Comparison of radio frequency identification tag housings in a tropical forestry work environment

ABSTRACT

Precise information on the origin of timber can be obtained by using an identifier system, which can help in preventing illegal logging, managing timber supply chains and increasing value adding. Radio frequency identification (RFID) is increasingly used in log-tracking systems. The RFID tags currently available on the market are not directly suitable for forestry applications, however, unless the tags are protected by a housing. Harsh working environments mean that tag housings must be robust in order to keep their valuable information safe throughout a logging operation. The aim of this study was to provide a testing method for use as a decision-making tool by RFID users. The study used five tests to evaluate the applicability of eight kinds of tag housing for forestry applications. The tests considered climatic aspects, mechanical stress, readability and survival in the field. The method was found to work well with tested tag housings, revealing their strengths and weaknesses. Using the testing method, a procedure is recommended to determine the most appropriate tag housing.     

左冠状动脉起源于肺动脉37例患儿各年龄段的临床特点及诊治

目的分析各年龄段左冠状动脉起源于肺动脉(ALCAPA)患儿的临床特点和诊治情况,提高对此病的认识,减少误诊,提高救治率。方法 1999年4月-2011年3月本院共收治37例ALCAPA患儿。男21例,女16例;年龄(5.0±4.8)岁。其中婴儿组(≤1岁)8例,幼儿组(>1～3岁)10例,大年龄组(>3岁)19例。37例中并二尖瓣关闭不全31例,室壁瘤2例,法洛四联症/ASD、重度肺动脉瓣狭窄/部分型肺静脉异位引流、ASD各1例。对各年龄段临床特点和诊治结果进行回顾性分析。随访结果依据门诊复查结果及电话随访。结果婴幼儿组发病年龄均早于大年龄组;ECG出现Q波及ST-T改变13例(35.1%,13/37例),其中婴儿组5例(62.5%)、幼儿组3例(30.0%)、大年龄组5例(26.3%),3组差异无统计学意义;胸部X片示心脏均明显增大,心胸比婴儿组大于幼儿组和大年龄组,幼儿组大于大年龄组;超声心动图示左心室舒张末径(LVED)3组均增大,以婴儿组增大最明显;左心室射血分数(LVEF)<50%者婴儿组多于幼儿组和大年龄组,幼儿组与大年龄组无明显差异。首次诊断时误诊或漏诊18例,占48.6%(18/37例)。婴儿组1例由于核素扫描提示存活心肌很少,等待心脏移植,另2例家长放弃手术。34例患儿行冠状动脉移植术23例,肺动脉内隧道术8例,冠状动脉搭桥2例,单纯结扎冠状动脉左主干1例。无手术早期死亡。术后有近期随访资料26例(76.5%,26/34例),随访6～130(13.6±18.4)个月,晚期死亡1例。患儿术后LVED均较术前缩小,仍有二尖瓣轻度关闭不全8例。有随访资料患儿中,8例术前LVEF<50%,术后3～6个月LVEF均恢复正常。结论 ALCAPA婴儿患儿临床表现较幼儿及年长儿患儿重。小儿ALCAPA由于缺乏特征性表现,各年龄段均易误诊。对于小儿各年龄段表现为心脏扩大、心功能不全、二尖瓣关闭不全等患儿,要注意除外小儿ALCAPA。可以结合其ECG表现,反复超声ECG探查冠状动脉,必要时加行多层螺旋CT或心血管造影以明确诊断,确诊后应尽快手术治疗。     

Visualization of the site of the onset of ventricular depolarization by acceleration mode “Tissue Doppler Imaging” technique

Tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) is a relatively new echocardiographic technique that shows regional myocardial wall velocities. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential value of acceleration mode TDI technique for the visualization of the origin of ventricular activation site using the model of right ventricular pacing. Twenty-seven patients with implanted permanent pacemakers were studied by acceleration mode TDI, 4 of these patients were pacemaker dependent. Parasternal and apical chamber views were recorded on video tape by using acceleration mode TDI technique during sinus rhythm with preserved atrioventricular conduction in 23 subjects who were not pacemaker-dependent, and also during right ventricular apical pacing in VVI mode in 27 subjects in whom pacing lower rate was increased if necessary. Fifty images recorded during sinus and pacing rhythm in cineloop were examined by two independent observers who were unaware of the rhythm patterns and by the same observer on two different occasions for localizing the site of onset of ventricular acceleration. The origin of ventricular activation during sinus rhythm started at basal septal part of the ventricle and during pacing started at apical part of the ventricle was considered as correct localizations. The origin of ventricular depolarization was correctly localized for 46 of 50 images (92%) and 44 of 50 images (88%) by the first and the second observers, respectively. Concordant results between observers appeared in 48 of 50 (96%) of images. The diagnostic accuracy of the concordant results was 44 of 48 (91.6%) images. The kappa for interobserver variability was 0.77 (p<0.001), and for intraobserver variability was 0.64 (p<0.001) and 0.63 (p<0.001) for the first and the second observers, respectively. These results suggest that acceleration mode TDI can be used to detect the initial ventricular excited position and seems to have a potential value for localizing of the origin of normal or abnormal myocardial depolarization. Address for correspondence: Yuksel Cavusoglu, Osmangazi University, Eskişehir, Turkey.     

宿翳病名源流探析

通过整理历代医籍中宿翳相关文献,据其病名所属疾病类别不同及出现年代先后,对各类宿翳中医病名发展源流进行考辨梳理。经研究发现,古籍中载有大量宿翳相关文献,历代医家主要据其自觉症状、体征特点、病因病机等不同而命名。通过研究确认,虽病名繁杂,但据其症状描述均属现代医学角膜瘢痕范畴,为角膜病病名规范化研究奠定了理论基础。     

基于电子鼻技术的不同产地大白菊鉴别研究

目的研究不同产地大白菊气味指纹变化。方法通过电子鼻检测不同产地大白菊样品气味在传感器上的响应值,采用主成分分析法(PCA)、判别因子分析(DFA)等两种方法进行分析。结果不同产地大白菊样品经PCA和DFA分析后能明显分开。结论电子鼻结合PCA和DFA分析技术,可作为大白菊产地鉴别手段。     

Vasculitis of the aortic arch and cardiac valves as the cause of relapsing fever of unknown origin in an elderly, white man

Here, we report the case of fever of unknown origin (FUO) in a 77-year-old white man. The patient presented with a 3-week history of fever (between 38.5 and 39°C) and general malaise. These symptoms had occurred about five to seven times during the past 30 years, and despite repeated hospitalizations, no diagnosis was made. Physical examination did not reveal any specific signs of infection nor did the patient fulfill the criteria for any rheumatic disease including vasculitides. Blood chemistry showed a greatly elevated C-reactive protein (CRP; 158.2 mg/l) and an erythrocyte sedimentation rate >100 mm, indicating an active inflammatory process, and leukocytes were significantly elevated (20,000/μl). Rheumatological parameters showed only nonspecific changes. Finally, a 2-[¹⁸F]-fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose-positron emission tomography was performed, revealing a markedly enhanced glucose uptake in the ascending aorta and the cardiac valves, indicating vasculitis as the cause of FUO in this patient. Based on this finding, treatment was started with corticosteroids, and 2 days after the initiation of treatment, the patient had normal body temperature, and after 5 days, CRP values had returned to normal. After tapering and final complete removal of steroid treatment, the patient was still free of symptoms, hence no disease-modifying antirheumatic drug therapy was necessary.     

Cell of origin fails to predict survival in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma treated with autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) includes two prognostically important subtypes, the germinal center B-cell (GCB) and the non-GCB types. The aim of this study was to evaluate immunohistochemical approaches for predicting the survival of patients with DLBCL following autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHSCT). We identified 62 patients with DLBCL who either had an initial complete remission (17 patients) or received salvage chemotherapy for relapsed or refractory disease (45 patients), followed by AHSCT. Tissue microarrays were immunostained with monoclonal antibodies against GCET1, CD10, BCL6, MUM1, FOXP1 and LMO2. Using the Hans algorithm, we classified 50% of the cases as GCB type, whereas the Choi algorithm classified 58% as GCB type and LMO2 was positive in 69%. However, no significant differences were found in the 5-year overall or event-free survivals using any of these approaches. In conclusion, cell of origin fails to predict survival of DLBCL patients treated with AHSCT.     

A second-generation microRNA-based assay for diagnosing tumor tissue origin

Background.

Cancers of unknown primary origin (CUP) constitute 3%–5% (50,000 to 70,000 cases) of all newly diagnosed cancers per year in the United States. Including cancers of uncertain primary origin, the total number increases to 12%–15% (180,000 to 220,000 cases) of all newly diagnosed cancers per year in the United States. Cancers of unknown/uncertain primary origins present major diagnostic and clinical challenges because the tumor tissue of origin is crucial for selecting optimal treatment. MicroRNAs are a family of noncoding, regulatory RNA genes involved in carcinogenesis. MicroRNAs that are highly stable in clinical samples and tissue specific serve as ideal biomarkers for cancer diagnosis. Our first-generation assay identified the tumor of origin based on 48 microRNAs measured on a quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction platform and differentiated 25 tumor types.

Methods.

We present here the development and validation of a second-generation assay that identifies 42 tumor types using a custom microarray. A combination of a binary decision-tree and a k-nearest-neighbor classifier was developed to identify the tumor of origin based on the expression of 64 microRNAs.

Results.

Overall assay sensitivity (positive agreement), measured blindly on a validation set of 509 independent samples, was 85%. The sensitivity reached 90% for cases in which the assay reported a single answer (>80% of cases). A clinical validation study on 52 true CUP patients showed 88% concordance with the clinicopathological evaluation of the patients.

Conclusion.

The abilities of the assay to identify 42 tumor types with high accuracy and to maintain the same performance in samples from patients clinically diagnosed with CUP promise improved utility in the diagnosis of cancers of unknown/uncertain primary origins.     

不明原因发热患者的诊断与病因分析

目的分析不明原因发热(FUO)患者诊断方法的选择和病因的确定。方法回顾性分析362例FUO患者的诊断方法和病因。结果316例患者经过血清学、细菌学、体液检查、骨髓检查、组织活检、手术探查,并结合临床经过和试验治疗效果明确临床诊断。其中感染性疾病176例(包括细菌感染134例,病毒感染34例,真菌感染5例,其他3例),非感染性疾病140例(包括血管结缔组织病65例,肿瘤性疾病61例,其他疾病14例)。最后仍有46例患者诊断不明。结论对于FUO的诊断应该尽量获得病原学、免疫学和病理学的诊断依据,感染性疾病、血管结缔组织病和肿瘤性疾病是FUO发病的主要原因。