Uncooked rice of relatively low gelatinization degree resulted in lower metabolic glucose and insulin responses compared with cooked rice in female college students

Cooking processes that gelatinize granules or disrupt structure might increase the glucose and insulin responses because a disruption of the structure of starch by gelatinization increases its availability for digestion and absorption in the small intestine. We hypothesized that the uncooked form of rice, which has a relatively low degree of gelatinization even though in powder form, would result in lower metabolic glucose and insulin responses compared with cooked rice (CR). To assess the effects of the gelatinization of rice on metabolic response of glucose and insulin, we investigated the glucose and insulin responses to 3 rice meals of different gelatinization degree in female college students (n = 12): CR (76.9% gelatinized), uncooked rice powder (UP; 3.5% gelatinized), and uncooked freeze-dried rice powder (UFP; 5.4% gelatinized). Uncooked rice powders (UP and UFP) induced lower glucose and insulin responses compared with CR. The relatively low gelatinization degree of UPs resulted in low metabolic responses in terms of the glycemic index (CR: 72.4% vs UP: 49.7%, UFP: 59.8%) and insulin index (CR: 94.8% vs UP: 74.4%, UFP: 68.0%). In summary, UPs that were less gelatinized than CR induced low postprandial glucose and insulin responses.     

Small proportions: what to report for confidence intervals?

The original article to which this Erratum refers was published in Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety 2005; 14: 239–247.     

CT导向下125I种子源植入治疗恶性肿瘤

目的:探讨CT导向下125I种子源植入治疗恶性肿瘤的安全性及临床疗效。方法:11例患者14个病灶行CT导向下125I种子源植入,其中原发肿瘤5例,转移瘤6例(9个病灶)。根据治疗计划系统(TPS)计算布源,在CT导向下将18.5~29.6MBq活度的125I种子源相隔1.0~1.5cm多层面植入肿瘤内。术后1~10个月复查CT观察种子源在瘤体内的分布、疗效及有无并发症。结果:随诊CT复查,14个病灶完全缓解(CR)5个;明显缓解(OR)7个;部分缓解(PR)2个;无效(P)0。治疗前后病灶平均大小分别为4.23cm和2.07cm(t=5.018,P<0.01)。未见急性并发症和治疗相关的放射损伤。结论:CT导向下125I种子源植入治疗恶性肿瘤是一种安全、有效的方法,近期疗效肯定。     

上海市长宁区社区居民健康行为咨询点状况评估

目的了解社区居民健康行为咨询点现况,以进一步规范咨询点工作,为居民提供一流健康服务。方法采用资料法、现场观察法及问卷调查方法,对全区所有咨询点的硬件、软件配备情况、工作开展情况和规范程度以及咨询点服务对象对咨询点知晓情况、满意度进行综合评估。结果60.5%的咨询点工作完全达标;99.2%的居民知晓服务信息;97.8%的居民接受过咨询服务,居民对咨询点服务满意率达97.2%;分别有25.7%的咨询员、50.4%的居委干部、23.2%的居民提出增加服务时间、内容,改善服务条件等建议。结论调查对象对健康行为咨询点服务满意度逐年上升,但咨询点的整体服务水平还有待提高,特别在服务时间、服务内容以及服务条件等方面,还有待完善。     

Extragastrointestinal stromal tumor possibly originating from the prostate

We report a case of extragastrointestinal stromal tumor possibly originating from the prostate. The patient underwent radical prostatectomy because of no metastatic evidence. No recurrence and metastasis have been found during 14 months of follow up. To our knowledge, this may be the third such case published in a report in terms of pathological type.     

Liver and lung resection for colorectal metastasis

Aim: To examine the survival benefit of liver and lung resection for colorectal metastasis and the potential prognostic factors that affect patient survival. Methods: All patients who had resection of lung or liver metastasis for colorectal metastasis in Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Hong Kong from 1995 to 2004 were retrospectively reviewed. The overall and disease‐free survival was analysed, in particularly between liver and lung metastasis. All factors that may have affected the survival were entered into Cox's proportional hazards regression model to identify significant variables associated with survival. Results: At 5 years, the overall survival of patients who had resection of lung and liver metastasis was 44% and 38%, respectively; the disease‐free survival was 26% and 24%, respectively. Overall and disease‐free survival of patients with resection of lung metastasis was comparable to those with resection of liver metastasis. The differentiations of primary tumour and time to metastasis were shown to be significant prognostic factors influencing overall survival. Those patients with systemic chemotherapy after resection of colorectal metastasis demonstrated a significantly higher probability of overall survival. Conclusion: Resection of lung and liver metastases from colorectal origin was safe and both procedures improved survival. The use of chemotherapy after resection of metastasis significantly improved the overall survival.     

Inguinal hernia repair in Hospital Authority hospitals: The role of laparoscopic hernioplasty

Objective: Two major changes have occurred in inguinal hernia repair during the last two decades: (i) the use of tension‐free mesh repair; and (ii) the application of laparoscopic technique for repair. The aims of the present study were to study: (i) how inguinal hernia repair was carried out; and (ii) the outcome of inguinal hernia repair in Hospital Authority (HA) hospitals. Methodology: This was a retrospective analysis on 8311 elective inguinal hernia repairs performed in 16 HA hospitals from January 2001 to December 2003. The mean age was 63.9 ± 14.2 years, and the male to female ratio was 22.0 : 1.0. Among these, 869 (10.5%) repairs were performed with the laparoscopic approach and 7442 (89.5%) repairs with the open approach. The proportion of laparoscopic hernia repair increased from 8.7% to 12.6%. Results: For open repair, 39% of cases were carried out with regional anaesthesia, 32% with general anaesthesia and 29% with local anaesthesia (LA). Furthermore, mesh repair was used in 88% of the patients. For laparosocpic repair, 98.4% of cases were carried out under general anaesthesia, and all patients had mesh repair using the totally extraperitoneal approach. A significantly higher proportion of bilateral repair and recurrent hernia repair was performed with the laparoscopic approach (P = 0.000). For primary unilateral repair, there was no significant difference in the postoperative length of stay (LOS) and the total LOS between the laparoscopic and the open surgery groups. No difference in LOS was found in recurrent hernia repair between the two groups. With respect to bilateral repair, both the preoperative LOS (P = 0.036) and total LOS (P = 0.039) were shorter in the laparoscopic group. Furthermore, a significantly higher proportion of day‐surgery patients was observed in the laparoscopic group than the open surgery group (21.3%vs 16.9%, P = 0.001). Nevertheless, when only the results of 2003 were analyzed, the postoperative LOS (P = 0.000) and total LOS (P = 0.000) were significantly shorter in the laparoscopic group than the open surgery group. The LOS parameters were significantly shorter in the open surgery LA subgroup compared with the non‐LA subgroup (P = 0.000), and they were not different from those in the laparoscopic group. Conclusions: The open mesh repair is the predominant approach for inguinal hernia repair in HA hospitals. The originally described local anaesthetic approach was under utilized, although it resulted in good outcome. The use of laparoscopic hernia repair is increasing and a learning curve was recently observed with improved outcome.