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Sample records for included median age

  1. Allegheny County Median Age at Death

    Data.gov (United States)

    Allegheny County / City of Pittsburgh / Western PA Regional Data Center — The median age at death is calculated for each municipality in Allegheny County. Data is based on the decedent's residence at the time of death, not the location...

  2. Relationships between the Brook Street Terrane and Median Tectonic Zone (Median Batholith) : evidence from Jurassic conglomerates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tulloch, A.J.; Kimbrough, D.L.; Landis, C.A.; Mortimer, N.; Johnston, M.R.

    1999-01-01

    U-Pb zircon ages of 237-180 Ma and c. 280 Ma of seven granitoid clasts from the Rainy River Conglomerate which lies within the eastern Median Tectonic Zone (Median Batholith) in Nelson, and the Barretts Formation of the Brook Street Terrane in Southland, constrain the depositional ages of both units to be no older than c. 180-200 Ma (Early Jurassic). The minimum age of the Rainy River Conglomerate is constrained by the 147 +2 -1 Ma (Latest Jurassic) emplacement age of the One Mile Gabbronorite (new name: previously western Buller Diorite). The ages and chemistry of five of the granitoid clasts are broadly compatible with derivation from rocks that are now represented by Triassic plutons of the Median Tectonic Zone (Median Batholith), although ages as young as 180 Ma are slightly outside the range of the latter as currently exposed in New Zealand. The age (273-290 Ma, 237 +/- 3 Ma) and chemistry of the other two clasts (one each from Rainy River Conglomerate and Barretts Formation) suggest derivation from the Brook Street Terrane. Similarity in stratigraphic age, depositional characteristics, granitoid clast ages and composition between Rainy River Conglomerate and Barretts Formation suggests that they are broadly correlative and collectively overlapped a combined Brook Street Terrane - Median Batholith (MTZ) before the Late Jurassic (147 +2 -1 Ma). Sedimentary overlap may also have continued across to Middle Jurassic conglomeratic strata in the Murihiku Terrane to the east of the Brook Street Terrane. A U-Pb zircon age of 261 +/- 2 Ma is reported for Pourakino Trondhjemite of the Brook Street Terrane. (author). 56 refs., 10 figs., 4 tabs

  3. Age correction in monitoring audiometry: method to update OSHA age-correction tables to include older workers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dobie, Robert A; Wojcik, Nancy C

    2015-07-13

    The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Noise Standard provides the option for employers to apply age corrections to employee audiograms to consider the contribution of ageing when determining whether a standard threshold shift has occurred. Current OSHA age-correction tables are based on 40-year-old data, with small samples and an upper age limit of 60 years. By comparison, recent data (1999-2006) show that hearing thresholds in the US population have improved. Because hearing thresholds have improved, and because older people are increasingly represented in noisy occupations, the OSHA tables no longer represent the current US workforce. This paper presents 2 options for updating the age-correction tables and extending values to age 75 years using recent population-based hearing survey data from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Both options provide scientifically derived age-correction values that can be easily adopted by OSHA to expand their regulatory guidance to include older workers. Regression analysis was used to derive new age-correction values using audiometric data from the 1999-2006 US NHANES. Using the NHANES median, better-ear thresholds fit to simple polynomial equations, new age-correction values were generated for both men and women for ages 20-75 years. The new age-correction values are presented as 2 options. The preferred option is to replace the current OSHA tables with the values derived from the NHANES median better-ear thresholds for ages 20-75 years. The alternative option is to retain the current OSHA age-correction values up to age 60 years and use the NHANES-based values for ages 61-75 years. Recent NHANES data offer a simple solution to the need for updated, population-based, age-correction tables for OSHA. The options presented here provide scientifically valid and relevant age-correction values which can be easily adopted by OSHA to expand their regulatory guidance to

  4. Functional Median Polish

    KAUST Repository

    Sun, Ying

    2012-08-03

    This article proposes functional median polish, an extension of univariate median polish, for one-way and two-way functional analysis of variance (ANOVA). The functional median polish estimates the functional grand effect and functional main factor effects based on functional medians in an additive functional ANOVA model assuming no interaction among factors. A functional rank test is used to assess whether the functional main factor effects are significant. The robustness of the functional median polish is demonstrated by comparing its performance with the traditional functional ANOVA fitted by means under different outlier models in simulation studies. The functional median polish is illustrated on various applications in climate science, including one-way and two-way ANOVA when functional data are either curves or images. Specifically, Canadian temperature data, U. S. precipitation observations and outputs of global and regional climate models are considered, which can facilitate the research on the close link between local climate and the occurrence or severity of some diseases and other threats to human health. © 2012 International Biometric Society.

  5. Thrombosed persistent median artery causing carpal tunnel syndrome associated with bifurcated median nerve: A case report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Salter, M.; Sinha, N. R.; Szmigielski, W.

    2011-01-01

    Background: Carpal tunnel syndrome is a sporadically occurring abnormality due to compression of median nerve. It is exceedingly rare for it to be caused by thrombosis of persistent median artery. Case Report: A forty two year old female was referred for ultrasound examination due to ongoing wrist pain, not relived by pain killers and mild paraesthesia on the radial side of the hand. High resolution ultrasound and Doppler revealed a thrombosed persistent median artery and associated bifurcated median nerve. The thrombus resolved on treatment with anticoagulants. Conclusions: Ultrasound examination of the wrist when done for patients with carpal tunnel syndrome should preferably include looking for persistent median artery and its patency. (authors)

  6. Social Security: a financial appraisal for the median voter.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Galasso, V

    Several explanations have been proposed for why voters continue to support unfunded social security systems. Browning (1975) suggests that the extremely large unfunded pension systems of most democracies depend on the existence of a voting majority composed of middle-aged and older people who fail to fully internalize the cost of financing the system. In fact, when voting, economically rational workers consider only their current and future contributions to the system and their expected pension benefits--not their past contributions, which they regard as sunk costs. If, for a majority of voters, the expected continuation return from social security exceeds the return from alternative assets, an unfunded social security system is politically sustainable. This article explores the validity of Browning's proposition by quantifying the returns that U.S. voters in presidential elections from 1964 to 1996 have obtained, or expect to obtain, from Social Security. Did "investments" in Social Security outperform alternative forms of investment, such as mutual funds or pension funds, for a majority of the voters? What can be expected for the future? The U.S. Social Security system redistributes income within age cohorts on the basis of sex, income, and marital status. To account for some of these features, the median voter is represented by a family unit whose members--a husband who accounts for 70 percent of household earnings and a wife who accounts for 30 percent--make joint economic and voting decisions. Thus, retirement and survival benefits paid out to the spouse of an insured worker can be included in the calculation of Social Security returns. Interval estimates of voters' family incomes from the U.S. Census Bureau were used to obtain the median voter's household earnings. The median voter's age is derived from the ages of those who voted in presidential elections, not from the ages of the entire electorate. The median voter's contributions to Social Security are the

  7. A comparison of freeway median crash frequency, severity, and barrier strike outcomes by median barrier type.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Russo, Brendan J; Savolainen, Peter T

    2018-08-01

    Median-crossover crashes are among the most hazardous events that can occur on freeways, often resulting in severe or fatal injuries. The primary countermeasure to reduce the occurrence of such crashes is the installation of a median barrier. When installation of a median barrier is warranted, transportation agencies are faced with the decision among various alternatives including concrete barriers, beam guardrail, or high-tension cable barriers. Each barrier type differs in terms of its deflection characteristics upon impact, the required installation and maintenance costs, and the roadway characteristics (e.g., median width) where installation would be feasible. This study involved an investigation of barrier performance through an in-depth analysis of crash frequency and severity data from freeway segments where high-tension cable, thrie-beam, and concrete median barriers were installed. A comprehensive manual review of crash reports was conducted to identify crashes in which a vehicle left the roadway and encroached into the median. This review also involved an examination of crash outcomes when a barrier strike occurred, which included vehicle containment, penetration, or re-direction onto the travel lanes. The manual review of crash reports provided critical supplementary information through narratives and diagrams not normally available through standard fields on police crash report forms. Statistical models were estimated to identify factors that affect the frequency, severity, and outcomes of median-related crashes, with particular emphases on differences between segments with varying median barrier types. Several roadway-, traffic-, and environmental-related characteristics were found to affect these metrics, with results varying across the different barrier types. The results of this study provide transportation agencies with important guidance as to the in-service performance of various types of median barrier. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights

  8. Isotopic ages of rocks along the Median Tectonic Line in the Yoshino area, Nara Prefecture

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shibata, Ken; Sugiyama, Yuichi; Uchiumi, Shigeru; Takagi, Hideo.

    1988-01-01

    K-Ar, Rb-Sr and fission-track age determinations were carried out on rocks along the Median Tectonic Line (MTL) in the Yoshino area, Nara Prefecture. K-Ar ages on th Ryoke granitic rocks range from 35.3 to 75.9 Ma. Within about 1000 m of MTL the ages decrease toward MTL, probably caused by the hydrothermal alteration associated with cataclasis. The Takamiyama acidic rocks give a K-Ar age of 12.8 Ma. The cooling rate of the granitic rocks, calculated from K-Ar ages and closure temperatures of minerals, is 23 - 27degC/Ma. K-Ar ages for muscovites from pelitic schists in the Sambagawa belt are 62.3 - 69.4 Ma, whereas K-Ar whole-rock ages for phyllites in the Shimanto belt are 57.1 - 76.7 Ma; decrease in age is not observed even near MTL. Rb-Sr ages for muscovites from the schists are 70.4 and 72.5 Ma, which are assumed to indicate the time of metamorphism. The phyllites give a Rb-Sr whole-rock isochron age of 77.1±6.1 Ma, which is interpreted to represent the time of diagenesis or weak metamorphism. Fission-track ages for zircons from the Ryoke granitic rocks range from 37.0 to 68.2 Ma and decrease toward MTL. Fission-track ages of zircon are generally close to K-Ar ages of K-feldspar for the same rocks. From this fact the closure temperature for zircon is estimated to be lower than 200degC. The fine fractions (<2μm) separated from MTL fault gouges at Michaya and Takamiyama give K-Ar ages of 36.7 and 18.3 Ma, respectively. These ages probably represent the time of hydrothermal alteration following the major fault movement of MTL associated with cataclasis. (author)

  9. The Ultrasonographic Findings of Bifid Median Nerve

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, Hee Jin; Park, Noh Hyuck; Joh, Joon Hee; Lee, Sung Moon

    2009-01-01

    We wanted to evaluate the ultrasonographic findings of bifid median nerve and its clinical significance. We retrospectively reviewed five cases (three men and two women, mean age: 54 years) of incidentally found bifid median nerve from 264 cases of clinically suspected carpal-tunnel syndrome that were seen at our hospital during last 6 years. Doppler sonography was performed in all five cases and MR angiography was done in one case for detecting a persistent median artery. The difference (ΔCSA) between the sum of the cross-sectional areas of the bifid median nerve at the pisiform level (CSA2) and the cross-sectional area proximal to the bifurcation(CSA1) was calculated. The incidence of a bifid median nerve was 1.9%. All the patients presented with a tingling sensation on a hand and two patients had nocturnal pain. All the cases showed bifurcation of the nerve bundle proximal to the carpal tunnel. The margins appeared relatively smooth and each bundle showed a characteristic fascicular pattern. A persistent median artery was noted between the bundles in four cases. ΔCSA was more than 2 mm 2 in four cases. Bifid median nerve with a persistent median artery is a relatively rare normal variance and these are very important findings before performing surgical intervention to avoid potential nerve injury and massive bleeding. We highly suggest that radiologists should understand the anatomical characteristics of this anomaly and make efforts to detect it

  10. Examining the effects of age, sex, and body mass index on normative median motor nerve excitability measurements.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    McHugh, John C

    2012-02-01

    OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to build a large reference database of excitability measures in normal subjects and to examine the effects of age, sex, and BMI. METHODS: One hundred and five healthy subjects had median motor nerve excitability testing performed at the wrist using the automated threshold-tracking program, QTRAC. Statistical linear regression was used to explore relationships between nerve excitability and the independent variables. RESULTS: The main effect of age is a reduced superexcitability. Lesser effects are flattening of the normalized stimulus response curve and reduction in threshold change following strong hyperpolarizing currents. Females have lower thresholds than males and small but significant differences in voltage-gated potassium channel (KCNQ) mediated properties (late subexcitability, accommodation half time, and threshold undershoot following depolarizing electrotonus), as well as a small increase in superexcitability. BMI has no influence on nerve excitability data and does not explain sex-related differences in threshold. CONCLUSIONS: Age and sex have few and small effects on excitability parameters. SIGNIFICANCE: The expression of nodal KCNQ channels appears to be greater in females. Age-related increases in subexcitability may be attributable to changes in the muscle fibre and not the nerve.

  11. On Preliminary Test Estimator for Median

    OpenAIRE

    Okazaki, Takeo; 岡崎, 威生

    1990-01-01

    The purpose of the present paper is to discuss about estimation of median with a preliminary test. Two procedures are presented, one uses Median test and the other uses Wilcoxon two-sample test for the preliminary test. Sections 3 and 4 give mathematical formulations of such properties, including mean square errors with one specified case. Section 5 discusses their optimal significance levels of the preliminary test and proposes their numerical values by Monte Carlo method. In addition to mea...

  12. Median and ulnar neuropathies in university guitarists.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kennedy, Rachel H; Hutcherson, Kimberly J; Kain, Jennifer B; Phillips, Alicia L; Halle, John S; Greathouse, David G

    2006-02-01

    Descriptive study. To determine the presence of median and ulnar neuropathies in both upper extremities of university guitarists. Peripheral nerve entrapment syndromes of the upper extremities are well documented in musicians. Guitarists and plucked-string musicians are at risk for entrapment neuropathies in the upper extremities and are prone to mild neurologic deficits. Twenty-four volunteer male and female guitarists (age range, 18-26 years) were recruited from the Belmont University School of Music and the Vanderbilt University Blair School of Music. Individuals were excluded if they were pregnant or had a history of recent upper extremity or neck injury. Subjects completed a history form, were interviewed, and underwent a physical examination. Nerve conduction status of the median and ulnar nerves of both upper extremities was obtained by performing motor, sensory, and F-wave (central) nerve conduction studies. Descriptive statistics of the nerve conduction study variables were computed using Microsoft Excel. Six subjects had positive findings on provocative testing of the median and ulnar nerves. Otherwise, these guitarists had normal upper extremity neural and musculoskeletal function based on the history and physical examinations. When comparing the subjects' nerve conduction study values with a chart of normal nerve conduction studies values, 2 subjects had prolonged distal motor latencies (DMLs) of the left median nerve of 4.3 and 4.7 milliseconds (normal, DMLs are compatible with median neuropathy at or distal to the wrist. Otherwise, all electrophysiological variables were within normal limits for motor, sensory, and F-wave (central) values. However, comparison studies of median and ulnar motor latencies in the same hand demonstrated prolonged differences of greater than 1.0 milliseconds that affected the median nerve in 2 additional subjects, and identified contralateral limb involvement in a subject with a prolonged distal latency. The other 20

  13. Median Urinary Iodine Concentrations Are Indicative of Adequate Iodine Status among Women of Reproductive Age in Prey Veng, Cambodia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karakochuk, Crystal D; Michaux, Kristina D; Chai, Tze L; Chan, Benny B; Whitfield, Kyly C; Barr, Susan I; McLean, Judy; Talukder, Aminuzzaman; Hou, Kroeun; Ly, Sokhoing; Green, Tim J

    2016-03-03

    Iodine deficiency disorders are estimated to affect over 1.9 million people worldwide. Iodine deficiency is especially serious for women during pregnancy and lactation because of the negative consequences for both mother and infant. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to determine the median urinary iodine concentration (UIC) as a population-level indicator of iodine status among rural women farmers of reproductive age (18-45 years) in the province of Prey Veng, Cambodia. A total of 450 women provided a spot morning urine sample in 2012. Of those women, 93% (n = 420) were non-pregnant and 7% (n = 30) were pregnant at the time of collection. UIC was quantified using the Sandell-Kolthoff reaction with modifications. The median UIC of non-pregnant (139 μg/L) and pregnant women (157 μg/L) were indicative of adequate iodine status using the WHO/UNICEF/ICCIDD epidemiological criteria for both groups (median UIC between 100-199 and 150-249 μg/L, respectively). We conclude that non-pregnant and pregnant women in rural Prey Veng, Cambodia had adequate iodine status based on single spot morning urine samples collected in 2012. More research is warranted to investigate iodine status among larger and more representative populations of women in Cambodia, especially in light of recent policy changes to the national program for universal salt iodization.

  14. Median nail dystrophy involving the thumb nail

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rahulkrishna Kota

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Median canaliform dystrophy of Heller is a rare entity characterized by a midline or a paramedian ridge or split and canal formation in nail plate of one or both the thumb nails. It is an acquired condition resulting from a temporary defect in the matrix that interferes with nail formation. Habitual picking of the nail base may be responsible for some cases. Histopathology classically shows parakeratosis, accumulation of melanin within and between the nail bed keratinocytes. Treatment of median nail dystrophy includes injectable triamcinalone acetonide, topical 0.1% tacrolimus, and tazarotene 0.05%, which is many a times challenging for a dermatologist. Psychiatric opinion should be taken when associated with the depressive, obsessive-compulsive, or impulse-control disorder. We report a case of 19-year-old male diagnosed as median nail dystrophy.

  15. Sosiaalisen median mahdollisuudet Tilastokeskukselle

    OpenAIRE

    Vesterinen, Anu

    2011-01-01

    Tämän opinnäytetyön aiheena oli sosiaalisen median mahdollisuudet Tilastokeskuksen viestinnässä. Työn tavoitteena oli kartoittaa sosiaalisen median käyttöön liittyviä mahdollisuuksia ja haasteita sekä selvittää siihen liittyviä odotuksia Tilastokeskuksen henkilöstön keskuudessa. Työn teoriaosuudessa tarkasteltiin sosiaalista mediaa käsitteenä ja esiteltiin sosiaalisen median käyttöä organisaation ulkoisen viestinnän välineenä. Opinnäytetyössä selvitettiin teoriatietoon pohjautuen sekä ca...

  16. Sosiaalisen median markkinointistrategia

    OpenAIRE

    Tran, Jenny

    2017-01-01

    Insinöörityön tavoitteena oli suunnitella toimeksiantajayritykselle sopiva sosiaalisen median markkinointistrategia ja avustaa sen toteutuksessa sekä tuottaen sisältöä sovittuihin kanaviin. Pyrkimyksenä oli myös kouluttaa yrityksen henkilökuntaa käyttämään sosiaalista mediaa yleisellä tasolla ja markkinoinnissa tutustuttamalla heidät sosiaalisen median erilaisiin kanaviin ja mainostyökaluihin. Opinnäytetyössä keskityttiin tutkimaan Facebookissa toimivaa markkinointia ja siinä toimivia mai...

  17. Median Arcuate Ligament Syndrome: A Single-Center Experience with 23 Patients

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nasr, Layla A. [American University of Beirut Medical Center, Division of Interventional Radiology, Department of Radiology (Lebanon); Faraj, Walid G. [American University of Beirut Medical Center, Department of Surgery (Lebanon); Al-Kutoubi, Aghiad [American University of Beirut Medical Center, Division of Interventional Radiology, Department of Radiology (Lebanon); Hamady, Mohamad [Imperial College-London Faculty of Medicine, Division of Interventional Radiology, Department of Radiology (United Kingdom); Khalifeh, Mohamad; Hallal, Ali; Halawani, Hamzeh M. [American University of Beirut Medical Center, Department of Surgery (Lebanon); Wazen, Joelle; Haydar, Ali A., E-mail: ah24@aub.edu.lb [American University of Beirut Medical Center, Division of Interventional Radiology, Department of Radiology (Lebanon)

    2017-05-15

    BackgroundMedian arcuate ligament syndrome (MALS) is a rare entity that occurs when the median arcuate ligament of the diaphragm is low-lying, causing a compression to the underlying celiac trunk. We reviewed the vascular changes associated with MALS in an effort to emphasize the seriousness of this disease and the complications that may result.MethodsThis is a retrospective descriptive analysis of 23 consecutive patients diagnosed with MALS between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2015 at a tertiary medical center. Computed tomographic (CT) scans, medical records, and patient follow-up were reviewed.ResultsThe number of patients included herein was 23. The median age was 56 years (17–83). Sixteen patients (69.6%) had a significant arterial collateral circulation. Eleven patients (47.8%) were found to have visceral artery aneurysms; 4 patients (36.4%) bled secondary to aneurysm rupture. All ruptured aneurysms were treated with endovascular approach. The severity of the hemodynamic changes appears to be greater with complete occlusion,ConclusionsMALS causes pathological hemodynamic changes within the abdominal vasculature. Follow-up is advised for patients who develop a collateral circulation. Resulting aneurysms should preferably be treated when the size ratio approaches three. Treatment of these aneurysms can be done via an endovascular approach coupled with possible celiac artery decompression to restore physiologic blood flow.

  18. Clinical Outcomes following median to radial nerve transfers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ray, Wilson Z.; Mackinnon, Susan E.

    2010-01-01

    Purpose In this study the authors evaluate the clinical outcomes in patients with radial nerve palsy who underwent nerve transfers utilizing redundant fascicles of median nerve (innervating the flexor digitorum superficialis and flexor carpi radialis muscles) to the posterior interosseous nerve and the nerve to the extensor carpi radialis brevis. Methods A retrospective review of the clinical records of 19 patients with radial nerve injuries who underwent nerve transfer procedures using the median nerve as a donor nerve were included. All patients were evaluated using the Medical Research Council (MRC) grading system. Results The mean age of patients was 41 years (range 17 – 78 years). All patients received at least 12 months of follow-up (20.3 ± 5.8 months). Surgery was performed at a mean of 5.7 ± 1.9 months post-injury. Post-operative functional evaluation was graded according to the following scale: grades MRC 0/5 - MRC 2/5 were considered poor outcomes, while MRC of 3/5 was a fair result, MRC grade 4/5 was a good result, and grade 4+/5 was considered an excellent outcome. Seventeen patients (89%) had a complete radial nerve palsy while two patients (11%) had intact wrist extension but no finger or thumb extension. Post-operatively all patients except one had good to excellent recovery of wrist extension. Twelve patients recovered good to excellent finger and thumb extension, two patients had fair recovery, five patients had a poor recovery. Conclusions The radial nerve is a commonly injured nerve, causing significant morbidity in affected patients. The median nerve provides a reliable source of donor nerve fascicles for radial nerve reinnervation. This transfer was first performed in 1999 and evolved over the subsequent decade. The important nuances of both surgical technique and motor re-education critical for to the success of this transfer have been identified and are discussed. PMID:21168979

  19. Sosiaalisen median riskit yritysmaailmassa

    OpenAIRE

    Kilpinen, Joni

    2015-01-01

    Sosiaalisen median palveluista on kirjoitettu lukuisia kirjoja ja artikkeleita, joissa niitä ylistetään varsinkin yritysnäkökulmasta. Vaikka sosiaalinen media on muuttanut olennaisesti tapaa, jolla keskustella, mainostaa, etsiä ja jakaa tietoa, piilee sen palveluiden käytössä kuitenkin erilaisia uhkakuvia. Yritykset ja asiantuntijat pelkäävät sosiaalisen median avoimuuden aiheuttavan suuria tietoturvariskejä. Lisäksi asiantuntijat ovat varoitelleet sosiaalisessa mediassa olevista haittaohjelm...

  20. GPU Accelerated Vector Median Filter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aras, Rifat; Shen, Yuzhong

    2011-01-01

    Noise reduction is an important step for most image processing tasks. For three channel color images, a widely used technique is vector median filter in which color values of pixels are treated as 3-component vectors. Vector median filters are computationally expensive; for a window size of n x n, each of the n(sup 2) vectors has to be compared with other n(sup 2) - 1 vectors in distances. General purpose computation on graphics processing units (GPUs) is the paradigm of utilizing high-performance many-core GPU architectures for computation tasks that are normally handled by CPUs. In this work. NVIDIA's Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA) paradigm is used to accelerate vector median filtering. which has to the best of our knowledge never been done before. The performance of GPU accelerated vector median filter is compared to that of the CPU and MPI-based versions for different image and window sizes, Initial findings of the study showed 100x improvement of performance of vector median filter implementation on GPUs over CPU implementations and further speed-up is expected after more extensive optimizations of the GPU algorithm .

  1. [Safety of repeat median sternotomy in the palliative treatment of patients with a univentricular heart].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Díliz-Nava, Héctor; Meléndez-Sagaón, Isis; Tamaríz-Cruz, Orlando; García-Benítez, Luis; Araujo-Martínez, Aric; Palacios-Macedo, Alexis

    To establish the morbidity and mortality of patients with univentricular hearts who underwent a repeat median sternotomy at the Instituto Nacional de Pediatría. A retrospective review was performed on the clinical charts of all patients who underwent a repeat median sternotomy from 2001 to 2016. Sixty-five patients underwent 76 surgeries by repeat median sternotomy. Fifty-nine patients had a first repeat median sternotomy, with a mean age of 36 months (range: 4-176 months) and a mean weight of 12.2 kg (range: 3.2-21.5 kg). Forty patients had a Glenn procedure, and 19 patients had a Fontan procedure. There were 17 patients with a second repeat median sternotomy, with a mean age of 89 months (range 48-156 months), and a mean weight of 22.7 kg (14.4-41 kg). A Fontan procedure was performed on all these 17 patients. A section of the right coronary artery with electrocardiographic changes and a right atrium tear that caused hypotension occurred during first repeat sternotomy. An aortic tear occurred during a second repeat sternotomy with massive bleeding and subsequent death. This represents 3.9% of re-entry injuries. It is concluded that repeat median sternotomy is a safe procedure. Copyright © 2016 Instituto Nacional de Cardiología Ignacio Chávez. Publicado por Masson Doyma México S.A. All rights reserved.

  2. Switching non-local median filter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matsuoka, Jyohei; Koga, Takanori; Suetake, Noriaki; Uchino, Eiji

    2015-06-01

    This paper describes a novel image filtering method for removal of random-valued impulse noise superimposed on grayscale images. Generally, it is well known that switching-type median filters are effective for impulse noise removal. In this paper, we propose a more sophisticated switching-type impulse noise removal method in terms of detail-preserving performance. Specifically, the noise detector of the proposed method finds out noise-corrupted pixels by focusing attention on the difference between the value of a pixel of interest (POI) and the median of its neighboring pixel values, and on the POI's isolation tendency from the surrounding pixels. Furthermore, the removal of the detected noise is performed by the newly proposed median filter based on non-local processing, which has superior detail-preservation capability compared to the conventional median filter. The effectiveness and the validity of the proposed method are verified by some experiments using natural grayscale images.

  3. Functional Median Polish

    KAUST Repository

    Sun, Ying; Genton, Marc G.

    2012-01-01

    polish is demonstrated by comparing its performance with the traditional functional ANOVA fitted by means under different outlier models in simulation studies. The functional median polish is illustrated on various applications in climate science

  4. Five Roots Pattern of Median Nerve Formation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Konstantinos Natsis

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available An unusual combination of median nerve’s variations has been encountered in a male cadaver during routine educational dissection. In particular, the median nerve was formed by five roots; three roots originated from the lateral cord of the brachial plexus joined individually the median nerve’s medial root. The latter (fourth root was united with the lateral (fifth root of the median nerve forming the median nerve distally in the upper arm and not the axilla as usually. In addition, the median nerve was situated medial to the brachial artery. We review comprehensively the relevant variants, their embryologic development and their potential clinical applications.

  5. Time course and predictors of median nerve conduction after carpal tunnel release.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rotman, Mitchell B; Enkvetchakul, Bobby V; Megerian, J Thomas; Gozani, Shai N

    2004-05-01

    To identify predictors of outcome and of electrophysiologic recovery in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) treated by endoscopic carpal tunnel release using a nerve conduction testing system (NC-Stat; NEUROMetrix, Inc, Waltham, MA). Validity of the automated nerve conduction testing system was shown by comparing presurgical distal motor latencies (DMLs) against a reference obtained by referral to an electromyography laboratory. The DML was evaluated in 48 patients with CTS. Measurements were obtained within 1 hour of surgery and at 2 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months after carpal tunnel release. Presurgical and postsurgical DMLs were then compared and correlated with variables and possible predictors of outcome including age, body mass index, gender, and presurgical DMLs. The automated nerve conduction testing system DMLs matched those of reference electromyography/nerve conduction study values with high correlation. Sensitivity of the automated nerve conduction testing system when compared with a standardized CTS case definition was 89%, with a specificity of 95%. A significant correlation was found between the DML before release and the DML 1 hour after release. Moreover, maximal postsurgical DML improvement was highly dependent on the presurgical DML, with no improvement shown for the 6-ms group. Among the clinical variables of age, gender, and body mass index only age was mildly predictive of postrelease DML changes at 6 months. No other correlations between clinical variables and postsurgical DMLs were significant. In addition the predictive value of age was lost when combined with the presurgical DML in a multivariate analysis. Postsurgical changes in the median nerve DML were highly dependent on the prerelease latency. The sensitivity and specificity of a nerve conduction monitoring system in detecting and aiding in the diagnosis of CTS is useful in the long-term management of patients with CTS and can aid in determining the level of improvement

  6. Surgical intervention after transvaginal Prolift mesh repair: retrospective single-center study including 524 patients with 3 years' median follow-up.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Landsheere, Laurent; Ismail, Sharif; Lucot, Jean-Philippe; Deken, Valérie; Foidart, Jean-Michel; Cosson, Michel

    2012-01-01

    The aim of this study was to explore the nature and rate of surgical intervention after transvaginal Prolift mesh repair for pelvic organ prolapse. This was a retrospective study of all patients who underwent Prolift mesh repair between January 2005 and January 2009. Patient data were obtained from medical records, and patients were telephoned to check if they had surgery in other hospitals. A total of 600 consecutive patients were identified. Of these, 524 patients (87.3%) were included in the study, with a median follow-up duration of 38 months (range, 15-63). Global reoperation rate was 11.6%. Indications of intervention were surgery for urinary incontinence (6.9%), mesh-related complications (3.6%), or prolapse recurrence (3%). The global reoperation rate after transvaginal Prolift mesh repair was 11.6%, with urinary incontinence surgery being the most common indication. Rates of mesh complications and prolapse recurrence are relatively low in an experienced team. Copyright © 2012 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Permasalahan P-Hub Median Dengan Lintasan Terpendek

    OpenAIRE

    Pasaribu, Raja David

    2013-01-01

    Hub are facilities that serve as sorting, switching, and transhipment in a transportation network. P-hub median problem is a discrete case location allocation problem which all hub is fully connected. In this paper will be intoduced Mixed Integrer Linear Programming (MILP) formulation models of cost for p-hub median problem allocation for uncapacitaced single allocation p-hub median(USApHMP). In this paper also introduced Floyd-Warshall shortest path algorithm to solve p-hub median problems a...

  8. The changing face of orthostatic and neurocardiogenic syncope with age.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Cooke, J

    2012-01-31

    AIM: Reports of the outcomes of syncope assessment across a broad spectrum of ages in a single population are scarce. It is our objective to chart the varying prevalence of orthostatic and neurocardiogenic syncope (NCS) as a patient ages. METHODS: This was a retrospective study. All consecutive patients referred to a tertiary referral syncope unit over a decade were included. Patients were referred with recurrent falls or orthostatic intolerance. Tilt tests and carotid sinus massage (CSM) were performed in accordance with best practice guidelines. RESULTS: A total of 3002 patients were included (1451 short tilt, 127 active stand, 1042 CSM and 382 prolonged tilt). Ages ranged from 11 to 91 years with a median (IQR) of 75 (62-81) years. There were 1914 females; 1088 males. Orthostatic hypotension (OH) was the most commonly observed abnormality (test positivity of 60.3%). Those with OH had a median (IQR) age of 78 (71-83) years. Symptomatic patients were significantly younger than asymptomatic (P = 0.03). NCS demonstrated a bimodal age distribution. Of 194 patients with carotid sinus hypersensitivity, the median age (IQR) was 77 (68-82) years. Those with vasovagal syncope (n = 80) had a median (IQR) age of 30 (19-44) years. There were 57 patients with isolated postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome. Of the total patients, 75% were female. They had a median (IQR) age of 23 (17-29) years. CONCLUSION: We have confirmed, in a single population, a changing pattern in the aetiology of syncope as a person ages. The burden of disease is greatest in the elderly.

  9. Experience of thymectomy by median sternotomy in patients with myasthenia gravis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hussain, N.; Ahmed, S.W.; Ahmed, T.; Hafeez, A.B.; Baloch, R.; Ali, S.

    2010-01-01

    Objective: To determine the outcome of thymectomy in patients with myasthenia gravis and safety of median sternotomy approach. Methodology: An observational descriptive study was conducted in the department of thoracic surgery JPMC from February 2005 to January 2009. Twenty two patients having persistent generalized or ocular myasthenia gravis referred to our department by neurologists and general physicians, partially or not responding to medical treatment with or without thymoma, were included in the study. Those who were not fit for anaesthesia were excluded. Preoperatively 2 to 3 sessions of plasmaphaeresis were done and each patient was given anti myasthenia gravis treatment. Clinical staging was done by Modified Osserman classification. Median sternotomy approach was used. Outcome was assessed on the basis of remission of disease in different Osserman groups. All patients were followed for a minimum of 6 months. Results: Out of 22 patients, 16 (72.7%) were females and 6 (27.2%) males. Mean age at presentation was 35.2 +- 14.5 years. Mean duration of symptoms was 1.5 +- 1.2 years. A total of 4 (18.1%) patients with myasthenia gravis had thymoma and histopathology of 18 (81.9%) patients showed thymic hyperplasia. Remission was seen in most grades of Osserman. The best response was seen in Grade I where all patients achieved remission. Most patients in Grade II A and II B were benefited. The only patient in Grade III had no improvement of symptoms. No patient in Grade IV underwent thymectomy. Overall 86.3 % had a positive outcome on basis of remission and improvement. Conclusion: Thymectomy by median sternotomy is safe and effective with more favourable outcomes for patients of myasthenia gravis not responding to medical treatment. (author)

  10. Testing the gravity p-median model empirically

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kenneth Carling

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Regarding the location of a facility, the presumption in the widely used p-median model is that the customer opts for the shortest route to the nearest facility. However, this assumption is problematic on free markets since the customer is presumed to gravitate to a facility by the distance to and the attractiveness of it. The recently introduced gravity p-median model offers an extension to the p-median model that account for this. The model is therefore potentially interesting, although it has not yet been implemented and tested empirically. In this paper, we have implemented the model in an empirical problem of locating vehicle inspections, locksmiths, and retail stores of vehicle spare-parts for the purpose of investigating its superiority to the p-median model. We found, however, the gravity p-median model to be of limited use for the problem of locating facilities as it either gives solutions similar to the p-median model, or it gives unstable solutions due to a non-concave objective function.

  11. Switching non-local vector median filter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matsuoka, Jyohei; Koga, Takanori; Suetake, Noriaki; Uchino, Eiji

    2016-04-01

    This paper describes a novel image filtering method that removes random-valued impulse noise superimposed on a natural color image. In impulse noise removal, it is essential to employ a switching-type filtering method, as used in the well-known switching median filter, to preserve the detail of an original image with good quality. In color image filtering, it is generally preferable to deal with the red (R), green (G), and blue (B) components of each pixel of a color image as elements of a vectorized signal, as in the well-known vector median filter, rather than as component-wise signals to prevent a color shift after filtering. By taking these fundamentals into consideration, we propose a switching-type vector median filter with non-local processing that mainly consists of a noise detector and a noise removal filter. Concretely, we propose a noise detector that proactively detects noise-corrupted pixels by focusing attention on the isolation tendencies of pixels of interest not in an input image but in difference images between RGB components. Furthermore, as the noise removal filter, we propose an extended version of the non-local median filter, we proposed previously for grayscale image processing, named the non-local vector median filter, which is designed for color image processing. The proposed method realizes a superior balance between the preservation of detail and impulse noise removal by proactive noise detection and non-local switching vector median filtering, respectively. The effectiveness and validity of the proposed method are verified in a series of experiments using natural color images.

  12. Median Robust Extended Local Binary Pattern for Texture Classification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Li; Lao, Songyang; Fieguth, Paul W; Guo, Yulan; Wang, Xiaogang; Pietikäinen, Matti

    2016-03-01

    Local binary patterns (LBP) are considered among the most computationally efficient high-performance texture features. However, the LBP method is very sensitive to image noise and is unable to capture macrostructure information. To best address these disadvantages, in this paper, we introduce a novel descriptor for texture classification, the median robust extended LBP (MRELBP). Different from the traditional LBP and many LBP variants, MRELBP compares regional image medians rather than raw image intensities. A multiscale LBP type descriptor is computed by efficiently comparing image medians over a novel sampling scheme, which can capture both microstructure and macrostructure texture information. A comprehensive evaluation on benchmark data sets reveals MRELBP's high performance-robust to gray scale variations, rotation changes and noise-but at a low computational cost. MRELBP produces the best classification scores of 99.82%, 99.38%, and 99.77% on three popular Outex test suites. More importantly, MRELBP is shown to be highly robust to image noise, including Gaussian noise, Gaussian blur, salt-and-pepper noise, and random pixel corruption.

  13. Median Nerve Conduction in Healthy Nigerians: Normative Data

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    of median nerve disease using multiple studies, and rendering ... Aim: To develop normative values for motor and sensory median nerve ..... Table 5: Comparison of median motor nerve conduction study parameters to studies elsewhere. Study.

  14. Variability of pudendal and median nerve sensory perception thresholds in healthy persons.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quaghebeur, Jörgen; Wyndaele, Jean-Jacques

    2015-04-01

    Normative current perception thresholds (CPTs) are used for the evaluation of sensory function in a variety of diseases. To evaluate the reproducibility of CPT measurements with sinusoidal current in healthy volunteers. Neuroselective CPT evaluations of the median and pudendal nerve in healthy volunteers were repeated with 1 week interval (T1 and T2). In the study group (N = 41) no difference between genders for age (MW-U: P = 0.91) and BMI (t-test: P = 0.18) were found. No significant difference between T1 and T2 was found (Paired t-test: all P-values > 0.05), although the intraclass correlation for each person was low. The variability of measures for the pudendal nerve was: ICC 2 kHz: 0.41; 250 Hz: 0.30; 5 Hz: 0.38, and for the median nerve respectively: 0.58; 0.46; 0.40. Normal CPTs were shown for the pudendal nerve: 2 kHz: 51%; 250 Hz: 76%; 5 Hz: 71%, and median nerve respectively: 78%; 98%; 80%. The pudendal nerve showed more deviating values compared to the median nerve. Both nerves showed deviating values. CPT values with sinusoidal current assessed with 1 week interval, showed a weak intraclass correlation. This finding limits the use of CPT values with this current for longitudinal studies. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  15. Median Survival Time of Endometrial Cancer Patients with Lymphovascular Invasion at the Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Asyikeen, Wan Adnan Wan Nor; Siti-Azrin, Ab Hamid; Jalil, Nur Asyilla Che; Zin, Anani Aila Mat; Othman, Nor Hayati

    2016-11-01

    Endometrial cancer is the most common gynaecologic malignancy among females worldwide. The purpose of this study was to determine the median survival time of endometrial cancer patients at the Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). A list of 121 endometrial cancer cases registered at Hospital USM between 2000 until 2011 was retrospectively reviewed. The survival time of the endometrial cancer patients was estimated by Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. Log-rank tests were performed to compare the survival of the patients based on socio-demographics and clinical presentation. Only 108 patients, 87.0%, were included who were of Malay ethnicity. Previous history included menopause in 67.6% of patients and diabetes mellitus in 39.8% of patients; additionally, 63.4% of patients were nulliparous. Tumour staging was as follows: 24.5% stage I, 10.8% stage II, 26.5% stage III and 38.2% stage IV. The overall median survival time of the endometrial cancer patients was 70.20 months (95% confidence interval (CI): 51.79, 88.61). The significant factors were age, the presence of lymphovascular invasion and treatment received. The overall survival of endometrial cancer was low. A prospective study needs to be carried out to discover more effective and accurate tests for the early detection of endometrial cancer.

  16. Bayesian median regression for temporal gene expression data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Keming; Vinciotti, Veronica; Liu, Xiaohui; 't Hoen, Peter A. C.

    2007-09-01

    Most of the existing methods for the identification of biologically interesting genes in a temporal expression profiling dataset do not fully exploit the temporal ordering in the dataset and are based on normality assumptions for the gene expression. In this paper, we introduce a Bayesian median regression model to detect genes whose temporal profile is significantly different across a number of biological conditions. The regression model is defined by a polynomial function where both time and condition effects as well as interactions between the two are included. MCMC-based inference returns the posterior distribution of the polynomial coefficients. From this a simple Bayes factor test is proposed to test for significance. The estimation of the median rather than the mean, and within a Bayesian framework, increases the robustness of the method compared to a Hotelling T2-test previously suggested. This is shown on simulated data and on muscular dystrophy gene expression data.

  17. Median nerve cross-sectional area and MRI diffusion characteristics: normative values at the carpal tunnel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yao, Lawrence; Gai, Neville

    2009-01-01

    Enlargement of the median nerve is an objective potential imaging sign of carpal tunnel syndrome. Diffusion tensor MRI (DTI) may provide additional structural information that may prove useful in characterizing median neuropathy. This study further examines normal values for median nerve cross-sectional area (CSA), apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), and fractional anisotropy (FA). Twenty-three wrists in 17 healthy volunteers underwent MRI of the wrist at 3 T. In 13 subjects, DTI was performed at a B value of 600 mm 2 /s. Median nerve CSA, ADC, and FA were analyzed at standardized anatomic levels. Mean (SD) median nerve CSA within the proximal carpal tunnel was 10.0 (3.4) mm 2 . The mean (SD) FA of the median nerve was 0.71 (0.06) and 0.70 (0.13) proximal to and within the carpal tunnel, respectively. There was a significant difference between nerve CSA and ADC, but not FA, at the distal forearm and proximal carpal tunnel. Nerve CSA, ADC, and FA did not differ between men and women or between dominant and non-dominant wrists. Nerve CSA at the proximal carpal tunnel was positively correlated with subject age and body mass index. Our results suggest a 90% upper confidence limit for normal median nerve CSA of 14.4 mm 2 at the proximal carpal tunnel, higher than normal limits reported by many ultrasound studies. We observed a difference between the CSA and ADC, but not the FA, of the median nerve at the distal forearm and proximal carpal tunnel levels. (orig.)

  18. MEDIAN: Wireless broadband LAN for multimedia applications

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vliet, P.J. van

    1998-01-01

    MEDIAN is one of the projects in the mobile domain of the Advanced Communications Technologies and Services (ACTS) programme of the European Commission. The main obiective of the MEDIAN project is to evaluate and implement a high speed Wireless Customer Premises / Local Area Network (WCPN/WLAN)

  19. Median and Ulnar Neuropathy Assessment in Parkinson’s Disease regarding Symptom Severity and Asymmetry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nilgul Yardimci

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Background. While increasing evidence suggests comorbidity of peripheral neuropathy (PNP and Parkinson’s disease (PD, the pathogenesis of PNP in PD is still a debate. The aim of this article is to search the core PD symptoms such as rigidity and tremor as contributing factors to mononeuropathy development while emphasizing each individual patient’s asymmetric symptom severity. Methods. We studied 62 wrists and 62 elbows of 31 patients (mean age 66.48±10.67 and 64 wrists and 64 elbows of 32 age-gender matched healthy controls (mean age 62.03±10.40, p=0.145. The Hoehn and Yahr disability scale and Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rated Scale were used to determine the severity of the disease. Results. According to electrodiagnostic criteria, we confirmed median neuropathy in 16.12% (bilateral in two-thirds of the patients and ulnar neuropathy in 3.22% of the PD group. While mean age (p=0.003, age at PD onset (p=0.019, and H&Y scores (p=0.016 were significant, tremor and rigidity scores were not. The comparison of the mean indices of electrophysiologic parameters indicated subclinical median and ulnar nerve demyelination both at the wrist and at the elbow in the patient groups where a longer disease duration and mild tremor and rigidity scores are prominent, remarkably. Conclusion. A disease related peripheral neurodegeneration beyond symptom severity occurs in PD.

  20. Etiology and mechanisms of ulnar and median forearm nerve injuries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Puzović Vladimir

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Bacgraund/Aim. Most often injuries of brachial plexus and its branches disable the injured from using their arms and/or hands. The aim of this study was to investigate the etiology and mechanisms of median and ulnar forearm nerves injuries. Methods. This retrospective cohort study included 99 patients surgically treated in the Clinic of Neurosurgery, Clinical Center of Serbia, from January 1st, 2000 to December 31st, 2010. All data are obtained from the patients' histories. Results. The majority of the injured patients were male, 81 (81.8%, while only 18 (18.2% were females, both mainly with nerve injuries of the distal forearm - 75 (75.6%. Two injury mechanisms were present, transection in 85 patients and traction and contusion in 14 of the patients. The most frequent etiological factor of nerve injuries was cutting, in 61 of the patients. Nerve injuries are often associated with other injuries. In the studied patients there were 22 vascular injuries, 33 muscle and tendon injuries and 20 bone fractures. Conclusion. The majority of those patients with peripheral nerve injuries are represented in the working age population, which is a major socioeconomic problem. In our study 66 out of 99 patients were between 17 and 40 years old, in the most productive age. The fact that the majority of patients had nerve injuries of the distal forearm and that they are operated within the first 6 months after injury, promises them good functional prognosis.

  1. Normative weight-adjusted models for the median levels of first trimester serum biomarkers for trisomy 21 screening in a specific ethnicity.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ounjai Kor-Anantakul

    Full Text Available To establish normative weight-adjusted models for the median levels of first trimester serum biomarkers for trisomy 21 screening in southern Thai women, and to compare these reference levels with Caucasian-specific and northern Thai models.A cross-sectional study was conducted in 1,150 normal singleton pregnancy women to determine serum pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A and free β-human chorionic gonadotropin (β-hCG concentrations in women from southern Thailand. The predicted median values were compared with published equations for Caucasians and northern Thai women.The best-fitting regression equations for the expected median serum levels of PAPP-A (mIU/L and free β- hCG (ng/mL according to maternal weight (Wt in kg and gestational age (GA in days were: [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] Both equations were selected with a statistically significant contribution (p< 0.05. Compared with the Caucasian model, the median values of PAPP-A were higher and the median values of free β-hCG were lower in the southern Thai women. And compared with the northern Thai models, the median values of both biomarkers were lower in southern Thai women.The study has successfully developed maternal-weight- and gestational-age-adjusted median normative models to convert the PAPP-A and free β-hCG levels into their Multiple of Median equivalents in southern Thai women. These models confirmed ethnic differences.

  2. Dual pathology proximal median nerve compression of the forearm.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Murphy, Siun M

    2013-12-01

    We report an unusual case of synchronous pathology in the forearm- the coexistence of a large lipoma of the median nerve together with an osteochondroma of the proximal ulna, giving rise to a dual proximal median nerve compression. Proximal median nerve compression neuropathies in the forearm are uncommon compared to the prevalence of distal compression neuropathies (eg Carpal Tunnel Syndrome). Both neural fibrolipomas (Refs. 1,2) and osteochondromas of the proximal ulna (Ref. 3) in isolation are rare but well documented. Unlike that of a distal compression, a proximal compression of the median nerve will often have a definite cause. Neural fibrolipoma, also called fibrolipomatous hamartoma are rare, slow-growing, benign tumours of peripheral nerves, most often occurring in the median nerve of younger patients. To our knowledge, this is the first report of such dual pathology in the same forearm, giving rise to a severe proximal compression of the median nerve. In this case, the nerve was being pushed anteriorly by the osteochondroma, and was being compressed from within by the intraneural lipoma. This unusual case highlights the advantage of preoperative imaging as part of the workup of proximal median nerve compression.

  3. Efficient Scalable Median Filtering Using Histogram-Based Operations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Green, Oded

    2018-05-01

    Median filtering is a smoothing technique for noise removal in images. While there are various implementations of median filtering for a single-core CPU, there are few implementations for accelerators and multi-core systems. Many parallel implementations of median filtering use a sorting algorithm for rearranging the values within a filtering window and taking the median of the sorted value. While using sorting algorithms allows for simple parallel implementations, the cost of the sorting becomes prohibitive as the filtering windows grow. This makes such algorithms, sequential and parallel alike, inefficient. In this work, we introduce the first software parallel median filtering that is non-sorting-based. The new algorithm uses efficient histogram-based operations. These reduce the computational requirements of the new algorithm while also accessing the image fewer times. We show an implementation of our algorithm for both the CPU and NVIDIA's CUDA supported graphics processing unit (GPU). The new algorithm is compared with several other leading CPU and GPU implementations. The CPU implementation has near perfect linear scaling with a speedup on a quad-core system. The GPU implementation is several orders of magnitude faster than the other GPU implementations for mid-size median filters. For small kernels, and , comparison-based approaches are preferable as fewer operations are required. Lastly, the new algorithm is open-source and can be found in the OpenCV library.

  4. Urinary Iodine Concentrations Indicate Iodine Deficiency in Pregnant Thai Women but Iodine Sufficiency in Their School-Aged Children

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gowachirapant, S.; Winichagoon, P.; Wyss, L.; Tong, B.; Baumgartner, J.; Boonstra, A.; Zimmermann, M.B.

    2009-01-01

    The median urinary iodine concentration (UI) in school-aged children is recommended for assessment of iodine nutrition in populations. If the median UI is adequate in school-aged children, it is usually assumed iodine intakes are also adequate in the remaining population, including pregnant women.

  5. Portfolio optimization using median-variance approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wan Mohd, Wan Rosanisah; Mohamad, Daud; Mohamed, Zulkifli

    2013-04-01

    Optimization models have been applied in many decision-making problems particularly in portfolio selection. Since the introduction of Markowitz's theory of portfolio selection, various approaches based on mathematical programming have been introduced such as mean-variance, mean-absolute deviation, mean-variance-skewness and conditional value-at-risk (CVaR) mainly to maximize return and minimize risk. However most of the approaches assume that the distribution of data is normal and this is not generally true. As an alternative, in this paper, we employ the median-variance approach to improve the portfolio optimization. This approach has successfully catered both types of normal and non-normal distribution of data. With this actual representation, we analyze and compare the rate of return and risk between the mean-variance and the median-variance based portfolio which consist of 30 stocks from Bursa Malaysia. The results in this study show that the median-variance approach is capable to produce a lower risk for each return earning as compared to the mean-variance approach.

  6. Radiographic signs of open median sternotomy in neonates and infants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wu, George [Children' s Hospital of Philadelphia, Department of Radiology, Philadelphia, PA (United States); Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, PA (United States); Jaimes, Camilo; Markowitz, Richard I. [Children' s Hospital of Philadelphia, Department of Radiology, Philadelphia, PA (United States); Gaynor, J.W. [The Children' s Hospital of Philadelphia, Department of Surgery, Philadelphia, PA (United States)

    2012-06-15

    Leaving the median sternotomy wound open following cardiac surgery is employed to avoid cardiovascular compression. Horizontal struts can be used. Radiologists interpreting portable radiographs might be unaware of the open median sternotomy (OMS). To describe the frequency of radiographic signs of OMS and to increase awareness among radiologists to prevent misdiagnosis of pneumothorax and pneumomediastinum. Radiographs of 41 infants (17 girls/24 boys) with OMS were studied (age range 2 days to 8 months, mean 33 days). Central lucency and sternal edges were noted. Interclavicular distances before and after sternotomy were compared. Central lucency was seen in 25/41 (61%) children. Sternal struts were apparent in 27 (66%). In 14 without struts, central lucency was present in 8 (57%). In 27 children with struts, central lucency was present in 17 (63%) and absent in 10 (37%). Split sternal centers were identified in 6/41 (15%). The mean interclavicular distance was 23.5 mm (SD = 4.39) before sternotomy and 38.2 mm (SD = 7.0 mm) after sternotomy (P < 0.001). OMS has characteristic signs in the majority of cases. Recognition of these findings is useful and can prevent misinterpretation. (orig.)

  7. Papillary carcinoma in median aberrant thyroid (ectopic) - case report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hebbar K, Ashwin; K, Shashidhar; Deshmane, Vijaya Laxmi; Kumar, Veerendra; Arjunan, Ravi

    2014-06-01

    Median ectopic thyroid may be encountered anywhere from the foramen caecum to the diaphragm. Non lingual median aberrant thyroid (incomplete descent) usually found in the infrahyoid region and malignant transformation in this ectopic thyroid tissue is very rare. We report an extremely rare case of papillary carcinoma in non lingual median aberrant thyroid in a 25-year-old female. The differentiation between a carcinoma arising in the median ectopic thyroid tissue and a metastatic papillary carcinoma from an occult primary in the main thyroid gland is also discussed.

  8. Robust median estimator in logisitc regression

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Hobza, T.; Pardo, L.; Vajda, Igor

    2008-01-01

    Roč. 138, č. 12 (2008), s. 3822-3840 ISSN 0378-3758 R&D Projects: GA MŠk 1M0572 Grant - others:Instituto Nacional de Estadistica (ES) MPO FI - IM3/136; GA MŠk(CZ) MTM 2006-06872 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10750506 Keywords : Logistic regression * Median * Robustness * Consistency and asymptotic normality * Morgenthaler * Bianco and Yohai * Croux and Hasellbroeck Subject RIV: BB - Applied Statistics, Operational Research Impact factor: 0.679, year: 2008 http://library.utia.cas.cz/separaty/2008/SI/vajda-robust%20median%20estimator%20in%20logistic%20regression.pdf

  9. Dual pathology proximal median nerve compression of the forearm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murphy, Siun M; Browne, Katherine; Tuite, David J; O'Shaughnessy, Michael

    2013-12-01

    We report an unusual case of synchronous pathology in the forearm- the coexistence of a large lipoma of the median nerve together with an osteochondroma of the proximal ulna, giving rise to a dual proximal median nerve compression. Proximal median nerve compression neuropathies in the forearm are uncommon compared to the prevalence of distal compression neuropathies (eg Carpal Tunnel Syndrome). Both neural fibrolipomas (Refs. 1,2) and osteochondromas of the proximal ulna (Ref. 3) in isolation are rare but well documented. Unlike that of a distal compression, a proximal compression of the median nerve will often have a definite cause. Neural fibrolipoma, also called fibrolipomatous hamartoma are rare, slow-growing, benign tumours of peripheral nerves, most often occurring in the median nerve of younger patients. To our knowledge, this is the first report of such dual pathology in the same forearm, giving rise to a severe proximal compression of the median nerve. In this case, the nerve was being pushed anteriorly by the osteochondroma, and was being compressed from within by the intraneural lipoma. This unusual case highlights the advantage of preoperative imaging as part of the workup of proximal median nerve compression. Copyright © 2013 British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Large window median filtering on Clip7

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mathews, K N

    1983-07-01

    Median filtering has been found to be a useful operation to perform on images in order to reduce random noise while preserving edges of objects. However, in some cases, as the resolution of the image increases, so too does the required window size of the filter. For parallel array processors, this leads to problems when dealing with the large amount of data involved. That is to say that there tend to be problems over slow access of data from pixels over a large neighbourhood, lack of available storage of this data during the operation and long computational times for finding the median. An algorithm for finding the median, designed for use on byte wide architecture parallel array processors is presented together with its implementation on Clip7, a scanning array of such processors. 6 references.

  11. Median and ulnar neuropathies in U.S. Army Medical Command Band members.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shaffer, Scott W; Koreerat, Nicholas R; Gordon, Lindsay B; Santillo, Douglas R; Moore, Josef H; Greathouse, David G

    2013-12-01

    Musicians have been reported as having a high prevalence of upper-extremity musculoskeletal disorders, including carpal tunnel syndrome. The purpose of this study was to determine the presence of median and ulnar neuropathies in U.S. Army Medical Command (MEDCOM) Band members at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. Thirty-five MEDCOM Band members (30 males, 5 females) volunteered to participate. There were 33 right-handed musicians, and the mean length of time in the MEDCOM Band was 12.2 yrs (range, 1-30 yrs). Subjects completed a history form, were interviewed, and underwent a physical examination of the cervical spine and bilateral upper extremities. Nerve conduction studies of the bilateral median and ulnar nerves were performed. Electrophysiological variables served as the reference standard for median and ulnar neuropathy and included distal sensory latencies, distal motor latencies, amplitudes, conduction velocities, and comparison study latencies. Ten of the 35 subjects (29%) presented with abnormal electrophysiologic values suggestive of an upper extremity mononeuropathy. Nine of the subjects had abnormal median nerve electrophysiologic values at or distal to the wrist; 2 had bilateral abnormal values. One had an abnormal ulnar nerve electrophysiologic assessment at the elbow. Nine of these 10 subjects had clinical examination findings consistent with the electrophysiological findings. The prevalence of mononeuropathies in this sample of band members is similar to that found in previous research involving civilian musicians (20-36%) and far exceeds that reported in the general population. Prospective research investigating screening, examination items, and injury prevention measures in musicians appears to be warranted.

  12. In uncertainty we trust: a median voter model with risk aversion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pavel A. Yakovlev

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available The principal-agent problem and uncertainty are some of the key factors affecting financial and political markets. Fear of the unknown plays an important role in human decision making, including voting. This article describes a theoretical model where voter risk aversion towards uncertainty gives political incumbents a significant advantage over their challengers, exacerbating the principal-agent problem between voters and legislators. The model presented predicts that a rise in voter uncertainty concerning the challenger allows the incumbent to deviate from the median voter’s policy preference without losing the election. This model reconciles the paradoxical coexistence of ideological shirking and high incumbent reelection rates without abandoning the elegant median voter framework.

  13. Microscopic age determination of human skeletons including an unknown but calculable variable

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wallin, Johan Albert; Tkocz, Izabella; Kristensen, Gustav

    1994-01-01

    estimation, which includes the covariance matrix of four single equation residuals, improves the accuracy of age determination. The standard deviation, however, of age prediction remains 12.58 years. An experimental split of the data was made in order to demonstrate that the use of subgroups gives a false...

  14. Sosiaalisen median markkinoinnin vuosikello Weecos Oy:lle

    OpenAIRE

    Heinämäki, Lotta; Huuskonen, Leena

    2015-01-01

    Opinnäytetyön tarkoitus oli luoda kokonaisvaltainen ja selkeä suunnitelma Weecos Oy:n markkinointitoimenpiteille valituissa sosiaalisen median kanavissa. Weecos on vuonna 2012 perustettu ekologisia yrityksiä yhteen keräävä verkkokauppa-alusta. Pienestä koostaan johtuen se ei ole pystynyt toteuttamaan sosiaalisen median markkinointia toivomallaan tavalla ja markkinoinnin suunnittelu ja toteutus on ollut epäsäännöllistä. Markkinointisuunnitelman tavoitteena oli helpottaa yrityksen markkinoi...

  15. Altered brain morphometry in carpal tunnel syndrome is associated with median nerve pathology☆☆☆

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maeda, Yumi; Kettner, Norman; Sheehan, James; Kim, Jieun; Cina, Stephen; Malatesta, Cristina; Gerber, Jessica; McManus, Claire; Mezzacappa, Pia; Morse, Leslie R.; Audette, Joseph; Napadow, Vitaly

    2013-01-01

    Objective Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a common median nerve entrapment neuropathy characterized by pain, paresthesias, diminished peripheral nerve conduction velocity (NCV) and maladaptive functional brain neuroplasticity. We evaluated structural reorganization in brain gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM) and whether such plasticity is linked to altered median nerve function in CTS. Methods We performed NCV testing, T1-weighted structural MRI, and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in 28 CTS and 28 age-matched healthy controls (HC). Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) contrasted regional GM volume for CTS versus HC. Significant clusters were correlated with clinical metrics and served as seeds to define associated WM tracts using DTI data and probabilistic tractography. Within these WM tracts, fractional anisotropy (FA), axial (AD) and radial (RD) diffusivity were evaluated for group differences and correlations with clinical metrics. Results For CTS subjects, GM volume was significantly reduced in contralesional S1 (hand-area), pulvinar and frontal pole. GM volume in contralesional S1 correlated with median NCV. NCV was also correlated with RD and was negatively correlated with FA within U-fiber cortico-cortical association tracts identified from the contralesional S1 VBM seed. Conclusions Our study identified clear morphometric changes in the CTS brain. This central morphometric change is likely secondary to peripheral nerve pathology and altered somatosensory afference. Enhanced axonal coherence and myelination within cortico-cortical tracts connecting primary somatosensory and motor areas may accompany peripheral nerve deafferentation. As structural plasticity was correlated with NCV and not symptomatology, the former may be a better determinant of appropriate clinical intervention for CTS, including surgery. PMID:23799199

  16. Hypotension during endotoxemia in aged humans

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Krabbe, Karen Suarez; Kemp, Helle Bruunsgaard; Qvist, Jesper

    2001-01-01

    BACKGROUND: and objective The aim of this study was to determine possible age-associated differences in human blood pressure regulation during an immunological challenge in healthy subjects. METHODS: Eight healthy young volunteers (median age 24 yr) and nine healthy elderly volunteers (median age...

  17. Probabilistic population aging

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-01-01

    We merge two methodologies, prospective measures of population aging and probabilistic population forecasts. We compare the speed of change and variability in forecasts of the old age dependency ratio and the prospective old age dependency ratio as well as the same comparison for the median age and the prospective median age. While conventional measures of population aging are computed on the basis of the number of years people have already lived, prospective measures are computed also taking account of the expected number of years they have left to live. Those remaining life expectancies change over time and differ from place to place. We compare the probabilistic distributions of the conventional and prospective measures using examples from China, Germany, Iran, and the United States. The changes over time and the variability of the prospective indicators are smaller than those that are observed in the conventional ones. A wide variety of new results emerge from the combination of methodologies. For example, for Germany, Iran, and the United States the likelihood that the prospective median age of the population in 2098 will be lower than it is today is close to 100 percent. PMID:28636675

  18. Regularization of DT-MRI Using 3D Median Filtering Methods

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Soondong Kwon

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available DT-MRI (diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging tractography is a method to determine the architecture of axonal fibers in the central nervous system by computing the direction of the principal eigenvectors obtained from tensor matrix, which is different from the conventional isotropic MRI. Tractography based on DT-MRI is known to need many computations and is highly sensitive to noise. Hence, adequate regularization methods, such as image processing techniques, are in demand. Among many regularization methods we are interested in the median filtering method. In this paper, we extended two-dimensional median filters already developed to three-dimensional median filters. We compared four median filtering methods which are two-dimensional simple median method (SM2D, two-dimensional successive Fermat method (SF2D, three-dimensional simple median method (SM3D, and three-dimensional successive Fermat method (SF3D. Three kinds of synthetic data with different altitude angles from axial slices and one kind of human data from MR scanner are considered for numerical implementation by the four filtering methods.

  19. Safety performance evaluation of cable median barriers on freeways in Florida.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alluri, Priyanka; Haleem, Kirolos; Gan, Albert; Mauthner, John

    2016-07-03

    This article aims to evaluate the safety performance of cable median barriers on freeways in Florida. The safety performance evaluation was based on the percentages of barrier and median crossovers by vehicle type, crash severity, and cable median barrier type (Trinity Cable Safety System [CASS] and Gibraltar system). Twenty-three locations with cable median barriers totaling about 101 miles were identified. Police reports of 6,524 crashes from years 2005-2010 at these locations were reviewed to verify and obtain detailed crash information. A total of 549 crashes were determined to be barrier related (i.e., crashes involving vehicles hitting the cable median barrier) and were reviewed in further detail to identify crossover crashes and the manner in which the vehicles crossed the barriers; that is, by either overriding, underriding, or penetrating the barriers. Overall, 2.6% of vehicles that hit the cable median barrier crossed the median and traversed into the opposite travel lane. Overall, 98.1% of cars and 95.5% of light trucks that hit the barrier were prevented from crossing the median. In other words, 1.9% of cars and 4.5% of light trucks that hit the barrier had crossed the median and encroached on the opposite travel lanes. There is no significant difference in the performance of cable median barrier for cars versus light trucks in terms of crossover crashes. In terms of severity, overrides were more severe compared to underrides and penetrations. The statistics showed that the CASS and Gibraltar systems performed similarly in terms of crossover crashes. However, the Gibraltar system experienced a higher proportion of penetrations compared to the CASS system. The CASS system resulted in a slightly higher percentage of moderate and minor injury crashes compared to the Gibraltar system. Cable median barriers are successful in preventing median crossover crashes; 97.4% of the cable median barrier crashes were prevented from crossing over the median. Of all of

  20. Performance evaluation of cable median barrier systems in Texas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-08-01

    Since 2003, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has embarked on an aggressive campaign to install : median barriers to prevent cross-median crashes on freeway facilities statewide. In the few years prior to 2003, : virtually all fatalities...

  1. Study of recurrent branch of median nerve (Thenar's muscular branch in relation to the flexor retinaculum and median in 64 hands (32 Men

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amirsadri R

    1998-07-01

    Full Text Available Variation of recurred branch of median nerve in relation to the median and flexor retinaculum are significant for both hand surgeons and specialists always. In this study, 64 cadaver hands (32 men have been dissected. The median nerve was identified at the proximal edge of the flexor retinaculum, and in order to expose carpal tunnel the ligament was divided, and the above subjects were studied. The results are: 1 The relation of recurrent nerve to the flexor retinaculum was classified into 4 types: A In (53.1% of subjects, this branch arises from the median after the flexor retinaculum. B In (31.3% of subjects, it arises from the median in the carpal tunnel and the moves around the lower edge of flexor retinaculum and enters the thenar region. C In (14.1% of subjects, it arises from the median in the carpal tunnel and pierces the flexor retinaculum. D In (1.56% of subjects it arises, in the carpal tunnel and it divides into two subbranches here. One follows pattern A and the other pattern C. 2 In this step, the relation of the recurrent branch to the median nerve was studied. The results show that inspite of this image even though most often the recurrent branch arises from the lateral side of median, in (68.75% of subjects it arises from it's anterior surface. The MC Nemar test reveals that there is no relation between manifestation of mentioned patterns with right or left hands.

  2. A theoretical analysis of the median LMF adaptive algorithm

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bysted, Tommy Kristensen; Rusu, C.

    1999-01-01

    Higher order adaptive algorithms are sensitive to impulse interference. In the case of the LMF (Least Mean Fourth), an easy and effective way to reduce this is to median filter the instantaneous gradient of the LMF algorithm. Although previous published simulations have indicated that this reduces...... the speed of convergence, no analytical studies have yet been made to prove this. In order to enhance the usability, this paper presents a convergence and steady-state analysis of the median LMF adaptive algorithm. As expected this proves that the median LMF has a slower convergence and a lower steady...

  3. Successful Oocyte Cryopreservation in Reproductive-Aged Cancer Survivors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Druckenmiller, Sarah; Goldman, Kara N; Labella, Patty A; Fino, M Elizabeth; Bazzocchi, Antonia; Noyes, Nicole

    2016-03-01

    To demonstrate that oocyte cryopreservation is a feasible reproductive option for patients with cancer of childbearing age who require gonadotoxic therapies. This study is a university-based retrospective review of reproductive-aged cancer patient treatment cycles that included ovarian stimulation, transvaginal oocyte retrieval, oocyte cryopreservation, and, in some cases, subsequent oocyte thaw, in vitro fertilization, and embryo transfer. Outcome measures included ovarian stimulation response, number of oocytes retrieved, cryopreserved, and thawed, and pregnancy data. From 2005 to 2014, 176 reproductive-aged patients with cancer (median age 31 years, interquartile range 24-36) completed 182 oocyte cryopreservation cycles. Median time between consult request and oocyte retrieval was 12 days (interquartile range 10-14). Median peak stimulation estradiol was 1,446 pg/mL (interquartile range 730-2,687); 15 (interquartile range 9-23) oocytes were retrieved and 10 (interquartile range 5-18) metaphase II oocytes were cryopreserved per cycle. Ten patients (11 cycles) have returned to attempt pregnancy with their cryopreserved oocytes. Among thawed oocytes, the cryopreservation survival rate was 86% (confidence interval [CI] 78-94%). Nine of 11 thaw cycles resulted in embryos suitable for transfer. The embryo implantation rate was 27% (CI 8-46%) and the live birth rate was 44% (CI 12-77%) per embryo transfer. Chance for live birth with embryos created from cryopreserved oocytes was similar between the patients with cancer in this study and noncancer patients who underwent the same treatment at our center (44% [CI 12-77%] compared with 33% [CI 22-44%] per embryo transfer). Oocyte cryopreservation is now a feasible fertility preservation option for reproductive-aged patients with cancer who require gonadotoxic therapies.

  4. The Investigation of Median Frequency Changes in Paraspinal Muscles Following Fatigue

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Saeed Talebian

    2009-10-01

    Conclusion: Median frequency shift toward low values following fatigue in global and local paraspinal muscles was seen. However, median frequency values for the local stabilizer muscle were higher than median frequency values for the global muscles.

  5. Prospective validation of criteria, including age, for safe, nonsurgical management of the ruptured spleen

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Smith, J.S. Jr.; Wengrovitz, M.A.; DeLong, B.S. (Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey (United States))

    1992-09-01

    One hundred twelve cases of blunt splenic rupture were prospectively entered (October 1987-October 1991) into surgical or nonsurgical management groups using these criteria for the nonsurgical group: hemodynamic stability-age less than 55 years-CT scan appearance of grade I, II, or III injury-absence of concomitant injuries precluding abdominal assessment+absence of other documented abdominal injuries. All ages were included and AAST injury scaling was used. Patients were grouped from the trauma room. The surgical treatment group included 66 patients (49 splenectomies, 17 splenorraphies). These patients were generally older and more severely injured, required more transfused blood, and a longer ICU stay. The nonsurgical group included 46 patients with 33 older than 14 years. There were 3 patients over the age of 55 years inappropriately included in this group, and nonsurgical therapy failed in all three. Statistical analysis (chi 2) showed that more splenic injuries were observed and more spleens were saved with these criteria applied prospectively compared with a previous retrospective series in the same institution. The series had a success rate of 93%, and validates the criteria used for safe, nonsurgical management of the ruptured spleen and adds a new criterion: a maximum age of 55 years.

  6. Prospective validation of criteria, including age, for safe, nonsurgical management of the ruptured spleen

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smith, J.S. Jr.; Wengrovitz, M.A.; DeLong, B.S.

    1992-01-01

    One hundred twelve cases of blunt splenic rupture were prospectively entered (October 1987-October 1991) into surgical or nonsurgical management groups using these criteria for the nonsurgical group: hemodynamic stability-age less than 55 years-CT scan appearance of grade I, II, or III injury-absence of concomitant injuries precluding abdominal assessment+absence of other documented abdominal injuries. All ages were included and AAST injury scaling was used. Patients were grouped from the trauma room. The surgical treatment group included 66 patients (49 splenectomies, 17 splenorraphies). These patients were generally older and more severely injured, required more transfused blood, and a longer ICU stay. The nonsurgical group included 46 patients with 33 older than 14 years. There were 3 patients over the age of 55 years inappropriately included in this group, and nonsurgical therapy failed in all three. Statistical analysis (chi 2) showed that more splenic injuries were observed and more spleens were saved with these criteria applied prospectively compared with a previous retrospective series in the same institution. The series had a success rate of 93%, and validates the criteria used for safe, nonsurgical management of the ruptured spleen and adds a new criterion: a maximum age of 55 years

  7. Intraneural synovial sarcoma of the median nerve

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rahul Kasukurthi

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Synovial sarcomas are soft-tissue malignancies with a poor prognosis and propensity for distant metastases. Although originally believed to arise from the synovium, these tumors have been found to occur anywhere in the body. We report a rare case of synovial sarcoma arising from the median nerve. To our knowledge, this is the twelfth reported case of intraneural synovial sarcoma, and only the fourth arising from the median nerve. Because the diagnosis may not be apparent until after pathological examination of the surgical speci­men, synovial sarcoma should be kept in mind when dealing with what may seem like a benign nerve tumor.

  8. Contemporary management of median arcuate ligament syndrome provides early symptom improvement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Columbo, Jesse A.; Trus, Thadeus; Nolan, Brian; Goodney, Philip; Rzucidlo, Eva; Powell, Richard; Walsh, Daniel; Stone, David

    2017-01-01

    Objective Optimal diagnosis and management of median arcuate ligament (MAL) syndrome (MALS) remains unclear in contemporary practice. The advent and evolution of laparoscopic and endovascular techniques has redirected management toward a less invasive therapeutic algorithm. This study examined our contemporary outcomes of patients treated for MALS. Methods All patients treated for MALS at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center from 2000 to 2013 were retrospectively reviewed. Demographics and comorbidities were recorded. Freedom from symptoms and freedom from reintervention were the primary end points. Return to work or school was assessed. Follow-up by clinic visits and telephone allowed quantitative comparisons among the patients. Results During the study interval, 21 patients (24% male), with a median age of 42 years, were treated for MALS. All patients complained of abdominal pain in the presence of a celiac stenosis, 16 (76%) also reported weight loss at the time of presentation, and 57% had a concomitant psychiatric history. Diagnostic imaging most commonly used included duplex ultrasound (81%), computed tomography angiography (66%), angiography (57%), and magnetic resonance angiography (5%). Fourteen patients (67%) underwent multiple diagnostic studies. All patients underwent initial laparoscopic MAL release. Seven patients (33%) underwent subsequent celiac stent placement in the setting of recurrent or unresolved symptoms with persistent celiac stenosis at a mean interval of 49 days. Two patients required surgical bypass after an endovascular intervention failed. The 6-month freedom from symptoms was 75% and freedom from reintervention was 64%. Eighteen patients (81%) reported early symptom improvement and weight gain, and 66% were able to return to work. Conclusions A multidisciplinary treatment approach using initial laparoscopic release and subsequent stent placement and bypass surgery provides symptom improvement in most patients treated for MALS. The

  9. Flexible parametric survival models built on age-specific antimüllerian hormone percentiles are better predictors of menopause.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramezani Tehrani, Fahimeh; Mansournia, Mohammad Ali; Solaymani-Dodaran, Masoud; Steyerberg, Ewout; Azizi, Fereidoun

    2016-06-01

    This study aimed to improve existing prediction models for age at menopause. We identified all reproductive aged women with regular menstrual cycles who met our eligibility criteria (n = 1,015) in the Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study-an ongoing population-based cohort study initiated in 1998. Participants were examined every 3 years and their reproductive histories were recorded. Blood levels of antimüllerian hormone (AMH) were measured at the time of recruitment. Age at menopause was estimated based on serum concentrations of AMH using flexible parametric survival models. The optimum model was selected according to Akaike Information Criteria and the realness of the range of predicted median menopause age. We followed study participants for a median of 9.8 years during which 277 women reached menopause and found that a spline-based proportional odds model including age-specific AMH percentiles as the covariate performed well in terms of statistical criteria and provided the most clinically relevant and realistic predictions. The range of predicted median age at menopause for this model was 47.1 to 55.9 years. For those who reached menopause, the median of the absolute mean difference between actual and predicted age at menopause was 1.9 years (interquartile range 2.9). The model including the age-specific AMH percentiles as the covariate and using proportional odds as its covariate metrics meets all the statistical criteria for the best model and provides the most clinically relevant and realistic predictions for age at menopause for reproductive-aged women.

  10. Cold intolerance following median and ulnar nerve injuries : prognosis and predictors

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ruijs, A.C.J; Jaquet, J-B.; van Riel, W. G.; Daanen, H. A M; Hovius, S.E.R.

    This study describes the predictors for cold intolerance and the relationship to sensory recovery after median and ulnar nerve injuries. The study population consisted of 107 patients 2 to 10 years after median, ulnar or combined median and ulnar nerve injuries. Patients were asked to fill out the

  11. Cold intolerance following median and ulnar nerve injuries : prognosis and predictors

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ruijs, A.C.J.; Jaquet, J.B.; Riel, W.G. van; Daanen, H.A.M.; Hovius, S.E.R.

    2007-01-01

    This study describes the predictors for cold intolerance and the relationship to sensory recovery after median and ulnar nerve injuries. The study population consisted of 107 patients 2 to 10 years after median, ulnar or combined median and ulnar nerve injuries. Patients were asked to fill out the

  12. Robust non-local median filter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matsuoka, Jyohei; Koga, Takanori; Suetake, Noriaki; Uchino, Eiji

    2017-04-01

    This paper describes a novel image filter with superior performance on detail-preserving removal of random-valued impulse noise superimposed on natural gray-scale images. The non-local means filter is in the limelight as a way of Gaussian noise removal with superior performance on detail preservation. By referring the fundamental concept of the non-local means, we had proposed a non-local median filter as a specialized way for random-valued impulse noise removal so far. In the non-local processing, the output of a filter is calculated from pixels in blocks which are similar to the block centered at a pixel of interest. As a result, aggressive noise removal is conducted without destroying the detailed structures in an original image. However, the performance of non-local processing decreases enormously in the case of high noise occurrence probability. A cause of this problem is that the superimposed noise disturbs accurate calculation of the similarity between the blocks. To cope with this problem, we propose an improved non-local median filter which is robust to the high level of corruption by introducing a new similarity measure considering possibility of being the original signal. The effectiveness and validity of the proposed method are verified in a series of experiments using natural gray-scale images.

  13. Usefulness of ultrasound assessment of median nerve mobility in carpal tunnel syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Gi-Young; Kwon, Dong Rak; Seok, Jung Im; Park, Dong-Soon; Cho, Hee Kyung

    2018-01-01

    Background Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the most common peripheral compression neuropathy of the upper extremity. Recently, dynamic ultrasound (US) imaging has shown differences in median nerve mobility between the affected and unaffected sides in CTS. Purpose The present study was performed to compare the median nerve mobility between patients with CTS and healthy individuals, and to correlate median nerve mobility with the severity of CTS. Material and Methods A total of 101 patients (128 wrists) with CTS and 43 healthy individuals (70 wrists) were evaluated. Electrodiagnostic studies were initially conducted to determine the neurophysiological grading scale (NGS). The cross-sectional area (CSA) of the median nerve and the grade of median nerve mobility were measured using US. Results The mean grade of median nerve mobility in the CTS group (1.9) was significantly lower than that in the control group (2.6; P mobility and distal motor latency of the median nerve (r = -0.218, P = 0.015), NGS (r = -0.207, P = 0.020) and CSA of the median nerve (r = -0.196, P = 0.028). Conclusion The grade of median nerve mobility was negatively correlated with the severity of CTS. US assessment of median nerve mobility may be useful in diagnosing and determining the severity of CTS.

  14. Alternate cadmium exposure differentially affects the content of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and taurine within the hypothalamus, median eminence, striatum and prefrontal cortex of male rats

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Esquifino, A.I. [Dept. de Bioquimica y Biologia Molecular III, Universidad Complutense, Madrid (Spain); Seara, R.; Fernandez-Rey, E.; Lafuente, A. [Lab. de Toxicologia, Universidad de Vigo, Orense (Spain)

    2001-05-01

    This work examines changes of gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA) and taurine contents in the hypothalamus, striatum and prefrontal cortex of the rat after an alternate schedule of cadmium administration. Age-associated changes were also evaluated, of those before puberty and after adult age. In control rats GABA content decreased with age in the median eminence and in anterior, mediobasal and posterior hypothalamus, prefrontal cortex and the striatum. Taurine content showed similar results with the exception of mediobasal hypothalamus and striatum, where no changes were detected. In pubertal rats treated with cadmium from 30 to 60 days of life, GABA content significantly decreased in all brain regions except in the striatum. When cadmium was administered from day 60 to 90 of life, GABA content was significantly changed in prefrontal cortex only compared with the age matched controls. Taurine content showed similar results in pubertal rats, with the exception of the median eminence and the mediobasal hypothalamus, neither of which showed a change. However, when cadmium was administered to rats from day 60 to 90 of life, taurine content only changed in prefrontal cortex compared with the age matched controls. These results suggest that cadmium differentially affects GABA and taurine contents within the hypothalamus, median eminence, striatum and prefrontal cortex as a function of age. (orig.)

  15. Alternate cadmium exposure differentially affects the content of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and taurine within the hypothalamus, median eminence, striatum and prefrontal cortex of male rats

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Esquifino, A.I.; Seara, R.; Fernandez-Rey, E.; Lafuente, A.

    2001-01-01

    This work examines changes of gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA) and taurine contents in the hypothalamus, striatum and prefrontal cortex of the rat after an alternate schedule of cadmium administration. Age-associated changes were also evaluated, of those before puberty and after adult age. In control rats GABA content decreased with age in the median eminence and in anterior, mediobasal and posterior hypothalamus, prefrontal cortex and the striatum. Taurine content showed similar results with the exception of mediobasal hypothalamus and striatum, where no changes were detected. In pubertal rats treated with cadmium from 30 to 60 days of life, GABA content significantly decreased in all brain regions except in the striatum. When cadmium was administered from day 60 to 90 of life, GABA content was significantly changed in prefrontal cortex only compared with the age matched controls. Taurine content showed similar results in pubertal rats, with the exception of the median eminence and the mediobasal hypothalamus, neither of which showed a change. However, when cadmium was administered to rats from day 60 to 90 of life, taurine content only changed in prefrontal cortex compared with the age matched controls. These results suggest that cadmium differentially affects GABA and taurine contents within the hypothalamus, median eminence, striatum and prefrontal cortex as a function of age. (orig.)

  16. Sosiaalisen median rooli kunnan viestinnässä

    OpenAIRE

    Selkämaa, Kati

    2016-01-01

    Opinnäytetyön tavoitteena oli selvittää sosiaalisen median roolia kunnan viestinnässä sekä tutkia, miten sosiaalista mediaa hyödynnetään kuntien viestinnässä. Teoriaosuudessa tarkasteltiin sosiaalista mediaa, tutustuttiin sen tunnetuimpiin sovelluksiin sekä perehdyttiin kuntien viestintään yleisesti. Työssä tarkasteltiin myös kuntien viestintään vaikuttavia ja sitä sääteleviä lakeja. Kuntien sosiaalisen median käyttöön tutustuttiin Kuntaliiton tekemän viestintätutkimuksen tulosten pohjalt...

  17. Robust Mediation Analysis Based on Median Regression

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yuan, Ying; MacKinnon, David P.

    2014-01-01

    Mediation analysis has many applications in psychology and the social sciences. The most prevalent methods typically assume that the error distribution is normal and homoscedastic. However, this assumption may rarely be met in practice, which can affect the validity of the mediation analysis. To address this problem, we propose robust mediation analysis based on median regression. Our approach is robust to various departures from the assumption of homoscedasticity and normality, including heavy-tailed, skewed, contaminated, and heteroscedastic distributions. Simulation studies show that under these circumstances, the proposed method is more efficient and powerful than standard mediation analysis. We further extend the proposed robust method to multilevel mediation analysis, and demonstrate through simulation studies that the new approach outperforms the standard multilevel mediation analysis. We illustrate the proposed method using data from a program designed to increase reemployment and enhance mental health of job seekers. PMID:24079925

  18. Development of guidelines for cable median barrier systems in Texas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-12-01

    Since 2003, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has embarked on an aggressive campaign to install : median barriers to prevent cross-median crashes on freeway facilities statewide. In the few years prior to 2003, : virtually all fatalities...

  19. Effect of family disintegration on age at menarche

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alma Toromanović

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Objective. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of psychosocial factors on the age at menarche of girls in Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBH. Subjects and methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted from September 2002 to May 2003 in all Cantons of the FBH. The random stratified sample included 19.803 girls aged 9.0 to 17.5 years. Data were collected using the status quo method. Probit analysis was used to estimate median age at menarche and 95% confidence intervals. Results. The present study shows that menarche occurred significantly earlier (p<0.05 in girls from dysfunctional families (median: 12.99 years, 95% confidence interval: 12.93-13.05 than in girls who grew up in intact families (median: 13.04 years, 95% confidence interval: 13.01-13.07. Analyzing separately the impact of each of family stressors on age at menarche, we found that menarcheal age was significantly lower in girls from single-mother families, whose parents are divorced, whose one parent is died and where alcoholism in family is present than in girls from intact families. Maturation was found to be earlier in girls from dysfunctional families then in those from intact families after the influence of place of residence and sibship size was eliminated. Conclusion. From our research we can conclude that the girls from dysfunctional families reached earlier age at menarche than their peers who grew up in normal families, and that this effect did not disappear after controlling for socioeconomic variables.

  20. Effect of family disintegration on age at menarche.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Toromanović, Alma; Tahirović, Husref

    2015-01-01

    The aim of this study was to determine the effect of psychosocial factors on the age at menarche of girls in Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBH). A cross-sectional study was conducted from September 2002 to May 2003 in all Cantons of the FBH. The random stratified sample included 19.803 girls aged 9.0 to 17.5 years. Data were collected using the status quo method. Probit analysis was used to estimate median age at menarche and 95% confidence intervals. The present study shows that menarche occurred significantly earlier (pfamilies (median: 12.99 years, 95% confidence interval: 12.93-13.05) than in girls who grew up in intact families (median: 13.04 years, 95% confidence interval: 13.01-13.07). Analyzing separately the impact of each of family stressors on age at menarche, we found that menarcheal age was significantly lower in girls from single-mother families, whose parents are divorced, whose one parent is died and where alcoholism in family is present than in girls from intact families. Maturation was found to be earlier in girls from dysfunctional families then in those from intact families after the influence of place of residence and sibship size was eliminated. From our research we can conclude that the girls from dysfunctional families reached earlier age at menarche than their peers who grew up in normal families, and that this effect did not disappear after controlling for socioeconomic variables. Copyright © 2015 by Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

  1. Cooling modifies mixed median and ulnar palmar studies in carpal tunnel syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Araújo, Rogério Gayer Machado de; Kouyoumdjian, João Aris

    2007-09-01

    Temperature is an important and common variable that modifies nerve conduction study parameters in practice. Here we compare the effect of cooling on the mixed palmar median to ulnar negative peak-latency difference (PMU) in electrodiagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). Controls were 22 subjects (19 women, mean age 42.1 years, 44 hands). Patients were diagnosed with mild symptomatic CTS (25 women, mean age 46.6 years, 34 hands). PMU was obtained at the usual temperature, >32 degrees C, and after wrist/hand cooling to PMU and mixed ulnar palmar latency in patients versus controls. We concluded that cooling significantly modifies the PMU. We propose that the latencies of compressed nerve overreact to cooling and that this response could be a useful tool for incipient CTS electrodiagnosis. There was a significant latency overreaction of the ulnar nerve to cooling in CTS patients. We hypothesize that subclinical ulnar nerve compression is associated with CTS.

  2. Diffusion tensor imaging of the median nerve: intra-, inter-reader agreement, and agreement between two software packages

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guggenberger, Roman; Nanz, Daniel; Puippe, Gilbert; Andreisek, Gustav; Rufibach, Kaspar; White, Lawrence M.; Sussman, Marshall S.

    2012-01-01

    To assess intra-, inter-reader agreement, and the agreement between two software packages for magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) measurements of the median nerve. Fifteen healthy volunteers (seven men, eight women; mean age, 31.2 years) underwent DTI of both wrists at 1.5 T. Fractional anisotropy (FA) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) of the median nerve were measured by three readers using two commonly used software packages. Measurements were repeated by two readers after 6 weeks. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) and Bland-Altman analysis were used for statistical analysis. ICCs for intra-reader agreement ranged from 0.87 to 0.99, for inter-reader agreement from 0.62 to 0.83, and between the two software packages from 0.63 to 0.82. Bland-Altman analysis showed no differences for intra- and inter-reader agreement and agreement between software packages. The intra-, inter-reader, and agreement between software packages for DTI measurements of the median nerve were moderate to substantial suggesting that user- and software-dependent factors contribute little to variance in DTI measurements. (orig.)

  3. Differences in age at death according to smoking and age at menopause.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bellavia, Andrea; Wolk, Alicja; Orsini, Nicola

    2016-01-01

    Younger age at menopause is associated with overall mortality, and cigarette smoking is the only lifestyle factor influencing this association. However, the combined effects of age at menopause and smoking have never been quantified in terms of survival time. Our aim was to evaluate, in a large cohort of Swedish women, differences in age at death according to age at menopause and smoking status. Age at menopause and smoking were assessed, using a self-administered questionnaire, in a population-based cohort of 25,474 women aged 48 to 83 years. Laplace regression was used to calculate differences in median age at death (50th percentile difference [PD]) according to smoking and age at menopause. Across 16 years of follow-up, 5,942 participants died. The difference in median age at death between women with menopause at 40 years and women with menopause at 60 years was 1.3 years (50th PD, 1.3; 95% CI, 0.3-2.2). Compared with current smokers, former smokers and never smokers had older median age at death-2.5 years (50th PD, 2.5; 95% CI, 1.9-3.1) and 3.6 years (50th PD, 3.6; 95% CI, 3.1-4.1), respectively. When analysis was restricted to current smokers, the difference in age at death between women with menopause at 40 years and women with menopause at 60 years increased to 2.6 years (50th PD, 2.6; 95% CI, 0.8-4.5). No association among never smokers was observed. Younger age at menopause is linearly associated with shorter survival. This association tends to be stronger among current smokers.

  4. Effectiveness of maximal safe resection for glioblastoma including elderly and low karnofsky performance status patients. Retrospective review at a single institute

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Uzuka, Takeo; Takahashi, Hideaki; Aoki, Hiroshi; Natsumeda, Manabu; Fujii, Yukihiko

    2012-01-01

    Elderly and low Karnofsky performance status (KPS) patients have been excluded from most prospective trials. This retrospective study investigated glioblastoma treatment outcomes, including those of elderly and low KPS patients, and analyzed the prognostic factors using the medical records of 107 consecutive patients, 59 men and 48 women aged from 21 to 85 years (median 65 years), with newly diagnosed glioblastoma treated at our institute. There were 71 high-risk patients with age >70 years and/or KPS 6 -methylguanine-deoxyribonucleic acid methyltransferase-negative (p=0.027), and more than subtotal removal (p=0.003) were significant prognostic factors. The median postoperative KPS score tended to be better than the preoperative score, even in the high-risk group. We recommend maximal safe resection for glioblastoma patients, even those with advanced age and/or with low KPS scores. (author)

  5. MEAN OF MEDIAN ABSOLUTE DERIVATION TECHNIQUE MEAN ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    eobe

    development of mean of median absolute derivation technique based on the based on the based on .... of noise mean to estimate the speckle noise variance. Noise mean property ..... Foraging Optimization,” International Journal of. Advanced ...

  6. Electroacupuncture and Acupuncture Promote the Rat’s Transected Median Nerve Regeneration

    OpenAIRE

    Ho, C. Y.; Yao, C. H.; Chen, W. C.; Shen, W. C.; Bau, D. T.

    2013-01-01

    Background. Acupuncture and electroacupuncture treatments of damaged nerves may aid nerve regeneration related to hindlimb function, but the effects on the forelimb-related median nerve were not known. Methods. A gap was made in the median nerve of each rat by suturing the stumps into silicone rubber tubes. The influences of acupuncture and electroacupuncture treatments on transected median nerve regeneration were evaluated from morphological, electrophysiological, and functional angles. Resu...

  7. A Comparison of Ultrasound and MRI Measurements of the Cross-Sectional Area of the Median Nerve at the Wrist.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hersh, Beverly; D'Auria, Jennifer; Scott, Michael; Fowler, John R

    2018-05-01

    Ultrasound (US) measurement of cross-sectional area (CSA) of the median nerve has emerged as a viable alternative to electromyography/nerve conduction studies (EMG/NCS) for diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). The purpose of this study is to compare CSA of the median nerve between US and MRI using current MRI and US technology. The null hypothesis is there is no difference between US and MRI CSA measurements. The study design was an observational cohort, enrolling patients presenting to clinic with MRI of the wrist. Participants with clinical signs and symptoms of CTS were excluded. The CSA measurements of the median nerve on MRI T1-weighted axial images were performed by a hand fellow blinded to results of US measurements, and US measurement of median nerve CSA was performed by a hand fellowship trained surgeon blinded to results of the MRI measurements. Results were analyzed via percent error, Pearson correlation, and t tests. Twenty participants were enrolled with mean age of 29.4 years. Four left wrists and 16 right wrists were measured. The US mean CSA of the median nerve was 6.8 mm 2 (±2.330 mm 2 ). The MRI mean CSA of the median nerve was 6.8 mm 2 (±2.153 mm 2 ), P = .442. Pearson correlation between modalities was 0.93, suggesting near-perfect correlation. Mean percent error was 8.8%. Results of this study suggest that US is an accurate method to measure CSA of the median nerve at the carpal tunnel inlet. The mean difference between US and MRI was unlikely to be clinically significant.

  8. Median nerve trauma in a rat model of work-related musculoskeletal disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clark, Brian D; Barr, Ann E; Safadi, Fayez F; Beitman, Lisa; Al-Shatti, Talal; Amin, Mamta; Gaughan, John P; Barbe, Mary F

    2003-07-01

    Anatomical and physiological changes were evaluated in the median nerves of rats trained to perform repetitive reaching. Motor degradation was evident after 4 weeks. ED1-immunoreactive macrophages were seen in the transcarpal region of the median nerve of both forelimbs by 5-6 weeks. Fibrosis, characterized by increased immunoexpression of collagen type I by 8 weeks and connective tissue growth factor by 12 weeks, was evident. The conduction velocity (NCV) within the carpal tunnel showed a modest but significant decline after 9-12 weeks. The lowest NCV values were found in animals that refused to participate in the task for the full time available. Thus, both anatomical and physiological signs of progressive tissue damage were present in this model. These results, together with other recent findings indicate that work-related carpal tunnel syndrome develops through mechanisms that include injury, inflammation, fibrosis and subsequent nerve compression.

  9. New concept of age(ing: Prospective age

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Devedžić Mirjana

    2012-01-01

    indicators was constructed, redefined more precisely, based on prospective age: (prospective share of the elderly, (prospective median age and (prospective old age dependency ratio. With respect to the remaining years of life in the calculation of demographic aging, world’s population will be in rejuvenation process by 2035, longer and more intense than defined by proportion of the elderly. Prospective approach found that longer life expectancy in developing countries is not only a result of the decrease in infant and child mortality, but also the decrease of the old population mortality. Data used in this paper are from period life tables and censuses, for period 1953-2010. Prospective age threshold in Serbia was always higher than retrospective age (60,17 in 1953 .and 63,15 in 2010. for total population , or the proportion of people with a life expectancy less than 15 years has consistently been higher than the share of people older than 65 years (17.86% vs. 16.92% in 2010. According to prospective criteria, differences between men and women almost do not existent, so that it calls into question the widely accepted feminization of the elderly. The same conclusion stands when we discuss (prospective median age, population is older using prospective (47,15 years than traditional (41.41 indicator in 2010, also, compared with rest of the region or with more developed countries, prospective median age is higher in Serbia. Also, prospective old-age dependency ratio is higher than conventional one during analyzed period. Prospective concept and amendments are necessary in public policy, especially pension and health care system, because in combination with traditional approaches can create more justified distribution for older and younger generations.

  10. Median Filtering Methods for Non-volcanic Tremor Detection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Damiao, L. G.; Nadeau, R. M.; Dreger, D. S.; Luna, B.; Zhang, H.

    2016-12-01

    Various properties of median filtering over time and space are used to address challenges posed by the Non-volcanic tremor detection problem. As part of a "Big-Data" effort to characterize the spatial and temporal distribution of ambient tremor throughout the Northern San Andreas Fault system, continuous seismic data from multiple seismic networks with contrasting operational characteristics and distributed over a variety of regions are being used. Automated median filtering methods that are flexible enough to work consistently with these data are required. Tremor is characterized by a low-amplitude, long-duration signal-train whose shape is coherent at multiple stations distributed over a large area. There are no consistent phase arrivals or mechanisms in a given tremor's signal and even the durations and shapes among different tremors vary considerably. A myriad of masquerading noise, anthropogenic and natural-event signals must also be discriminated in order to obtain accurate tremor detections. We present here results of the median methods applied to data from four regions of the San Andreas Fault system in northern California (Geysers Geothermal Field, Napa, Bitterwater and Parkfield) to illustrate the ability of the methods to detect tremor under diverse conditions.

  11. Lapset median käyttäjinä

    OpenAIRE

    Jalonen, Taru; Suomela, Sonja

    2010-01-01

    Laurea-ammattikorkeakoulu Tiivistelmä Hyvinkää Sosiaali-, terveys- ja liikunta-ala Hoitotyön koulutusohjelma Terveydenhoitaja AMK Sairaanhoitaja AMK Taru Jalonen, Sonja Suomela Lapset median käyttäjinä Vuosi ‎2010‎ Sivumäärä ‎63‎ Tämän opinnäytetyön tarkoituksena oli selvittää lasten tottumuksia ja kokemuksia mediasta sekä ‎niiden herättämiä tunteita. Lisäksi selvitimme lasten käyttämiä mediaympäristöjä sekä median ‎näkymistä lasten leikeissä. Tämä työ on os...

  12. Late quaternary uplift and subsidence of the west coast of Tanna, south Vanuatu, southwest Pacific: U-Th ages of raised coral reefs in the Median Sedimentary Basin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Neef, G.; Zhao, J.X.; Collerson, K.D.; Zhang, F.S.

    2003-01-01

    Twelve Late Quaternary TIMS U-Th ages are reported here from 10 coral samples collected in situ from five transgressive coral/algal raised reefs (height: max. 113m, min. 8m) and two raised lagoonal deposits (height: max. 18 m, min. 8 m) along and near the west coast of Tanna, which lies in the Median Sedimentary Basin of South Vanuatu, southwest Pacific. These reefs and raised lagoonal deposits represent several age groups: (i) 215ka (marine oxygen-isotope stage 7) penultimate interglacial (highest elevation and oldest); (ii) one lagoonal deposit of ca 127 ka (marine oxygen-isotope stage 5e); (iii) three last interglacial reefs with ages 102, 89 and 81 ka (representing marine oxygen-isotope stages 5c, 5b and 5a, respectively, of the latter part of the last interglacial); (iv) a lagoonal deposit with a 92 ka age (5b); and (v) a Holocene reef (age >5.7-5.0 ka) (lowest elevation and youngest). A ca 4.9 ka regressive reef (at elevation of 1.5 m above sea-level) is consistent with an island-wide 6.5m uplift (probably largely coseismic), and a probable further island-wide uplift-occurred in the late Holocene. The U-series ages taken together with the heights of transgressive reefs show that uplift since 215 ka was, on average, at -0.52 mm/y, although since 5 ka the uplift rate was, on average, ∼1.6 mm/y (the assumption being that a 1.5 m above sea-level reef has a coseismic origin) Elevation of transgressive reefs 5a, 5b and 5c and their ages indicates an island-wide subsidence during the period ?124-89 ka (i.e. Late Quaternary uplift/subsidence was jerky). Late Quaternary uplift/subsidence on the northwest coast of Tanna is considered to be due to irregular thickness of crust being subducted beneath Tanna. Copyright (2003) Geological Society of Australia

  13. Aging and physiological changes of the kidneys including changes in glomerular filtration rate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Musso, Carlos G; Oreopoulos, Dimitrios G

    2011-01-01

    In addition to the structural changes in the kidney associated with aging, physiological changes in renal function are also found in older adults, such as decreased glomerular filtration rate, vascular dysautonomia, altered tubular handling of creatinine, reduction in sodium reabsorption and potassium secretion, and diminished renal reserve. These alterations make aged individuals susceptible to the development of clinical conditions in response to usual stimuli that would otherwise be compensated for in younger individuals, including acute kidney injury, volume depletion and overload, disorders of serum sodium and potassium concentration, and toxic reactions to water-soluble drugs excreted by the kidneys. Additionally, the preservation with aging of a normal urinalysis, normal serum urea and creatinine values, erythropoietin synthesis, and normal phosphorus, calcium and magnesium tubular handling distinguishes decreased GFR due to normal aging from that due to chronic kidney disease. Copyright © 2011 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  14. Optimal design of work zone median crossovers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-09-01

    The use of temporary median crossovers in work zones allows for the closure of one side of a multi-lane roadway while : maintaining two-way traffic on the opposite side. This process provides the ability for construction and maintenance crews : to co...

  15. [Transgenerational evolution of age of the main stages of reproductive life in Guadeloupe].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kadhel, P; Deloumeaux, J; Janky, E

    2013-04-01

    The aim of this study was to assess changes in the ages at which the main stages of reproductive life, including first sexual intercourse in particular, occur in Guadeloupe (French West Indies). We conducted a transverse study of three generations of men and women over the age of 20 years. We recorded age at first intercourse and at first child for all subjects, plus age at menarche, at first pregnancy and at menopause for the women. We collected information for 803 women and 169 men. For women, median age at menarche and at first intercourse had decreased significantly, reaching 12 and 17 years, respectively. The risk of first intercourse occurring before the median age was linked to the earliness of menarche. Age at first pregnancy, at menopause for women and at first intercourse for men remained roughly stable. A non-significant trend towards increasing age at the birth of the first child was observed in both sexes. Age indicators for the main stages of reproductive life in Guadeloupe follow the trends reported in most Western countries, including mainland France. However, most of the ages recorded for particular stages are below those in mainland France. The link between age at menarche and sexual precocity may justify targeted awareness programs. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  16. Modeling Fetal Weight for Gestational Age: A Comparison of a Flexible Multi-level Spline-based Model with Other Approaches

    Science.gov (United States)

    Villandré, Luc; Hutcheon, Jennifer A; Perez Trejo, Maria Esther; Abenhaim, Haim; Jacobsen, Geir; Platt, Robert W

    2011-01-01

    We present a model for longitudinal measures of fetal weight as a function of gestational age. We use a linear mixed model, with a Box-Cox transformation of fetal weight values, and restricted cubic splines, in order to flexibly but parsimoniously model median fetal weight. We systematically compare our model to other proposed approaches. All proposed methods are shown to yield similar median estimates, as evidenced by overlapping pointwise confidence bands, except after 40 completed weeks, where our method seems to produce estimates more consistent with observed data. Sex-based stratification affects the estimates of the random effects variance-covariance structure, without significantly changing sex-specific fitted median values. We illustrate the benefits of including sex-gestational age interaction terms in the model over stratification. The comparison leads to the conclusion that the selection of a model for fetal weight for gestational age can be based on the specific goals and configuration of a given study without affecting the precision or value of median estimates for most gestational ages of interest. PMID:21931571

  17. AGE Females by Broad Age Groups and Median Age CTs 2000

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — TIGER, TIGER/Line, and Census TIGER are registered trademarks of the Bureau of the Census. The Redistricting Census 2000 TIGER/Line files are an extract of selected...

  18. AGE Males by Broad Age Groups and Median Age NMHD 2000

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The 2006 Second Edition TIGER/Line files are an extract of selected geographic and cartographic information from the Census TIGER database. The geographic coverage...

  19. AGE Males by Broad Age Groups and Median Age BGs 2000

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — TIGER, TIGER/Line, and Census TIGER are registered trademarks of the Bureau of the Census. The Redistricting Census 2000 TIGER/Line files are an extract of selected...

  20. AGE Females by Broad Age Groups and Median Age COS 2000

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — TIGER, TIGER/Line, and Census TIGER are registered trademarks of the Bureau of the Census. The Redistricting Census 2000 TIGER/Line files are an extract of selected...

  1. Sosiaalisen median markkinointisuunnitelma uudelle hoitoalan konseptoidulle työvaatemallistolle

    OpenAIRE

    Leppälä, Sanna

    2017-01-01

    Opinnäytetyössä pohdittiin keinoja saada uuden konseptoidun työvaatemalliston näkyvyyttä esille sosiaalisen median keinoin. Toimeksiantaja-yrityksenä toimi suomalainen Virtually Oy ja kohteena oli sen uusi hoitajille suunnattu työvaatemallisto. Malliston ympärille halutaan luoda kestävä brändi ja sosiaalisen median markkinointi on tukemassa brändin tunnettavuutta ja myyntiä. Sosiaalinen media ei yritysten välisessä liiketoiminnassa toimi ainoana markkinoinnin työkaluna, vaan se on tukemas...

  2. The effect of symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome on ultrasonographic median nerve measures before and after wheelchair propulsion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Impink, Bradley G; Collinger, Jennifer L; Boninger, Michael L

    2011-09-01

    To quantify median nerve characteristics before and after strenuous wheelchair propulsion and relate them to symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). We hypothesized that persons with and without symptoms of CTS would have significantly different nerve characteristics at baseline and after propulsion. A repeated-measures design was used to obtain ultrasound images of the median nerve at 3 levels of the wrist (radius, pisiform, and hamate) before and after wheelchair propulsion. Investigators were blinded to subject history related to CTS. The 2007 and 2008 National Veterans Wheelchair Games and the Human Engineering Research Laboratories. Fifty-four participants between the ages of 18 and 65 years with a nonprogressive disability who used a manual wheelchair as their primary means of mobility completed this study. Participants completed questionnaires regarding demographics and the presence and severity of symptoms of CTS. Ultrasound images of the median nerve were obtained before and after a 15-minute strenuous wheelchair-propulsion task. Baseline values and post-propulsion changes were determined for median nerve cross-sectional area, flattening ratio, and swelling ratio. Differences in median nerve variables between symptomatic and asymptomatic groups were assessed. No significant differences between symptom groups were identified at baseline; however, persons with symptoms of CTS showed a significantly different percent change from baseline compared with the asymptomatic participants for cross-sectional area at pisiform (P = .014) and flattening ratio at hamate (P = .022), and they showed a strong trend toward a difference in swelling ratio (P = .0502). For each of these variables, the change in the symptomatic group was in the opposite direction of the change in the asymptomatic group. We found several median nerve responses to wheelchair propulsion associated with symptoms of CTS. These responses occurred even though no baseline ultrasound difference was

  3. Ageing Polulations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christiansen, Terkel; Lauridsen, Jørgen Trankjær; Bech, Mickael

    2013-01-01

    An ageing society is characterised by an increasing median age of the population. The purpose of this chapter is to document the existing knowledge about the association between population ageing and health care expenditure, and to supplement this overview by a summary of our original research...... is that ageing as such can be expected only to a cause modest increase in health care expenditure per capita in the future. This conclusion is supported by our own empirical study, based on 15 EU countries....

  4. Sosiaalisen median rooli mikroyrittäjän ostoprosessissa

    OpenAIRE

    Martikainen, Inkeri

    2014-01-01

    Opinnäytetyön tavoite oli selvittää sosiaalisen median rooli mikroyrittäjän ostoprosessissa; miten mikroyrittäjä hakee tietoa sosiaalisesta mediasta ja millainen vaikutus sieltä löytyvillä käyttäjäarvioilla on ostopäätökseen. Opinnäytetyö tehtiin erään finanssialan yrityksen toimeksiantona. Opinnäytetyön tarkoituksena oli antaa digitaalisen markkinoinnin ammattilaisille tietoa siitä, miten mikroyrittäjiä voidaan tavoittaa sosiaalisen median kautta, ja saada näin uusia asiakkaita. Tutkimus...

  5. Median forehead flap - beyond classic indication

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cristian R. Jecan

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Introduction. The paramedian forehead flap is one of the best options for reconstruction of the median upper two-thirds of the face due to its vascularity, color, texture match and ability to resurface all or part of the reconstructed area. The forehead flap is the gold standard for nasal soft tissue reconstruction and the flap of choice for larger cutaneous nasal defects having a robust pedicle and large amount of tissue. Materials and Methods. We are reporting a clinical series of cutaneous tumors involving the nose, medial canthus, upper and lower eyelid through a retrospective review of 6 patients who underwent surgical excision of the lesion and primary reconstruction using a paramedian forehead flap. Results. The forehead flap was used for total nose reconstruction, eyelids and medial canthal reconstruction. All flaps survived completely and no tumor recurrence was seen in any of the patients. Cosmetic and functional results were favorable. Conclusions. The forehead flap continues to be one of the best options for nose reconstruction and for closure of surgical defects of the nose larger than 2 cm. Even though is not a gold standard, median forehead flap can be an advantageous technique in periorbital defects reconstruction.

  6. Ultrahigh-frequency ultrasound of fascicles in the median nerve at the wrist.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cartwright, Michael S; Baute, Vanessa; Caress, James B; Walker, Francis O

    2017-10-01

    An ultrahigh-frequency (70 MHZ) ultrasound device has recently been approved for human use. This study seeks to determine whether this device facilitates counting of fascicles within the median nerve at the wrist. Twenty healthy volunteers underwent imaging of the median nerve at the wrist bilaterally. The number of fascicles in each nerve was counted by two independent raters. The mean fascicle number was 22.68. Correlation was strong between the two raters (r = 0.68, P nerve area did not predict fascicle number. Those with bifid median nerves and persistent median arteries had lower fascicle density than those without anatomic anomalies (1.79 vs. 2.29; P = 0.01). Fascicles within the median nerve at the wrist can be readily imaged. Ultrahigh-frequency ultrasound technology may be informative in a variety of disorders affecting the peripheral nervous system. Muscle Nerve 56: 819-822, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  7. Years Versus Days Between Successive Surgeries, After an Initial Outpatient Procedure, for the Median Patient Versus the Median Surgeon in the State of Iowa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dexter, Franklin; Jarvie, Craig; Epstein, Richard H

    2018-03-01

    Previously, we studied the relative importance of different institutional interventions that the largest hospital in Iowa could take to grow the anesthesia department's outpatient surgical care. Most (>50%) patients having elective surgery had not previously had surgery at the hospital. Patient perioperative experience was unimportant for influencing total anesthesia workload and numbers of patients. More important was the availability of surgical clinic appointments within several days. These results would be generalizable if the median time from surgery to a patient's next surgical procedure was large (eg, >2 years), among all hospitals in Iowa with outpatient surgery, and without regard to the hospital where the next procedure was performed. There were 37,172 surgical cases at hospital outpatient departments of any of the 117 hospitals in Iowa from July 1, 2013, to September 30, 2013. Data extracted about each case included its intraoperative work relative value units. The 37,172 cases were matched to all inpatient and outpatient records for the next 2 years statewide using patient linkage identifiers; from these were determined whether the patient had surgery again within 2 years. Furthermore, the cases' 1820 surgeons were matched to the surgeon's next outpatient or inpatient case, both including and excluding other cases performed on the date of the original case. By patient, the median time to their next surgical case, either outpatient or inpatient, exceeded 2 years, tested with weighting by intraoperative relative value units and repeated when unweighted (both P 2 years for patients versus 1 day for surgeons. Thus, although patients' experiences are an important attribute of quality of care, surgeons' experiences are orders of magnitude more important from the vantage point of marketing and growth of an anesthesia practice.

  8. No psychological distress in sportsmen aged 45 years and older after cardiovascular screening, including cardiac CT: The Measuring Athlete's Risk of Cardiovascular events (MARC) study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schurink, M M; Braber, T L; Prakken, N H J; Doevendans, P A F M; Backx, F J G; Grobbee, D E; Rienks, R; Nathoe, H M; Bots, M L; Velthuis, B K; Mosterd, A

    2017-04-01

    Psychological distress caused by cardiovascular pre-participation screening (PPS) may be a reason not to implement a PPS program. We assessed the psychological impact of PPS, including cardiac computed tomography (CT), in 318 asymptomatic sportsmen aged ≥45 years. Coronary artery disease (CAD) was defined as a coronary artery calcium score ≥100 Agatson units and/or ≥50% luminal stenosis on contrast-enhanced cardiac CT. Psychological impact was measured with the Impact of Event Scale (IES) (seven items) on a six-point scale (grade 0-5). A sum score ≥19 indicates clinically relevant psychological distress. A Likert scale was used to assess overall experiences and impact on sports and lifestyle. A total of 275 participants (86.5% response rate, 95% CI 83-90%) with a mean age of 54.5 ± 6.4 years completed the questionnaires, 48 (17.5%, 95% CI 13-22%) of whom had CAD. The median IES score was 1 (IQR 0-2, [0-23]). IES was slightly higher in those with CAD (mean rank 175 vs. 130, p psychological distress (IES = 23). Participants reported numerous benefits, including feeling safer exercising (58.6%, 95% CI 53-65%) and positive lifestyle changes, especially in those with CAD (17.2 vs. 52.1%, p psychological distress in older sportsmen. Psychological distress should not be a reason to forego screening in sportsmen.

  9. A comparison of latent class, K-means, and K-median methods for clustering dichotomous data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brusco, Michael J; Shireman, Emilie; Steinley, Douglas

    2017-09-01

    The problem of partitioning a collection of objects based on their measurements on a set of dichotomous variables is a well-established problem in psychological research, with applications including clinical diagnosis, educational testing, cognitive categorization, and choice analysis. Latent class analysis and K-means clustering are popular methods for partitioning objects based on dichotomous measures in the psychological literature. The K-median clustering method has recently been touted as a potentially useful tool for psychological data and might be preferable to its close neighbor, K-means, when the variable measures are dichotomous. We conducted simulation-based comparisons of the latent class, K-means, and K-median approaches for partitioning dichotomous data. Although all 3 methods proved capable of recovering cluster structure, K-median clustering yielded the best average performance, followed closely by latent class analysis. We also report results for the 3 methods within the context of an application to transitive reasoning data, in which it was found that the 3 approaches can exhibit profound differences when applied to real data. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  10. Speckle Reduction and Structure Enhancement by Multichannel Median Boosted Anisotropic Diffusion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yang Zhi

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available We propose a new approach to reduce speckle noise and enhance structures in speckle-corrupted images. It utilizes a median-anisotropic diffusion compound scheme. The median-filter-based reaction term acts as a guided energy source to boost the structures in the image being processed. In addition, it regularizes the diffusion equation to ensure the existence and uniqueness of a solution. We also introduce a decimation and back reconstruction scheme to further enhance the processing result. Before the iteration of the diffusion process, the image is decimated and a subpixel shifted image set is formed. This allows a multichannel parallel diffusion iteration, and more importantly, the speckle noise is broken into impulsive or salt-pepper noise, which is easy to remove by median filtering. The advantage of the proposed technique is clear when it is compared to other diffusion algorithms and the well-known adaptive weighted median filtering (AWMF scheme in both simulation and real medical ultrasound images.

  11. Age at diagnosis in bladder cancer: does opium addiction play a role?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karbakhsh, Mojgan; Dabbagh, Najmeh; Shabani, Azadeh; Tabibi, Ali; Akhavizadegan, Hamed

    2013-01-01

    Bladder cancer is a major health problem, especially among men. Opium addiction can be an important risk factor. One important question is whether it can affect the age of onset of bladder cancer .We performed this study to evaluate this question. In a cross-section study, records of patients diagnosed with bladder carcinoma in Shahid Labbafinejad Medical Center, within 1999-2008 were included. Data were extracted from records regarding age at onset, gender, smoking status, and opioid addiction and analyzed with SPSS 13. Within 10 years, 920 cases were diagnosed with bladder cancer of which 97 percent were transitional cell carcinoma. In 698 cases, opium addiction status was recorded in 21.3% (n=149). Age at diagnosis was 59.7±11.51 (median: 60) among opioid addicts which was significantly lower than non- addicts (63.1±13.65, Median: 65) (POpium addiction can decrease the age of onset of bladder cancer.

  12. An investigation on the noise reduction performance of profiled rigid median barriers at highways

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammad Reza Monazzam

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Median barriers as a portion of a divided highway are provided to minimize the cross-median crashes. Moreover, median barriers similar to roadside noise barriers could protect people from transportation noise. Thus, there is a need to investigate various median barrier models to identify changes of insertion loss over a simple rigid barrier. In order to estimate the acoustical influence of median barrier′s profile in the shadow zone, different median barrier models are presented and their insertion losses are calculated over a frequency range from 50 to 4000 Hz using a two-dimensional boundary element method. The present investigation has clearly revealed that among the profiled median barriers, T-shape, Y-shape, and L-shape provide better performance than that of the other shapes. It is also found that among inclined barriers, V-shape barrier significantly presents higher values of attenuation. Based on the calculation of different geometrics, it has been shown that a further 2 dB (A in efficiency could be obtained by a better design of the median barrier which is labeled model "L."

  13. Age Differences in Adults' Free Recall of Pictures and Words.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gounard, Beverley Roberts; Keitz, Suzanne M.

    This study was designed to determine whether adults' memory for pictorial and word stimuli might be differentially affected by age. Twenty female secretaries, median age 22.1, and 20 female members of a senior citizens' center, median age 69.4, were asked to learn lists of pictorial and word stimuli under free recall conditions. Eight trials were…

  14. COLOUR IMAGE STEGANOGRAPHY USING MEDIAN MAINTENANCE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Arivazhagan

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available Steganographic algorithms in the recent past have been producing stego images with perceptual invisibility, better secrecy and certain robustness against attacks like cropping, filtering etc. Recovering a good quality secret from a good quality stego image may not always be possible. The method proposed in this paper works in transform domain and attempts to extract the secret almost as same as the embedded one maintaining minimal changes to the cover image by using techniques like median maintenance, offset and quantization.

  15. Electromyogram median power frequency in dynamic exercise at medium exercise intensities

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ament, W; Bonga, GJJ; Hof, AL; Verkerke, GJ

    The electromyogram (EMG) median power Frequency of the calf muscles was investigated during an exhausting treadmill exercise and a 20-min recovery period. The exercise was an uphill run at a speed of 5 km . h(-1) and a gradient of 20%. During exercise there was no decrease of EMG median power

  16. A molecular census of arcuate hypothalamus and median eminence cell types

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Campbell, John N; Macosko, Evan Z; Fenselau, Henning

    2017-01-01

    The hypothalamic arcuate-median eminence complex (Arc-ME) controls energy balance, fertility and growth through molecularly distinct cell types, many of which remain unknown. To catalog cell types in an unbiased way, we profiled gene expression in 20,921 individual cells in and around the adult...... mouse Arc-ME using Drop-seq. We identify 50 transcriptionally distinct Arc-ME cell populations, including a rare tanycyte population at the Arc-ME diffusion barrier, a new leptin-sensing neuron population, multiple agouti-related peptide (AgRP) and pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) subtypes, and an orexigenic...... somatostatin neuron population. We extended Drop-seq to detect dynamic expression changes across relevant physiological perturbations, revealing cell type-specific responses to energy status, including distinct responses in AgRP and POMC neuron subtypes. Finally, integrating our data with human genome...

  17. Ageing is associated with a prolonged fever response in human endotoxemia

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Krabbe, Karen S.; Kemp Bruunsgaard, Helle; Hansen, Christian Muff

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate whether an age-associated impaired acute-phase response exists. Nine healthy elderly volunteers (median, 66 years; range, 61 to 69 years) and eight young controls (median, 24 years; range, 20 to 27 years) were given an intravenous bolus of endotoxin (2......-alpha and sTNFR-I levels and prolonged increased levels of sTNFR-I. Monocyte concentrations decreased in both groups, with the elderly group showing a more rapid decrease and a slower subsequent increase than did the young group. Furthermore, the elderly group had a more rapid increase in C-reactive protein...... levels than did the young group. In conclusion, ageing is associated with an altered acute-phase response including initial hyperreactivity, prolonged inflammatory activity, and prolonged fever response....

  18. Median mental sinus in twins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ong, S T; Ngeow, W C

    1999-05-01

    Sinus on the chin can be the result of a chronic apical abscess due to pulp necrosis of a mandibular anterior tooth. The tooth is usually asymptomatic, and a dental cause is therefore not apparent to the patient or the unsuspecting clinician. Not infrequently, the patient may seek treatment from a dermatologist or general surgeon instead of a dentist. Excision and repair of the fistula may be carried out with subsequent breakdown because the dental pathology is not removed. This paper reports the presence of median mental sinus of dental origin in twins. One case healed following root canal therapy while the other required both root canal therapy and surgery to eliminate the infection.

  19. Range Selection and Median

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jørgensen, Allan Grønlund; Larsen, Kasper Green

    2011-01-01

    and several natural special cases thereof. The rst special case is known as range median, which arises when k is xed to b(j 􀀀 i + 1)=2c. The second case, denoted prex selection, arises when i is xed to 0. Finally, we also consider the bounded rank prex selection problem and the xed rank range......Range selection is the problem of preprocessing an input array A of n unique integers, such that given a query (i; j; k), one can report the k'th smallest integer in the subarray A[i];A[i+1]; : : : ;A[j]. In this paper we consider static data structures in the word-RAM for range selection...... selection problem. In the former, data structures must support prex selection queries under the assumption that k for some value n given at construction time, while in the latter, data structures must support range selection queries where k is xed beforehand for all queries. We prove cell probe lower bounds...

  20. Separate patient serum sodium medians from males and females provide independent information on analytical bias.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hansen, Steen Ingemann; Petersen, Per Hyltoft; Lund, Flemming; Fraser, Callum G; Sölétormos, György

    2017-10-26

    During monitoring of monthly medians of results from patients undertaken to assess analytical stability in routine laboratory performance, the medians for serum sodium for male and female patients were found to be significantly related. Daily, weekly and monthly patient medians of serum sodium for both male and female patients were calculated from results obtained on samples from the population >18 years on three analysers in the hospital laboratory. The half-range of medians was applied as an estimate of the maximum bias. Further, the ratios between the two medians were calculated. The medians of both genders demonstrated dispersions over time, but they were closely connected in like patterns, which were confirmed by the half-range of the ratios of medians for males and females that varied from 0.36% for daily, 0.14% for weekly and 0.036% for monthly ratios over all instruments. The tight relationship between the gender medians for serum sodium is only possible when raw laboratory data are used for calculation. The two patient medians can be used to confirm both and are useful as independent estimates of analytical bias during constant calibration periods. In contrast to the gender combined median, the estimate of analytical bias can be confirmed further by calculation of the ratios of medians for males and females.

  1. Voimaa visuaalisuudesta : Narratiivinen kirjallisuuskatsaus visuaalisen sosiaalisen median vaikutuksista nuorten aikuisten hyvinvointiin

    OpenAIRE

    Viita, Shir

    2017-01-01

    Viita, Shir. Voimaa visuaalisuudesta – Narratiivinen kirjallisuuskatsaus visuaalisen sosiaalisen median vaikutuksista nuorten aikuisten hyvinvointiin. Kevät 2016. 52 s., 1 liite. Diakonia ammattikorkeakoulu. Sosiaalialan koulutusohjelma, sosionomin suuntautumisvaihtoehto. Sosionomi (AMK). Opinnäytetyön tavoitteena on tuottaa tietoa sosiaalialan ammattilaisille visuaalisen sosiaalisen median sivustojen Instagramin ja Snapchatin vaikutuksista nuorten aikuisten hyvinvointiin. Opinnäyte...

  2. Application of median-equation approach for outlier detection in geodetic networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Serif Hekimoglu

    Full Text Available In geodetic measurements some outliers may occur sometimes in data sets, depending on different reasons. There are two main approaches to detect outliers as Tests for outliers (Baarda's and Pope's Tests and robust methods (Danish method, Huber method etc.. These methods use the Least Squares Estimation (LSE. The outliers affect the LSE results, especially it smears the effects of the outliers on the good observations and sometimes wrong results may be obtained. To avoid these effects, a method that does not use LSE should be preferred. The median is a high breakdown point estimator and if it is applied for the outlier detection, reliable results can be obtained. In this study, a robust method which uses median with or as a treshould value on median residuals that are obtained from median equations is proposed. If the a priori variance of the observations is known, the reliability of the new approch is greater than the one in the case where the a priori variance is unknown.

  3. Separate patient serum sodium medians from males and females provide independent information on analytical bias

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Steen Ingemann; Petersen, Per Hyltoft; Lund, Flemming

    2017-01-01

    BACKGROUND: During monitoring of monthly medians of results from patients undertaken to assess analytical stability in routine laboratory performance, the medians for serum sodium for male and female patients were found to be significantly related. METHODS: Daily, weekly and monthly patient medians...... all instruments. CONCLUSIONS: The tight relationship between the gender medians for serum sodium is only possible when raw laboratory data are used for calculation. The two patient medians can be used to confirm both and are useful as independent estimates of analytical bias during constant...... calibration periods. In contrast to the gender combined median, the estimate of analytical bias can be confirmed further by calculation of the ratios of medians for males and females....

  4. A GPU-Based Genetic Algorithm for the P-Median Problem

    OpenAIRE

    AlBdaiwi, Bader F.; AboElFotoh, Hosam M. F.

    2016-01-01

    The p-median problem is a well-known NP-hard problem. Many heuristics have been proposed in the literature for this problem. In this paper, we exploit a GPGPU parallel computing platform to present a new genetic algorithm implemented in Cuda and based on a Pseudo Boolean formulation of the p-median problem. We have tested the effectiveness of our algorithm using a Tesla K40 (2880 Cuda cores) on 290 different benchmark instances obtained from OR-Library, discrete location problems benchmark li...

  5. Median nerve fascicular anatomy as a basis for distal neural prostheses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Planitzer, Uwe; Steinke, Hanno; Meixensberger, Jürgen; Bechmann, Ingo; Hammer, Niels; Winkler, Dirk

    2014-05-01

    Functional electrical stimulation (FES) serves as a possible therapy to restore missing motor functions of peripheral nerves by means of cuff electrodes. FES is established for improving lower limb function. Transferring this method to the upper extremity is complex, due to a lack of anatomical data on the physiological configuration of nerve fascicles. Our study's aim was to provide an anatomical basis for FES of the median nerve in the distal forearm and hand. We investigated 21 distal median nerves from 12 body donors. The peripheral fascicles were traced back by removing the external and interfascicular epineurium and then assigned to 4 quadrants. A distinct motor and sensory distribution was observed. The fascicles innervating the thenar eminence and the first lumbrical muscle originated from the nerves' radial parts in 82%. The fascicle supplying the second lumbrical muscle originated from the ulnar side in 78%. No macroscopically visible plexus formation was observed for the distal median nerve in the forearm. The findings on the distribution of the motor branches of the median nerve and the missing plexus formation may likely serve as an anatomical basis for FES of the distal forearm. However, due to the considerable variability of the motor branches, cuff electrodes will need to be adapted individually in FES. Taking into account the sensory distribution of the median nerve, FES may also possibly be applied in the treatment of regional pain syndromes. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  6. Variant palmaris profundus enclosed by an unusual loop of the median nerve

    Science.gov (United States)

    CHOU, HSIU-CHU; JENG, HELLEN; KO, TSUI-LING; PAI, MAN-HUI; CHANG, CHIU-YUN; WU, CHING-HSIANG

    2001-01-01

    According to the usual description in most anatomy texts, the median nerve in the forearm passes between the 2 heads of pronator teres. It continues distally between flexor digitorum superficialis and profundus almost to the retinaculum. Muscular branches leave the nerve near the elbow and supply all superficial muscles of the anterior part of the forearm except flexor carpi ulnaris. Many variations of the median nerve in the forearm have been reported (Urban & Krosman, 1992). The palmaris profundus is also a rare anomaly of the forearm (Dyreby & Engber, 1982). It originates from the radial side of the common flexor tendon in the proximal forearm and inserts into the undersurface of the palmar aponeurosis. The origin of palmaris profundus may be close to the median nerve and its branches, and may be involved in compressive neuropathy of the anterior interosseous nerve. Its tendon crossing through the carpal canal has been implicated in the carpal tunnel syndrome (reviewed by Lahey & Aulicino, 1986). In some cases, palmaris profundus was found enclosed in a common fascial sheath with the median nerve (Stark, 1992; Sahinoglu et al. 1994). To indicate its close association with the median nerve, the palmaris profundus was also named ‘musculus comitans nervi mediani’ (Sahinoglu et al. 1994). This article reports an unusual loop of the median nerve encircling an anomalous palmaris profundus in the forearm, which, to the best of our knowledge, has not been previously described. PMID:11693311

  7. Motor development in 3-month-old healthy term-born infants is associated with cognitive and behavioural outcomes at early school age

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hitzert, Marrit; Roze, Elise; Van Braeckel, Koenraad N. J. A.; Bos, Arend F.

    AIM To determine whether motor development at 3 months of age is associated with cognitive, motor, and behavioural outcomes in healthy children at early school age. METHOD In this cohort study, we included 74 term-born, healthy children (44 males, 30 females; median gestational age 40.1wks, range

  8. Menarcheal age of girls from dysfunctional families.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Toromanović, Alma; Tahirović, Husref

    2004-07-01

    The objective of the present study was to determine median age at menarche and the influence of familial instability on maturation. The sample included 7047 girls between the ages of 9 and 17 years from Tuzla Canton. The girls were divided into two groups. Group A (N=5230) comprised girls who lived in families free of strong traumatic events. Group B (N=1817) included girls whose family dysfunction exposed them to prolonged distress. Probit analysis was performed to estimate mean menarcheal age using the Probit procedure of SAS package. The mean menarcheal age calculated by probit analysis for all the girls studied was 13.07 years. In girls from dysfunctional families a very clear shift toward earlier maturation was observed. The mean age at menarche for group B was 13.0 years, which was significantly lower that that for group A, 13.11 years (t=2.92, Pdysfunctional families mature not later but even earlier than girls from normal families. This supports the hypothesis that stressful childhood life events accelerate maturation of girls.

  9. The Median Solution of the Newsvendor Problem and Some Observations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sinha Pritibhushan

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available We consider the median solution of the Newsvendor Problem. Some properties of such a solution are shown through a theoretical analysis and a numerical experiment. Sometimes, though not often, median solution may be better than solutions maximizing expected profit, or maximizing minimum possible, over distribution with the same average and standard deviation, expected profit, according to some criteria. We discuss the practical suitability of the objective function set and the solution derived, for the Newsvendor Problem, and other such random optimization problems.

  10. Myofibroma in the Palm Presenting with Median Nerve Compression Symptoms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Heidi Sarkozy, PA-C, BS

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Summary: A myofibroma is a benign proliferation of myofibroblasts in the connective tissue. Solitary myofibromas are a rare finding especially in an adult. We report a case of a 23-year-old man presenting with an enlarging mass over his right palm. The patient is an active weight lifter. He reported numbness and tingling in the median nerve distribution. Nerve conduction studies and magnetic resonance imaging scans suggested a tumor involving or compressing the median nerve. The final diagnosis of myofibroma was made only after the histopathological diagnosis.

  11. Ranking Exponential Trapezoidal Fuzzy Numbers by Median Value

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Rezvani

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, we want represented a method for ranking of two exponential trapezoidal fuzzy numbers. A median value is proposed for the ranking of exponential trapezoidal fuzzy numbers. For the validation the results of the proposed approach are compared with different existing approaches.

  12. Histological Osteoarthritic Changes in the Human Cervical Spine Facet Joints Related to Age and Gender

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Uhrenholt, Lars; Charles, Annie Vesterby; Gregersen, Markil

    2018-01-01

    STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional autopsy study. OBJECTIVE: Quantify histological changes in the lower cervical spine facet joints with regard to age and gender using systematic random sampling of entire joints. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Neck pain is a common debilitating musculoskeletal condition...... and one of the highest ranked causes of years lived with disability. The cause of neck pain is multifactorial and osteoarthritis is one potential cause. The cervical spine facet joints have been implicated in the aetiology of chronic neck pain. Hence, a detailed description of their anatomy and age......- and gender related changes is needed. METHODS: The lower four cervical spine segments (C4-C7 included) were obtained from 72 subjects during autopsy; 29 females (median age 53 years [22-77]) and 43 males (median age 38 years [20-78]). A total of 1132 articular facets were embedded in toto in hard plastic...

  13. MR neurography of the median nerve at 3.0 T: Optimization of diffusion tensor imaging and fiber tractography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guggenberger, Roman; Eppenberger, Patrick; Markovic, Daniel; Nanz, Daniel; Chhabra, Avneesh; Pruessmann, Klaas P.; Andreisek, Gustav

    2012-01-01

    Objectives: The purpose of this study was to systematically assess the optimal b-value and reconstruction parameters for DTI and fiber tractography of the median nerve at 3.0 T. Methods: Local ethical board approved study with 45 healthy volunteers (15 men, 30 women; mean age, 41 ± 3.4 years) who underwent DTI of the right wrist at 3.0 T. A single-shot echo-planar-imaging sequence (TR/TE 10123/40 ms) was acquired at four different b-values (800, 1000, 1200, and 1400 s/mm 2 ). Two independent readers performed post processing and fiber-tractography. Fractional anisotropy (FA) maps were calculated. Fiber tracts of the median nerve were generated using four different algorithms containing different FA thresholds and different angulation tolerances. Data were evaluated quantitatively and qualitatively. Results: Tracking algorithms using a minimum FA threshold of 0.2 and a maximum angulation of 10° were significantly better than other algorithms. Fiber tractography generated significantly longer fibers in DTI acquisitions with higher b-values (1200 and 1400 s/mm 2 versus 800 s/mm 2 ; p 2 (p 2 for DTI of the median nerve at 3.0 T. Optimal reconstruction parameters for fiber tractography should encompass a minimum FA threshold of 0.2 and a maximum angulation tolerance of 10.

  14. Intraneural hemangioma of the median nerve: A case report

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sevinç Teoman

    2008-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Hemangiomas of the median nerve are very rare and, so far, only ten cases of intraneural hemangioma of this nerve have been reported in the literature. We present a case of 14-year-old girl who had a soft tissue mass in the region of the left wrist with signs and symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome. Total removal of the mass was achieved using microsurgical epineural and interfasicular dissection. The symptoms were relieved completely, after this procedure, without any neurologic deficit. On follow-up two years later, no recurrence was observed. Whenever a child or young adult patient presents with CTS the possibility of a hemangioma involving the median nerve should be kept in mind in the differential diagnosis.

  15. Brain malformation in single median maxillary central incisor

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kjaer, I; Wagner, Aa; Thomsen, L L

    2009-01-01

    Clinical and radiographic examinations and MR scan of a 12-year-old girl with SMMCI (single median maxillary central incisor) showed impaired growth and a midline defect involving the central incisor, cranium and the midline structures in the brain, falx cerebri and pituitary gland. She had a sev...

  16. Extending PSA models including ageing and asset management - 15291

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martorell, S.; Marton, I.; Carlos, S.; Sanchez, A.I.

    2015-01-01

    This paper proposes a new approach to Ageing Probabilistic Safety Assessment (APSA) modelling, which is intended to be used to support risk-informed decisions on the effectiveness of maintenance management programs and technical specification requirements of critical equipment of Nuclear Power Plants (NPP) within the framework of the Risk Informed Decision Making according to R.G. 1.174 principles. This approach focuses on the incorporation of not only equipment ageing but also effectiveness of maintenance and efficiency of surveillance testing explicitly into APSA models and data. This methodology is applied to a motor-operated valve of the auxiliary feed water system (AFWS) of a PWR. This simple example of application focuses on a critical safety-related equipment of a NPP in order to evaluate the risk impact of considering different approaches to APSA and the combined effect of equipment ageing and maintenance and testing alternatives along NPP design life. The risk impact of several alternatives in maintenance strategy is discussed

  17. PERBANDINGAN TRANSFORMASI BOX-COX DAN REGRESI KUANTIL MEDIAN DALAM MENGATASI HETEROSKEDASTISITAS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    NI WAYAN YUNI CAHYANI

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Ordinary least square (OLS is a method that can be used to estimate the parameter in linear regression analysis. There are some assumption which should be satisfied on OLS, one of this assumption is homoscedasticity, that is the variance of error is constant. If variance of the error is unequal that so-called heteroscedasticity. The presence heteroscedasticity can cause estimation with OLS becomes inefficient. Therefore, heteroscedasticity shall be overcome. There are some method that can used to overcome heteroscedasticity, two among those are Box-Cox power transformation and median quantile regression. This research compared Box-Cox power transformation and median quantile regression to overcome heteroscedasticity. Applied Box-Cox power transformation on OLS result ????2point are greater, smaller RMSE point and confidencen interval more narrow, therefore can be concluded that applied of Box-Cox power transformation on OLS better of median quantile regression to overcome heteroscedasticity.

  18. PERBANDINGAN TRANSFORMASI BOX-COX DAN REGRESI KUANTIL MEDIAN DALAM MENGATASI HETEROSKEDASTISITAS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    NI WAYAN YUNI CAHYANI

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Ordinary least square (OLS is a method that can be used to estimate the parameter in linear regression analysis. There are some assumption which should be satisfied on OLS, one of this assumption is homoscedasticity, that is the variance of error is constant. If variance of the error is unequal that so-called heteroscedasticity. The presence heteroscedasticity can cause estimation with OLS becomes inefficient. Therefore, heteroscedasticity shall be overcome. There are some method that can used to overcome heteroscedasticity, two among those are Box-Cox power transformation and median quantile regression. This research compared Box-Cox power transformation and median quantile regression to overcome heteroscedasticity. Applied Box-Cox power transformation on OLS result ????2point are greater, smaller RMSE point and confidencen interval more narrow, therefore can be concluded that applied of Box-Cox power transformation on OLS better of median quantile regression to overcome heteroscedasticity.

  19. Impact of a pain protocol including hypnosis in major burns.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berger, Mette M; Davadant, Maryse; Marin, Christian; Wasserfallen, Jean-Blaise; Pinget, Christophe; Maravic, Philippe; Koch, Nathalie; Raffoul, Wassim; Chiolero, René L

    2010-08-01

    Pain is a major issue after burns even when large doses of opioids are prescribed. The study focused on the impact of a pain protocol using hypnosis on pain intensity, anxiety, clinical course, and costs. All patients admitted to the ICU, aged >18 years, with an ICU stay >24h, accepting to try hypnosis, and treated according to standardized pain protocol were included. Pain was scaled on the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) (mean of daily multiple recordings), and basal and procedural opioid doses were recorded. Clinical outcome and economical data were retrieved from hospital charts and information system, respectively. Treated patients were matched with controls for sex, age, and the burned surface area. Forty patients were admitted from 2006 to 2007: 17 met exclusion criteria, leaving 23 patients, who were matched with 23 historical controls. Altogether patients were 36+/-14 years old and burned 27+/-15%BSA. The first hypnosis session was performed after a median of 9 days. The protocol resulted in the early delivery of higher opioid doses/24h (ppatient. A pain protocol including hypnosis reduced pain intensity, improved opioid efficiency, reduced anxiety, improved wound outcome while reducing costs. The protocol guided use of opioids improved patient care without side effects, while hypnosis had significant psychological benefits.

  20. Age correction in monitoring audiometry: method to update OSHA age-correction tables to include older workers

    OpenAIRE

    Dobie, Robert A; Wojcik, Nancy C

    2015-01-01

    Objectives The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Noise Standard provides the option for employers to apply age corrections to employee audiograms to consider the contribution of ageing when determining whether a standard threshold shift has occurred. Current OSHA age-correction tables are based on 40-year-old data, with small samples and an upper age limit of 60?years. By comparison, recent data (1999?2006) show that hearing thresholds in the US population have improved....

  1. Impact of keyboard typing on the morphological changes of the median nerve.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yeap Loh, Ping; Liang Yeoh, Wen; Nakashima, Hiroki; Muraki, Satoshi

    2017-09-28

    The primary objective was to investigate the effects of continuous typing on median nerve changes at the carpal tunnel region at two different keyboard slopes (0° and 20°). The secondary objective was to investigate the differences in wrist kinematics and the changes in wrist anthropometric measurements when typing at the two different keyboard slopes. Fifteen healthy right-handed young men were recruited. A randomized sequence of the conditions (control, typing I, and typing II) was assigned to each participant. Wrist anthropometric measurements, wrist kinematics data collection and ultrasound examination to the median nerve was performed at designated time block. Typing activity and time block do not cause significant changes to the wrist anthropometric measurements. The wrist measurements remained similar across all the time blocks in the three conditions. Subsequently, the wrist extensions and ulnar deviations were significantly higher in both the typing I and typing II conditions than in the control condition for both wrists (ptyping I and typing II conditions after the typing task than before the typing task. The MNCSA significantly decreased in the recovery phase after the typing task. This study demonstrated the immediate changes in the median nerve after continuous keyboard typing. Changes in the median nerve were greater during typing using a keyboard tilted at 20° than during typing using a keyboard tilted at 0°. The main findings suggest wrist posture near to neutral position caused lower changes of the median nerve.

  2. Menarcheal age of girls from dysfunctional families

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alma Toromanović

    2004-08-01

    Full Text Available The objective of the present study was to determine median age at menarche and the influence of familial instability on maturation. The sample included 7047 girls between the ages of 9 and 17 years from Tuzla Canton. The girls were divided into two groups. Group A (N=5230 comprised girls who lived in families free of strong traumatic events. Group B (N=1817 included girls whose family dysfunction exposed them to prolonged distress. Probit analysis was performed to estimate mean menarcheal age using the Probit procedure of SAS package. The mean menarcheal age calculated by probit analysis for all the girls studied was 13.07 years. In girls from dysfunctional families a very clear shift toward earlier maturation was observed. The mean age at menarche for group B was 13.0 years, which was significantly lower that that for group A, 13.11 years (t=2.92, P<0.01. The results surveyed here lead to the conclusion that girls from dysfunctional families mature not later but even earlier than girls from normal families. This supports the hypothesis that stressful childhood life events accelerate maturation of girls.

  3. Nuorten sosiaalisen median käyttö seurustelusuhteissa : "Onksiul snappii, kikkii tai whatsappii?"

    OpenAIRE

    Pöllänen, Kati

    2016-01-01

    Tässä opinnäytetyössä tutkittiin nuorten sosiaalisen median käyttöä seurustelusuhteissa. Seurustelusuhteella tarkoitetaan kahden toisistaan pitävän ihmisen romanttista suhdetta. Työssä tarkasteltiin keskinuorten ja myöhäisnuorten käyttämiä sosiaalisen median sovelluksia, käyttömääriä ja –tapoja. Lisäksi selvitettiin, millainen rooli sosiaalisella medialla on seurustelusuhteen eri vaiheissa. Työssä tutustuttiin nuorten sosiaalisen median käyttöön kenttätutkimuksella, jossa nu...

  4. Median sternotomy for double lung transplantation with cardiopulmonary bypass in seven consecutive patients

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kohno, Mitsutomo; Steinbrüchel, Daniel A

    2012-01-01

    We describe our technique of using median sternotomy to perform double lung transplantations with cardiopulmonary bypass. By sparing the respiratory muscles, median sternotomy is probably less invasive and preserves lung function. Furthermore, it causes less long-term discomfort than intercostal...

  5. A technique of including the effect of aging of passive components in probabilistic risk assessments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Phillips, J.H.; Weidenhamer, G.H.

    1992-01-01

    The probabilistic risk assessments (PRAS) being developed at most nuclear power plants to calculate the risk of core damage generally focus on the possible failure of active components. The possible failure of passive components is given little consideration. We are developing methods for selecting risk-significant passive components and including them in PRAS. These methods provide effective ways to prioritize passive components for inspection, and where inspection reveals aging damage, mitigation or repair can be employed to reduce the likelihood of component failure. We demonstrated a method by selecting a weld in the auxiliary feedwater (AFW) system, basing our selection on expert judgement of the likelihood of failure and on an estimate of the consequence of component failure to plant safety. We then modified and used the Piping Reliability Analysis Including Seismic Events (PRAISE) computer code to perform a probabilistic structural analysis to calculate the probability that crack growth due to aging would cause the weld to fail. The PRAISE code was modified to include the effects of changing design material properties with age and changing stress cycles. The calculation included the effects of mechanical loads and thermal transients typical of the service loads for this piping design and the effects of thermal cycling caused by a leaking check valve. However, this particular calculation showed little change in low component failure probability and plant risk for 48 years of service. However, sensitivity studies showed that if the probability of component failure is high, the effect on plant risk is significant. The success of this demonstration shows that this method could be applied to nuclear power plants. The demonstration showed the method is too involved (PRAISE takes a long time to perform the calculation and the input information is extensive) for handling a large number of passive components and therefore simpler methods are needed

  6. A case of fibrolipomatous hamartoma of the median nerve with macrodactyly

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sathish Arakeri

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available Fibrolipomatous hamartoma of nerve is a tumor-like lipomatous process principally involving affecting young persons. The median nerve is most commonly affectedinvolved. The lesion is characterized by a soft slowly growing mass, surrounding and infiltrating major nerves and their branches. It may cause symptoms of compression neuropathy and is associated with macrodactyly in one third of cases. Here, we present a case of Fibrolipomatous hamartoma of nerve in the wrist of a young man arising from median nerve. Debulking of the tumour was performed.

  7. Educational system, income inequality and growth: the median voter's decision

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joilson Dias

    2005-03-01

    Full Text Available I analyze a long run educational policy as a mechanism to close the income gap among low, median and high-income families. If the choice is made endogenous by the use of the median voter theorem, the results are as follow: i public education system guarantees income convergence, however the income growth rate of the median voter is smaller; ii the combination public and private (hybrid educational system allows faster income growth rate, but income inequality is almost the natural outcome. The ending result is that the combination public and private system will prevail, since the income growth rate of the median voter is higher in this system. This might explain the persistence and differences of income inequality among the economies.O objetivo deste artigo é analisar a utilização da política educacional no longo prazo como mecanismo para a redução da desigualdade de renda entre famílias de renda baixa, mediana e alta. Se a decisão sobre a política for endogeneizada, de acordo com o teorema do eleitor mediano, os resultados são os seguintes: i o sistema educacional público para todos, apesar de garantir convergência de renda, produz uma menor taxa de crescimento da renda do eleitor mediano; ii a combinação público-privado (sistema educacional híbrido permite uma maior taxa de crescimento da renda do eleitor mediano, no entanto a desigualdade de renda é inerente a este sistema. Como resultado final, o eleitor mediano irá escolher o sistema público-privado, pois o crescimento da sua renda é maior, o que pode explicar a persistência e as diferenças na desigualdade de renda das economias.

  8. Median Sternotomy or Right Thoracotomy Techniques for Total Artificial Heart Implantation in Calves.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karimov, Jamshid H; Moazami, Nader; Sunagawa, Gengo; Kobayashi, Mariko; Byram, Nicole; Sale, Shiva; Such, Kimberly A; Horvath, David J; Golding, Leonard A R; Fukamachi, Kiyotaka

    2016-10-01

    The choice of optimal operative access technique for mechanical circulatory support device implantation ensures successful postoperative outcomes. In this study, we retrospectively evaluated the median sternotomy and lateral thoracotomy incisions for placement of the Cleveland Clinic continuous-flow total artificial heart (CFTAH) in a bovine model. The CFTAH was implanted in 17 calves (Jersey calves; weight range, 77.0-93.9 kg) through a median sternotomy (n = 9) or right thoracotomy (n = 8) for elective chronic implantation periods of 14, 30, or 90 days. Similar preoperative preparation, surgical techniques, and postoperative care were employed. Implantation of the CFTAH was successfully performed in all cases. Both methods provided excellent surgical field visualization. After device connection, however, the median sternotomy approach provided better visualization of the anastomoses and surgical lines for hemostasis confirmation and repair due to easier device displacement, which is severely limited following right thoracotomy. All four animals sacrificed after completion of the planned durations (up to 90 days) were operated through full median sternotomy. Our data demonstrate that both approaches provide excellent initial field visualization. Full median sternotomy provides larger viewing angles at the anastomotic suture line after device connection to inflow and outflow ports. Copyright © 2015 International Center for Artificial Organs and Transplantation and Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  9. AGEING POPULATION: COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS AMONG EUROPEAN UNION STATES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laura DIACONU (MAXIM

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available The aging population is a global phenomenon, which has affected almost all the EU states. The consequences are very important since it affects the socio-economic environment usually on the long run. Some of them could consist in increasing the public expenditure on pensions, social security and health services, which will raise the overall burden on the working population. Sometimes, a significant reduction of the labour force will even diminish the growth rate of an economy. Considering these aspects, the present paper intends to analyse the demographic situation from the EU states, the factors that have generated it and to identify the possible future trends. To determine the evolution of the ageing population phenomenon, we have analysed some demographic indicators included in various statistical reports and databases, such as the fertility rate, the median age, the percentage of population over a certain age and the age dependency ratio.

  10. Effects of smartphone overuse on hand function, pinch strength, and the median nerve.

    Science.gov (United States)

    İnal, Esra Erkol; Demİrcİ, kadİr; Çetİntürk, Azİze; Akgönül, Mehmet; Savaş, Serpİl

    2015-08-01

    In this study we investigated the flexor pollicis longus (FPL) tendon and median nerve in smartphone users by ultrasonography to assess the effects of smartphone addiction on the clinical and functional status of the hands. One hundred two students were divided into 3 groups: non-users, and high or low smartphone users. Smartphone Addiction Scale (SAS) scores and grip and pinch strengths were recorded. Pain in thumb movement and rest and hand function were evaluated on the visual analog scale (VAS) and the Duruöz Hand Index (DHI), respectively. The cross-sectional areas (CSAs) of the median nerve and the FPL tendon were calculated bilaterally using ultrasonography. Significantly higher median nerve CSAs were observed in the dominant hands of the high smartphone users than in the non-dominant hands (PSmartphone overuse enlarges the median nerve, causes pain in the thumb, and decreases pinch strength and hand functions. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  11. A study of retrograde degeneration of median nerve forearm ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Mona Mokhtar El Bardawil

    2013-10-22

    Oct 22, 2013 ... tient clinic of the Physical Medicine Rheumatology and Reha- bilitation ... F-wave to calculate axillary F central loop (AFCL) latency of median and ..... amplitude which substantially results from the block of faster ... Postoperative electrophysiological follow up for ... Regional rheumatic pain syndromes. In:.

  12. A novel image inpainting technique based on median diffusion

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    numerical methods such as anisotropic diffusion and multiresolution schemes. Some steps ... Roth & Black (2005) have developed a framework for learning a generic and expressive image priors that ..... This paper presents a new approach for image inpainting by propagating median information .... J. Graphics Tools 9(1):.

  13. Supratentorial gangliogliomas: histopathologic grading and tumor recurrence in 184 patients with a median follow-up of 8 years.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luyken, Cordelia; Blümcke, Ingmar; Fimmers, Rolf; Urbach, Horst; Wiestler, Otmar D; Schramm, Johannes

    2004-07-01

    Supratentorial gangliogliomas (GGs) are rare tumors of the central nervous system and are commonly associated with chronic seizures. To date, only case reports and small series of patients with short-term follow-up have been available for the assessment of the potential of GGs to recur and progress. Data from 184 patients who underwent resection of GGs between 1988 and 2001 were available from the University of Bonn Epilepsy Surgery Center (Bonn, Germany). Analysis of factors that influenced tumor recurrence and patient survival, such as preoperative history, age at operation, tumor location, histopathologic findings (including immunohistochemical findings), extent of tumor resection, and recurrence evaluated on postoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), was performed. The median follow-up period was 8 years (range, 1-14 years). One hundred seventy-eight patients (97%) presented with long-term seizures (> or = 2 years). The median age at surgery was 26 years (range, 2-65 years). Tumor location was temporal in 79% of patients and frontal in 12% of patients. Eleven tumors (6%) were classified as World Health Organization (WHO) Grade 2 lesions, and 2 tumors were classified as anaplastic WHO Grade 3 lesions. For 38 patients (21%), postoperative MRIs revealed residual tumors. Two years after surgery, 5 patients (3%) experienced tumor recurrence, which resulted in malignant progression in 3 patients (2%) and death in 2 patients (1%). Eighty-four percent of patients with epilepsy had complete and sustained seizure relief. The calculated 7.5-year recurrence-free survival rate was 97%. Lower rates of recurrence were found in patients with tumors classified as WHO Grade 1 lesions (P < 0.0001), patients with temporal lesions (P < 0.0001), patients who underwent complete tumor resection (P = 0.0278), and patients with long-standing epilepsy (P < 0.0001). Supratentorial GGs are benign tumors, and the surgical goal for patients with GG should be complete resection. Residual

  14. CT morphology of benign median nerve tumors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Feyerabend, T.; Schmitt, R.; Lanz, U.; Warmuth-Metz, M.; Wuerzburg Univ.

    1990-01-01

    Computed tomography (CT) was performed in 3 patients with benign tumors of the median nerve, histologically confirmed as neurilemmoma, fibrolipoma and hemangioma. The neurilemmoma showed a ring-shaped contrast enhancement. The fibrolipoma presented with areas of solid soft tissue and areas of fat. The hemangioma was a solid tumor with a lacunar, vascular contrast enhancement. According to our experience and to the previous literature CT gives useful information regarding the anatomic location, size, and relationship of peripheral nerve sheath tumors to surrounding structures, and may help to differentiate between various tumor types. (orig.)

  15. Prevalence and anatomical pattern of the median artery among ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Knowledge of the anatomy of median arteries is important in the diagnosis and management of carpal tunnel and pronator teres syndromes, reconstructive surgery in the forearm, minimizing inadvertent vascular injury as well as in limiting operative complications due to unexpected bleeding. The anatomical pattern displays ...

  16. Bayesian phylogenetic estimation of fossil ages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Drummond, Alexei J; Stadler, Tanja

    2016-07-19

    Recent advances have allowed for both morphological fossil evidence and molecular sequences to be integrated into a single combined inference of divergence dates under the rule of Bayesian probability. In particular, the fossilized birth-death tree prior and the Lewis-Mk model of discrete morphological evolution allow for the estimation of both divergence times and phylogenetic relationships between fossil and extant taxa. We exploit this statistical framework to investigate the internal consistency of these models by producing phylogenetic estimates of the age of each fossil in turn, within two rich and well-characterized datasets of fossil and extant species (penguins and canids). We find that the estimation accuracy of fossil ages is generally high with credible intervals seldom excluding the true age and median relative error in the two datasets of 5.7% and 13.2%, respectively. The median relative standard error (RSD) was 9.2% and 7.2%, respectively, suggesting good precision, although with some outliers. In fact, in the two datasets we analyse, the phylogenetic estimate of fossil age is on average less than 2 Myr from the mid-point age of the geological strata from which it was excavated. The high level of internal consistency found in our analyses suggests that the Bayesian statistical model employed is an adequate fit for both the geological and morphological data, and provides evidence from real data that the framework used can accurately model the evolution of discrete morphological traits coded from fossil and extant taxa. We anticipate that this approach will have diverse applications beyond divergence time dating, including dating fossils that are temporally unconstrained, testing of the 'morphological clock', and for uncovering potential model misspecification and/or data errors when controversial phylogenetic hypotheses are obtained based on combined divergence dating analyses.This article is part of the themed issue 'Dating species divergences using

  17. Median Hetero-Associative Memories Applied to the Categorization of True-Color Patterns

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vázquez, Roberto A.; Sossa, Humberto

    Median associative memories (MED-AMs) are a special type of associative memory based on the median operator. This type of associative model has been applied to the restoration of gray scale images and provides better performance than other models, such as morphological associative memories, when the patterns are altered with mixed noise. Despite of his power, MED-AMs have not been applied in problems involving true-color patterns. In this paper we describe how a median hetero-associative memory (MED-HAM) could be applied in problems that involve true-color patterns. A complete study of the behavior of this associative model in the restoration of true-color images is performed using a benchmark of 14400 images altered by different type of noises. Furthermore, we describe how this model can be applied to an image categorization problem.

  18. Toxicity of 239PuO2 inhaled by aged Beagle dogs. X

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Muggenburg, B.A.; Hahn, F.F.; Gillett, N.A.; Guilmette, R.A.; Boecker, B.B.; McClellan, R.O.

    1988-01-01

    The influence of age at exposure on the metabolism, dosimetry, and biological effects of inhaled 239 PuO 2 particles is being studied in aged Beagle dogs (8.0-10.5 yr of age at exposure). Forty-eight dogs inhaled 239 PuO 2 particles with an activity median aerodynamic diameter of 1.5 mm to achieve graded levels of initial pulmonary burdens (IPB) ranging from 0.02-0.66 μCi 239 Pu/kg body weight (0.75-24 kBq/kg). Twelve other dogs were exposed to the aerosol diluent only. All forty-eight exposed dogs have died, including two in the past year. The twelve control dogs have also died, including one in the past year. Radiation pneumonitis and pulmonary fibrosis have been the primary causes of death in these aged dogs exposed to 239 PuO 2 . (author)

  19. Planning the City Logistics Terminal Location by Applying the Green p-Median Model and Type-2 Neurofuzzy Network.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pamučar, Dragan; Vasin, Ljubislav; Atanasković, Predrag; Miličić, Milica

    2016-01-01

    The paper herein presents green p-median problem (GMP) which uses the adaptive type-2 neural network for the processing of environmental and sociological parameters including costs of logistics operators and demonstrates the influence of these parameters on planning the location for the city logistics terminal (CLT) within the discrete network. CLT shows direct effects on increment of traffic volume especially in urban areas, which further results in negative environmental effects such as air pollution and noise as well as increased number of urban populations suffering from bronchitis, asthma, and similar respiratory infections. By applying the green p-median model (GMM), negative effects on environment and health in urban areas caused by delivery vehicles may be reduced to minimum. This model creates real possibilities for making the proper investment decisions so as profitable investments may be realized in the field of transport infrastructure. The paper herein also includes testing of GMM in real conditions on four CLT locations in Belgrade City zone.

  20. Planning the City Logistics Terminal Location by Applying the Green p-Median Model and Type-2 Neurofuzzy Network

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dragan Pamučar

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper herein presents green p-median problem (GMP which uses the adaptive type-2 neural network for the processing of environmental and sociological parameters including costs of logistics operators and demonstrates the influence of these parameters on planning the location for the city logistics terminal (CLT within the discrete network. CLT shows direct effects on increment of traffic volume especially in urban areas, which further results in negative environmental effects such as air pollution and noise as well as increased number of urban populations suffering from bronchitis, asthma, and similar respiratory infections. By applying the green p-median model (GMM, negative effects on environment and health in urban areas caused by delivery vehicles may be reduced to minimum. This model creates real possibilities for making the proper investment decisions so as profitable investments may be realized in the field of transport infrastructure. The paper herein also includes testing of GMM in real conditions on four CLT locations in Belgrade City zone.

  1. Early Cretaceous dextral transpressional deformation within the Median Batholith, Stewart Island, New Zealand

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Allibone, A.H.; Tulloch, A.J.

    2008-01-01

    The character, timing, and significance of deformation within the Median Batholith has been debated since at least 1967, with allochthonous and autochthonous models proposed to account for internal variations in the character of the batholith. Stewart Island provides excellent exposures of intrabatholithic structures, allowing many aspects of the deformation history within the batholith to be analysed, far removed from the effects of later deformation related to the current plate boundary. Median Batholith rocks in northern and central Stewart Island are deformed by three major structures: the Freshwater Fault System, Escarpment Fault, and Gutter Shear Zone. Lineation orientations, Al in hornblende geobarometry, and Ar-Ar thermochronology indicate up to c. 7 km of NNE-directed uplift of the hanging wall of the Escarpment Fault between c. 110 and 105 Ma. Unlike the Escarpment Fault, a wide range of mineral elongation lineation orientations, including many oblique to the strike and dip of related foliations, characterise both the Gutter Shear Zone and Freshwater Fault System. Lineation and limited sense of shear data indicate dextral-reverse movement on both structures during development of their dominant ductile fabrics. Crosscutting and intrusive relationships indicate movement on the Freshwater Fault System after c. 130 Ma and on the Gutter Shear Zone between 120 and 112 Ma. The amount of movement on the Freshwater Fault System and Gutter Shear Zone remains largely unconstrained. However, the 342 ± 24 Ma age of a granite clast in a Paterson Group lithic tuff horizon at Abrahams Bay overlaps that of Carboniferous plutons in the block immediately south of the Freshwater Fault System, implying that the Paterson Group is little displaced from the basement rocks through which it was erupted. The three structures mapped on Stewart Island form part of a narrow transpressional mobile belt active within the Jurassic-Cretaceous arc on the outboard margin of the Western

  2. A study of retrograde degeneration of median nerve forearm ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Introduction: Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a disorder of the hand which results from compression of the median nerve within its fibro-osseous tunnel at the wrist. The slowing in the forearm motor conduction velocity suggests the presence of retrograde degeneration. Existing studies conflict regarding a correlation ...

  3. Development of Kinematic Graphs of Median Nerve during Active Finger Motion: Implications of Smartphone Use.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hoi-Chi Woo

    Full Text Available Certain hand activities cause deformation and displacement of the median nerve at the carpal tunnel due to the gliding motion of tendons surrounding it. As smartphone usage escalates, this raises the public's concern whether hand activities while using smartphones can lead to median nerve problems.The aims of this study were to 1 develop kinematic graphs and 2 investigate the associated deformation and rotational information of median nerve in the carpal tunnel during hand activities.Dominant wrists of 30 young adults were examined with ultrasonography by placing a transducer transversely on their wrist crease. Ultrasound video clips were recorded when the subject performing 1 thumb opposition with the wrist in neutral position, 2 thumb opposition with the wrist in ulnar deviation and 3 pinch grip with the wrist in neutral position. Six still images that were separated by 0.2-second intervals were then captured from the ultrasound video for the determination of 1 cross-sectional area (CSA, 2 flattening ratio (FR, 3 rotational displacement (RD and 4 translational displacement (TD of median nerve in the carpal tunnel, and these collected information of deformation, rotational and displacement of median nerve were compared between 1 two successive time points during a single hand activity and 2 different hand motions at the same time point. Finally, kinematic graphs were constructed to demonstrate the mobility of median nerve during different hand activities.Performing different hand activities during this study led to a gradual reduction in CSA of the median nerve, with thumb opposition together with the wrist in ulnar deviation causing the greatest extent of deformation of the median nerve. Thumb opposition with the wrist in ulnar deviation also led to the largest extent of TD when compared to the other two hand activities of this study. Kinematic graphs showed that the motion pathways of median nerve during different hand activities were complex

  4. Functional connectivity of the dorsal and median raphe nuclei at rest

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Beliveau, Vincent; Svarer, Claus; Frokjaer, Vibe G

    2015-01-01

    Serotonin (5-HT) is a neurotransmitter critically involved in a broad range of brain functions and implicated in the pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric illnesses including major depression, anxiety and sleep disorders. Despite being widely distributed throughout the brain, there is limited...... knowledge on the contribution of 5-HT to intrinsic brain activity. The dorsal raphe (DR) and median raphe (MR) nuclei are the source of most serotonergic neurons projecting throughout the brain and thus provide a compelling target for a seed-based probe of resting-state activity related to 5-HT. Here we...... implemented a novel multimodal neuroimaging approach for investigating resting-state functional connectivity (FC) between DR and MR and cortical, subcortical and cerebellar target areas. Using [(11)C]DASB positron emission tomography (PET) images of the brain serotonin transporter (5-HTT) combined...

  5. Measuring trends in age at first sex and age at marriage in Manicaland, Zimbabwe.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cremin, I; Mushati, P; Hallett, T; Mupambireyi, Z; Nyamukapa, C; Garnett, G P; Gregson, S

    2009-04-01

    To identify reporting biases and to determine the influence of inconsistent reporting on observed trends in the timing of age at first sex and age at marriage. Longitudinal data from three rounds of a population-based cohort in eastern Zimbabwe were analysed. Reports of age at first sex and age at marriage from 6837 individuals attending multiple rounds were classified according to consistency. Survival analysis was used to identify trends in the timing of first sex and marriage. In this population, women initiate sex and enter marriage at younger ages than men but spend much less time between first sex and marriage. Among those surveyed between 1998 and 2005, median ages at first sex and first marriage were 18.5 years and 21.4 years for men and 18.2 years and 18.5 years, respectively, for women aged 15-54 years. High levels of reports of both age at first sex and age at marriage among those attending multiple surveys were found to be unreliable. Excluding reports identified as unreliable from these analyses did not alter the observed trends in either age at first sex or age at marriage. Tracing birth cohorts as they aged revealed reporting biases, particularly among the youngest cohorts. Comparisons by birth cohorts, which span a period of >40 years, indicate that median age at first sex has remained constant over time for women but has declined gradually for men. Although many reports of age at first sex and age at marriage were found to be unreliable, inclusion of such reports did not result in artificial generation or suppression of trends.

  6. Quadratic Assignment of Hubs in p-Hub Median Problem

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gelareh, Shahin

    We introduce Generalized p-Hub Median Problem (GpHMP) that seeks to locate p hub nodes and install p distinct hub facilities/operators on the hubs while discount factor resulted by consolidation of flow on the hub links depends on the facilities/operators that are installed/operating on both hub...

  7. Regularization of DT-MR images using a successive Fermat median filtering method.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kwon, Kiwoon; Kim, Dongyoun; Kim, Sunghee; Park, Insung; Jeong, Jaewon; Kim, Taehwan; Hong, Cheolpyo; Han, Bongsoo

    2008-05-21

    Tractography using diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging (DT-MRI) is a method to determine the architecture of axonal fibers in the central nervous system by computing the direction of greatest diffusion in the white matter of the brain. To reduce the noise in DT-MRI measurements, a tensor-valued median filter, which is reported to be denoising and structure preserving in the tractography, is applied. In this paper, we proposed the successive Fermat (SF) method, successively using Fermat point theory for a triangle contained in the two-dimensional plane, as a median filtering method. We discussed the error analysis and numerical study about the SF method for phantom and experimental data. By considering the computing time and the image quality aspects of the numerical study simultaneously, we showed that the SF method is much more efficient than the simple median (SM) and gradient descents (GD) methods.

  8. Regularization of DT-MR images using a successive Fermat median filtering method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kwon, Kiwoon; Kim, Dongyoun; Kim, Sunghee; Park, Insung; Jeong, Jaewon; Kim, Taehwan; Hong, Cheolpyo; Han, Bongsoo

    2008-01-01

    Tractography using diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging (DT-MRI) is a method to determine the architecture of axonal fibers in the central nervous system by computing the direction of greatest diffusion in the white matter of the brain. To reduce the noise in DT-MRI measurements, a tensor-valued median filter, which is reported to be denoising and structure preserving in the tractography, is applied. In this paper, we proposed the successive Fermat (SF) method, successively using Fermat point theory for a triangle contained in the two-dimensional plane, as a median filtering method. We discussed the error analysis and numerical study about the SF method for phantom and experimental data. By considering the computing time and the image quality aspects of the numerical study simultaneously, we showed that the SF method is much more efficient than the simple median (SM) and gradient descents (GD) methods

  9. Regularization of DT-MR images using a successive Fermat median filtering method

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kwon, Kiwoon; Kim, Dongyoun; Kim, Sunghee; Park, Insung; Jeong, Jaewon; Kim, Taehwan [Department of Biomedical Engineering, Yonsei University, Wonju, 220-710 (Korea, Republic of); Hong, Cheolpyo; Han, Bongsoo [Department of Radiological Science, Yonsei University, Wonju, 220-710 (Korea, Republic of)], E-mail: bshan@yonsei.ac.kr

    2008-05-21

    Tractography using diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging (DT-MRI) is a method to determine the architecture of axonal fibers in the central nervous system by computing the direction of greatest diffusion in the white matter of the brain. To reduce the noise in DT-MRI measurements, a tensor-valued median filter, which is reported to be denoising and structure preserving in the tractography, is applied. In this paper, we proposed the successive Fermat (SF) method, successively using Fermat point theory for a triangle contained in the two-dimensional plane, as a median filtering method. We discussed the error analysis and numerical study about the SF method for phantom and experimental data. By considering the computing time and the image quality aspects of the numerical study simultaneously, we showed that the SF method is much more efficient than the simple median (SM) and gradient descents (GD) methods.

  10. Influence of median surgeon operative duration on adverse outcomes in bariatric surgery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reames, Bradley N; Bacal, Daniel; Krell, Robert W; Birkmeyer, John D; Birkmeyer, Nancy J O; Finks, Jonathan F

    2015-01-01

    Evidence suggests that prolonged operative time adversely affects surgical outcomes. However, whether faster surgeons have better outcomes is unclear, as a surgeon׳s speed could reflect skill and efficiency, but may alternatively reflect haste. This study evaluates whether median surgeon operative time is associated with adverse surgical outcomes after laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. We performed a retrospective cohort study using statewide clinical registry data from the years 2006 to 2012. Surgeons were ranked by their median operative time and grouped into terciles. Multivariable logistic regression with robust standard errors was used to evaluate the influence of median surgeon operative time on 30-day surgical outcomes, adjusting for patient and surgeon characteristics, trainee involvement, concurrent procedures, and the complex interaction between these variables. A total of 16,344 patients underwent surgery during the study period. Compared to surgeons in the fastest tercile, slow surgeons required 53 additional minutes to complete a gastric bypass procedure (median [interquartile range] 139 [133-150] versus 86 [69-91], Ppatient characteristic only, slow surgeons had significantly higher adjusted rates of any complication, prolonged length of stay, emergency department visits or readmissions, and venous thromboembolism (VTE). After further adjustment for surgeon characteristics, resident involvement, and the interaction between these variables, slow surgeons had higher rates of any complication (10.5% versus 7.1%, P=.039), prolonged length of stay (14.0% versus 4.4%, P=.002), and VTE (0.39% versus .22%, P<.001). Median surgeon operative duration is independently associated with adjusted rates of certain adverse outcomes after laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. Improving surgeon efficiency while operating may reduce operative time and improve the safety of bariatric surgery. Copyright © 2015 American Society for Bariatric Surgery. Published by

  11. Intracluster age gradients in numerous young stellar clusters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Getman, K. V.; Feigelson, E. D.; Kuhn, M. A.; Bate, M. R.; Broos, P. S.; Garmire, G. P.

    2018-05-01

    The pace and pattern of star formation leading to rich young stellar clusters is quite uncertain. In this context, we analyse the spatial distribution of ages within 19 young (median t ≲ 3 Myr on the Siess et al. time-scale), morphologically simple, isolated, and relatively rich stellar clusters. Our analysis is based on young stellar object (YSO) samples from the Massive Young Star-Forming Complex Study in Infrared and X-ray and Star Formation in Nearby Clouds surveys, and a new estimator of pre-main sequence (PMS) stellar ages, AgeJX, derived from X-ray and near-infrared photometric data. Median cluster ages are computed within four annular subregions of the clusters. We confirm and extend the earlier result of Getman et al. (2014): 80 per cent of the clusters show age trends where stars in cluster cores are younger than in outer regions. Our cluster stacking analyses establish the existence of an age gradient to high statistical significance in several ways. Time-scales vary with the choice of PMS evolutionary model; the inferred median age gradient across the studied clusters ranges from 0.75 to 1.5 Myr pc-1. The empirical finding reported in the present study - late or continuing formation of stars in the cores of star clusters with older stars dispersed in the outer regions - has a strong foundation with other observational studies and with the astrophysical models like the global hierarchical collapse model of Vázquez-Semadeni et al.

  12. MACULAR CHOROIDAL VOLUME CHANGES AFTER INTRAVITREAL BEVACIZUMAB FOR EXUDATIVE AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palkovits, Stefan; Seidel, Gerald; Pertl, Laura; Malle, Eva M; Hausberger, Silke; Makk, Johanna; Singer, Christoph; Osterholt, Julia; Herzog, Sereina A; Haas, Anton; Weger, Martin

    2017-12-01

    To evaluate the effect of intravitreal bevacizumab on the macular choroidal volume and the subfoveal choroidal thickness in treatment naïve eyes with exudative age-related macular degeneration. The macular choroidal volume and the subfoveal choroidal thickness were measured using enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography. After a screening examination, each patient received 3 monthly intravitreal injections of 1.25 mg bevacizumab. One month after the third injection was a final assessment. Forty-seven patients with a mean age of 80 ± 6.4 years were included. The macular choroidal volume decreased significantly from median 4.1 mm (interquartile range 3.4-5.9) to median 3.9 mm (interquartile range 3.1-5.6) between the baseline and final examination (difference -0.46 mm, 95% confidence interval: -0.57 to 0.35, P macular choroidal volume at baseline and subfoveal choroidal thickness at baseline were not associated with the response to treatment. The macular choroidal volume and the subfoveal choroidal thickness decreased significantly after 3 monthly bevacizumab injections for exudative age-related macular degeneration.

  13. Deep structure of Porcupine Basin and nature of the Porcupine Median Ridge from seismic refraction tomography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watremez, L.; Chen, C.; Prada, M.; Minshull, T. A.; O'Reilly, B.; Reston, T. J.; Wagner, G.; Gaw, V.; Klaeschen, D.; Shannon, P.

    2015-12-01

    The Porcupine Basin is a narrow V-shaped failed rifted basin located offshore SW Ireland. It is of Permo-Triassic to Cenozoic age, with the main rifting phase in the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous. Porcupine Basin is a key study area to learn about the processes of continental extension and to understand the thermal history of this rifted basin. Previous studies show increasing stretching factors, from less than 1.5 to the North to more than 6 to the South. A ridge feature, the Porcupine Median Ridge, has been identified in the middle of the southernmost part of the basin. During the last three decades, this ridge has been successively interpreted as a volcanic structure, a diapir of partially serpentinized mantle, or a block of continental crust. Its nature still remains debated today. In this study, we use arrival times from refractions and wide-angle reflections in the sedimentary, crustal and mantle layers to image the crustal structure of the thinnest part of the basin, the geometry of the continental thinning from margin to margin, and the Porcupine Median Ridge. The final velocity model is then compared with coincident seismic reflection data. We show that (1) the basin is asymmetric, (2) P-wave velocities in the uppermost mantle are lower than expected for unaltered peridotites, implying upper-mantle serpentinisation, (3) the nature of Porcupine Median Ridge is probably volcanic, and (4) the amount of thinning is greater than shown in previous studies. We discuss the thermal implications of these results for the evolution of this rift system and the processes leading to the formation of failed rifts. This project is funded by the Irish Shelf Petroleum Studies Group (ISPSG) of the Irish Petroleum Infrastructure Programme Group 4.

  14. 16 CFR Figure 2 to Part 1203 - ISO Headform-Basic, Reference, and Median Planes

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 16 Commercial Practices 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false ISO Headform-Basic, Reference, and Median Planes 2 Figure 2 to Part 1203 Commercial Practices CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION CONSUMER PRODUCT... Headform-Basic, Reference, and Median Planes ER10MR98.002 ...

  15. Influence of maternal age, gestational age and fetal gender on expression of immune mediators in amniotic fluid

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Weissenbacher Tobias

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Variations in cytokine and immune mediator expression patterns in amniotic fluid due to gestational age, maternal age and fetal gender were investigated. Findings Amniotic fluid samples were obtained from 192 women, 82 with a mid-trimester amniocentesis (median gestational age 17 weeks and 110 with a caesarean section not in labor (median gestational age 39 weeks. Amniotic fluid was screened by commercial ELISAs for the TH1/TH2/TH17 cytokines and immune mediators IL-1 beta, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12, IL-15, IL-17, TNF alpha, GRO-alpha, MIP1alpha, MIP1beta, Histone, and IP10. Analysis was by Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons. None of the 15 examined cytokines revealed any differences in expression patterns regarding fetal gender. Significant differences were found in IL-4, IL-10, IL-12, TNF- alpha, GRO-alpha and MIP1-beta with respect to gestational age and in GRO-alpha regarding maternal age. Conclusion Cytokines utilized as biomarkers in the diagnosis of intrauterine infections are not influenced in their expression pattern by fetal gender but may vary with respect to maternal age and gestational age.

  16. A Rare Variation of the Human Median Nerve Direction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Barfi

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Introduction The brachial plexus, a complex network of nerves, innervates to the upper limbs. Variation in the course of the nerves in the upper limb is common. Case Presentation This paper describes two cases of upper limb variations in a cadaver dissected at Lorestan University of Medical Sciences. In the first variation, the median nerve in the arm has a different route, so that the median moves deep into the brachialis muscle. In the latter case, after piercing the coracobrachialis muscle a musculocutaneous nerve exists between the brachialis and biceps and goes to the lateral region of the forearm. This is known as the lateral cutaneous nerve of the forearm nerve, and innervates the skin of the lateral part of the forearm and the dorsal part of the hand. Conclusions Because of the possibility of damage to the brachial plexus branches is high in upper limb injuries and surgeries, full knowledge of normal anatomy and variations of these branches is essential for orthopedic specialists, neurosurgeons, radiologists, and anatomists.

  17. Roosevelt County Blocks, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  18. New Mexico Counties, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  19. Sierra County Blocks, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  20. Guadalupe County Blocks, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  1. Mora County Blocks, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  2. Sandoval County Blocks, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  3. Chaves County Blocks, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  4. Grant County Blocks, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  5. Quay County Blocks, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  6. Colfax County Blocks, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  7. Curry County Blocks, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  8. Eddy County Blocks, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  9. Lincoln County Blocks, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  10. Luna County Blocks, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  11. Harding County Blocks, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  12. Bernalillo County Blocks, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  13. Catron County Blocks, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  14. Hidalgo County Blocks, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  15. Valencia County Blocks, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  16. Socorro County Blocks, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  17. Lea County Blocks, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  18. Taos County Blocks, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  19. Cibola County Blocks, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  20. Union County Blocks, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  1. Otero County Blocks, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  2. Torrance County Blocks, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  3. Transarterial chemo embolization for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma: A single center experience including 221 patients

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zeeneldin, A.A.; Salem, S.E.; Ibrahim, A.A.; Tabashy, R.H.; Alieldin, N.H.

    2013-01-01

    Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a major health problem in Egypt as well as in many countries. Trans arterial chemo embolization (TACE) is a treatment modality applicable to locally advanced HCC beyond surgery or ablative therapies and is associated with survival improvements. The aim of this study was to assess the outcomes of TACE in our center over the past four years. Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study that included 221 patients with locally advanced HCC treated with TACE in a single center between the years 2007 and 2010. The median age was 57 years with male predominance. Liver cirrhosis, viral hepatitis and Bilharziasis were encountered in 64%, 31% and 8% of patients, respectively. Abdominal pain was the most common presenting symptom (67%). Most cases were diagnosed based on radiology (57%) with a TNM stage I or II (73%) and a median AFP value of 150 ng/m L. Results: 221 patients received 440 cycles of TACE with a median of 2 cycles per patient. Cisplatin and doxorubicin (50 mg per cycle, each) were the most commonly used drugs. Impaired liver function was the most common toxicity. Liver cell failure occurred in 17% of patients. An objective tumor response was achieved in 44% of cases. The median overall survival (OS) was 16 months (95% Cl, 13-19 months) and the median progression free survival (PFS) was 6 months (95% Cl, 4.3-7.8 months). Responding patients, Child-Pugh class A and patients receiving standard doses of chemotherapy had a significantly better OS than their counterparts. Only Child-Pugh class A was associated with significantly longer PFS (p < 0.001). Conclusion: TACE produces reasonable responses and fair survival rates in locally advanced HCC but with noticeable toxicities. Proper patients selection and prompt liver support are mandates for improving TACE outcomes.

  4. Accelerated magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging of the median nerve using simultaneous multi-slice echo planar imaging with blipped CAIPIRINHA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Filli, Lukas; Piccirelli, Marco; Kenkel, David; Boss, Andreas; Manoliu, Andrei; Andreisek, Gustav; Bhat, Himanshu; Runge, Val M; Guggenberger, Roman

    2016-06-01

    To investigate the feasibility of MR diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) of the median nerve using simultaneous multi-slice echo planar imaging (EPI) with blipped CAIPIRINHA. After federal ethics board approval, MR imaging of the median nerves of eight healthy volunteers (mean age, 29.4 years; range, 25-32) was performed at 3 T using a 16-channel hand/wrist coil. An EPI sequence (b-value, 1,000 s/mm(2); 20 gradient directions) was acquired without acceleration as well as with twofold and threefold slice acceleration. Fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD) and quality of nerve tractography (number of tracks, average track length, track homogeneity, anatomical accuracy) were compared between the acquisitions using multivariate ANOVA and the Kruskal-Wallis test. Acquisition time was 6:08 min for standard DTI, 3:38 min for twofold and 2:31 min for threefold acceleration. No differences were found regarding FA (standard DTI: 0.620 ± 0.058; twofold acceleration: 0.642 ± 0.058; threefold acceleration: 0.644 ± 0.061; p ≥ 0.217) and MD (standard DTI: 1.076 ± 0.080 mm(2)/s; twofold acceleration: 1.016 ± 0.123 mm(2)/s; threefold acceleration: 0.979 ± 0.153 mm(2)/s; p ≥ 0.074). Twofold acceleration yielded similar tractography quality compared to standard DTI (p > 0.05). With threefold acceleration, however, average track length and track homogeneity decreased (p = 0.004-0.021). Accelerated DTI of the median nerve is feasible. Twofold acceleration yields similar results to standard DTI. • Standard DTI of the median nerve is limited by its long acquisition time. • Simultaneous multi-slice acquisition is a new technique for accelerated DTI. • Accelerated DTI of the median nerve yields similar results to standard DTI.

  5. Pudendal and median nerve sensory perception threshold: a comparison between normative studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quaghebeur, Jörgen; Wyndaele, Jean Jacques

    2014-12-01

    For the evaluation of sensory innervation, normative data are necessary as a comparison. To compare our current perception thresholds (CPTs) with normative data from other research. Healthy volunteers were assessed for 2000, 250, and 5 Hz CPTs of the median and pudendal nerve and data were compared with other studies. Normative data in the studied group n = 41 (male: 21; female: 20) for the median nerve, 2 kHz, 250 Hz, and 5 Hz were respectively: 241.85 ± 67.72 (140-444); 106.27 ± 39.12 (45-229); 82.05 ± 43.40 (13-271). Pudendal nerve CPTs 250 Hz were: 126.44 ± 69.46 (6-333). For men 2 kHz: 349.95 ± 125.76 (100-588); 5 Hz: 132.67 ± 51.81 (59-249) and women 2 kHz:226.20 ± 119.65 (64-528); 5 Hz: 92.45 ± 44.66 (35-215). For the median nerve no statistical differences for gender were shown. For the pudendal nerve, only 250 Hz showed no difference for gender (t-test: 0.516). Comparison of our data with CPTs of other normative data showed no agreement for the pudendal nerve. For the median nerve only 2 kHz showed agreement in three studies and for 5 Hz with one study. Comparing normative data of multiple studies shows a variety of results and poor agreement. Therefore, referring to normative data of other studies should be handled with caution.

  6. Sosiaalisen median kehittäminen pk-yrityksissä Töpseli-verkoston avulla

    OpenAIRE

    Palander, Laura

    2010-01-01

    Tämän opinnäytetyön tarkoituksena oli selvittää, minkälaisena mahdollisuutena pk-yrittäjät kokevat sosiaalisen median ja miten he ymmärtävät sen. Läntisellä Uudellamaalla toimivia yrityksiä on osallistunut Laurea-ammattikorkeakoulun Lohjan toimipisteen Töpseli-verkostoon. Verkoston tarkoituksena on vahvistaa länsi Uudellamaalla toimivien pk-yritysten kilpailukykyä, parantamalla yrittäjien ymmärrystä sosiaalisen median tarjoamista mahdollisuuksista. Työtä varten selvitettiin myös ammattikorkea...

  7. Respiratory viral infections in infancy and school age respiratory outcomes and healthcare costs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    MacBean, Victoria; Drysdale, Simon B; Yarzi, Muska N; Peacock, Janet L; Rafferty, Gerrard F; Greenough, Anne

    2018-03-01

    To determine the impact of viral lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) in infancy including rhinovirus (RV) and infancy respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), on school age pulmonary function and healthcare utilization in prematurely born children. School age respiratory outcomes would be worse and healthcare utilization greater in children who had viral LRTIs in infancy. Prospective study. A cohort of prematurely born children who had symptomatic LRTIs during infancy documented, was recalled. Pulmonary function was assessed at 5 to 7 years of age and health related costs of care from aged one to follow-up determined. Fifty-one children, median gestational age 33 +6 weeks, were assessed at a median (IQR) age 7.03 (6.37-7.26) years. Twenty-one children had no LRTI, 14 RV LRTI, 10 RSV LRTI, and 6 another viral LRTI (other LRTI). Compared to the no LRTI group, the RV group had a lower FEV 1 (P = 0.033) and the other LRTI group a lower FVC (P = 0.006). Non-respiratory medication costs were higher in the RV (P = 0.018) and RSV (P = 0.013) groups. Overall respiratory healthcare costs in the RV (£153/year) and RSV (£27/year) groups did not differ significantly from the no LRTI group (£56/year); the other LRTI group (£431/year) had higher respiratory healthcare costs (P = 0.042). In moderately prematurely born children, RV and RSV LRTIs in infancy were not associated with higher respiratory healthcare costs after infancy. Children who experienced LRTIs caused by other respiratory viruses (including RV) had higher respiratory healthcare costs and greater pulmonary function impairment. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  8. Diffusion tensor imaging of the median nerve at 3.0 T using different MR scanners: Agreement of FA and ADC measurements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guggenberger, Roman; Nanz, Daniel; Bussmann, Lorenz; Chhabra, Avneesh; Fischer, Michael A.; Hodler, Jürg; Pfirrmann, Christian W.A.; Andreisek, Gustav

    2013-01-01

    Objective: To assess the agreement of fractional anisotropy (FA) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values of the median nerve on 3.0 T MR scanners from different vendors. Materials and methods: IRB approved study including 16 healthy volunteers (9 women; mean age 30.6 ± 5.3 years). Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) of the dominant wrist was performed on three 3.0 T MR scanners (GE, Siemens, Philips) using similar imaging protocols and vendor-proprietary hard- and software. Intra-, inter-reader and inter-vendor agreements were assessed. Results: ICCs for intra-/inter-reader agreements ranged from 0.843–0.970/0.846–0.956 for FA, and 0.840–0.940/0.726–0.929 for ADC, respectively. ANOVA analysis identified significant differences for FA/ADC measurements among vendors (p −3 mm 2 /s (SD ± 0.134 × 10 −3 ) for ADC. A significant negative measurement bias was found for FA values from the GE scanner (−0.05 and −0.07) and for ADC values from the Siemens scanner (−0.053 and −0.063 × 10 −3 mm 2 /s) as compared to the remainder vendors Conclusion: FA and ADC values of the median nerve obtained on different 3.0 T MR scanners differ significantly, but are in comparison to the standard deviation of absolute values small enough to not have an impact on larger group studies or when substantial diffusion changes can be expected. However, caution is warranted in an individual patient when interpreting diffusion values from different scanner acquisitions

  9. A Rank Test on Equality of Population Medians

    OpenAIRE

    Pooi Ah Hin

    2012-01-01

    The Kruskal-Wallis test is a non-parametric test for the equality of K population medians. The test statistic involved is a measure of the overall closeness of the K average ranks in the individual samples to the average rank in the combined sample. The resulting acceptance region of the test however may not be the smallest region with the required acceptance probability under the null hypothesis. Presently an alternative acceptance region is constructed such that it has the smallest size, ap...

  10. Tessier Number 30 Median Mandibular Cleft With Congenital Heart Anomalies in Qena, Egypt.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ali, Ahmed Ali Abdelrahim

    2018-01-01

    Median cleft deformities of the lower lip and mandible are very rare congenital anomalies. Our patient had median cleft of the lower lip, mandible, and the chin with tongue duplication, ankyloglossia, and cleft strap muscles with 2 neck contracture bands. This anomaly was associated with congenital heart disease transposition of great vessels, large ventricular septal defect, and severe pulmonary stenosis. Early repair was done at 6 months to improve feeding.

  11. Pulmonary Function After Treatment for Embryonal Brain Tumors on SJMB03 That Included Craniospinal Irradiation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Green, Daniel M., E-mail: daniel.green@stjude.org [Department of Epidemiology and Cancer Control, St. Jude Children' s Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee (United States); Merchant, Thomas E. [Department of Radiological Sciences, St. Jude Children' s Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee (United States); Billups, Catherine A. [Department of Biostatistics, St. Jude Children' s Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee (United States); Stokes, Dennis C. [Department of Pediatrics, University of Tennessee School of Medicine, Memphis, Tennessee (United States); Broniscer, Alberto [Department of Oncology, St. Jude Children' s Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee (United States); Bartels, Ute [Department of Haematology and Oncology, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario (Canada); Chintagumpala, Murali [Department of Pediatric Medicine, Texas Children' s Cancer and Hematology Centers, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas (United States); Hassall, Timothy E. [Department of Haematology and Oncology, Royal Children' s Hospital, Brisbane (Australia); Gururangan, Sridharan [Department of Pediatrics, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina (United States); McCowage, Geoffrey B. [Department of Pediatrics, Children' s Hospital at Westmead, Sydney (Australia); Heath, John A. [Children' s Cancer Center, Royal Children' s Hospital Melbourne, Melbourne (Australia); Cohn, Richard J. [Department of Clinical Oncology, Sydney Children' s Hospital, Sydney (Australia); Fisher, Michael J. [Department of Pediatrics, Children' s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (United States); Srinivasan, Ashok [Department of Bone Marrow Transplantation & Cellular Therapy, St. Jude Children' s Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee (United States); Robinson, Giles W.; Gajjar, Amar [Department of Oncology, St. Jude Children' s Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee (United States)

    2015-09-01

    Purpose: The treatment of children with embryonal brain tumors (EBT) includes craniospinal irradiation (CSI). There are limited data regarding the effect of CSI on pulmonary function. Methods: Protocol SJMB03 enrolled patients 3 to 21 years of age with EBT. Pulmonary function tests (PFTs) (forced expiratory volume in 1 second [FEV{sub 1}] and forced vital capacity [FVC] by spirometry, total lung capacity [TLC] by nitrogen washout or plethysmography, and diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide corrected for hemoglobin [DLCO{sub corr}]) were obtained. Differences between PFTs obtained immediately after the completion of CSI and 24 or 60 months after the completion of treatment (ACT) were compared using exact Wilcoxon signed-rank tests and repeated-measures models. Results: Between June 24, 2003, and March 1, 2010, 303 eligible patients (spine dose: ≤2345 cGy, 201; >2345 cGy, 102; proton beam, 20) were enrolled, 260 of whom had at least 1 PFT. The median age at diagnosis was 8.9 years (range, 3.1-20.4 years). The median thoracic spinal radiation dose was 23.4 Gy (interquartile range [IQR], 23.4-36.0 Gy). The median cyclophosphamide dose was 16.0 g/m{sup 2} (IQR, 15.7-16.0 g/m{sup 2}). At 24 and 60 months ACT, DLCO{sub corr} was <75% predicted in 23% (27/118) and 25% (21/84) of patients, FEV{sub 1} was <80% predicted in 20% (34/170) and 29% (32/109) of patients, FVC was <80% predicted in 27% (46/172) and 28% (30/108) of patients, and TLC was <75% predicted in 9% (13/138) and 11% (10/92) of patients. DLCO{sub corr} was significantly decreased 24 months ACT (median difference [MD] in % predicted, 3.00%; P=.028) and 60 months ACT (MD in % predicted, 6.00%; P=.033) compared with the end of radiation therapy. These significant decreases in DLCO{sub corr} were also observed in repeated-measures models (P=.011 and P=.032 at 24 and 60 months ACT, respectively). Conclusions: A significant minority of EBT survivors experience PFT deficits after CSI

  12. Pulmonary Function After Treatment for Embryonal Brain Tumors on SJMB03 That Included Craniospinal Irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Green, Daniel M.; Merchant, Thomas E.; Billups, Catherine A.; Stokes, Dennis C.; Broniscer, Alberto; Bartels, Ute; Chintagumpala, Murali; Hassall, Timothy E.; Gururangan, Sridharan; McCowage, Geoffrey B.; Heath, John A.; Cohn, Richard J.; Fisher, Michael J.; Srinivasan, Ashok; Robinson, Giles W.; Gajjar, Amar

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: The treatment of children with embryonal brain tumors (EBT) includes craniospinal irradiation (CSI). There are limited data regarding the effect of CSI on pulmonary function. Methods: Protocol SJMB03 enrolled patients 3 to 21 years of age with EBT. Pulmonary function tests (PFTs) (forced expiratory volume in 1 second [FEV 1 ] and forced vital capacity [FVC] by spirometry, total lung capacity [TLC] by nitrogen washout or plethysmography, and diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide corrected for hemoglobin [DLCO corr ]) were obtained. Differences between PFTs obtained immediately after the completion of CSI and 24 or 60 months after the completion of treatment (ACT) were compared using exact Wilcoxon signed-rank tests and repeated-measures models. Results: Between June 24, 2003, and March 1, 2010, 303 eligible patients (spine dose: ≤2345 cGy, 201; >2345 cGy, 102; proton beam, 20) were enrolled, 260 of whom had at least 1 PFT. The median age at diagnosis was 8.9 years (range, 3.1-20.4 years). The median thoracic spinal radiation dose was 23.4 Gy (interquartile range [IQR], 23.4-36.0 Gy). The median cyclophosphamide dose was 16.0 g/m 2 (IQR, 15.7-16.0 g/m 2 ). At 24 and 60 months ACT, DLCO corr was <75% predicted in 23% (27/118) and 25% (21/84) of patients, FEV 1 was <80% predicted in 20% (34/170) and 29% (32/109) of patients, FVC was <80% predicted in 27% (46/172) and 28% (30/108) of patients, and TLC was <75% predicted in 9% (13/138) and 11% (10/92) of patients. DLCO corr was significantly decreased 24 months ACT (median difference [MD] in % predicted, 3.00%; P=.028) and 60 months ACT (MD in % predicted, 6.00%; P=.033) compared with the end of radiation therapy. These significant decreases in DLCO corr were also observed in repeated-measures models (P=.011 and P=.032 at 24 and 60 months ACT, respectively). Conclusions: A significant minority of EBT survivors experience PFT deficits after CSI. Continued monitoring of this cohort

  13. Evaluation of a non-proprietary, high-tension, four-cable median barrier on level terrain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-11-01

    During the last decade, the use of cable median barriers has risen dramatically. Cable barriers are often utilized in depressed medians : with widths ranging from 30 to 50 ft (9.1 to 15.2 m) and with fill slopes as steep as 4H:1V. A careful review of...

  14. Effect of age-difference between heterosexual partners on risk of cervical cancer and human papillomavirus infection

    OpenAIRE

    Baussano, Iacopo; Diaz, Mireia; Tully, Stephen; Muñoz, Nubia; de Sanjosé, Silvia; Bosch, F. Xavier; Franceschi, Silvia

    2017-01-01

    Background: Age difference (Adiff) within a heterosexual couple may influence a woman's risk of being HPV-positive and developing cervical cancer (CC). Methods: We assessed the relationship between Adiff within the first and current sexual partnership and risk of CC and HPV infection in 1495 cases and 1358 control women from 6 countries included in IARC's multicentric case-control study (median age: 48 years). Results: Large Adiff within the first partnerships was associated with increased CC...

  15. New England observed and predicted median July stream/river temperature points

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — The shapefile contains points with associated observed and predicted median July stream/river temperatures in New England based on a spatial statistical network...

  16. New England observed and predicted median August stream/river temperature points

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — The shapefile contains points with associated observed and predicted median August stream/river temperatures in New England based on a spatial statistical network...

  17. The mean, the median, and the St. Petersburg paradox.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hayden, Benjamin Y; Platt, Michael L

    2009-06-01

    The St. Petersburg Paradox is a famous economic and philosophical puzzle that has generated numerous conflicting explanations. To shed empirical light on this phenomenon, we examined subjects' bids for one St. Petersburg gamble with a real monetary payment. We found that bids were typically lower than twice the smallest payoff, and thus much lower than is generally supposed. We also examined bids offered for several hypothetical variants of the St. Petersburg Paradox. We found that bids were weakly affected by truncating the gamble, were strongly affected by repeats of the gamble, and depended linearly on the initial "seed" value of the gamble. One explanation, which we call the median heuristic , strongly predicts these data. Subjects following this strategy evaluate a gamble as if they were taking the median rather than the mean of the payoff distribution. Finally, we argue that the distribution of outcomes embodied in the St. Petersburg paradox is so divergent from the Gaussian form that the statistical mean is a poor estimator of expected value, so that the expected value of the St. Petersburg gamble is undefined. These results suggest that this classic paradox has a straightforward explanation rooted in the use of a statistical heuristic.

  18. PROJECTIONS OF DORSAL AND MEDIAN RAPHE NUCLEI TO DORSAL AND VENTRAL STRIATUM

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. R. Hassanzadeh G. Behzadi

    2007-08-01

    Full Text Available The ascending serotonergic projections are derived mainly from mesencephalic raphe nuclei. Topographical projections from mesencephalic raphe nuclei to the striatum were examined in the rat by the retrograde transport technique of HRP (horseradish peroxidase. In 29 rats stereotaxically injection of HRP enzyme were performed in dorsal and ventral parts of striatum separately. The extent of the injection sites and distribution of retrogradely labeled neuronal cell bodies were drawed on representative sections using a projection microscope. Following ipsilateral injection of HRP into the dorsal striatum, numerous labeled neurons were seen in rostral portion of dorsal raphe (DR nucleus. In the same level the cluster of labeled neurons were hevier through caudal parts of DR. A few neurons were also located in lateral wing of DR. More caudally some labeled neurons were found in lateral, medial line of DR. In median raphe nucleus (MnR the labeled neurons were scattered only in median portion of this nucleus. The ipsilateral injection of HRP into the ventral region of striatum resulted on labeling of numerous neurons in rostral, caudal and lateral portions of DR. Through the caudal extension of DR on 4th ventricle level, a large number of labeled neurons were distributed along the ventrocaudal parts of DR. In MnR, labeled neurons were observed only in median part of this nucleus. These findings suggest the mesencephalic raphe nuclei projections to caudo-putamen are topographically organized. In addition dorsal and median raphe nuclei have a stronger projection to the ventral striatum.

  19. Prevalence of dental fluorosis in children taking part in an oral health programme including fluoride tablet supplements from the age of 2 years

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Eckersten, Charlotte; Pylvänen, Lena; Schröder, Ulla

    2010-01-01

    To investigate the prevalence of dental fluorosis in children who had participated in an oral health programme between the ages 2-5 years, including fluoride tablets from the age of 2 years.......To investigate the prevalence of dental fluorosis in children who had participated in an oral health programme between the ages 2-5 years, including fluoride tablets from the age of 2 years....

  20. Investigation of survival time and disability characteristics in 5 subjects with bilateral thalamus infarction near median line%双侧中线旁丘脑梗死5例致残特点及生存期调查

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    翟明; 刘江; 钟静玫; 林岚

    2002-01-01

    @@ Background:Bilateral thalamus infarction near median line is uncommon in clinic.Reports concerned with this conditions were more less.It is characterized by conscious disorder and Korsakoff syndrome.The main caused may be the injury of intralaminar nuclei,dorsomedial nuclei,and injury of cortical matter,mammalillary bodies,fasciculus thalamicus around cerebral chamer III.Comprehensing the disability characteristics in pateints with bilateral thalamus infarction near median line is important for direction of rehabilitation.While study of survival time will improve evaluation of prognosis. Design:Patients recruited from June 1997~ October 2000 were analyzed. Unit:Intraneural Department of First People's Hospital of Yunnan Province. Subjects:55 subjects with MRI proved bilateral thalamus infarction near median line entered study.These patients included 3 women,2 men(age ranging from 50 to 77 years old,mean age:68.6 years).The period from onset to admission ranged from 5 hours to 2 days.All subejcts experienced acute bilateral thalamus infarction near median line.All had hypertension previously,1 had diabetes,2 had auricular fibrillation. Intervention:All patients received management which was conducted according to protocol for treatment of ischemic cerebrovascular diseases. Patients clinical characteristics were summari-zed and analyzed.Follow up was conducted to determine the survival period. Main evaluation indexes:Survival time and conscious disorder were evaluated. Result:All patients showed different level of conscious disorder.3 cases developed thalamic dementia,2 developed vision numb,In 1 case,condition progressively deteriorated manifesting as moderate coma progressed to deep coma,and bilateral mydriasis.Finally,this patients died of central respiratory and circulatory failure after 8 days.4 cases with favorable prognosis discharged,3 out of them died within 1 year after discharge.Survival subject suffered from reduced memory was followed up till now

  1. Digitaalisen markkinoinnin ja sosiaalisen median hyödyntäminen kampaamoalalla : Pienyritykset

    OpenAIRE

    Myllymäki, Hanna

    2016-01-01

    Tämän opinnäytetyön aiheena oli digitaalisen markkinoinnin ja sosiaalisen median hyödyntäminen kampaamoalalla, erityisesti pienissä yrityksissä. Tavoitteena oli opastaa lukijaa ymmärtämään digitaalisen markkinoinnin ja sosiaalisen median keskeisimmät perusteet ja antaa neuvoja parturi-kampaamoalan yrittäjälle, joka ei ole vielä huomioinut tai osannut hyödyntää niiden työkaluja. Työn teoriaosuudessa käsiteltiin mitä markkinointiviestintä on ja mitä sosiaalisen media on. Tämän lisäksi käsit...

  2. Program-level and contextual-level determinants of low-median CD4+ cell count in cohorts of persons initiating ART in eight sub-Saharan African countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nash, Denis; Wu, Yingfeng; Elul, Batya; Hoos, David; El Sadr, Wafaa

    2011-07-31

    In sub-Saharan Africa, many patients initiate antiretroviral therapy (ART) at CD4 cell counts much lower than those recommended in national guidelines. We examined program-level and contextual-level factors associated with low median CD4 cell count at ART initiation in populations initiating ART. Multilevel analysis of aggregate and program-level service delivery data. We examined data on 1690 cohorts of patients initiating ART during 2004-2008 in eight sub-Saharan African countries. Cohorts with median CD4 less than 111 cells/μl (the lowest quartile) were classified as having low median CD4 cell count at ART initiation. Cohort information was combined with time-updated program-level data and subnational contextual-level data, and analyzed using multilevel models. The 1690 cohorts had median CD4 cell count of 136 cells/μl and included 121,504 patients initiating ART at 267 clinics. Program-level factors associated with low cohort median CD4 cell count included urban setting [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 2.1; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.3-3.3], lower provider-to-patient ratio (AOR 2.2; 95% CI 1.3-4.0), no PMTCT program (AOR 3.6; 95% CI 1.0-12.8), outreach services for ART patients only vs. both pre-ART and ART patients (AOR 2.4; 95% CI 1.5-3.9), fewer vs. more adherence support services (AOR 1.6; 95% CI 1.0-2.5), and smaller cohort size (AOR 2.5; 95% CI 1.4-4.5). Contextual-level factors associated with low cohort median CD4 cell count included initiating ART in areas where a lower proportion of the population heard of AIDS, tested for HIV recently, and a higher proportion believed 'limiting themselves to one HIV-uninfected sexual partner reduces HIV risk'. Determinants of CD4 cell count at ART initiation in populations initiating ART operate at multiple levels. Structural interventions targeting points upstream from ART initiation along the continuum from infection to diagnosis to care engagement are needed.

  3. Median sep and blink reflex in thyroid diseases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oflazoğlu, B; Somay, G; Us, O; Surardamar, A; Tanridağ, T

    2006-11-01

    Pathological disturbances of thyroid hormones is associated with central and peripheral nervous system disturbances. The aim of this study is to evaluate median nerve stimulated somatosensory evoked potential (SEP) and blink reflex of thyroid patients (hypo and hyperthyroidism). Median SEP was performed in 40 patients (21 with hyperthyroidism and 19 with hypothyroidism). We evaluated the latencies of N9, N11, N13, P9, P11, P14, N20 and P25 waves and the N9-N20, N9-N13, N13-N20 and P14-N20 interpeak latencies. We compared the results of patients with the control group (26 persons). We found that the N20 latency was longer in patients with hyperthyroidism than in the control group and the difference was statistically significant. There was not any statistically significant difference regarding the N9, N11, N13, P9, P11, P14, N20 and P25 latencies and the N9-N20, N9-N13, N13-N20 and P14-N20 interpeak latencies between hypothyroid patients and controls. We performed the blink reflex study in 28 of 40 patients (14 patients with hyperthyroidism and 14 patients with hypothyroidism). Comparing the R1, R2, CR2 (contralateral R2) latencies and durations of the patients and controls, we found that R2 and CR2 duration was shorter in patients with hyperthyroidism. This difference was statistically significant.

  4. Primary early correction of tetralogy of Fallot irrespective of age.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kantorova, Andrea; Zbieranek, Kai; Sauer, Henning; Lilje, Christian; Haun, Christoph; Hraska, Viktor

    2008-04-01

    The policy of early repair of patients with tetralogy of Fallot, irrespective of age, as opposed to initial palliation with a shunt, remains controversial. The aim of our study was to analyze the midterm outcome of primary early correction of tetralogy of Fallot. Between 1996 and 2005, a total of 61 consecutive patients less than 6 months of age underwent primary correction of tetralogy of Fallot in two institutions. The median age at surgery was 3.3 months, and 27 patients (44%) were younger than 3 months of age, including 12 (20%) newborns. We analyzed the patients in 2 groups: those younger than 3 months of age, and those aged between 3 and 6 months. There was one early (1.6%), and one late death. Actuarial survival was 98.4%, 96.7%, 96.7% at 1, 5, and 10 years respectively, with a median follow up of 4.5 years. There was no difference in survival, bypass time, lengths of ventilation, and hospital stay between the groups. A transjunctional patch was placed significantly more often in the patients younger than 3 months (p = 0.039), with no adverse effect on survival and morbidity during the follow-up. Freedom from reoperation was 98.2%, 92.2%, and 83% at 1, 5, and 10 years respectively, with no difference between the groups. Elective primary repair of tetralogy of Fallot in asymptomatic patients is delayed beyond 3 months of age. In symptomatic patients, primary repair of tetralogy of Fallot is performed irrespective of age, weight and preoperative state. This approach is safe, and provides an excellent midterm outcome with acceptable morbidity and rates of reintervention. The long-term benefits of this approach must be established by careful follow-up, with particular emphasis on arrhythmias, right ventricular function, and exercise performance.

  5. Effect of finger motion on transverse median nerve movement in the carpal tunnel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kang, Hyo Jung; Yoon, Joon Shik

    2016-10-01

    We used ultrasonography (US) to investigate the effects of finger motion on movement of the median nerve in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) and the correlation between these US parameters and CTS severity. Ultrasonographic measures were performed in 23 control wrists and 22 CTS wrists in women. During first through third finger flexion and grip motion, median nerve movements were obtained using US and a tracing program. Nerve movements during third finger flexion in the dorsopalmar axis and grip motion in both axes, and during second finger flexion in the radioulnar axis, differed significantly between the control and CTS groups. US parameters correlated negatively with cross-sectional area. This study shows that transverse median nerve movements decreased during grip using US and correlated negatively with CTS severity. Muscle Nerve, 2016 Muscle Nerve 54: -, 2016 Muscle Nerve 54: 738-742, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  6. Case Report: A true median facial cleft (crano-facial dysraphia ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Case Report: A true median facial cleft (crano-facial dysraphia, atessier type O) in Bingham University Teaching Hospital, Jos. ... Patient had a multidisciplinary care by the obstetrician, Neonatologist, anesthesiologist and the plastic surgery team who scheduled a soft tissue repair of the upper lip defect, columella and ...

  7. SOSIAALISEN MEDIAN HYÖDYNTÄMINEN KUNTOKESKUS BALANCEN MARKKINOINNISSA

    OpenAIRE

    Arvola, Timo

    2011-01-01

    Tässä opinnäytetyössä oli kyse kehittämistehtävästä. Kehittämistehtävän tarkoitus oli tarkastella voiko Kuntokes-kus Balance hyödyntää sosiaalista mediaa markkinoinnissaan. Empiirisessä osassa on ohje Facebook-sivun luomi-seen. Teorian alussa tarkastellaan sosiaalista mediaa käsitteenä. Sosiaalisesta mediasta käsitteenä siirrytään sosiaalisen median sovelluksiin ja niiden ominaisuuksiin. Sovelluksista käsitellään Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, Wikipedia, blogit, Movescount ja HeiaHeia. ...

  8. Nuorten sosiaalisen median käyttö tiedonhankinnassa

    OpenAIRE

    Simolin, Annina

    2017-01-01

    Opinnäytetyön toimeksiantajana on Hämeen ammattikorkeakoulun strateginen viestintä, joka vastaa muun muassa opiskelijahankinnasta. HAMKilla on tällä hetkellä käytössään useita sosiaalisen median kanavia, ja työllä haluttiin selvittää mistä kanavista ja mitä tietoa nuoret erityisesti hakevat jatko-opintoja suunnitellessaan. Lisäksi haluttiin selvittää miten nuoret haluavat itse olla yhteydessä oppilaitoksiin hakuaikana. Teoriaosiossa on käsitelty nuorten mediakäyttäytymistä sekä useita sosiaal...

  9. Prenatal Exposure to Organohalogens, Including Brominated Flame Retardants, Influences Motor, Cognitive, and Behavioral Performance at School Age

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Roze, Elise; Meijer, Lisethe; Bakker, Attie; Van Braeckel, Koenraad N. J. A.; Sauer, Pieter J. J.; Bos, Arend F.

    2009-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Organohalogen compounds (OHCs) are known to have neurotoxic effects on the developing brain. OBJECTIVE: We investigated the influence of prenatal exposure to OHCs, including brominated flame retardants, on motor, cognitive, and behavioral outcome in healthy children of school age.

  10. Increasing annual incidence of vestibular schwannoma and age at diagnosis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Stangerup, Sven-Eric; Tos, Mirko; Caye-Thomasen, Per

    2004-01-01

    in 2001. In the first years large and giant tumours dominated, in contrast to recent years in which intrameatal and small tumours dominated. The median age at the time of diagnosis has been almost unchanged through the period (median 55 years). If the decreasing size of the tumour and the increasing...

  11. Median survival time of patients after transcatheter chemo-embolization for hepatocellular carcinoma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haider, Z.; Haq, T.; Munir, K.; Usman, M.U.; Azeemuddin, M.

    2006-01-01

    Objective: To determine the effect on survival after trans arterial chemo embolization (TACE) in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Design: Longitudinal cohort study. Place and Duration of Study: Radiology Department, The Aga Khan University Hospital, Stadium Road, Karachi, from December 1997 to September 2005. Patients and Methods: Patients undergoing TACE procedure for HCC were prospectively followed. Forty three patients were enrolled from December 1997 to March 2003 in the study and subjected to chemo embolization therapy. Eight out of 43 patients were excluded from the study, who lost to follow-up. All the patients were followed till their death. Median and mean survival were calculated. Results: The median survival of these 35 patients was 410 days (13.6 months), with 95% confidence interval (236 days lower bound and 536 days upper bound). Mean survival time was 603 days (20.1 months) with 95% confidence interval (394 days lower bound and 812 days upper bound). There was significant difference in mean survival time (in days) by Child's Pugh class (X2 = 12.384; df=2, p-value=0.002). Conclusion: The study showed that TACE is an effective palliative treatment. TACE increases the median survival time. (author)

  12. The mean, the median, and the St. Petersburg paradox

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Benjamin Y. Hayden

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available The St.~Petersburg Paradox is a famous economic and philosophical puzzle that has generated numerous conflicting explanations. To shed empirical light on this phenomenon, we examined subjects' bids for one St.~Petersburg gamble with a real monetary payment. We found that bids were typically lower than twice the smallest payoff, and thus much lower than is generally supposed. We also examined bids offered for several hypothetical variants of the St.~Petersburg Paradox. We found that bids were weakly affected by truncating the gamble, were strongly affected by repeats of the gamble, and depended linearly on the initial ``seed'' value of the gamble. One explanation, which we call the extit{median} extit{heuristic}, strongly predicts these data. Subjects following this strategy evaluate a gamble as if they were taking the median rather than the mean of the payoff distribution. Finally, we argue that the distribution of outcomes embodied in the St.~Petersburg paradox is so divergent from the Gaussian form that the statistical mean is a poor estimator of expected value, so that the expected value of the St.~Petersburg gamble is undefined. These results suggest that this classic paradox has a straightforward explanation rooted in the use of a statistical heuristic.

  13. Anatomical study of the motor branches of the median nerve to the forearm and guidelines for selective neurectomy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parot, Catalina; Leclercq, Caroline

    2016-07-01

    The median nerve is responsible for the motor innervation of most of the muscles usually involved in upper limb spasticity. Selective neurectomy is one of the treatments utilized to reduce spasticity. The purpose of this study was to describe the variations of the motor branches of the median nerve in the forearm and draw recommendations for an appropriate planning of selective neurectomy. The median nerve was dissected in the forearm of 20 fresh cadaver upper limbs. Measurements included number, origin, division, and entry point of each motor branch into the muscles. One branch for the pronator teres was the most common pattern. In 9/20 cases, it arose as a common trunk with other branches. A single trunk innervated the flexor carpi radialis with a common origin with other branches in 17/20 cases. Two, three or four branches innervated the flexor digitorum superficialis, the first one frequently through a common trunk with other branches. They were very difficult to identify unless insertions of pronator teres and flexor digitorum superficialis were detached. The flexor digitorum profundus received one to five branches and flexor pollicis longus one to two branches from the anterior interosseous nerve. There is no regular pattern of the motor branches of the median nerve in the forearm. Our findings differ in many points from the classical literature. Because of the frequency of common trunks for different muscles, we recommend the use of peroperative electrical stimulation. Selective neurotomy of flexor digitorum superficialis is technically difficult, because the entry point of some of their terminal branches occurs just below the arch and deep to the muscle belly.

  14. Sosiaalisen median merkitys mikroyrityksille - Case: TallFits Oy

    OpenAIRE

    Nousiainen, Ari; Koskivuori, Timo

    2011-01-01

    Tämän opinnäytetyön aiheena on sosiaalinen media mikroyritysten näkökulmasta. Työssä käsi-tellään sosiaalista mediaa ja markkinoinnissa tapahtunutta muutosta sekä niitä toimintatapoja, joita interaktiivinen mediaympäristö yrityksille ja sen asiakkaille tarjoaa. Työn tavoitteena on tuottaa tietoa sosiaalisen median hyödyistä ja haasteista mikroyrityksille ja lisätä koh-deyrityksemme TallFits Oy:n myyntiä ja löydettävyyttä. Tavoitteiden saavuttamiseksi opinnäytetyömme tarkoituksena oli tehd...

  15. Median Filter Noise Reduction of Image and Backpropagation Neural Network Model for Cervical Cancer Classification

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wutsqa, D. U.; Marwah, M.

    2017-06-01

    In this paper, we consider spatial operation median filter to reduce the noise in the cervical images yielded by colposcopy tool. The backpropagation neural network (BPNN) model is applied to the colposcopy images to classify cervical cancer. The classification process requires an image extraction by using a gray level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) method to obtain image features that are used as inputs of BPNN model. The advantage of noise reduction is evaluated by comparing the performances of BPNN models with and without spatial operation median filter. The experimental result shows that the spatial operation median filter can improve the accuracy of the BPNN model for cervical cancer classification.

  16. Indicators of abdominal size relative to height associated with sex, age, socioeconomic position and ancestry among US adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kahn, Henry S; Bullard, Kai McKeever

    2017-01-01

    The supine sagittal abdominal diameter (SAD) and standing waist circumference (WC) describe abdominal size. The SAD/height ratio (SADHtR) or WC/height ratio (WHtR) may better identify cardiometabolic disorders than BMI (weight/height2), but population-based distributions of SADHtR and WHtR are not widely available. Abdominal adiposity may differ by sociodemographic characteristics. Anthropometry, including SAD by sliding-beam caliper, was performed on 9894 non-pregnant adults ≥20 years in the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys of 2011-2014. Applying survey design factors and sampling weights, we estimated nationally representative SADHtR and WHtR distributions by sex, age, educational attainment, and four ancestral groups. The median (10th percentile, 90th percentile) for men's SADHtR was 0.130 (0.103, 0.165) and WHtR 0.569 (0.467, 0.690). For women, median SADHtR was 0.132 (0.102, 0.175) and WHtR 0.586 (0.473, 0.738). Medians for SADHtR and WHtR increased steadily through age 79. The median BMI, however, reached maximum values at ages 40-49 (men) or 60-69 (women) and then declined. Low educational attainment, adjusted for age and ancestry, was associated with elevated SADHtR more strongly than elevated BMI. While non-Hispanic Asians had substantially lower BMI compared to all other ancestral groups (adjusted for sex, age and education), their relative reductions in SADHtR and WHtR, were less marked. These cross-sectional data are consistent with monotonically increasing abdominal adipose tissue through the years of adulthood but decreasing mass in non-abdominal regions beyond middle age. They suggest also that visceral adipose tissue, estimated by SADHtR, expands differentially in association with low socioeconomic position. Insofar as Asians have lower BMIs than other populations, employing abdominal indicators may attenuate the adiposity differences reported between ancestral groups. Documenting the distribution and sociodemographic features

  17. Median and Morphological Specialized Processors for a Real-Time Image Data Processing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kazimierz Wiatr

    2002-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents the considerations on selecting a multiprocessor MISD architecture for fast implementation of the vision image processing. Using the author′s earlier experience with real-time systems, implementing of specialized hardware processors based on the programmable FPGA systems has been proposed in the pipeline architecture. In particular, the following processors are presented: median filter and morphological processor. The structure of a universal reconfigurable processor developed has been proposed as well. Experimental results are presented as delays on LCA level implementation for median filter, morphological processor, convolution processor, look-up-table processor, logic processor and histogram processor. These times compare with delays in general purpose processor and DSP processor.

  18. Management of sternal precautions following median sternotomy by physical therapists in Australia: a web-based survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tuyl, Lara J; Mackney, Jennifer H; Johnston, Catherine L

    2012-01-01

    Sternal precautions are utilized within many hospitals with the aim of preventing the occurrence of sternal complications (eg, infection, wound breakdown) following midline sternotomy. The evidence base for sternal precaution protocols, however, has been questioned due to a paucity of research, unknown effect on patient outcomes, and possible discrepancies in pattern of use among institutions. The objective of this study was to investigate and document the use of sternal precautions by physical therapists in the treatment of patients following median sternotomy in hospitals throughout Australia, from immediately postsurgery to discharge from the hospital. A cross-sectional, observational design was used. An anonymous, Web-based survey was custom designed for use in the study. The questionnaire was content validated, and the online functionality was assessed. The senior cardiothoracic physical therapist from each hospital identified as currently performing cardiothoracic surgery (N=51) was invited to participate. The response rate was 58.8% (n=30). Both public (n=18) and private (n=12) hospitals in all states of Australia were represented. Management protocols reported by participants included wound support (n=22), restrictions on lifting and transfers (n=23), and restrictions on mobility aid use (n=15). Factors influencing clinical practice most commonly included "workplace practices/protocols" (n=27) and "clinical experience" (n=22). Limitations The study may be limited by response bias. Significant variation exists in the sternal precautions and protocols used in the treatment of patients following median sternotomy in Australian hospitals. Further research is needed to investigate whether the restrictions and precautions used are necessary and whether protocols have an impact on patient outcomes, including rates of recovery and length of stay.

  19. AN AMELIORATED DETECTION STATISTICS FOR ADAPTIVE MASK MEDIAN FILTRATION OF HEAVILY NOISED DIGITAL IMAGES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Geeta Hanji

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Noise reduction is an important area of research in image processing applications. The performance of the digital image noise filtering method primarily depends upon the accuracy of noise detection scheme. This paper presents an effective detector based, adaptive mask, median filtration of heavily noised digital images affected with fixed value (or salt and pepper impulse noise. The proposed filter presents a novel approach; an ameliorated Rank Ordered Absolute Deviation (ROAD statistics to judge whether the input pixel is noised or noise free. If a pixel is detected as corrupted, it is subjected to adaptive mask median filtration; otherwise, it is kept unchanged. Extensive experimental results and comparative performance evaluations demonstrate that the proposed filter outperforms the existing decision type, median based filters with powerful noise detectors in terms of objective performance measures and visual retrieviation accuracy.

  20. Factors Affecting Age at ASD Diagnosis in UK: No Evidence That Diagnosis Age Has Decreased between 2004 and 2014

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brett, Denise; Warnell, Frances; McConachie, Helen; Parr, Jeremy R.

    2016-01-01

    Clinical initiatives have aimed to reduce the age at ASD diagnosis in the UK. This study investigated whether the median age at diagnosis in childhood has reduced in recent years, and identified the factors associated with earlier diagnosis in the UK. Data on 2,134 children with ASD came from two large family databases. Results showed that the age…

  1. Gender-partitioned patient medians of serum albumin requested by general practitioners for the assessment of analytical stability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hansen, Steen Ingemann; Petersen, Per Hyltoft; Lund, Flemming; Fraser, Callum G; Sölétormos, György

    2018-04-25

    Recently, the use of separate gender-partitioned patient medians of serum sodium has revealed potential for monitoring analytical stability within the optimum analytical performance specifications for laboratory medicine. The serum albumin concentration depends on whether a patient is sitting or recumbent during phlebotomy. We therefore investigated only examinations requested by general practitioners (GPs) to provide data from sitting patients. Weekly and monthly patient medians of serum albumin requested by GP for both male and female patients were calculated from the raw data obtained from three analysers in the hospital laboratory on examination of samples from those >18 years. The half-range of medians were applied as an estimate of the maximum bias. Further, the ratios between the two medians were calculated (females/males). The medians for male and female patients were closely related despite considerable variation due to the current analytical variation. This relationship was confirmed by the calculated half-range for the monthly ratio between the genders of 0.44%, which surpasses the optimum analytical performance specification for bias of serum albumin (0.72%). The weekly ratio had a half-range of 1.83%, which surpasses the minimum analytical performance specifications of 2.15%. Monthly gender-partitioned patient medians of serum albumin are useful for monitoring of long-term analytical stability, where the gender medians are two independent estimates of changes in (delta) bias: only results requested by GP are of value in this application to ensure that all patients are sitting during phlebotomy.

  2. Standard bone-age of infant and children in Korea

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yeon, K. M.

    1996-01-01

    To evaluate the developmental status of children and adolescents, bone-age chart based on the radiograph of hand and wrist has been used in many countries. The bone-age reflects not only the functional status of various hormones but also the influence of chronic disease, and it has been used more widely than other indices such as height-weight-age table. As the standard bone-age chart has not been established in Korea, the foreign bone-age chart has been used radiographs in the clinics. To make Korean standard bone-age chart, we took the radiographs of the left hand in about 5400 children covering the whole country, and 3407 radiographs of 1830 boys and 1577 girls ranging from two months to 16 years of age were selected and analyzed for bone maturity scores by TW2-20 method. The range of age were divided into 27 groups, and the radiographs of 50th percentile score were chosen as the standard bone-ages for the median age of each group. The youngest and oldest chronological age which had the same TW2-20 score of the standard bone-age were decided as the range of variation from the median age. We hope that Korean standard bone-age chart be used as the radiological criteria in the evaluation of the developmental status in Korean children and adolescents

  3. Accelerated magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging of the median nerve using simultaneous multi-slice echo planar imaging with blipped CAIPIRINHA

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Filli, Lukas; Kenkel, David; Boss, Andreas; Manoliu, Andrei; Andreisek, Gustav; Runge, Val M.; Guggenberger, Roman [University Hospital of Zurich, University of Zurich, Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Zurich (Switzerland); Piccirelli, Marco [University Hospital of Zurich, Department of Neuroradiology, Zurich (Switzerland); Bhat, Himanshu [Siemens Medical Solutions USA Inc, Charlestown, MA (United States)

    2016-06-15

    To investigate the feasibility of MR diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) of the median nerve using simultaneous multi-slice echo planar imaging (EPI) with blipped CAIPIRINHA. After federal ethics board approval, MR imaging of the median nerves of eight healthy volunteers (mean age, 29.4 years; range, 25-32) was performed at 3 T using a 16-channel hand/wrist coil. An EPI sequence (b-value, 1,000 s/mm{sup 2}; 20 gradient directions) was acquired without acceleration as well as with twofold and threefold slice acceleration. Fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD) and quality of nerve tractography (number of tracks, average track length, track homogeneity, anatomical accuracy) were compared between the acquisitions using multivariate ANOVA and the Kruskal-Wallis test. Acquisition time was 6:08 min for standard DTI, 3:38 min for twofold and 2:31 min for threefold acceleration. No differences were found regarding FA (standard DTI: 0.620 ± 0.058; twofold acceleration: 0.642 ± 0.058; threefold acceleration: 0.644 ± 0.061; p ≥ 0.217) and MD (standard DTI: 1.076 ± 0.080 mm{sup 2}/s; twofold acceleration: 1.016 ± 0.123 mm{sup 2}/s; threefold acceleration: 0.979 ± 0.153 mm{sup 2}/s; p ≥ 0.074). Twofold acceleration yielded similar tractography quality compared to standard DTI (p > 0.05). With threefold acceleration, however, average track length and track homogeneity decreased (p = 0.004-0.021). Accelerated DTI of the median nerve is feasible. Twofold acceleration yields similar results to standard DTI. (orig.)

  4. Primary central nervous system lymphoma: age and performance status are more important than treatment modality

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Corry, June; Smith, Jennifer G.; Wirth, Andrew; Quong, George; Liew, Kuen Hoe

    1998-01-01

    Purpose: To assess prognostic factors and treatment modalities of patients with primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) in terms of response rates, patterns of failure and overall survival. Methods and Materials: Sixty-two patients presenting with PCNSL between 1982 and 1994 at Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute with no evidence of human immunodeficiency virus infection were included in the study. Their median age was 60 years; World Health Organisation (WHO) performance status was ≥2 in 85%. All patients were planned to receive whole brain irradiation; 7 also received spinal irradiation. The median planned dose to the target volume was 50.4 Gy. Twenty patients were planned to receive chemotherapy as well. Patients were followed up to June 20, 1995, giving a median follow-up for 14 surviving patients of 5.4 years, range 0.3 to 10.2 years. Results: The clinical response rate to treatment was 77% [95% confidence interval (CI) 65 to 87%]. The estimated median overall survival was 20.6 months (CI 12.4 to 33.4 months). On univariate analysis male gender, age <60 years, WHO performance status ≤1, treatment to the target volume ≥45 Gy, and treatment with additional chemotherapy, were associated with a significantly better overall survival (p < 0.05). On multivariate analysis only age and performance status remained significant prognostic variables. Relapse involved the central nervous system or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in all patients with known sites of relapse except three who had ocular relapse only. There was a low incidence of relapse in the initial brain site (23% of known cases) and a high incidence (50%) of CSF/spinal cord relapse. Of 48 deaths, 15 were related to initial or subsequent treatment. Conclusions: Patient outcome is strongly influenced by age and performance status. Studies suggesting better survival for patients treated with chemoradiation may reflect patient selection rather than treatment variables. Optimal management remains to be

  5. Evaluation of a novel median power spectrogram for seizure detection by non-neurophysiologists.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yan, Peter; Melman, Tamar; Yan, Sherry; Otgonsuren, Munkhzul; Grinspan, Zachary

    2017-08-01

    (1) To evaluate how well resident physicians use a novel EEG spectral analysis tool (the median power spectrogram; MPS) to detect seizures. (2) To assess the capability of the MPS to identify different seizure types. 120 EEG records from children with intractable seizures were converted to MPS by taking the median power across leads and using multi-taper spectral estimation. Twelve blinded neurology residents were trained to interpret the spectrogram with a five-minute video tutorial and post-test. Two residents independently assessed each set for presence of seizures. Their performance was compared to seizures identified using conventional EEG. Two blinded neurologists separately reviewed the EEGs and spectrograms to independently categorize the seizures. Their results were used to determine the spectrogram's capability to reveal seizures and visualize different seizure types for the user. Three key MPS features distinguished seizures from inter-ictal background: power difference relative to background, down-sloping resonance bands, and power in high frequencies. Using these features, residents identified seizures with 77% sensitivity and 72% specificity. 86% (51/59) of focal seizures and 81% (22/27) of generalized seizures were detected by at least one resident. Missed seizures included brief (seizures, tonic seizures, seizures with predominant delta (0-4Hz) activity, and seizures evident primarily in supplementary low temporal leads. The MPS is a novel qEEG modality that requires minimal training to interpret. It enables physicians without extensive neurophysiology training to identify seizures with sensitivity and specificity comparable to more complex multi-modal qEEG displays. Copyright © 2017 British Epilepsy Association. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Platelet-rich plasma limits the nerve injury caused by 10% dextrose in the rabbit median nerve.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Gi-Young; Kwon, Dong Rak

    2014-01-01

    We evaluated the effect of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection in a rabbit model of dextrose-induced median nerve injury. New Zealand white rabbits (n = 15) were divided randomly into 3 groups. Three different regimens (group 1: 0.1 ml saline; group 2: 10% dextrose with PRP; group 3: 10% dextrose with saline) were injected within the carpal tunnel. Electrophysiological and histological findings were evaluated 12 weeks after the injection. The mean median motor latency in group 3 was significantly longer than that in groups 1 and 2. The cross-sectional area of the median nerve and subsynovial connective tissue thickness in group 3 were significantly larger than those in groups 1 and 2. PRP injection may be effective in controlling median nerve injury, as demonstrated by improvement in electrophysiological and histological findings 12 weeks after dextrose injection. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  7. Effect of age on immunological response in the first year of antiretroviral therapy in HIV-1-infected adults in West Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balestre, Eric; Eholié, Serge P; Lokossue, Amani; Sow, Papa Salif; Charurat, Man; Minga, Albert; Drabo, Joseph; Dabis, François; Ekouevi, Didier K; Thiébaut, Rodolphe

    2012-05-15

    To assess the effect of aging on the immunological response to antiretroviral therapy (ART) in the West African context. The change in CD4 T-cell count was analysed according to age at the time of ART initiation among HIV-infected patients enrolled in the International epidemiological Database to Evaluate AIDS (IeDEA) Collaboration in the West African region. CD4 gain over 12 months of ART was estimated using linear mixed models. Models were adjusted for baseline CD4 cell count, sex, baseline clinical stage, calendar period and ART regimen. The total number of patients included was 24,107, contributing for 50,893 measures of CD4 cell count in the first year of ART. The baseline median CD4 cell count was 144 cells/μl [interquartile range (IQR) 61-235]; median CD4 cell count reached 310 cells/μl (IQR 204-443) after 1 year of ART. The median age at treatment initiation was 36.3 years (10th-90th percentiles = 26.5-50.1). In adjusted analysis, the mean CD4 gain was significantly higher in younger patients (P immunological response after 12 months of ART was significantly poorer in elderly patients. As the population of treated patients is likely to get older, the impact of this age effect on immunological response to ART may increase over time.

  8. Language and cognitive outcome for high-risk neonates at the age of 2-3 years - experience from an Arab Country.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abou-Elsaad, Tamer; Abdel-Hady, Hesham; Baz, Hemmat; ElShabrawi, Doaa

    2017-02-08

    To investigate the effect of different neonatal risk factors on different language parameters as well as cognitive abilities among Arabic speaking Egyptian children at the age of two to three years of life and to find out which risk factor(s) had the greatest impact on language and cognitive abilities. This retrospective cohort study was conducted on 103 children with age range of 2-3 years (median age 31 mo). They were 62 males and 41 females who were exposed to different high-risk factors in the perinatal period, with exclusion of metabolic disorders, sepsis/meningitis, congenital anomalies and chromosomal aberrations. The studied children were subjected to a protocol of language assessment that included history taking, clinical and neurological examination, audiological evaluation, assessment of language using modified preschool language scale-4, IQ and mental age assessment and assessment of social age. The studied children had a median gestational age of 37 wk, median birth weight of 2.5 kg. The distribution of the high-risk factors in the affected children were prematurity in 25 children, respiratory distress syndrome in 25 children, hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy in 15 children, hyperbilirubinemia in 10 children, hypoglycemia in 13 children, mixed risk factors in 15 children. The results revealed that high-risk neonatal complications were associated with impairment of different language parameters and cognitive abilities ( P language and cognitive delay significantly by 3.9 fold. Arabic-speaking children aged 2-3 years who were exposed to high-risk conditions in the perinatal period are likely to exhibit delays in the development of language and impairments in cognitive abilities. The most significant risk factor associated with language and cognitive impairments was prematurity.

  9. Understanding Fish Linear Acceleration Using an Undulatory Biorobotic Model with Soft Fluidic Elastomer Actuated Morphing Median Fins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wen, Li; Ren, Ziyu; Di Santo, Valentina; Hu, Kainan; Yuan, Tao; Wang, Tianmiao; Lauder, George V

    2018-04-10

    Although linear accelerations are an important common component of the diversity of fish locomotor behaviors, acceleration is one of the least-understood aspects of propulsion. Analysis of acceleration behavior in fishes with both spiny and soft-rayed median fins demonstrates that fin area is actively modulated when fish accelerate. We implemented an undulatory biomimetic robotic fish model with median fins manufactured using multimaterial three-dimensional printing-a spiny-rayed dorsal fin, soft-rayed dorsal/anal fins, and a caudal fin-whose stiffnesses span three orders of magnitude. We used an array of fluidic elastomeric soft actuators to mimic the dorsal/anal inclinator and erector/depressor muscles of fish, which allowed the soft fins to be erected or folded within 0.3 s. We experimentally show that the biomimetic soft dorsal/anal fin can withstand external loading. We found that erecting the soft dorsal/anal fins significantly enhanced the linear acceleration rate, up to 32.5% over the folded fin state. Surprisingly, even though the projected area of the body (in the lateral plane) increased 16.9% when the median fins were erected, the magnitude of the side force oscillation decreased by 24.8%, which may have led to significantly less side-to-side sway in the robotic swimmer. Visualization of fluid flow in the wake of median fins reveals that during linear acceleration, the soft dorsal fin generates a wake flow opposite in direction to that of the caudal fin, which creates propulsive jets with time-variant circulations and jet angles. Erectable/foldable fins provide a new design space for bioinspired underwater robots with structures that morph to adapt to different locomotor behaviors. This biorobotic fish model is also a potentially promising system for studying the dynamics of complex multifin fish swimming behaviors, including linear acceleration, steady swimming, and burst and coast, which are difficult to analyze in freely swimming fishes.

  10. Robust K-Median and K-Means Clustering Algorithms for Incomplete Data

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jinhua Li

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Incomplete data with missing feature values are prevalent in clustering problems. Traditional clustering methods first estimate the missing values by imputation and then apply the classical clustering algorithms for complete data, such as K-median and K-means. However, in practice, it is often hard to obtain accurate estimation of the missing values, which deteriorates the performance of clustering. To enhance the robustness of clustering algorithms, this paper represents the missing values by interval data and introduces the concept of robust cluster objective function. A minimax robust optimization (RO formulation is presented to provide clustering results, which are insensitive to estimation errors. To solve the proposed RO problem, we propose robust K-median and K-means clustering algorithms with low time and space complexity. Comparisons and analysis of experimental results on both artificially generated and real-world incomplete data sets validate the robustness and effectiveness of the proposed algorithms.

  11. Calculation of statistic estimates of kinetic parameters from substrate uncompetitive inhibition equation using the median method

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pedro L. Valencia

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available We provide initial rate data from enzymatic reaction experiments and tis processing to estimate the kinetic parameters from the substrate uncompetitive inhibition equation using the median method published by Eisenthal and Cornish-Bowden (Cornish-Bowden and Eisenthal, 1974; Eisenthal and Cornish-Bowden, 1974. The method was denominated the direct linear plot and consists in the calculation of the median from a dataset of kinetic parameters Vmax and Km from the Michaelis–Menten equation. In this opportunity we present the procedure to applicate the direct linear plot to the substrate uncompetitive inhibition equation; a three-parameter equation. The median method is characterized for its robustness and its insensibility to outlier. The calculations are presented in an Excel datasheet and a computational algorithm was developed in the free software Python. The kinetic parameters of the substrate uncompetitive inhibition equation Vmax, Km and Ks were calculated using three experimental points from the dataset formed by 13 experimental points. All the 286 combinations were calculated. The dataset of kinetic parameters resulting from this combinatorial was used to calculate the median which corresponds to the statistic estimator of the real kinetic parameters. A comparative statistical analyses between the median method and the least squares was published in Valencia et al. [3].

  12. Systematic aging of commercial LiFePO4|Graphite cylindrical cells including a theory explaining rise of capacity during aging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lewerenz, Meinert; Münnix, Jens; Schmalstieg, Johannes; Käbitz, Stefan; Knips, Marcus; Sauer, Dirk Uwe

    2017-03-01

    The contribution introduces a new theory explaining the capacity increase that is often observed in early stages of life of lithium-ion batteries. This reversible and SOC-depending capacity rise is explained by the passive electrode effect in this work. The theory assumes a slow, compensating flow of active lithium between the passive and the active part of the anode, where the passive part represents the geometric excess anode with respect to the cathode. The theory is validated using a systematic test of 50 cylindrical 8 Ah LiFePO4|Graphite battery cells analyzed during cyclic and calendaric aging. The cyclic aging has been performed symmetrically at 40 °C cell temperature, varying current rates and DODs. The calendar aging is executed at three temperatures and up to four SOCs. The aging is dominated by capacity fade while the increase of internal resistance is hardly influenced. Surprisingly shallow cycling between 45 and 55% SOC shows stronger aging than aging at higher DOD and tests at 4 C exhibit less aging than aging at lower C-rates. Aging mechanisms at 60 °C seem to deviate from those at 40 °C or lower. The data of this aging matrix is used for further destructive and non-destructive characterization in future contributions.

  13. Median artery of the forearm in human fetuses in northeastern Brazil: anatomical study and review of the literature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aragão, José Aderval; da Silva, Ana Caroline Ferreira; Anunciação, Caio Barretto; Reis, Francisco Prado

    2017-01-01

    A persistent median artery is a rare anomaly. It accompanies the median nerve along its course in the forearm and is of variable origin. It is associated with other local anatomical variations and may contribute significantly towards formation of the superficial palmar arch. In embryos, it is responsible mainly for the blood supply to the hand. The objective of this study was to research the frequency, type (forearm or palmar) and origin of the median artery in fetuses, correlating its presence with sex and body side. Red-colored latex was injected into 32 brachial arteries of human fetuses until its arrival in the hand could be seen. Twenty-four hours after the injection, the median arteries were dissected without the aid of optical instruments. Among the 32 forearms dissected, the median artery was present in 81.25 % (26) of the cases, and it was found more frequently in females and on the left side. Regarding origin, most of the median arteries originated in the common interosseous artery (38.5 %) and anterior interosseous artery (34.6 %). The mean length of the median arteries was 21.1 mm for the palmar type and 19.8 mm for the forearm type. The median artery has a high rate of persistence. It is important to be aware of this anatomical variation, since its presence may give rise to difficulties during routine surgical procedures on the wrist. Its presence may cause serious functional complications in the carpal tunnel, anterior interosseous nerve, round pronator syndromes, and ischemia of the hand.

  14. Quantifiable biomarkers of normal aging in the Japanese medaka fish (Oryzias latipes.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lingling Ding

    2010-10-01

    Full Text Available Small laboratory fish share many anatomical and histological characteristics with other vertebrates, yet can be maintained in large numbers at low cost for lifetime studies. Here we characterize biomarkers associated with normal aging in the Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes, a species that has been widely used in toxicology studies and has potential utility as a model organism for experimental aging research.The median lifespan of medaka was approximately 22 months under laboratory conditions. We performed quantitative histological analysis of tissues from age-grouped individuals representing young adults (6 months old, mature adults (16 months old, and adults that had survived beyond the median lifespan (24 months. Livers of 24-month old individuals showed extensive morphologic changes, including spongiosis hepatis, steatosis, ballooning degeneration, inflammation, and nuclear pyknosis. There were also phagolysosomes, vacuoles, and residual bodies in parenchymal cells and congestion of sinusoidal vessels. Livers of aged individuals were characterized by increases in lipofuscin deposits and in the number of TUNEL-positive apoptotic cells. Some of these degenerative characteristics were seen, to a lesser extent, in the livers of 16-month old individuals, but not in 6-month old individuals. The basal layer of the dermis showed an age-dependent decline in the number of dividing cells and an increase in senescence-associated β-galactosidase. The hearts of aged individuals were characterized by fibrosis and lipofuscin deposition. There was also a loss of pigmented cells from the retinal epithelium. By contrast, age-associated changes were not apparent in skeletal muscle, the ocular lens, or the brain.The results provide a set of markers that can be used to trace the process of normal tissue aging in medaka and to evaluate the effect of environmental stressors.

  15. Property Mix Heterogeneity and Market Cycles: How Much Can We Rely on Median-Price Indices?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Odilon Ricardo da Hora Gonçalves Fernandes Costa

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Objective. Understand in which types of location median-price indices could provide reasonable estimates of rent growth. As far as our research allows, the market-based measures developed througout this study are the first to emphasize office properties in Brazil using an hedonic framework.Methodology. Create appraisal-based indices of rent growth using median-price and hedonic-based techniques for two regions with different degrees of property mix heterogeneity and compare their behavior overtime.Findings. Volatility in median-price measures is larger than hedonic-based measures in market peaks and throughs due to different weighting of high and low-tier properties overtime. This result is stronger in the location with higher property mix heterogeneity and, consequently, exacerbates market cycles in this region.  Limitations. We do not find statistically significant differences between the measures considered. Nevertheless, we do not consider whether this similarity would hold when using transactional-based data.    Value. Our results suggest that researchers, policy makers and investors need to take into account the “undesired fluctuation” of median-price measures when interpreting such indices.  

  16. Some haltuun : Murrosikäisen sosiaalisen median käytön ohjaus terveydenhoitajan työssä

    OpenAIRE

    Paavola, Pinja; Haapala, Lotta

    2016-01-01

    Opinnäytetyön tavoitteena oli lisätä terveydenhoitajien tietämystä sosiaalisesta mediasta, jotta he osaavat ohjata murrosikäisiä sosiaalisen median turvallisessa käytössä ja, että murrosikäinen voi käyttää sosiaalista mediaa turvallisesti. Tarkoituksena oli selvittää, miten murrosikäinen käyttää sosiaalisen median sovelluksia ja miten terveydenhoitaja voisi ohjata sosiaalisen median turvalliseen käyttöön. Tutkimuskysymyksinä oli selvittää; mitä murrosikäinen tietää sosiaalisen median turvalli...

  17. The "p"-Median Model as a Tool for Clustering Psychological Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kohn, Hans-Friedrich; Steinley, Douglas; Brusco, Michael J.

    2010-01-01

    The "p"-median clustering model represents a combinatorial approach to partition data sets into disjoint, nonhierarchical groups. Object classes are constructed around "exemplars", that is, manifest objects in the data set, with the remaining instances assigned to their closest cluster centers. Effective, state-of-the-art implementations of…

  18. Resuscitation therapy for traumatic brain injury-induced coma in rats: mechanisms of median nerve electrical stimulation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhen Feng

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available In this study, rats were put into traumatic brain injury-induced coma and treated with median nerve electrical stimulation. We explored the wake-promoting effect, and possible mechanisms, of median nerve electrical stimulation. Electrical stimulation upregulated the expression levels of orexin-A and its receptor OX1R in the rat prefrontal cortex. Orexin-A expression gradually increased with increasing stimulation, while OX1R expression reached a peak at 12 hours and then decreased. In addition, after the OX1R antagonist, SB334867, was injected into the brain of rats after traumatic brain injury, fewer rats were restored to consciousness, and orexin-A and OXIR expression in the prefrontal cortex was downregulated. Our findings indicate that median nerve electrical stimulation induced an up-regulation of orexin-A and OX1R expression in the prefrontal cortex of traumatic brain injury-induced coma rats, which may be a potential mechanism involved in the wake-promoting effects of median nerve electrical stimulation.

  19. PENERAPAN METODE LEAST MEDIAN SQUARE-MINIMUM COVARIANCE DETERMINANT (LMS-MCD DALAM REGRESI KOMPONEN UTAMA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I PUTU EKA IRAWAN

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available Principal Component Regression is a method to overcome multicollinearity techniques by combining principal component analysis with regression analysis. The calculation of classical principal component analysis is based on the regular covariance matrix. The covariance matrix is optimal if the data originated from a multivariate normal distribution, but is very sensitive to the presence of outliers. Alternatives are used to overcome this problem the method of Least Median Square-Minimum Covariance Determinant (LMS-MCD. The purpose of this research is to conduct a comparison between Principal Component Regression (RKU and Method of Least Median Square - Minimum Covariance Determinant (LMS-MCD in dealing with outliers. In this study, Method of Least Median Square - Minimum Covariance Determinant (LMS-MCD has a bias and mean square error (MSE is smaller than the parameter RKU. Based on the difference of parameter estimators, still have a test that has a difference of parameter estimators method LMS-MCD greater than RKU method.

  20. Relation of Age at Menarche to Physical Activity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Egreta Peja

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study is to determine whether regular physical activity during early puberty is influential in preventing early menarche. This cross sectional study was carried out on 102 post-menarcheal girls aged 11–20 (14.79±0.33. 51 of them were already engaged in competitive sport activities prior to the onset of menstruation (group 1, while the others got engaged in such activities after the onset of menstruation (group 2. All participants provided the year and the month of their first menstrual period. First, we estimated the equality of dispersion between the two groups, by conducting Two Samples for Variances F-test. Second, because no homogeneity of variances between groups was found, they were compared by using Two Samples Assuming Unequal Variances t-test. The difference between groups is statistically significant, as the t statistics (=2.883 is greater than both critical t statistics (one-tail=1.664 two-tail=1.990 and the p value less than 0.05 in both cases (one-tail=0.002 two-tail=0.005. None of the girls in the first group starts to menstruate before 11 years of age and 90% of them are menstruating by age 14, with a median age of 12.95±0.35 years. Age of menarche is lower in the second group with a median age of 12.25±0.31 years, thus approximately 8 months lower than median age for the first group. 11.76% of the girls in the second group start to menstruate before 11 years of age and 90% of them are menstruating by age 13. It is rather, the decline in early matures among those engaged in regular physical activity prior to the onset of menses, that makes the statistically significant correlation between physical activity and age at menarche practically meaningful. Relatively early matures (<11 years have been found to be slightly shorter but up to 5.5 kg heavier in adulthood than are late matures. In addition, a relatively young age at menarche has been associated with an increased risk for breast cancer and spontaneous

  1. Maternal and Neonatal Birth Factors Affecting the Age of ASD Diagnosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Darcy-Mahoney, Ashley; Minter, Bonnie; Higgins, Melinda; Guo, Ying; Zauche, Lauren Head; Hirst, Jessica

    2016-12-01

    Early diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) enables early intervention that improves long term functioning of children with ASD but is often delayed until age of school entry. Few studies have identified factors that affect timely diagnosis. This study addressed how maternal education, race, age, marital status as well as neonatal birth factors affect the age at which a child is diagnosed with ASD. This study involved a retrospective analysis of 664 records of children treated at one of the largest autism treatment centers in the United States from March 1, 2009 to December 30, 2010. Logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards regression were used to identify maternal and neonatal factors associated with age of diagnosis. Infant gender, maternal race, marital status, and maternal age were identified as significant factors for predicting the age of ASD diagnosis. In the Cox proportional hazards regression model, only maternal race and marital status were included. Median survival age till diagnosis of children born to married mothers was 53.4 months compared to 57.8 months and 63.7 months of children born to single and divorced or widowed mothers respectively. Median survival age till diagnosis for children of African American mothers was 53.8 months compared to 57.2 months for children of Caucasian mothers. No statistically significant difference of timing of ASD diagnosis was found for children of varying gestational age. Children born to older or married mothers and mothers of minority races were more likely to have an earlier ASD diagnosis. No statistically significant differences in timing of ASD diagnosis were found for children born at varying gestational ages. Identification of these factors has the potential to inform public health outreach aimed at promoting timely ASD diagnosis. This work could enhance clinical practice for timelier diagnoses of ASD by supporting parents and clinicians around the world in identifying risk factors beyond gender

  2. Aging Enhances Indirect Flight Muscle Fiber Performance yet Decreases Flight Ability in Drosophila

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Miller, Mark S.; Lekkas, Panagiotis; Braddock, Joan M.; Farman, Gerrie P.; Ballif, Bryan A.; Irving, Thomas C.; Maughan, David W.; Vigoreaux, Jim O. (IIT); (Vermont)

    2008-10-02

    We investigated the effects of aging on Drosophila melanogaster indirect flight muscle from the whole organism to the actomyosin cross-bridge. Median-aged (49-day-old) flies were flight impaired, had normal myofilament number and packing, barely longer sarcomeres, and slight mitochondrial deterioration compared with young (3-day-old) flies. Old (56-day-old) flies were unable to beat their wings, had deteriorated ultrastructure with severe mitochondrial damage, and their skinned fibers failed to activate with calcium. Small-amplitude sinusoidal length perturbation analysis showed median-aged indirect flight muscle fibers developed greater than twice the isometric force and power output of young fibers, yet cross-bridge kinetics were similar. Large increases in elastic and viscous moduli amplitude under active, passive, and rigor conditions suggest that median-aged fibers become stiffer longitudinally. Small-angle x-ray diffraction indicates that myosin heads move increasingly toward the thin filament with age, accounting for the increased transverse stiffness via cross-bridge formation. We propose that the observed protein composition changes in the connecting filaments, which anchor the thick filaments to the Z-disk, produce compensatory increases in longitudinal stiffness, isometric tension, power and actomyosin interaction in aging indirect flight muscle. We also speculate that a lack of MgATP due to damaged mitochondria accounts for the decreased flight performance.

  3. Argentine references for the assessment of body proportions from birth to 17 years of age.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Del Pino, Mariana; Orden, Alicia B; Arenas, María A; Fano, Virginia

    2017-06-01

    Abnormal body proportions may indicate skeletal disorders; therefore, their detection has great clinical significance. To estimate centiles for head circumference/height (HC/H) and sitting height/height (SH/H) ratios, and assess their diagnostic usefulness among a group of children with skeletal dysplasia. Centiles 3, 10, 25, 50, 75, 90 and 97 for HC/H and SH/H ratios were estimated with the LMS method using Box-Cox transformation to normalize data distribution for each age. Q-Q plot tests were applied to evaluate normality of residuals and the Q test to calculate goodness-of-fit. The sample included 4818 girls and4803 boys, all healthy, between 0-17 years old. The median of the SH/H ratio for each age decreased from 0.67 at birth to 0.57 at age 4. At 12 years of age, values reached 0.52 and 0.53 for males and females, respectively, remaining unchanged until age 17. The median of the HC/H ratio decreased from 0.45 at 6 years old to 0.34 at 17 years old for both sexes. Z-scores for SH/H among 20 children diagnosed with hypochondroplasia were better at showing abnormal proportions than the SH/H ratio not adjusted by age. Estimated centiles for HC/H and SH/H ratios show that the most dramatic changes in body proportions occur in the prepubertal period. These references allow an earlier detection of abnormal body proportions in children with skeletal dysplasia.

  4. External beam radiotherapy for subretinal neovascularization in age-related macular degeneration: is this treatment efficient?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Staar, Susanne; Krott, Ralf; Mueller, Rolf-Peter; Bartz-Schmidt, Karl U.; Heimann, Klaus

    1999-01-01

    Purpose: Control of the natural course of sub retinal neovascularization (SRNV) in age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is difficult. Only a subset of patients is suitable for laser coagulation. This prospective study aimed to determine the efficacy and individual benefit of external beam radiotherapy (EBRT). Methods and Materials: The prospective trial included 287 patients with subfoveal neovascularization due to AMD which was verified by fluorescein angiography. Patients have been treated between January 1996 and October 1997. All patients received a total dose of 16 Gy in 2-Gy daily fractions with 5-6 MeV photons based on computerized treatment planning in individual head mask fixation. This first analysis is based on 73 patients (50 women, 23 men, median age 74.3 years), with a median follow-up of 13.3 months and a minimum follow-up of 11 months. Results: All patients completed therapy and tolerability was good. First clinical control with second angiography was performed 6 weeks after irradiation, then in 3-month intervals. Eighteen patients with SRNV refusing radiotherapy served as a control group and were matched with 18 irradiated patients. After 7 months median visual acuity (VA) was 20/160 for the irradiated and 20/400 for the untreated patients. One year after radiotherapy final median VA was 20/400 in both groups. Conclusion: These results suggest that 16 Gy of conventionally fractionated external beam irradiation slows down the visual loss in exudative AMD for only a few months. Patients' reading vision could not be saved for a long-term run

  5. Iron status in pregnant women and women of reproductive age in Europe.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Milman, Nils; Taylor, Christine L; Merkel, Joyce; Brannon, Patsy M

    2017-12-01

    Understanding the iron status in pregnant women in Europe provides a foundation for considering the role of iron screening and supplementation. However, available reports and studies have used different approaches that challenge the devising of overall summaries. Moreover, data on pregnant women are limited, and thus, data on women of reproductive age provide useful background information including baseline iron stores in pregnant women. This review considered data that are available from >15 European countries including national surveys and relevant clinical studies. In European women of reproductive age, median or geometric mean serum ferritin (SF) concentrations were estimated at 26-38 μg/L. Approximately 40-55% of this population had small or depleted iron stores (i.e., SF concentration ≤30 μg/L), and 45-60% of this population had apparently replete iron stores. The prevalence of iron deficiency (ID) and iron deficiency anemia (IDA) was 10-32% and 2-5%, respectively, depending on the cutoffs used. Approximately 20-35% of European women of reproductive age had sufficient iron stores (SF concentration >70 μg/L) to complete a pregnancy without supplementary iron. During pregnancy, European women in controlled supplementation trials who were not receiving iron supplements displayed increasing prevalences of ID and IDA during pregnancy, which peaked in the middle to late third trimester. Available evidence has suggested that, in gestational weeks 32-39, the median or geometric mean SF concentrations were 6-21 μg/L, and prevalences of ID and IDA were 28-85% and 21-35%, respectively. Women who were taking iron supplements had higher iron status and lower prevalences of ID and IDA, which were dependent on the dose of iron and compliance. The data suggest that, in Europe, the iron status of reproductive-aged women varies by region and worsens in pregnancy without iron supplementation. © 2017 American Society for Nutrition.

  6. Usability testing of wireless broadband LAN in the MEDIAN user trials

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dam, C. van; Vliet, P.J. van; Schuurman, K.; Maltha, S.R.; Leyten, A.J.M.; Dirks, M.W.S.

    1999-01-01

    The main objective of the ACTS MEDIAN project is to build a high speed WCPN/LAN demonstrator system for multimedia applications and demonstrate it in user trials. The demonstrator system, consisting of one base station and two portable stations, is capable of handling high speed (up to 150 Mbit/s)

  7. De Baca County Blocks, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  8. Sandoval County Block Groups, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  9. Guadalupe County Block Groups, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  10. Union County Block Groups, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  11. Mora County Block Groups, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  12. Cibola County Block Groups, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  13. Socorro County Block Groups, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  14. Chaves County Block Groups, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  15. Lea County Block Groups, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  16. Dona Ana County Blocks, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  17. Lincoln County Block Groups, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  18. Colfax County Block Groups, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  19. Roosevelt County Block Groups, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  20. New Mexico Census Tracts, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  1. Taos County Block Groups, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  2. Sierra County Block Groups, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  3. Catron County Block Groups, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  4. Quay County Block Groups, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  5. Harding County Block Groups, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  6. Curry County Block Groups, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  7. McKinley County Blocks, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  8. Eddy County Block Groups, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  9. Valencia County Block Groups, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  10. Grant County Block Groups, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  11. Bernalillo County Block Groups, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  12. Los Alamos County Blocks, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  13. Hidalgo County Block Groups, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  14. Rio Arriba County Blocks, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  15. Otero County Block Groups, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  16. Luna County Block Groups, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  17. San Miguel County Blocks, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  18. San Juan County Blocks, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  19. Torrance County Block Groups, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  20. Santa Fe County Blocks, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  1. Angiotensin converting enzyme 1 in the median preoptic nucleus contributes to chronic intermittent hypoxia hypertension.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Faulk, Katelynn E; Nedungadi, T Prashant; Cunningham, J Thomas

    2017-05-01

    Obstructive sleep apnea is associated with hypertension and cardiovascular disease. Chronic intermittent hypoxia is used to model the arterial hypoxemia seen in sleep apnea patients and is associated with increased sympathetic nerve activity and a sustained diurnal increase in blood pressure. The renin angiotensin system has been associated with hypertension seen in chronic intermittent hypoxia. Angiotensin converting enzyme 1, which cleaves angiotensin I to the active counterpart angiotensin II, is present within the central nervous system and has been shown to be regulated by AP-1 transcription factors, such as ΔFosB. Our previous study suggested that this transcriptional regulation in the median preoptic nucleus contributes to the sustained blood pressure seen following chronic intermittent hypoxia. Viral mediated delivery of a short hairpin RNA against angiotensin converting enzyme 1 in the median preoptic nucleus was used along with radio-telemetry measurements of blood pressure to test this hypothesis. FosB immunohistochemistry was utilized in order to assess the effects of angiotensin converting enzyme 1 knockdown on the activity of nuclei downstream from median preoptic nucleus. Angiotensin converting enzyme 1 knockdown within median preoptic nucleus significantly attenuated the sustained hypertension seen in chronic intermittent hypoxia. Angiotensin converting enzyme 1 seems to be partly responsible for regulating downstream regions involved in sympathetic and blood pressure control, such as the paraventricular nucleus and the rostral ventrolateral medulla. The data suggest that angiotensin converting enzyme 1 within median preoptic nucleus plays a critical role in the sustained hypertension seen in chronic intermittent hypoxia. © 2017 The Authors. Physiological Reports published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of The Physiological Society and the American Physiological Society.

  2. Median sternotomy and ventral stabilisation using pins and polymethylmethacrylate for a comminuted T5 vertebral fracture in a Miniature Schnauzer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guiot, L P; Allman, D A

    2011-01-01

    A 2.9 kg Miniature Schnauzer was referred to our clinic, the Emergency & Critical Care Medicine Service at the Michigan State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital, following a dog fight. Physical examination findings upon admission included multiple thoracic wounds, absence of hindlimb deep pain, and marked Schiff-Sherrington syndrome. Computed tomography imaging revealed thoracic wall penetration and a comminuted T5 vertebral fracture. Thoracic exploration and thoracic wall repair were performed through a median sternotomy. The vertebral fracture was exposed and stabilised intra-thoracically through the same approach using pins and polymethylmethacrylate. The pins were placed percutaneously into the vertebral bodies of the adjacent vertebrae. Recovery was uncomplicated and fracture healing was documented eight weeks postoperatively. Spinal trauma secondary to dog fights is relatively common. The presence of concurrent penetrating thoracic injury negatively affects prognosis and necessitates thoracic exploration as soon as feasible. The approach should allow complete thoracic exploration to repair parietal and visceral damage, thus indicating the need for median sternotomy rather than an intercostal approach. The present case report suggested that median sternotomy can be used to safely apply stabilisation devices for the treatment of concurrent spinal trauma. Direct visualisation of the vertebral bodies permitted optimal implant anchorage as compared to potentially more hazardous techniques such as dorsal pinning.

  3. Age of diagnosis of breast cancer in china: almost 10 years earlier than in the United States and the European union.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Qing-Kun; Li, Jing; Huang, Rong; Fan, Jin-Hu; Zheng, Rong-Shou; Zhang, Bao-Ning; Zhang, Bin; Tang, Zhong-Hua; Xie, Xiao-Ming; Yang, Hong-Jian; He, Jian-Jun; Li, Hui; Li, Jia-Yuan; Qiao, You-Lin; Chen, Wan-Qing

    2014-01-01

    The study aimed to describe the age distribution of breast cancer diagnosis among Chinese females for comparison with the United States and the European Union, and provide evidence for the screening target population in China. Median age was estimated from hospital databases from 7 tertiary hospitals in China. Population-based data in China, United States and European Union was extracted from the National Central Cancer Registry, SEER program and GLOBOCAN 2008, respectively. Age-standardized distribution of breast cancer at diagnosis in the 3 areas was estimated based on the World Standard Population 2000. The median age of breast cancer at diagnosis was around 50 in China, nearly 10 years earlier than United States and European Union. The diagnosis age in China did not vary between subgroups of calendar year, region and pathological characteristics. With adjustment for population structure, median age of breast cancer at diagnosis was 50~54 in China, but 55~59 in United States and European Union. The median diagnosis age of female breast cancer is much earlier in China than in the United States and the European Union pointing to racial differences in genetics and lifestyle. Screening programs should start at an earlier age for Chinese women and age disparities between Chinese and Western women warrant further studies.

  4. Clinical Characteristics of Adult Dogs More Than 5 Years of Age at Presentation for Patent Ductus Arteriosus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boutet, B G; Saunders, A B; Gordon, S G

    2017-05-01

    The median age at presentation for dogs with patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) is closure is associated with a decrease in heart size and increased survival time, which are not well described in older dogs. To describe the clinical characteristics of dogs with PDA ≥5 years of age at the time of presentation to a veterinary referral hospital. 35 client-owned dogs. Retrospective case series. PDA was diagnosed at a median age of 7.4 years (range, 5.1-12.3 years). Females represented 23/35 (65.7%) of the patients. Concurrent heart disease included degenerative mitral valve disease (DMVD; 13), arrhythmias (11), pulmonary hypertension (7), and other congenital defects (2). Cardiomegaly was documented in the majority of dogs consisting of left ventricular enlargement (91%) and left atrial enlargement (86%). Median vertebral heart size in 24 dogs was 12.9 (range, 10.7-18.2). The PDA shunt direction was left-to-right in 33 and bidirectional in 2 dogs. Closure was performed in 26 dogs, including 4 with pulmonary hypertension. In 10 dogs receiving furosemide pre-operatively for management of heart failure, furosemide was discontinued (8) or the dosage decreased (2) at the time of discharge. Adult dogs can present with a left-to-right shunting PDA that results in cardiomegaly and clinical signs that can improve or resolve with PDA closure. This improvement is also apparent in dogs with PDA complicated by DMVD. Pulmonary hypertension that does not result in complete right-to-left shunting should not be considered a contraindication to closure. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.

  5. Inadequate Iodine Intake in Population Groups Defined by Age, Life Stage and Vegetarian Dietary Practice in a Norwegian Convenience Sample.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brantsæter, Anne Lise; Knutsen, Helle Katrine; Johansen, Nina Cathrine; Nyheim, Kristine Aastad; Erlund, Iris; Meltzer, Helle Margrete; Henjum, Sigrun

    2018-02-17

    Inadequate iodine intake has been identified in populations considered iodine replete for decades. The objective of the current study is to evaluate urinary iodine concentration (UIC) and the probability of adequate iodine intake in subgroups of the Norwegian population defined by age, life stage and vegetarian dietary practice. In a cross-sectional survey, we assessed the probability of adequate iodine intake by two 24-h food diaries and UIC from two fasting morning spot urine samples in 276 participants. The participants included children ( n = 47), adolescents ( n = 46), adults ( n = 71), the elderly ( n = 23), pregnant women ( n = 45), ovo-lacto vegetarians ( n = 25), and vegans ( n = 19). In all participants combined, the median (95% CI) UIC was 101 (90, 110) µg/L, median (25th, 75th percentile) calculated iodine intake was 112 (77, 175) µg/day and median (25th, 75th percentile) estimated usual iodine intake was 101 (75, 150) µg/day. According to WHOs criteria for evaluation of median UIC, iodine intake was inadequate in the elderly, pregnant women, vegans and non-pregnant women of childbearing age. Children had the highest (82%) and vegans the lowest (14%) probability of adequate iodine intake according to reported food and supplement intakes. This study confirms the need for monitoring iodine intake and status in nationally representative study samples in Norway.

  6. Age-independent anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) standard deviation scores to estimate ovarian function.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Helden, Josef van; Weiskirchen, Ralf

    2017-06-01

    To determine single year age-specific anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) standard deviation scores (SDS) for women associated to normal ovarian function and different ovarian disorders resulting in sub- or infertility. Determination of particular year median and mean AMH values with standard deviations (SD), calculation of age-independent cut off SDS for the discrimination between normal ovarian function and ovarian disorders. Single-year-specific median, mean, and SD values have been evaluated for the Beckman Access AMH immunoassay. While the decrease of both median and mean AMH values is strongly correlated with increasing age, calculated SDS values have been shown to be age independent with the differentiation between normal ovarian function measured as occurred ovulation with sufficient luteal activity compared with hyperandrogenemic cycle disorders or anovulation associated with high AMH values and reduced ovarian activity or insufficiency associated with low AMH, respectively. These results will be helpful for the treatment of patients and the ventilation of the different reproductive options. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Baseline characteristics of patients with heart failure and preserved ejection fraction included in the Karolinska Rennes (KaRen) study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Donal, Erwan; Lund, Lars H; Oger, Emmanuel; Hage, Camilla; Persson, Hans; Reynaud, Amélie; Ennezat, Pierre-Vladimir; Bauer, Fabrice; Sportouch-Dukhan, Catherine; Drouet, Elodie; Daubert, Jean-Claude; Linde, Cecilia

    2014-02-01

    Karolinska Rennes (KaRen) is a prospective observational study to characterize heart failure patients with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and to identify prognostic factors for long-term mortality and morbidity. To report characteristics and echocardiography at entry and after 4-8 weeks of follow-up. Patients were included following an acute heart failure presentation with B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP)>100 ng/L or N-terminal pro-BNP (NT-proBNP)>300 ng/L and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF)>45%. The mean ± SD age of 539 included patients was 77 ± 9 years and 56% were women. Patient history included hypertension (78%), atrial tachyarrhythmia (44%), prior heart failure (40%) and anemia (37%), but left bundle branch block was rare (3.8%). Median NT-proBNP was 2448 ng/L (n=438), and median BNP 429 ng/L (n=101). Overall, 101 patients did not return for the follow-up visit, including 13 patients who died (2.4%). Apart from older age (80 ± 9 vs. 76 ± 9 years; P=0.006), there were no significant differences in baseline characteristics between patients who did and did not return for follow-up. Mean LVEF was lower at entry than follow-up (56% vs. 62%; P<0.001). At follow-up, mean E/e' was 12.9 ± 6.1, left atrial volume index 49.4±17.8mL/m(2). Mean global left ventricular longitudinal strain was -14.6 ± 3.9%; LV mass index was 126.6 ± 36.2g/m(2). Patients in KaRen were old with slight female dominance and hypertension as the most prevalent etiological factor. LVEF was preserved, but with increased LV mass and depressed LV diastolic and longitudinal systolic functions. Few patients had signs of electrical dyssynchrony (ClinicalTrials.gov.- NCT00774709). Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  8. Does the Age of Donor Kidneys Affect Nocturnal Polyuria in Patients With Successful Real Transplantation?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitsui, T; Morita, K; Iwami, D; Kitta, T; Kanno, Y; Moriya, K; Takeda, M; Shinohara, N

    We investigated whether the age of donor kidneys influences the incidence of nocturnal polyuria in patients with successful renal transplantation (RTX). Eighty-five patients (45 men and 40 women) undergoing RTX (median age, 47 years) were included in this study. Twenty-four-hour bladder diaries were kept for 3 days, and nocturnal polyuria was defined as a nocturnal polyuria index (nocturnal urine volume/24-hour urine volume) of >0.33. Risk factors for nocturnal polyuria were analyzed in patients with RTX by means of the Mann-Whitney U test, χ 2 test, and a logistic regression analysis. End-stage renal disease (ESRD) developed from diabetes mellitus in 16 patients (19%). Sixty-five patients (76%) received pre-transplant dialysis, with a median duration of 5 years. The median serum creatinine level and body mass index at the most recent visit were 1.2 mg/dL and 21.2 kg/m 2 , respectively. On the basis of the 24-hour bladder diaries, nocturnal polyuria was identified in 48 patients (56%). A logistic regression analysis revealed that diabetes mellitus as the original disease for ESRD was the only risk factor for nocturnal polyuria (odds ratio, 8.95; 95% confidence interval, 2.01-65.3; P = .0028). The age of donor kidneys at examination did not affect the incidence of nocturnal polyuria (P = .9402). Nocturnal polyuria was not uncommon in patients with successful RTX. Diabetes mellitus as the original disease for ESRD was the only risk factor for nocturnal polyuria, whereas the age of donor kidneys at examination did not affect the incidence of nocturnal polyuria. Thus, nocturnal polyuria is caused by recipient factors but not donor factors. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Reassessing the NTCTCS Staging Systems for Differentiated Thyroid Cancer, Including Age at Diagnosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McLeod, Donald S A; Jonklaas, Jacqueline; Brierley, James D; Ain, Kenneth B; Cooper, David S; Fein, Henry G; Haugen, Bryan R; Ladenson, Paul W; Magner, James; Ross, Douglas S; Skarulis, Monica C; Steward, David L; Xing, Mingzhao; Litofsky, Danielle R; Maxon, Harry R; Sherman, Steven I

    2015-10-01

    Thyroid cancer is unique for having age as a staging variable. Recently, the commonly used age cut-point of 45 years has been questioned. This study assessed alternate staging systems on the outcome of overall survival, and compared these with current National Thyroid Cancer Treatment Cooperative Study (NTCTCS) staging systems for papillary and follicular thyroid cancer. A total of 4721 patients with differentiated thyroid cancer were assessed. Five potential alternate staging systems were generated at age cut-points in five-year increments from 35 to 70 years, and tested for model discrimination (Harrell's C-statistic) and calibration (R(2)). The best five models for papillary and follicular cancer were further tested with bootstrap resampling and significance testing for discrimination. The best five alternate papillary cancer systems had age cut-points of 45-50 years, with the highest scoring model using 50 years. No significant difference in C-statistic was found between the best alternate and current NTCTCS systems (p = 0.200). The best five alternate follicular cancer systems had age cut-points of 50-55 years, with the highest scoring model using 50 years. All five best alternate staging systems performed better compared with the current system (p = 0.003-0.035). There was no significant difference in discrimination between the best alternate system (cut-point age 50 years) and the best system of cut-point age 45 years (p = 0.197). No alternate papillary cancer systems assessed were significantly better than the current system. New alternate staging systems for follicular cancer appear to be better than the current NTCTCS system, although they require external validation.

  10. Reassessing the NTCTCS Staging Systems for Differentiated Thyroid Cancer, Including Age at Diagnosis

    Science.gov (United States)

    McLeod, Donald S.A.; Jonklaas, Jacqueline; Brierley, James D.; Ain, Kenneth B.; Cooper, David S.; Fein, Henry G.; Haugen, Bryan R.; Ladenson, Paul W.; Magner, James; Ross, Douglas S.; Skarulis, Monica C.; Steward, David L.; Xing, Mingzhao; Litofsky, Danielle R.; Maxon, Harry R.

    2015-01-01

    Background: Thyroid cancer is unique for having age as a staging variable. Recently, the commonly used age cut-point of 45 years has been questioned. Objective: This study assessed alternate staging systems on the outcome of overall survival, and compared these with current National Thyroid Cancer Treatment Cooperative Study (NTCTCS) staging systems for papillary and follicular thyroid cancer. Methods: A total of 4721 patients with differentiated thyroid cancer were assessed. Five potential alternate staging systems were generated at age cut-points in five-year increments from 35 to 70 years, and tested for model discrimination (Harrell's C-statistic) and calibration (R2). The best five models for papillary and follicular cancer were further tested with bootstrap resampling and significance testing for discrimination. Results: The best five alternate papillary cancer systems had age cut-points of 45–50 years, with the highest scoring model using 50 years. No significant difference in C-statistic was found between the best alternate and current NTCTCS systems (p = 0.200). The best five alternate follicular cancer systems had age cut-points of 50–55 years, with the highest scoring model using 50 years. All five best alternate staging systems performed better compared with the current system (p = 0.003–0.035). There was no significant difference in discrimination between the best alternate system (cut-point age 50 years) and the best system of cut-point age 45 years (p = 0.197). Conclusions: No alternate papillary cancer systems assessed were significantly better than the current system. New alternate staging systems for follicular cancer appear to be better than the current NTCTCS system, although they require external validation. PMID:26203804

  11. Estudio del comportamiento de zapatas de medianería con viga centradora mediante modelos de elementos finitos

    OpenAIRE

    Galletero Montero, Pablo; Fernandez Gomez, Jaime Antonio; Perepérez Ventura, Bernardo

    2014-01-01

    Investigación sobre el cálculo de zapatas de medianería utilizando métodos no convencionales. Las dos soluciones más empleadas en edificación para el problema de las cimentaciones de medianería son la utilización de una viga centradora que conecta la zapata de medianería con la zapata del pilar interior más próximo y la colaboración de la viga de la primera planta trabajando como tirante. Los modelos convencionales existentes para el cálculo de este tipo de cimentaciones presentan una serie d...

  12. Median prior constrained TV algorithm for sparse view low-dose CT reconstruction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Yi; Shangguan, Hong; Zhang, Quan; Zhu, Hongqing; Shu, Huazhong; Gui, Zhiguo

    2015-05-01

    It is known that lowering the X-ray tube current (mAs) or tube voltage (kVp) and simultaneously reducing the total number of X-ray views (sparse view) is an effective means to achieve low-dose in computed tomography (CT) scan. However, the associated image quality by the conventional filtered back-projection (FBP) usually degrades due to the excessive quantum noise. Although sparse-view CT reconstruction algorithm via total variation (TV), in the scanning protocol of reducing X-ray tube current, has been demonstrated to be able to result in significant radiation dose reduction while maintain image quality, noticeable patchy artifacts still exist in reconstructed images. In this study, to address the problem of patchy artifacts, we proposed a median prior constrained TV regularization to retain the image quality by introducing an auxiliary vector m in register with the object. Specifically, the approximate action of m is to draw, in each iteration, an object voxel toward its own local median, aiming to improve low-dose image quality with sparse-view projection measurements. Subsequently, an alternating optimization algorithm is adopted to optimize the associative objective function. We refer to the median prior constrained TV regularization as "TV_MP" for simplicity. Experimental results on digital phantoms and clinical phantom demonstrated that the proposed TV_MP with appropriate control parameters can not only ensure a higher signal to noise ratio (SNR) of the reconstructed image, but also its resolution compared with the original TV method. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Prenatal parental separation and body weight, including development of overweight and obesity later in childhood.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lena Hohwü

    Full Text Available Early parental separation may be a stress factor causing a long-term alteration in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal-axis activity possibly impacting on the susceptibility to develop overweight and obesity in offspring. We aimed to examine the body mass index (BMI and the risk of overweight and obesity in children whose parents lived separately before the child was born.A follow-up study was conducted using data from the Aarhus Birth Cohort in Denmark and included 2876 children with measurements of height and weight at 9-11-years-of-age, and self-reported information on parental cohabitation status at child birth and at 9-11-years-of-age. Quantile regression was used to estimate the difference in median BMI between children whose parents lived separately (n = 124 or together (n = 2752 before the birth. We used multiple logistic regression to calculate odds ratio (OR for overweight and obesity, adjusted for gender, parity, breast feeding status, and maternal pre-pregnancy BMI, weight gain during pregnancy, age and educational level at child birth; with and without possible intermediate factors birth weight and maternal smoking during pregnancy. Due to a limited number of obese children, OR for obesity was adjusted for the a priori confounder maternal pre-pregnancy BMI only.The difference in median BMI was 0.54 kg/m2 (95% confidence intervals (CI: 0.10; 0.98 between children whose parents lived separately before birth and children whose parents lived together. The risk of overweight and obesity was statistically significantly increased in children whose parents lived separately before the birth of the child; OR 2.29 (95% CI: 1.18; 4.45 and OR 2.81 (95% CI: 1.05; 7.51, respectively. Additional, adjustment for possible intermediate factors did not substantially change the estimates.Parental separation before child birth was associated with higher BMI, and increased risk of overweight and obesity in 9-11-year-old children; this may suggest a fetal

  14. [Testis volume, pubic hair development and spermarcheal age in urban Chinese boys].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hua-mei, M A

    2010-06-01

    There is a trend that puberty is starting earlier in the 21st century, which is primarily based on studies of girls. The assessment of pubertal stages in the individual child is useful only if recent and reliable reference data from the same population are available for comparison. However, nationally representative pubertal data for Chinese boys in China are lacking. The aim of this study was to investigate the current pubertal development in healthy urban Chinese boys. A cross-sectional study of the pubertal development of a sample of 19,054 urban Chinese boys aged 3 - 19.83 years was conducted between 2003 and 2005. Testicular volume was determined with a Prader orchidometer. Pubic hair development was assessed according to the Tanner method. Data on spermarche were collected by the status quo method. Probit analysis was used to calculate the median age and 95% CI for onset of testicular and pubic hair development and spermarche. A testicular volume greater than or equal to 4 ml was taken as a definite sign of the onset of puberty. Mean ages for sexual development in boys were compared with other published series, while the spermarcheal age was compared to those in the similar population of the five National Surveys on Students Constitution and Health undertaken since 1979 in China. At the age of 9 years, 12.99% of the boys had a testicular volume 4 ml or more. The median age of onset of puberty as indicated by a testicular volume of 4 ml or more was 10.55 (95% CI 10.27 - 10.79) years. The median age for onset of pubic hair development (PH(2)) and spermarche was 12.78 (95% CI 12.67 - 12.89) years and 14.05 (95%CI 13.80 - 14.32) years, respectively. There was a highly significant downward secular trend for spermarcheal age of Chinese boys since 1979. Pubertal onset as indicated by testicular development in urban Chinese boys is earlier than currently used norms. Age of testicular development is among the earliest medians recorded in the world population, while

  15. Gender differences in episodic memory and visual working memory including the effects of age.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pauls, Franz; Petermann, Franz; Lepach, Anja Christina

    2013-01-01

    Analysing the relationship between gender and memory, and examining the effects of age on the overall memory-related functioning, are the ongoing goals of psychological research. The present study examined gender and age group differences in episodic memory with respect to the type of task. In addition, these subgroup differences were also analysed in visual working memory. A sample of 366 women and 330 men, aged between 16 and 69 years of age, participated in the current study. Results indicate that women outperformed men on auditory memory tasks, whereas male adolescents and older male adults showed higher level performances on visual episodic and visual working memory measures. However, the size of gender-linked effects varied somewhat across age groups. Furthermore, results partly support a declining performance on episodic memory and visual working memory measures with increasing age. Although age-related losses in episodic memory could not be explained by a decreasing verbal and visuospatial ability with age, women's advantage in auditory episodic memory could be explained by their advantage in verbal ability. Men's higher level visual episodic memory performance was found to result from their advantage in visuospatial ability. Finally, possible methodological, biological, and cognitive explanations for the current findings are discussed.

  16. A median filter approach for correcting errors in a vector field

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schultz, H.

    1985-01-01

    Techniques are presented for detecting and correcting errors in a vector field. These methods employ median filters which are frequently used in image processing to enhance edges and remove noise. A detailed example is given for wind field maps produced by a spaceborne scatterometer. The error detection and replacement algorithm was tested with simulation data from the NASA Scatterometer (NSCAT) project.

  17. Wound infection after median sternotomy during the war in Croatia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jelić, I; Anić, D; Alfirević, I; Kalinić, S; Ugljen, R; Letica, D; Ante Korda, Z; Vucemilo, I; Bulat, C; Predrijevac, M; Corić, V; Husar, J; Jelic, M; Hulina, D; Depina, I; Dadić, D

    1996-12-01

    From 1990 to 1994 at Clinical Hospital Center, Zagreb, 1904 median sternotomies were performed for cardiac operations. Patients shared the same intensive care unit (ICU) with the wounded persons, admitted to the hospital from battlefield. Infection developed in 124 patients, an incidence of 6.51%. Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was isolated from 90, methicillin resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis (MRSE) from 19, and gram negative bacilli (GNB) from 56 patients, Pseudomonas aeruginosa in 2, and Clostridium pneumoniae in 1 case. Ninety-six patients (5.04%) developed superficial localized infection of subcutaneous tissues and they were treated with frequent dressing changes with antibiotic-soaked gauze in combination with systemic antibiotics. Twenty-eight patients (1.47%) developed mediastinitis and sternal dehiscence. They were treated by operative debridement followed by reclosure of the sternum with continuous antibiotic irrigation. We obtained satisfactory results with our method of closure of sternum which is a modification of Robicsek's technique. Nine of them required further operation. In seven cases we performed muscle flaps and in two omentoplasty. One hundred and twenty patients were discharged in satisfactory condition. The uncontrolled mediastinal sepsis caused death in 4 patients. Higher infection rate after median sternotomy during 1991 and 1992 could be possibly explained with the war circumstances in Croatia, and especially with MRSA strain becoming endemic in surgical ICU.

  18. Motor development in 3-month-old healthy term-born infants is associated with cognitive and behavioural outcomes at early school age.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hitzert, Marrit M; Roze, Elise; Van Braeckel, Koenraad N J A; Bos, Arend F

    2014-09-01

    To determine whether motor development at 3 months of age is associated with cognitive, motor, and behavioural outcomes in healthy children at early school age. In this cohort study, we included 74 term-born, healthy children (44 males, 30 females; median gestational age 40.1 wks, range 38.0-42.6 wks). From video recordings (median 12.9 wks, range 9.3-18.6 wks), we assessed the quality of fidgety movements, and calculated a motor optimality score. At school age (median 5 y 11 mo, range 5 y 8 mo-7 y 6 mo), we performed detailed cognitive, motor, and behavioural assessments. We examined whether aspects of motor development were associated with functional outcomes. An age-adequate motor repertoire, in particular the presence of antigravity, midline leg, and manipulation movements, was related to poorer cognition, whereas variable finger postures was related to better cognition. Children with a monotonous concurrent motor repertoire had better ball skills but experienced more behavioural problems. The presence of antigravity movements tended to be associated with abnormal recognition (odds ratio [OR] 4.4, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.9-21; R(2) =0.17; p=0.070), where the absence of variable finger postures was associated with borderline and abnormal visual-spatial perception (OR 20, 95% CI, 1.7-238; R(2) =0.39; p=0.018). Detailed aspects of motor development at 3 months of age are associated with cognition and behaviour, but not with motor outcome, in healthy children at early school age. Our findings suggest that early motor development may be the basis for later cognitive and behavioural performance. Since the associations were only moderate, possible environmental influences should be acknowledged. © 2014 Mac Keith Press.

  19. Age of diagnosis of congenital hearing loss: Private v. public healthcare sector.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Butler, I R T; Ceronio, D; Swart, T; Joubert, G

    2015-11-01

    The age of diagnosis of congenital hearing loss is one of the most important determinants of communication outcome. A previous study by the lead author had evaluated the performance of the public health services in Bloemfontein, South Africa (SA), in this regard. This study aimed to examine whether the private health services in the same city were any better. To determine whether the age of diagnosis of congenital hearing loss (CHL) in children seen in the private healthcare sector in Bloemfontein, Free State Province, SA, was lower than that in the public healthcare system in the same city. A comparative study design was utilised and a retrospective database review conducted. Data obtained from this study in the private healthcare sector were compared with data from a previous study in the public healthcare sector using the same study design. Forty-eight children aged private healthcare sector during the study period; 33/47 (70.2%) did not undergo hearing screening at birth. The median age of diagnosis of DHI in the private healthcare sector was 2.24 years, and this was statistically significantly lower than the median age of diagnosis of 3.71 years in the public healthcare sector (pprivate healthcare sector was 3.01 years in children who were not screened at birth, and 1.25 years in those who were screened at birth. This difference was statistically significant (pprivate healthcare sector who were not screened at birth (median 3.01 years) with that in children in the public healthcare sector (median 3.71 years). This difference was statistically significant (pprivate healthcare sector than in the public healthcare sector. With the social and economic benefits of early intervention in cases of DHI well established internationally, SA healthcare providers in both the public and private sectors need to develop screening, diagnostic and (re)habilitation services for children with hearing impairment.

  20. Prevalence of ulnar-to-median nerve motor fiber anastomosis (Riché-Cannieu communicating branch) in hand: An electrophysiological study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahadi, Tannaz; Raissi, Gholam Reza; Yavari, Masood; Majidi, Lobat

    2016-01-01

    Background: Two main muscles studied in the hand for evaluation of median nerve injuries are opponens pollicis (OP) and abductor pollicis brevis (APB). However, Riché-Cannieu communicating branch (RCCB) may limit the use of these muscles in electrodiagnosis. This condition is confusing in the case of median nerve injuries. This study was conducted to evaluate the prevalence of RCCB. Methods: Twenty-three consecutive cases of complete median nerve injury were studied. Evoked responses via stimulation of median and ulnar nerves in the wrist and recording with needle in the thenar area were studied. Results: Of the patients, 82.6% exhibited RCCB. In 14 (60.8%) cases the OP and in 19(82.6%) cases APB was supplied by the ulnar nerve. Conclusion: RCCB was detected to be 60.8% in OP and 82.6% in APB, so OP is preferable to APB in the study of median nerve. PMID:27390694

  1. The prevalence of median neuropathy at wrist in systemic sclerosis patients at Srinagarind Hospital

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thanaporn Nimitbancha

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: To determine the prevalence and factor related with median neuropathy at wrist (MNW in systemic sclerosis patients. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Srinagarind Hospital, Khon Kaen, Thailand. Participants: Systemic sclerosis patients who attended the Scleroderma Clinic, Srinagarind Hospital. Materials and Methods: Seventyfive systemic sclerosis patients were prospectively evaluated by questionnaire, physical examination, and electrodiagnostic study. The questionnaire consisted of the symptoms, duration, and type of systemic sclerosis. The physical examination revealed skin score of systemic sclerosis, pinprick sensation of median nerve distribution of both hands, and weakness of both abductor pollicis brevis muscles. The provocative test which were Tinel′s sign and Phalen′s maneuver were also examined. Moreover, electrodiagnostic study of the bilateral median and ulnar nerves was conducted. Results: The prevalence of MNW in systemic sclerosis patients was 44% - percentage of mild, moderate, and severe were 28%, 9.3%, and 6.7%, respectively. The prevalence of asymptomatic MNW was 88%. There were no association between the presence of MNW and related factors of systemic sclerosis. Conclusions: MNW is one of the most common entrapment neuropathies in systemic sclerosis patients. Systemic sclerosis patients should be screened for early signs of MNW.

  2. Driver alcohol involvement in fatal crashes by age group and vehicle type

    Science.gov (United States)

    2006-07-01

    The data in this research note demonstrate that while the overall proportion of passenger vehicle drivers with alcohol in fatal crashes is lower in older age groups, the median blood : alcohol concentration (BAC) is generally higher for those age gro...

  3. 78 FR 37586 - Stone Age Interiors, Inc., D/B/A Colorado Springs Marble and Granite, Including On-Site Leased...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-06-21

    ... DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Employment and Training Administration [TA-W-82,440] Stone Age Interiors, Inc., D/B/A Colorado Springs Marble and Granite, Including On-Site Leased Workers From Express Employment... Marble and Granite, Colorado Springs, Colorado (subject firm). The negative determination was issued on...

  4. Hotellin ravitsemispalveluiden markkinointiviestinnän kehittäminen sosiaalisen median keinoin, esimerkkinä case: Digihotelli

    OpenAIRE

    Ruokolainen, Anita

    2014-01-01

    Opinnäytetyössä kehitetään hotellin ravitsemispalveluiden markkinointiviestintää sosiaalisen median tarjoamin keinoin. Työn toimeksiantaja on majoitus- ja ravitsemispalveluita tarjoava yritys. Työn tavoitteena on laatia konkreettisia kehitysideoita markkinointiviestintää varten. Lisäksi tavoitteena on kehittää uusia tapoja hyödyntää sosiaalista mediaa yrityksen markkinointiviestinnässä. Työssä perehdytään myös sosiaalisen median uusiin trendeihin ja kehityssuuntiin. Työn teoreettinen vii...

  5. Age is not a limiting factor for brachytherapy for carcinoma of the node negative oral tongue in patients aged eighty or older

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kakimoto Naoya

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background To examine the role of brachytherapy for aged patients 80 or more in the trend of rapidly increasing number. Methods We examined the outcomes for elderly patients with node negative oral tongue cancer (T1-3N0M0 treated with brachytherapy. The 21 patients (2 T1, 14 T2, and 5 T3 cases ranged in age from 80 to 89 years (median 81, and their cancer was pathologically confirmed. All patients underwent definitive radiation therapy, with low dose rate (LDR Ra-226 brachytherapy (n = 4; median 70Gy, with Ir-192 (n = 12; 70Gy, with Au-198 (n = 1 or with high dose rate (HDR Ir-192 brachytherapy (n = 4; 60 Gy. Eight patients also underwent external radiotherapy (median 30 Gy. The period of observation ranged from 13 months to 14 years (median 2.5 years. We selected 226 population matched younger counterpart from our medical chart. Results Definitive radiation therapy was completed for all 21 patients (100%, and acute grade 2-3 mucositis related to the therapy was tolerable. Local control (initial complete response was attained in 19 of 21 patients (90%. The 2-year and 5-year local control rates were 91%, (100% for T1, 83% for T2 and 80% for T3 tumors after 2 years. These figures was not inferior to that of younger counterpart (82% at 5-year, n.s.. The cause-specific survival rate was 83% and the regional control rate 84% at the 2-years follow-up. However, 12 patients died because of intercurrent diseases or senility, resulting in overall survival rates of 55% at 2 years and 34% at 5 years. Conclusion Age is not a limiting factor for brachytherapy for appropriately selected elderly patients, and brachytherapy achieved good local control with acceptable morbidity.

  6. Data Visualization of Item-Total Correlation by Median Smoothing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chong Ho Yu

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available This paper aims to illustrate how data visualization could be utilized to identify errors prior to modeling, using an example with multi-dimensional item response theory (MIRT. MIRT combines item response theory and factor analysis to identify a psychometric model that investigates two or more latent traits. While it may seem convenient to accomplish two tasks by employing one procedure, users should be cautious of problematic items that affect both factor analysis and IRT. When sample sizes are extremely large, reliability analyses can misidentify even random numbers as meaningful patterns. Data visualization, such as median smoothing, can be used to identify problematic items in preliminary data cleaning.

  7. Free and protein-bound cobalamin absorption in healthy middle-aged and older subjects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Asselt, D Z; van den Broek, W J; Lamers, C B; Corstens, F H; Hoefnagels, W H

    1996-08-01

    To study free- and protein-bound cobalamin absorption and the correlation with atrophic gastritis in healthy middle-aged and older subjects. A cross-sectional study. Fifty-two healthy subjects, aged 26 to 87 years, apparently free from conditions known to influence the cobalamin status. Middle-aged subjects were defined as those younger than 65 years of age (median age 57 years) and older subjects as those 65 years and older (median age 75 years). Protein-bound cobalamin absorption was assessed by 48-hour urinary excretion method following oral administration of scrambled egg yolk, labeled in vivo with 57 Co-cobalamin by injecting a hen with 57 Co-cyanocobalamin. The percentage of 57 Co-cobalamin bound to protein was 65%. Free cobalamin absorption was assessed by 48-hour urinary excretion method following oral administration of crystalline 57 Co-cyanocobalamin. Plasma cobalamin, folate and fasting plasma gastrin, and pepsinogen A and C concentrations were determined. The median urinary excretion of egg yolk 57 Co-cobalamin in middle-aged subjects was 12.3% (25th and 75th percentiles 10.5%-14.5%) compared with 11.7% (25th and 75th percentiles 9.8%-13.6%) in older subjects (P = .283). The median urinary excretion after administration of free 57 Co-cobalamin in middle-aged subjects was 25.7% (25th and 75th percentiles 20.6%-30.7%) compared with 27.9% (25th and 75th percentiles 21.4%-34.5%) in older subjects (P = .694). Neither egg yolk nor free 57 Co-cobalamin excretion correlated with age. A ratio of pepsinogen A to pepsinogen C less than 1.6, indicating atrophic gastritis, was found in 13 subjects. Within the atrophic gastritis group, 11 subjects had a pepsinogen A concentration greater than or equal to 17 micrograms/L, indicating mild to moderate atrophic gastritis, and two subjects had a pepsinogen A concentration less than 17 micrograms/L, indicating severe atrophic gastritis or gastric atrophy. All subjects had normal fasting plasma gastrin concentrations. Free

  8. Ciliated median raphe cyst of perineum presenting as perianal polyp: a case report with immunohistochemical study, review of literature, and pathogenesis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sagar, Jayesh; Sagar, Bethani; Patel, Adam F; Shak, D K

    2006-03-05

    Median raphe cyst is a very rare, benign congenital lesion occurring mainly on the ventral aspect of the penis, but can develop anywhere in the midline between the external urethral meatus and anus. We report a case of median raphe cyst in the perineum presenting as a perianal polyp in a 65-year-old, English white male with exceptionally rare ciliated epithelium. According to our knowledge, this is the third such case of ciliated median raphe cyst in the English literature. This case, also the first case of ciliated median raphe cyst in the perineum location, focuses on pathogenesis of median raphe cyst.

  9. Development of a modified prognostic index for patients with aggressive adult T-cell leukemia-lymphoma aged 70 years or younger: possible risk-adapted management strategies including allogeneic transplantation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fuji, Shigeo; Yamaguchi, Takuhiro; Inoue, Yoshitaka; Utsunomiya, Atae; Moriuchi, Yukiyoshi; Uchimaru, Kaoru; Owatari, Satsuki; Miyagi, Takashi; Taguchi, Jun; Choi, Ilseung; Otsuka, Eiichi; Nakachi, Sawako; Yamamoto, Hisashi; Kurosawa, Saiko; Tobinai, Kensei; Fukuda, Takahiro

    2017-07-01

    Adult T-cell leukemia-lymphoma is a distinct type of peripheral T-cell lymphoma caused by human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I. Although allogeneic stem cell transplantation after chemotherapy is a recommended treatment option for patients with aggressive adult T-cell leukemia-lymphoma, there is no consensus about indications for allogeneic stem cell transplantation because there is no established risk stratification system for transplant eligible patients. We conducted a nationwide survey of patients with aggressive adult T-cell leukemia-lymphoma in order to construct a new, large database that includes 1,792 patients aged 70 years or younger with aggressive adult T-cell leukemia-lymphoma who were diagnosed between 2000 and 2013 and received intensive first-line chemotherapy. We randomly divided patients into two groups (training and validation sets). Acute type, poor performance status, high soluble interleukin-2 receptor levels (> 5,000 U/mL), high adjusted calcium levels (≥ 12 mg/dL), and high C-reactive protein levels (≥ 2.5 mg/dL) were independent adverse prognostic factors used in the training set. We used these five variables to divide patients into three risk groups. In the validation set, median overall survival for the low-, intermediate-, and high-risk groups was 626 days, 322 days, and 197 days, respectively. In the intermediate- and high-risk groups, transplanted recipients had significantly better overall survival than non-transplanted patients. We developed a promising new risk stratification system to identify patients aged 70 years or younger with aggressive adult T-cell leukemia-lymphoma who may benefit from upfront allogeneic stem cell transplantation. Prospective studies are warranted to confirm the benefit of this treatment strategy. Copyright© 2017 Ferrata Storti Foundation.

  10. [Urinary iodine levels and its influencing factors among residents over age of 15 years in Shenzhen City].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luo, Yiqi; Xu, Jian; He, Shan; Wang, Jun; Fang, Xiaoheng

    2014-11-01

    To understand the status of iodine nutrition and the affective factors of urinary iodine concentration among residents over age of 15 years in Shenzhen City. Totally 8152 residents from 73 communities were selected with stratified cluster random sampling. The morning urinary iodine was determined and the dietary assessment of iodine using a food frequency questionnaire were carried out. The range of urinary iodine was 9. 65 - 4039.09 μg/L and the median of urinary iodine was 194.59 μg/L among the residents. The percentages of the residents with urinary iodine iodine between different gender (P = 0.0001), the medians of urinary iodine of men (201.32 μg/L) was slightly higher. There was no significant difference in urinary iodine levels (186.59 - 197.44 μg/L) among all age groups, the medians of urinary iodine of all age groups were within the recommended adequate intake. Along with the increase in age, the medians of urinary iodine of all age groups was gradually decreased. Sex, alcohol consumption and daily dietary iodine intake was significant in the final regression model. The iodine nutrition of residents in Shenzhen City was in good condition, populations with low or high iodine still exist. The monitoring is needed and the influencing factors of the urine iodine levels need much exploration.

  11. High incidence of the median artery of the forearm in a sample of recent southern African cadavers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henneberg, M; George, B J

    1992-01-01

    Observations of the presence of the median artery, providing substantial blood supply to the hand, were conducted on 96 dissected forearms of 15 adult African females and 49 adult males. The artery has a much higher incidence (27.1%) than previously reported by any author. There is no significant difference in its occurrence between sexes, nor between right and left limbs. The artery seems to occur more often bilaterally than unilaterally. The presence of the artery is not related to age. From a theoretical standpoint it is difficult to accept that a structure present in more than 1 in 4 of individuals should be considered an 'anomaly' or a 'variant'. A different approach to description of normal human anatomy is therefore necessary--that of presenting alternative anatomical patterns of equal standing rather than a single 'normal' pattern. Images Fig. 1 Fig. 2 Fig. 3 PMID:1452474

  12. Results of radiotherapy for brain metastases in old-aged patients

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nieder, C.; Niewald, M.; Schnabel, K.

    1995-01-01

    To evaluate which patients older tahn 70 years will benefit by radiotherapy for their brain metastases the data of 35 patients in this age-group who were treated between 1983 and 1994 were retrospectivley analyzed. All patients were previously untreated and received a whole-brain irradiation and concomitantly corticosteroids. The median total dose was 30 Gy (fractionation: 10 times 3 Gy in 2 weeks). Six patients each received lower or higher total doses with 50.4 Gy at maximum. Six patients failed to complete their prescribed treatment (17%). The median survival of all patients who completed their radiotherapy course was 67 days only. Patients with extracerebral metastases had a median survival of 31 days. Survival was not dependent on total dose of radiotherapy. In 56% of all cases the general condition of the patients improved or remained stable at a high level. Karnofsky-performance status was the most important prognostic factor. Advanced age is an unfavourable prognostic factor. Only patients in good general condition without extracerebral metastases had survival times which justify radiotherapy for their brain metastases. (orig./MG) [de

  13. Relationship between obesity and anti-Müllerian hormone in reproductive-aged African American women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bernardi, Lia A; Carnethon, Mercedes R; de Chavez, Peter J; Ikhena, Deborah E; Neff, Lisa M; Baird, Donna D; Marsh, Erica E

    2017-01-01

    To determine whether there is an association between obesity and anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) among reproductive-aged African American women (AAW). From the women participating in an ongoing National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences study, 1,654 AAW aged 23 to 35 were included in this study. Anthropometric measurements, personal health information, and serum AMH and adipokine levels were analyzed. The median body mass index (BMI) was 32.4 kg/m 2 , and the median AMH was 3.18 ng/mL. Participants with obesity had AMH concentrations that were 23.7% lower than those with a BMI ≤25 kg/m 2 (2.9 ng/mL vs. 3.8 ng/mL). In multivariable linear regression models, current BMI (β = -0.015; 95% CI -0.021 to -0.009), BMI at age 18 (β = -0.016; 95% CI -0.024 to -0.008), heaviest reported lifetime weight (β = -0.002; 95% CI -0.003 to -0.001), and leptin (β = -0.016; 95% CI -0.025 to -0.007) were inversely associated with AMH. There was no significant association between adiponectin and AMH. AMH was significantly lower (mean log = 0.91, SE = 0.11) in participants with obesity at age 18 and at enrollment when compared with those who were underweight or normal weight at age 18 but had obesity at enrollment (mean log = 1.16, SE = 0.12). In reproductive-aged AAW there is a significant association between obesity and AMH, suggesting that excess adiposity may compromise ovarian reserve. Effects of obesity on AMH may be cumulative. © 2016 The Obesity Society.

  14. Trends in Scottish newborn screening programme for congenital hypothyroidism 1980-2014: strategies for reducing age at notification after initial and repeat sampling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mansour, Chourouk; Ouarezki, Yasmine; Jones, Jeremy; Fitch, Moira; Smith, Sarah; Mason, Avril; Donaldson, Malcolm

    2017-10-01

    To determine ages at first capillary sampling and notification and age at notification after second sampling in Scottish newborns referred with elevated thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH). Referrals between 1980 and 2014 inclusive were grouped into seven 5-year blocks and analysed according to agreed standards. Of 2 116 132 newborn infants screened, 919 were referred with capillary TSH elevation ≥8 mU/L of whom 624 had definite (606) or probable (18) congenital hypothyroidism. Median age at first sampling fell from 7 to 5 days between 1980 and 2014 (standard 4-7 days), with 22, 8 and 3 infants sampled >7 days during 2000-2004, 2005-2009 and 2010-2014. Median age at notification was consistently ≤14 days, range falling during 2000-2004, 2005-2009 and 2010-2014 from 6 to 78, 7-52 and 7-32 days with 12 (14.6%), 6 (5.6%) and 5 (4.3%) infants notified >14 days. However 18/123 (14.6%) of infants undergoing second sampling from 2000 onwards breached the ≤26-day standard for notification. By 2010-2014, the 91 infants with confirmed congenital hypothyroidism had shown favourable median age at first sample (5 days) with start of treatment (10.5 days) approaching age at notification. Most standards for newborn thyroid screening are being met by the Scottish programme, but there is a need to reduce age range at notification, particularly following second sampling. Strategies to improve screening performance include carrying out initial capillary sampling as close to 96 hours as possible; introducing 6-day laboratory reporting and use of electronic transmission for communicating repeat requests. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

  15. A Comparison among Worker Types Using a Composites Approach and Median Splits

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aziz, Shahnaz; Wuensch, Karl L.; Brandon, Howard R.

    2010-01-01

    The current study examined Spence and Robbins' (1992) worker types in terms of correlates of workaholism (e.g., work-life imbalance, obsessive-compulsive behavior). A survey was administered to professionals, who were then classified into different worker types following the traditional median-split technique. The data were also analyzed with…

  16. Epithelioid Sarcoma of the Forearm Arising from Perineural Sheath of Median Nerve Mimicking Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hiromasa Fujii

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available We report here a case of epithelioid sarcoma in the forearm of a 33-year-old male presenting with symptoms and signs of carpal tunnel syndrome originating from the direct involvement of the median nerve. Due to the slow growing of the tumor, the patient noticed the presence of tumor mass in his forearm after several months from the initial onset of the symptoms. Magnetic resonance imaging showed an 8×4 cm mass involving the median nerve in the middle part of the forearm, and histological analysis of the biopsy specimen revealed the diagnosis of epithelioid sarcoma. Radical surgical resection was performed in conjunction with adjuvant chemotherapy. The function of the flexors were restored by the multiple tendon transfers (EIP→FDS; ECRL→FDP; BrR→FPL; EDM→opponens with superficial cutaneous branch of radial nerve transfer to the resected median nerve. The function of the affected hand showed excellent with the DASH disability/symptom score of 22.5, and both the grasp power and sensory of the median nerve area has recovered up to 50% of the normal side. The patient returned to his original vocation and alive with continuous disease free at 3.5-year follow-up since initial treatment.

  17. Localized prostate cancer in elderly men aged 80-89, findings from a population-based registry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vatandoust, S; Kichenadasse, G; O'Callaghan, M; Vincent, A D; Kopsaftis, T; Walsh, S; Borg, M; Karapetis, C S; Moretti, K

    2018-03-30

    To investigate the rate of death due to Prostate Cancer (PCa) and disease characteristics in patients diagnosed with Localized Prostate Cancer (LPCa) at age 80-89 years in comparison with men diagnosed at age 70-79. This is a retrospective study of data from the South Australian Prostate Cancer Clinical Outcomes Collaborative (SA-PCCOC). Included were men diagnosed between 2005 and 2014, aged ≥70 with no evidence of metastatic disease at presentation. Propensity score matching and competing risk Fine and Grey regression were used to assess the chance of treatment (curative v non-curative) and treatment effect on PCa specific-mortality. Of the 1951 eligible patients, 1428 (76%) aged 70-79, and 460 (24%) aged 80-89 yr at diagnosis (median age of 74 (IQR=72-76) and 83 (IQR=81-85) respectively). The 80-89 group had higher Gleason scores and PSA values (all pcopyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

  18. Aging in Mexico: Population Trends and Emerging Issues

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vega, William; López-Ortega, Mariana

    2017-01-01

    Abstract Although all nations in the America’s face a common demographic reality of longevity, declining fertility rates and changes in family roles a growing body of research points to a dramatic demographic transformation in Mexico. Although Mexico’s population is relatively young, with a median age of 27.9 in 2015, it will age rapidly in coming years, increasing to 42 years by 2050. The rapid median age in the nation also reflects the growing proportion of people 65 or older, and is expected to triple to 20.2% by 2050. This article examines how the age and gender structure of Mexico offers important insights about current and future political and social stability, as well as economic development. Mexico is the world’s eleventh largest country in terms of population size and the “demographic dividend” of a large youthful population is giving way to a growing older population that will inevitably place demands on health care and social security. The shift in age structure will result in increased dependency of retirees on the working-age population in the next 20 years. Mexico does not provide universal coverage of social security benefits and less than half of the labor force is covered by any pension or retirement plan. As a result, elderly Mexicans often continue working into old age. The high total poverty rate in the country, especially among the older population magnifies the problem of the potential dependency burden. The article ends with a discussion of key public policy issues related to aging in Mexico. PMID:27927730

  19. CALCIUM, CREATININE AND URINARY PHOSPHATE/CREATININE RATIO CONCENTRATIONS IN NEONATES OF VARIOUS GESTATIONAL AGES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    O. I. Fomina

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Objective: specify peculiarities of calcium and phosphates excretion in neonates of various gestational ages and types of feeding in neonatal period. Patients and methods. Calcium-creatinine (Ca/Cr and phosphate-creatinine (P/Cr ratio concentrations were determined in 96 healthy neonates of 38-40 weeks of gestational age and 146 premature infants of 28-37 weeks of gestational age of various types of feeding. Results. The Ca/Cr ratio concentration in healthy term infants in the early neonatal period amounted to 0.9-2.2 (median – 1.8, the P/Cr ratio concentration – 0.8-2.1 (median – 1.6. The Ca/Cr ratio concentration in premature infants (28-37 weeks of gestational age amounted to 0.9-2.4 (median – 1.9, which is comparable to this parameter’s value in term infants. The P/Cr ratio concentration amounted to 0.7-3.1 (median – 2.4, which exceeds this parameter’s value in term infants. The lesser the gestational age and birth weight, the higher the Ca/Cr and P/Cr ratio concentrations. The authors revealed hypercalciuria and hyperphosphaturia in premature infants with a very low body weight fed with specialized formulas. Conclusions. Use of specialized formulas in small premature infants (gestational age < 33 weeks with VLBW results in excessive calcium and phosphates excretion. It is reasonable to monitor their concentrations using a non-invasive and informative method of determining Ca/Cr and P/Cr ratios. Feeding of premature infants with BW > 1,500 g with breast milk only (in case of the mother’s adequate lactation allows avoiding hypercalciuria and hyperphosphaturia and preventing risk of a renal pathology. 

  20. Ciliated Median Raphe Cyst of Perineum Presenting as Perianal Polyp: A Case Report with Immunohistochemical Study, Review of Literature, and Pathogenesis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jayesh Sagar

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Median raphe cyst is a very rare, benign congenital lesion occurring mainly on the ventral aspect of the penis, but can develop anywhere in the midline between the external urethral meatus and anus. We report a case of median raphe cyst in the perineum presenting as a perianal polyp in a 65-year-old, English white male with exceptionally rare ciliated epithelium. According to our knowledge, this is the third such case of ciliated median raphe cyst in the English literature. This case, also the first case of ciliated median raphe cyst in the perineum location, focuses on pathogenesis of median raphe cyst.

  1. Oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma in 260 patients aged 80 years or more

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ortholan, Cecile; Lusinchi, Antoine; Italiano, Antoine; Bensadoun, Rene-Jean; Auperin, Anne; Poissonnet, Gilles; Bozec, Alexandre; Arriagada, Rodrigo; Temam, Stephane; Benezery, Karen; Thariat, Juliette; Tao Yungan; Janot, Francois; Mamelle, Gerard; Vallicioni, Jacques; Follana, Philippe; Peyrade, Frederic; Sudaka, Anne; Bourhis, Jean; Dassonville, Olivier

    2009-01-01

    Purpose: We report the experience of two French cancer centers in the treatment of oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) in patients aged ≥80 years. Materials and methods: Two hundred and sixty patients aged ≥80 years with a primary oral cavity SCC were included in this retrospective analysis. Results: Sex ratio was near to 1. Tobacco or alcohol intoxication was the main risk factor for 66% of men and 16% of women and leukoplakia, lichen planus, or oral traumatism for 55% of women and 11% of men (p < 0.0001). Two hundred patients received a loco-regional (LR) treatment with a curative intent (surgery and/or radiotherapy), 29 with a palliative intent and 31 did not receive a LR treatment. Curative treatments were initially planned to be adapted to age in 118 patients (59%). The median disease-specific survival (DSS) was 29 months. In multivariate analysis, the independent prognostic factors for DSS were stage (HR = 0.42 [0.24-0.72]), age (HR = 0.43 [0.24-0.75]) and performance status (HR = 0.50 [0.27-0.95]). The median overall survival (OS) was 14 months. In multivariate analysis, the independent prognostic factors for OS were age (HR = 0.52 [0.35-0.79]), stage (HR = 0.56 [0.38-0.84]), tumor differentiation (HR = 0.60 [0.33-0.93]) and performance status (HR = 0.6 [0.37-0.97]). In patients treated with a curative intent, treatment adapted to age was not associated with a decreased overall survival or disease-specific survival as compared with the standard treatment. However, prophylactic lymph node treatment in stages I-II tumors decreased the rate of nodal recurrence from 38% to 6% (p = 0.01). Conclusion: This study emphasizes the need for prospective evaluation of standard and adapted schedules in elderly patients with oral cavity cancer.

  2. Association between age at antiretroviral therapy initiation and 24-month immune response in West-African HIV-infected children

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Desmonde, Sophie; Dicko, Fatoumata; Koueta, Fla

    2014-01-01

    measurements, including one at ART initiation (baseline) were included. CD4 cell gain on ART was estimated using a multivariable linear mixed model adjusted for baseline variables: age, CD4 cell count, sex, first-line ART regimen. Kaplan-Meier survival curves and a Cox proportional hazards regression model...... compared immune recovery for age within 24 months post-ART. RESULTS: Of the 4808 children initiated on ART, 3014 were enrolled at a median age of 5.6 years; 61.2% were immunodeficient. After 12 months, children at least 4 years at baseline had significantly lower CD4 cell gains compared with children less...... these children, 75% reached immune recovery: 12-month rates were significantly highest in all those aged 2-5 years at ART initiation compared with those less than 2 years. Beyond 12 months on ART, immune recovery was significantly lower in children initiated more than 5 years (adjusted hazard ratio: 0.69, 95...

  3. Assessment of self-esteem in mid-aged women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chedraui, Peter; Pérez-López, Faustino R; Mendoza, Marcela; Leimberg, María L; Martinez, María A; Vallarino, Varinia; Hidalgo, Luis

    2010-05-01

    To assess self-esteem and affecting factors in a middle-aged Ecuadorian female population using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES). This was a cross-sectional study in which 149 women (40-59 years) were requested to fill out the RSES and a general socio-demographic form containing personal and partner data. Mean age of sample was 47.6+/-5.5 years, a 67.8% had less than 12 years of schooling and 33.6% were postmenopausal. At the moment of the survey 2.7% were on hormone therapy, and 2% were taking psychotropic drugs. Mean total RSES score was 26.6+/-3.1 (median 26, range 17-35). A 35.6% and 18.1% of women respectively presented total RSES scores below 26 (median) and 25 (25th percentile) suggesting lower self-esteem. Total scores did not differ when comparing older age, menopausal phases or time since the menopause. Logistic regression analysis determined that women with lower parity and an unhealthy partner were related to lower total RSES scores (below the 25th percentile) suggesting lower self-esteem. In this mid-aged series lower self-esteem was not related to the aging process per se yet to socio-demographic female/male aspects. More research is needed in this regard that incorporates other sociological aspects. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Recipient Age and Mortality Risk after Liver Transplantation: A Population-Based Cohort Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Hsiu-Pin; Tsai, Yung-Fong; Lin, Jr-Rung; Liu, Fu-Chao; Yu, Huang-Ping

    2016-01-01

    The aim of the present large population-based cohort study is to explore the risk factors of age-related mortality in liver transplant recipients in Taiwan. Basic information and data on medical comorbidities for 2938 patients who received liver transplants between July 1, 1998, and December 31, 2012, were extracted from the National Health Insurance Research Database on the basis of ICD-9-codes. Mortality risks were analyzed after adjusting for preoperative comorbidities and compared among age cohorts. All patients were followed up until the study endpoint or death. This study finally included 2588 adults and 350 children [2068 (70.4%) male and 870 (29.6%) female patients]. The median age at transplantation was 52 (interquartile range, 43-58) years. Recipients were categorized into the following age cohorts: recipients (≥60 years), especially dialysis patients, have a higher mortality rate, possibly because they have more medical comorbidities. Our findings should make clinicians aware of the need for better risk stratification among elderly liver transplantation candidates.

  5. Age at sexual initiation and factors associated with it among youths ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Background: For behavioral as well as physiological reasons, early sexual debut increases young peoples' risk for infection with HIV and other STIs. ... of the study was to determine the median age at first sexual intercourse and the associated factors of sexual initiation among rural and urban youths (age 15- 24 years).

  6. The genetic basis for cognitive ability, memory, and depression symptomatology in middle-aged and elderly chinese twins

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Xu, Chunsheng; Sun, Jianping; Ji, Fuling

    2015-01-01

    The genetic influences on aging-related phenotypes, including cognition and depression, have been well confirmed in the Western populations. We performed the first twin-based analysis on cognitive performance, memory and depression status in middle-aged and elderly Chinese twins, representing...... the world's largest and most rapidly aging population. The sample consisted of 384 twin pairs with a median age of 50 years. Cognitive function was measured using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scale; memory was assessed using the revised Wechsler Adult Intelligence scale; depression...... with heritability 0.44 for cognition and 0.56 for memory. Multivariate analysis by the reduced Cholesky model estimated significant genetic (rG = 0.69) and unique environmental (rE = 0.25) correlation between cognitive ability and memory. The model also estimated weak but significant inverse genetic correlation...

  7. Endoscopic Third Ventriculostomy Instead of Shunt Revision in Children Younger Than 3 Years of Age.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Rui; Shi, Wei; Yang, Haowei; Li, Hao

    2016-04-01

    Endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV) is a valuable option in the treatment of shunt failure, but no clinical data exist for young children. The aim of this study was to elucidate the role of ETV in patients younger than 3 years of age with shunt malfunction. A cohort of 37 patients younger than 3 years of age with shunt malfunction underwent ETV instead of shunt revision. Patients' preoperative condition and medical history were studied to determine the impact of a number of variables on outcome. The Fisher exact test was used to assess differences among groups. Median age at ETV was 21.6 months (8-36 months). Diagnosis was obstructive hydrocephalus in 24 patients and communicating hydrocephalus in 13. Median age at initial shunt placement was 3.2 months (10 days to 30 months). The etiology of shunt malfunction was obstruction (n = 27) or infection (n = 10). Overall ETV failure rate was 40.5% (15/37). Patients whose age at initial shunt placement was <6 months and/or who had a preterm birth history had higher relative rates of ETV failure. Other variables, including type of hydrocephalus, interval between initial shunt placement and ETV, history of intraventricular bleeding and/or infection, and etiology of shunt malfunction, did not significantly affect the final outcome. Patients younger than 3 years with obstructive or communicating hydrocephalus may benefit from ETV in the event of shunt malfunction and have about a 60% probability of becoming shunt free. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Soft tissue organ masses of Beagles as a function of age

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guilmette, R.A.; Gillett, N.A.; Gerlach, R.F.

    1988-01-01

    Beagle dogs have been used for the past 30 yr for radio toxicological studies in several Department of Energy laboratories. Since the animals are maintained for their life span, it is important to recognize the potential importance of age-related changes in organ masses, particularly as they relate to dosimetry. To determine the extent and magnitude of soft-tissue organ mass changes relative to age and gender of Beagle dogs, groups of three male and three female dogs at ages 2.7, 6.0, 8.8, 11.7, and 14.0 yr were sacrificed. The resulting organ mass data were analyzed by linear regression both in terms of gross mass and mass normalized to whole-body mass. The results indicated that very little change in masses could be detected in this population over the age range studied, which includes the median life span of dogs In this colony. The rate of change of masses was shown to have an insignificant effect on the calculation of radiation dose, even over long time periods. (author)

  9. Soft tissue organ masses of Beagles as a function of age

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Guilmette, R A; Gillett, N A; Gerlach, R F

    1988-12-01

    Beagle dogs have been used for the past 30 yr for radio toxicological studies in several Department of Energy laboratories. Since the animals are maintained for their life span, it is important to recognize the potential importance of age-related changes in organ masses, particularly as they relate to dosimetry. To determine the extent and magnitude of soft-tissue organ mass changes relative to age and gender of Beagle dogs, groups of three male and three female dogs at ages 2.7, 6.0, 8.8, 11.7, and 14.0 yr were sacrificed. The resulting organ mass data were analyzed by linear regression both in terms of gross mass and mass normalized to whole-body mass. The results indicated that very little change in masses could be detected in this population over the age range studied, which includes the median life span of dogs In this colony. The rate of change of masses was shown to have an insignificant effect on the calculation of radiation dose, even over long time periods. (author)

  10. Assessment of age at death by microscopy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lynnerup, Niels; Frohlich, Bruno; Thomsen, Jørgen L

    2006-01-01

    The microscopic method of age at death determination was introduced by Kerley in 1965 [E.R. Kerley, The microscopic determination of age in human bone, Am. J. Phys. Anthropol, 23 (1965) 149-163.]. However, even though the method has been revised several times, there remain some fundamental issues...... the regions of interest, as well as for dealing with border phenomena, and we only counted secondary osteons. Our results show a statistically significant increase in the median number of osteons per area unit with increasing age at death. However, this was after exclusion of one outlier. This result...

  11. Median and common peroneal neuropathy in coir workers of Alappuzha district, Kerala.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chandra, Sadanandavalli Retnaswami; Anand, Biji; Issac, Thomas Gregor

    2017-01-01

    Coir work, in a large number of people involves mechanically rolling the coconut fibers into coir which is later subjected to various processes. The primary work is done as a cottage industry specially by women in the sitting posture for several hours. This study reports evidence of median and common peroneal neuropathy electrophysiologically in people who had been engaged in this job for several years. This study was initiated to establish the possible relationship between coir work and symptomatic neuropathies which was seen in that region with all investigations " for other causes not " contributing to the etiological diagnosis. One hundred and forty-two upper limbs and 142 lower limbs in patients engaged in long years of coir work but having no symptoms were evaluated electrophysiologically with informed consent and financial compensation, appropriate inclusion and exclusion criteria were followed as described in the text. There is electrophysiological evidence for median and common peroneal neuropathy in persons engaged in long years of coir work. Coir workers neuropathy appears to be a new occupational neuropathy which can be prevented by following simple preventive measures.

  12. Correlation between the median particle size of chewed frankfurter sausage and almonds during masticatory performance test.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sumonsiri, P; Thongudomporn, U; Paphangkorakit, J

    2018-04-27

    The correlation between chewing and gastric function is best reflected when the same food type is used during both tests. We proposed frankfurter sausage as test food for masticatory performance as it can also be used in gastric emptying test. The suitability of frankfurter sausage to determine masticatory performance, however, has never been examined. To examine the correlations between the median particle size of frankfurter sausage and almonds (as standard test food) after different numbers of chewing cycles. Twenty-seven subjects performed masticatory performance tests by chewing 2 types of test foods, that is, a piece of almond or 5-g frankfurter sausage cubes placed in a sealed latex bag, for 5 and 15 chewing cycles. For each individual, right and left sides were tested separately. Chewed samples obtained from both sides were pooled. Median particle sizes were determined using a multiple sieving method. Spearman's rank correlation was used to examine any correlation between median particle sizes of the 2 test foods after 5 and 15 cycles. Median particle sizes after 5 and 15 cycles were 2.04 ± 0.87 and 0.95 ± 0.58 mm for almonds and 4.16 ± 0.19 and 3.73 ± 0.25 mm for frankfurter sausage, respectively. Significant correlations were observed between the median particle size of chewed frankfurter sausage after 15 cycles and that of chewed almonds after 5 and 15 cycles (r = .76, P < .01 and r = .52, P = .01, respectively). Frankfurter sausage chewed for 15 cycles may be suitable for the determination of masticatory performance in conjunction with gastric emptying test. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  13. Growth and Mortality Outcomes for Different Antiretroviral Therapy Initiation Criteria in Children Ages 1-5 Years: A Causal Modeling Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schomaker, Michael; Davies, Mary-Ann; Malateste, Karen; Renner, Lorna; Sawry, Shobna; N'Gbeche, Sylvie; Technau, Karl-Günter; Eboua, François; Tanser, Frank; Sygnaté-Sy, Haby; Phiri, Sam; Amorissani-Folquet, Madeleine; Cox, Vivian; Koueta, Fla; Chimbete, Cleophas; Lawson-Evi, Annette; Giddy, Janet; Amani-Bosse, Clarisse; Wood, Robin; Egger, Matthias; Leroy, Valeriane

    2016-03-01

    There is limited evidence regarding the optimal timing of initiating antiretroviral therapy (ART) in children. We conducted a causal modeling analysis in children ages 1-5 years from the International Epidemiologic Databases to Evaluate AIDS West/Southern-Africa collaboration to determine growth and mortality differences related to different CD4-based treatment initiation criteria, age groups, and regions. ART-naïve children of ages 12-59 months at enrollment with at least one visit before ART initiation and one follow-up visit were included. We estimated 3-year growth and cumulative mortality from the start of follow-up for different CD4 criteria using g-computation. About one quarter of the 5,826 included children was from West Africa (24.6%).The median (first; third quartile) CD4% at the first visit was 16% (11%; 23%), the median weight-for-age z-scores and height-for-age z-scores were -1.5 (-2.7; -0.6) and -2.5 (-3.5; -1.5), respectively. Estimated cumulative mortality was higher overall, and growth was slower, when initiating ART at lower CD4 thresholds. After 3 years of follow-up, the estimated mortality difference between starting ART routinely irrespective of CD4 count and starting ART if either CD4 count <750 cells/mm³ or CD4% <25% was 0.2% (95% CI = -0.2%; 0.3%), and the difference in the mean height-for-age z-scores of those who survived was -0.02 (95% CI = -0.04; 0.01). Younger children ages 1-2 and children in West Africa had worse outcomes. Our results demonstrate that earlier treatment initiation yields overall better growth and mortality outcomes, although we could not show any differences in outcomes between immediate ART and delaying until CD4 count/% falls below 750/25%.

  14. Applicability of Greulich and Pyle method for age assessment in forensic practice on an Italian sample.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tisè, Marco; Mazzarini, Laura; Fabrizzi, Giancarlo; Ferrante, Luigi; Giorgetti, Raffaele; Tagliabracci, Adriano

    2011-05-01

    The main importance in age estimation lies in the assessment of criminal liability and protection of unaccompanied minor immigrants, when their age is unknown. Under Italian law, persons are not criminally responsible before they reach the age of 14. The age of 18 is important when deciding whether juvenile or adult law must be applied. In the case of unaccompanied minors, it is important to assess age in order to establish special protective measures, and correct age estimation may prevent a person over 18 from benefiting from measures reserved for minors. Since the Greulich and Pyle method is one of the most frequently used in age estimation, the aim of this study was to assess the reproducibility and accuracy of the method on a large Italian sample of teenagers, to ascertain the applicability of the Atlas at the critical age thresholds of 14 and 18 years. This retrospective study examined posteroanterior X-ray projections of hand and wrist from 484 Italian-Caucasian young people (125 females, 359 males) between 11 and 19 years old. All radiographic images were taken from trauma patients hospitalized in the Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria Ospedali Riuniti of Ancona (Italy) between 2006 and 2007. Two physicians analyzed all radiographic images separately. The blind method was used. In the case of an estimated age of 14 years old, the true age ranged from 12.2 to 15.9 years (median, 14.3 years, interquartile range, 1.0 years) for males, and 12.6 to 15.7 years (median, 14.2 years, interquartile range, 1.7 years) for females. In the case of an estimated age of 18 years, the true age ranged from 15.6 to 19.7 years (median, 17.7 years, interquartile range, 1.4 years) for males, and from 16.2 to 20.0 years (median, 18.7 years, interquartile range, 1.8 years) for females. Our study shows that although the GPM is a reproducible and repeatable method, there is a wide margin of error in the estimation of chronological age, mainly in the critical estimated

  15. Experimental concrete coating application on the median barrier of I 65 in Louisville.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2008-06-01

    The objectives of this research were to evaluate the experimental protective coating that was applied to approximately 1,200 linear feet of concrete median barrier along the paving project on a section of I 65 between mile points 131.289 and 136.421 ...

  16. Role of age, bowel function and parity on anorectocele pathogenesis according to cinedefecography and anal manometry evaluation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soares, F A; Regadas, F S P; Murad-Regadas, S M; Rodrigues, L V; Silva, F R S; Escalante, R D; Bezerra, R F

    2009-11-01

    The study aimed to verify the role of parity, age and bowel function in the pathogenesis of anorectocele. A cross-sectional study was conducted regarding age, obstetrical history, Cleveland Clinic Constipation Score (CCCS), cinedefecography and anal manometry findings. Forty-five adult women complaining of obstructed defecation were evaluated; the median age was 46 years and median CCCS, 13. Fifteen patients were nulliparous and 23 multiparous (median parity 2). Eighteen had a history of episiotomy, fourteen delivered large babies and two had forceps-assisted delivery. Statistical analysis was performed using Spearman's correlation test and Fisher's exact test. Anal hypertonia was found in 14 (31.1%) patients, anal hypotonia in eight (17.8%), anismus in 13 (28.9%) and anorectoceles in 34 (75.6%) [median size 2.8 cm (0-6.4)]. There were no correlations between anorectocele and anal hypertonia (P = 0.7171), anismus (P = 0.4666), parity comparing nulliparous and multiparous patients (P = 1.000), episiotomy (P = 1.0000), forceps assistance (P = 1.0000), delivery of a large baby (P = 1.0000) anal resting pressure (P = 0.0883), anal voluntary pressure (P = 0.7327), parity (P = 0.4987) and age (P = 0.8603). There were correlations between anorectocele and the CCCS (P = 0.0082) and anal hypotonia (P = 0.0141). Anorectocele is not correlated with parity, age, episiotomy, delivery of a large baby and anismus. It was more frequent in patients with severe constipation and less common in patients with anal hypotonia.

  17. Cost per median overall survival month associated with abiraterone acetate and enzalutamide for treatment of patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pilon, Dominic; Queener, Marykay; Lefebvre, Patrick; Ellis, Lorie A

    2016-08-01

    To calculate costs per median overall survival (OS) month in chemotherapy-naïve patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) treated with abiraterone acetate plus prednisone (AA + P) or enzalutamide. Median treatment duration and median OS data from published Phase 3 clinical trials and prescribing information were used to calculate costs per median OS month based on wholesale acquisition costs (WACs) for patients with mCRPC treated with AA + P or enzalutamide. Sensitivity analyses were performed to understand how variations in treatment duration and treatment-related monitoring recommendations influenced cost per median OS month. Cost-effectiveness estimates of other Phase 3 trial outcomes were also explored: cost per month of chemotherapy avoided and per median radiographic progression-free survival (rPFS) month. The results demonstrated that AA + P has a lower cost per median OS month than enzalutamide ($3231 vs 4512; 28% reduction), based on the following assumptions: median treatment duration of 14 months for AA + P and 18 months for enzalutamide, median OS of 34.7 months for AA + P and 35.3 months for enzalutamide, and WAC per 30-day supply of $8007.17 for AA + P vs $8847.98 for enzalutamide. Sensitivity analyses showed that accounting for recommended treatment-related monitoring costs or assuming identical treatment durations for AA + P and enzalutamide (18 months) resulted in costs per median OS month 8-27% lower for AA + P than for enzalutamide. Costs per month of chemotherapy avoided were $4448 for AA + P and $5688 for enzalutamide, while costs per month to achieve median rPFS were $6794 for AA + P and $7963 for enzalutamide. This cost-effectiveness analysis demonstrated that costs per median OS month, along with costs of other Phase 3 trial outcomes, were lower for AA + P than for enzalutamide. The findings were robust to sensitivity analyses. These results have important implications

  18. Anomalous Innervation of the Median Nerve in the Arm in the Absence of the Musculocutaneous Nerve

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Khursheed Raza

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available The brachial plexus innervates the upper extremities. While variations in the formation of the brachial plexus and its terminal branches are quite common, it is uncommon for the median nerve to innervate the muscles of the arm. During the dissection of an elderly male cadaver at the Department of Anatomy, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India, in 2016, the coracobrachialis muscle was found to be supplied by a direct branch from the lateral root of the median nerve and the musculocutaneous nerve was absent. The branches of the median nerve supplied the biceps brachii and brachialis muscles and the last branch continued as the lateral cutaneous nerve of the forearm. These variations may present atypically in cases of arm flexor paralysis or sensory loss on the lateral forearm. Knowledge of these variations is important in surgeries and during the administration of regional anaesthesia near the shoulder joint and upper arm.

  19. Phase I and II trial on infusional 5-fluorouracil and gefitinib in combination with preoperative radiotherapy in rectal cancer: 10-years median follow-up

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Antonietta Gambacorta

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: The aim of this study is to evaluate the long term survival of the addition of gefitinib to chemoradiotherapy (CRT in locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC. Methods and materials: This previously published multicentre, open-label, phase I-II study, enrolled patients (pts with LARC to receive CRT with concurrent 5-fluorouracil continuous intravenous infusion and a dose escalation of orally administered gefitinib, followed 6–8 weeks later by surgery. An intra-operative radiotherapy boost of 10 Gy was planned. Adjuvant chemotherapy was administrated in ypN1-2 pts. After a median f/u of >10 years, we analyzed Local Control (LC, Metastasis Free Survival (MFS, Disease Free Survival (DFS, Disease Specific Survival (DSS and Overall Survival (OS. Predictive endpoints of clinical outcomes were tested by univariate and multivariate analysis. Variables analyzed included: age, gefitinib dose and interruptions, adjuvant CT, surgery type, ypT, ypN, and TRG grade. We have also analyzed late toxicity according to CTCAEv4. Results: Of the 41 initially enrolled pts, 39 were evaluable (27M, 12F. With a median f/u of 133 months, LC, MFS, DFS, OS and DSS at 5 years were 84%; 71%; 64%; 87% and 92%, respectively. The OS and DSS at 10 years were 61,5% and 76%, respectively. Grade 3-4 late toxicity occurred in 38% of pts: sexual (28,2% and gastrointestinal toxicities (10,2%. Conclusion: Long term outcomes and late toxicity were similar to previously reported series. The addition of gefitinib did not improve outcomes in LARC. Gefitinib is not recommended for rectal cancer patients who received 5-FU based preoperative CRT. Further studies may identify if gefitinib is beneficial in selected group of patients. Keywords: Rectal cancer, Gefitinib, Log term follow-up, Chemoradiotherapy

  20. Gender-partitioned patient medians of serum albumin requested by general practitioners for the assessment of analytical stability

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Steen Ingemann; Petersen, Per Hyltoft; Lund, Flemming

    2017-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Recently, the use of separate gender-partitioned patient medians of serum sodium has revealed potential for monitoring analytical stability within the optimum analytical performance specifications for laboratory medicine. The serum albumin concentration depends on whether a patient...... patients were closely related despite considerable variation due to the current analytical variation. This relationship was confirmed by the calculated half-range for the monthly ratio between the genders of 0.44%, which surpasses the optimum analytical performance specification for bias of serum albumin...... (0.72%). The weekly ratio had a half-range of 1.83%, which surpasses the minimum analytical performance specifications of 2.15%. CONCLUSIONS: Monthly gender-partitioned patient medians of serum albumin are useful for monitoring of long-term analytical stability, where the gender medians are two...

  1. Association of Age at Menarche with Anthropometric Measures in Punjabi Bania Girls.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goyal, Pratibha; Singh, Zora; Sethi, Gurmeet Kaur

    2016-11-01

    Menarcheal age is the age at which menstruation begins. Menarcheal age is regarded as a sensitive indicator of physical, biological and psychological environment. 1) To determine the menarcheal age and to examine the relationship between current age at menarche with anthropometric measures in Punjabi bania girls. 2) To develop maturity standards for Bania girls. The present cross-sectional survey was carried out on 200 bania girls at the age of onset of menarche. Menarcheal data was obtained by status quo method by asking about whether menarche has been experienced or not. In the present survey adolescent girls were interviewed with the help of pre-designed questionnaire. Statistical analysis was carried out in SPSS software, version 16.0. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics and one-way ANOVA. Pearson's correlation coefficient was used for correlation studies. A total of 200 Punjabi bania girls were examined in the study. The median age of onset of menarche in these girls was 12.3 years. Menarcheal age was positively associated with bi-acromial width, bi-iliac width and arm span. The present research has revealed secular trend in the age of onset of menarche as indicated by median age of 12.3 years in Bania girls. The bi-acromial width, bi-iliac width and arm span were also correlated with the age of menarche.

  2. MRI shows thickening and altered diffusion in the median and ulnar nerves in multifocal motor neuropathy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Haakma, Wieke [University Medical Center Utrecht, Department of Radiology, Utrecht (Netherlands); Aarhus University, Department of Forensic Medicine and Comparative Medicine Lab, Aarhus (Denmark); Jongbloed, Bas A.; Goedee, H.S.; Berg, Leonard H. van den; Pol, W.L. van der [University Medical Center Utrecht, Brain Centre Rudolf Magnus, Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Utrecht (Netherlands); Froeling, Martijn; Bos, Clemens; Hendrikse, Jeroen [University Medical Center Utrecht, Department of Radiology, Utrecht (Netherlands); Leemans, Alexander [University Medical Center Utrecht, Image Sciences Institute, Utrecht (Netherlands)

    2017-05-15

    To study disease mechanisms in multifocal motor neuropathy (MMN) with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) of the median and ulnar nerves. We enrolled ten MMN patients, ten patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and ten healthy controls (HCs). Patients underwent MRI (in a prone position) and nerve conduction studies. DTI and fat-suppressed T2-weighted scans of the forearms were performed on a 3.0T MRI scanner. Fibre tractography of the median and ulnar nerves was performed to extract diffusion parameters: fractional anisotropy (FA), mean (MD), axial (AD) and radial (RD) diffusivity. Cross-sectional areas (CSA) were measured on T2-weighted scans. Forty-five out of 60 arms were included in the analysis. AD was significantly lower in MMN patients (2.20 ± 0.12 x 10{sup -3} mm{sup 2}/s) compared to ALS patients (2.31 ± 0.17 x 10{sup -3} mm{sup 2}/s; p < 0.05) and HCs (2.31± 0.17 x 10{sup -3} mm{sup 2}/s; p < 0.05). Segmental analysis showed significant restriction of AD, RD and MD (p < 0.005) in the proximal third of the nerves. CSA was significantly larger in MMN patients compared to ALS patients and HCs (p < 0.01). Thickening of nerves is compatible with changes in the myelin sheath structure, whereas lowered AD values suggest axonal dysfunction. These findings suggest that myelin and axons are diffusely involved in MMN pathogenesis. (orig.)

  3. Percentiles of the run-length distribution of the Exponentially Weighted Moving Average (EWMA) median chart

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tan, K. L.; Chong, Z. L.; Khoo, M. B. C.; Teoh, W. L.; Teh, S. Y.

    2017-09-01

    Quality control is crucial in a wide variety of fields, as it can help to satisfy customers’ needs and requirements by enhancing and improving the products and services to a superior quality level. The EWMA median chart was proposed as a useful alternative to the EWMA \\bar{X} chart because the median-type chart is robust against contamination, outliers or small deviation from the normality assumption compared to the traditional \\bar{X}-type chart. To provide a complete understanding of the run-length distribution, the percentiles of the run-length distribution should be investigated rather than depending solely on the average run length (ARL) performance measure. This is because interpretation depending on the ARL alone can be misleading, as the process mean shifts change according to the skewness and shape of the run-length distribution, varying from almost symmetric when the magnitude of the mean shift is large, to highly right-skewed when the process is in-control (IC) or slightly out-of-control (OOC). Before computing the percentiles of the run-length distribution, optimal parameters of the EWMA median chart will be obtained by minimizing the OOC ARL, while retaining the IC ARL at a desired value.

  4. Rotasi Varimax dan Median Hirarki Cluster Pada Program Raskin di Kabupaten Lombok Barat

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Desy Komalasari

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available The granting rice program for poor households (Raskin is one of the West Lombok regency government programs for village poverty. The effectiveness of the program relating to 14 criteria for the poor households Raskin recipients (RTS-PM. The 14 criteria have been grouped into several factors using varimax rotation factor analysis, while the RTS-PM have been grouped using hierarchical median cluster analysis. Four factors obtained based on the analysis. First factor was the house existence, the second factor was the financial ability, the third factor was the house existing facilities, and the four factor was the education of the household head and the purchasing power of clothing. The clustering results using hierarchical median cluster analysis formed 3 clusters. The first cluster contains the RTS-PM which have been grouped into first factor; the second cluster contains the RTS-PM which have been grouped into second and third factor; and the third cluster contains the RTS-PM which have been grouped into fourth factor.

  5. Rotasi Varimax dan Median Hirarki Cluster Pada Program Raskin di Kabupaten Lombok Barat

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Desy Komalasari

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The granting rice program for poor households (Raskin is one of the West Lombok regency government programs for village poverty. The effectiveness of the program relating to 14 criteria for the poor households Raskin recipients (RTS-PM. The 14 criteria have been grouped into several factors using varimax rotation factor analysis, while the RTS-PM have been grouped using hierarchical median cluster analysis. Four factors obtained based on the analysis. First factor was the house existence, the second factor was the financial ability, the third factor was the house existing facilities, and the four factor was the education of the household head and the purchasing power of clothing. The clustering results using hierarchical median cluster analysis formed 3 clusters. The first cluster contains the RTS-PM which have been grouped into first factor; the second cluster contains the RTS-PM which have been grouped into second and third factor; and the third cluster contains the RTS-PM which have been grouped into fourth factor.

  6. Ultrasound in the diagnosis of a median neuropathy in the forearm: case report

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yoon Joon-Shik

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Electrodiagnostic studies are traditionally used in the diagnosis of focal neuropathies, however they lack anatomical information regarding the nerve and its surrounding structures. The purpose of this case is to show that high-resolution ultrasound used as an adjunct to electrodiagnostic studies may complement this lack of information and give insight to the cause. Case presentation A 60-year-old male patient sustained a forearm traction injury resulting in progressive weakness and functional loss in the first three digits of the right hand. High-resolution ultrasound showed the presence of an enlarged nerve and a homogenous soft-tissue structure appearing to engulf the nerve. The contralateral side was normal. Surgery revealed fibrotic bands emanating from the flexor digitorum profundus muscle compressing the median nerve thus confirming the ultrasound findings. Conclusion A diagnostically challenging case of median neuropathy in the forearm is presented in which high-resolution ultrasound was valuable in establishing an anatomic etiology and directing appropriate management.

  7. Influence of paternal age on perinatal outcomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hurley, Emily G; DeFranco, Emily A

    2017-11-01

    There is an increasing trend to delay childbearing to advanced parental age. Increased risks of advanced maternal age and assisted reproductive technologies are widely accepted. There are limited data regarding advanced paternal age. To adequately counsel patients on risk, more research regarding advanced paternal age is necessary. We sought to determine the influence of paternal age on perinatal outcomes, and to assess whether this influence differs between pregnancies achieved spontaneously and those achieved with assisted reproductive technology. A population-based retrospective cohort study of all live births in Ohio from 2006 through 2012 was completed. Data were evaluated to determine if advanced paternal age is associated with an increased risk of adverse outcomes in pregnancies. The analysis was stratified by status of utilization of assisted reproductive technology. Generalized linear regression models assessed the association of paternal age on pregnancy complications in assisted reproductive technology and spontaneously conceived pregnancies, after adjusting for maternal age, race, multifetal gestation, and Medicaid status, using Stata software (Stata, Release 12; StataCorp, College Station, TX). Paternal age was documented in 82.2% of 1,034,552 live births in Ohio during the 7-year study period. Paternal age ranged from 12-87 years, with a median of 30 (interquartile range, 26-35) years. Maternal age ranged from 11-62 years, with a median of 27 (interquartile range, 22-31) years. The use of assisted reproductive technology in live births increased as paternal age increased: 0.1% 60 years, P risk factors, increased paternal age was not associated with a significant increase in the rate of preeclampsia, preterm birth, fetal growth restriction, congenital anomaly, genetic disorder, or neonatal intensive care unit admission. The influence of paternal age on pregnancy outcomes was similar in pregnancies achieved with and without assisted reproductive

  8. Age-related postoperative morphine requirements in children following major surgery--an assessment using patient-controlled analgesia (PCA)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Tom Giedsing; Henneberg, Steen Winther; Hole, P

    1996-01-01

    To investigate if small children require less morphine for postoperative analgesia than do older children and adolescents we analysed the morphine consumption pattern of 28 consecutive children on intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) following major surgery. The median age-specific morp......To investigate if small children require less morphine for postoperative analgesia than do older children and adolescents we analysed the morphine consumption pattern of 28 consecutive children on intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) following major surgery. The median age...

  9. Melatonin and cortisol profiles in late midlife and their association with age-related changes in cognition

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Waller, Katja Linda; Mortensen, Erik Lykke; Avlund, Kirsten

    2016-01-01

    Previous studies have reported an association between circadian disturbances and age-related cognitive impairment. The aim was to study the 24-hour profiles of melatonin and cortisol in relation to cognitive function in middle-aged male subjects. Fifty healthy middle-aged males born in 1953 were...... recruited from a population-based cohort based on previous cognitive assessments in young adulthood and late midlife. The sample included 24 cognitively high-functioning and 26 cognitively impaired participants. Saliva samples were collected every 4 hours over a 24-hour period and analyzed for cortisol...... and melatonin levels by immunoassay. All participants exhibited clear circadian rhythms of salivary melatonin and cortisol. Salivary melatonin concentrations had a nocturnal peak at approximately 4 am. The median nocturnal melatonin response at 4 am was significantly lower in the cognitively impaired group than...

  10. Santa Fe County Block Groups, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  11. Rio Arriba County Block Groups, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  12. McKinley County Block Groups, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  13. Dona Ana County Block Groups, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  14. San Miguel County Block Groups, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  15. De Baca County Block Groups, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  16. San Juan County Block Groups, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  17. Los Alamos County Block Groups, Median Age by Sex (2010)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article...

  18. Median of patient results as a tool for assessment of analytical stability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jørgensen, Lars Mønster; Hansen, Steen Ingemann; Petersen, Per Hyltoft; Sölétormos, György

    2015-06-15

    In spite of the well-established external quality assessment and proficiency testing surveys of analytical quality performance in laboratory medicine, a simple tool to monitor the long-term analytical stability as a supplement to the internal control procedures is often needed. Patient data from daily internal control schemes was used for monthly appraisal of the analytical stability. This was accomplished by using the monthly medians of patient results to disclose deviations from analytical stability, and by comparing divergences with the quality specifications for allowable analytical bias based on biological variation. Seventy five percent of the twenty analytes achieved on two COBASs INTEGRA 800 instruments performed in accordance with the optimum and with the desirable specifications for bias. Patient results applied in analytical quality performance control procedures are the most reliable sources of material as they represent the genuine substance of the measurements and therefore circumvent the problems associated with non-commutable materials in external assessment. Patient medians in the monthly monitoring of analytical stability in laboratory medicine are an inexpensive, simple and reliable tool to monitor the steadiness of the analytical practice. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Clinicopathological features of patients with breast cancer aged 70 years or over.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aytekin, Aydin; Karatas, Fatih; Sahin, Suleyman; Erdem, Gokmen U; Altundag, Kadri

    2017-01-01

    The risk of breast cancer (BC) increases in parallel with increasing age. Despite the increased disease burden in elderly patients, there is still a great uncertainty regarding "how to manage" BC in aging-population. The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinicopathological features and treatment approaches of patients with BC aged 70 years or over. The medical records of 4413 patients with BC followed between 1994-2015 were retrospectively analyzed. Of the 4413 patients, 238 with stage I to III disease aged 70 years or over at BC diagnosis were enrolled into this study. Patients were divided into 2 groups according to the age as group 1 (70-79 years, N=192) and group 2 (80 or over, N=46). Clinicopathological features of patients including tumor histology, grade, estrogen (ER) and progesterone receptor (PgR) status, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) status, tumor size, lymph node involvement (LNI), lymphovascular invasion (LVI), perineural invasion (PNI), clinical stage, type of surgery, treatments and comorbid diseases were evaluated. The median age was 74 for group 1 (range 70-79) and 82 for group 2 (range 80-92). Excluding tumor size and grade, no statictically significant difference was found between the two groups according to histopathological characteristics. Patients in group 2 had more commonly larger T stage (T4), and less frequently presented with grade I tumor (p=0.014 and p=0.044, respectively). Modified radical mastectomy and adjuvant chemotherapy were more commonly performed in group 1 (p=0.001 and p=0.001, respectively). In contrast, neoadjuvant treatment was more frequently applied in group 2 (p=0.003). There was no difference in disease-free survival (DFS) between the groups (p=0.012), however, median overall survival (OS) was significantly higher in group 1 (p=0.03). Excluding the tumor grade and tumor size, both groups had similar histopathological features. However, patients aged between 70-79 years were likely to

  20. Geographically Weighted Regression Models in Estimating Median Home Prices in Towns of Massachusetts Based on an Urban Sustainability Framework

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yaxiong Ma

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Housing is a key component of urban sustainability. The objective of this study was to assess the significance of key spatial determinants of median home price in towns in Massachusetts that impact sustainable growth. Our analysis investigates the presence or absence of spatial non-stationarity in the relationship between sustainable growth, measured in terms of the relationship between home values and various parameters including the amount of unprotected forest land, residential land, unemployment, education, vehicle ownership, accessibility to commuter rail stations, school district performance, and senior population. We use the standard geographically weighted regression (GWR and Mixed GWR models to analyze the effects of spatial non-stationarity. Mixed GWR performed better than GWR in terms of Akaike Information Criterion (AIC values. Our findings highlight the nature and spatial extent of the non-stationary vs. stationary qualities of key environmental and social determinants of median home price. Understanding the key determinants of housing values, such as valuation of green spaces, public school performance metrics, and proximity to public transport, enable towns to use different strategies of sustainable urban planning, while understanding urban housing determinants—such as unemployment and senior population—can help modify urban sustainable housing policies.

  1. Comparison of macular choroidal thickness among patients older than age 65 with early atrophic age-related macular degeneration and normals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sigler, Eric J; Randolph, John C

    2013-09-19

    To compare macular choroidal thickness between patients older than 65 years with early atrophic age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and normals. This was a consecutive, cross-sectional observational study. Enhanced depth imaging spectral-domain optical coherence tomography using horizontal raster scanning at 12 locations throughout the macula was performed in one eye of consecutive patients presenting with large soft drusen alone, drusen with additional features of early AMD, or a normal fundus. Choroidal thickness was measured at 7 points for each raster scan in the central 3 mm of the macula (total 84 points per eye). In addition, a single subfoveolar measurement was obtained for each eye. One hundred fifty eyes of 150 patients were included. There was no significant difference between mean refractive error for each diagnosis category via one-way ANOVA (P = 0.451). Mean macular choroidal thickness (CT) was 235 ± 49 μm (range, 125-334 μm; median 222 μm) for normals, 161 ± 39 μm (range, 89-260 μm; median = 158 μm) for the drusen group, and 115 ± 40 μm (range, 22-256 μm; median = 112 μm) for patients with AMD. Mean macular CT was significantly different via one-way ANOVA among all diagnosis categories (P < 0.001). The presence of features of early AMD without geographic atrophy and/or soft drusen alone is associated with decreased mean macular CT in vivo compared to that in patients with no chorioretinal pathology. Using enhanced depth imaging, measurement of a single subfoveolar choroidal thickness is highly correlated to mean central macular CT.

  2. Carotid disease at age 73 and cognitive change from age 70 to 76 years: A longitudinal cohort study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allerhand, Michael; Eadie, Elizabeth; Thomas, Avril; Corley, Janey; Pattie, Alison; Taylor, Adele; Shenkin, Susan D; Cox, Simon; Gow, Alan; Starr, John M; Deary, Ian J

    2016-01-01

    Cognitive decline and carotid artery atheroma are common at older ages. In community-dwelling subjects, we assessed cognition at ages 70, 73 and 76 and carotid Doppler ultrasound at age 73, to determine whether carotid stenosis was related to cognitive decline. We used latent growth curve models to examine associations between four carotid measures (internal carotid artery stenosis, velocity, pulsatility and resistivity indices) and four cognitive ability domains (memory, visuospatial function, crystallised intelligence, processing speed) adjusted for cognitive ability at age 11, current age, gender and vascular risk factors. Amongst 866 participants, carotid stenosis (median 12.96%) was not associated with cognitive abilities at age 70 or cognitive decline from age 70 to 76. Increased ICA pulsatility and resistivity indices were associated with slower processing speed (both P function (P = 0.036, 0.031, respectively) at age 70, and declining crystallised intelligence from ages 70 to 76 (P = 0.008, 0.006, respectively). The findings suggest that vascular stiffening, rather than carotid luminal narrowing, adversely influences cognitive ageing and provides a potential target for ameliorating age-related cognitive decline. PMID:28155579

  3. How to calculate median Pregnancy-Associated Plasma Protein-A values to predict preeclampsia? Do We Need a Newer Formula?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Burçin Karamustafaoğlu Balcı

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Objective: Preeclampsia is one of the major issues in maternal–fetal medicine. Early risk stratification may be beneficial, so is the aim of several researches. Our goal is to investigate whether PAPP-A MoM calculated for first trimester Down's syndrome screening or MoM calculated according to Ong’s formula can be used to predict the risk of preeclampsia or do we need another method to calculate PAPP-A MoM derived from non preeclamptic cases. Study Design: For this retrospective study, data of randomly selected 150 singleton pregnant women who did not develop preeclampsia are used to create a formula to calculate median value of PAPP-A. PAPP-A values of this subgroup are plotted against gestational age and curve fit analysis is done to determine best fitted regression line to get a formula to calculate median value of our cases. PAPP-A MoM values are calculated for each subject according to Ong’s formula and our formula. We already had MoM values derived from first trimester screening. ROC curve and Delong’s pairwise comparison analyses are used to investigate which MoM value is more predictive for preeclampsia. Results: Although the area under curve value of MoM values derived from this study was the highest, DeLong’s pairwise comparison analysis showed no statistically significant difference between the three curves. Conclusion: PAPP-A MoM calculation specific to preeclampsia does not seem to be necessary; PAPP-A MoM obtained from first trimester aneuploidy scan can be used to predict preeclampsia.

  4. Ant colony optimization techniques for the hamiltonian p-median problem

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Zohrehbandian

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Location-Routing problems involve locating a number of facilitiesamong candidate sites and establishing delivery routes to a set of users in such a way that the total system cost is minimized. A special case of these problems is Hamiltonian p-Median problem (HpMP. This research applies the metaheuristic method of ant colony optimization (ACO to solve the HpMP. Modifications are made to the ACO algorithm used to solve the traditional vehicle routing problem (VRP in order to allow the search of the optimal solution of the HpMP. Regarding this metaheuristic algorithm a computational experiment is reported as well.

  5. Akıllı telefon kullanımının median sinir üzerine etkisi

    OpenAIRE

    İlik, Faik; Büyükgöl, Huseyin; Eren, Fatma A.; İlik, Mustafa K.; Kayhan, Fatih; Köse, Hatice

    2018-01-01

    Purpose: The aim of this study was to examine the effects of smartphone use on the median nerve. Materials and Methods: Participants were classified into three groups according to their smartphone use frequencies; high smartphone users (with Smartphone addiction scale (SAS) score of higher than 71), low smartphone users (SAS score less than 71) and classical type mobile phones users. The Visual analogue scale (VAS), quick-disabilities of arm, shoulder, hand (qDASH) and median nerve conduction...

  6. Anatomic Variation of the Median Nerve Associated with an Anomalous Muscle of the Forearm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Atoni, Atoni Dogood; Oyinbo, Charles Aidemise

    2017-03-01

    Documented anatomical variations are important not only for the study of the subject of anatomy, but also in clinical situation. This knowledge would aid surgeons in planning a preoperative strategy for surgical procedures and reconstructive surgery. The right forearm of a 35-year-old embalmed male cadaver present a splitting of the median nerve in the proximal 1/3 of the forearm to form medial and lateral divisions that accommodate an anomalous muscle. The split median nerve reunites at the distal 1/3 and continues as a single nerve. The anomalous muscle arises by muscle fibers from flexor digitorum superficialis and inserted by tendon into flexor digitorum profundus. There was no such variation in the left forearm. The knowledge of such anatomical variations is important to clinicians and surgeons in interpreting atypical clinical presentations and avoiding unusual injury during surgery.

  7. Anatomic Variation of the Median Nerve Associated with an Anomalous Muscle of the Forearm

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Atoni Atoni Dogood

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Documented anatomical variations are important not only for the study of the subject of anatomy, but also in clinical situation. This knowledge would aid surgeons in planning a preoperative strategy for surgical procedures and reconstructive surgery. The right forearm of a 35-year-old embalmed male cadaver present a splitting of the median nerve in the proximal 1/3 of the forearm to form medial and lateral divisions that accommodate an anomalous muscle. The split median nerve reunites at the distal 1/3 and continues as a single nerve. The anomalous muscle arises by muscle fibers from flexor digitorum superficialis and inserted by tendon into flexor digitorum profundus. There was no such variation in the left forearm. The knowledge of such anatomical variations is important to clinicians and surgeons in interpreting atypical clinical presentations and avoiding unusual injury during surgery.

  8. Repeated dose titration versus age-based method in electroconvulsive therapy: a pilot study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aten, Jan Jaap; Oudega, Mardien; van Exel, Eric; Stek, Max L; van Waarde, Jeroen A

    2015-06-01

    In electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), a dose titration method (DTM) was suggested to be more individualized and therefore more accurate than formula-based dosing methods. A repeated DTM (every sixth session and dose adjustment accordingly) was compared to an age-based method (ABM) regarding treatment characteristics, clinical outcome, and cognitive functioning after ECT. Thirty-nine unipolar depressed patients dosed using repeated DTM and 40 matched patients treated with ABM were compared. Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) were assessed at baseline and at the end of the index course, as well as the total number of ECT sessions. Both groups were similar regarding age, sex, psychotic features, mean baseline MADRS, and median baseline MMSE. At the end of the index course, the two methods showed equal outcome (mean end MADRS, 11.6 ± 8.3 in DTM and 9.5 ± 7.6 in ABM (P = 0.26); median end MMSE, 28 (25-29) and 28 (25-29.8), respectively (P = 0.81). However, the median number of all ECT sessions differed 16 (11-22) in DTM versus 12 (10-14.8) in ABM; P = 0.02]. Using regression analysis, dosing method and age were independently associated with the total number of ECT sessions, with less sessions needed in ABM (P = 0.02) and in older patients (P = 0.001). In this comparative cohort study, ABM and DTM showed equal outcome for depression and cognition. However, the median ECT course duration in repeated DTM appeared longer. Additionally, higher age was associated with shorter ECT courses regardless of the dosing method. Further prospective studies are needed to confirm these findings.

  9. The management of small area burns and unexpected illness after burn in children under five years of age - A costing study in the English healthcare setting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kandiyali, R; Sarginson, J H; Hollén, L I; Spickett-Jones, F; Young, A E R

    2018-02-01

    The objective of this economic study was to evaluate the resource use and cost associated with the management of small area burns, including the additional costs associated with unexpected illness after burn in children of less than five years of age. This study was conducted as a secondary analysis of a multi-centre prospective observational cohort study investigating the physiological response to burns in children. 452 children were included in the economic analysis (median age=1.60years, 61.3% boys, median total burn surface area [TBSA]=1.00%) with a mean length of stay of 0.69 days. Of these children, 21.5% re-presented to medical care with an unexpected illness within fourteen days of injury. The cost of managing a burn of less than 10% TBSA in a child less than five years of age was £785. The additional cost associated with the management of illness after burn was £1381. A generalised linear regression model was used to determine the association between an unexpected illness after burn, presenting child characteristics and NHS cost. Our findings may be of value to those planning economic evaluations of novel technologies in burn care. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

  10. Age at menopause and determinants of hysterectomy and menopause in a multi-ethnic community: the Hilo Women's Health Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sievert, Lynnette Leidy; Murphy, Lorna; Morrison, Lynn A; Reza, Angela M; Brown, Daniel E

    2013-12-01

    A lifespan approach was used to evaluate age at menopause, and determinants of surgical and natural menopause, in the multi-ethnic community of Hilo, Hawaii. Participants aged 40-60 years (n=898) were drawn from a larger, randomly generated sample recruited by postal questionnaires. Median age at natural menopause was computed by probit analysis. Logistic regression analysis was applied to examine determinants of hysterectomy, and Cox regression analysis was used to examine risk factors for an earlier age at menopause. History of hysterectomy, age at menopause. Frequency of hysterectomy was 19.2% at a mean age of 40.5 years. The likelihood of hysterectomy increased with older ages, lower education, mixed ancestry, having been overweight at age 30, and married 20 years prior to survey. Median age at natural menopause was 53.0 years. Smoking and not being married 10 years before survey were associated with an earlier age at menopause. Median age at menopause was later than the national average. Ethnicity and education were determinants of hysterectomy, but not associated with age at natural menopause. Events later in the lifespan (e.g., smoking and not being married 10 years prior to the survey) were more important than earlier events (e.g., childhood residence) in relation to age at menopause. The timing of weight gain and marital status appear to be important in relation to surgical menopause, and the timing of marital status appears to be important in relation to the timing of natural menopause. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Determinants of iron accumulation in the normal aging brain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pirpamer, Lukas; Hofer, Edith; Gesierich, Benno; De Guio, François; Freudenberger, Paul; Seiler, Stephan; Duering, Marco; Jouvent, Eric; Duchesnay, Edouard; Dichgans, Martin; Ropele, Stefan; Schmidt, Reinhold

    2016-07-01

    In a recent postmortem study, R2* relaxometry in gray matter (GM) of the brain has been validated as a noninvasive measure for iron content in brain tissue. Iron accumulation in the normal aging brain is a common finding and relates to brain maturation and degeneration. The goal of this study was to assess the determinants of iron accumulation during brain aging. The study cohort consisted of 314 healthy community-dwelling participants of the Austrian Stroke Prevention Study. Their age ranged from 38-82 years. Quantitative magnetic resonance imaging was performed on 3T and included R2* mapping, based on a 3D multi-echo gradient echo sequence. The median of R2* values was measured in all GM regions, which were segmented automatically using FreeSurfer. We investigated 25 possible determinants for cerebral iron deposition. These included demographics, brain volume, lifestyle factors, cerebrovascular risk factors, serum levels of iron, and single nucleotide polymorphisms related to iron regulating genes (rs1800562, rs3811647, rs1799945, and rs1049296). The body mass index (BMI) was significantly related to R2* in 15/32 analyzed brain regions with the strongest correlations found in the amygdala (p = 0.0091), medial temporal lobe (p = 0.0002), and hippocampus (p ≤ 0.0001). Further associations to R2* values were found in deep GM for age and smoking. No significant associations were found for gender, GM volume, serum levels of iron, or iron-associated genetic polymorphisms. In conclusion, besides age, the BMI and smoking are the only significant determinants of brain iron accumulation in normally aging subjects. Smoking relates to iron deposition in the basal ganglia, whereas higher BMI is associated with iron content in the neocortex following an Alzheimer-like distribution. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Median Growth Percentiles (MGPs): Assessment of Intertemporal Stability and Correlations with Observational Scores

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pivovarova, Margarita; Amrein-Beardsley, Audrey

    2018-01-01

    While states are no longer required to set up teacher evaluation systems based in significant part on student test scores, quite a few continue to use value-added (VAMs) or student growth percentile (SGP) models for that purpose. In this study, we analyzed three years of teacher data to illustrate the performance of teachers' median growth…

  13. Radiation therapy in aged lung cancer patients

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ohtake, Eiji; Tobari, Chitose; Matsui, Kengo; Iio, Masahiro.

    1982-01-01

    The results and problems of radiotherapy were analyzed in 57 lung cancer patients more than 65 years of age (average age: 74.8 years). Of these, 45 (79%) were irradiated with a total dose exceeding 40 Gy. In these patients, the median survival was 13 months for Stages I and II, 6.5 months for Stage III, and 5 months for Stage IV. The results of combined radiotherapy and chemotherapy were better than those of radiotherapy alone. Also, slightly better results were obtained in patients treated with split-course than continuous-course irradiation. In aged lung cancer patients the prognosis was highly influenced by their respiratory function. Double cancers were present in 9 (16%) of the 57 patients. (author)

  14. Disassortative Age-Mixing Does Not Explain Differences in HIV Prevalence between Young White and Black MSM: Findings from Four Studies.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jeremy Alexander Grey

    Full Text Available Age disassortativity is one hypothesis for HIV disparities between Black and White MSM. We examined differences in age mixing by race and the effect of partner age difference on the association between race and HIV status.We used data from four studies of MSM. Participants reported information about recent sexual partners, including age, race, and sexual behavior. Two studies were online with a US sample and two focused on MSM in Atlanta.We computed concordance correlation coefficients (CCCs by race across strata of partner type, participant HIV status, condom use, and number of partners. We used Wilcoxon rank-sum tests to compare Black and White MSM on partner age differences across five age groups. Finally, we used logistic regression models using race, age, and partner age difference to determine the odds ratio of HIV-positive serostatus.Of 48 CCC comparisons, Black MSM were more age-disassortative than White MSM in only two. Furthermore, of 20 comparisons of median partner age, Black and White MSM differed in two age groups. One indicated larger age gaps among the Black MSM (18-19. Prevalent HIV infection was associated with race and age. Including partner age difference in the model resulted in a 2% change in the relative odds of infection among Black MSM.Partner age disassortativity and partner age differences do not differ by race. Partner age difference offers little predictive value in understanding prevalent HIV infection among Black and White MSM, including diagnosis of HIV-positive status among self-reported HIV-negative individuals.

  15. Evaluation of median nerve T2 signal changes in patients with surgically treated carpal tunnel syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Samanci, Yavuz; Karagöz, Yeşim; Yaman, Mehmet; Atçı, İbrahim Burak; Emre, Ufuk; Kılıçkesmez, Nuri Özgür; Çelik, Suat Erol

    2016-11-01

    To determine the accuracy of median nerve T2 evaluation and its relation with Boston Questionnaire (BQ) and nerve conduction studies (NCSs) in pre-operative and post-operative carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) patients in comparison with healthy volunteers. Twenty-three CTS patients and 24 healthy volunteers underwent NCSs, median nerve T2 evaluation and self-administered BQ. Pre-operative and 1st year post-operative median nerve T2 values and cross-sectional areas (CSAs) were compared both within pre-operative and post-operative CTS groups, and with healthy volunteers. The relationship between MRI findings and BQ and NCSs was analyzed. The ROC curve analysis was used for determining the accuracy. The comparison of pre-operative and post-operative T2 values and CSAs revealed statistically significant improvements in the post-operative patient group (pT2 values at all levels and BQ values, and positive and negative correlations were also found regarding T2 values and NCS findings in CTS patients. The receiver operating characteristic curve analysis for defined cut-off levels of median nerve T2 values in hands with severe CTS yielded excellent accuracy at all levels. However, this accuracy could not be demonstrated in hands with mild CTS. This study is the first to analyze T2 values in both pre-operative and post-operative CTS patients. The presence of increased T2 values in CTS patients compared to controls and excellent accuracy in hands with severe CTS indicates T2 signal changes related to CTS pathophysiology and possible utilization of T2 signal evaluation in hands with severe CTS. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Factors associated with medication adherence in school-aged children with asthma

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amy H.Y. Chan

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Adherence to preventive asthma treatment is poor, particularly in children, yet the factors associated with adherence in this age group are not well understood. Adherence was monitored electronically over 6 months in school-aged children who attended a regional emergency department in New Zealand for an asthma exacerbation and were prescribed twice-daily inhaled corticosteroids. Participants completed questionnaires including assessment of family demographics, asthma responsibility and learning style. Multivariable analysis of factors associated with adherence was conducted. 101 children (mean (range age 8.9 (6–15 years, 51% male participated. Median (interquartile range preventer adherence was 30% (17–48% of prescribed. Four explanatory factors were identified: female sex (+12% adherence, Asian ethnicity (+19% adherence, living in a smaller household (−3.0% adherence per person in the household, and younger age at diagnosis (+2.7% for every younger year of diagnosis (all p<0.02. In school-aged children attending the emergency department for asthma, males and non-Asian ethnic groups were at high risk for poor inhaled corticosteroid adherence and may benefit most from intervention. Four factors explained a small proportion of adherence behaviour indicating the difficulty in identifying adherence barriers. Further research is recommended in other similar populations.

  17. Birth weight centiles by gestational age for twins born in south India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Premkumar, Prasanna; Antonisamy, Belavendra; Mathews, Jiji; Benjamin, Santhosh; Regi, Annie; Jose, Ruby; Kuruvilla, Anil; Mathai, Mathews

    2016-03-24

    Birth weight centile curves are commonly used as a screening tool and to assess the position of a newborn on a given reference distribution. Birth weight of twins are known to be less than those of comparable singletons and twin-specific birth weight centile curves are recommended for use. In this study, we aim to construct gestational age specific birth weight centile curves for twins born in south India. The study was conducted at the Christian Medical College, Vellore, south India. The birth records of all consecutive pregnancies resulting in twin births between 1991 and 2005 were reviewed. Only live twin births between 24 and 42 weeks of gestation were included. Birth weight centiles for gestational age were obtained using the methodology of generalized additive models for location, scale and shape (GAMLSS). Centiles curves were obtained separately for monochorionic and dichorionic twins. Of 1530 twin pregnancies delivered during the study period (1991-2005), 1304 were included in the analysis. The median gestational age at birth was 36 weeks (1st quartile 34, 3rd quartile 38 weeks). Smoothed percentile curves for birth weight by gestational age increased progressively till 38 weeks and levels off thereafter. Compared with dichorionic twins, monochorionic twins had lower birth weight for gestational age from after 27 weeks. We provide centile values of birth weight at 24 to 42 completed weeks of gestation for twins born in south India. These charts could be used both in routine clinical assessments and epidemiological studies.

  18. VSNL1 Co-expression networks in aging include calcium signaling, synaptic plasticity, and Alzheimer’s disease pathways

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C W Lin

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available The Visinin-like 1 (VSNL1 gene encodes Visinin-like protein 1, a peripheral biomarker for Alzheimer disease (AD. Little is known, however, about normal VSNL1 expression in brain and the biologic networks in which it participates. Frontal cortex gray matter from 209 subjects without neurodegenerative or psychiatric illness, ranging in age from 16–91, were processed on Affymetrix GeneChip 1.1 ST and Human SNP Array 6.0. VSNL1 expression was unaffected by age and sex, and not significantly associated with SNPs in cis or trans. VSNL1 was significantly co-expressed with genes in pathways for Calcium Signaling, AD, Long Term Potentiation, Long Term Depression, and Trafficking of AMPA Receptors. The association with AD was driven, in part, by correlation with amyloid precursor protein (APP expression. These findings provide an unbiased link between VSNL1 and molecular mechanisms of AD, including pathways implicated in synaptic pathology in AD. Whether APP may drive increased VSNL1 expression, VSNL1 drives increased APP expression, or both are downstream of common pathogenic regulators will need to be evaluated in model systems.

  19. Endocrine and anatomical findings in a case of Solitary Median Maxillary Central Incisor Syndrome

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Szakszon, Katalin; Felszeghy, Enikő; Csízy, István; Józsa, Tamás; Káposzta, Rita; Balogh, Erzsébet; Oláh, Eva; Balogh, István; Berényi, Ervin; Knegt, Alida C.; Ilyés, István

    2012-01-01

    Solitary Median Maxillary Central Incisor Syndrome (SMMCI) is a rare malformation syndrome consisting of multiple, mainly midline defects. Some authors suggest that it is a mild manifestation of the wide spectrum of holoprosencephaly, others classify it rather as a distinct entity. Authors report a

  20. Peritoneal Fluid Transport rather than Peritoneal Solute Transport Associates with Dialysis Vintage and Age of Peritoneal Dialysis Patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jacek Waniewski

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available During peritoneal dialysis (PD, the peritoneal membrane undergoes ageing processes that affect its function. Here we analyzed associations of patient age and dialysis vintage with parameters of peritoneal transport of fluid and solutes, directly measured and estimated based on the pore model, for individual patients. Thirty-three patients (15 females; age 60 (21–87 years; median time on PD 19 (3–100 months underwent sequential peritoneal equilibration test. Dialysis vintage and patient age did not correlate. Estimation of parameters of the two-pore model of peritoneal transport was performed. The estimated fluid transport parameters, including hydraulic permeability (LpS, fraction of ultrasmall pores (αu, osmotic conductance for glucose (OCG, and peritoneal absorption, were generally independent of solute transport parameters (diffusive mass transport parameters. Fluid transport parameters correlated whereas transport parameters for small solutes and proteins did not correlate with dialysis vintage and patient age. Although LpS and OCG were lower for older patients and those with long dialysis vintage, αu was higher. Thus, fluid transport parameters—rather than solute transport parameters—are linked to dialysis vintage and patient age and should therefore be included when monitoring processes linked to ageing of the peritoneal membrane.

  1. Peritoneal Fluid Transport rather than Peritoneal Solute Transport Associates with Dialysis Vintage and Age of Peritoneal Dialysis Patients

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waniewski, Jacek; Antosiewicz, Stefan; Baczynski, Daniel; Poleszczuk, Jan; Pietribiasi, Mauro; Lindholm, Bengt; Wankowicz, Zofia

    2016-01-01

    During peritoneal dialysis (PD), the peritoneal membrane undergoes ageing processes that affect its function. Here we analyzed associations of patient age and dialysis vintage with parameters of peritoneal transport of fluid and solutes, directly measured and estimated based on the pore model, for individual patients. Thirty-three patients (15 females; age 60 (21–87) years; median time on PD 19 (3–100) months) underwent sequential peritoneal equilibration test. Dialysis vintage and patient age did not correlate. Estimation of parameters of the two-pore model of peritoneal transport was performed. The estimated fluid transport parameters, including hydraulic permeability (LpS), fraction of ultrasmall pores (α u), osmotic conductance for glucose (OCG), and peritoneal absorption, were generally independent of solute transport parameters (diffusive mass transport parameters). Fluid transport parameters correlated whereas transport parameters for small solutes and proteins did not correlate with dialysis vintage and patient age. Although LpS and OCG were lower for older patients and those with long dialysis vintage, αu was higher. Thus, fluid transport parameters—rather than solute transport parameters—are linked to dialysis vintage and patient age and should therefore be included when monitoring processes linked to ageing of the peritoneal membrane. PMID:26989432

  2. Clinical and radiologic review of uncommon cause of profound iron deficiency anemia: Median arcuate ligament syndrome

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gunduz, Yasemin; Asil, Kiyasrttin; Aksoy, Yakup Ersel; Ayhan, Lacin Tatli

    2014-01-01

    Median arcuate ligament syndrome is an anatomic and clinical entity characterized by dynamic compression of the proximal celiac artery by the median arcuate ligament, which leads to postprandial epigastric pain, vomiting, and weight loss. These symptoms are usually nonspecific and are easily misdiagnosed as functional dyspepsia, peptic ulcer disease, or gastropathy. In this report, we presented a 72-year-old male patient with celiac artery compression syndrome causing recurrent abdominal pain associated with gastric ulcer and iron deficiency anemia. This association is relatively uncommon and therefore not well determined. In addition, we reported the CT angiography findings and three-dimensional reconstructions of this rare case.

  3. Clinical and radiologic review of uncommon cause of profound iron deficiency anemia: Median arcuate ligament syndrome

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gunduz, Yasemin; Asil, Kiyasrttin; Aksoy, Yakup Ersel; Ayhan, Lacin Tatli [Dept. of Radiology, Sakarya University Medical Faculty, Sakarya (Turkmenistan)

    2014-08-15

    Median arcuate ligament syndrome is an anatomic and clinical entity characterized by dynamic compression of the proximal celiac artery by the median arcuate ligament, which leads to postprandial epigastric pain, vomiting, and weight loss. These symptoms are usually nonspecific and are easily misdiagnosed as functional dyspepsia, peptic ulcer disease, or gastropathy. In this report, we presented a 72-year-old male patient with celiac artery compression syndrome causing recurrent abdominal pain associated with gastric ulcer and iron deficiency anemia. This association is relatively uncommon and therefore not well determined. In addition, we reported the CT angiography findings and three-dimensional reconstructions of this rare case.

  4. Hypertension. Age-specificity of blood-pressure-associated complications

    OpenAIRE

    Staessen, Jan A

    2014-01-01

    In an analysis of electronic health records, 1.25 million patients aged ≥30 years without diagnosed cardiovascular disease experienced 83,098 cardiovascular events during follow-up (median 5.2 years). Associations between incident cardiovascular disease and blood pressure differed for systolic and diastolic blood pressures and between the 12 cardiovascular end points examined.

  5. Green and sustainable median on a divided multilane highway

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ambak, K.; Bajuri, F. A. A.; Yusoff, N. A.; Madun, A.; Prasetijo, J.

    2017-11-01

    The road system in Malaysia showed good growth with increasing number of vehicles on the road. However, statistic of road accident is still at an alarming rate. There are many factor can contribute to the occurrence of an accident. If the accident was caused by road facilities such as street furniture, it is shown that the street furniture was failed to improve the safety of the road users. In this study, a new concept of materials for the construction of road dividers was purpose. The sustainable materials such as laterite soil, Cow Grass, tires and PVC pipes was used to replace the cement and iron guardrails in road divider construction. The main objectives of this study is to design characteristics of a road divider using natural material such as laterite soil, sand, grass and recycle material like used a tyre. A series of experiments such as test liquid limit, plastic limit test, standard proctor test and observations of root growth in 30 days were conducted. The result shows that the plastic index value of 35% was obtained. From the proctor compaction test, the optimum water content was 23% and maximum dry density at 15.3 kN/m3. This value was used to build a prototype of green and sustainable raised road median. The suitability of sand used as the medium in irrigation system was approved. Permeability of sand is 10-2 mm/s to 10 mm/s which is having a high rate of flow. The growth of Cow Grass roots was increased by 4.9 cm in 30 days. This shows that, the grass is suitable to grow in laterite soil and can be used as vegetation material. Through the impact test conducted on a model with a scale of 1:7.5, indicate the initial damage occurred when a force reaches 10N. However, the condition of the model is still stable. From the impact test conducted, the prototype of green and sustainable raised road median has a good potential to be used as existing road divider as it can absorb the impact of an accident.

  6. Age at menopause and determinants of hysterectomy and menopause in a multi-ethnic community: The Hilo Women’s Health Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sievert, Lynnette Leidy; Murphy, Lorna; Morrison, Lynn; Reza, Angela; Brown, Daniel E.

    2013-01-01

    Objectives A lifespan approach was used to evaluate age at menopause, and determinants of surgical and natural menopause, in the multi-ethnic community of Hilo, Hawaii. Study design Participants aged 40–60 years (n=898) were drawn from a larger, randomly-generated sample recruited by postal questionnaires. Median age at natural menopause was computed by probit analysis. Logistic regression analysis was applied to examine determinants of hysterectomy, and Cox regression analysis was used to examine risk factors for an earlier age at menopause. Main outcome measures History of hysterectomy, Age at menopause Results Frequency of hysterectomy was 19.2% at a mean age of 40.5 years. The likelihood of hysterectomy increased with older ages, lower education, mixed ancestry, having been overweight at age 30, and married 20 years prior to survey. Median age at natural menopause was 53.0 years. Smoking and not being married 10 years before survey were associated with an earlier age at menopause. Conclusions Median age at menopause was later than the national average. Ethnicity and education were determinants of hysterectomy, but not associated with age at natural menopause. Events later in the lifespan (e.g., smoking and not being married 10 years prior to the survey) were more important than earlier events (e.g., childhood residence) in relation to age at menopause. The timing of weight gain and marital status appear to be important in relation to surgical menopause, and the timing of marital status appears to be important in relation to the timing of natural menopause. PMID:24054435

  7. Carotid disease at age 73 and cognitive change from age 70 to 76 years: A longitudinal cohort study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wardlaw, Joanna M; Allerhand, Michael; Eadie, Elizabeth; Thomas, Avril; Corley, Janey; Pattie, Alison; Taylor, Adele; Shenkin, Susan D; Cox, Simon; Gow, Alan; Starr, John M; Deary, Ian J

    2017-08-01

    Cognitive decline and carotid artery atheroma are common at older ages. In community-dwelling subjects, we assessed cognition at ages 70, 73 and 76 and carotid Doppler ultrasound at age 73, to determine whether carotid stenosis was related to cognitive decline. We used latent growth curve models to examine associations between four carotid measures (internal carotid artery stenosis, velocity, pulsatility and resistivity indices) and four cognitive ability domains (memory, visuospatial function, crystallised intelligence, processing speed) adjusted for cognitive ability at age 11, current age, gender and vascular risk factors. Amongst 866 participants, carotid stenosis (median 12.96%) was not associated with cognitive abilities at age 70 or cognitive decline from age 70 to 76. Increased ICA pulsatility and resistivity indices were associated with slower processing speed (both P < 0.001) and worse visuospatial function ( P = 0.036, 0.031, respectively) at age 70, and declining crystallised intelligence from ages 70 to 76 ( P = 0.008, 0.006, respectively). The findings suggest that vascular stiffening, rather than carotid luminal narrowing, adversely influences cognitive ageing and provides a potential target for ameliorating age-related cognitive decline.

  8. Separation of simultaneous sources using a structural-oriented median filter in the flattened dimension

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gan, Shuwei; Wang, Shoudong; Chen, Yangkang; Chen, Xiaohong; Xiang, Kui

    2016-01-01

    Simultaneous-source shooting can help tremendously shorten the acquisition period and improve the quality of seismic data for better subsalt seismic imaging, but at the expense of introducing strong interference (blending noise) to the acquired seismic data. We propose to use a structural-oriented median filter to attenuate the blending noise along the structural direction of seismic profiles. The principle of the proposed approach is to first flatten the seismic record in local spatial windows and then to apply a traditional median filter (MF) to the third flattened dimension. The key component of the proposed approach is the estimation of the local slope, which can be calculated by first scanning the NMO velocity and then transferring the velocity to the local slope. Both synthetic and field data examples show that the proposed approach can successfully separate the simultaneous-source data into individual sources. We provide an open-source toy example to better demonstratethe proposed methodology.

  9. AgeFactDB—the JenAge Ageing Factor Database—towards data integration in ageing research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hühne, Rolf; Thalheim, Torsten; Sühnel, Jürgen

    2014-01-01

    AgeFactDB (http://agefactdb.jenage.de) is a database aimed at the collection and integration of ageing phenotype data including lifespan information. Ageing factors are considered to be genes, chemical compounds or other factors such as dietary restriction, whose action results in a changed lifespan or another ageing phenotype. Any information related to the effects of ageing factors is called an observation and is presented on observation pages. To provide concise access to the complete information for a particular ageing factor, corresponding observations are also summarized on ageing factor pages. In a first step, ageing-related data were primarily taken from existing databases such as the Ageing Gene Database—GenAge, the Lifespan Observations Database and the Dietary Restriction Gene Database—GenDR. In addition, we have started to include new ageing-related information. Based on homology data taken from the HomoloGene Database, AgeFactDB also provides observation and ageing factor pages of genes that are homologous to known ageing-related genes. These homologues are considered as candidate or putative ageing-related genes. AgeFactDB offers a variety of search and browse options, and also allows the download of ageing factor or observation lists in TSV, CSV and XML formats. PMID:24217911

  10. Radiation therapy for intracranial ependymomas: impact of age on outcome

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pham, Houng T.; Sneed, Penny K.; Wara, William M.; Edwards, Michael S.; Wilson, Charles B.; Larson, David A.

    1997-01-01

    Purpose: The records of patients with intracranial ependymoma who received radiation therapy at UCSF were reviewed retrospectively to evaluate the impact of Karnofsky performance status (KPS), age, histology, and treatment on outcome. Materials and Methods: Between 1978 and 1996, 45 patients with intracranial ependymoma received postoperative radiation therapy. Overall survival (OS) and progression free survival (PFS) were calculated from the date of diagnosis. Median follow up for surviving patients was 72 months. Ages ranged from 4 months to 56 years, with a median of 8 years. The tumor was infratentorial in 35 and supratentorial in 10. All patients had either biopsy (3), subtotal resection (30), or gross total resection (12). There were 29 low grade and 16 anaplastic ependymomas. Thirty-seven patients received standard fractionation to a median dose of 54 Gy. Eight patients received hyperfractionation at 1.0 Gy BID to a median dose of 72 Gy. Thirty-eight patients had partial brain irradiation and seven had craniospinal irradiation. Twenty-three patients received adjuvant chemotherapy. For the infants ≤ 3 years old (n=12), all but one had a subtotal resection and most received chemotherapy prior to radiation therapy. Seven infants received radiation therapy at the time of disease progression and five had radiation therapy prior to progression. Most of the patients > 3 years old were irradiated prior to progression. Results: The five-year actuarial OS and PFS were 65% and 46% for the whole group. Histology and treatment factors such as extent of resection, hyperfractionation, and adjuvant chemotherapy did not significantly affect outcome. Overall, (25(45)) patients had disease progression. Only two patients failed in the brain outside the primary site. Six patients developed leptomeningeal spread (four concurrent with local failure and two subsequent to local failure). Five-year OS for patients ≤ 3 years old was 21% versus 80% for patients > 3 years old (p=0

  11. Sosiaalisen median negatiiviset vaikutukset käyttäjälle

    OpenAIRE

    Vidgren, Lilli

    2018-01-01

    Tutkielma on kirjallisuuskatsauksena toteutettu kandidaatintutkielma, jonka tutkimusaihe ja -otsikko on sosiaalisen median negatiiviset vaikutukset käyttä- jälle. Negatiivisia vaikutuksia tutkittiin vapaa-ajan käytön näkökulmasta. Sosiaalinen media on tullut nopeasti tärkeäksi ja välttämättömäksi osaksi ihmisten jokapäiväistä elämää, ja sen jatkuva läsnäolo vaikuttaa sen käyttäjiin negatiivisella tavalla. Negatiivisten vaikutusten tutkimisella ihmiset tulisivat enemmän tieto...

  12. Age- and gender-specific estimates of cumulative CT dose over 5 years using real radiation dose tracking data in children

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Eunsol; Goo, Hyun Woo; Lee, Jae-Yeong

    2015-01-01

    It is necessary to develop a mechanism to estimate and analyze cumulative radiation risks from multiple CT exams in various clinical scenarios in children. To identify major contributors to high cumulative CT dose estimates using actual dose-length product values collected for 5 years in children. Between August 2006 and July 2011 we reviewed 26,937 CT exams in 13,803 children. Among them, we included 931 children (median age 3.5 years, age range 0 days-15 years; M:F = 533:398) who had 5,339 CT exams. Each child underwent at least three CT scans and had accessible radiation dose reports. Dose-length product values were automatically extracted from DICOM files and we used recently updated conversion factors for age, gender, anatomical region and tube voltage to estimate CT radiation dose. We tracked the calculated CT dose estimates to obtain a 5-year cumulative value for each child. The study population was divided into three groups according to the cumulative CT dose estimates: high, ≥30 mSv; moderate, 10-30 mSv; and low, <10 mSv. We reviewed clinical data and CT protocols to identify major contributors to high and moderate cumulative CT dose estimates. Median cumulative CT dose estimate was 5.4 mSv (range 0.5-71.1 mSv), and median number of CT scans was 4 (range 3-36). High cumulative CT dose estimates were most common in children with malignant tumors (57.9%, 11/19). High frequency of CT scans was attributed to high cumulative CT dose estimates in children with ventriculoperitoneal shunt (35 in 1 child) and malignant tumors (range 18-49). Moreover, high-dose CT protocols, such as multiphase abdomen CT (median 4.7 mSv) contributed to high cumulative CT dose estimates even in children with a low number of CT scans. Disease group, number of CT scans, and high-dose CT protocols are major contributors to higher cumulative CT dose estimates in children. (orig.)

  13. Implementation and evaluation of an ordered subsets reconstruction algorithm for transmission PET studies using median root prior and inter-update median filtering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bettinardi, V.; Gilardi, M.C.; Fazio, F.; Alenius, S.; Ruotsalainen, U.; Numminen, P.; Teraes, M.

    2003-01-01

    An ordered subsets (OS) reconstruction algorithm based on the median root prior (MRP) and inter-update median filtering was implemented for the reconstruction of low count statistics transmission (TR) scans. The OS-MRP-TR algorithm was evaluated using an experimental phantom, simulating positron emission tomography (PET) whole-body (WB) studies, as well as patient data. Various experimental conditions, in terms of TR scan time (from 1 h to 1 min), covering a wide range of TR count statistics were evaluated. The performance of the algorithm was assessed by comparing the mean value of the attenuation coefficient (MVAC) of known tissue types and the coefficient of variation (CV) for low-count TR images, reconstructed with the OS-MRP-TR algorithm, with reference values obtained from high-count TR images reconstructed with a filtered back-projection (FBP) algorithm. The reconstructed OS-MRP-TR images were then used for attenuation correction of the corresponding emission (EM) data. EM images reconstructed with attenuation correction generated by OS-MRP-TR images, of low count statistics, were compared with the EM images corrected for attenuation using reference (high statistics) TR data. In all the experimental situations considered, the OS-MRP-TR algorithm showed: (1) a tendency towards a stable solution in terms of MVAC; (2) a difference in the MVAC of within 5% for a TR scan of 1 min reconstructed with the OS-MRP-TR and a TR scan of 1 h reconstructed with the FBP algorithm; (3) effectiveness in noise reduction, particularly for low count statistics data [using a specific parameter configuration the TR images reconstructed with OS-MRP-TR(1 min) had a lower CV than the corresponding TR images of a 1-h scan reconstructed with the FBP algorithm]; (4) a difference of within 3% between the mean counts in the EM images attenuation corrected using the OS-MRP-TR images of 1 min and the mean counts in the EM images attenuation corrected using the OS-MRP-TR images of 1 h; (5

  14. Geographic and income variations in age at diagnosis and incidence of chronic myeloid leukemia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mendizabal, Adam M; Younes, Naji; Levine, Paul H

    2016-01-01

    Developing countries have a younger population of CML patients than developed countries. Patterns of age at diagnosis and incidence by geography and gross national income (GNI) are not well understood. A population-based descriptive study was conducted using data from the International Agency for Research on Cancer's population-based registry compilation. Geographical regions were classified according to the United Nations World Macro Regions and Components. Age-Standardized Incidence Rates (ASR) were adjusted to the World Standard Population. Poisson regression was used to assess age-specific interactions. 57.2% were male among 33,690 diagnoses. Median age at diagnosis was lowest in Africa and Asia (47 years) and highest in Oceania (72 years). ASR was lowest in African males (0.61 per 100,000) and Asian females (0.55 per 100,000) and highest in Oceania males and females (1.78 and 0.96 per 100,000, respectively). A significant interaction (p 50 years) and region exists; no significant differences were seen by region in the 50 age group. Population-based estimates suggest that the median age at diagnosis and incidence varies by region. Geographic and income heterogeneity suggest an important effect of environment that warrants further studies.

  15. Gender and age differences in mixed metal exposure and urinary excretion

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Berglund, Marika, E-mail: Marika.Berglund@ki.se [Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm (Sweden); Lindberg, Anna-Lena [Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm (Sweden); Rahman, Mahfuzar; Yunus, Mohammad [International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research (Bangladesh); Grander, Margaretha [Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm (Sweden); Loennerdal, Bo [Department of Nutrition, University of California, Davis, CA 95616 (United States); Vahter, Marie [Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm (Sweden)

    2011-11-15

    Background: Little is known about the variation in exposure to toxic metals by age and gender and other potential modifying factors. We evaluated age and gender differences by measurements of metal/element concentrations in urine in a rural population in Matlab, Bangladesh, in three age groups: 8-12 (N=238), 14-15 (N=107) and 30-88 (N=710) years of age, living in an area with no point sources of metal exposure but where elevated water arsenic concentrations are prevalent. Results: We found marked differences in urine concentrations of metals and trace elements by gender, age, tobacco use, socioeconomic and nutritional status. Besides a clearly elevated urinary arsenic concentration in all age groups (medians 63-85 {mu}g As/L), and despite the low degree of contamination from industries and traffic, the urine concentrations of toxic metals such as cadmium and lead were clearly elevated, especially in children (median 0.31 {mu}g Cd/L and 2.9 {mu}g Pb/L, respectively). In general, women had higher urinary concentrations of toxic metals, especially Cd (median 0.81 {mu}g/L) compared to men (0.66 {mu}g/L) and U (median 10 ng/L in women, compared to 6.4 ng/L in men), while men had higher urinary concentrations of the basic and essential elements Ca (69 mg/L in men, 30-50 years, compared to 52 mg/L in women), Mg (58 mg/L in men compared to 50 mg/L in women), Zn (182 {mu}g/L in men compared to 117 {mu}g/L in women) and Se (9.9 {mu}g/L in men compared to 8.7 {mu}g/L in women). Manganese was consistently higher in females than in males in all age groups, suggesting a biological difference between females and males in Mn metabolism. Increasing socioeconomic status decreased the toxic metal exposure significantly in children and especially in men. Poor iron status was detected in 17% of children, adolescents and women, but only in 6% of men. Also zinc deficiency was more prevalent in females than in males. Conclusions: Women and children seemed to be more at risk for toxic

  16. Gender and age differences in mixed metal exposure and urinary excretion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Berglund, Marika; Lindberg, Anna-Lena; Rahman, Mahfuzar; Yunus, Mohammad; Grandér, Margaretha; Lönnerdal, Bo; Vahter, Marie

    2011-01-01

    Background: Little is known about the variation in exposure to toxic metals by age and gender and other potential modifying factors. We evaluated age and gender differences by measurements of metal/element concentrations in urine in a rural population in Matlab, Bangladesh, in three age groups: 8–12 (N=238), 14–15 (N=107) and 30–88 (N=710) years of age, living in an area with no point sources of metal exposure but where elevated water arsenic concentrations are prevalent. Results: We found marked differences in urine concentrations of metals and trace elements by gender, age, tobacco use, socioeconomic and nutritional status. Besides a clearly elevated urinary arsenic concentration in all age groups (medians 63–85 μg As/L), and despite the low degree of contamination from industries and traffic, the urine concentrations of toxic metals such as cadmium and lead were clearly elevated, especially in children (median 0.31 μg Cd/L and 2.9 μg Pb/L, respectively). In general, women had higher urinary concentrations of toxic metals, especially Cd (median 0.81 μg/L) compared to men (0.66 μg/L) and U (median 10 ng/L in women, compared to 6.4 ng/L in men), while men had higher urinary concentrations of the basic and essential elements Ca (69 mg/L in men, 30–50 years, compared to 52 mg/L in women), Mg (58 mg/L in men compared to 50 mg/L in women), Zn (182 μg/L in men compared to 117 μg/L in women) and Se (9.9 μg/L in men compared to 8.7 μg/L in women). Manganese was consistently higher in females than in males in all age groups, suggesting a biological difference between females and males in Mn metabolism. Increasing socioeconomic status decreased the toxic metal exposure significantly in children and especially in men. Poor iron status was detected in 17% of children, adolescents and women, but only in 6% of men. Also zinc deficiency was more prevalent in females than in males. Conclusions: Women and children seemed to be more at risk for toxic metal

  17. Hardware design of the median filter based on window structure and batcher′s oddeven sort network

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    SUN Kaimin

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Area and speed are two important factors to be considered in designing Median Filter with digital circuits.Area consideration requires the use of logical resources as little as possible,while speed consideration requires the system capable of working on higher clock frequencies,with as few clock cycles as possible to complete a frame filtering or real time filtering.This paper gives a new design of Median Filter,the hardware structure of which is a 3×3 window structure with two buffers.The filter function module is based on Batcher′s Odd-Even Sort network theory.Structural design is implemented in FPGA,verified by ModelSim software and realizes video image filtering.The experimental analysis shows that this new structure of Median Filter effectively decreases logical resources (merely using 741 Logic Elements,and accelerates the pixel processing speed up to 27MHz.This filter achieves realtime processing of video images of 30 frames/s.This design not only has a certain practicality,but also provides a reference for the hardware structure design ideas in digital image processing.

  18. Female scarcity reduces women's marital ages and increases variance in men's marital ages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kruger, Daniel J; Fitzgerald, Carey J; Peterson, Tom

    2010-08-05

    When women are scarce in a population relative to men, they have greater bargaining power in romantic relationships and thus may be able to secure male commitment at earlier ages. Male motivation for long-term relationship commitment may also be higher, in conjunction with the motivation to secure a prospective partner before another male retains her. However, men may also need to acquire greater social status and resources to be considered marriageable. This could increase the variance in male marital age, as well as the average male marital age. We calculated the Operational Sex Ratio, and means, medians, and standard deviations in marital ages for women and men for the 50 largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas in the United States with 2000 U.S Census data. As predicted, where women are scarce they marry earlier on average. However, there was no significant relationship with mean male marital ages. The variance in male marital age increased with higher female scarcity, contrasting with a non-significant inverse trend for female marital age variation. These findings advance the understanding of the relationship between the OSR and marital patterns. We believe that these results are best accounted for by sex specific attributes of reproductive value and associated mate selection criteria, demonstrating the power of an evolutionary framework for understanding human relationships and demographic patterns.

  19. Female Scarcity Reduces Women's Marital Ages and Increases Variance in Men's Marital Ages

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel J. Kruger

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available When women are scarce in a population relative to men, they have greater bargaining power in romantic relationships and thus may be able to secure male commitment at earlier ages. Male motivation for long-term relationship commitment may also be higher, in conjunction with the motivation to secure a prospective partner before another male retains her. However, men may also need to acquire greater social status and resources to be considered marriageable. This could increase the variance in male marital age, as well as the average male marital age. We calculated the Operational Sex Ratio, and means, medians, and standard deviations in marital ages for women and men for the 50 largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas in the United States with 2000 U.S Census data. As predicted, where women are scarce they marry earlier on average. However, there was no significant relationship with mean male marital ages. The variance in male marital age increased with higher female scarcity, contrasting with a non-significant inverse trend for female marital age variation. These findings advance the understanding of the relationship between the OSR and marital patterns. We believe that these results are best accounted for by sex specific attributes of reproductive value and associated mate selection criteria, demonstrating the power of an evolutionary framework for understanding human relationships and demographic patterns.

  20. Estimation of in vitro activity of tuberoinfundibular dopaminergic neurons by measurement of DOPA synthesis in the median eminence of hypothalamic slices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arita, J; Kimura, F

    1984-12-01

    A new method for estimation of in vitro neurosecretory activity of tuberoinfundibular dopaminergic (TIDA) neurons was developed by measuring the rate of synthesis of dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) in the median eminence of hypothalamic slices. Sagittal hypothalamic slices of ovariectomized rats were incubated in a medium containing 3-hydroxybenzylhydrazine (NSD 1015), an inhibitor of DOPA decarboxylase. DOPA accumulated in the median eminence following incubation with NSD 1015 was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography with electro-chemical detection. The amount of DOPA accumulated in vitro in the median eminence was maximal in a medium containing 10 mM NSD 1015 and linear up to 120 min at 37 degrees C. Increasing the concentration of tyrosine in medium stimulated the synthesis of DOPA in the median eminence. The synthesis of DOPA was blocked by 1 mM alpha-methyltyrosine, an inhibitor of tyrosine hydroxylase. The rate of in vitro synthesis of DOPA in the median eminence was 33% of that of in vivo synthesis. Incubation in a medium containing 50 mM K+ to depolarize neurons caused a 2.4-fold increase in DOPA synthesis in the median eminence. The high K+-induced increase in DOPA synthesis was blocked by omission of Ca2+ and addition of 1 mM EGTA into the medium, suggesting Ca2+ dependency of depolarization-activated DOPA synthesis. These results indicate that this in vitro assay is a useful means to study the regulatory mechanisms of TIDA neurons.

  1. The relative age effect and success in German elite U-17 soccer teams.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Augste, Claudia; Lames, Martin

    2011-06-01

    The aim of the study was to determine whether there is empirical evidence for advantages in performance of soccer teams because of their relative age. The practice of selecting youth players according to their momentary performance leads to relative age effects, which in turn lead to inefficient talent selection. We used the median of the birth dates as a measure of the effect size of the relative age effect and the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test to assess its significance. For the 2008-2009 season, birth dates in the three German U-17 first leagues for soccer were examined (911 players). More than half of the 41 teams differed significantly from the distribution of the corresponding German cohort. There was a significant correlation between the relative age effect and success defined by teams' final rankings (Spearman's ρ = 0.328, P = 0.036). Regression analyses revealed that with a median of birth dates one month earlier the team is expected to finish 1.035 ranks better. Accordingly, selecting early born athletes is an important aspect of success in youth soccer. However, teams with no relative age effect are able to compete in the league, having the benefit to promote players with a better perspective for long and successful careers at an adult age.

  2. Statistical properties of the deviations of f 0 F 2 from monthly medians

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Y. Tulunay

    2002-06-01

    Full Text Available The deviations of hourly f 0 F 2 from monthly medians for 20 stations in Europe during the period 1958-1998 are studied. Spectral analysis is used to show that, both for original data (for each hour and for the deviations from monthly medians, the deterministic components are the harmonics of 11 years (solar cycle, 1 year and its harmonics, 27 days and 12 h 50.49 m (2nd harmonic of lunar rotation period L 2 periodicities. Using histograms for one year samples, it is shown that the deviations from monthly medians are nearly zero mean (mean < 0.5 and approximately Gaussian (relative difference range between %10 to %20 and their standard deviations are larger for daylight hours (in the range 5-7. It is shown that the amplitude distribution of the positive and negative deviations is nearly symmetrical at night hours, but asymmetrical for day hours. The positive and negative deviations are then studied separately and it is observed that the positive deviations are nearly independent of R12 except for high latitudes, but negative deviations are modulated by R12 . The 90% confidence interval for negative deviations for each station and each hour is computed as a linear model in terms of R12. After correction for local time, it is shown that for all hours the confidence intervals increase with latitude but decrease above 60N. Long-term trend analysis showed that there is an increase in the amplitude of positive deviations from monthly means irrespective of the solar conditions. Using spectral analysis it is also shown that the seasonal dependency of negative deviations is more accentuated than the seasonal dependency of positive deviations especially at low latitudes. In certain stations, it is also observed that the 4th harmonic of 1 year corresponding to a periodicity of 3 months, which is missing in f 0 F 2 data, appears in the spectra of negative variations.

  3. Evaluation of physical activity measures used in middle-aged women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pettee Gabriel, Kelley; McClain, James J; Lee, Chong D; Swan, Pamela D; Alvar, Brent A; Mitros, Melanie R; Ainsworth, Barbara E

    2009-07-01

    To evaluate the reliability and validity of five commonly used physical activity questionnaires (PAQ) in women aged 45-65 yr with varying physical activity (PA) levels. Data were obtained from the Evaluation of Physical Activity Measures in Middle-aged Women (PAW) Study and included 66 women (aged 52.6 +/- 5.4 yr). PAQ evaluated include Modifiable Activity Questionnaire (past week and past month version), Nurses' Health Study PAQ, Active Australia Survey, and Women's Health Initiative PAQ. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) between administrations of the PAQ were used to assess test-retest reliability. Spearman rank-order correlation coefficients were used to examine the associations of PA and physical fitness data with PAQ summary estimates. Accelerometer-determined median (25th, 75th percentiles) times (min.d) spent in moderate-lifestyle [760-1951 counts (ct)], moderate-walk (1952-5724 ct), vigorous (> or =5725 ct), and combined moderate and vigorous PA (MVPA > or = 1952 ct) during the 35 d of observation were 66.0 (51.2, 81.3), 23.1 (14.1, 34.6), 0.4 (0.0, 2.3), and 24.3 (15.9, 41.6) min, respectively. The PAQ were shown to be reproducible and relatively stable over time (ICC = 0.32 to 0.91) and were associated with total counts per day (ct.d, 0.46 to 0.60, all P PAQ evaluated in this study were shown to be reliable and associated with PA and physical fitness measures. Current findings support the utility of these PAQ for PA assessment in research studies of middle-aged women.

  4. Verkkosivujen ja sosiaalisen median käyttäminen ennakoivan turvallisuusviestinnän välineenä

    OpenAIRE

    Virta, Esa-Pekka

    2016-01-01

    Tämän opinnäytetyön tavoitteena oli laatia selvitys eräälle ammattikorkeakoululle verkkosivujen sekä sosiaalisen median käyttämisestä ennakoivan turvallisuusviestinnän välineenä. Ennakoivaa turvallisuusviestintää on Suomessa tutkittu melko vähän kun sitä verrataan turvallisuusjohtamista koskeviin tutkimuksiin. Verkkosivujen sekä sosiaalisen median käyttämistä ennakoivan turvallisuusviestinnän välineenä ei ole tutkittu juuri ollenkaan ja tästä syntyi idea tuottaa tämä selvitys. Opinnäytetyön t...

  5. Growth and Mortality Outcomes for Different Antiretroviral Therapy Initiation Criteria in Children aged 1–5 Years: A Causal Modelling Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schomaker, Michael; Davies, Mary-Ann; Malateste, Karen; Renner, Lorna; Sawry, Shobna; N’Gbeche, Sylvie; Technau, Karl-Günter; Eboua, François; Tanser, Frank; Sygnaté-Sy, Haby; Phiri, Sam; Amorissani-Folquet, Madeleine; Cox, Vivian; Koueta, Fla; Chimbete, Cleophas; Lawson-Evi, Annette; Giddy, Janet; Amani-Bosse, Clarisse; Wood, Robin; Egger, Matthias; Leroy, Valeriane

    2017-01-01

    Background There is limited evidence regarding the optimal timing of initiating antiretroviral therapy (ART) in children. We conducted a causal modelling analysis in children aged 1–5 years from the International Epidemiologic Databases to Evaluate AIDS West/Southern-Africa collaboration to determine growth and mortality differences related to different CD4-based treatment initiation criteria, age groups and regions. Methods ART-naïve children of age 12–59 months at enrollment with at least one visit before ART initiation and one follow-up visit were included. We estimated 3-year growth and cumulative mortality from the start of follow-up for different CD4 criteria using g-computation. Results About one quarter of the 5826 included children was from West Africa (24.6%). The median (first; third quartile) CD4% at the first visit was 16% (11%;23%), the median weight-for-age z-scores and height-for-age z-scores were −1.5 (−2.7; −0.6) and −2.5 (−3.5; −1.5), respectively. Estimated cumulative mortality was higher overall, and growth was slower, when initiating ART at lower CD4 thresholds. After 3 years of follow-up, the estimated mortality difference between starting ART routinely irrespective of CD4 count and starting ART if either CD4 count<750 cells/mm3 or CD4%<25% was 0.2% (95%CI: −0.2%;0.3%), and the difference in the mean height-for-age z-scores of those who survived was −0.02 (95%CI: −0.04;0.01). Younger children aged 1–2 and children in West Africa had worse outcomes. Conclusions Our results demonstrate that earlier treatment initiation yields overall better growth and mortality outcomes, though we could not show any differences in outcomes between immediate ART and delaying until CD4 count/% falls below750/25%. PMID:26479876

  6. Presentation and management of keloid scarring following median sternotomy: a case study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Javangula Kalyana C

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Introduction Keloid scars following median sternotomy are rare and occur more frequently in pigmented skin. Different management strategies have been described with variable success. We present a case of keloid scar formation following cardiac surgery including our management and the final aesthetic result. Case description A 64 year old female of fair complexion underwent mitral valve replacement. The procedure and postoperative recovery were uncomplicated, however, during the following year, thick keloid scars formed over the incision sites. Initial non surgical measures failed to relieve pain and did not offer any tangible aesthetic benefit. Eventually surgical excision was attempted. She presented to our clinic for nine months follow up with significant improvement in pain and aesthetic result. Discussion and Evaluation Several theories have attempted to explore the pathophysiology of keloid scar formation. A number of predisposing factors have been documented however none existed in this case. A variety of invasive and non invasive approaches have been described but significant differences in success rates and methodology of investigations still precludes a standardized management protocol. Conclusions In this case study a rare presentation of keloid scar has been presented. The variety of methods used to improve pain and aesthetic result demonstrates the propensity of keloid scars to recur and the therapeutic challenges that surgeons have to face in their quest for a satisfactory patient outcome.

  7. Outcome and Risk Factors Presented in Old Patients Above 80 Years of Age Versus Younger Patients After Ischemic Stroke

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bentsen, Line; Christensen, Louisa; Christensen, Anders

    2014-01-01

    . METHODS: The analysis was based on consecutive patients admitted within 6 hours after stroke onset and discharged with ischemic stroke, surviving at least 3 months after ictus. To prevent bias, the analysis was based on a registry from before implementation of tissue plasminogen activator treatment; all...... of age or older presented with significantly more severe strokes than younger patients, median Scandinavian Stroke Scale score 39 vs 42 (P = .003). Median mRS score before stroke was significantly higher in patients aged 80 years or older (P ictus (P...

  8. Lightweight MAC-Spoof Detection Exploiting Received Signal Power and Median Filtering

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Papini, Davide

    2011-01-01

    this kind of attack based on signal power monitoring. The main contribution of our work is the introduction of a median l- ter that enables the detection of the attack by looking at the variance of the signal power. We take into account two types of references for the samples, time and number of frames......IEEE 802.11 networks are subject to MAC-spoof attacks. An attacker can easily steal the identity of a legitimate station, even Access Points, thus enabling him to take full control over network basic mech- anisms or even access restricted resources. In this paper we propose a method to detect...

  9. [Importance of age and other risk factors in NSAID-induced gastropathy].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Hang Lak; Han, Dong Soo; Kim, Jin Bae; Kim, Jong Pyo; Jeon, Yong Chul; Sohn, Joo Hyun; Hahm, Joon Soo

    2004-11-01

    It is clinically important to analyze the risk factors of NSAID-induced gastropathy because there could be no symptoms. Age is the most important risk factor according to previous reports. The aim of this study was to find risk factors of NSAID-induced gastropathy and to confirm the association between NSAID-induced gastropathy and age. We retrospectively assessed 300 patients who conducted an upper gastroscopy during the course of chronic NSAID treatment. Median age of patients group is 51.4 +/- 12.2 years. In multivariate analysis, age and ulcer history are two significant risk factors. Median age is 46.7 +/- 10.7 years for the patients with nonspecific gastroscopic finding, 53.0 +/- 12.5 for those with erosion, 57.6 +/- 10.0 for those with ulcer, and 63.2 +/- 8.9 for those with hemorrhage. The proportion of ulcer patients is as follows: 6% in the patients of under 40 years old, 14.9% in patients of the 40s, 20% in patients of the 50s, 30.9% in patients of the 60s, 33.3% in patients over 70 years. The proportion of nonspecific findings is 62.2% in patients of the 40s, 37.8% in patients of the 50s, and 29% in patients over 60 years. Age is the most important risk factor of the NSAID-induced gastrointestinal mucosal injury. A larger randomized prospective control study will be required in the future for more conclusive results.

  10. A biological inspired fuzzy adaptive window median filter (FAWMF) for enhancing DNA signal processing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmad, Muneer; Jung, Low Tan; Bhuiyan, Al-Amin

    2017-10-01

    Digital signal processing techniques commonly employ fixed length window filters to process the signal contents. DNA signals differ in characteristics from common digital signals since they carry nucleotides as contents. The nucleotides own genetic code context and fuzzy behaviors due to their special structure and order in DNA strand. Employing conventional fixed length window filters for DNA signal processing produce spectral leakage and hence results in signal noise. A biological context aware adaptive window filter is required to process the DNA signals. This paper introduces a biological inspired fuzzy adaptive window median filter (FAWMF) which computes the fuzzy membership strength of nucleotides in each slide of window and filters nucleotides based on median filtering with a combination of s-shaped and z-shaped filters. Since coding regions cause 3-base periodicity by an unbalanced nucleotides' distribution producing a relatively high bias for nucleotides' usage, such fundamental characteristic of nucleotides has been exploited in FAWMF to suppress the signal noise. Along with adaptive response of FAWMF, a strong correlation between median nucleotides and the Π shaped filter was observed which produced enhanced discrimination between coding and non-coding regions contrary to fixed length conventional window filters. The proposed FAWMF attains a significant enhancement in coding regions identification i.e. 40% to 125% as compared to other conventional window filters tested over more than 250 benchmarked and randomly taken DNA datasets of different organisms. This study proves that conventional fixed length window filters applied to DNA signals do not achieve significant results since the nucleotides carry genetic code context. The proposed FAWMF algorithm is adaptive and outperforms significantly to process DNA signal contents. The algorithm applied to variety of DNA datasets produced noteworthy discrimination between coding and non-coding regions contrary

  11. How Much Volume of Local Anesthesia and How Long Should You Wait After Injection for an Effective Wrist Median Nerve Block?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lovely, Lyndsay M; Chishti, Yasmin Z; Woodland, Jennifer L; Lalonde, Donald H

    2018-05-01

    Many surgeons and emergentologists use non-ultrasound-guided wrist nerve blocks. There is little evidence to guide the ideal volume of local anesthesia or how long we should wait after injection before performing pain-free procedures. This pilot study examined time to maximal anesthesia to painful needle stick in 14 volunteer participants receiving bilateral wrist blocks of 6 versus 11 mL of local. One surgeon performed all 14 bilateral wrist median nerve blocks in participants who remained blinded until after bandages were applied to their wrist. No one could see which wrist received the larger 11-mL volume injection versus the 6-mL block. Blinded sensory assessors then measured perceived maximal numbness time and numbness to needle stick pain in the fingertips of the median nerve distribution. Failure to get a complete median nerve block occurred in seven of fourteen 6-mL wrist blocks versus failure in only one of fourteen 11-mL blocks. Perceived maximal numbness occurred at roughly 40 minutes after injection, but actual numbness to painful needle stick took around 100 minutes. Incomplete median nerve numbness occurred with both 6- and 11-mL non-ultrasound-guided blocks at the wrist. In those with complete blocks, it took a surprisingly long time of 100 minutes for maximal anesthesia to occur to painful needle stick stimuli to the fingertips of the median nerve distribution. Non-ultrasound-guided median nerve blocks at the wrist as described in this article lack reliability and take too long to work.

  12. Use of the temporal median and trimmed mean mitigates effects of respiratory motion in multiple-acquisition abdominal diffusion imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jerome, N P; Orton, M R; D’Arcy, J A; Leach, M O; Collins, D J; Feiweier, T; Tunariu, N; Koh, D-M

    2015-01-01

    Respiratory motion commonly confounds abdominal diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging, where averaging of successive samples at different parts of the respiratory cycle, performed in the scanner, manifests the motion as blurring of tissue boundaries and structural features and can introduce bias into calculated diffusion metrics. Storing multiple averages separately allows processing using metrics other than the mean; in this prospective volunteer study, median and trimmed mean values of signal intensity for each voxel over repeated averages and diffusion-weighting directions are shown to give images with sharper tissue boundaries and structural features for moving tissues, while not compromising non-moving structures. Expert visual scoring of derived diffusion maps is significantly higher for the median than for the mean, with modest improvement from the trimmed mean. Diffusion metrics derived from mono- and bi-exponential diffusion models are comparable for non-moving structures, demonstrating a lack of introduced bias from using the median. The use of the median is a simple and computationally inexpensive alternative to complex and expensive registration algorithms, requiring only additional data storage (and no additional scanning time) while returning visually superior images that will facilitate the appropriate placement of regions-of-interest when analysing abdominal diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance images, for assessment of disease characteristics and treatment response. (note)

  13. Characterization of the Small and Median Companies in the Textile Sector of the Ecuadorian Economy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jenny Lilián Basantes–Avalos

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The small and median companies perform a fundamental role in the economy of latinoamerican countries, and Ecuador is not the exception, because of its incidence in the generation of employment and economic development. Historically, Ecuador has been a textile country by excellence, and with the years has been consolidated like one of the manufactured industries most importants of the country. However, the sector has to deal with adverse condition in the last decade. For such reason, the manufacturers have the challenge of improve the production techniques to promote a better quality offer and recognition, capable of competing with foreign products of similar characteristics. In this context, this paper has the intent to characterize the small and median companies of Ecuador in general and the textile sector as a particularity, its current situation, the importance of the Ecuadorian economy, such as their problems and opportunities. 

  14. Asymmetric Bilateral Variations in the Musculocutaneous and Median Nerves with High Branching of Brachial Artery

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    Vandana Tomar

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Brachial Plexus is formed by the union of the anterior rami of cervical 5, 6, 7, 8 and thoracic 1 nerves. These nerves unite and divide to form the key nerves innervating the upper limb. Variations in the course of these nerves are clinically important to anesthetists, neurologists and orthopedicians. We report bilateral variations in the arterial and neural structures in the upper limb of a 65 year old cadaver. The muscles of the arm on one side were innervated by the median nerve with absence of musculocutaneous. While on the other side the musculocutaneous nerve contributed to the formation of the median nerve. There was a presence of high bifurcation of brachial artery on both sides. Knowledge of such variations in the innervations of muscles and the arterial supply of the limbs are important to remember before performing any reconstructive procedures or interventions on the limb.

  15. Polychlorinated biphenyls in adipose tissue, liver, and brain from nine stillborns of varying gestational ages

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Huisman, M; Muskiet, FAJ; Van Der Paauw, CG; Essed, CE; Boersma, ER

    We analyzed polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in s.c. adipose tissue, liver, and brain of nine fetuses who died in utero. Their median (range) gestational ages and birth weights were 34 (17-40) wk and 2050 (162-3225) g. Three fetuses were small for gestational age. The levels of PCB congener nos.

  16. Gestational age and birth weight centiles of singleton babies delivered normally following spontaneous labor, in Southern Sri Lanka

    Science.gov (United States)

    Attanayake, K; Munasinghe, S; Goonewardene, M; Widanapathirana, P; Sandeepani, I; Sanjeewa, L

    2018-03-31

    To estimate the gestational age and birth weight centiles of babies delivered normally, without any obstetric intervention, in women with uncomplicated singleton pregnancies establishing spontaneous onset of labour. Consecutive women with uncomplicated singleton pregnancies, attending the Academic Obstetrics and Gynecology Unit of the Teaching Hospital Mahamodara Galle, Sri Lanka, with confirmed dates and establishing spontaneous onset of labor and delivering vaginally between gestational age of 34 - 41 weeks, without any obstetric intervention , during the period September 2013 to February 2014 were studied. The gestational age at spontaneous onset of labor and vaginal delivery and the birth weights of the babies were recorded. There were 3294 consecutive deliveries during this period, and of them 1602 (48.6%) met the inclusion criteria. Median gestational age at delivery was 275 days (range 238-291 days, IQR 269 to 280 days) and the median birth weight was 3000 g (range1700g - 4350g; IQR 2750-3250g). The 10th, 50th and 90th birth weight centiles of the babies delivered at a gestational age of 275 days were approximately 2570g, 3050g and 3550g respectively. The median gestational age among women with uncomplicated singleton pregnancies who established spontaneous onset of labor and delivered vaginally, without any obstetric intervention, was approximately five days shorter than the traditionally accepted 280 days. At a gestational age of 275 days, the mean birth weight was approximately 3038g and the 50th centile of the birth weight of the babies delivered was approximately 3050g.

  17. Duration of symptomatology and median segmental sensory latency in 993 carpal tunnel syndrome hands (668 cases

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    KOUYOUMDJIAN JOAO ARIS

    1999-01-01

    Full Text Available According to median sensory nerve action potential onset-latency to index finger in a 140 mm fixed distance, 993 carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS hands from 668 patients were grouped into MIld (3.0 to 3.5 ms, 384 hands, MOderate (3.6 to 4.4 ms, 332 hands, SEvere (> 4.4 ms, 135 hands and UNrecordable (142 hands and correlated with CTS symptomatology duration. All patients have sensory antidromic median-radial latency difference (MRD e > or = 1.0 ms without any doubt about CTS diagnosis. Patients with systemic disease, trauma or previous surgery were excluded. There is a remarkable cumulative percentage increase from 1 to 12 months in group UN (3.5% to 38.7%, 11 folds, much less than the group MI (13.8% to 54.6%, 3.9 folds. There is also a remarkable non-cumulative percentage increase in group UN, from 1 to 4-12 months; the group MI had a relatively uniform distribution in all symptomatic duration groups from 1 to > 60 months. The conclusion is that median nerve compression at carpal tunnel can lead to unrecordable potentials in a relatively short period from 1 to 12 months of evolution, suggesting acute/subacute deterioration. Electrophysiological evaluation must be done periodically in patients that underwent clinical treatment, since cumulative 38.7% of group UN was found in 12 months period.

  18. Changes in gene expression following trauma are related to the age of transfused packed red blood cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Torrance, Hew D T; Vivian, Mark E; Brohi, Karim; Prowle, John R; Pearse, Rupert M; Owen, Helen C; Hinds, Charles J; O'Dwyer, Michael J

    2015-03-01

    Transfusion of packed red blood cells (PRBCs) is associated with an increased incidence of nosocomial infections and an increased risk of death. The duration of storage before transfusion may influence these outcomes. Here, we explore the association between the age of transfused PRBCs and specific patterns of inflammatory gene expression in severely injured trauma patients. Severely injured trauma patients requiring intensive care unit treatment and receiving transfusion of PRBCs within 24 hours of the injury were recruited. Blood samples were obtained within 2 hours of the trauma, at 24 hours, and at 72 hours. Messenger RNA was extracted from whole blood, and gene expression was quantified using quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The median age of the units of PRBCs transfused to each patient was recorded. The primary outcome measure was the change in candidate gene expression over the initial 72 hours. Sixty-four patients were studied. Fifty-three patients (83%) were male, and the median age was 40.5 years (interquartile range [IQR], 31-59). Median Injury Severity Score (ISS) was 31.5 (IQR, 23-43), and 55 patients (86%) experienced a blunt injury. Forty-one patients (64%) developed a nosocomial infection, and 15 patients (23%) died before hospital discharge. Each patient received a median of 5 U of PRBCs (IQR, 4-9.8 U) during the first 24 hours of hospital admission. The median age of the units of PRBCs transfused in each patient was 20 days (IQR, 17-22 days). Older blood was associated with greater decreases in interleukin 12 (IL-12), IL-23, and RORγt (all p's < 0.05) gene expression over the initial 24 hours, greater decreases in IL-12 gene expression over 72 hours, and a rise in transforming growth factor β gene expression over the first 72 hours. A multivariate analysis confirmed the independence of these associations. Increasing the duration of storage of PRBCs before transfusion is associated with a pattern of gene expression consistent with more

  19. Iodine status and its correlations with age, blood pressure, and thyroid volume in South Indian women above 35 years of age (Amrita Thyroid Survey

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    Vadayath Usha Menon

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Thyroid disorders are more commonly seen among females and the prevalence increases with age. There is no population data from India focusing on iodine levels and their correlations with thyroid volume and other factors in adult women. Aim: This study was designed to establish the iodine status and its relation with various factors including thyroid volume measured by ultrasound among the females of Kerala. Materials and Methods: This was a cross sectional house to house survey among the females above 35 years of age in a randomly selected urban area in Cochin Corporation, Kerala State, India. Selected subjects were interviewed, examined and blood and urine tests were done. Thyroid volume was calculated using ultrasound. Results: Among the 508 subjects who participated in the checkup, 471 subjects were included for analysis. Mean age was 50.3 + 10.7 years and 53.2% were postmenopausal. A total of 98% of the subjects were using iodized salt and median urinary iodine excretion (UIE was 162.6 mcg/l. UIE had negative correlation with age and systolic blood pressure (BP, but had no correlation with thyroid volume (TV, thyroid nodularity, free thyroxine 4 (FT4, thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH or anti thyroid peroxidase (TPO levels. Iodine deficiency was more commonly seen in subjects with hypertension and also among postmenopausal females. Conclusions: This study showed that females > 35 years were iodine sufficient, though one third of the subjects had UIE levels less than the recommended level. Iodine levels had significant negative correlation with age and systolic BP and no correlation with thyroid volume or biochemical parameters. Iodine deficiency was significantly higher in subjects with new and known hypertension and this relation merits further evaluation.

  20. Speckle noise reduction in breast ultrasound images: SMU (srad median unsharp) approch

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Njeh, I.; Sassi, O. B.; Ben Hamida, A.; Chtourou, K.

    2011-01-01

    Image denoising has become a very essential for better information extraction from the image and mainly from so noised ones, such as ultrasound images. In certain cases, for instance in ultrasound images, the noise can restrain information which is valuable for the general practitioner. Consequently medical images are very inconsistent, and it is crucial to operate case to case. This paper presents a novel algorithm SMU (Srad Median Unsharp) for noise suppression in ultrasound breast images in order to realize a computer aided diagnosis (CAD) for breast cancer.

  1. Accelerated partial breast irradiation using once-daily fractionation: analysis of 312 cases with four years median follow-up

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shaikh Arif Y

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background There are limited data on accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI using external beam techniques. Moreover, there are recent reports of increased fibrosis and unacceptable cosmesis with APBI using external beam with BID fractionation. We adopted a once daily regimen of APBI with fractionation similar to that shown to be effective in a Canadian randomized trial of whole breast irradiation. It is unclear whether patients with DCIS or invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC are suitable for APBI. Methods The retrospective cohort included 310 patients with 312 tumors of T1-T2N0-N1micM0 invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC, ILC, or Tis (DCIS treated with APBI via external beam. Most patients were treated using IMRT with 16 daily fractions of 270 cGy to a dose of 4320 cGy. The target volume included the lumpectomy cavity plus 1.0 cm to account for microscopic disease and an additional 0.5 to 1.0 cm for setup uncertainty and breathing motion. Ipsilateral breast failure (IBF was pathologically confirmed as a local failure (LF or an elsewhere failure (EF. Results Median follow-up was 49 months. Among the 312 cases, 213 were IDC, 31 ILC, and 68 DCIS. Median tumor size was 1.0 cm. There were 9 IBFs (2.9% including 5 LFs and 4 EFs. The IBF rates among patients with IDC, ILC, and DCIS were 2.4%, 3.2%, and 4.4%, respectively, with no significant difference between histologies. When patients were analyzed by the ASTRO APBI consensus statement risk groups, 32% of treated cases were considered suitable, 50% cautionary, and 18% unsuitable. The IBF rates among suitable, cautionary, and unsuitable patients were 4.0%, 2.6%, and 1.8%, respectively, with no significant difference between risk groups. Acute skin reactions were rare and long-term cosmetic outcome was very good to excellent. Conclusions External beam APBI with once daily fractionation has a low rate of IBF consistent with other published APBI studies. The ASTRO risk stratification did not

  2. Wound infections after median sternotomy treated by VAC therapy, summary of results, and risk factor analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hulman, M; Bezak, B; Artemiou, P; Cikrai, R

    2017-01-01

    The aim of this study is to summarize results and analyze risk factors for the development of wound infection in heart surgery patients after median sternotomy. In this retrospective analysis with assessment of multiple risk factors, we examined 143 patients with infection after median sternotomy treated with VAC therapy from total of 4,650 patients operated in our department from 2012 to 2015. Total of 143 patients developed significant SSI treated by VAC therapy following cardiac surgery. Of these, only 14 patients developed DSWI and one patient was diagnosed with suspected osteomyelitis. BMI, female gender, and use of BIMA proved to be statistically significant risk factors in our study (p infection (p infection proved to be a significant prognostic factor for patients' outcome (p infection (Tab. 3, Ref. 30).

  3. Mesopontine median raphe regulates hippocampal ripple oscillation and memory consolidation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Dong V; Yau, Hau-Jie; Broker, Carl J; Tsou, Jen-Hui; Bonci, Antonello; Ikemoto, Satoshi

    2015-05-01

    Sharp wave-associated field oscillations (∼200 Hz) of the hippocampus, referred to as ripples, are believed to be important for consolidation of explicit memory. Little is known about how ripples are regulated by other brain regions. We found that the median raphe region (MnR) is important for regulating hippocampal ripple activity and memory consolidation. We performed in vivo simultaneous recording in the MnR and hippocampus of mice and found that, when a group of MnR neurons was active, ripples were absent. Consistently, optogenetic stimulation of MnR neurons suppressed ripple activity and inhibition of these neurons increased ripple activity. Notably, using a fear conditioning procedure, we found that photostimulation of MnR neurons interfered with memory consolidation. Our results demonstrate a critical role of the MnR in regulating ripples and memory consolidation.

  4. Electrocardiographic Changes Improve Risk Prediction in Asymptomatic Persons Age 65 Years or Above Without Cardiovascular Disease

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jørgensen, Peter Godsk; Jensen, Jan S; Marott, Jacob L

    2014-01-01

    endpoint was fatal cardiovascular disease (CVD) event and the secondary was fatal or nonfatal CVD event. In our study, 2,236 fatal CVD and 3,849 fatal or nonfatal CVD events occurred during a median of 11.9 and 9.8 years of follow-up. RESULTS: ECG changes were frequently present (30.6%) and associated......: In all, 6,991 participants from the Copenhagen Heart Study attending an examination at age ≥65 years were included. ECG changes were defined as Q waves, ST-segment depression, T-wave changes, ventricular conduction defects, and left ventricular hypertrophy based on the Minnesota code. The primary...

  5. Tell me your life: including life stories in an adult development and aging course.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Villar, Feliciano; Celdran, Montserrat; Fabà, Josep

    2014-01-01

    The goals of this study were to determine the learning impact of an assignment that consisted of interviewing and analyzing older people's life stories, and to explore how the assignment was evaluated by students. Participants in the study were 122 first-year social education students enrolled in an adult development and aging course. They evaluated the assignment using an eight-adjective questionnaire and were asked about the benefits of the task. Their answers to the questionnaire were then reviewed using content analysis. The results indicated that marks on the life story assignment predicted marks on an exam about basic course concepts. Students considered that the assignment was interesting, useful, and integrated into the course, although most of them also thought that it was very time-consuming. They identified benefits related to the explicit goals of the course (improvement in the learning of developmental concepts, the acquisition of research-related skills, and the deactivation of aging stereotypes) and personal, growth-related benefits. The authors discuss the difficulties posed by the assignment and its usefulness as a complement to more traditional, lecture-based teaching methods in adult development and aging courses.

  6. Intrinsic aerobic capacity sets a divide for aging and longevity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koch, Lauren Gerard; Kemi, Ole J; Qi, Nathan; Leng, Sean X; Bijma, Piter; Gilligan, Lori J; Wilkinson, John E; Wisløff, Helene; Høydal, Morten A; Rolim, Natale; Abadir, Peter M; van Grevenhof, Elizabeth M; Smith, Godfrey L; Burant, Charles F; Ellingsen, Oyvind; Britton, Steven L; Wisløff, Ulrik

    2011-10-28

    Low aerobic exercise capacity is a powerful predictor of premature morbidity and mortality for healthy adults as well as those with cardiovascular disease. For aged populations, poor performance on treadmill or extended walking tests indicates closer proximity to future health declines. Together, these findings suggest a fundamental connection between aerobic capacity and longevity. Through artificial selective breeding, we developed an animal model system to prospectively test the association between aerobic exercise capacity and survivability (aerobic hypothesis). Laboratory rats of widely diverse genetic backgrounds (N:NIH stock) were selectively bred for low or high intrinsic (inborn) treadmill running capacity. Cohorts of male and female rats from generations 14, 15, and 17 of selection were followed for survivability and assessed for age-related declines in cardiovascular fitness including maximal oxygen uptake (VO(2max)), myocardial function, endurance performance, and change in body mass. Median lifespan for low exercise capacity rats was 28% to 45% shorter than high capacity rats (hazard ratio, 0.06; PPhysical activity levels, energy expenditure (Vo(2)), and lean body mass were all better sustained with age in rats bred for high aerobic capacity. These data obtained from a contrasting heterogeneous model system provide strong evidence that genetic segregation for aerobic exercise capacity can be linked with longevity and are useful for deeper mechanistic exploration of aging.

  7. Additional Muscle Slip of Bicipital Aponeurosis and its Anomalous Relationship with the Median Cubital Vein

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nandini Bhat

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available The cubital region of the arm is a common site for recording blood pressure, taking blood for analysis and administering intravenous therapy and blood transfusions. During the routine dissection of a 70-year-old male cadaver at the Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, Karnataka, India, in 2015, it was observed that the aponeurotic insertion of the biceps brachii muscle divided into two slips. The medial slip fused normally with the deep fascia of the forearm, while flexor carpi radialis muscle fibres originated from the lateral slip. There was also a single vein in the forearm, the cephalic vein, which bifurcated to form the median cubital vein and the cephalic vein proper. The median cubital vein, further reinforced by the radial vein, passed deep to the two slips of the bicipital aponeurosis and then continued as the basilic vein. During venepuncture, medical practitioners should be aware of potential cubital fossa variations which could lead to nerve entrapment syndromes.

  8. A Randomized Trial to Assess the Contribution of a Novel Thorax Support Vest (Corset) in Preventing Mechanical Complications of Median Sternotomy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caimmi, Philippe P; Sabbatini, Maurizio; Kapetanakis, Emmanouil I; Cantone, Silvia; Ferraz, Marcus V; Cannas, Mario; Tesler, Ugo F

    2017-06-01

    Mechanical complications of median sternotomy may cause significant morbidity and mortality in cardiac surgical patients. This study was aimed at assessing the role of Posthorax support vest (Epple, Inc., Vienna, Austria) in the prevention of sternal complications and the improvement of anatomical healing in patients at high risk for mechanical sternal dehiscence after cardiac surgery by mean of median sternotomy. A prospective, randomized, study was performed and 310 patients with predisposing factors for sternal dehiscence after sternotomy for cardiac surgery were included. The patients were divided into two groups: patients who received the Posthorax support vest after surgery, and patients who did not. Primary variables assessed included the incidence of mechanical sternal complications, the quality of sternal healing, the rate of re-operation, the duration of hospitalization, rate and duration of hospital, re-admission for sternal complications. Secondary variables assessed were the post-operative pain, the number of requests for supplemental analgesia and the quality of life measured by means of the EQ-5D format. Patients using vest demonstrated a lower incidence of mechanical sternal complications, a better anatomical sternum healing, lower hospital stay, no re-operations for sternal dehiscence before discharge and lower re-admissions for mechanical sternal complication. In addition, patients using a vest reported a better quality of life with better freedom from limitations in mobility, self-care, and pain. Our findings demonstrate that the use of the Posthorax vest reduces post-sternotomy mechanical complications and improves the healing of the sternotomy, the clinical course, and the post-operative quality of life.

  9. Sample size calculations based on a difference in medians for positively skewed outcomes in health care studies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aidan G. O’Keeffe

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background In healthcare research, outcomes with skewed probability distributions are common. Sample size calculations for such outcomes are typically based on estimates on a transformed scale (e.g. log which may sometimes be difficult to obtain. In contrast, estimates of median and variance on the untransformed scale are generally easier to pre-specify. The aim of this paper is to describe how to calculate a sample size for a two group comparison of interest based on median and untransformed variance estimates for log-normal outcome data. Methods A log-normal distribution for outcome data is assumed and a sample size calculation approach for a two-sample t-test that compares log-transformed outcome data is demonstrated where the change of interest is specified as difference in median values on the untransformed scale. A simulation study is used to compare the method with a non-parametric alternative (Mann-Whitney U test in a variety of scenarios and the method is applied to a real example in neurosurgery. Results The method attained a nominal power value in simulation studies and was favourable in comparison to a Mann-Whitney U test and a two-sample t-test of untransformed outcomes. In addition, the method can be adjusted and used in some situations where the outcome distribution is not strictly log-normal. Conclusions We recommend the use of this sample size calculation approach for outcome data that are expected to be positively skewed and where a two group comparison on a log-transformed scale is planned. An advantage of this method over usual calculations based on estimates on the log-transformed scale is that it allows clinical efficacy to be specified as a difference in medians and requires a variance estimate on the untransformed scale. Such estimates are often easier to obtain and more interpretable than those for log-transformed outcomes.

  10. Endogenous sex hormones and memory performance in middle-aged Greek women with subjective memory complaints.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Armeni, Eleni; Apostolakis, Michail; Christidi, Foteini; Rizos, Demetrios; Kaparos, George; Panoulis, Konstantinos; Augoulea, Areti; Alexandrou, Andreas; Karopoulou, Evangelia; Zalonis, Ioannis; Triantafyllou, Nikolaos; Lambrinoudaki, Irene

    2018-02-01

    The changing hormonal milieu during the menopausal transition may contribute to the development of memory disorders. We aimed to assess the association of sex hormones with memory function in a sample of Greek middle-aged women. This pilot study included 44 women with subjective memory complaints. Memory performance was evaluated using the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test (HVLT), the Brief Visuospatial Memory test (BVMT), and the verbal digits backwards test (VSPAN), to assess verbal, visuospatial, and working memory performance, respectively. Menopausal symptoms were assessed using the Green Climacteric Scale. VSPAN backwards scores were positively associated with log-transformed free androgen index (logFAI), in models adjusted for age, education, log-transformed free estrogen index (logFEI), hypertension, and the intensity of menopausal symptoms. BVMT total scores were predicted by logFAI (b-coefficient = 0.424, p value = 0.002), education, and combined climacteric symptomatology, in a model adjusted for age, logFEI, and hypertension. Women with circulating estradiol above the median value of 10 pg/mL had better total HTLV total scores compared to women with estradiol values below the median (HTLV total scores, estradiol ≤ 10 pg/mL vs. > 10 pg/mL: 24.2 ± 3.6 vs. 30.0 ± 7.9, p value = 0.007 unadjusted). This association was affected by education and remained independent of menopausal symptoms and testosterone levels, education, and hypertension (model R 2 = 22.3%; b-coefficient = 0.318, p value = 0.024). Endogenous total estradiol is associated with verbal episodic memory, while logFAI is associated with working memory performance and visuospatial episodic memory in this sample of postmenopausal women. These associations were not influenced by age, education, or menopausal symptoms. Larger studies are necessary to evaluate the significance of our findings.

  11. ON THE STRUCTURE OF THE MEDIAN SEGMENT OF THE DIGESTIVE TUBE AND ON THE ACTIVITY OF ALPHA-AMYLASE AT ARISTICHTHYS NOBILIS, IN VARIOUS STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gabriela Vasile

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available The investigations have been dedicated to the structure of the median segment of the digestive tube, on Aristichthys nobilis individuals of various ages (i.e., one summer- and, respectively, four summer-old, correlated, on one side, with the main feeding regime and, on the other, with the amylasic activity present in this part of the digestive tract. As to the structural aspects, higher values of the thickness of the mucous tunic have been recorded in the four summer-old bighead carp individuals, to be possibly associated with the high values of the α-amylase activity in this segment of the digestive tube.

  12. Median Nerve Palsy following Elastic Stable Intramedullary Nailing of a Monteggia Fracture: An Unusual Case and Review of the Literature

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Surjit Lidder

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Monteggia fractures are rare in children, and subtle radial head dislocations, with minor plastic deformation of the ulna, may be missed in up to a third of cases. Complications of Monteggia fractures-dislocations include persistent radial head dislocation, forearm deformity, elbow stiffness, and nerve palsies at the time of presentation. An unusual case of median nerve palsy following elastic stable intramedullary nailing of a type I Monteggia lesion in a 6-year-old girl is presented, and we highlight that, although most nerve palsies associated with a Monteggia fracture-dislocations are treated expectantly in children, early intervention here probably provided the best outcome.

  13. Risk factors for mortality before age 18 years in cystic fibrosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McColley, Susanna A; Schechter, Michael S; Morgan, Wayne J; Pasta, David J; Craib, Marcia L; Konstan, Michael W

    2017-07-01

    Understanding early-life risk factors for childhood death in cystic fibrosis (CF) is important for clinical care, including the identification of effective interventions. Data from the Epidemiologic Study of Cystic Fibrosis (ESCF) collected 1994-2005 were linked with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Patient Registry (CFFPR) demographic and mortality data from 2013. Inclusion criteria were ≥1 visit annually at age 3-5 years and ≥1 FEV 1 measurement at age 6-8 years. Demographic data, nutritional parameters, pulmonary signs and symptoms, microbiology, and FEV 1 were evaluated as risk factors for death before age 18 years. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression was used to model the simultaneous effects of risk factors associated with death before age 18 years. Among 5365 patients enrolled in ESCF who met inclusion criteria, 3880 (72%) were linked to the CFFPR. Among these, 191 (5.7%) died before age 18 years; median age at death was 13.4 ± 3.1 years. Multivariable regression showed clubbing, crackles, female sex, unknown CFTR genotype, minority race or ethnicity, Medicaid insurance (a proxy of low socioeconomic status), Pseudomonas aeruginosa on 2 or more cultures, and weight-for-age <50th percentile were significant risk factors for death regardless of inclusion of FEV 1 at age 6-8 years in the model. We identified multiple risk factors for childhood death of patients with CF, all of which remained important after incorporating FEV 1 at age 6-8 years. Among the factors identified were the presence of clubbing or crackles at age 3-5 years, signs which are not routinely collected in registries. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  14. Evaluation of sexuality in a Paraguayan mid-aged female urban population using the six-item Female Sexual Function Index.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sánchez, S C; Chedraui, P; Pérez-López, F R; Ortiz-Benegas, M E; Palacios-De Franco, Y

    2016-06-01

    Background There are scant data related to sexuality assessed among mid-aged women from Paraguay. Objective To assess sexual function in a sample of mid-aged Paraguayan women. Methods This was a cross-sectional study in which 265 urban-living women from Asunción (Paraguay) aged 40-65 years were surveyed with the six-item version of the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI-6) and a questionnaire containing personal and partner data. Results The median age of the sample was 48 years, 48.2% were postmenopausal (median/interquartile range age at menopause 46/13 years), 11.3% used hormone therapy, 37.0% used psychotropic drugs, 44.5% had hypertension, 7.2% diabetes, 46.1% abdominal obesity and 89.4% had a partner (n = 237). Overall, 84.1% (223/265) of surveyed women were sexually active, presenting a median total FSFI-6 score of 23.0, and 25.6% obtained a total score of 19 or less, suggestive of sexual dysfunction (lower sexual function). Upon bivariate analysis, several factors were associated with lower total FSFI-6 scores; however, multiple linear regression analysis found that lower total FSFI-6 scores (worse sexual function) were significantly correlated to the postmenopausal status and having an older partner, whereas coital frequency was positively correlated to higher scores (better sexual function). Conclusion In this pilot sample of urban-living, mid-aged Paraguayan women, as determined with the FSFI-6, lower sexual function was related to menopausal status, coital frequency and partner age. There is a need for more research in this regard in this population.

  15. Volumetric quantification of the effect of aging and hormone replacement therapy on breast composition from digital mammograms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hammann-Kloss, J.S.; Bick, U.; Fallenberg, E.; Engelken, F.

    2014-01-01

    Objective: To assess the physiological changes in breast composition with aging using volumetric breast composition measurement from digital mammograms and to assess the effect of hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Methods: A total of 764 consecutive mammograms of 208 non-HRT using women and 508 mammograms of 134 HRT-using women were analyzed using a volumetric breast composition assessment software (Quantra™, Hologic Inc.). Fibroglandular tissue volume (FTV), breast volume (BV), and percent density (PD) were measured. For statistical analysis, women were divided into a premenopausal (<46 years), a perimenopausal (46–55 years), and a postmenopausal (>55 years) age group. More detailed graphical analysis was performed using smaller age brackets. Women using HRT were compared to age-matched controls not using HRT. Results: Women in the postmenopausal age group had a significantly lower FTV and PD and a significantly higher BV than women in the premenopausal age group (FTV: 77 vs. 120 cm 3 , respectively; PD: 16% vs. 28%, respectively; BV 478 vs. 406 cm 3 , respectively; p < 0.01 for all). Median FTV was nearly stable in consecutive mammograms in the premenopausal and postmenopausal age groups, but declined at a rate of 3.9% per year in the perimenopausal period. Median PD was constant in the premenopausal and postmenopausal age groups and declined at a rate of 0.57% per year in the perimenopausal age group. BV continuously increased with age. Women using HRT throughout the study had a 5% higher PD than women not using HRT (22% vs. 17%, respectively; p < 0.001). Conclusions: Accurate knowledge of normal changes in breast composition are of particular interest nowadays due to the importance of breast density for breast cancer risk evaluation. FTV and PD change significantly during the perimenopausal period but remain relatively constant before and thereafter. Median total breast volume consistently increases with age and further contributes to changes in breast

  16. Management of advanced colon cancer in a community hospital--impact of age on clinical management and survival.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mogili, Sujatha; Yousaf, Mobeen; Nadaraja, Nagendra; Woodlock, Timothy

    2012-09-01

    Colon cancer is more common in the elderly than in younger and middle-aged people. Cancer clinical trials focus more on younger patients and the management of elderly patients with advanced disease is still unclear. We studied all patients presenting with colon adenocarcinoma metastasis to liver at a community teaching hospital from Dec 2000 through Dec 2007 by a retrospective review of Tumor Registry data and patient chart review with focus on age, clinical management, decision making, and survival. Sixty-seven patients with a median age of 69 and a male to female ratio of 31:36 were identified. The patients with obstructive symptoms and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status on presentation though varied little by age, smaller proportion of elderly patients underwent resection of the primary bowel tumor in the presence of liver metastases with ten of 16 (63%) aged 80 or greater being managed without surgery. The percentage of patient's preference to physician's preference for patients not undergoing the primary bowel resection increased for older age group. Median survival decreased significantly with age (p management, decision-making autonomy, and survival are apparent in this study, and there was an increasing trend of patient's involvement in decision making as the age increases and, thus, affecting the age-related clinical management.

  17. Age at sexual initiation and factors associated with it among youths ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Bernt Lindtjorn

    Objective: The objective of the study was to determine the median age at first sexual intercourse and the associated .... Wollo Zone, Amhara National Regional State, North East ..... censored. Urba n. Rura l. Residence rural/urban. Fig 2: Kaplan Meier curve showing log survival for ..... renting and selling pornography films.

  18. Relationship between median nerve somatosensory evoked potentials and spinal cord injury levels in patients with quadriplegia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Arruda Serra Gaspar, M I F; Cliquet, A; Fernandes Lima, V M; de Abreu, D C C

    2009-05-01

    Cross-sectional study. To observe if there is a relationship between the level of injury by the American Spinal Cord Injury Association (ASIA) and cortical somatosensory evoked potential (SSEP) recordings of the median nerve in patients with quadriplegia. Rehabilitation Outpatient Clinic at the university hospital in Brazil. Fourteen individuals with quadriplegia and 8 healthy individuals were evaluated. Electrophysiological assessment of the median nerve was performed by evoked potential equipment. The injury level was obtained by ASIA. N(9), N(13) and N(20) were analyzed based on the presence or absence of responses. The parameters used for analyzing these responses were the latency and the amplitude. Data were analyzed using mixed-effect models. N(9) responses were found in all patients with quadriplegia with a similar latency and amplitude observed in healthy individuals; N(13) responses were not found in any patients with quadriplegia. N(20) responses were not found in C5 patients with quadriplegia but it was present in C6 and C7 patients. Their latencies were similar to healthy individuals (P>0.05) but the amplitudes were decreased (P<0.05). This study suggests that the SSEP responses depend on the injury level, considering that the individuals with C6 and C7 injury levels, both complete and incomplete, presented SSEP recordings in the cortical area. It also showed a relationship between the level of spinal cord injury assessed by ASIA and the median nerve SSEP responses, through the latency and amplitude recordings.

  19. Characterization of insulin-like growth factor I receptors in the median eminence of the brain and their modulation by food restriction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bohannon, N.J.; Corp, E.S.; Wilcox, B.J.; Figlewicz, D.P.; Dorsa, D.M.; Baskin, D.G.

    1988-01-01

    High affinity binding sites for 125I-labeled [Thr59]insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) were measured in rat median eminence by in vitro autoradiography with slide-mounted sections of frozen rat brain. Specific binding of 0.1 nM iodo-[Thr59]IGF-I to brain slices reached maximum by 12 h at 4 C and was unchanged at 24 h. Densitometry by computer digital image analysis of autoradiographic images indicated that specific binding of iodo-[Thr59]IGF-I to the median eminence was reversible. The specificity of binding was evaluated with competition of iodo-[Thr59]IGF-I with unlabeled [Thr59]IGF-I, rat IGF-II (multiplication-stimulating activity), and porcine insulin. All were recognized by the binding site, but the rank order of potency was [Thr59]IGF-I greater than IGF-II greater than insulin. Somatostatin was completely ineffective. Further, an antibody against the rat IGF-II receptor did not block binding of iodo-[Thr59]IGF-I to the median eminence. Fourteen days of food restriction (75% of food intake of controls) resulted in significant weight loss and reduction of plasma immunoreactive IGF-I in six food-restricted rats (0.9 +/- 0.1 U/ml) compared with values in six controls (2.6 +/- 0.5 U/ml; P less than 0.001). Binding of 125I-labeled [Thr59]IGF-I in the median eminence was significantly increased in the food-restricted rats, primarily due to an increase in the concentration of iodo-[Thr59]IGF-I-binding sites in the median eminence; the affinity (Kd) of binding was unchanged. The results indicate that the median eminence has type I IGF-I receptors, which become more numerous under metabolic conditions associated with decreased caloric intake and lowered plasma IGF-I levels

  20. Validity of F-wave minimal latency of median and ulnar nerves for diagnosis and severity assessment of carpal tunnel syndrome in type II diabetes mellitus

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hussain, A.; Habib, S.S.; Omar, S.A.; Drees, M.A.

    2011-01-01

    Type II diabetes mellitus is a common problem and is sometimes associated with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) due to compression of median nerve at wrist. Electrophysiological tests are frequently used for its diagnosis. In this work, F-wave minimal latency (FWML) difference between median and ulnar nerve and F-ratio is used to facilitate the diagnosis and severity of CTS in type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods: Thirty control cases were selected who were physically fit for normal electrophysiological values. Thirty-two patients with a long history of type II diabetes mellitus were studied for electro-diagnostic tests. All patients had clinical evidence of CTS. Among all diabetics about 20 cases had poor glycaemic control (HbA1c>7.5). F-wave minimal latency (FWML) were measured in median and ulnar nerves and F-ratio of median nerve were also noted. The mean values in different groups were compared using t-test and p greater or equal to 0.05 was considered significant. Results: In control group, the ulnar FWML was either equal or slightly longer that the median FWML value. In CTS group with type II diabetes mellitus the FWML value of median nerve were significantly longer than FWML of the ulnar nerve. Moreover, in uncontrolled diabetic patients the FWML values was very much longer than controlled group. Similarly the F-ratio of median nerve was significantly low. Conclusion: In addition to the specific criteria for CTS diagnosis, the parameters like FWML difference in median and ulnar nerve with reduced F-ratio of median nerve can be useful in establishing the diagnosis and severity of CTS in type II diabetes mellitus. (author)

  1. Median and common peroneal neuropathy in coir workers of Alappuzha district, Kerala

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sadanandavalli Retnaswami Chandra

    2017-01-01

    for other causes not” contributing to the etiological diagnosis. Subjects and Methods: One hundred and forty-two upper limbs and 142 lower limbs in patients engaged in long years of coir work but having no symptoms were evaluated electrophysiologically with informed consent and financial compensation, appropriate inclusion and exclusion criteria were followed as described in the text. Results: There is electrophysiological evidence for median and common peroneal neuropathy in persons engaged in long years of coir work. Conclusions: Coir workers neuropathy appears to be a new occupational neuropathy which can be prevented by following simple preventive measures.

  2. Entrapment of the Martin-Gruber branch of median nerve in the forearm

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anu Vinod Ranade

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available We report a rare case of a dual neuro-vascular variation, which was observed in the right extremity of male cadaver. About an inch inferior to the elbow joint, three branches arose from the median nerve. These were the anterior interosseous branch, a Martin-Gruber branch (MGB and a muscular branch. The MGB coursed infero-medially to join with the ulnar nerve by running posterior to the ulnar artery. It was surprising to observe that the MGB passed between the ulnar artery and its venae comitantes. There was an acute angulation of the MGB here, suggesting entrapment at this site.

  3. Prevalence and variations of the median maxillary labial frenum in children, adolescents, and adults in a diverse population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Townsend, Janice A; Brannon, Robert B; Cheramie, Toby; Hagan, Joseph

    2013-01-01

    The median maxillary labial frenum (MMLF) is a normal anatomic structure with inherent morphologic variations. This study sought to evaluate the prevalence of those variations in a diverse ethnic population and to educate practitioners about the prevalence of MMLF variations to prevent unnecessary biopsies. This study included adult, adolescent, and child patients at the Louisiana State University Health Science Center School of Dentistry. Among the 284 subjects examined, frenum normale was the most common frenum classification, followed by frenum with nodule and frenum with appendix. Most nodules were found in the intermediate third of the MMLF, while appendices were mainly found in the labial third. The prevalence of an appendix was significantly higher (P variations of the MMLF are inherent and do not represent a pathologic condition, nor do they require biopsy for diagnostic purposes.

  4. Ageing Management for Nuclear Power Plants. Safety Guide (Russian Edition); Upravlenie stareniem atomnykh ehlektrostantsij. Rukovodstvo po bezopasnosti

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2014-01-15

    The median age of nuclear power plants connected to the grid worldwide is increasing. Ageing management has become an important issue in ensuring the availability of required safety functions throughout the service life of a plant. This Safety Guide provides recommendations on meeting the requirements for safe long term operation and identifies key elements of effective ageing management for nuclear power plants.

  5. Communication & Aging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arnold, William E.

    This extensive bibliography contains more than 1,800 entries about communication and aging. The citations include journal articles, unpublished papers, speeches, dissertations, research studies, and books that relate aging and the aged to a variety of topics, including the following: physiological deterioration, socialization, political…

  6. Replicative age induces mitotic recombination in the ribosomal RNA gene cluster of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Derek L Lindstrom

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available Somatic mutations contribute to the development of age-associated disease. In earlier work, we found that, at high frequency, aging Saccharomyces cerevisiae diploid cells produce daughters without mitochondrial DNA, leading to loss of respiration competence and increased loss of heterozygosity (LOH in the nuclear genome. Here we used the recently developed Mother Enrichment Program to ask whether aging cells that maintain the ability to produce respiration-competent daughters also experience increased genomic instability. We discovered that this population exhibits a distinct genomic instability phenotype that primarily affects the repeated ribosomal RNA gene array (rDNA array. As diploid cells passed their median replicative life span, recombination rates between rDNA arrays on homologous chromosomes progressively increased, resulting in mutational events that generated LOH at >300 contiguous open reading frames on the right arm of chromosome XII. We show that, while these recombination events were dependent on the replication fork block protein Fob1, the aging process that underlies this phenotype is Fob1-independent. Furthermore, we provide evidence that this aging process is not driven by mechanisms that modulate rDNA recombination in young cells, including loss of cohesion within the rDNA array or loss of Sir2 function. Instead, we suggest that the age-associated increase in rDNA recombination is a response to increasing DNA replication stress generated in aging cells.

  7. Transverse plane tendon and median nerve motion in the carpal tunnel: ultrasound comparison of carpal tunnel syndrome patients and healthy volunteers.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Margriet H M van Doesburg

    Full Text Available The median nerve and flexor tendons are known to translate transversely in the carpal tunnel. The purpose of this study was to investigate these motions in differential finger motion using ultrasound, and to compare them in healthy people and carpal tunnel syndrome patients.Transverse ultrasounds clips were taken during fist, index finger, middle finger and thumb flexion in 29 healthy normal subjects and 29 CTS patients. Displacement in palmar-dorsal and radial-ulnar direction was calculated using Analyze software. Additionally, the distance between the median nerve and the tendons was calculated.We found a changed motion pattern of the median nerve in middle finger, index finger and thumb motion between normal subjects and CTS patients (p<0.05. Also, we found a changed motion direction in CTS patients of the FDS III tendon in fist and middle finger motion, and of the FDS II and flexor pollicis longus tendon in index finger and thumb motion, respectively (p<0.05. The distance between the median nerve and the FDS II or FPL tendon is significantly greater in patients than in healthy volunteers for index finger and thumb motion, respectively (p<0.05.Our results suggest a changed motion pattern of the median nerve and several tendons in carpal tunnel syndrome patients compared to normal subjects. Such motion patterns may be useful in distinguishing affected from unaffected individuals, and in studies of the pathomechanics of carpal tunnel syndrome.

  8. New Finnish growth references for children and adolescents aged 0 to 20 years: Length/height-for-age, weight-for-length/height, and body mass index-for-age.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saari, Antti; Sankilampi, Ulla; Hannila, Marja-Leena; Kiviniemi, Vesa; Kesseli, Kari; Dunkel, Leo

    2011-05-01

    Growth curves require regular updates due to secular trends in linear growth. We constructed contemporary growth curves, assessed secular trends in height, and defined body mass index (BMI) cut-off points for thinness, overweight, and obesity in Finnish children. Mixed cross-sectional/longitudinal data of 73,659 healthy subjects aged 0-20 years (born 1983-2008) were collected from providers in the primary health care setting. Growth references for length/height-for-age, weight-for-length/height, and BMI-for-age were fitted using generalized additive models for location, scale, and shape (GAMLSS). BMI percentile curves passing through BMIs 30, 25, 18.5, 17, and 16 kg/m(2) at the age of 18 years were calculated to define limits for obesity, overweight, and various grades of thinness. Increased length/height-for-age was seen in virtually all age-groups when compared to previous Finnish growth data from 1959 to 1971. Adult height was increased by 1.9 cm in girls and 1.8 cm in boys. The largest increases were seen during the peripubertal years: up to 2.8 cm in girls and 5.6 cm in boys. Median weight-for-length/height had not increased. New Finnish references for length/height-for-age, weight-for-length/height, and BMI-for-age were constructed and should be implemented to monitor growth of children in Finland.

  9. MRI shows thickening and altered diffusion in the median and ulnar nerves in multifocal motor neuropathy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Haakma, Wieke; Jongbloed, Bas A.; Froeling, Martijn

    2017-01-01

    Objectives To study disease mechanisms in multifocal motor neuropathy (MMN) with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) of the median and ulnar nerves. Methods We enrolled ten MMN patients, ten patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and ten healthy controls...

  10. Handwriting in healthy people aged 65 years and over.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Drempt, Nadege; McCluskey, Annie; Lannin, Natasha A

    2011-08-01

    Handwriting is an important activity that is commonly affected by neurological and orthopaedic conditions. Handwriting research has predominantly involved children. Little is known about handwriting behaviour in healthy older adults. This study aims to describe the handwriting practices of 30 unimpaired adults aged 65 years and over. In this cross-sectional observational study, data were collected from 30 older adults using a self-report questionnaire, digital pen recordings over three days and a handwriting log. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics. The mean age of participants was 75.1 years (standard deviation=6.9). Variations in handwriting were evident in letter size, slant and spacing. Participants wrote very little--a median of 18 words per occasion (interquartile range=10.5-26.9 words). Most handwriting involved self-generated text (85%), not copied or transcribed text. Participants stood while writing for 17% of handwriting occasions. The most common reasons for handwriting were note taking (23%) and puzzles (22%). Legibility may not depend exclusively on the handwriting script that a beginning writer is taught, but may be a result of other factors as the person ages. A comprehensive adult handwriting assessment and retraining programme should be relevant to older adults, including common handwriting activities, involving self-generated text and few words. © 2011 The Authors. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal © 2011 Occupational Therapy Australia.

  11. Arterial anomalies of the celiac trunk and median arcuate ligament compression in dogs and cats assessed by computed tomography angiography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Le Pommellet, Hélène M; Scansen, Brian A; Mathys, Dimitria A; Mollenkopf, Dixie F; Reeves, Lauren; Skinas, Melissa L; Patel, Mira

    2018-02-01

    To identify abnormalities of the celiac artery (CA) and major branches in dogs and cats by computed tomography angiography (CTA). Multi-institutional retrospective case series. Two hundred fifty-four dogs and 13 cats. Abdominal CTA images from 2009 to 2017 were reviewed. Logistic regression models were used to evaluate the relationship between CA abnormalities and sex, age, size of dog, concurrent venous anomaly, or presence of gastrointestinal signs. Abnormalities in the CA were observed in 32 animals (11.9%) including 9 with abnormal branching (3.4%) and 23 with CA compression (8.6%). A celiacomesenteric trunk was observed in 8 (2.9%; 6 dogs, 2 cats). The splenic artery originated from the cranial mesenteric artery in 1 dog; the hepatic arterial branches originated from the left gastric artery in another. Four out of 32 animals (12.5%) with an arterial anomaly had another vascular abnormality. Large breed dogs were more likely to have an arterial anomaly (OR 4.3, 95% CI: 1.18-15.5, P = .02) and 12 times more likely to have CA compression (OR 12.0, 95% CI: 1.4-97.7, P = .02) compared to small breed dogs. Dogs with CA compression were more likely to present for gastrointestinal signs (OR 3.6, 95% CI: 1.2-10.3, P = .01). Anomalies of the celiac trunk are apparent on CTA and may impact surgical or image-guided intervention. Compression at the origin of the CA was apparent on imaging, similar to the median arcuate ligament syndrome in people, although the significance of this finding in dogs is unknown. © 2017 The American College of Veterinary Surgeons.

  12. Fatores associados à duração mediana do aleitamento materno em lactentes nascidos em município do estado de São Paulo Factors associated with the median breastfeeding duration of infants born in a city of São Paulo State

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Julia Laura Delbue Bernardi

    2009-12-01

    questionnaire containing questions regarding their socioeconomic level, breastfeeding practices and complementary foods. This randomized, cross-sectional, population-based study was based on data of "Children Born Alive" and on the prevalence of breastfeeding. The median breastfeeding duration was determined by Kaplan Meier's survival analysis and the time was adjusted by Cox's multivariate analysis. The significance level was set at 5%. RESULTS: Median exclusive breastfeeding was 90 days (CI 95%: 87.6 - 92.4; and median general breastfeeding was 120 days (CI 95%: 117.7 - 122.3. At 1 month of age, 66.2% of the children were exclusively breastfed; this percentage decreased to 2.3% at 6 months of age. Tea and powdered milk were introduced at a median age of 120 days (CI 95%: 113.2 - 126.8 and CI 95%: 112.7 - 127.3 respectively. The child's skin color and the mother's education level, profession and marital status were associated with breastfeeding duration and practices. CONCLUSION: Sociodemographic factors can interfere in median breastfeeding duration. Although the median breastfeeding duration in Campinas is better than elsewhere in Brazil, it is below the internationally recommended median, the city needs to invest more in this area.

  13. Application of subinterval area median contrast filtering method in the recognizing of geochemical anomalies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhao Ningbo; Fu Jin; Zhang Chuan; Liu Huan

    2012-01-01

    Traditional geochemical processing method sometimes maybe loses some weak anomalies related to mineralization, the authors can avoid the influence of geology background and can solve the problem of recognizing weak anomalies in the low-background and high-background area with the subinterval area median contrast filtering method. In an area of Jiangxi Province, several new anomalies are identified by this method and uranium mineralized prospects are found among them. (authors)

  14. Excess lead in the neural retina in age-related macular degeneration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erie, Jay C; Good, Jonathan A; Butz, John A

    2009-12-01

    To measure lead and cadmium in retinal tissues of human donor eyes with and without age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Laboratory investigation. Lead and cadmium concentrations in retinal tissues (neural retina and retinal pigment epithelium [RPE]-choroid complex) in 25 subjects with AMD (50 donor eyes) and 36 normal subjects (72 donor eyes) were determined by using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. Severity of AMD was graded by using color fundus photographs and the Minnesota Grading System. Differences in metal concentrations were compared by using Wilcoxon rank-sum tests. The neural retinas of subjects with AMD had increased lead concentrations (median, 12.0 ng/g; 25% to 75% interquartile range, 8 to 18 ng/g; n = 25) compared with normal subjects (median, 8.0 ng/g; 25% to 75% interquartile range, 0 to 11 ng/g; P = .04; n = 36). There was no difference in lead concentration in the RPE-choroid complex between subjects with AMD (median, 198 ng/g; 25% to 75% interquartile range, 87 to 381 ng/g) and normal subjects (median, 172 ng/g; 25% to 75% interquartile range, 100 to 288 ng/g; P = .25). Cadmium concentration in the neural retina (median, 0.9 microg/g; 25% to 75% interquartile range, 0.7 to 1.8 microg/g) and RPE-choroid complex (median, 2.2 microg/g; 25% to 75% interquartile range, 1.8 to 3.7 microg/g) in subjects with AMD was not different from concentrations in the neural retina (median, 0.9 microg/g; 25% to 75% interquartile range, 0.7 to 1.4 microg/g; P = .32) and RPE-choroid complex (median, 1.5 microg/g; 25% to 75% interquartile range, 0.9 to 2.5 microg/g; P = .12) of normal subjects. AMD is associated with excess lead in the neural retina, and this relationship suggests that metal homeostasis in AMD eyes is different from normal.

  15. Interfascicular suture with nerve autografts for median, ulnar and radial nerve lesions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pluchino, F; Luccarelli, G

    1981-05-01

    Interfascicular nerve suture with autografts is the operation of choice for repairing peripheral nerve injuries because it ensures more precise alignment of the fasciculi and so better chances of reinnervation of the sectioned nerve. The procedure as described by Millesi et al has been used at the Istituto Neurologico di Milano in 30 patients with traumatic lesions of the median, ulnar and radial nerves. All have been followed up for 2 to 7 years since operation. The results obtained are compared with those of other series obtained with interfascicular suture and with epineural suture. Microsurgery is essential. The best time to operate is discussed.

  16. Impulse Noise Cancellation of Medical Images Using Wavelet Networks and Median Filters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sadri, Amir Reza; Zekri, Maryam; Sadri, Saeid; Gheissari, Niloofar

    2012-01-01

    This paper presents a new two-stage approach to impulse noise removal for medical images based on wavelet network (WN). The first step is noise detection, in which the so-called gray-level difference and average background difference are considered as the inputs of a WN. Wavelet Network is used as a preprocessing for the second stage. The second step is removing impulse noise with a median filter. The wavelet network presented here is a fixed one without learning. Experimental results show that our method acts on impulse noise effectively, and at the same time preserves chromaticity and image details very well. PMID:23493998

  17. Differences in BMI z-Scores between Offspring of Smoking and Nonsmoking Mothers: A Longitudinal Study of German Children from Birth through 14 Years of Age

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fenske, Nora; Müller, Manfred J.; Plachta-Danielzik, Sandra; Keil, Thomas; Grabenhenrich, Linus; von Kries, Rüdiger

    2014-01-01

    Background: Children of mothers who smoked during pregnancy have a lower birth weight but have a higher chance to become overweight during childhood. Objectives: We followed children longitudinally to assess the age when higher body mass index (BMI) z-scores became evident in the children of mothers who smoked during pregnancy, and to evaluate the trajectory of changes until adolescence. Methods: We pooled data from two German cohort studies that included repeated anthropometric measurements until 14 years of age and information on smoking during pregnancy and other risk factors for overweight. We used longitudinal quantile regression to estimate age- and sex-specific associations between maternal smoking and the 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th quantiles of the BMI z-score distribution in study participants from birth through 14 years of age, adjusted for potential confounders. We used additive mixed models to estimate associations with mean BMI z-scores. Results: Mean and median (50th quantile) BMI z-scores at birth were smaller in the children of mothers who smoked during pregnancy compared with children of nonsmoking mothers, but BMI z-scores were significantly associated with maternal smoking beginning at the age of 4–5 years, and differences increased over time. For example, the difference in the median BMI z-score between the daughters of smokers versus nonsmokers was 0.12 (95% CI: 0.01, 0.21) at 5 years, and 0.30 (95% CI: 0.08, 0.39) at 14 years of age. For lower BMI z-score quantiles, the association with smoking was more pronounced in girls, whereas in boys the association was more pronounced for higher BMI z-score quantiles. Conclusions: A clear difference in BMI z-score (mean and median) between children of smoking and nonsmoking mothers emerged at 4–5 years of age. The shape and size of age-specific effect estimates for maternal smoking during pregnancy varied by age and sex across the BMI z-score distribution. Citation: Riedel C, Fenske N, M

  18. Evidence for an Association between Macular Degeneration and Thyroid Cancer in the Aged Population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Shih-Yi; Hsu, Wu-Huei; Lin, Cheng-Li; Lin, Cheng-Chieh; Lin, Jane-Ming; Chang, Yun-Lun; Hsu, Chung-Y; Kao, Chia-Hung

    2018-05-03

    Direct evidence of whether thyroid cancer patients have a higher risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) has yet to be investigated. Patients older than 50 years-old and newly diagnosed with thyroid cancer between 2000 and 2008 were identified from the national health insurance research database (NHIRD). We applied time-varying Cox proportional hazard models to assess the association between thyroid cancer and AMD. The multivariable models included conventional cardiovascular risk factors, myopia, vitreous floaters, hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, and treatment modality of thyroid cancer. The analysis process was stratified by age, gender, and comorbidity. In this study, 5253 patients were included in a thyroid cancer cohort (men 24.5%; median age 59.1 years (53.7⁻67.4 years), and 21,012 matched controls were included in a non-thyroid cancer cohort. The AMD incidence was 40.7 per 10,000 person/year in the thyroid cancer cohort. The thyroid cancer cohort had a higher risk (adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) = 1.38, 95% confidence interval, CI = 1.09⁻1.75) of AMD than the non-thyroid cohort. Thyroid cancer patients had a higher risk of AMD, especially the male patients (aHR = 1.92, 95% CI = 1.38⁻3.14) and the patients with comorbidities (aHR = 1.38, 95% CI = 1.09⁻1.74). In conclusion, thyroid cancer patients older than 50 years-old have increased risk of AMD.

  19. Standard restrictive sternal precautions and modified sternal precautions had similar effects in people after cardiac surgery via median sternotomy (‘SMART’ Trial: a randomised trial

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Md Ali Katijjahbe

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Question: In people who have undergone cardiac surgery via median sternotomy, does modifying usual sternal precautions to make them less restrictive improve physical function, pain, kinesiophobia and health-related quality of life? Design: Two-centre, randomised, controlled trial with concealed allocation, blinded assessors and intention-to-treat analysis. Participants: Seventy-two adults who had undergone cardiac surgery via a median sternotomy were included. Intervention: Participants were randomly allocated to one of two groups at 4 (SD 1 days after surgery. The control group received the usual advice to restrict their upper limb use for 4 to 6 weeks (ie, restrictive sternal precautions. The experimental group received advice to use pain and discomfort as the safe limits for their upper limb use during daily activities (ie, less restrictive precautions for the same period. Both groups received postoperative individualised education in hospital and via weekly telephone calls for 6 weeks. Outcome measures: The primary outcome was physical function assessed by the Short Physical Performance Battery. Secondary outcomes included upper limb function, pain, kinesophobia, and health-related quality of life. Outcomes were measured before hospital discharge and at 4 and 12 weeks postoperatively. Adherence to sternal precautions was recorded. Results: There were no statistically significant differences in physical function between the groups at 4 weeks (MD 1.0, 95% CI –0.2 to 2.3 and 12 weeks (MD 0.4, 95% CI –0.9 to 1.6 postoperatively. There were no statistically significant between-group differences in secondary outcomes. Conclusion: Modified (ie, less restrictive sternal precautions for people following cardiac surgery had similar effects on physical recovery, pain and health-related quality of life as usual restrictive sternal precautions. Similar outcomes can be anticipated regardless of whether people following cardiac surgery are managed with

  20. Dietary flavonoid intake at midlife and healthy aging in women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Samieri, Cécilia; Sun, Qi; Townsend, Mary K; Rimm, Eric B; Grodstein, Francine

    2014-12-01

    Dietary flavonoids have been related to lower risks of various chronic diseases, but it is unclear whether flavonoid intake in midlife helps to maintain good health and wellbeing in aging. We examined the relation of flavonoid intake in midlife with the prevalence of healthy aging. We included 13,818 women from the Nurses' Health Study with dietary data and no major chronic diseases in 1984-1986 when they were aged in their late 50s (median age: 59 y); all women provided information on multiple aspects of aging an average of 15 y later. Intakes of 6 major flavonoid subclasses in midlife were ascertained on the basis of averaged intakes of flavonoid-rich foods from 2 food-frequency questionnaires (1984-1986). We defined healthy compared with usual aging as of age 70 y; healthy aging was based on survival to ≥70 y with maintenance of 4 health domains (no major chronic diseases or major impairments in cognitive or physical function or mental health). Of women who survived until ≥70 y of age, 1517 women (11.0%) met our criteria for healthy aging. Compared with women in the lowest quintile of intake, women in the highest quintile of intake of several flavonoid subclasses at midlife had greater odds of healthy aging. After multivariable adjustment, ORs were as follows: flavones, 1.32 (95% CI: 1.10, 1.58); flavanone, 1.28 (95% CI: 1.08, 1.53); anthocyanin, 1.25 (95% CI: 1.04, 1.50); and flavonol, 1.18 (95% CI: 0.98, 1.42) (all P-trend ≤ 0.02). Consistently, greater intakes of major sources of these flavonoids (i.e., oranges, berries, onions, and apples) were associated with increased odds of healthy aging. We showed no association with flavan-3-ol monomers (P-trend = 0.80) or polymers (P-trend = 0.63). Higher intake of flavonoids at midlife, specifically flavones, flavanones, anthocyanins, and flavonols, is associated with greater likelihood of health and wellbeing in individuals surviving to older ages. © 2014 American Society for Nutrition.

  1. [Vacuum-assisted therapy for various wound types including diabetic foot ulcer].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farah, Raymond; Gantus, Maher; Kogan, Leonid

    2011-03-01

    Vacuum is a noninvasive system that creates a localized controlled negative pressure environment. In this study, vacuum was provided by the V.A.C. Therapy system, which promotes wound healing by delayed primary or secondary intention through creating a moist wound environment, preparing the wound bed for closure, reducing edema, and promoting formation and perfusion of granulation tissue. Vacuum-assisted closure therapy is indicated for use in all care settings and for a variety of wound types including diabetic foot ulcers. The purpose of this study was to evaluate safety and clinical efficacy of negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) compared with advanced moist wound therapy and standard treatment to treat foot ulcers in diabetic patients. This trial enrolled 43 patients; most of them were diabetic patients at any age with various skin ulcers and diabetic foot. These patients were divided into two groups, 17 patients were treated with vacuum and the 26 patients in the control group were treated with standard therapy including debridement. A greater proportion of foot and skin ulcers achieved complete ulcer closure with vacuum-assisted therapy p<0.001 compared with the standard therapy. Vacuum therapy significantly decreased the duration and frequency of admission p=0.032 and decreased the rate of amputation p<0.001. Results of our trial support other studies and demonstrate that vacuum is as safe as and more efficacious than standard therapy in the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers. A significantly greater number of patients achieved complete ulcer closure and granulation tissue formation with this therapy. The study group showed a significant reduction in the median time needed to heal ulcers, reduction of the number of admissions and amputation frequency.

  2. Chymotrypsinogen C Genetic Variants, Including c.180TT, Are Strongly Associated With Chronic Pancreatitis in Pediatric Patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grabarczyk, Alicja Monika; Oracz, Grzegorz; Wertheim-Tysarowska, Katarzyna; Kujko, Aleksandra Anna; Wejnarska, Karolina; Kolodziejczyk, Elwira; Bal, Jerzy; Koziel, Dorota; Kowalik, Artur; Gluszek, Stanislaw; Rygiel, Agnieszka Magdalena

    2017-12-01

    Genetic studies in adults/adolescent patients with chronic pancreatitis (CP) identified chymotrypsinogen C (CTRC) genetic variants but their association with CP risk has been difficult to replicate. To evaluate the risk of CP associated with CTRC variants in CP pediatric patients-control study. The distribution of CTRC variants in CP pediatric cohort (n = 136, median age at CP onset 8 years) with no history of alcohol/smoking abuse was compared with controls (n = 401, median age 45). We showed that p.Arg254Trp (4.6%) and p.Lys247_Arg254del (5.3%) heterozygous mutations are frequent and significantly associated with CP risk in pediatric patients (odds ratio [OR] = 19.1; 95% CI 2.8-160; P = 0.001 and OR = 5.5; 95% CI 1.6-19.4; P = 0.001, respectively). For the first time, we demonstrated that the c.180TT genotype of common p.Gly60Gly variant is strong, an independent CP risk factor (OR = 23; 95% CI 7.7-70; P A variant, both CA and AA genotype, is significantly underrepresented in CP compared with controls (15% vs 35%; OR = 0.33; 95% CI 0.19-0.59; P risk factors. The c.493+51C>A variant may play a protective role against CP development.

  3. Dose dependency of the frequency of micronucleated binucleated clone cells and of division related median clone sizes difference. Pt. 2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hagemann, G,; Kreczik, A.; Treichel, M.

    1996-01-01

    Following irradiation of the progenitor cells the clone growth of CHO cells decreases as a result of cell losses. Lethally acting expressions of micronuclei are produced by heritable lethal mutations. The dependency of the frequency of micronucleated binucleated clone cells and of the median clone sizes difference on the radiation dose was measured and compared to non-irradiated controls. Using the cytokinesis-block-micronucleus-method binucleated cells with micronuclei were counted as ratio of all binucleated cells within a clone size distribution. This ratio (shortened: micronucleus yield) was determined for all clone size distributions, which had been exposed to different irradiation doses and incubation times. The micronucleus yields were compared to the corresponding median clone sizes differences. The micronucleus yield is linearly dependent on the dose and is independent of the incubation time. The same holds true for the division related median clone sizes difference, which as a result is also linearly dependent on the micronucleus yield. Due to the inevitably errors of the cell count of micronucleated binucleated cells, an automatic measurement of the median clone sizes differences is the preferred method for evaluation of cellular radiation sensitivity for heritable lethal mutations. This value should always be determined in addition, if clone survival fractions are used as predictive test because it allows for an estimation of the remission probability of surviving cells. (orig.) [de

  4. Gender influences headache characteristics with increasing age in migraine patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bolay, Hayrunnisa; Ozge, Aynur; Saginc, Petek; Orekici, Gulhan; Uludüz, Derya; Yalın, Osman; Siva, Aksel; Bıçakçi, Şebnem; Karakurum, Başak; Öztürk, Musa

    2015-08-01

    Migraine headache is one of the most common primary headache disorders and is three times more prevalent in women than in men, especially during the reproductive ages. The neurobiological basis of the female dominance has been partly established. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of gender on the headache manifestations in migraine patients. The study group consisted of 2082 adult patients from five different hospitals' tertiary care-based headache clinics. The relationship between headache characteristics and gender was evaluated in migraine with aura (MwA) and migraine without aura (MwoA). The duration, severity, frequency of headache and associated symptoms were evaluated in both genders and age-dependent variations and analyzed in two subgroups. Women with migraine were prone to significantly longer duration and intensity of headache attacks. Nausea, phonophobia and photophobia were more prevalent in women. Median headache duration was also longer in women than in men in MwA (p = 0.013) and MwoA (p < 0.001). Median headache intensity was higher in women than in men in MwA (p = 0.010) and MwoA (p = 0.009). The frequency of nausea was significantly higher in women than in men in MwA (p = 0.049). Throbbing headache quality and associated features (nausea, photophobia, and phonophobia) were significantly more frequent in women than in men in MwoA. The gender impact varied across age groups and significant changes were seen in female migraineurs after age 30. No age-dependent variation was observed in male migraineurs. Gender has an influence on the characteristics of the headache as well as on the associated symptoms in migraine patients, and this impact varies across the age groups, particularly in women. © International Headache Society 2014.

  5. [Associations of obesity and physical activity with cognition in people aged 50 and above in Shanghai].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Z Z; Zhang, Y C; Zheng, Y; Guo, Y F; Ruan, Y; Sun, S Y; Shi, Y; Gao, S N; Ye, J H; Yan, Y J; Wu, K; Xu, R F; Wu, F

    2018-03-10

    Objective: To investigate the associations of obesity and physical activity with cognition in the elderly. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted from October 2009 to June 2010 among people aged ≥50 years selected through multistage random cluster sampling in Shanghai. The subjects' body weight, body height, waist circumference and hip circumference were measured to calculate body mass index (BMI) and waist-hip ratio (WHR), and the data on self-reported physical activity level were collected through questionnaire survey. A comprehensive battery of cognitive tests was conducted to assess subjects' cognitive functions, including verbal recall, forward digit span (FDS), backward digit span (BDS), and verbal fluency (VF). General linear model was used to examine the associations of BMI, WHR and physical activity with cognition. Results: A total of 7 913 participants were included, with a median age of 60 years. Age, sex, education level, income level, BMI, WHR and physical activity level were significantly associated with cognitive scores in univariate analysis. After adjusted for age, sex, education level and income level, BMI was no longer significantly associated with cognitive scores in all cognitive functions (all P >0.01). WHR was significantly associated with VF score ( P cognitive functions ( P cognitive functions ( P cognition level in the elderly, suggesting that waist circumference control and physical activity might help maintain cognition in the elderly.

  6. The Health of America's Aging Prison Population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skarupski, Kimberly A; Gross, Alden; Schrack, Jennifer A; Deal, Jennifer A; Eber, Gabriel B

    2018-03-23

    Older incarcerated individuals comprise the fastest growing demographic in the US prison system. Unhealthy lifestyles among incarcerated individuals and inadequate health care lead to earlier onset and more rapid progression of many chronic conditions that are prevalent among community-living older adults. There are limited peer-reviewed epidemiologic data in this area; however, there is growing interest in identifying strategies for housing aging incarcerated individuals, delivering appropriate health care in prisons, and coordinating after-release health care. In this systematic review, we summarize the epidemiologic evidence of the health challenges facing the aging US prison population. Our comprehensive literature search focused on health outcomes, including diseases, comorbid conditions, mental health, cognition, and mobility. From 12,486 articles identified from the literature search, we reviewed 21 studies published between 2007 and 2017. All the studies were observational and cross-sectional, and most (n = 17) were based on regional samples. Sample sizes varied widely, ranging from 25 to 14,499 incarcerated people (median, 258). In general, compared with their younger counterparts, older incarcerated individuals reported high rates of diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular conditions, and liver disease. Mental health problems were common, especially anxiety, fear of desire for death or suicide, and depression. Activities of daily living were challenging for up to one-fifth of the population. We found no empirical data on cognition among older incarcerated individuals. The findings of this review reveal few empirical data in this area and highlight the need for new data to drive policy and practice patterns that address critical health issues related to the aging prison population.

  7. Nutrients, Microglia Aging, and Brain Aging

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhou Wu

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available As the life expectancy continues to increase, the cognitive decline associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD becomes a big major issue in the world. After cellular activation upon systemic inflammation, microglia, the resident immune cells in the brain, start to release proinflammatory mediators to trigger neuroinflammation. We have found that chronic systemic inflammatory challenges induce differential age-dependent microglial responses, which are in line with the impairment of learning and memory, even in middle-aged animals. We thus raise the concept of “microglia aging.” This concept is based on the fact that microglia are the key contributor to the acceleration of cognitive decline, which is the major sign of brain aging. On the other hand, inflammation induces oxidative stress and DNA damage, which leads to the overproduction of reactive oxygen species by the numerous types of cells, including macrophages and microglia. Oxidative stress-damaged cells successively produce larger amounts of inflammatory mediators to promote microglia aging. Nutrients are necessary for maintaining general health, including the health of brain. The intake of antioxidant nutrients reduces both systemic inflammation and neuroinflammation and thus reduces cognitive decline during aging. We herein review our microglia aging concept and discuss systemic inflammation and microglia aging. We propose that a nutritional approach to controlling microglia aging will open a new window for healthy brain aging.

  8. Nutrients, Microglia Aging, and Brain Aging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Zhou; Yu, Janchun; Zhu, Aiqin; Nakanishi, Hiroshi

    2016-01-01

    As the life expectancy continues to increase, the cognitive decline associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD) becomes a big major issue in the world. After cellular activation upon systemic inflammation, microglia, the resident immune cells in the brain, start to release proinflammatory mediators to trigger neuroinflammation. We have found that chronic systemic inflammatory challenges induce differential age-dependent microglial responses, which are in line with the impairment of learning and memory, even in middle-aged animals. We thus raise the concept of "microglia aging." This concept is based on the fact that microglia are the key contributor to the acceleration of cognitive decline, which is the major sign of brain aging. On the other hand, inflammation induces oxidative stress and DNA damage, which leads to the overproduction of reactive oxygen species by the numerous types of cells, including macrophages and microglia. Oxidative stress-damaged cells successively produce larger amounts of inflammatory mediators to promote microglia aging. Nutrients are necessary for maintaining general health, including the health of brain. The intake of antioxidant nutrients reduces both systemic inflammation and neuroinflammation and thus reduces cognitive decline during aging. We herein review our microglia aging concept and discuss systemic inflammation and microglia aging. We propose that a nutritional approach to controlling microglia aging will open a new window for healthy brain aging.

  9. Iodine nutritional status and goiter prevalence in primary school children aged 6-12 of Panchmahal district, Gujarat, India

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vihang Mazumdar

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Iodine deficiency disorders (IDD create major public health problems in India, including Gujarat. Panchmahal district is known for endemic iodine deficiency. The present study was conducted to (1 estimate the prevalence of goiter in primary school children, (2 determine median urinary iodine concentration, (3 assess the level of iodine in salt samples at the household and retail shop level, and (4 profile of salt sold at retail shops in Panchmahal district, Gujarat. Methods: A total of 70 students including five boys and five girls from 1st to 7th standard who were present on the day of the first visit were selected randomly for goiter examination from each village. Urine samples were collected from one boy and one girl from each standard in each cluster. From the community, at least 28 students, including two boys and two girls from each standard in the same age group, were examined, and salt samples were tested from their households. A total of 2100 students were examined in schools and 928 students were examined in the selected villages. From each village, one retail shop was visited, and salts purchased from those shops were immediately tested for iodine with spot kits.Results: Among young primary school children, goiter prevalence was 23.35% (grade 1—18.35%, grade 2—5.0%. As the ages increase, goiter prevalence also increases except for 9-year-olds. The median urinary iodine excretion level was 110 µg/L. An iodine level >15 ppm was found in 78.3% of the salt samples tested at household level. Conclusion: The present study showed considerable goiter prevalence in primary school children in Panchmahal district of Gujarat and an inadequate iodine content of salt at the household level.

  10. Low fertility awareness in United States reproductive-aged women and medical trainees: creation and validation of the Fertility & Infertility Treatment Knowledge Score (FIT-KS).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kudesia, Rashmi; Chernyak, Elizabeth; McAvey, Beth

    2017-10-01

    To create, validate, and use a fertility awareness survey based on current U.S. Cross-sectional study. Not applicable. Phase 1 included U.S. women ages 18-45; phase 2 included female medical students and obstetrics and gynecology trainees at two urban academic programs. Survey including demographics, the Fertility & Infertility Treatment Knowledge Score (FIT-KS) instrument, and General Nutrition Knowledge Questionnaire. Knowledge of natural fertility and infertility treatments. The FIT-KS was validated through detailed item and validity analyses. In phase 1, 127 women participated; their median age was 31 years, and 43.7% had children. Their mean FIT-KS score was 16.2 ± 3.5 (55.9% correct). In phase 2, 118 medical trainees participated; their median age was 25 years, and 12.4% had children. Their mean FIT-KS score was 18.8 ± 2.1 (64.9% correct), with year of training correlating to a higher score (r=0.40). Participant awareness regarding lifestyle factors varied, but it was particularly low regarding the effects of lubricants. The majority underestimated the spontaneous miscarriage rate and overestimated the fecundability of 40-year-old women. There was general overestimation of success rates for assisted reproductive technologies, particularly among medical trainees. The FIT-KS is validated to current U.S. data for use in both general and medical populations as a quick assessment of fertility knowledge. The knowledge gaps demonstrated in this study correlate with national trends in delayed childbearing and time to initiate treatment. For medical trainees, these results raise concerns about the quality of fertility counseling they may be able to offer patients. Greater educational outreach must be undertaken to enhance fertility awareness. Copyright © 2017 American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. The age structure of selected countries in the ESCAP region.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hong, S

    1982-01-01

    The study objective was to examine the age structure of selected countries in the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) region, using available data and frequently applied indices such as the population pyramid, aged-child ratio, and median age. Based on the overall picture of the age structure thus obtained, age trends and their implication for the near future were arrived at. Countries are grouped into 4 types based on the fertility and mortality levels. Except for Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore, the age structure in the 18 ESCAP region countries changed comparatively little over the 1950-80 period. The largest structural change occurred in Singapore, where the proportion of children under age 15 in the population declined significantly from 41-27%, while that of persons 65 years and older more than doubled. This was due primarily to the marked decline in fertility from a total fertility rate (TFR) of 6.7-1.8 during the period. Hong Kong also had a similar major transformation during the same period: the proportion of the old age population increased 2 1/2 times, from 2.5-6.3%. The age structures of the 18 ESCAP countries varied greatly by country. 10 countries of the 2 high fertility and mortality types showed a similar young age structural pattern, i.e., they have higher dependency ratios, a higher proportion of children under 15 years, a lower proportion of population 65 years and older, lower aged-child ratios, and younger median ages than the average countries in the less developed regions of the world. With minimal changes over the 1950-80 period, the gap between these countries and the average of the less developed regions widened. Unlike these 10 (mostly South Asian) countries, moderately low fertility and mortality countries (China, Korea, and Sri Lanka) are located between the world average and the less developed region in most of the indices, particularly during the last decade. Although their rate of population aging is not

  12. Aging in Taiwan: Building a Society for Active Aging and Aging in Place.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Yi-Yin; Huang, Chin-Shan

    2016-04-01

    Taiwan's accelerated rate of aging is more than twice that of European countries and United States. Although demographic aging was not a major concern in Taiwan until 1993, when it became an aging society, aging issues now have become an imperative topic both in policy and in practice in the country. As this article demonstrates, in response to the challenge of the rapidly growing older population and the inspiration of cultural values of filial obligation and respect to elders, the concepts of active aging and aging in place are leading the policies and practices of gerontology to meet the diverse needs of the aging population in Taiwan. However, challenges remain, including the question of how to promote systematic endeavors, both in policies or research on aging, and how to encourage greater involvement of nongovernment organizations in the aging issue. In addition, some emerging issues about aging are addressed in this article including inadequate resources for older rural adults, building an age-friendly environment, and the increasing number of people with dementia. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  13. Late bone and soft tissue sequelae of childhood radiotherapy. Relevance of treatment age and radiation dose in 146 children treated between 1970 and 1997

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Doerr, W. [Technical Univ. of Dresden (Germany). Dept. of Radiotherapy and Radiation Oncology; Medical University / AKH Vienna (Austria). Dept. of Radiation Oncology; Kallfels, S. [Technical Univ. of Dresden (Germany). Dept. of Radiotherapy and Radiation Oncology; Kinder- und Jugendmedizin, Chemnitz [Germany; Herrmann, T. [Technical Univ. of Dresden (Germany). Dept. of Radiotherapy and Radiation Oncology

    2013-07-15

    Purpose: The present retrospective study was initiated to characterize the effect of oncological treatments in children and adolescents on bone and soft tissues, and to assess their dependence on radiation dose and age at exposure. Patients and methods: The study included 146 patients treated between 1970 and 1997. All patients received external beam radiotherapy to the trunk or extremities, but no cranial irradiation. Median age at treatment was 8.8 years. Patients were screened at 18 years (median time interval since treatment 9.2 years, range 0.9-17.7 years) for pathological changes in the skeletal system and soft tissues (scoliosis, kyphosis, bony hypoplasia, soft tissue defects, asymmetries), which were classified as minor/moderate (grade 1) or substantial (grade 2). Results: Pathological findings were recorded in 75/146 patients (51 %). These were scored as minor in 44 (59 %) and substantial in 31 patients (41 %). Most pathological changes occurred in children treated under the age of 6 years. At 6 years and older, only doses > 35 Gy caused an effect, and no substantial changes were seen for treatment ages exceeding 12 years. Significant effects of radiation dose and age at exposure were observed for kyphoscoliosis (with vertebral body dose gradients < 35 Gy), hypoplasia and soft tissue defects and asymmetrical growth. Conclusion: Tolerance doses of 20 Gy need to be respected for growing bone, particularly in children treated under the age of 6 years. The late treatment sequelae analysed in the present study are largely avoided with the use of current therapeutic protocols. However, the systematic evaluation, documentation and continuous analysis of adverse events in paediatric oncology remains essential, as does the evaluation of novel radio(chemo)therapeutic approaches. (orig.)

  14. Sosiaalisen median strategian jalkauttaminen : Facebook Merikeskus Vellamon markkinointiviestinnän välineenä

    OpenAIRE

    Okulov, Jaana

    2013-01-01

    Tämä opinnäytetyö käsittelee museokeskus Merikeskus Vellamon sosiaalisen median strategian jalkauttamista ja Facebook-yhteisösovelluksen hyödyntämistä markkinointiviestinnässä. Facebook-yrityssivun perustaminen ja houkuttelevan kohderyhmäkohtaisen sisällöntuotannon oppiminen oli toimeksiantajan toiveesta operatiivisen suunnittelun pohjana tälle toiminnalliselle opinnäytetyölle. Teoriaosuudessa tutkittiin sosiaalista mediaa ilmiönä ja vuorovaikutteisena viestintäkanavana sekä Facebook-yh...

  15. Efficient Architecture and Implementation of Vector Median Filter in Co-Design Context

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N. Masmoudi

    2007-09-01

    Full Text Available This work presents an efficient fast parallel architecture of the Vector Median Filter (VMF using combined hardware/software (HW/SW implementation. The hardware part of the system is implemented using VHDL language, whereas the software part is developed using C/C++ language. The software part of the embedded system uses the NIOS-II softcore processor and the operating system used is μClinux. The comparison between the software and HW/SW solutions shows that adding a hardware part in the design attempts to speed up the filtering process compared to the software solution. This efficient embedded system implementation can perform well in several image processing applications.

  16. A Divergence Median-based Geometric Detector with A Weighted Averaging Filter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hua, Xiaoqiang; Cheng, Yongqiang; Li, Yubo; Wang, Hongqiang; Qin, Yuliang

    2018-01-01

    To overcome the performance degradation of the classical fast Fourier transform (FFT)-based constant false alarm rate detector with the limited sample data, a divergence median-based geometric detector on the Riemannian manifold of Heimitian positive definite matrices is proposed in this paper. In particular, an autocorrelation matrix is used to model the correlation of sample data. This method of the modeling can avoid the poor Doppler resolution as well as the energy spread of the Doppler filter banks result from the FFT. Moreover, a weighted averaging filter, conceived from the philosophy of the bilateral filtering in image denoising, is proposed and combined within the geometric detection framework. As the weighted averaging filter acts as the clutter suppression, the performance of the geometric detector is improved. Numerical experiments are given to validate the effectiveness of our proposed method.

  17. Least median of squares filtering of locally optimal point matches for compressible flow image registration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Castillo, Edward; Guerrero, Thomas; Castillo, Richard; White, Benjamin; Rojo, Javier

    2012-01-01

    Compressible flow based image registration operates under the assumption that the mass of the imaged material is conserved from one image to the next. Depending on how the mass conservation assumption is modeled, the performance of existing compressible flow methods is limited by factors such as image quality, noise, large magnitude voxel displacements, and computational requirements. The Least Median of Squares Filtered Compressible Flow (LFC) method introduced here is based on a localized, nonlinear least squares, compressible flow model that describes the displacement of a single voxel that lends itself to a simple grid search (block matching) optimization strategy. Spatially inaccurate grid search point matches, corresponding to erroneous local minimizers of the nonlinear compressible flow model, are removed by a novel filtering approach based on least median of squares fitting and the forward search outlier detection method. The spatial accuracy of the method is measured using ten thoracic CT image sets and large samples of expert determined landmarks (available at www.dir-lab.com). The LFC method produces an average error within the intra-observer error on eight of the ten cases, indicating that the method is capable of achieving a high spatial accuracy for thoracic CT registration. (paper)

  18. Age dependency of primary tumor sites and metastases in patients with Ewing sarcoma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Worch, Jennifer; Ranft, Andreas; DuBois, Steven G; Paulussen, Michael; Juergens, Heribert; Dirksen, Uta

    2018-06-01

    The median age of patients with Ewing sarcoma (EwS) at diagnosis is around 14-15 years. Older age is associated with a worse outcome. The correlation of age at diagnosis on sites of disease has not been fully described. The goal of this study was to evaluate the differences in sites of primary tumor and metastatic tumor involvement according to age groups. EwS data from the Gesellschaft für Pädiatrische Onkologie und Hämatology (GPOH) database of the Cooperative Ewing Sarcoma Study (CESS) 81/86 and the European Intergroup Cooperative Ewing's Sarcoma Study EICESS 92 and the EUROpean Ewing tumor Working Initiative of National Groups-99-Protocol (EURO-E.W.I.N.G.-99) study were analyzed. Patient and tumor characteristics were evaluated statistically using chi square tests. The study population included 2,635 patients with bone EwS. Sites of primary and metastatic tumors differed according to the age groups of young children (0-9 years), early adolescence (10-14 years), late adolescence (15-19 years), young adults (20-24 years), and adults (more than 24 years). Young children demonstrated the most striking differences in site of disease with a lower proportion of pelvic primary and axial tumors. They presented less often with metastatic disease at diagnosis. Site of primary and metastatic tumor involvement in EwS differs according to patient age. The biological and developmental etiology for these differences requires further investigations. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  19. Impact of colour in the assessment of potential visual acuity in patients with age-related macular degeneration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dorrepaal, Stephen J; Markowitz, Samuel N

    2013-06-01

    To compare chromatic and achromatic potential visual acuity (PVA) in patients with bilateral low vision caused by age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Prospective, nonrandomized, observational case series. Fifty-five patients, representing a consecutive series of patients all presenting with bilateral AMD. Best-corrected visual acuity of each eye was measured using an Early Treatment in Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) chart with appropriate near correction. Included were cases with visual acuity of 0.4 logMAR (20/50) or worse in both eyes. Achromatic and chromatic PVA were measured in each eye using white on black and red on yellow flooding E charts at 50 cm in controlled lighting conditions. One hundred and seven eyes from 55 patients were included in the analysis. Mean achromatic and chromatic PVA were 0.69 ± 0.26 and 0.65 ± 0.22 logMAR, respectively. Overall, patients had a significantly higher chromatic than achromatic PVA, with a median difference of 0.1 logMAR (p<0.05). Patients with ETDRS visual acuity worse than 0.9 logMAR also had a significantly higher chromatic than achromatic PVA, with a median difference of 0.1 logMAR (p<0.05). Patients with ETDRS visual acuity between 0.4 and 0.9 logMAR had a trend toward a higher chromatic than achromatic visual acuity that was not significant, with a median difference of 0.1 logMAR (p = 0.8539). Patients with low vision caused by AMD can discern smaller targets when a red on yellow colour scheme is used than when using achromatic white on black charts. Copyright © 2013 Canadian Ophthalmological Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Age gradients in the stellar populations of massive star forming regions based on a new stellar chronometer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Getman, Konstantin V.; Feigelson, Eric D.; Kuhn, Michael A.; Broos, Patrick S.; Townsley, Leisa K.; Luhman, Kevin L. [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, 525 Davey Laboratory, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 (United States); Naylor, Tim [School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Exeter, Stocker Road, Exeter, EX4 4QL (United Kingdom); Povich, Matthew S. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, California State Polytechnic University, 3801 West Temple Avenue, Pomona, CA 91768 (United States); Garmire, Gordon P. [Huntingdon Institute for X-ray Astronomy, LLC, 10677 Franks Road, Huntingdon, PA 16652 (United States)

    2014-06-01

    A major impediment to understanding star formation in massive star-forming regions (MSFRs) is the absence of a reliable stellar chronometer to unravel their complex star formation histories. We present a new estimation of stellar ages using a new method that employs near-infrared (NIR) and X-ray photometry, Age {sub JX} . Stellar masses are derived from X-ray luminosities using the L{sub X} -M relation from the Taurus cloud. J-band luminosities are compared to mass-dependent pre-main-sequence (PMS) evolutionary models to estimate ages. Age {sub JX} is sensitive to a wide range of evolutionary stages, from disk-bearing stars embedded in a cloud to widely dispersed older PMS stars. The Massive Young Star-Forming Complex Study in Infrared and X-ray (MYStIX) project characterizes 20 OB-dominated MSFRs using X-ray, mid-infrared, and NIR catalogs. The Age {sub JX} method has been applied to 5525 out of 31,784 MYStIX Probable Complex Members. We provide a homogeneous set of median ages for over 100 subclusters in 15 MSFRs; median subcluster ages range between 0.5 Myr and 5 Myr. The important science result is the discovery of age gradients across MYStIX regions. The wide MSFR age distribution appears as spatially segregated structures with different ages. The Age {sub JX} ages are youngest in obscured locations in molecular clouds, intermediate in revealed stellar clusters, and oldest in distributed populations. The NIR color index J – H, a surrogate measure of extinction, can serve as an approximate age predictor for young embedded clusters.