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Background: The newly described anteroposterior "off-axis view" (OAV) radiograph might help detect a hallux valgus interphalangeus (HVI) deformity more precisely compared to anteroposterior standing radiographs., Methods: A radiographic assessment of HVI angles was performed using preoperative standing anteroposterior and OAV radiographs for 67 ft. Intra- and interobserver agreement for all angles and their correlation with HV severity were analyzed., Results: The proximal-to-distal phalangeal articular angle showed less intra- and interobserver variance (intraclass correlation coefficient: 0.825) than did the other angles. OAV radiographs showed less interobserver reliability than did standing radiographs. HVI was underestimated significantly, by up to 5°, on standing radiographs compared to OAV radiographs (p < 0.001). The mean differences between OAV and standing radiographs were 3.7° and 5.0° for the proximal-to-distal phalangeal articular and hallux interphalangeal angles, respectively, and were more pronounced for moderate-to-severe HV deformities., Conclusion: Angular measurements of HVI on traditional anteroposterior standing radiographs are significantly smaller than on OAV radiographs. Furthermore, angular measurements on OAV radiographs are associated with higher interobserver reliability. The most precise angle representing an HVI deformity might be the proximal-to-distal phalangeal articular angle., Clinical Relevance: Our findings may facilitate preoperative decision-making for additional akin osteotomy in HV correction., Level of Evidence: Level II., (Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Verbal fluency tasks are widely applied in a variety of languages, but whether the quality and quantity of responses are comparable across structurally different writing systems is debatable. For example, since there are no letters in a logographic, non-alphabetic language such as Chinese, the mechanisms speakers use to generate a list of words in a letter fluency task might be structurally different than those used by speakers of alphabetic languages. In this study, we investigated lexical retrieval strategies and approaches in letter and category fluency tasks among monolingual Mandarin speakers compared to monolingual English speakers. We found that the responses of Mandarin speakers are both qualitatively and quantitatively different in letter fluency, and qualitatively different in category fluency. These results suggest that differences in task completion among non-English-speaking populations are important to consider when using this extensively utilised cognitive and linguistic measure in research and clinic.

Purpose: This study was intended to identify communities with an increased prevalence rate of inherited eye diseases (different forms of strabismus, juvenile maculopathy, AMD, myopia magna, etc.) in the districts Oberpfalz (Opf.) and Niederbayern (Ndb.). The data obtained in this study will serve to identify larger families and inbred populations for genetic testing to identify the cause of eye diseases with autosomal recessive and multifactorial inheritance., Design: In cooperation with the local ophthalmologists in two Bavarian districts anonymized lists were compiled correlating diagnosis, postal code, and municipality of strabismus patients. The office software used in the participating practices was a limiting factor as well as the hand-written records used in most of these. The collected data were correlated with the published prevalence rates in the general population., Results: Of the 104 local ophthalmologists who were invited to participate, only 17 provided information. The results indicate an increased prevalence rate of strabismus and microstrabismus patients from Neumarkt (Opf.) / Postbauer-Heng, Amberg, Hauzenberg and Pocking., Conclusion: Documentation as it is currently done - local ophthalmologist generally have written records and computer systems that are unsuitable for detailed surveys - restricts the possibility of completing the survey in the whole area. Nevertheless, regional accumulations of strabismus/microstrabismus could be described, providing populations for further investigations to uncover the genetic causes.

When ovarian mitochondria from patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (POS) were incubated with [7-3H]17alpha-hydroxypregnenolone and [4-14C]-17alpha-hydroxyprogesterone, 11beta-hydroxylated metabolites were obtained. The mitochondria, prepared from pooled, frozen, polycystic ovarian tissue of 5 patients, converted [7-3H]17alpha-hydroxypregnenolone to 3beta, 11beta, 17alpha--trihydroxy-5-pregnen-20-one (yield 0.065%) and to 3beta, 17alpha-dihydroxy-5-pregnene-11,20-dione (0.22%), while [4-14C]17alpha-hydroxyprogesterone was converted to 21-deoxycortisol (0.1%). Incubation of mitochondria, prepared from 4 pooled samples of frozen, normal ovarian tissue, yielded no evidence of 11beta-hydroxylation of either of the substrates. Mitochondria obtained from fresh, polycystic ovarian tissue of a single patient with POS converted [7-3H]17alpha-hydroxypregnenolone to 3beta,17alpha-dihydroxy-5-pregnene-11,20-dione (2.1%) and [4-14C]17alpha-hydroxyprogesterone to 21-deoxycortisol (0.1%). When the same mitochondrial preparation was incubated simultaneously with [7-3H]17alpha-hydroxypregnenolone and [4-14C]11-deoxycortisol, it converted 17alpha-hydroxypregnenolone to 3beta,17alpha-dihydroxy-5-pregnene-11,20-dione (1.9%), but no 11beta-hydroxylated derivatives of 11-deoxycortisol were found. These results demonstrate that ovaries of patients with POS contain an 11beta-hydroxylase active towards C-21-deoxysteroids but inert to C-21-hydroxysteroids such as 11-deoxycortisol.

A prospective clinicopathological study of antenatal fetal death (AFD) showed that in most cases multiple factors were involved and that in about 70% of the cases maternal diseases were responsible for AFD. The main causes of AFD appeared to be toxemia of pregnancy, various diabetic conditions of the mother (60% of the cases), and blood group incompatibility. Closer and more frequent supervision of pregnant women attending the antenatal clinics will enable earlier detection of maternal disease, and thus may be important in preventing AFD. A simplified oral glucose tolerance test for early detection of diabetes should be performed during pregnancy. In every case of AFD, the placenta and the fetus should be sent for pathological examination.

When ovarian mitochondria from a patient with polycystic ovary syndrome (POS) were incubated with [7-3H]17alpha-hydroxypregnenolone and [4-14C]17alpha-hydroxyprogesterone, 11beta-hydroxylated metabolites were obtained. When the same mitochondrial preparation was incubated with [7-3H]17alpha-hydroxypregnenolone and [4-14C]11-deoxycortisol no 11beta-hydroxylated derivatives of 11-deoxycortisol were found. These results are compatible with and support the conclusion that the ovary of POS patients who excrete pregnanetriolone contains an 11beta-hydroxylase capable of hydroxylating C-21-deoxysteroids but not C-21-hydroxysteroids.