Blood species discrimination using proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

Blood species identification is an important challenge in forensic science. Conventional methods used for blood species analysis are destructive and associated with time-consuming sample preparation steps. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is known for its nondestructive properties and fast results. This research study presents a proton (¹H) NMR method to discriminate blood species including human, cat, dog, elephant, and bison. Characteristic signals acting as markers are observed for each species. Moreover, the data are evaluated by principle component analysis (PCA) and support vector machines (SVM). A 100% correct species recognition between human and nonhuman species is achieved using radial basis kernel function (RBF) and standardized data. The research study shows that ¹H NMR spectroscopy is a powerful tool for differentiating human and nonhuman blood showing a great significance to forensic science.

     

Changes and equity in use of maternal health care in China: from 1991 to 2003

To examine changes and equity in use of maternal care in different types of rural and urban areas in China from the early 1990s to early 2000s. Data were drawn from three National Health Household Interview Surveys conducted in 1993, 1998, and 2003. Analysis was based on married women aged between 15 and 49 who had live births within the 24 months prior to the survey. Nationally, the proportion of women receiving their first pre-natal visit within 12 weeks of gestation and the hospital delivery rate increased rapidly from 20.56 and 37.61% in the early 1990s to 52.60 and 74.02% in the early 2000s, respectively, while the proportion of women receiving at least one post-natal care visit dropped slightly from 56.46 to 54.12% in the same time period. There were large disparities in use of maternal care between urban and rural areas and among different sized cities and rural areas with different levels of socio-economic development. But the disparities narrowed over time, especially among different types of rural areas. The proportion of delivery out of hospital attended by trained staff in rural areas decreased considerably from 68.01% in 1991–1993 to 51.57% in 2001–2003. Maternal care utilization made remarkable progress in the study period, and the gap between rural and urban areas and among different classes of cities and rural areas significantly narrowed. This was probably due to both socio-economic development and targeted investments in improving health services. However, significant gaps remained, requiring attention.     

The association between Modic changes and pain during 1-year follow-up in patients with lumbar radicular pain

Objective

To examine whether Modic changes influence pain during a 1-year follow-up in patients with lumbar radicular pain.

Materials and Methods

A total of 243 patients with lumbar radicular pain due to disc herniation were recruited from two hospitals in Norway and followed up at 6 weeks, 6 months, and 12 months. On baseline lumbar magnetic resonance images, two observers independently evaluated Modic changes (types I–III; craniocaudal size 0–3). Outcomes were sensory pain (McGill Pain Questionnaire), back and leg pain (visual analogue scale, VAS). Association between Modic type and outcomes was explored with a mixed model and then by two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) at each time point with Modic and treatment groups (surgical, n?=?126; nonsurgical, n?=?117) as fixed factors, adjusted for disc degeneration, age, sex, smoking, and duration of radicular pain. Modic size was also analyzed using ANOVA.

Results

Pain scores had decreased significantly at 1-year follow-up. Modic type was significantly related to McGill sensory scores (mixed model: p?=?0.014–0.026; ANOVA: p?=?0.007 at 6 weeks), but not to VAS back pain or VAS leg pain scores. At 6 weeks, the mean McGill sensory score was higher in Modic I than in Modic II–III patients (p?=?0.003) and in patients without Modic changes (p?=?0.018). Modic size L1–S1 was not associated with pain outcomes.

Conclusion

Patients with lumbar radicular pain have a substantial pain reduction during 1-year follow-up, but Modic type I changes may imply a slower initial decrease in sensory pain.     

Impaired Wisconsin Card Sorting Test performance in first-episode severe depression

An important issue in the practice of clinical neuropsychology is to define the degree to which impaired executive functions associated with severe depression are a result of organic dysfunction or of only current depressive experience, reflecting clinical state. Twenty-eight patients with psychotic depression, 29 with nonpsychotic depression and 30 healthy controls, matched for age and education were tested on WCST, WAIS-R, and the Rorschach according to the Comprehensive System, providing indices of depression (DEPI) and coping deficit (CDI). Patients were impaired in WCST performance. The stepwise regression for WCST scores yielded two significant predictor variables: the DEPI and Digit Symbol as a measure of complex attention and response speed. Within the groups, Picture Completion in patients with nonpsychotic depression and the CDI in patients with psychotic depression emerged as the significant predictors of WCST scores. Patients with severe major depressive disorder have profound executive impairments as assessed by the WCST at early stages of the illness. Intense emotional distress and psychomotor retardation seem to contribute to impaired performance. The depression groups revealed different response patterns, reflecting more severe deterioration and signs of possible organic dysfunction in patients with psychotic depression.     

Monocular versus binocular vision in postural control

OBJECTIVE: In previous studies about the control of posture there have been controversial findings. Our aim was to examine the role of monocular and binocular vision in controlling posture in quiet stance. METHODS: Twenty-eight normal subjects were tested. We used a force platform in measuring postural stability. In main experiment, postural stability was measured in four conditions: both eyes open (BEO), dominant eye open (DEO) non-dominant eye open (NDEO), and both eyes closed (BEC). In a further experiment, 11 subjects were tested in conditions where a vertical prism was placed in front of dominant eye. Prism was strong enough to cause diplopia. Our interest was to see, if diplopia affected the balance. RESULTS: In main experiment, at level of group the body-sway in any of the three ocular (viewing) conditions did not differ from each other. At level of individuals, binocular vision was more effective on controlling posture in only half of subjects. In prism experiment, relative to normal binocular viewing the postural stability was modified in both prism conditions, but there was no difference between monocular and binocular viewing with prism. CONCLUSION: In quiet stance and in subjects with perfect binocular vision and stereopsis, the benefit out of binocular viewing in postural stability is subject-dependent. At the level of group, monocular vision provides equally good postural stability as binocular vision.