The discrepancy between verbal and visuoperceptual IQ in children with a specific learning disorder: An analysis of 1624 cases

Children with a specific learning disorder (SLD) are often characterized by marked intellectual strengths and weaknesses. In the last few years, research has focused on a common discrepancy between low working memory and processing speed on the one hand, and high verbal and visuoperceptual intelligence on the other. SLD profiles featuring a specific discrepancy between verbal and visuoperceptual abilities have been only marginally considered, however, and their systematic comparison vis-à-vis typically-developing (TD) populations has yet to be conducted. The present study examined a dataset of 1624 WISC-IV profiles of children with a diagnosis of SLD. It emerged that the proportion of children with a Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI) at least 1.5 SD (22 standardized points) lower than their scores on the Perceptual Reasoning Index (PRI) was larger than the proportion of SLD children with the opposite discrepant profile; it was also larger than the same proportion found among TD children. Comparing the two discrepant profiles revealed that the children also differed by type of learning difficulty, gender, and performance in the WISC-IV Symbol search task. Further examination suggested that children who were discrepant and also distinctly poor in visuoperceptual intelligence were particularly slow in general processing.     

Discrepancy in BRAF status among patients with metastatic malignant melanoma: A meta-analysis

The incidence of malignant melanoma is growing rapidly. Approximately half of the cases are BRAF mutated, making treatment with kinase inhibitors a (MEK and BRAF inhibitors) preferred choice in the advanced setting. The vast majority of these patients will benefit from the treatment. It is therefore of vital importance that the BRAF analysis is reliable and reflects the true nature of the tumour. Intraindividual tumour BRAF heterogeneity may exist, and changes of BRAF status over time might occur.We reviewed the literature by searching the PubMed database and 630 potentially relevant studies were identified. Thereafter, studies that investigated intralesional heterogeneity only, studies with ≤10 patients and studies that did not include adequate data to calculate discrepancy rates were excluded. Twenty-two studies met our inclusion criteria and were included in the meta-analysis.The pooled discrepancy rate between primary and metastatic lesions was 13.4% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 9.2–18.2%) while it was 7.3% (95% CI: 3.3–12.6) between two metastatic lesions. The number of patients whose tumoural BRAF status was changed from mutation to wild type and from wild type to mutation, respectively, was comparable.We conclude that a clinically meaningful discrepancy rate in BRAF status both between primary-metastatic and metastatic–metastatic melanoma lesions exists. Our results support the polyclonal model of melanomas in which subclones with different BRAF status co-exist in the same melanoma lesion. In addition, the results indicate a need for biopsy of a metastatic lesion for subsequent BRAF analysis when treatment with kinase inhibitors is considered.     

Mother-Adolescent Discrepancies in Reporting Sleep Disturbances: Effects of Diagnosis and Mother’s Occupation

BackgroundSleep disturbances are common in children and adolescents. However, they are rarely diagnosed and treated because parents, who often report the symptoms, may fail to notice the problems. Factors that can affect parent-child discrepancy include child’s diagnosis, parent’s occupation, and child’s sex. The current study retrospectively analyzed the effect of these factors on parent-child discrepancies of sleep disturbance scores.MethodsData for sleep-related items in Youth Self-Report (YSR) and Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) from 2014 to 2020 August in South Korea were collected from psychiatric outpatient clinics at Konkuk University Medical Center and Soonchunhyang University Hospital.ResultsA three-way analysis of variance revealed main effect of diagnosis type and interaction between diagnosis type and mother’s occupation. Discrepancies were greater for mood and anxiety disorders compared to conduct-related disorder. Interaction effect revealed greater discrepancies in mood disorders for reports completed by working mothers compared to homemaker mothers.ConclusionThe results of this study emphasize the need to explore with caution the self-reported sleep disturbances in adolescents, especially in those with mood disorders. The results also suggest that mother’s occupation should be taken into account when evaluating sleep reports of parents and adolescents.     

8字钢板临时阻滞在儿童下肢不等长中的应用效果分析

目的探讨8字钢板临时骨骺阻滞在儿童下肢不等长(lower limb discrepancy,LDD)治疗中的有效性及可行性。方法回顾性分析自2011年11月至2017年1月复旦大学附属儿科医院小儿骨科收治的14例LLD患儿临床资料,通过双下肢全长站立位X线片测量术前、术后股骨、胫骨长度变化,通过生长曲线分析使用8字钢板临时阻滞术后肢体不等长的改善情况,计算其在骨骺阻滞中的作用和效率。结果对14例患儿共17个部位(股骨远端及胫骨近端)行内外侧联合8字钢板阻滞,平均随访时间(29.4±8.53)个月,阻滞长度中位数为18.8 mm(5~40 mm),平均阻滞率为(59.5±18.0)%。本组病例均未出现骨骺早闭及骺板损伤的情况。此外通过分析发现,阻滞部位(胫骨近端或股骨远端)、年龄、性别、侧别对阻滞率没有影响(P>0.05),而骨骺阻滞时间与阻滞率呈正相关(r=0.438,P<0.05)。结论8字钢板在LLD中的临时性骨骺阻滞为非完全性阻滞,可以作为LLD病人治疗的一种选择,但是其矫形能力有限,术前应充分评估患儿的生长潜力。此外,术后密切随访也是取得理想治疗效果的关键。     

Genetic analysis of non-severe hemophilia A phenotype with A discrepancy between one-stage and chromogenic factor VIII activity assays

IntroductionThe diagnosis of hemophilia A (HA) is based on the measurement of factor VIII activity (VIII:C). About one-third of non-severe HA patients show a discrepancy of VIII:C measured by one-stage (VIII:C 1st) and chromogenic (VIII:C chr) assays. Different mutations in the F8 gene may cause the discrepancy in results of the FVIII activity assay.The aim of this study was to investigate F8 gene mutations in patients with assay discrepancies and to evaluate their impact on the results of VIII:C assays.MethodsMutation analysis was performed on 41 individuals with a discrepancy in VIII:C 1st and FVIII: C chr assays by direct sequencing. In addition, the effect of the variants on FVIII macromolecule structure was investigated by in silico and bioinformatics tools.ResultsGenetic analysis disclosed 22 different variants, of which 19 were identified for the first time to be involved in the phenotype of VIII:C discrepancy. Most of the variants related to the higher VIII:C 1st were found in A1, A2, A3 domains. The variant related to VIII:C chr > VIII:C 1st was located in the thrombin cleavage site. In silico analysis showed the effect of variants on FVIII macromolecule stability, which may be the possible mechanism causing the discrepancy.ConclusionOur data shed light on the impact of genetic defects on VIII:C assay and provided evidence that the consideration of these mutations may open a new window to the proper diagnosis and treatment monitoring of non-severe HA patients.     

大学生理想自我与现实自我差异问卷的编制

目的 编制大学生理想自我与现实自我差异问卷.方法 参考国内外文献,结合开放式调查和心理咨询实践,从心理健康角度编制大学生理想自我与现实自我差异问卷.结果 经因素分析,问卷由人际、品性、学业、情绪、家庭、魅力6个因素构成,累积解释率为54.18%,内部一致性信度和重测信度均在0.80以上.验证性因素分析表明,该问卷的理论结构模型拟合良好,CFI、NNFI均达到0.90以上,RMSEA小于0.08.结论 自编问卷具有良好的信度、效度,可用于大学生理想自我与现实自我差异的测量.     

上肢有创血压与无创血压的差异分析

目的研究桡动脉有创动脉压与肱动脉无创动脉压之间的差异及其影响因素。方法对入住ICU的60例患者进行IABP与NBP的同步测量。结果收缩压均值,右侧IABP最高,左侧NBP最低。NBP与IABP收缩压测量值之间分组比较,PPI<0.45时NBP9.38%>IABP;0.45≤PPI≤0.55时NBP42.59%>IABP;PPI>0.55时NBP58.82%>IABP。结论在临床实践中,NBP与IABP的实际差异与理论相比有所不同。监测血压时应首选右臂,应用IABP时使用方波试验来判断IABP值的准确性;使用NBP时应对患者的血管硬化程度进行评估。     

Discrepancies in vessel sizing between angiography and intravascular ultrasound varies according to the vessel evaluated

Background/objectives

Quantitative coronary analysis (QCA) of the coronary artery and stent size may be influenced by anatomical location in relation to both calibration point and the X-ray tube. The impact of this phenomenon on lesion assessment is undetermined.

Methods

In total, 427 consecutive patients who underwent PCI with intravascular ultrasound (IVUS)-guidance were enrolled. The minimum stent diameter (MSD) was measured using QCA (MSD_QCA) and IVUS (MSD_IVUS) analysis. We used reference objects positioned at a different height from the X-ray source to validate our approach.

Results

A statistically positive moderate correlation was observed between MSD_QCA and MSD_IVUS (r = 0.649, p = 0.001). The mean MSD_QCA and MSD_IVUS were 3.04 ± 0.49 mm and 2.68 ± 0.47 mm respectively. The difference between MSD_QCA and MSD_IVUS of > 0.75 mm was more frequently observed in the LCx rather than in the LAD (7.4% in the LAD vs. 24.3% in the LCx, p = 0.001). The discrepancy between the MSD_QCA and MSD_IVUS for the LCx was larger than for the LAD, and tended to be larger than for the RCA (13.3% vs. 18.5%, p = 0.05 and 18.5% vs. 14.5%, p = 0.17). A discrepancy > 20% was more frequently observed in the small (≤ 2.5 mm) than in the large MSD_IVUS group (52.7% vs. 25.1%, p = 0.001). This discrepancy was more common in the LCx than in the LAD or RCA (48.6% vs. 30.9% vs. 31.2%, p = 0.03).

Conclusions

Assessment of the MSD_QCA is more likely to overestimate in the LCx than in the LAD, particularly when the MSD_IVUS is < 2.5 mm. Therefore, we should be less aggressive in oversizing balloons and stents based on QCA for the LCx or small vessel intervention.