Interrater and intrarater reliability in the measurement of kyphosis in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis

STUDY DESIGN: A reliability study was performed using repeated random measurements involving three observers, 26 subjects and three instruments. OBJECTIVES: To determine the most reliable, cost-effective, noninvasive, and clinically feasible method of measuring spinal kyphosis. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: The most clinically useful, noninvasive and reliable method of measuring postural deformity in spinal osteoporosis (kyphosis) remains unqualified. Despite traditional use of costly, invasive roentgenographs for the evaluation of spinal kyphosis, the reliability of this method remains questionable. METHODS: Twenty-six postmenopausal women with known bone mineral density and a diagnosis of osteoporosis were recruited from the Osteoporosis Program at Women's College Hospital, Toronto, Canada. Non-invasive measurements of thoracic kyphosis were obtained by three trained examiners using the DeBrunner's kyphometer and the flexicurve ruler. The intrarater and interrater reliability of and between each method was compared, using roentgenographic films obtained in the sagittal plane. Spinal posture was classified according to the method of Itoi (1990). Statistical computations were performed using SAS statistical software. RESULTS: Consistent measurements were obtained with the DeBrunner's kyphometer and the flexicurve ruler by each observer, according to the results of critical two-way analysis of variance (Intraclass Correlation Coefficient 2, 1). Measurements in two subgroups, healthy backs (n = 11) and rounded backs (n = 13), showed consistent use of each noninvasive instrument with some examiner preference for specific tools. There was marginally better intrarater and interrater reliability using the DeBrunner's kyphometer compared with that obtained with the flexicurve ruler. Two-way analysis of variance (Intraclass Correlation Coefficient 2, 1) of collapsed data showed no significant difference in the reliability of the kyphometer, flexicurve ruler, or roentgenographs in the measurement of thoracic kyphosis. CONCLUSIONS: The flexicurve ruler and DeBrunner's kyphometer had the closest agreement in the measurement of spinal kyphosis. The kyphometer demonstrated the least variation in intrarater and interrater reliability when compared with the flexicurve ruler and roentgenographs. The flexicurve ruler permits qualitative assessment of posture, however, and is the most cost-effective instrument. The results of this study challenge the traditional belief that roentgenographic analysis is the best method for evaluating spinal kyphosis. The DeBrunner's kyphometer and flexible ruler may represent viable, cost-effective and noninvasive alternatives to roentgenographic evaluation of spinal kyphosis.     

轧机前后导尺结构改进

精轧机前后导尺一直被称为轧机的“筷子”，它直接影响到钢板的产量和质量，传统的导尺由于结构的不合理经常出现故障，导致生产受到严重的影响，针对这些问题，着重对传统的导尺经常出现的故障进行了分析，并从整体结构上进行了优化设计，经两年多的实践检验，达到了很好的使用效果。     

Method for retrospective collection of work-related psychosocial risk factors for musculoskeletal disorders: Reliability and aggregation.

Information on psychosocial work conditions during a 24-year period for 484 participants was collected retrospectively. Analyses were made of the interrater reliability, stability, specificity, and aggregation of data. The main finding was that it is possible to collect reliable information about psychosocial work conditions retrospectively for a long period of years when using a time ruler in a structured interview when earlier conditions are compared with the present. Interrater agreement was satisfactory for the larger part of the studied retrospective psychosocial risk factors and excellent for some of them. For most of the studied risk factors, the risk of overreporting exposure was low. The aggregation of data resulted in 2 indexes: poor social relations at work and low influence over work conditions. In conclusion, an individual time ruler works satisfactorily as a method of collecting retrospective information about psychosocial risk factors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Impact of the Electromagnetic Brake Position on the Flow Structure in a Slab Continuous Casting Mold: An Experimental Parameter Study

Metallurgical and Materials Transactions B - Flow measurements are performed in a slab model for continuous casting of steel under the influence of a ruler type Electromagnetic Brake (EMBr). The...     

Effect of Electromagnetic Ruler Braking (EMBr) on Transient Turbulent Flow in Continuous Slab Casting using Large Eddy Simulations

Static electromagnetic braking (EMBr) fields affect greatly the turbulent flow pattern in steel continuous casting, which leads to potential benefits such as decreasing flow instability, surface defects, and inclusion entrapment if applied correctly. To gain a fundamental understanding of how EMBr affects transient turbulent flow, the current work applies large eddy simulations (LES) to investigate the effect of three EMBr ruler brake configurations on transient turbulent flow through the bifurcated nozzle and mold of a liquid-metal GaInSn model of a typical steel slab-casting process, but with deep nozzle submergence and insulated walls with no solidifying shell. The LES calculations are performed using an in-house graphic-processing-unit-based computational-fluid-dynamics code (LES-CU-FLOW) on a mesh of ~7?million brick cells. The LES model is validated first via ultrasonic velocimetry measurements in this system. It is then applied to quantify the mean and instantaneous flow structures, Reynolds stresses, turbulent kinetic energy and its budgets, and proper orthogonal modes of four cases. Positioning the strongest part of the ruler magnetic field over the nozzle bottom suppresses turbulence in this region, thus reducing nozzle well swirl and its alternation. This process leads to strong and focused jets entering the mold cavity making large-scale and low-frequency (<0.02?Hz) flow variations in the mold with detrimental surface velocity variations. Lowering the ruler below nozzle deflects the jets upward, leading to faster surface velocities than the other cases. The double-ruler and no-EMBr cases have the most stable flow. The magnetic field generates large-scale vortical structures tending toward two-dimensional (2-D) turbulence. To avoid detrimental large-scale, low-frequency flow variations, it is recommended to avoid strong magnetic fields across the nozzle well and port regions.     

自动平衡稳速式探尺的力学分析

为解决高炉探尺放尺过程中加速度所造成的倒尺和松绳问题,提出了一种新颖、简单、可靠的控制方案。与常用的直流电机驱动及交流变频矢量控制方案不同,本方案根据力学原理,采用机械结构对放尺过程中的加速度进行抑制,实现了自动平衡稳速的效果,并在现场运行中得到验证。     

河台金矿区＋160m主运输平硐贯通施工测量实践

通过建立矿区统一的独立Ⅳ等级控制网和布设井下首级控制网,使用J2经纬仪及增加测回提高测角精度,采取多种措施减少钢尺量边的读数误差,增加施测次数,及时调整中、腰线等措施,使主运输平硐大型相向贯通测量精度满足设计及规范精度要求。     

小型弹扁定尺双排双接自动的设计

针对小型机组冷摆剪(定尺剪)在连续剪切6 m弹簧扁钢时,双排定尺抽出小车的原设计方式(一排棒层起动一周期)造成剪切速度只能设定到0.83 m/s左右,严重制约产能水平.针对此问题,设计新程序"双排双接",使得剪切速度提高到1.0 m/s以上,大幅提高生产弹簧扁钢的产能水平.     

以钻代坑及坑钻组合探矿方式在矿山的实施

介绍了红透山矿床地质概况,生产勘探工程系统及采取的探矿措施。通过对-647中段实施以钻代坑、坑钻组合方式探矿,三级矿量得到平衡。既节约了坑探进尺,又探明和升级了该中段地质储量。     

非圆截面管辊弯成形过程的变形和应力场的FEM模拟

采用三维大变形弹塑性有限元法,考虑材料和几何双重非线性,基于Prandtl-Reuss流动规律和Mises屈服准则,对圆管的辊弯二次成形过程中金属的流动规律及其应力分布进行了模拟分析,分别得到非圆截面管辊弯成形过程中金属的流动规律及应力的信息.     

基于MAS的分布式棒线材轧制在线生产调度系统

针对棒线材生产的不确定性和复杂性,提出了基于多智能体分布式在线生产调度系统（MDOPS）方案,给出了系统总体结构,建立了精轧工序轧制批量调度的数学模型,其中考虑了轧机的维护约束等实际应用约束,采用混合局部搜索的自适应遗传算法进行求解,描述了进化计算、专家系统、启发式规则和人机交互相结合的生产调度计划集成化实现方法,并应用到实际棒线材实时调度中。现场实际运行结果表明,该系统可快速准确收集生产实绩数据,完成生产过程在线监视,编制出符合现场情况、满足工艺要求的高效生产调度计划。     

新型煤气柜侧板处理尺寸超差及制作精度控制

POC新型圆形稀油密封煤气柜侧板为双向定尺板,轧制过程中尺寸超差,现场需对超差部分进行处理.侧板制作过程中需对制作精度、组对精度进行控制,要保证制作的精度必须做专门的胎具.     

基于西门子数字驱动伺服611U 的钢轨锯钻床控制系统

近年来,我国铁路客运专线的建设得到高速发展,对钢轨质量提出了更高要求,对钢轨定尺的准确性和钻孔的质量要求也越来越高,通过采用西门子数字驱动伺服611U装置结合上位机PLC系统的步序逻辑控制,能够很好的完成钢轨的定尺和锯钻,大大提高了产品的加工精度.     

Automation system of X-ray filter in digital subtraction angiography

The giant muscle protein titin/connectin plays a crucial role in myofibrillogenesis as a molecular ruler for sarcomeric protein sorting. We describe here that the N-terminal titin immunoglobulin domains Z1 and Z2 interact specifically with telethonin in yeast two-hybrid analysis and protein binding assays. Immunofluorescence with antibodies against the N-terminal region of titin and telethonin detects both proteins at the Z-disc of human myotubes. Longer titin fragments, comprising a serine-proline-rich phosphorylation site and the next domain, do not interact. The interaction of telethonin with titin is therefore conformation-dependent, reflecting a possible phosphorylation regulation during myofibrillogenesis.     

Experimental Investigation of Fluid Flow in CC Mold With Electromagnetic Filed

Fluid flow in continuous casting mold is one of the key factors to influence the process, because the operation of the casting process and most of the defects in steel quality are closely associated with fluid flow in the mold. Electromagnetic field(EMF) has been applied to control the fluid flow as an efficient technology, and a lot of research works on the effect of the EMF has been done by numerical simulation. Aware of the limitation of the numerical simulation of the flow under a static EMF, low melting metals have been adapted to the investigation of flow in EMF. In the report, some of works on electromagnetic brake ruler (EMBR) and Flow Control Mold (FC-Mold) in slab casting with mercury as an analogue of liquid steel are presented. In the experiment, the flow in the mold and fluctuation of meniscus were measured by the ultrasonic DOP2000 velocimeter. The effects of the magnetic flux density and location of the magnets on the flow in the mold have been studied. The results showed that the flow discharged from the SEN was suppressed, both of the distribution of the kinetic energy and the turbulence intensity were changed, and the flow stability of liquid metal in the mold was enhanced. In electromagnetic brake ruler when Bmax was more than 0.29T, the surface level fluctuations were suppressed,the flow at the meniscus became stable and the flow pattern at the meniscus were improved, and the impact strength of liquid metal was weakened simultaneously, and the penetration depth was reduced. It was beneficial to improve the flow in the upper eddy, fluctuation of meniscus and stability of the flow when the magnet was located near the SEN. However, it was good to reduce the impact action and penetration depth when the magnet was away from the SEN. Compared with EMBR, it was more effective to use FC-Mold for improving the flow in the upper eddy, fluctuation of meniscus and stability of the flow. Nevertheless, it was more effective for lower flow to reducing the impact action and penetration depth using EMBR. The     

卷取机侧导板控制策略优化分析与改进

基于对济钢1700热轧带钢生产线卷取机侧导板控制系统的分析,通过对侧导板平行段进行圆弧过渡优化和前台卷取机侧导板开口度的合理设定以及平行度的调整,避免了卡钢事故,提高了生产稳定性;对3.5 mm厚度以下规格带钢侧导板2次短行程增大25 mm,头部塔形控制良好,因塔形问题产生的次品量减少了80%;对6.0 mm厚度以下规格带钢卷取过程实施阶梯压力控制,大大降低了侧导板衬板消耗,年降低生产成本百万元。     

铝合金板材对中装置及控制方法的设计与应用

铝合金板材在对中时,需要对板材的两边部施加方向相对的挤压力,当力度控制不当时,极容易导致板材边部出现不同程度的损伤。为了解决该问题,首先对现有对中装置进行了介绍,结合所要实现的工艺目标,又增加了用于检测金属板材长度的金属检测仪和激光测速仪等仪表,然后设计出与之匹配的控制计算方法并投入应用。通过以上方案的实施,板材的对中过程完全实现了自动化,确保双侧侧导尺在最短的总行程以内使得板材实现对中,且板材边部的损伤率降至0。     

Clustering in middle and old age.

Presented 2 different stimulus lists to 16 middle-aged (30-60 yrs old) and elderly (70-90 yrs old) Ss for free recall. One list was composed of word pairs that share complementary relationships (e.g., music and piano), and the other list was composed of pairs that share similarity relationships (e.g., king and ruler). An analysis of variance performed on the clustering scores indicated that age, list, and the Age * List interaction were significant sources of variance. The only condition in which a significant amount of clustering was obtained was that in which the middle-aged Ss were given the similarity list. There were no differences in the amount of clustering exhibited by the middle-aged when given the complementary list or the elderly when given either the complementary or the similarity list. Thus, it appears that there is a decline in the elderly in the organization of incoming information and that this decline in organization may be, at least in part, responsible for the memory decrement observed in the elderly. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gigacycle Fatigue Properties of Hydrogen-Charged JIS-SCM440 Low-Alloy Steel Under Ultrasonic Fatigue Testing

Gigacycle fatigue tests were conducted on hydrogen-charged low-alloy steel. In this study, high- and low-strength specimens were prepared to investigate the effects of hydrogen on internal and surface fractures, respectively. The fatigue tests were conducted mainly by ultrasonic fatigue testing at 20 kHz and additionally by conventional servohydraulic fatigue testing at 50 Hz. All high-strength specimens revealed internal fractures. The fatigue strength of the hydrogen-charged specimens was much lower than that of the uncharged specimens. In the low-strength specimens, the uncharged specimens revealed surface fractures in the short-life regions in addition to internal fractures in the long-life regions. However, the hydrogen-charged specimens revealed internal fractures only that were combined with a much lower fatigue strength. The difference in fracture surfaces was small between the hydrogen-charged and the uncharged specimens, whereas the optically dark areas of the hydrogen-charged specimens seemed smaller than those of the uncharged specimens.     

Are stereotaxic breast biopsies adequate?

BACKGROUND: Stereotaxic core breast biopsy (SCBB) has been proposed as a cost-effective and reliable method of evaluating mammographic lesions. This study evaluates an initial experience with SCBB and assesses the adequacy of the biopsy specimens obtained. METHODS: Two hundred forty-one SCBB were performed on 221 patients during 13 months by four radiologists. Mammograms were assigned a suspicion index on a scale of 1 to 5. One pathologist performed a blinded retrospective review of all SCBB specimens and assigned an adequacy score based on the quality and amount of the tissue present. RESULTS: The majority of SCBB were ordered by general surgeons (67%). A suspicion index score of 3 was assigned to 74% of lesion specimens. Twelve percent of specimens were malignant. Overall SCBB adequacy (score > or = 2) was 77%. Adequacy was present in 74% of benign biopsy specimens as compared with 100% of malignant specimens (p < 0.005). Only 62% of specimens reported as benign without specific features were adequate. There were no differences in adequacy between individual radiologists or during the study period. CONCLUSIONS: SCBB is largely used by surgeons to assess indeterminate mammographic lesions. One of four benign specimens was inadequate. Benign SCBB specimens must be interpreted with caution.