Effect of maternal and infant covariates on sibship correlation in birth weight

Birth weight on 12,644 singleton infants from 6,196 sibships born in Maryland between 1980 and 1984 were used to estimate the effects of nine maternal and infant covariates on the sibship correlation in birth weight. Assuming a homogeneous correlation across all families, the estimated intraclass correlation was 0.4664 (+/- 0.0099). This high sibship correlation makes it possible to predict, with reasonable accuracy, the birth weight of a child given information on previous sibs, as well as covariates on the mother and/or infant pertinent to a given pregnancy. The reduction in variance associated with incorporating information on the nine covariates used here was approximately equal to that obtained by conditioning on a single previous sib. Testing for heterogeneity in correlation among different groups of families showed that a crude measure of parity (first live birth vs. other), time between births, mother's marital status, and maternal age at the birth of the last child significantly influenced the sibship correlation in birth weight.     

Improved Assessment of Significant Activation in Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI): Use of a Cluster-Size Threshold

The typical functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) study presents a formidable problem of multiple statistical comparisons (i.e, > 10,000 in a 128 x 128 image). To protect against false positives, investigators have typically relied on decreasing the per pixel false positive probability. This approach incurs an inevitable loss of power to detect statistically significant activity. An alternative approach, which relies on the assumption that areas of true neural activity will tend to stimulate signal changes over contiguous pixels, is presented. If one knows the probability distribution of such cluster sizes as a function of per pixel false positive probability, one can use cluster-size thresholds independently to reject false positives. Both Monte Carlo simulations and fMRI studies of human subjects have been used to verify that this approach can improve statistical power by as much as fivefold over techniques that rely solely on adjusting per pixel false positive probabilities.     

Attachment loss and serum antibody levels against autologous and reference strains of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans in untreated localized juvenile periodontitis patients

Abstract Immunological data have been suggested to be a potential tool in the diagnosis, classification and monitoring of periodontal diseases. However, the role of circulating antibodies in periodontal patients is poorly understood. Patients suffering from localized juvenile periodontitis (LJP) are often reported to show high titers of serum IgG antibodies against Aetinobaeillus actinomycetemcomitans (A. actinomycetemcotnitans), but several affected patients do not. Most studies use well-known reference strains of the bacterium for testing against the patients' sera. The aim of the present investigation was to study the relationship between serum IgG antibody levels to autologous A. actinomycetemcomitans strains and clinical attachment loss (CAL). In addition, we wanted to assess the patients’serum titers against 4 well-known reference strains of the bacterium as well as their general potential immunoglobulin response. Intravenous blood samples were taken from 23 LJP patients and 10 healthy individuals, and autologous A. actinomycetemcomitans strains were cultured from 18 of the L.JP patients. CAL was measured at 4 different sites around ail present teeth and assessed as a % of teeth with at least 1 site moderately ≥2<5 mm) or severely (≥5 mm) involved. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was performed to evaluate the serum titers of IgG antibodies to A. actinomycetemcomitans antigens. No significant correlation was found between serum IgG antibody titers to autologous strains and CAL. However, there was a trend that low responders had more moderately affected teeth than had high responders and patients with undetectable A. actinomycetemcomitans levels, which is in agreement with a hypothetically protective role of the antibodies. The total counts of immunoglobulin assessed in all participants showed that the predominant class was IgG and the reference group displayed significantly less (p<0.05) IgG and IgG1 counts than the LJP patients. Both the reaction pattern against reference and autologous strains varied widely. We conclude that the specific antibody response against A. actinomycetemcomitans shows a weak correlation to clinical attachment levels in LJP patients.     

Examination of the Diagnostic Value and Estimation of the Chaos Phenomenon in Temporomandibular Joint Sounds Using Fractal Dimension

.The aim of this study is to estimate the chaos phenomenon in temporomandibular joints (TMJ) sound using fractal dimension (FD), and to examine the diagnostic value of the FD in comparing TMJ sounds produced by 6 asymptomatic and 25 symptomatic TMJ. Multiple mandibular opening and closing cycles recorded were used to calculate the waveform dimension and correlation dimension in the FD. Chaos in the TMJ sounds was estimated by the FD that was saturated with some constant value to an increase of embedding dimension. Results reveal that fractal analysis produces a high degree of reproducibility within, and similarity across subjects, and indicate that both FD values of the asymptomatic TMJ sounds are significantly higher than those of the symptomatic. These findings suggest that chaos is present in TMJ sounds and the difference in the FD is of diagnostic value in evaluation of pathological change in TMJ sound signals.     

Molecular Motion of Drugs in Hydrocolloids Measured by Electron Paramagnetic Resonance

The effects of a polymer, the Li-salt copolymer of methyl-methacrylic acid, and its methyl ester on the motion of drug molecules in hydrocolloids were studied. The investigation was carried out by means of electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) using the model nitroxide tempol, and the spin-labeled drugs lidocaine (si-lid) and dexamethasone (sl-dex). Synthesis of sl-dex was performed. Spin-labeled molecules dissolved in hydrocolloids undergo a fast reorientation motion. The decreasing order of rotational correlation times () —sl-dex > si-lid > tempol—suggests that the size and the shape of the molecules strongly affect their motion. The inhibition of motion of larger molecules depends also on their flexibility. The values indicate proportionality of the microviscosity of hydrocolloids to the polymer concentration. Rotational motion is dependent on the local environment conditioned by the free spaces between polymer molecules.     

室性早搏的快速检测方法

提出一种利用相关性和RR间期比相结合的快速室性早搏的检测算法.该算法具有一定的病人自适应性.通过MIT-BIH心律失常数据库的验证,该方法对Normal和PVC有很高的识别率.     

Estimation of Nanoporous Au Young’s Modulus from Serial Block Face-SEM 3D-Characterisation

Nanoporous Au has been subjected to serial block face-scanning electron microscopy (SBF-SEM) 3D-characterisation. Corresponding sections have been digitalized and used to evaluate the associated mechanical properties. Our investigation demonstrates that the sample is homogeneous and isotropic. The effective Young’s modulus estimated by an analytical multiscale approach agrees remarkably well with the values stated in the literature.     

输液器止液膜自动止液性能试验方法的研究

目前尚没有评价输液器止液膜止液性能的指导或标准文件,无法进行产品性能的量化分析和质量监督.笔者研究了一种止液膜泡点压力检测方法,同时探索了泡点压力与止液膜止液性能的关联性.以泡点压力试验结果作为止液性能的日常控制指标.为止液膜止液性能评价提供切实可行的参考价值.     

慢性阻塞性肺疾病急性加重期炎性细胞因子与肺功能的相关性

目的 分析慢性阻塞性肺疾病急性加重期炎性细胞因子水平变化及与肺功能的相关性.方法 对本院2019年3月—2020年3月收治的62例患者的炎性细胞因子进行检测,分析各项炎性细胞因子水平变化情况及其与患者肺功能之间的相关性.结果 62例患者的IL-6指标、IL-8指标和TNF-α指标均随着患者综合评估分级的增加而增加,且各...