' academic performance and examined how those effects varied by student characteristics and program engagement. In this longitudinal, quasi-experimental matched comparison group evaluation, propensity score matching was used to create demographically balanced samples of ASIO-supported afterschool program participants and nonparticipants. Students enrolled in the afterschool programs did not differ from non-participants in growth over time on most academic outcomes. Students attending the afterschool programs showed less growth on certain state test scores compared to nonparticipants. Student demographic characteristics did not consistently influence participant outcomes. Among program participants only, students who were enrolled more than 1 year demonstrated a 7-percentile-point increase in state test scores per year of program engagement. There was no consistent evidence that ASIO-supported afterschool program participation was associated with improved student academic outcomes. However, study results support increased emphasis on afterschool program retention, given that longer duration of participation in the afterschool programs was associated with more growth on multiple academic outcomes.     

High‐risk cytogenetics in multiple myeloma: Further scrutiny of deletions within the IGH gene region enhances risk stratification

Multiple myeloma is a clonal malignancy of plasma cells in the bone marrow. Risk stratification is partly based on cytogenetic findings that include abnormalities of the IGH locus as determined by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), such as rearrangements that result in either standard‐risk or high‐risk gene fusions. IGH deletions have been evaluated as a group in multiple myeloma patients with respect to cumulative outcomes but have provided limited guidance. Whether these deletions have the potential to result in gene fusions and thus further stratify patients is unknown. We identified 229 IGH deletions in patients referred for plasma cell dyscrasia genetic testing over 5.5 years. Follow‐up was conducted on 208 of the deletions with dual fusion FISH probes for standard‐risk (IGH‐CCND1) and high‐risk IGH gene fusions (IGH‐FGFR3, IGH‐MAF, IGH‐MAFB). Of all deletions identified with follow‐up, 44 (21%) resulted in a gene fusion as detected by FISH, 15 (7%) of which were fusion partners associated with high‐risk multiple myeloma. All fusion‐positive 3′‐IGH deletions (6 fusions) resulted in high‐risk IGH‐FGFR3 fusions. Of the 15 high‐risk fusion‐positive cases, eight were without other high‐risk cytogenetic findings. This study is the first to evaluate the presence of IGH gene fusions upon identification of IGH deletions and to characterize the deletion locus. Importantly, these findings indicate that follow‐up FISH studies with dual fusion probes should be standard of care when IGH deletions are identified in multiple myeloma.