Large volume injection and infiltration system

Summary A system which can be used for injection or infiltration of large volumes of fluid is described. This consists of a syringe which fills automatically from a reservoir through an inlet/outlet valve.     

Zero-Order Release Formulation of Oxprenolol Hydrochloride with Swelling and Erosion Control

Zero-order release of oxprenolol hydrochloride was obtained by controlling the swelling and erosion of the matrix. This formulation involves only mixing of drug, hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC), and sodium carboxymethylcellulose (Na CMC) at the ratio of 1:0.4:1.6, respectively, and compressing the mixture directly into tablets. The in vitro release pattern from this optimized matrix tablet was reproducible. Accelerated stability studies revealed that the optimized formulation remains stable for an approximately 2-year shelf life. This sustained-release (SR) tablet was evaluated in dogs, and for comparison a conventional (CV) formulation was also given at the same dose level. Plasma oxprenolol levels were monitored by a sensitive and specific high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method. Significant differences in the pharmacokinetic parameters, i.e., lower C _max, higher values of t _max, MRT, AUC, and plasma concentration at 24 hr, and nearly constant plasma levels over 12 hr, indicated that the SR matrix tablet is superior to the CV rapid-releasing formulation. The in vitro release parameters and in vivo pharmacokinetics correlated well.     

空心钉和骨圆针固定治疗股骨转子间骨折的力学随机对照试验

目的:通过与4枚斯氏针固定比较,利用生物力学方法评价多枚空心钉固定股骨转子骨折的适应证和可靠性。方法:使用Sawbone股骨模型,模拟EvansⅢA型骨折,分别用2种多枚空心钉方法(矩外空心钉和矩内空心钉法)及多枚骨圆针固定,在CSS-11101力学实验机上进行载荷试验,取300 N载荷下股骨头垂直位移和张口位移数值,比较3种方法的轴向刚度。通过扭转实验比较3种固定方法的抗扭转能力。结果:3种固定方法在轴向刚度方面差异有统计学意义(P<0.05),而抗扭转能力方面差异无统计学意义(P>0.05)。结论:矩外空心钉固定力学性能相似于4枚骨圆针,而矩内空心钉固定弱于4枚骨圆针。应用多枚空心钉固定应选择稳定型股骨转子间骨折。     

靶控输注咪唑安定对靶控输注丙泊酚镇静催眠效应的影响

目的评价靶控输注咪唑安定对靶控输注丙泊酚镇静催眠效应的影响。方法ASAI～Ⅱ级择期手术患者40例，随机分为四组：A组为单纯丙泊酚组，B、C、D组为丙泊酚 咪唑安定组，咪唑安定靶浓度分别为10、20、30ng／mL。咪唑安定达到平衡后，血浆靶控输注丙泊酚。记录丙泊酚效应部位浓度为1、2、3、4、5μg／mL时BIS值和OAA／S评分，并记录OAA／S评分达到4、3、2、1时丙泊酚效应部位浓度和BIS值，记录BIS值为50时丙泊酚效应部位浓度。结果1．咪唑安定达到平衡后，C组和D组BIS值显著下降；D组中OAA／S评分也显著下降，并低于B组和C组；2．随丙泊酚浓度升高四组患者．BIS值和OAA／S评分逐渐下降；3．相同丙泊酚浓度时，BIS值和OAA／S评分随咪唑安定浓度增加呈降低趋势；4．B、C、D三组患者OAA／S评分达到3、2、1以及BIS值达到50时所需丙泊酚效应部位浓度均显著低于A组，达到相同OAA／S评分D组所需丙泊酚效应部位浓度显著低于B组和C组。结论效应部位浓度为10、20、30ng／mL的咪唑安定均能显著降低丙泊酚靶控浓度，以达到需要的镇静深度；随咪唑安定浓度加深，降低作用越明显。     

Parallel image reconstruction using B-spline approximation (PROBER).

A new reconstruction method for parallel MRI called PROBER is proposed. The method PROBER works in an image domain similar to methods based on Sensitivity Encoding (SENSE). However, unlike SENSE, which first estimates the spatial sensitivity maps, PROBER approximates the reconstruction coefficients directly by B-splines. Also, B-spline coefficients are estimated at once in order to minimize the reconstruction error instead of estimating the reconstruction in each pixel independently (as in SENSE). This makes the method robust to noise in reference images. No presmoothing of reference images is necessary. The number of estimated parameters is reduced, which speeds up the estimation process. PROBER was tested on simulated, phantom, and in vivo data. The results are compared with commercial implementations of the algorithms SENSE and GRAPPA (Generalized Autocalibrating Partially Parallel Acquisitions) in terms of elapsed time and reconstruction quality. The experiments showed that PROBER is faster than GRAPPA and SENSE for images wider than 150x150 pixels for comparable reconstruction quality. With more basis functions, PROBER outperforms both SENSE and GRAPPA in reconstruction quality at the cost of slightly increased computational time.     

Seasonal covariation of the circadian phases of rectal temperature and slow wave sleep onset

There is a scarcity of well-controlled studies of the seasonal variation in circadian rhythmicity. In the present study, the circadian phase of rectal temperature and the onset of slow wave sleep were studied in a series of twelve 24-h experiments, one each month of the year, for six healthy subjects under controlled conditions in a climatic chamber. In winter, as compared with summer, the average circadian rhythm of rectal temperature was phase delayed by 45 min, and the average onset of slow wave sleep was phase delayed by 40 min. The temporal relationship between the circadian phase of rectal temperature and the timing of slow wave sleep was maintained throughout the year. Habitual rising and retiring times covaried as well. Furthermore, the circadian rhythm of rectal temperature followed the timing of the photoperiod across the year, but had a much smaller range of seasonal variation. Apparently, the seasonal variation in the photoperiodic zeitgeber is largely compensated for by the stabilizing influence of secondary zeitgebers. However, in healthy subjects some effect of photoperiodic variation can still be observed.     

筛检对肝癌死亡率影响的研究

5581名HBsAg阳性的男性随机分入周期性筛检组(A组,3712人)及对照组(B组,1869人)。A组(19155.4人年)共发生肝癌257例,B组(9785.5人年)为117例,两组的肝癌发生率分别为1342/10万与1196/10万;两组肝癌死亡分别为218与109例,肝癌死亡率分别为1138/10万与1114/10万。两组中Ⅰ期肝癌病例分别为29.6％与6.0％,差异有非常显著性意义。1、3、5年相对生存率A组为23.7％、7.0％、4.0％,B组为9.7％、4.0％、4.1％。用Poisson回归模型拟合显示,在调正年龄、初筛AFP及入列年份后,筛检对于肝癌的相对危险度为0.83,95％CI为0.68～1.03,有较弱的“保护”作用,Cox回归模型拟合结果显示当临床分期未引入模型时,筛检对于肝癌有显著的“保护”作用:危险率为0.6617,95％CI为0.5234～0.8365;而模型经调整后,危险率即接近“1”,95％CI为0.74～1.26。     

Randomized clinical trial of ascorbic acid in the treatment of pressure ulcers

The objective of this study was to assess the effects of ascorbic acid supplementation, 500 mg twice daily in the treatment of pressure ulcers as an adjunct to standardized treatment.

The design consisted of a multicenter blinded randomized trial. The control group received 10 mg of ascorbic acid twice daily.

Patients from 11 nursing homes and 1 hospital participated.

Main outcome measures included wound survival, healing rates of wound surfaces, and clinimetric changes over 12 weeks.

Eighty-eight patients were randomized. Intention-to-treat analysis showed that the wound closure probability per unit time (i.e., the closure rate) was not higher in the intervention group than in the control group (Cox hazard ratio of 0.78 [90% precision interval, 0.44–1.39]). Mean absolute healing rates were 0.21 and 0.27 cm²/week in the intervention and control group, respectively (PI of the adjusted difference: −0.17 to 0.13). Relative healing rates and healing velocities did not show favorable results of ascorbic acid supplementation, either. A panel scored slides of the ulcers with a report mark between 1 (bad) and 10 (excellent). The improvement was 0.45 and 0.72 points per week in the intervention and control group, respectively (PI of the adjusted difference: −0.50 to 0.20). With another clinimetric index we could not show any differences, either.

These data do not support the idea that ascorbic acid supplementation (500 vs. 10 mg twice daily) speeds up the healing of pressure ulcers.     

Non-Cartesian data reconstruction using GRAPPA operator gridding (GROG).

A novel approach that uses the concepts of parallel imaging to grid data sampled along a non-Cartesian trajectory using GRAPPA operator gridding (GROG) is described. GROG shifts any acquired data point to its nearest Cartesian location, thereby converting non-Cartesian to Cartesian data. Unlike other parallel imaging methods, GROG synthesizes the net weight for a shift in any direction from a single basis set of weights along the logical k-space directions. Given the vastly reduced size of the basis set, GROG calibration and reconstruction requires fewer operations and less calibration data than other parallel imaging methods for gridding. Instead of calculating and applying a density compensation function (DCF), GROG requires only local averaging, as the reconstructed points fall upon the Cartesian grid. Simulations are performed to demonstrate that the root mean square error (RMSE) values of images gridded with GROG are similar to those for images gridded using the gold-standard convolution gridding. Finally, GROG is compared to the convolution gridding technique using data sampled along radial, spiral, rosette, and BLADE (a.k.a. periodically rotated overlapping parallel lines with enhanced reconstruction [PROPELLER]) trajectories.     

Array compression for MRI with large coil arrays.

Arrays with large numbers of independent coil elements are becoming increasingly available as they provide increased signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) and improved parallel imaging performance. Processing of data from a large set of independent receive channels is, however, associated with an increased memory and computational load in reconstruction. This work addresses this problem by introducing coil array compression. The method allows one to reduce the number of datasets from independent channels by combining all or partial sets in the time domain prior to image reconstruction. It is demonstrated that array compression can be very effective depending on the size of the region of interest (ROI). Based on 2D in vivo data obtained with a 32-element phased-array coil in the heart, it is shown that the number of channels can be compressed to as few as four with only 0.3% SNR loss in an ROI encompassing the heart. With twofold parallel imaging, only a 2% loss in SNR occurred using the same compression factor.