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Measuring personality and emotional functioning in multiple sclerosis: a cautionary note.

Changes in personality and emotional status are common in individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS). The purpose of this study was to examine results based on the MMPI-2 before and following application of a statistical correction procedure (Gass, 1992). This was done to help determine changes in scale score elevations when items containing actual physical symptoms are identified and statistically removed. Twenty-eight participants with MS were administered the MMPI-2, then retested 1 year later. Stability of MMPI-2 scores over time was demonstrated. Results showed that when the correction procedure was applied to the MMPI-2, eight standard clinical scale scores dropped an average of 6.66 T-score points. Significant differences were obtained between standard MMPI-2 scored profiles and corrected profiles on Scales 1-3 and 8. Cautious interpretation of MMPI-2 results for neurological samples was indicated. This study extended prototypic research by using patients with MS, examining the stability of results over time (1 year), and introducing a more reliable method of deriving standard T-scores in the correction procedure.

Adult↗

Evidence for up-regulated central nociceptive processing in patients with masticatory myofascial pain.

AIMS: Previous work suggests that hyperexcitability of central nociceptive neurons may play a role in the pain of temporomandibular disorders (TMD). The aim of this study was to test this theory by assessing differences, between myalgic TMD patients and pain-free controls, in temporal summation of mechanically evoked pain and aftersensations following repetitive noxious stimulation. METHODS: Sixteen series of 10 repetitive, mildly noxious mechanical stimuli were applied to the fingers of 25 female TMD patients with masticatory myofascial pain and 25 age-matched, pain-free female subjects. All subjects rated the pain intensity and unpleasantness evoked by the first, fifth, and tenth stimuli in the series and their aftersensations at 15 seconds and 1 minute following the last stimulus. Data were analyzed by 3-way repeated-measures analysis of variance. RESULTS: Pain and unpleasantness ratings increased with repetition of the stimulation (P < .0001). In addition, there was a significant trial number x group interaction for the pain intensity ratings, such that TMD patients provided higher ratings than controls for the tenth stimulus (P < .001). The increase in unpleasantness ratings with repetitive stimulation was also higher for the patient group (P < .0001). Moreover, TMD patients rated the intensity of aftersensations as higher (P < .005) and reported painful aftersensations at significantly greater frequency (P < .05). CONCLUSION: A generalized hyperexcitability of central nociceptive processing in this TMD patient group is indicated by their more pronounced temporal summation of pain and greater aftersensations following repetitive noxious digital stimulation versus controls. Such hyperexcitability may contribute to the pathophysiology of TMD pain.

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Estimation of human endurance time.

A prediction formula has been evolved for estimation of human endurance time from aerobic and anaerobic fraction of the total oxygen utilization. The derivation of the formula is based on the assumption that fractional change in endurance time varies directly as the fractional change in aerobic fraction in the same direction and varies as the fractional change in anaerobic fraction in the opposite direction. The validity of the prediction formula has been tested on two sets of data. The first set is consisting of 31 observations on 13 Indian subjects and a second set of data is consisting of 7 observations on one subject collected from literature. The multiple correlations for these sets of data were 0.9650 and 0.9996, respectively. These multiple correlations were highly significant (p < 0.001). It has been concluded that aerobic and anaerobic fractions of total oxygen utilization are significant predictors of human endurance time.

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Consensus factors used by experts in the diagnosis of decompression illness.

INTRODUCTION: The diagnosis of decompression illness (DCI) is entirely based on clinical findings and DCI experts are rare. Of all the chambers reporting to Diver's Alert Network (DAN), 86% see less than 10 cases per year. Simulated diving injury cases (vignettes) were used to identify diagnostic factors important to 11 international experts attending the 2003 Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society symposium on DCI diagnosis. METHODS: There were 200 vignettes evaluated for the probability of DCS and/or arterial gas embolism (AGE). Vignettes were constructed from 141 factors that modeled information from DAN's emergency call system. Factor probability mirrored DAN's 2001 Report on Decompression Illness and Diving Fatalities. Factors included: diver characteristics, exposure characteristics, signs, symptoms, treatment, and response. Multiple linear regression with stepwise elimination identified and ordered the significant factors in terms of their importance to the experts. Results were confirmed with logistic regression. RESULTS: For DCS, the top five factors in order of importance were: 1) a neurological symptom as the primary presenting symptom; 2) onset time of symptoms; 3) joint pain as a presenting symptom; 4) any relief after recompression treatment; and 5) the maximum depth of the last dive. For AGE, the top five factors were: 1) onset time of symptoms; 2) altered consciousness; 3) any neurological symptoms as a presenting symptom; 4) motor weakness; and 5) seizure as the primary presenting symptom. Age, gender, or physical characteristics were not statistically important. CONCLUSIONS: The vignette concept may be useful in the development of consensus standards for DCI diagnosis.

Decompression Sickness↗

Scuba diving with diabetes mellitus--the UK experience 1991-2001.

OBJECTIVES: To survey the outcomes and practises of divers with diabetes mellitus. METHODS: Diabetic persons wishing to learn to scuba-dive or established divers who have diabetes mellitus in the UK are requested to fill in a detailed questionnaire annually. Divers are asked to provide basic epidemiological information and general diving history. Data provided by the diver's diabetic physician provided independent evidence of the diver's medical status. These data are recorded and analysed. RESULTS: Data have been gathered from 323 diabetic divers (269 male, 54 female) and 8,760 dives have been recorded over 11 years. Two fatalities were reported, both in non-insulin dependent divers. One incident of hypoglycaemia underwater in an insulin dependent diabetic diver has been reported. CONCLUSIONS: This survey showed that in the group of well-controlled diabetic divers studied, there were no serious problems due to hypoglycaemia when they dived. Long-term complications of diabetes must be excluded before a diabetic diver may be permitted to dive.

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[Development of bakery products for greater adult consumption based on wheat and rice flour].

The present investigation was developed as a contribution to Guatemalan's elderly food and nutrition. Its main objective was to evaluate the chemical, nutritional and sensory quality of bread prepared from the partial substitution of wheat flour with rice flour. Wheat flour substitutions with rice flour in the order of 15, 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60% were evaluated. Differences with the control (100% wheat bread) were found during the process of preparation, as well as texture, volume, height, weight and specific volume. Important effects in dough handling were noted specifically in the 40, 50 and 60% rice bread. Thus, a sandy texture was found in breads of higher rice levels. The bread protein quality increased with the level of substitution; however the protein quality difference between the wheat bread and the bread with 60% rice flour did not achieve statistical significance. Based on a statistical analysis of the physical properties the bread with 30 and 40% rice flour was selected, and through a preference test between these last two, the 30% rice flour bread was selected as the sample best suited to the present study's purposes. This bread was not different to wheat bread in many nutritional parameters, although in others it showed to be superior. Each serving size of bread has a weight of 80 grams (2 slices) that contributes adequate quantity of calories, protein and sodium, although a little less dietary fiber than 100% wheat bread.

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[Analysis on the multi-distribution and the major influencing factors on severe acute respiratory syndrome in Beijing].

OBJECTIVE: To analyse the multi-dimension nature of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) transmission. METHODS: Based on the data of SARS in 2003 and the geographic information system of Beijing, as well as under the broad range of the theorems and techniques of data-driven and model-driven knowledge mining, hierarchical techniques were used to test the hot spots. Wavelet technique was also used to decompose Moran's I frequency to survey the spatial clustering process of SARS. For factors analysis, BW test was used to distinguish factors which influencing SARS process. In temporal aspects, susceptive-infective-removal model (SIR) without Taylor expansion was solved by a genetic-simulated annealing algorithm, that directly provided a new approach to obtain epidemic parameters from the SIR model. RESULTS: Different order of spatial hot spots were noticed and the clustering were relevant with the means of transportation. Diffusion dynamics were changed along with the temporal process of SARS. Regarding factor analysis, geographic relationship, population density, the amount of doctors and hospitals appeared to be the key elements influencing the transmission of SARS. The predictable number of SARS cases evolving with time were also calculated. CONCLUSIONS: Cluster detection of close contacts of SARS infective in Beijing revealed the spatial characters of urban population flow and having important implications in the prevention and control of this communicable diseases. Some human and physical environment factors played statistical significant roles in different periods during SARS epidemics. An efficient algorithm was developed to solve SIR model directly, enabling the estimation of epidemic parameters from SIR and early forecast.

Algorithms↗

Expectations of teachers for physically handicapped and normal first grade students.

A descriptive study was conducted to determine whether teachers held different student role expectations for physically handicapped first grade students than they did for physically normal students. Contrary to predictions, results demonstrated that the teachers held statistically significantly higher expectations for the physically handicapped students. Such differences might be due to social desirability (responding in what appears to be a socially acceptable manner), or to a "haloing" of expectations for physically handicapped students. The teachers' inflated expectations could result in negative reactions toward handicapped students who do not demonstrate anticipated behaviors or live up to inflated expectations.

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Mathematical representation of solute solubility in binary mixture of supercritical fluids by the Jouyban-Acree model.

Applicability of a solution model for calculating the solute solubility in binary mixtures of supercritical fluids at different SCF compositions and pressures was shown using phenanthrene solubility data in supercritical carbon dioxide and supercritical ethane at 313 K and a pressure range of 100-350 bar. The correlation ability of the proposed model was evaluated by fitting all data points and computing error term employing back-calculated solubilities. The prediction capability of the model was assessed by dividing each data set to two subsets, namely training and test subsets. The predicted solubilities using trained models were used to calculate the prediction error term. The results show that both correlative and predictive error terms were less than the experimentally obtained RSD values.

Algorithms↗

Self selected speed and maximal lactate steady state speed in swimming.

AIM: The purposes of this study were to ascertain whether physiological and stroking parameters remain stable during a 2-hour exercise performed at self-selected swimming speed (S4) and whether this speed corresponds to those associated with the maximal lactate steady state (SMLSS). METHODS: Ten well-trained competitive swimmers performed a maximal 400-m front crawl test, 4 30-min swimming tests in order to determine S(MLSS) and a 2-hour test swum at their preferred paces to determine self-selected swimming speed (S4), stroke rate (SR4), and stroke length (SL4) defined as the mean values observed between the 5th and the 15th min of this test. The stroking, metabolic and respiratory parameters, and ratings of perceived exertion (CR10) were reported throughout the 2-hour test. RESULTS: S4 and SMLSS were not significantly different and were highly correlated (r=0.891). S4 and SL4 decreased significantly after a steady state of 68 min and 100 min, respectively, whereas SR4 remained constant. Mean VO2, dioxide output, and heart rate values did not evolve significantly between the 10th and 120th minute of the test whereas capillary blood lactate concentration (La) decreased significantly (p<0.05). Moreover, respiratory CR10 did not evolve significantly between the 10th and the 120th minute of the test whereas general CR10 and muscular CR10 increased significantly. CONCLUSIONS: Considering the (La), SL4 and CR10 values variations, muscular parameters and a probably glycogenic depletion seem to be the main limiting factors that prevent maintaining the self selected swimming speed.

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[Clinical feature of organophosphate poisoning patients requiring prolonged mechanical ventilation].

OBJECTIVE: To clarify the clinical characteristics in organophosphate poisoning patients who require prolonged mechanical ventilation (PMV). MATERIAL AND METHODS: We reviewed the medical records of 15 adults organophsophate poisoning patients who admitted to our intensive care unit between Junuary, 1995, and December, 2004. The patients were divided into two groups: a PMV group requiring mechanical ventilation for more than 1 week (n=7) and a non PMV group (n=8), and various factors relating to PMV were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: The mean value of mechanical ventilation days was 16 +/- 6 days for the PMV group, which was significantly greater than 1 +/- 1 days for the non PMV group (p < 0.01). There were no statistical differences in the physical findings such as Japan Coma Scale, vital signs, and salivation and/or diarrhea, and in the treatments such as gastric lavage, administration of activated charcoal, and intravenous administration of pralidoxim and/or atropine on admission between the groups. The intermediate syndrome developed in 5 patients of the PMV group during their hospital course, whereas in no patient of the non-PMV group (p < 0.05). Hospital length of stay was 35 +/- 7 days in the PMV group, comparing with 11 +/- 11 days in the non-PMV group (p < 0.01). All patients of both groups survived and all but one patient returned to pre-hospital activities of daily living. CONCLUSIONS: Organophosphate poisoning patients requiring PMV had a higher incidence of the intermediate syndrome, but had similar mortality and morbidity compared with patients without PMV.

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[The first graduates].

The Hirosaki University School of Health Sciences, started in April, 2001 graduated its first student in March, 2005 and we introduced a health studies specialty master's course at the same time. We report medical technologist training in a principal school and the situation for graduate school master's courses. The course of study includes physics, chemistry, biology and statistics with a compulsory subject by basic seminar that is an introduction subject, a basic education subject, serving as a supplementary lesson and considering the professional training to be connected. We mainly receive practical training by attending the university hospital clinical central laboratory, pathology, and blood transfusion area for three years and can continue for one year to carry out graduation study. As for the course situation, a person of entrance into a school of higher grade to a graduate school compared 11 students out of 41, company relation 4 with the school of allied medical sciences other than finding employment in a hospital and clinical laboratory and became various. 19 students out of 30 are members of society, and we consider this, and the new student situation to Hirosaki University graduate school master's course does a class on after half past 5 and Saturday.

Curriculum↗