Clinical efficacy and adverse effects of weekly single dose leflunomide in refractory rheumatoid arthritis

AimTo study the clinical efficacy and adverse events of weekly single dose of leflunomide in patients with refractory rheumatoid arthritis in comparison with conventional daily regimen.MethodsPatients with refractory rheumatoid arthritis were taken up for the study; 91 patients were enlisted of whom 3 became non-compliant and were excluded. A concurrent parallel study was designed with the patients divided into two groups and efficacy and adverse events recorded at third and sixth months.ResultsA total of 88 patients were included in the study and were divided into two groups. At the end of 6 months, in the daily group 37 (82.2%) out of 45 patients had disease activity score (DAS) less than 3.2 indicating a low disease activity and 8 patients (17.8%) had moderate disease activity. None had high disease activity. In the weekly group, 36 (83.7%) out of 43 patients had low disease activity and 7 (16.3%) had moderate disease. None had high disease activity. Four (8.9%) patients developed adverse reactions in the daily group. One patient (2.2%) had alopecia and the other (2.2%) had diarrhoea and were withdrawn from the study. Two (4.4%) patients had elevated liver enzymes and the drug was stopped at 6 months. None in the weekly group reported any adverse events.ConclusionsWeekly regimen was found to be better in terms of compliance and had a lower adverse effect profile. The result was statistically significant. Clinical efficacy of weekly therapy was found to be similar to that of conventional therapy in terms of DAS.     

La mutilation génitale féminine.: De la tradition aux complications

The traditional custom of ritual cutting and alteration of the genitalia of female is referred to as female genital mutilation (FGM). The procedure is a highly valued ritual since antiquity. FGM exist in many religions. It persist today primarily in Africa. FGM is performed at a different age. Typically procedure is done without anesthesia. Multiple reasons are proposed to explain FGM. The FGM is classified into four types based on the severity of structural disfigurement. FGM can have multiple consequences for a woman throughout her life. Physical, psychological, sexual and social consequences of FGM are common, and often lead to death. FGM is a practice that violates the fundamental human rights of girls and women to good health. All forms of FGM must be opposed with educational programs and information about the negative impacts of FGM. Nevertheless, the eradication is difficult.     

关于奥运志愿者精神对党建教育意义的探析——让学生在参与中发现、实现自身的价值

奥运志愿者精神是北京奥运会的宝贵精神遗产。充分发挥奥运志愿者精神的社会教育作用，有利于提升当代大学生的奉献精神，激发其创新能力；同时，奥运志愿者精神也是培育大学生党员的重要载体。     

Cardiokymograph system with a capacitance transducer and its preliminary application in the measurement of heart wall movement

A novel cardiokymograph system is introduced. The new system features a capacitance transducer with increased sensitivity and can be used in multichannel measurements. The novelty of this technique is the injection of a current into the patient coupled with the use of a capacitive displacement transducer and the possibility of multichannel monitoring. It provides for the possibility of removing breath noise when some signal processing technique, such as adaptive filtering, is used. Further investigation is needed to demonstrate clinical significance and pathologies.