Work-related recovery opportunities: testing scale properties and validity in relation to health

Objectives  

Recovery opportunities allow employees to recuperate from work and diminish load effects. The aims of this study are to present a scale for measuring recovery opportunities, study its psychometric properties and its relationship with health.     

麦冬类中药组织切片计算机三维重建图鉴

利用计算机技术实现麦冬类中药组织连续切片三维重建与动态显示,为计算机辅助生药学鉴定和教学提供了新的三维图像技术和研究资料。     

The monoclonal antibody Alz-50, used to reveal cytoskeletal changes in Alzheimer's disease, also reacts with a large subpopulation of somatostatin neurons in the normal human hypothalamus and adjoining areas

The monoclonal antibody Alz-50 is directed against Alzheimer's disease-related modified tau proteins and reveals cytoskeletal changes, i.e. neurofibrillary tangles and dystrophic neurites. The present study shows that, in the hypothalamus of non-demented control subjects, this same antibody gives a distinctive staining pattern of a subpopulation of somatostatin neurons and beaded fibers. Furthermore, Alz-50 occasionally recognizes somatostatin-containing cell bodies and dystrophic neurite-like fibers in the (neuritic) senile plaques of AD patients. These observations have direct consequences for the interpretation of Alz-50 staining in diagnostic usage and for the assessment of Alzheimer's disease-like changes induced by β-amyloid in experimental animal brains. On dot spotting, Alz-50 was found to bind to a number of fragments from the somatostatin precursor, of which somatostatin_15–28 stained best. Preadsorption of Alz-50 by somatostatin_15–28, as well as other specificity tests, failed, however, to provide any clue to the nature of the unknown compound(s) stained in the control hypothalamus.     

Reproducibility and validity of the stair-climb test for fire fighters

Purpose  

A new job-specific test for fire fighters, the stair-climb test (FFstair-climb) was evaluated for reproducibility and validity for use in future workers’ health surveillance.     

THE IMPACT OF PRE-CLERKING CLINICS ON SURGICAL OPERATION CANCELLATIONS: A PROSPECTIVE AUDIT

Pre-clerking of all patients undergoing elective general surgical operations was introduced at our hospital in an attempt to reduce an unacceptably high operation cancellation rate. A prospective audit has been performed on the effect of this policy on the cancellation rate. Before the introduction of pre-clerking there was a marked seasonal variation in the number of patients who failed to attend for surgery, which could be explained by absence on holiday. This seasonal variation disappeared after the start of pre-clerking clinics, but there has been no reduction in the number of cancellations for medical reasons.     

Impact of clinical history on fracture detection with radiography

The effect of knowledge of localizing symptoms and signs in the detection of fractures was studied. Forty radiographs of the extremities were examined twice by seven radiologists; the sessions were separated by 4 months. In 26 cases, a subtle fracture was present; 14 cases were normal. In half of the cases at each session, the precise location of pain, tenderness, or swelling was provided. The observer was asked to determine if the case was normal or abnormal (provide the exact location of the fracture) and to indicate the degree of confidence in the diagnosis. Responses were converted to a numeric scale for analysis. Analysis of receiver operator characteristic parameters indicates that clues regarding location of trauma facilitate detection of fractures. The improvement is based largely on an increased true-positive rate without an increased false-positive rate, regardless of the decision criteria of the radiologist (overall willingness to "overread" or "underread"). This has direct clinical applicability and reinforces the plea of radiologists for precise clinical information.