Optimal management of posterior cruciate ligament injuries: current perspectives

Background: The optimal management of posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) injuries is debated by orthopedic surgeons. A natural history study (NHS) of acute, isolated PCL tears in patients with a mean follow-up of 14.3 years was previously published. The purpose of this study was to compare and contrast the results of the NHS study with those of other studies with similar follow-up time after operative and nonoperative management of isolated PCL tears. Material and methods: With reviewing the literature, six operative management and six nonoperative management studies were found for treating isolated PCL injuries. We analyzed the subjective and objective outcomes of these 12 studies and compared them to the results of the NHS to determine optimal management of PCL injuries. Results: Final follow-up times ranged from a mean of 6.2 to 15 years in the nonoperative studies and 6.3 to 12 years in the operative studies. Side-to-side differences in laxity following surgical management ranged from 1.1 to 7 mm on KT-1000 arthrometer testing and 2.8 to 4.7 mm on Telos stress testing. Tegner scores at final follow-up ranged from 6.6 to 7.7 in nonoperative studies and 5.7 to 7.4 in operative studies. International Knee Documentation Committee scores were 73.4, 82.7, and 84 in nonoperative studies and 65 and 87 in the operative studies. Lysholm scores were 85.2 in the nonoperative study and ranged from 81 to 92.1 in operative studies. Osteoarthritis was reported with ranges from 17% to 88% in nonoperative studies and 13.3% to 63.6% in operative studies. Conclusion: We found that the subjective and objective results in the NHS compare favorably to those of outcomes for PCL reconstruction. Unless a technique is found that can completely restore knee stability, it is unlikely that simply reducing posterior laxity will improve outcomes or prevent the development of osteoarthritis

Blueberry Advisory Committee Research Report

The 1987 edition of the Blueberry Advisory Committee Research Reports was prepared for the Maine Wild Blueberry Commission and the University of Maine Wild Blueberry Advisory Committee by researchers with the Maine Agricultural Experiment Station and Maine Cooperative Extension Service at the University of Maine, Orono. Projects in this report include: 1. Effect of Pruning Practices on Blueberry Insect Abundance 2. Economic Thresholds and Control of Secondary Blueberry Pests 3. Control of Blueberry Maggot 4. Evaluation of Fungicides for Control of Botrytis Blight on Lowbush Blueberry, 1987 5. Evaluation of Fungicides for Control of Mummy Berry on Lowbush Blueberry, 1987 6. Miscellaneous Activity: a) Fungicide Residue Analysis b) Blueberry fact sheet c) Berry contamination 7. Effects of Pruning Methods on Mummy Berry Disease Incidence, 1987 8. Effects of Pruning Methods on Powdery Mildew and Red Leaf Disease Incidence, 1987 9. Nutrition Survey 1987 10. Nutritional Responses of Seedlings 11. The Effect of Several Mulches on Frost Heaving, Soil Moisture, Soil Temperature and Rhizome Development 12. Time-temperature Effects on Sugar Migration and Physical Characterization in Lowbush Blueberries 13. Fabricated Blueberry Raisins Prepared from Puree using Alginate as the Gelling Agent 14. Blueberry Gelatin 15. Effect of Hexazinone (VELPAR) on Species Distribution in Lowbush Blueberry Fields 16. Evaluation of Postemergence Herbicides for Grass Control 17. Evaluation of Sulfonyl urea and Imidazoline compounds for Bunchberry Control 18. Use of Mechanical wiper with glyphosate (ROUNDUP) or dicamba for control of dogbane 19. Integrated Weed Management 20. Evaluation of Five Preemergence Herbicides for Control of Oat grass and Bunchgrass 21. Wiper Application of Dicamba for Woody Weed control 22. Hexazinone (VELPAR) and terbacil (SINBAR) combinations for weed control 23. Evaluation of Clopyralid and Lactofen for Bunchberry Control 24. Evaluation of Postemergence Applications of chlorimuron for Bunchberry Control 25. Hexazinone seedling study 26. Seedling Pruning Study 27. Effect of bracken fern on blueberry yield 28. Evaluation of two mechanical harvesters vs hand raking of lowbush blueberrie

Mapping genomic loci implicates genes and synaptic biology in schizophrenia

Schizophrenia has a heritability of 60-80%1, much of which is attributable to common risk alleles. Here, in a two-stage genome-wide association study of up to 76,755 individuals with schizophrenia and 243,649 control individuals, we report common variant associations at 287 distinct genomic loci. Associations were concentrated in genes that are expressed in excitatory and inhibitory neurons of the central nervous system, but not in other tissues or cell types. Using fine-mapping and functional genomic data, we identify 120 genes (106 protein-coding) that are likely to underpin associations at some of these loci, including 16 genes with credible causal non-synonymous or untranslated region variation. We also implicate fundamental processes related to neuronal function, including synaptic organization, differentiation and transmission. Fine-mapped candidates were enriched for genes associated with rare disruptive coding variants in people with schizophrenia, including the glutamate receptor subunit GRIN2A and transcription factor SP4, and were also enriched for genes implicated by such variants in neurodevelopmental disorders. We identify biological processes relevant to schizophrenia pathophysiology; show convergence of common and rare variant associations in schizophrenia and neurodevelopmental disorders; and provide a resource of prioritized genes and variants to advance mechanistic studies