Critical trust: understanding lay perceptions of health and safety risk regulation

The binary opposition of trusting or not trusting is inadequate to understand the often ambiguous and contradictory ideas people possess about risk regulators, particularly when knowledge and experience of such institutions is limited. The paper reports qualitative and quantitative data from a major study of public perceptions (n?=?30 focus groups) of UK risk regulators. We compare the complex and widely different ‘trust profiles’ of two regulatory organisations which are institutionally related (the Health and Safety Executive and the Railways Inspectorate) but very separate in the minds of our participants. The paper develops the notion of critical trust to interrogate the various ways in which people make sense of such organisations, as well as discussing the modes of reasoning that people deploy. The paper argues that views of participants are the outcome of a reconciliation of diverse perceptions concerning the role of the organisation, structural factors and the nature of the regulated risk.     

Cerebrospinal fluid and plasma concentrations of oxytocin and vasopressin during parturition and vaginocervical stimulation in the sheep

Simultaneous blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples were taken from conscious sheep before, during and after parturition. Concentrations of plasma and CSF oxytocin were significantly elevated during contractions and particularly at birth. Mean prepartum CSF concentrations of oxytocin were around 55% of those found in plasma but postpartum they were up to 2-fold higher than those in plasma. Plasma concentrations of oxytocin were only significantly elevated, compared to prepartum levels, for 15 min postpartum whereas those in CSF were increased for the whole of the 120 min postpartum sampling period. Plasma, but not CSF, concentrations of arginine-vasopressin (AVP) were significantly raised during contractions and birth, and for 15 min postpartum. During the prepartum period CSF AVP concentrations were 67% of those found in plasma whereas at birth plasma levels were 10-fold higher than in CSF. In a separate experiment it was shown that 5 min of mechanical vaginocervical stimulation also stimulated significant increases in CSF and plasma oxytocin concentrations and in plasma vasopressin. Results support previous work suggesting an important role for central oxytocin release in the postpartum induction of maternal behavior and demonstrate that elevated concentrations of oxytocin in the CSF are present for a greater period than in blood. Elevated plasma AVP concentrations during contractions, birth or vaginocervical stimulation may be stimulated by stress associated with these stimuli.     

A Paradigm for Design of Closed Loop Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulator Control Systems

Abstract: The use of neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) for rehabilitation of gait in spinal patients is widely known. The best results can be obtained with the use of biomechanical sensors and a closed loop NMES system. One of the biggest problems faced in the design of control systems for closed-loop operation, in gait rehabilitation, is the variation of the mechanical conditions during the phases of gait. This work presents a new approach to ease the design of rule-based closed loop systems for operation in conditions such as gait rehabilitation.     

胎儿声振动刺激反应的研究

目的：了解不同孕龄胎儿对声振动刺激的反应。方法：对４３５例次正常中、晚期妊娠妇女进行声振胎心试验（ＶＡＳ－Ｔ）、声振胎动试验（ＳＰＦＭ），并对声振动刺激前、后胎心率变化规律进行前瞻性研究。结果：（１）从２４周开始，胎儿对声振刺激有反应，但大部分未能达到ＶＡＳ－Ｔ诊断标准，而胎动反应良好。（２）妊娠２８周开始，声振刺激后，９０％以上的胎儿出现显著的胎动、胎心率加速反应，足月胎儿反应率在９８％以上。（３）ＳＰＦＭ阳性率的显著提高早于ＶＡＳ－Ｔ。提示：２８周后胎儿神经系统发育已趋完善。胎儿运动神经的发育成熟早于植物神经。     

Intracerebroventricular injection of choline increases plasma oxytocin levels in conscious rats

In the present study, we examined the effect of intracerebroventricularly (i.c.v.) injected choline on both basal and stimulated oxytocin release in conscious rats. I.c.v. injection of choline (50–150 μg) caused time- and dose-dependent increases in plasma oxytocin levels under normal conditions. The increase in plasma oxytocin levels in response to i.c.v. choline (150 μg) was greatly attenuated by the pretreatment of rats with atropine (10 μg; i.c.v.), muscarinic receptor antagonist. Mecamylamine (50 μg; i.c.v.), a nicotinic receptor antagonist, failed to suppress the effect of 150 μg choline on oxytocin levels. Pretreatment of rats with 20 μg of hemicholinium-3 (HC-3), a specific inhibitor of choline uptake into nerve terminals, greatly attenuated the increase in plasma oxytocin levels in response to i.c.v. choline injection. Osmotic stimuli induced by either oral administration of 1 ml hypertonic saline (3 M) following 24-h dehydration of rats (type 1) or an i.c.v. injection of hypertonic saline (1 M) (type 2) increased plasma oxytocin levels significantly, but hemorrhage did not alter basal oxytocin concentrations. The i.c.v. injection of choline (50, 150 μg) under these conditions caused an additional and significant increase in plasma oxytocin concentrations beyond that produced by choline in normal conditions. These data show that choline can increase plasma oxytocin concentrations through the stimulation of central cholinergic muscarinic receptors by presynaptic mechanisms and enhance the stimulated oxytocin release.     

磁刺激运动诱发电位在腰椎间盘突出所致的腰骶神经根病变中的应用研究

在35例有L5和／或S1神经根损害表现的腰椎间盘突出患者腰椎区进行磁刺激运动诱发电位（MEP）检查，测定、记录胫前肌、展肌和小趾展肌MEP的起始潜伏期（OL）。结果显示，35例中至少有一条总侧肌肉MEP异常33例（94．3％）。在L4－5椎间盘突出中，以胫前肌的MEP异常为主；在L5－S1椎间盘突出中，以小趾展肌的MEP异常为主。表明腰椎区MEP检查对腰椎间盘突出所致的腰骶神经根病变较为敏感，可为临床诊断提供可靠依据并有助于定位诊断。     

Force recruitment during electrical nerve stimulation with multipolar intrafascicular electrodes

Experimentally, during electrical nerve stimulation, the influence is examined of two intrafascicular anodes on the force recruitment with one intrafascicular cathode. It is found that the anodes suppress recruitment and that this effect is more pronounced when the distance of the anodes to the cathode is decreased, or when the anodal currents are increased. The measured recruitment curve patterns can be qualitatively explained by a nerve stimulation model that calculates theoretical recruitment curves for intrafascicular multi-electrode configurations. Discrepancies between the experimental and the theoretical recruitment curves are seen, but these can be understood by taking into account a non-uniform fibre distribution.     

Effects of enteral feedback inhibition on motility,luminal flow,and absorption of nutrients in proximal gut of minipigs

We wanted to clarify whether the postprandial intestinal feedback control activated by nutrients in the distal gut exerts different effects on motility, transit of digesta, and absorption of nutrients in the proximal gut. Additionally, interrelationships among motility, transit, and absorption were to be elucidated because these relationships have only been investigated in the fasted state. In five minipigs, a 150-cm segment of the proximal jejunum was isolated by two cannulas. Motility of the jejunal segment was recorded by multiple strain gauges and analyzed by computerized methods. Markers (Cr- and Cu-EDTA) were used for the measurement of the flow rate, transit time, and absorption of nutrients. After a meal, the test segment was perfused with 2 kcal/min of an elemental diet over a period of 90 min. A feedback inhibition was activated by infusion of nutrients into the midgut at rates of 1–4 kcal/min. Saline was infused as control. With increasing energy loads infused into the midgut, the motility index and the length of contraction waves decreased, whereas the incidence of stationary contractions increased, ie, the motility changed from a propulsive to a segmenting pattern. These modulations of motility were associated with a linear decrease in the flow rate and a linear increase in transit time. Flow and transit were linearly correlated with each other. Additionally, the reduction in flow rate and the delay in luminal transit were associated with a linear increase in the absorption of nutrients. However, the increase in absorption induced by the feedback mechanism was small (7.3–13.4%) compared to the marked inhibition of the motility parameters (54–64%), the flow rate (59%), and the delay of transit (5.8-fold). Feedback control primarily modulated motor patterns and luminal flow, whereas the small increase in absorption was only a side effect due to the longer contact time of the nutrients with the mucosa.The study was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, grant Eh 64/6-3.     

针药并用治疗男性不育297例疗效分析

本文采用针刺加鹿茸精注射液穴位注射及中药治疗男性不育297例,痊愈142例,占47.8％,显效81例,占27.3％,有效53例,占17.8％,无效21例,占7.1％,三者联合运用效果较满意。     

乙酰胆硷和电刺激迷走神经对HC1引起的大鼠胃粘膜损伤的保护作用

本工作观察了乙酰胆硷(Ach)和电刺激迷走神经对0.6N HCl引起的胃粘膜出血性损伤的保护作用,发现皮下注射50μg/kg的氯化Ach和电刺激膈下迷走神经5min,可明显降低HCl引起的胃粘膜出血量,这一作用可被消炎痛及阿托品所阻断。提示这种保护作用是通过依赖于M-受体的内源性前列腺素。