The effect of soft cervical collars on persistent neck pain in patients with whiplash injury

Thirty-five male patients, aged 34-79 yr, with definite rheumatoid arthritis (RA) were recruited from out-patient clinics and randomized to receive monthly injections of testosterone enanthate 250 mg or placebo as an adjunct therapy for 9 months. Endpoints included disease activity parameters and bone mineral density (BMD). At baseline, there were negative correlations between the ESR and serum testosterone (r = -0.42, P < 0.01) and BMD (hip, r = -0.65, P < 0.01). A total of 29.6% of all patients had at least one vertebral fracture, most having multiple fractures. Back pain, however, was not more prevalent in fracture patients (55% vs 50%). Disease activity was significantly higher in the fracture group (joint score P < 0.05, rheumatoid factor P < 0.01). Thirty patients completed the trial, 15 receiving testosterone and 15 receiving placebo. There were significant rises in serum testosterone, dihydrotestosterone and oestradiol in the treatment group. There was no significant effect of treatment on disease activity overall, five patients receiving testosterone underwent a "flare'. Differences in mean BMD following testosterone or placebo were non-significant (spine: +1.2% vs -1.1%; femur: -0.3% vs +0.3%). There was no suggestion of a positive effect of testosterone on disease activity in men with RA.     

Electromyography of the thigh muscles during lifting tasks in kneeling and squatting postures

Underground coal miners who work in low-seam mines frequently handle materials in kneeling or squatting postures. To assess quadriceps and hamstring muscle demands in these postures, nine participants performed lateral load transfers in kneeling and squatting postures, during which electromyographic (EMG) data were collected. EMG activity was obtained at five points throughout the transfer for three quadriceps muscles and two hamstring muscles from each thigh. ANOVA results indicated that EMG data for nine of 10 thigh muscles were affected by an interaction between posture and angular position of the load lifted (p < 0.001). Muscles of the right thigh were most active during the lifting portion of the task (lifting a block from the participant's right) and activity decreased as the block was transferred to the left. Left thigh muscles showed the opposite pattern. EMG activity for the majority of thigh muscles was affected by the size of the base of support provided by different postures, with lower EMG activity observed with a larger base of support and increased activity in postures where base of support was reduced (p < 0.05). Thigh EMG activity was lowest in postures with fully flexed knees, which may explain worker preference for this posture. However, such postures are also associated with increased risk of meniscal damage. STATEMENT OF RELEVANCE: Kneeling and squatting postures are sometimes used for manual lifting activities, but are associated with increased knee injury risk. This paper examines the EMG responses of knee extensors/flexors to lifting in these postures, discusses the impact of posture and kneepads on muscle recruitment and explores the implications for work in such postures.     

Correcting evaluation bias of relational classifiers with network cross validation

Recently, a number of modeling techniques have been developed for data mining and machine learning in relational and network domains where the instances are not independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.). These methods specifically exploit the statistical dependencies among instances in order to improve classification accuracy. However, there has been little focus on how these same dependencies affect our ability to draw accurate conclusions about the performance of the models. More specifically, the complex link structure and attribute dependencies in relational data violate the assumptions of many conventional statistical tests and make it difficult to use these tests to assess the models in an unbiased manner. In this work, we examine the task of within-network classification and the question of whether two algorithms will learn models that will result in significantly different levels of performance. We show that the commonly used form of evaluation (paired t-test on overlapping network samples) can result in an unacceptable level of Type I error. Furthermore, we show that Type I error increases as (1) the correlation among instances increases and (2) the size of the evaluation set increases (i.e., the proportion of labeled nodes in the network decreases). We propose a method for network cross-validation that combined with paired t-tests produces more acceptable levels of Type I error while still providing reasonable levels of statistical power (i.e., 1−Type II error).     

胰腺癌经动脉灌注化疗指南（草案）

【摘要】 胰腺癌是恶性度最高的实体肿瘤之一。对不能手术切除的胰腺癌，经动脉灌注化疗由于肿瘤局部药物浓度较静脉用药高，可以达到更好的治疗效果，在改善疾病相关症状、延长生存期、减少肝转移及发生肝转移后的治疗上均取得了令人瞩目的成绩。本文在相关概念、禁忌证、适应证、术前准备、操作方法、术后处理及并发症的预防和处理等方面给出了较详尽的规范化建议，旨在帮助国内同行作出合理决策，但不是强制性标准，也不可能包括和解决胰腺癌经动脉灌注化疗中的所有问题。因此，在面对某一患者时，应在充分了解本病的最佳医学证据，结合患者具体病情及其意愿的基础上，为患者制定合理的诊疗计划。
     

孤立性肠系膜上动脉夹层介入治疗五例的护理体会

【摘要】 目的 探讨裸支架腔内血管重建术治疗孤立性肠系膜上动脉夹层（ＳＭＡＤ）的围手术期护理。方法 对采用裸支架载瘤动脉腔内血管重建术治疗孤立性的５例患者，予完善的术前准备，针对性的术后观察、护理。结果 在围手术期精心护理下，４例腹痛症状患者术后３周腹痛消失；５例患者介入治疗均获得成功，术后无并发症发生，随访３至１２个月效果满意。结论 术前充分准备，术后细致观察、护理，为孤立性ＳＭＡＤ介入治疗提供有价值的护理经验。
     

Brewer’s spent grain as a functional ingredient for breadsticks

Brewer’s spent grain (BSG) was evaluated for its potential as a functional baking ingredient. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to examine the microstructure of BSG and wheat flours. Baked snacks (breadsticks) were prepared using 15%, 25% and 35% BSG and evaluated for their baking quality and fibre and protein content (over a period of 3 months). The addition of BSG altered the baking characteristics of the breadsticks by affecting their structure and texture. The snacks appeared to lack in cellular structure and crispiness. However, they had quite a stable shelf‐life, as changes in texture, moisture and a_w progressed at a low rate. Addition of 25% and 35% BSG significantly increased the protein content of the snacks, and addition of 15% BSG more than doubled the content of dietary fibre in the samples.     

综合性放射防护措施在介入治疗防护中的应用

【摘要】 目的 探讨综合性放射防护措施在介入治疗防护中的应用价值。方法 在８４例介入手术治疗中联合应用床下铅橡胶帘、铅玻璃防护屏、铅防护服、铅围脖、铅眼镜及距离等对介入操作人员进行综合性防护。利用ＦＪ?鄄２０００个人剂量仪监测Ｘ射线辐射剂量，并对相关数据进行统计分析。结果 床下铅橡胶帘防护效率为９３．４％；铅玻璃防护屏防护效率为９３．５％；铅防护服防护效率为８８．４％；这些放射防护器材前后Ｘ线辐射剂量差异均具有统计学意义（Ｐ ＜ ０．０１）。距球管１ ｍ处 Ｘ线衰减量为５８．６％，距球管３ ｍ处的Ｘ线衰减量为８６．４％。１ ｍ与２ ｍ之间，２ ｍ与３ ｍ之间的辐射剂量差异均具有统计学意义（Ｐ ＜ ０．０１）。结论 综合性防护措施在介入操作中可有效降低Ｘ射线辐射、减少对介入操作人员身体危害。
     

锁骨下动脉闭塞机械再通的方法研究

目的研究锁骨下动脉闭塞血管内机械再通方法和疗效。方法选择３２例症状性锁骨下动脉闭塞患者行血管内机械再通治疗，观察再通率及疗效。结果３２例锁骨下动脉闭塞患者中，用不同方法成功完成血管内机械再通后行血管内支架成形术，术后全部患者后循环缺血症状和上肢缺血症状明显改善。结论采用适当方法行机械再通治疗锁骨下动脉闭塞安全、可行。     

Redundancy and its implications in TLM diffusion models

Redundancy in the simplest form of a two-dimensional TLM network is identified and a method of eliminating it is described. Results obtained using the non-redundant algorithm are compared with those derived from the standard, redundant algorithm. The non-redundant approach is extended to deal with non-uniform elemental capacitance; a cylindrical geometry is taken as an example of this. The scope for and benefits of rendering TLM diffusion models non-redundant are discussed.     

应用覆膜支架介入救治颈动脉破裂并假性动脉瘤

目的探讨应用覆膜支架介入治疗颈动脉破裂并假性动脉瘤.方法4例肿瘤所致颈动脉破裂并假性动脉瘤形成的患者,均出现颈部或口腔危及生命的出血,采用Seldinger方法,选用自膨式聚四氟乙烯覆膜支架治疗.结果4例成功施行血管内介入治疗,其中颈总动脉中段1例,颈动脉球2例,颈总动脉远段1例.共置入覆膜支架6枚.术后假性动脉瘤腔被隔绝,颈动脉通畅,患者的临床症状明显改善,无神经功能障碍.1例患者11 d后支架下缘颈总动脉与原瘤腔相通,再次置入覆膜支架,2个月的随访无再出血.1例患者经钢圈栓塞、放置覆膜支架及裸支架瘤腔