ROBUST GUARANTEED COST CONTROL OF UNCERTAIN NON-LINEAR ROBOTIC SYSTEM USING MIXED MINIMUM TIME AND QUADRATIC PERFORMANCE INDEX

To provide better transient performance in controlling robots, a mixed minimum time and quadratic performance index is used. For known and uncertain revolute robot manipulators a conventional optimal control and a robust guaranteed cost control are proposed respectively. Asymptotic stability is also discussed based on the Lyapunov direct method. The proposed robust control is continuous and requires no knowledge of the uncertain system except for bounding functions.     

Inhibition of ligand binding to g protein-coupled receptors by arachidonic acid

Arachidonic acid (AA), released in response to muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (mAChR) stimulation, previously has been reported to function as a reversible feedback inhibitor of the mAChR. To determine if the effects of AA on binding to the mAChR are subtype specific and whether AA inhibits ligand binding to other G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), the effects of AA on ligand binding to the mAChR subtypes (M₁, M₂, M₃, M₄, and M₅) and to the μ-opioid receptor, β₂-adrenergic receptor (β₂-AR), 5-hydroxytryptamine receptor (5-HTR), and nicotinic receptors were examined. AA was found to inhibit ligand binding to all mAChR subtypes, to the β₂-AR, the 5-HTR, and to the μ-opioid receptor. However, AA does not inhibit ligand binding to the nicotinic receptor, even at high concentrations of AA. Thus, AA inhibits several types of GPCRs, with 50% inhibition occurring at 3–25 μM, whereas the nicotinic receptor, a non-GPCR, remains unaffected. Further research is needed to determine the mechanism by which AA inhibits GPCR function.     

双酚胺酸对小鼠和大鼠氯化镍解毒及分布的影响

AIM: To study the effect of catecholamic acid (CBMIDA) on detoxication of NiCl2. METHODS: Mice and rats were injected s.c. or i.m. CBMIDA immediately after i.p. NiCl2. Each mouse was injected i.p. CBMIDA after i.v. 63NiCl2 185 kBq, and radioactivities of various tissues were measured with liquid scintillation counter at 24 h. The localization of 63Ni was shown by the whole-body autoradiography. RESULTS: CBMIDA s.c. 0.5-1.5 g.kg-1 markedly reduced the mortality from acute poisoning of i.p. NiCl2 500 mg.kg-1. After i.p. NiCl2 in mice, the LD50 was 82.7 mg.kg-1. Mice were injected s.c. CBMIDA 1.5 or 2.5 g.kg-1 after Ni poisoning, the LD50 of NiCl2 were raised to 789 or 820 mg.kg-1, respectively. The LD50 of NiCl2 was 39 mg.kg-1 in rat. If CBMIDA was injected i.m. 0.5 g.kg-1 after i.p. NiCl2, the LD50 was 332 mg.kg-1. CBMIDA 1.5 g.kg-1 i.m. after i.v. 63NiCl2, decreased the contents of 63Ni in blood and lung of mice vs control mice at 24 h. The contents of 63Ni in brain, heart, spleen, and kidney were similar to those of the control mice. The content of 63Ni in bone was more than the control. The excretions of 63Ni through urine and feces were not increased by CBMIDA at 24 h. The whole-body autoradiography showed that the radioactivity was highly localized in the kidney, lung, and Harder's gland. There was a moderate level of 63Ni in the liver, bone, skin, and blood. A pronounced accumulation occurred in the bone. There was a marked reduction of 63Ni in the lung, skin, liver, and blood after i.p. CBMIDA. CONCLUSION: The CBMIDA markedly raised the survival rate of nickel-poisoned mice and rats, and decreased 63Ni levels in lung and blood.     

Immediate ultrastructural effects of endothelin-1 on rabbit basilar artery

Summary In this study intra-arterial Endothelin-1 was applied to rabbit basilar arteries and morphological findings were compared between two groups who were either perfusion fixed or immersion fixed. We planned to establish the quantitative dimension of the drug-induced morphological alterations, independent of the fixation technique's effect.There was an abundance of collagenous fibres deposited among the smooth muscle cells which was not observed in control arteries and after immersion fixation. These degenerative changes are similar to the finding following subarachnoid haemorrhage. The only fixation-related difference was the fact that lamina elastica interna was not corrugated in the perfusion fixation group.It is concluded that, the observed changes in the connective tissue of the arterial wall alter the passive elastic properties and so affect the degree of the response to the vasoactive messengers.     

舌下腺囊肿口外型临床治疗（附17例分析）

舌下腺囊肿口外型临床治疗（附１７例分析）张伟杰，张志勇，哈　，胡永杰舌下腺囊肿是口腔颌面外科学中常见疾病之一，而其口外型临床较少见，易引起误诊，造成手术进路的错误，增加病员的痛苦。本文报告我科１９９０～１９９５年１７例舌下腺囊肿口外型的临床表现，诊断...     

下体负压作用下心率变异性的线性和非线性动力学分析

为了评估下体负压作用下心率变异性的变化，本文应用了时域，频域分析和复杂度分析了ＨＲＶ。受试者为１５名健康男性。下体负压作用的强度和时间分别为－２．７ｋＰａ，２ｍｉｎ；－４．０ｋＰａ，３ｍｉｎ；－５．３ｋＰａ，５ｍｉｎ；－６．７ｋＰａ，１０ｍｉｎ。     

Digital subtraction arthrography in preoperative evaluation of painful total hip arthroplasty

 Objective. The objective of this clinical study was to define the diagnostic value of plain radiography, digital subtraction arthrography and two-phase bone scintigraphy in patients with clinically loose or infected hip prostheses. Design. Digital subtraction arthrograms, scintigrams and plain radiographs of 70 consecutive patients who underwent revision hip arthroplasty were scored individually and in masked fashion for the presence or absence of features indicating loosening of femoral and/or acetabular components. The operative findings acted as the gold standard. Results. Digital subtraction arthrography was best (P<0.001) for predicting a loose acetabular component, while no significant additional predictive value was found for plain radiographs (P=0.24) and scintigraphy (P=0.27). Digital subtraction arthrography was also the most important modality for predicting a loose femoral component (P=0.001), while the plain radiograph was of significant (P=0.04) additional value and scintigraphy was of no additional value (P=0.13) on multivariate analysis. Conclusion. Digital subtraction arthrography gives the best results in the prediction of loosening of acetabular and femoral components. Plain radiographs give additional information on loosening of the femoral component, but scintigraphy offers no additional advantage.     

ADVERSE EVENTS AFTER PROSTATECTOMY IN VICTORIAN PUBLIC HOSPITALS

Background : A retrospective analysis of data from the Victorian Inpatient Minimum Database (VIMD) was conducted to analyse trends in prostatectomy rates in Victorian public acute-care hospitals from 1989/90 to 1994/95. The study also sought to identify predictors of adverse events (AE) after prostatectomy, and to compare in-hospital complications between open prostatectomy and transurethral resection of prostate (TURP). Methods : All patients who had undergone any prostatectomy were identified according to the relevant ICD-9-CM procedure codes (60.2–60.4) documented in the VIMD. The main outcome measures, AE, were identified using the ICD-9-CM supplementary classification of external cause of injury (E850–858, E870–876, E878–879, E930–949). The variables used as predictors were year of prostatectomy, type of admission (planned, emergency), location of the hospital (rural, metropolitan), type of procedure (TURP, open), and teaching status of the hospital. Crude and adjusted odds ratios (OR) were based on univariate and multivariate logistic regression. Results : The rates of prostatectomies have significantly increased over the 6-year study period (P for trend < 0.0001). The percentage of AE after prostatectomy increased simultaneously from 6.1 to 12.9% (P < 0.0001). During the same period, the in-hospital mortality rate after prostatectomy decreased from 1.2 to 0.5%, and length of stay decreased from 10.3 to 6.1 days (Kruskal–Wallis P < 0.0001). The significant predictors of outcome were year of prostatectomy (P for trend < 0.0001), emergency admissions (OR = 1.57; P < 0.0001), metropolitan hospitals (OR = 0.81; P= 0.0003), non-teaching hospitals (OR = 0.78; P < 0.0001), and open prostatectomy (OR = 1.52; P= 0.04). More in-hospital complications were associated with open prostatectomy than with TURP. Conclusions : The rise in AE rate after prostatectomy is unlikely to reflect poor quality of care, because in the same period there was a significant decrease in in-hospital mortality after prostatectomy. A more likely explanation is heightened awareness of AE with a lower threshold for reporting such events. Important factors other than variations in quality of care can result in an increase in AE. Hence the reported increase should be interpreted with caution before attempting to conclude that changes in clinical practice could have a direct impact on these rates.     

Intestinal plethora: An early sign of acute posttraumatic hepatic artery-portal vein arteriovenous fistula

Traumatic communications between the hepatic artery or its branches and the portal vein or its tributaries usually are clinically occult until the late sequelae of portal hypertension, such as esophageal and mesenteric varices, ascites, or congestive heart failure, become manifest. The authors describe the early diagnosis of such a lesion by computed tomography. The CT findings included a hepatic hematoma and, more significantly, diffuse thickening of the small and large bowel wall. This thickening represents vascular congestion of the bowel caused by acute portal hypertension prior to the development of decompressing portal collateral circuits. When this CT finding is not associated with other signs of intestinal ischemia or infarction, it should suggest portal hypertension and lead to arteriography for diagnosis and therapy of arterioportal fistula.