Ethnicity and gender in scales of psychosis proneness and mood disorders.

Data for Caucasian, African American, Asian American, and Latino college-student samples were compared for several popular self-report scales of psychopathology. Significant group differences were obtained for all scales, with the Caucasian sample consistently having the lowest means. Some gender effects and interactions with ethnic group were also observed. The authors discuss implications of these findings for use of these scales, including implications for use of Caucasian norms with other ethnic samples. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of polyethylene quality on wear in total knee arthroplasty

During evaluation of 29 Ortholoc II tibial polyethylene components retrieved at revision surgery, the authors noticed that components with a lot number prefix of CP (Custom Product) consistently had minimal wear and those with a standard lot number had severe wear, regardless of patient age, weight, gender, and activity level. Non-CP components had earlier and more severe wear than CP components in service for the same amount of time. Microscopic evaluation of the polyethylene revealed major differences in the material. Large subsurface cracks, fusion defects, and intergranular cracks were present in the non-CP components, but these defects were minimal or nonexistent in the CP components. The components with defects had a significantly greater delamination rate than those without defects. Gamma irradiation did not seem to accelerate wear or delamination, because irradiated components that had minimal microscopic signs of fusion defects performed as well as nonirradiated components with a similar microscopic appearance. The manufacturing details disclosed that different materials and processing methods were used for the 2 groups. The results from this study suggest that improved quality control of polyethylene material would greatly decrease wear and delamination of total knee arthroplasty components.     

Genetic aspects of uveal melanoma: a brief review

Uveal melanoma usually occurs sporadically in the absence of obvious genetic predisposing factors. However, in rare patients, there is a suggestion that there may be genetic predisposition. Rare occurrences of familial uveal melanoma are believed to be inherited in an autosomal dominant mode. There are a few clinical conditions that can predispose to or be associated with uveal melanoma, including ocular melanocytosis, neurofibromatosis type I, and familial atypical mole and melanoma syndrome. Nonrandom cytogenetic changes in uveal melanoma are characterized by monosomy 3, trisomy 8, and structural or numerical abnormalities of chromosome 6. Alterations of chromosome 9p are less frequently observed. CDKN2 gene, a cutaneous melanoma predisposition gene, is probably not a uveal melanoma predisposition gene as evidenced by the lack of somatic mutations involving this gene in uveal melanoma samples and the absence of germline mutations in familial uveal melanoma patients. Transgenic mouse models developed using a tyrosinase promoter tagged with a mutated ras gene or SV40-Tag oncoprotein develop retinal pigment epithelium tumors that resemble uveal melanoma. We propose that uveal melanoma cases be categorized on genetic basis according to a new classification system. This classification scheme will help to identify and uniformly categorize uveal melanoma patients with genetic predisposition. Such patients offer unique opportunities for studying the genetic aspects of uveal melanoma and, therefore, appropriate tissue samples should be obtained from them for molecular genetic studies. Further studies are needed to fully understand the genetic aspects of uveal melanoma.     

Cerebral oximetry: a useful monitor during carotid artery surgery

Cerebral oximetry was evaluated as a monitor of oxygenation during carotid endarterectomy in 22 patients. The oximeter was a reliable continuous monitor, identifying changes in cerebral oxygenation during episodes of hypotension and after arterial occlusion. Changes in oxygenation correlated well with the surgical assessment of backbleeding after arterial clamping, but less well with other methods which are used to make a decision on insertion of an arterial shunt. There was no correlation between internal carotid artery stump pressure and change in cerebral oxygenation after application of the arterial cross clamp. However, cerebral oxygenation correlated weakly with the change in middle cerebral artery velocity as measured by transcranial Doppler ultrasonography (r = 0.49, p < 0.02).