Outcome in elderly injured patients: injury severity versus host factors

To evaluate the differences between the outcome of elderly patients with severe injuries and that of their contemporaries with a less severe injury, we reviewed 42 severely injured elderly patients and compared them with 76 patients with a femoral neck fracture. We analysed the influence of injury severity and host factors (age, sex and pre-injury medical status) on outcome. The in-hospital mortality rate was 31 per cent in the severely injured patients and 3 per cent in those with a femoral neck fracture. Home was the main discharge destination in the severely injured elderly (34 per cent) and a nursing home in patients with a femoral neck fracture (65 per cent). Functional outcome 1 year after injury was better in the severely injured elderly group. Long-term survival was mainly determined by host factors and not by injury severity. Physicians and policy makers should be careful in predicting the outcome of elderly injured patients merely on the basis of injury severity, because host factors are of greater importance.     

群青粒子的微胶囊化及其分形表征

研究了群青粒子微胶囊化及改性的方法，并用表面分形维数对粒子的表面形貌予以量化表征。结果表明：群青粒子的微胶囊化是改善群青不耐酸性的有效途径；群青粒子的Ｄ值在２－３这间，微胶囊化后的粒有面分维大于原样品粒子的表面分维，且微胶囊化粒子的Ｄ值越大，生胶囊化改性效果越明显。     

Endometriosis in monozygotic twins

OBJECTIVE: To describe the occurrence of endometriosis in monozygotic twins. DESIGN: Postal questionnaire plus confirmation of disease status. SETTING: Twins were recruited via the American Endometriosis Association and the National Endometriosis Society of Great Britain and via British gynecologists. RESULT(S): Fourteen twin pairs were concordant for endometriosis, and two were discordant. Nine pairs of twins had moderate-severe endometriosis. CONCLUSION(S): These findings contribute to the growing body of literature that suggests endometriosis has a genetic basis.