Policy Perspective on Housing and HIV/AIDS

For persons battling HIV/AIDS a stable place to live may decide the length and quality of life itself. It is nearly impossible for a person on the streets to engage in a needed continuous AIDS treatment regimen when the very basic question of where that person will rest his or her head when darkness comes in just a few hours is unresolved. When danger lurks on the streets, when cold numbs the limbs, when tiredness overwhelms the mind, when fear breaks the spirit, a place to call home would make all the difference.     

Pelvic Ring Fractures: Utility of Clinical Examination in Patients with Impaired Consciousness or Tracheal Intubation

Abstract Objective: To define the diagnostic accuracy of clinical examination in patients with impaired consciousness or endotracheal intubation to detect pelvic ring fractures and to identify those with severe bleeding. Methods: Included in this prospective data collection with retrolective data analysis were a consecutive series of blunt trauma victims with either a Glasgow Coma Scale ≤ 13 or tracheal intubation. Clinical examination comprised testing for stability of the iliac wings. Results: From 784 subjects (injury severity score 23.3 ± 17.4) 93 patients (11.9%) were found to have a pelvic ring fracture. Clinical instability of the pelvic ring was found in 42 patients. There was only one false positive. Fifty-two fractures could not be identified by clinical examination, including nine fractures (17%) that required surgical fracture stabilization (sensitivity of clinical examination 44.1%). Seventeen fractures (18.3%) were associated with a blood loss larger than 20% of circulating blood volume. Sixteen of those were identified by clinical instability of the pelvic ring (sensitivity 94.1%, specificity 97.0%, positive predictive value 38.1%, negative predictive value 99.9%). Conclusions: Clinical examination for stability of the pelvis in this selected group of patients missed a significant number of pelvic ring fractures including fractures that require surgical stabilization. The finding of a clinically unstable identifies most of the patients with the pelvic ring fracture being a major source of bleeding. A stable pelvis makes pelvic ring fracture as being the source of bleeding quite unlikely.     

急性冠状动脉综合征患者介入术前后血小板活化及血管内皮功能的变化

目的观察急性冠状动脉综合征患者介入治疗后血小板活化指标CD62p、CD63及糖蛋白Ⅱb/Ⅲa受体复合物及内皮功能的改变。方法60例急性冠状动脉综合征患者在冠状动脉介入术前和术后即刻以及次日采用流式细胞仪检测血小板活化指标CD62p、CD63及糖蛋白Ⅱb/Ⅲa受体复合物;双抗体夹心固相酶联免疫吸附试验测定血浆假血友病因子的表达水平;放射免疫测定法测定血浆内皮素1表达水平;酶法测定血浆一氧化氮的含量;彩色多谱勒超声诊断仪测量内皮依赖性血管舒张功能。选择健康体检者和稳定型心绞痛患者各30例作对照,观察急性冠状动脉综合征患者冠状动脉介入前后指标的变化并与对照组比较。结果与健康对照组和稳定型心绞痛组比,急性冠状动脉综合征组CD62p、CD63及糖蛋白Ⅱb/Ⅲa受体复合物明显增高(P<0.05或0.01);急性冠状动脉综合征患者介入术后即刻CD62p、CD63和糖蛋白Ⅱb/Ⅲa受体复合物与术前相比明显增高(P<0.01),但术后24h较术前无明显变化(P>0.05)。与健康对照组和稳定型心绞痛组比,急性冠状动脉综合征组假血友病因子、内皮素1的表达水平明显增高(P<0.01),内皮依赖性血管舒张功能和一氧化氮降低(P<0.05或<0.01);急性冠状动脉综合征患者介入术后即刻血浆假血友病因子和内皮素1水平升高(P<0.05或P<0.01),内皮依赖性血管舒张功能和一氧化氮水平降低(P<0.05),且介入术后24h假血友病因子水平也较术前升高(P<0.05),内皮依赖性血管舒张功能降低(P<0.05),但内皮素1和一氧化氮水平与术前差异无显著性(P>0.05)。结论血小板活化和内皮功能的损伤在急性冠状动脉综合征发生和发展过程中起重要的作用,冠状动脉介入术后血管内皮受到一定损伤,血小板有一定程度的激活。     

Classification tree analysis of second neoplasms in survivors of childhood cancer

Background  

Reports on childhood cancer survivors estimated cumulative probability of developing secondary neoplasms vary from 3,3% to 25% at 25 years from diagnosis, and the risk of developing another cancer to several times greater than in the general population.     

Sleep and recovery in physicians on night call: a longitudinal field study

Background  

It is well known that physicians' night-call duty may cause impaired performance and adverse effects on subjective health, but there is limited knowledge about effects on sleep duration and recovery time. In recent years occupational stress and impaired well-being among anaesthesiologists have been frequently reported for in the scientific literature. Given their main focus on handling patients with life-threatening conditions, when on call, one might expect sleep and recovery to be negatively affected by work, especially in this specialist group. The aim of the present study was to examine whether a 16-hour night-call schedule allowed for sufficient recovery in anaesthesiologists compared with other physician specialists handling less life-threatening conditions, when on call.     

Associations between street connectivity and active transportation

Background  

Past studies of associations between measures of the built environment, particularly street connectivity, and active transportation (AT) or leisure walking/bicycling have largely failed to account for spatial autocorrelation of connectivity variables and have seldom examined both the propensity for AT and its duration in a coherent fashion. Such efforts could improve our understanding of the spatial and behavioral aspects of AT. We analyzed spatially identified data from Los Angeles and San Diego Counties collected as part of the 2001 California Health Interview Survey.     

Does chair type influence outcome in the timed “up and go” test in older persons?

Objective  

To test the effects of the use of a collapsible, portable chair (chair B), as opposed to a ‘standard’ chair (chair A), on the outcome of the timed “Up and Go” (TUG) test.