Serum IgA and IgG functional antibodies and their subclasses to Streptococcus pneumoniae capsular antigen found in two aged‐matched cohorts of children with and without otitis media with effusion

Serum IgA and IgG functional antibodies and their subclasses to Streptococcus pneumoniae capsular antigen found in two aged‐matched cohorts of children with and without otitis media with effusion The relationship between acute otitis media and otitis media with effusion (OME) is uncertain and the aetiology of OME is multifactorial. Otitis media with effusion may be an inflammatory condition; both bacteria and viral infections could play a part in this inflammation. The four bacteria Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenza, Staphylococcus aureus and Branhamella catarrhalis cause 60% of the infections whereas S. pneumoniae accounts for up to 35%. IgA provides the dominant surface response to polysaccharide and lipopolysaccharide antigens, of which IgA₂ is the main subclass. Once the mucosa has been breached, most protection is provided by IgG. IgG₂ acts mainly against bacterial capsular antigens. This study looked at two groups of 50 children with and without OME who were aged between 3 and 10 years. The aims were to determine if, firstly, the levels of the serum immunoglobulins were different in the two groups, secondly whether these children made the appropriate antibody response to the capsular antigen to S. pneumoniae (PCP), and finally if there was a delay in the maturity of the IgA response. The total IgG, IgA and all subclass levels were measured using radial immunodiffusion. Levels of functional IgA and IgG were measured using ELISAs (25 patients in each group). The results were analysed with non‐parametric tests. The immunoglobulin levels were within the normal levels for both groups. There were very good correlations between the IgG total anti‐PCP and the IgG₂ anti‐PCP (R > 0.9, p = 0.001). There was a good correlation between the levels of both IgG total and IgG₂ anti‐PCP against IgA total anti‐PCP in both groups (R > 0.85, p > 0.01). This confirms a normal antibody response between both groups of patients. The ages of the controls and patients (50 samples) were correlated with increasing titres of circulating functional antibodies (P = 0.001). This is highly suggestive of a normal age‐related response. In conclusion, the findings were contradictory to our original hypothesis that there is a subtle difference in surface protection between children with and without OME. We believe that a previous history of recurrent acute otitis media is unrelated to the development of OME after 3 years of age.     

下前牙桩核冠三维有限元模型的建立

目的：建立桩核冠修复后的下颌中切牙及其牙周支持组织的三维有限元模型。方法：利用薄层CT技术、UG软件与ALGOR软件相结合，对层厚为0．2mm的CT断层影像进行分析处理。结果：模型共有单元45153个，节点27763个，可以根据要求任意旋转、缩放、透视、剖开，进行多种方式观察；并可以按照不同研究目的，对模型进行修改和调整，来模拟不同程度牙槽骨吸收、联冠修复以及各种约束和加载条件下前牙的力学反应。结论：利用薄层CT扫描技术、UG自由曲面功能以及ALGOR软件相结合建立的三维有限元模型，能较精确地模拟临床口腔实际情况，为进一步研究下颌前牙不同牙周情况下的修复奠定了良好的基础。     

暴露前牙龈下残根进行桩冠修复

本文综述了暴露前牙龈下残根进行桩冠修复的两种方法,即牵引法与牙冠延长术,并对两者进行了比较、总结,在临床上有指导意义。     

Progression-free interval in ovarian cancer and predictive value of an ex vivo chemoresponse assay

The study objective was to determine the effectiveness of a phenotypic chemoresponse assay in predicting response to chemotherapy measured by progression-free interval (PFI) in a retrospective series of ovarian cancer patients whose tumor specimens had been tested with the ChemoFx assay. A statistically significant correlation between assay prediction of response and PFI was observed in 256 cases with an exact or partial match between drug(s) assayed and received. In 135 cases with an exact match, the hazard ratio for progression of the resistant group was 2.9 (confidence interval [CI]: 1.4-6.3; P < 0.01) compared to the sensitive group and 1.7 (CI: 1.2-2.5) for the intermediate compared to the sensitive group. The median PFI for patients treated with drugs assayed as resistant was 9 months, 14 months for those with drugs assayed as intermediately sensitive, and PFI had not been achieved for those with drugs assayed as sensitive. These data indicate that the ChemoFx assay is predictive of PFI in ovarian cancer. As the majority of ovarian cancers display different degrees of response to different chemotherapy agents ex vivo, the incorporation of assay information into treatment selection has the potential to improve clinical outcomes in ovarian cancer patients.     

简易印模术对单个前牙烤瓷冠颈缘外观效果的作用观察

目的:观察和探讨两种印模技术对单个前牙烤瓷冠颈缘外观的改善效果。方法:40位患者用简易印模技术制取印模,制作93件镍铬合金烤瓷瓷冠,设为实验组,另35位患者以常规印模技术制取印模,制作71件镍铬合金烤瓷瓷冠,设为对照组。观察两组戴冠当时与两年后的颈缘适合性、颜色、牙龈形态与健康情况。结果:试验组有98%的合金瓷冠具有优良的边缘适合性,仅2件(2%)出现颈缘黑线,与对照组相比有显著差异(P<0.05)。结论:简易印模技术能更好的保证工作区模型的准确度,从而有效地改善了镍铬合金烤瓷冠颈缘的美观与龈组织的健康。     

Signal-to-noise ratio effects in quantitative cerebral perfusion using dynamic susceptibility contrast agents.

Theoretical and simulation evidence is presented in support of the idea that the optimal manner of determining blood flow from MR perfusion studies is not necessarily obtained by setting experimental conditions to maximize either the arterial input or the measured tissue concentration level for a particular echo time (TE). The noise power in the contrast concentration curve is associated with its peak because of the nonlinear relationship between the contrast concentration and MR signal intensity curves. The optimum signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), SNR(C), for a particular contrast concentration curve can be obtained when the experimental concentration level and TE are adjusted to produce an MR intensity curve whose signal loss is 63% of the precontrast MR signal intensity. It is demonstrated that the stability of the singular valued decomposition (SVD) deconvolution approach to determine blood flow parameters is increased when the tissue curve maximum signal loss is in the range of 40-80%. The accuracy and stability of the SVD-determined blood flow parameters are affected by deviations from these optimum conditions in a manner that depends on the mean transit time (MTT) associated with the residue function. It is recommended that the experimental TE value be set so that neither the tissue nor the arterial curves are placed a region of rapidly deteriorating SNR(C).     

补肾抗衰口服液对大鼠衰老模型免疫器官影响的实验研究

研究补肾抗衰口服液对大鼠衰老模型免疫器官胸腺和脾脏的影响.结果显示,模型组大鼠胸腺和脾脏重量减轻,胸腺重/体重比值、脾重/体重比值减小,胸腺组织学观察,显示萎缩改变;药物组大鼠胸腺和脾脏重量、胸腺重/体重、脾重/体重比值接近正常对照组,胸腺组织学观察,未显示萎缩改变.本研究结果表明,补肾抗衰口服液能延缓胸腺和脾脏萎缩,保护机体的正常免疫功能,提示该药有抗衰老的作用.     

Time to contact and the control of manual prehension

In the present study, a kinematic analysis was made of unconstrained, natural prehension movements directed toward an object approaching the observer on a conveyor belt at one of three constant velocities, from one of three different directions (head-on or along the fronto-parallel plane coming either from the subject′s left or right). Subjects were required to grasp the object when it reached a target located 20 cm directly in front of the hand′s start position. The kinematic analysis revealed that both the transport and grasp components of the movement changed in response to the experimental manipulations, but did so in a manner that guaranteed that, for objects approaching from a given direction, hand closure would begin at a constant time prior to object contact (regardless of the object’s approach speed). The kinematic analysis also revealed, however, that the onset of hand closure began earlier with objects approaching from the right than from other directions – an effect which would not be predicted if time to contact was the key variable controlling the onset of hand closure. These results, then, lend only partial support to the theory that temporal coordination between the transport and grasp components of prehension is ensured through their common dependence on time to contact information. Received: 20 September 1996 / Accepted: 16 June 1997     

创收工资—医院按劳分配的探索

遵循“各尽所能，按劳分配”的社会主义分配原则，我院对职工分配进行了积极的探索。从８０年代初起，在院内实行定量、定质的超额劳务提成。但随着医院改革不断深化，医院总收入增加，院内、外独立核算，限期还本息项目增多，原超额劳务提成办法不能适应医院发展。因此，在原有基本工资、奖励工资基础上，增设了创收工资，医院对创收工资从质量、数量、文明建设、医德医风建设等方面进行宏观调控。创收工资使科主任责、权、利落到实     

Effects of cadaver dissection on the attitudes of medical students

Summary: Summary. A study was conducted to determine whether the attitudes of medical students to death and caring changed during the 3 months following exposure to cadaver dissection. All first-year students were invited to complete a questionnaire immediately before their initial cadaver dissection experience, after 6 weeks, and after a further 3 months. The questionnaire reflected attitudes to death, violent death, death of someone known to the respondent and caring when someone known to the respondent is seriously injured. Ethnicity and previous exposure to dying has no effect on responses, but overall men students' reactions were significantly less than for women ( P < 0.001). The responses given on the final part of the questionnaire after 3 months were significantly lower than those to most questions in the first part of the questionnaire. The exceptions were those questions where the subject in the given scenario was known to the respondent, where reactions were rated significantly greater ( P < 0.001) in the follow-up questionnaire and can be explained on the basis that they were a personal referent.
Students rapidly develop a coping mechanism which enables them to view cadaver dissection as an occupation quite divorced from living human beings. During these early months of training solicitude decreases for those who die who are unknown to them, but concern for personal referents increases. Educators should be aware of the dramatic change of attitudes among students and the process of professionalization which might influence their caring of future patients.