Risk factors for wheezing in Ukrainian children: Ukraine European Longitudinal Study of Pregnancy and Childhood Group

The prevalence of wheezing in children varies widely around the world. The reasons for this geographic variability remain unclear but may be related in part to exposures in the home environment during pregnancy and early childhood. We investigated the prenatal and early childhood risk factors for wheezing symptoms among 2127 children aged 6–8 years who were participants in the Ukrainian component of the European Longitudinal Study of Pregnancy and Childhood (ELSPAC). Cases included the 169 children whose parents answered yes to the International Study of Asthma and Allergy in Children (ISAAC) question: 'Has your child had wheezing or whistling in the chest in the past 12 months' during the ELSPAC assessment of the children at age 7. These were compared with the 1861 children in the cohort whose parents answered 'no' to this question.
Factors significantly associated with increased risk of wheezing illness at age 7 in adjusted analyses included mother's asthma [adjusted odds ratio (OR) 3.46, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.22, 9.85]; mother's allergy problems (OR 1.43, [1.00, 2.05]); rarely playing with other children at age 3 (OR 1.84, [1.09, 3.11]); water intrusion (OR 1.62, [1.09, 2.39]) and inadequate heating of the home (OR 1.52, [1.06, 2.16]) during pregnancy. Factors protective of wheezing at age 7 included being first-born (adjusted OR 0.70, 95% CI 0.50, 0.98); living in the city of Dniprodzerzynsk as compared with Kyiv (OR 0.36, [0.24, 0.54]) and weekly contact with furry animals (OR 0.44, [0.20, 0.97]) before age 3. The constellation of risk factors for wheezing in Ukrainian children is similar to that of children in other parts of the world. Known risk factors do not account for the significant between-city variability of wheezing in Ukrainian children.     

NEWLY DEVELOPED ULTRASOUND ENDOSCOPE WITH AN ELECTRONIC RADIAL ARRAY TRANSDUCER

A prototype electronic radial scan ultrasound endoscope has been developed by Olympus (Tokyo, Japan) for endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) study. The ultrasound view‐angle of this model is 360° vertical to the scope. Though the diameter of the scanner and the shaft of the scope is bigger than those of the present mechanical radial scan model, clinical manipulation of the new scope is the same as that of the present model. Image quality of the ultrasound picture demonstrated by the electronic radial model was as clear as those provided by the mechanical radial scan model. Ultrasound penetration was better and satisfactory because of less echoic reduction compared to the mechanical radial model. The newly developed electronic radial model can be evaluated as an ultrasound endoscope for the next generation. The advantage of this system is to facilitate the clinical use of color Doppler function and tissue harmonic imaging, and this system can be operated by the same monitor unit as a convex model of ultrasound endoscope.     

女性银屑病患者血清性激素浓度测定

对20例女性、非妊娠期、生育年龄的寻常型、进行期银屑病患者检测了雌二醇(E_2)、孕酮(P)和睾酮(T)的血清浓度。结果为:卵泡期E_2平均值为84±61.6pg/ml,黄体期E_2平均值为164.9±115pg/ml,均显著高于正常平均值(P值分别为<0.001,<0.005);黄体期P平均值为2.67±4.62ng/ml,显著低于正常平均值(P<0.005);T平均值在正常范围,提示银屑病可能与血清E_2和P浓度有关。     

肾综合征出血热内分泌组织中的病毒抗原、病变及其关系

作者应用免疫细胞化学法研究了HFRS尸检内分泌及其有关组织中病毒抗原的分布,病毒抗原阳性细胞与病变的关系,病变的类型及病毒感染对胰腺内胰岛素表达的影响,所用的一抗有抗肾综合征出血热(HFRS)病毒糖蛋白(G_2),核蛋白(NP)及血凝素(HA)抗原的单克隆抗体(15种)和多克隆抗体(PAb)以及抗胰岛素(INS)单克隆抗体。结果显示,内分泌组织中有两种染色形态的病毒抗原,一种是胞浆弥漫染色的抗原,为G_2,NP或HA阳性,阳性细胞弥漫分布,另一种是以病毒包涵体(IB)形式出现的颗粒性抗原,MAbs染色多为实性,PAb染色多为空泡状。在9例胰腺组织中,有4例几乎在所有腺上皮细胞和少数胰岛细胞均为IB阳性,但PAb染色可在胰岛细胞中显示出空泡状IB。在其它内分泌组织中,IB只在少数细胞中出现。抗原阳性细胞很少出现坏死,但在脑垂体及肾上腺灶性或片状凝固性坏死区域也有弥漫性抗原阳性及IB存在。胰腺组织的胰岛素染色显示,除1例胰岛INS强阳性,其余8例均有明显的INS染色减弱及阳性细胞减少的表现。结果提示,内分泌组织中有两种病变,即以IB为特征的病毒直接感染引起的细胞病变,是病毒的弱致病变作用,该病变可能对细胞的内分泌功能产生影响;另一种病变是组织的灶性或大片性同步性凝固性坏死,是继发于病毒感染后的出血和休克,该病变会     

Optimal pole assignment into specified regions and its application to rotating mechanical systems

This paper considers a pole assignment problem to cluster all poles of a closed-loop system into some specified regions by introducing the complex state for systems having an isotropic property and by using the Riccati equation. The algebraic relations for the distribution of the eigenvalues of a complex matrix are used in order to cluster the poles into specified regions, which guarantees the relative stability margin, e.g. uniform damping or uniform damping ratio. The proposed scheme is essentially a combination of the pole assignment approach and linear quadratic design, taking the advantages of both. A block modal control method—an extension of recursive pole assignment—is also developed for the vibration control of rotating systems by clustering the forward and backward modes in order. Vibration control simulations with an isotropic rotor—bearing system, a magnetic bearing system and a rotating circular disc are treated in order to demonstrate the advantages of the proposed method.     

复方山绿茶缓释袋泡剂的研究

用网状多孔性纤维包念材料制备的复方山绿茶缓袋泡剂，具有速释和缓释作用，在１－８ｈ内按埝级方式释药。Ｔ０．５为１．３ｈ，Ｔｄ为３．２ｈ，１－８ｈ的平均释药速率７２．３５ｍｇ／ｈ。与传统的半生药型袋泡剂比较，具有栽药量高，使用方便，性质稳定，疗效确切的优点。     

已婚育龄妇女避孕措施变化趋势分析

目的:了解已婚育龄妇女避孕措施的变化趋势,为指导计划生育服务工作提供科学依据。方法:收集1983~2005年苏州市已婚育龄妇女避孕方法的资料,并用统计软件对其变化趋势进行了分析。结果:已婚育龄妇女节育率在88.38%~92.94%范围波动,长效避孕措施现用率从75.19%下降至71.27%,而短效避孕措施从12.86%上升至17.11%。宫内节育器的现用率从50.09%上升到66.50%;避孕套从1.94%上升到14.21%;其他避孕方法的现用率均呈下降趋势,其中女性绝育现用率从24.42%下降到4.50%。结论:节育率维持在较高水平;长效避孕措施现用率下降而短效避孕措施现用率上升;避孕方法使用趋于多样化,需要提供满足个性化需求的指导和服务。     

Primary Adenocarcinoma in the Urethrorectal Fistula

A 60-year-old Japanese man was hospitalized because of urinary leakage from the anus on October 3, 1994. Retrograde urethrography detected a fistula between the bulbous urethra and the rectum. Urethrocystoscopy revealed a tumor on the urethrorectal fistula. Tumor biopsy showed a well differentiated adenocarcinoma. Cystourethrectomy with fistulectomy, and ileal conduit urinary diversion were performed. Pathological examination revealed primary adenocarcinoma in the fistula with invasion to the prostatic urethra and bladder wall. The patient showed no evidence of a recurrence as of August, 1996.     

Sex differences in spatial ability in children

There is considerable evidence that sex differences in spatial ability exist in adults, with males outperforming females at every age after puberty. It is difficult, however, to find sex differences in children younger than 13. This is due in part to the lack of adequate measures of spatial ability for use with children. We report the use of spatial tests for children that are similar to those that have shown large sex differences in adults and may be measuring ability comparable to adult spatial ability. Four tests of mental rotation and spatial visualization were given to two samples of children. The first sample consisted of 81 children (39 males and 42 females) aged 9 to 12 years. The second sample consisted of 42 children (21 males and 21 females) aged 9 to 13 years. Sex differences of .4–.6 standard deviations were found on three tests in both samples. These results indicate that sex differences in spatial ability can be found in preadolescents if appropriate tests are used. Measurement of these abilities in children facilitates the investigation of possible biological and sociocultural contributors to the sex differences in spatial ability.This study was supported by National Institutes of Health Grant HD19644 and NIH Biomedical Research Support Grant S07 RR05366-24.