Computer-generated vegan menus: The importance of food composition database choice

Precise data on food chemical composition is crucial for any quantitative nutrition research and indispensable for evaluation and planning of computer-based menus. Moreover, exact food chemical composition is of the utmost importance in composing specific diets that may be low in certain essential nutrients. Therefore, this research evaluated a weekly vegan menu using three different food composition databases (FCDB): the Croatian, the official Danish Food Composition Database and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) – National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference. Significant differences (p < 0.05) were determined in evaluated and optimised offers for the same menu when using different FCDBs. Furthermore, in these menus quantities of some nutrients have not reached official daily recommendations needed for prevention of non-communicable diseases. In this research, new vegan menus that can provide adequate quantity of essential nutrients, regardless of FCDB utilized, were created with linear optimisation (LO). This resulted in high quality daily menu offers. However, depending on the FCDB that was used, optimal menus differed in daily meal combinations, and the effectiveness of the optimisation in the minimisation of differences caused by differences of data in FCDBs was tested. Linear optimisation has been proved to be an effective tool in planning of specific diets, such as vegan diets. Nonetheless, the quality of computer-planned menus depends heavily on the quality of FCDB used.     

科室调整时"军卫一号"的数据转换

科室调整时。病人要随之分配到新的科室，病人的各种医疗数据要转换为新科室的数据。利用结构化查询语言，根据病人的调整情况，实施数据调整。这种数据转换方法，不但适用于新、老药品结构的“军卫一号”，而且其基本原理也适用于科室分开而护理单元不分开的情况。     

Results of a survey of the role of multidisciplinary team coordinators for colorectal cancer in England and Wales

OBJECTIVE: Over the last 6 years, multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) have been established and play a key role in organizing the delivery of cancer care in the UK. There are no published data on the roles of their co-coordinators. To seek the views of colorectal multidisciplinary team co-ordinators (MDTCs) on what they do and how they do it. METHOD: Questionnaires were sent to the colorectal MDTC, or equivalent, in all 180 NHS hospital trusts in England and Wales where colorectal cancer surgery is performed. RESULTS: There was a 70% response rate. Seventy-one per cent of trusts now have a dedicated MDTC, whereas in 2002, only 40% had one. MDTCs generally keep their information on databases, but these differ, and are not coordinated with data entry into the national colorectal cancer database of the Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland. In only 26 trusts does the MDTC communicate decisions to primary care, and the patients seem almost completely excluded from this process. CONCLUSION: The recently formed national MDTC Forum should grasp the opportunity of coordinating all of this well-intentioned but pluralistic activity to the benefit of patients, primary care and hospital teams. An effective MDTC with a robust database will be the key in achieving cancer waiting time targets with useful audit, thereby improving patient care.     

Development of sample handling procedures for foods under USDA's National Food and Nutrient Analysis Program

The National Food and Nutrient Analysis Program (NFNAP) was implemented in 1997 to update and improve the quality of food composition data maintained by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). NFNAP was designed to sample and analyze frequently consumed foods in the U.S. food supply using statistically rigorous sampling plans, established sample handling procedures, and qualified analytical laboratories. Methods for careful handling of food samples from acquisition to analysis were developed to ensure the integrity of the samples and subsequent generation of accurate nutrient values. The infrastructure of NFNAP, under which over 1500 foods have been sampled, mandates tested sample handling protocols for a wide variety of foods. The majority of these foods were categorized into several major areas: (1) frozen foods; (2) fresh produce and/or highly perishable foods requiring refrigeration; (3) fast foods and prepared foods; (4) shelf-stable foods; (5) specialized study and non-retail (point of production) foods; and (6) foods from remote areas (e.g. American Indian reservations). This paper describes the sample handling approaches, from the collection and receipt of the food items to the preparation of the analytical samples, with emphasis on the strategies developed for those foods. It provides a foundation for developing sample handling protocols of foods to be analyzed under NFNAP and for other researchers working on similar projects.     

发展中国家中毒信息软件包简介

主要目的是加强发展中国家预防和处理中毒的能力,用多种语言(英文、法文、西班牙文)编写各种毒物专著(PIMs).主要内容为毒物的理化性质、毒性、分析、临床表现、诊断、治疗等信息.除了毒物专著外,软件包还可建立毒物分类、化学产品库、咨询病例库.     

美国国立医学图书馆Index Medicus/MEDLINE收录期刊的标准

就医学期刊而言，美国国立医学图书馆的Index Medicus／Medline／PubMed应是生物医学类期刊的最佳选择，是否被该检索系统收录对医学期刊及其内容的影响至关重要。期刊被该数据库的收录审查过程极其严格，涉及很多具体问题。     

Electronic data processing in the Danish Cytogenetic Central Register and EDP problems of registers in general

A brief introduction to the Danish Cytogenetic Central Register (DCCR) is given, and possibilities, principles and problems concerning the establishment and maintenance of a national cytogenetic register are presented.
Various data carrier media for registers in general are discussed, of which the magnetic disc is considered most appropriate. General principles for programs capable of performing insertions, deletions and other modifications in the data base are outlined as well as the principles for the programs in the DCCR.
The individual records should preferably be identified by aid of a central person registration number (CPR) rather than by name. The data should be stored and sorted by this identification in order to facilitate retrieval of a desired record. The structure of the records is discussed with regard to prevention of the occurrence of certain errors as well as the optimization of processing.
Flexibility and economy of space are achieved by using programs able to handle records of unequal length, and problems occurring in connection with this are discussed. The question of how to protect sensitive data is dealt with, and two different methods used in the DCCR are outlined. Programs capable of analyzing karyotypes with the purpose of recognizing various cytogenetic syndromes have been developed for use in the DCCR. Various examples of computing times of typical program runs are presented.     

Long-term ST database: A reference for the development and evaluation of automated ischaemia detectors and for the study of the dynamics of myocardial ischaemia

The long-term ST database is the result of a multinational research effort. The goal was to develop a challenging and realistic research resource for development and evaluation of automated systems to detect transient ST segment changes in electrocardiograms and for supporting basic research into the mechanisms and dynamics of transient myocardial ischaemia. Twenty-four hour ambulatory ECG records were selected from routine clinical practice settings in the USA and Europe, between 1994 and 2000, on the basic of occurrence of ischaemic and non-ischaemic ST segment changes. Human expert annotators used newly developed annotation protocols and a specially developed interactive graphic editor tool (Semia) that supported paperless editing of annotations and facilitated international co-operation via the Internet. The database contains 86 two- and three-channel 24h annotated ambulatory records from 80 patients and is stored on DVD-ROMs. The database annotation files contain ST segment annotations of transient ischaemic (1155) and heart-rate related ST episodes and annotations of non-ischaemic ST segment events related to postural changes and conduction abnormalities. The database is intended to complement the European Society of Cardiology ST-T database and the MIT-BIH and AHA arrhythmia databases. It provides a comprehensive representation of ‘real-world’ data, with numerous examples of transient ischaemic and non-ischaemic ST segment changes, arrhythmias, conduction abnormalities, axis shifts, noise and artifacts.