Factors Associated with Revision Surgery after Internal Fixation of Hip Fractures

Background: Femoral neck fractures are associated with high rates of revision surgery after management with internal fixation. Using data from the Fixation using Alternative Implants for the Treatment of Hip fractures (FAITH) trial evaluating methods of internal fixation in patients with femoral neck fractures, we investigated associations between baseline and surgical factors and the need for revision surgery to promote healing, relieve pain, treat infection or improve function over 24 months postsurgery. Additionally, we investigated factors associated with (1) hardware removal and (2) implant exchange from cancellous screws (CS) or sliding hip screw (SHS) to total hip arthroplasty, hemiarthroplasty, or another internal fixation device. Methods: We identified 15 potential factors a priori that may be associated with revision surgery, 7 with hardware removal, and 14 with implant exchange. We used multivariable Cox proportional hazards analyses in our investigation. Results: Factors associated with increased risk of revision surgery included: female sex, [hazard ratio (HR) 1.79, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.25-2.50; P = 0.001], higher body mass index (fo

The 10th oligonucleotide therapy approved: golodirsen for Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Functional Genomics of Muscle, Nerve and Brain Disorder

Death penalty: the political foundations of the global trend toward abolition

The death penalty is like no other punishment. Its continued existence in many countries of the world creates political tensions within these countries and between governments of retentionist and abolitionist countries. After the Second World War, more and more countries have abolished the death penalty. This article argues that the major determinants of this global trend toward abolition are political, a claim which receives support in a quantitative cross-national analysis from 1950 to 2002. Democracy, democratization, international political pressure on retentionist countries and peer group effects in relatively abolitionist regions all raise the likelihood of abolition. There is also a partisan effect as abolition becomes more likely if the chief executive’s party is left-wing oriented. Cultural, social and economic determinants receive only limited support. The global trend toward abolition will go on if democracy continues to spread around the world and abolitionist countries stand by their commitment to press for abolition all over the world.

Correction: RTX Adhesins are Key Bacterial Surface Megaproteins in the Formation of Biofilms (Trends in Microbiology (2019) 27(5) (453–467), (S0966842X18302798), (10.1016/j.tim.2018.12.003))

A mistake was present in an earlier version of the review article ‘RTX Adhesins are Key Bacterial Surface Megaproteins in the Formation of Biofilms’ by Guo et al. The last two sentences of the section 'Cell-Surface Retention Region: A Calcium-Independent Plug Anchors the Adhesin in the T1SS OMP' were 'Intriguingly, although the β-sandwich plug is conserved in the non-RTX adhesin of P. aeruginosa (CdrA), it lacks the T(P)-A-A-G site for proteolysis. Instead, CdrA is retained by a “cysteine hook” that restricts its secretion through the outer-membrane pore [80,81].' This text should read 'Intriguingly, although a T-A-A-G site for proteolysis is present in the non-RTX adhesin of P. aeruginosa (CdrA), this protein is retained by a ‘cysteine hook’ that restricts its secretion through the outer-membrane pore via the Type Vb secretion system [80,81].' This has now been corrected