Anterolateral approach with two incisions versus posterior median approach in the treatment of middle- and distal-third humeral shaft fractures

Background The surgical approaches remain controversial for the treatment of middle and distal-third humeral shaft (MDTHS) fractures. This study compared clinical effects of the anterolateral approach with two incisions (AATI) and the posterior median approach (PMA) in the treatment of MDTHS fractures. Methods A retrospective analysis was carried out. One hundred sixty-six patients with MDTHS fractures were selected from January 2015 to January 2017 in Xi’an Hong Hui Hospital. According to surgical approaches, patients were divided into AATI (86 cases) and PMA group (80 cases). All patients were treated with open reduction and plate fixation. Operation indexes were compared, including incision length, operation time, and bleeding. Bryan-Morrey score was used to evaluate elbow joint function. Complication incidence was compared, such as incision infection, iatrogenic radial nerve injury, and nonunion. Results The AATI group showed smaller incision length, less bleeding, lower iatrogenic radial nerve injury rate, and better elbow function than that of PMA group (P<0.05). Conclusions The middle and distal-third humeral shaft fractures can be successfully cured by both approaches. Compared with the posterior median approach, it has better clinical effects of the anterolateral approach with two incisions, which is worthy of clinical application and promotion.

Description of a new species of the genus Lebbeus White, 1847 (Decapoda, Thoridae) from the Bohai Sea, China

A new species of the caridean family Thoridae, Lebbeus liui sp. nov., is described from the Bohai Sea, China. It belongs to the group characterized by the presence of epipods on the third maxilliped to third pereiopod. The new species is most similar to L. fasciatus and L. speciosus. It differs from the above two species by the number of the dorsal teeth and the spacing of those on the rostrum, and by the posterior median margin of the telson not produced into a triangular tooth.

Description of a new genus and three new species of the family Palpimanidae (Arachnida, Araneae) from Kenya

A new genus and three new species of the spider family Palpimanidae Thorell, 1870 from Kenya are described. Sceliscelis Oketch &amp; Li, gen. nov. is close to Sarascelis Simon, 1887 and Scelidocteus Simon, 1907 but differs in the structure of the male palp. The new species reported are Sceliscelis marshi Oketch &amp; Li, sp. nov., Scelidocteus taitave Oketch &amp; Li, sp. nov., and Hybosida machondogo Oketch &amp; Li, sp. nov.Sceliscelis marshisp. nov. is described from males and females collected from Tsavo in south Kenya. Scelidocteus taitavesp. nov. can be distinguished from other congeners, as well as from the morphologically similar Scelidomachus socotranus Pocock, 1899, by the shape of the palpal “conductor”. Hybosida machondogosp. nov. differs from other six-eyed Hybosida spp. by possessing rudimentary posterior median eyes.

Examining the incubation period distributions of COVID-19 on Chinese patients with different travel histories

Introduction: Current studies estimated a general incubation period distribution of COVID-19 based on early-confirmed cases in Wuhan, and have not examined whether the incubation period distribution varies across population segments with different travel histories. We aimed to examine whether patients infected by community transmission had extended incubation periods than the early generation patients who had direct exposures to Wuhan. Methodology: Based on 4741 patient case reports from municipal centers of disease control by February 21, 2020, we calculated the incubation periods of 2555 patients with clear epidemiological survey information and illness development timeline. All patients were categorized into five groups by their travel histories. Incubation period distributions were modeled for each group by the method of the posterior Weibull distribution estimation. Results: Adults aged 30 to 59 years had the most substantial proportion of confirmed cases in China. The incubation period distribution varied slightly across patient groups with different travel histories. Patients who regularly lived in Wuhan and left to other locations before January 23, 2020 had the shortest posterior median value of 7.57 days for the incubation period, while the incubation periods for persons affected by local community transmission had the largest posterior median of incubation periods, 9.31 days. Conclusions: The median incubation period for all patients infected outside Wuhan was 9 days, a bit of more extended than the early estimated 5-day incubation period that was based on patients in Wuhan. Our findings may imply the decreases of virulence of the COVID-19 virus along with intergenerational transmission.

Perceived Exertion and Performance Modulation: Effects of Caffeine Ingestion and Subject Expectation

It is well established that caffeine has ergogenic effects on endurance exercise performance. This evidence often comes from well-designed studies in which subjects receive either caffeine or placebo in double-blind, randomized and counterbalanced order. Here, we propose a new methodology which aims to estimate the effects of participant expectancy of ergogenic or anti-ergogenic effects on performance. Sixteen (16) participants performed three (3) 30-minute running tests after being told they would be provided with either a harmful treatment (lactic acid), a beneficial treatment (caffeine) or a placebo. In each blinded case, subjects were given caffeine. The velocity and RPE during the time trial were examined in light of the participant’s expectancy before and after the endurance event using Bayesian multilevel models. For pre-exercise expectancy, there is a 92% probability that caffeine expectation decreases RPE (posterior median±SD -0.65±0.36) and a 79% probability that lactic acid expectation increases RPE (posterior median±SD 0.58±0.47) with expectations for placebo and ‘not sure’ falling in between (posterior median±SD: -0.37±0.32 and -0.22±0.37, respectively). In general, our interventions suggest an 81% probability that caffeine lowers RPE. However, there was no effect of caffeine supplementation on running velocity (median±SD 0.04±0.08 km.h-1). We concluded that when a participant believed they are under a potentially positive treatment, their RPE decreased but if they believed themselves to be under a harmful treatment, their RPE increased, regardless of the actual positive intervention; neither caffeine nor the expectancy of a particular intervention improved actual performance as measured by running velocity in a 30-minute period.

Visual pathways in the brain of the jumping spider Marpissa muscosa

Some animals have evolved task differentiation among their eyes. A particular example is spiders, where most species have eight eyes, of which two (the principal eyes) are used for object discrimination, whereas the other three pairs (secondary eyes) detect movement. In the spider species Cupiennius salei these two eye types correspond to two visual pathways in the brain. Each eye is associated with its own first and second order visual neuropil. The second order neuropils of the principal eyes are connected to the arcuate body, whereas the second order neuropils of the secondary eyes are linked to the mushroom body. However, eye size and visual fields are considerably different in jumping spiders. We explored the principal- and secondary eye visual pathways of the jumping spider Marpissa muscosa. We found that the connectivity of the principal eye pathway is the same as in C. salei, while there are differences in the secondary eye pathways. In M. muscosa, all secondary eyes are connected to their own first order visual neuropils. The first order visual neuropils of the anterior lateral and posterior lateral eyes are further connected with two second order visual neuropils, whereas the posterior median eyes lack second order visual neuropils and their axons project only to the arcuate body. This suggests that the posterior median eyes probably do not serve movement detection in M. muscosa. Furthermore, the second order visual neuropil (L2) in Marpissa muscosa potentially integrates information from the secondary eyes and might thus enable faster movement decisions.