Pediatric spinal cord lipoma - operative experience

The Abstracts in pdf format are available for download at the HKNS website: http://www.ns.org.hk/asmSession - Free Paper 5Meeting Theme: Degenerative Lumbar SpineBACKGROUND: Spinal cord lipoma causes tethered cord syndrome. The tethering produces neurological, urological and orthopaedic problems which cause significant morbidity in both children and adult. Prophylactic surgery was shown to have a trend in minimizing tethered cord syndrome in both symptomatic and asymptomatic patient.1,2 Long term results are …published_or_final_versio

Territory-wide ventriculoperitoneal shunting outcomes from 2009 to 2011: Multicenter Hospital Authority Clinical Audit

Free paper 7Meeting Theme: Degenerative Lumbar SpineVentriculoperitoneal (VP) shunting for the management of hydrocephalus is one of the most common procedures performed in daily neurosurgical practice. Although surgical techniques and perioperative management have reduced the incidence of shunt failure, the procedure is still fraught with potential complications. Approaching a third of adult patients (29%) experience shunt failure within the first year and as high as 59% of patients regardless of age require shunt revision during their lifetime1. The aim of this study is to determine the rate of shunt failure in Hong Kong’s public health system and identify its causes as well as risk factors …published_or_final_versio

Penetration of Sodium Hypochlorite Modified with Surfactants into Root Canal Dentin

Abstract The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of concentration, exposure time and temperature of sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) added with surfactants on its penetration into dentinal tubules. Sixty-five extracted human permanent maxillary anterior teeth with single canals were prepared by ProTaper SX hand-operated instruments. The teeth were then sectioned perpendicular to the long axis. The crowns and apical thirds of all the teeth were removed. The remaining roots were processed into 4-mm-long blocks and stained overnight in crystal violet. One hundred and thirty stained blocks were further split into halves and treated by nine different types of NaOCl-based solutions. Three solutions were added with surfactants (Hypoclean, H6, Chlor-Xtra) and the others were regular hypochlorites at increasing concentrations (1%, 2%, 4%, 5.25%, <6%, 6% NaOCl) from different brands. The dentin blocks were exposed to the solutions for 2, 5, and 20 min at 20 °C, 37 °C and 45 °C, respectively. The depth of NaOCl penetration was determined by bleaching of the stain and measured by light microscopy at 20&#61472;&#61620; and 40&#61620;. Statistical comparisons were made by using a generalized linear model with Bonferroni's post-hoc correction. The shortest penetration (81±6.6 &#956;m) was obtained after incubation in 1% NaOCl for 2 min at 20 °C; the highest penetration (376.3±3.8 &#956;m) was obtained with Chlor-Xtra for 20 min at 45 °C. Varying NaOCl concentration produced a minimal effect while temperature and exposure time had a significant direct relationship with NaOCl penetration into dentinal tubules, especially those with lowered surface tension. The exposure time and temperature of sodium hypochlorite as well as the addition of surfactants may influence the penetration depth of irrigants into dentinal tubules

The utility of screening for perinatal depression in the second trimester among Chinese: a three-wave prospective longitudinal study

This paper aims to study the pattern of perinatal depressive symptomatology and determine the predictive power of second trimester perinatal depressive symptoms for future perinatal periods. A population-based sample of 2,178 women completed the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) in the second and third trimesters and at 6 weeks postpartum. Repeated measures ANOVAs were used to determine the EPDS scores across three stages. The predictive power of the second trimester EPDS score in identifying women with an elevated EPDS score in the third trimester and at 6 weeks postpartum were determined. The predictive power of the second trimester EPDS score was further assessed using stepwise logistic regression and receiver operator characteristic curves. EPDS scores differed significantly across three stages. The rates were 9.9%, 7.8%, and 8.7% for an EPDS score of >14 in the second and third trimesters and at 6 weeks postpartum, respectively. Using a cut-off of 14/15, the second trimester EPDS score accurately classified 89.6% of women in the third trimester and 87.2% of those at 6 weeks postpartum with or without perinatal depressive symptomatology. Women with a second trimester EPDS score >14 were 11.78 times more likely in the third trimester and 7.15 times more likely at 6 weeks postpartum to exhibit perinatal depressive symptomatology after adjustment of sociodemographic variables. The area under the curve for perinatal depressive symptomatology was 0.85 in the third trimester and 0.77 at 6 weeks postpartum. To identify women at high risk for postpartum depression, healthcare professionals could consider screening all pregnant women in the second trimester so that secondary preventive intervention may be implemented

Heterochromatin and the molecular mechanisms of 'parent-of-origin' effects in animals.

Twenty five years ago it was proposed that conserved components of constitutive heterochromatin assemble heterochromatinlike complexes in euchromatin and this could provide a general mechanism for regulating heritable (cell-to-cell) changes in gene expressibility. As a special case, differences in the assembly of heterochromatin-like complexes on homologous chromosomes might also regulate the parent-of-origin-dependent gene expression observed in placental mammals. Here, the progress made in the intervening period with emphasis on the role of heterochromatin and heterochromatin-like complexes in parent-of-origin effects in animals is reviewed