Factors related to postmenopausal muscle performance: a cross-sectional population-based study

The aim of the present study was to investigate cross-sectionally the association of postmenopausal muscle strength with simple performance tests. A random sample of 1,166 naturally postmenopausal women (born 1932–1941) was selected from the Kuopio Osteoporosis Risk Factor and Prevention (OSTPRE) study cohort. Grip and quadriceps strength were measured with strain gauge dynamometers and reported in both absolute values (KPa and kg) and per kilogram of body mass (N cm^–2 kg^–1 and N kg^–1). In addition, two performance tests, ability to stand on one foot and ability to squat down to touch the floor were carried out. A five-category self-assessment of overall health (very good, good, moderate, bad, and very bad) was obtained by postal questionnaire. The women that were able to stand on one foot and able to squat down to touch the floor had greater grip and quadriceps strength than their counterparts (P<0.001 and P<0.03 in ANOVA, respectively). In addition, self-assessed health had a strong positive association with muscle strength in the grip and leg extensor muscles in ANOVA (P<0.001 between very good and moderate or poorer state of health) and regression model (P<0.001). Adjustment for age, duration of menopause, body mass, height, physical activity level, use of HRT, and number of diseases and medications did not change any of the main effects. Also, there were no differences in results between absolute measurement values and values reported per kilogram of body mass. According to the present study, a simple performance test may be useful in the prediction of postmenopausal muscle strength. Furthermore, self-assessed state of health is strongly associated with muscle strength in postmenopausal women.     

广州市1996—2005年管网末梢水卫生状况及对策分析

目的了解广州市管网末梢水的水质情况，为随时监测全市生活饮用水水质的动态变化提供信息并提出改进措施。方法对广州市1996—2005年管网末梢水水质监测资料进行统计，按照GB5749—85《生活饮用水卫生标准》和卫生部《生活饮用水卫生规范》（2001年）进行分析评价。结果共监测606份水样，合格155份，合格率为25．58％。不合格的项目主要有锰、游离余氯、细菌总数、色度、铁和耗氧量。在广州市疾病预防控制中心检测的项目中，锰的合格率仅为59．57％，游离余氯的合格率为76．73％，细菌总数的合格率为85．81％，色度的合格率为88．12％，铁的合格率为88．94％，耗氧量的合格率为96．37％。结论广州市管网末梢水的锰、游离余氯、细菌总数和铁等项目合格率较低，今后应加强饮水的氯化消毒、对管网的定期检修和冲洗、减少二次供水水箱的使用和设立管网水水质自动监测系统。     

慢性病儿童家长疾病知识了解现状及情绪障碍调查分析

目的了解部分慢性疾病儿童家长对疾病知识的了解现状和焦虑、抑郁情绪障碍的发生情况。方法采用一般情况调查表、疾病知识问卷和抑郁自评量表(SDS)、焦虑自评量表(SAS),对68例慢性疾病儿童家长进行调查,并与对照组进行对照。结果慢性疾病儿童家长中有32.35%存在焦虑情绪,22.06%存在抑郁情绪,其中SAS得分与对照组相比具有显著性差异(P<0.01)。73.53%病儿家长对相关疾病知识不甚了解。结论在诊治慢性疾病儿童的同时做好健康教育工作和予以家长心理关注十分重要。     

O2 Uptake in hyperthyroidism during constant work rate and incremental exercise

Summary To investigate the effect of hyperthyroidism on the pattern and time course of O₂ uptake ( O₂) following the transition from rest to exercise, six patients and six healthy subjects performed cycle exercise at an average work rate (WR) of 18 and 20 W respectively. Cardiorespiratory variables were measured breath-by-breath. The patients also performed a progressively increasing WR test (1-min increments) to the limit of tolerance. Two patients repeated the studies when euthyroid. Resting and exercise steady-state (SS) O₂ (ml·kg^–1·min^–1) were higher in the patients than control (5.8, SD 0.9 vs 4.0, SD 0.3 and 12.1, SD 1.5 vs 10.2, SD 1.0 respectively). The increase in O₂ during the first 20 s exercise (phase I) was lower in the patients (mean 89 ml·min^–, SD 30) compared to the control (265 ml·min^–1, SD 90), while the difference in half time of the subsequent (phase 11) increase to the SS O₂ (patient 26 s, SD 8; controls 17 s, SD 8) were not significant (P = 0.06). The OZ cost per WR increment ( O₂/WR) in ml·min^–1·^–1, measured during the incremental period (mean 10.9; range 8.3–12.2), was always within two standard deviations of the normal value (10.3, SD 1). In the two patients who repeated the tests, both the increment of O₂ from rest to SS during constant WR exercise and the O₂/WRs during the progressive exercise were higher in the hyperthyroid state than during the euthyroid state. While both resting and exercise O₂ are increased in the hyperthyroid patients, the O₂ cost of a given increment of WR is within the normal range. However, a small reduction in the O₂ requirement to perform exercise following treatment of the hyperthyroid state suggests a subtle change O₂ cost of muscle work in this disease.     

Biomechanical Properties of Esophagus during Systemic Treatment with Epidermal Growth Factor in Rats

The epidermal growth factor (EGF) is a growth factor with effects on many cell types and tissue. Morphometric and passive biomechanical properties were studied in isolated segments of the esophagus in 22 EGF-treated rats and 12 control rats. The rats were divided into groups with EGF treatment for 2, 4, 7, and 14 days (n=6 for each group except n=4 for the 14 days EGF-treatment group) or saline treatment (n=3 for each group). The mechanical test was performed as a distension experiment in vitro where the whole esophagus was stretched to its in situ length and distended with pressures up to 10 cm H₂O using a ramp distension protocol. The pressure and outer diameter were recorded. Circumferential stress (force per area) and strain (deformation) were computed from the diameter and pressure data using the zero-stress state as reference. The zero-stress state was obtained by cutting esophageal rings radially. This caused the rings to open up into a sector. EGF induced pronounced morphometric changes, e.g., the wall thickness, wall cross-sectional area, and inner and outer circumferential lengths significantly increased during the EGF treatment. Histological analysis showed mucosa and submucosa growth during EGF treatment. The opening angle and residual strains increased with the highest value in the 14 days EGF-treated group (P < 0.05). The change in opening angle depended largely on the change in mucosa thickness. Furthermore, the circumferential stiffness of the esophagus reached a maximum after 7 days EGF treatment (P < 0.01). © 2003 Biomedical Engineering Society. PAC2003: 8719Rr, 8717Ee     

A method for simultaneous recording of electrical activities and spectrophotometric signals from brain slice preparations in vitro

Organ spectrophotometry has been applied to analyze cytochrome redox changes in brain slice preparations. An interface-chamber method for maintaining metabolism of brain slice tissues was devised to reduce noise on recording traces of spectrophotometric signals, and then used for continuous monitoring and simultaneous recording of electrical and optical signals from brain slices. With this method, the noise level during the recording of redox states of cytochromes was decreased to 0.0004 A unit.     

Infrared spectroscopy: A new diagnostic tool in Alzheimer disease

Biological markers play an evolving role in the diagnosis of Alzheimer disease (AD). We compare conventional measurements of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) tau and β-amyloid_1–42 proteins to a novel approach – Fourier transformed infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy – a simple technique derived from chemical and physical sciences that characterizes intramolecular bonds. For automatic diagnostic analysis, we developed an artificial neural network (ANN). We examined 71 patients with a clinical diagnosis of AD and 66 controls. β-Amyloid_1–42 was decreased (sensitivity 80% and specificity 78%); tau was elevated (sensitivity 76% and specificity 88%) in CSF of AD patients. The combined tau/β-amyloid_1–42 quotient was able to distinguish healthy from diseased subjects with 99% sensitivity and 86% specificity. The ANN could separate FT-IR spectroscopy data with 88.5% sensitivity and 80% specificity. FT-IR spectroscopy proved to be cost-effective and simple to perform. Diagnostic sensitivity and specificity is in the range of CSF tau and β-amyloid_1–42 protein analysis. Larger sample numbers for ANN training and validation could increase diagnostic accuracy and thus prove to be a useful screening tool.     

Finite element solution of steady state temperature distribution in the human torso

A finite element model of the steady state temperature distribution in the human torso is developed. The torso is approximated by a circular cylinder of core surrounded by a layer of muscle and insulating layers of fat and skin. The model is simplified by neglecting longitudinal heat flow. The region occupied by a circular cross-section of the torso is discretized into a mesh of triangles and the boundary of the torso, that is, the skin surface, is consequently approximated by a polygon. The elliptic partial differential equation governing the steady state temperature distribution, together with the associated boundary conditions, are expressed in equivalent variational form. Linear basis functions are used and the resulting integral is minimized over the region bounded by the approximating polygon. Results for two numerical experiments are determined by solving systems of linear equations.     

CCK and other peptides modulate hypothalamic norepinephrine release in the rat: Dependence on hunger or satiety

The purpose of this investigation was to determine the functional relationship between putative satiety peptides and endogenous norepinephrine (NE) activity in the hypothalamus. Permanent guide cannulae for push-pull perfusion were implanted stereotaxically in Sprague-Dawley rats so as to rest above the medial or lateral hypothalamus (LH). Post-operatively, the animals were either satiated with food and water, both available ad lib, or fasted for 18-22 hr prior to an experiment. To perfuse a site in the LH, paraventricular (PVN) or ventromedial nucleus (VMN), a concentric 29-23 ga push-pull cannula system was lowered to a pre-determined site, in most cases after catecholamine stores had been pre-labeled with [3H]-NE. During control tests, an artificial CSF was perfused at a rate of 20-25 microliter/min for 5-8 min with a 5 min interval between each sample. The addition of cholecystokinin (CCK) in a concentration of 2.0-6.0 ng/microliter to the CSF perfused in PVN or VMN of the satiated rat enhanced the efflux of NE; however, in the fasted animal CCK often suppressed the catecholamine's release. Perfused in the LH, CCK exerted opposite effects, typically augmenting NE output when the rat was fasted but not affecting the amine's activity during the sated condition. Proglumide (1.2 micrograms/microliter) attenuated CCK's effect in releasing NE when the antagonist was perfused in the PVN of the satiated rat. Similar experiments in which neurotensin (NT) was perfused in the LH, PVN and VMN revealed virtually the same inverse effects on NE release in the fasted and satiated rat, which again were anatomically specific. Finally, insulin and 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) exerted similar state-dependent effects on the release of NE within LH and PVN. Overall, the results suggest that CCK or other neuroactive peptide could serve as a "neuromodulator" of the pre-synaptic release of NE within classical hypothalamic structures which are thought to underlie both hunger and satiety. The state-dependent nature of the peptides' activity on the noradrenergic feeding mechanism implies that these substances constitute a pivotal portion of the profile of factors which impinge functionally upon the hypothalamic neurons responsible for the feeding response and its cessation.     

艾滋病患者渐进性肌肉放松训练配合心理干预的应用效果

目的 探讨渐进性肌肉放松训练配合心理干预对艾滋病患者服药依从性及心理状态的影响。方法 选择2017年8月—2020年8月于本院就诊的68例艾滋病患者,按随机数字表法分为对照组和观察组,每组34例。对照组实施常规护理干预,观察组在此基础上实施渐进性肌肉放松训练配合心理干预,比较两组服药依从性及医院焦虑抑郁量表(HospitalAnxietyand Depresseo Scale,HAD)评分。结果 观察组服药总依从率为97.06%,高于对照组的70.59%,(χ2=8.785,P=0.003);观察组干预2周后焦虑评分为(14.35±1.67)分、抑郁评分为(13.98±1.38)分,均低于对照组的(15.63±1.59)分、(15.08±1.27)分,(t=3.237、3.420,P=0.002、0.001)。结论 渐进性肌肉放松训练配合心理干预应用于艾滋病患者,能够提高患者服药依从性,改善患者心理状态。