Влияние фотосенсибилизаторов на ультраструктурные элементы брюшины в эксперименте

БРЮШИНАПЕРИТОНИТФОТОХИМИОТЕРАПИ

Can care of elderly be measured? A method for estimating the individual care of recipients in community health care

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Almost every country in the Western world has great difficulties allocating enough financial resources to meet the needs in the care of the increasing elderly population. The main problem is common to all countries and concerns the efforts to meet elderly persons' needs on an individual level while still maintaining society's responsibility for distributing justice. The aim of this study is to elaborate an instrument for measuring the quality of individual care and staff's working time in order to allocate public resources fairly. The present study gives an account of a new classification system named TiC (Time in Care), indicating how it can be used most effectively and also investigating the validity and reliability of the system.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>All recipients in 13 sheltered homes for elderly care (n = 505) in a Swedish municipality were surveyed regarding the care they needed, in dimensions of General Care, Medical Care, Cognitive Dysfunction and Rehabilitation, and the time required. Construct validity was assessed by means of factor analysis. The inter-rater agreement of two raters concerning 79 recipients was measured using weighted Kappa. The stability of the instrument and its sensitivity to change were investigated through test-retest reliability measurements, conducted once a month during a six-month period. The content validity of the instrument was also assessed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Factor analysis resulted in a reduction of the number of items from 25 to 16 in three dimensions: General Care, Medical Care and Cognitive Dysfunction. The Kappa analysis showed satisfactory to excellent inter-rater agreement. The care need scores were basically stable but showed sensitivity to change in health status.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The instrument was found to be useful and reliable for assessing individual needs in community health care.</p

The ansa cervicalis revisited

Recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis represents a major complication in oesophageal cancer surgery. Nerve-muscle transplantation to the paraglottic space after resection of the recurrent laryngeal nerve with the ansa cervicalis (AC) has recently become the procedure of choice. The aim of this study was to investigate the anatomical variations of AC in order to avoid iatrogenic injuries and facilitate surgical procedures. We examined 100 adult human formalin-fixed cadavers. The ansa cervicalis showed a great degree of variation regarding origin and distribution. The origin of the superior root of AC was found to be superior to the digastric muscle in 92% of the cases. Its vertical descent was found to be superficial to the external carotid artery in 72% and superficial to the internal carotid artery in 28% of the specimens. The inferior root of AC was derived from the primary rami of C2 and C3 in 38%, from C2, C3 and C4 in 10%, from C3 in 40% and from C2 in 12% of the cases. The inferior root passed posterolaterally to the internal jugular vein in 74% and anteromedially in 26% of the cases. The roots of AC were long (70%) or short (30%), and the union between the two roots was situated inferior or superior to the omohyoid. Not only is knowledge of the anatomy of the ansa cervicalis important for nerve grafting procedures, but surgeons should be aware of AC and its relationships to the great vessels of the neck in order to avoid inadvertent injury during surgical procedures of the neck

Evaluation of Thermal Versus Plasma-Assisted ALD Al2O3 as Passivation for InAlN/AlN/GaN HEMTs

Al2O3 films deposited by thermal and plasma-assisted atomic layer deposition (ALD) were evaluated as passivation layers for InAlN/AlN/GaN HEMTs. As a reference, a comparison was made with the more conventional plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition deposited SiNx passivation. The difference in sheet charge density, threshold voltage, f(T) and f(max) was moderate for the three samples. The gate leakage current differed by several orders of magnitude, in favor of Al2O3 passivation, regardless of the deposition method. Severe current slump was measured for the HEMT passivated by thermal ALD, whereas near-dispersion free operation was observed for the HEMT passivated by plasma-assisted ALD. This had a direct impact on the microwave output power. Large-signal measurements at 3 GHz revealed that HEMTs with Al2O3 passivation exhibited 77% higher output power using plasma-assisted ALD compared with thermal ALD

Measuring care of the elderly: psychometric testing and modification of the Time in Care instrument for measurement of care needs in nursing homes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Aging entails not only a decrease in the ability to be active, but also a trend toward increased dependence to sustain basic life functions. An important aspect for appropriately elucidating the individual's care needs is the ability to measure them both simply and reliably. Since 2006 a new version of the Time in Care needs (TIC-n) instrument (19-item version) has been explored and used in one additional municipality with the same structure as the one described in an earlier study.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The TIC-n assessment was conducted on a total of 1282 care recipients. Factor analysis (principal component) was applied to explore the construct validity of the TIC-n. Cronbach's alpha was calculated to test reliability and for each of the items remaining in the instrument after factor analysis, an inter-rater comparison was carried out on all recipients in both municipalities. Independently of each other, a weighted Kappa (K_w) was calculated. Results. The mean of each weighted Kappa (K_w) for the dimensions in the two municipalities was 0.75 and 0.76, respectively. Factor analysis showed that all 19 items had a factor loading of ≥ 0.40. Three factors (General Care, Medical Care and Cognitive Care) were created.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The TIC-n instrument has now been tested for validity and reliability in two municipalities with satisfactory results. However, TIC-n can not yet be used as a golden standard, but it can be recommended for use of measurement of individual care needs in municipal elderly care.</p

Investigation of human apoB48 metabolism using a new, integrated non-steady-state model of apoB48 and apoB100 kinetics

Background Triglyceride-rich lipoproteins and their remnants have emerged as major risk factors for cardiovascular disease. New experimental approaches are required that permit simultaneous investigation of the dynamics of chylomicrons (CM) and apoB48 metabolism and of apoB100 in very low-density lipoproteins (VLDL). Methods Mass spectrometric techniques were used to determine the masses and tracer enrichments of apoB48 in the CM, VLDL1 and VLDL2 density intervals. An integrated non-steady-state multicompartmental model was constructed to describe the metabolism of apoB48- and apoB100-containing lipoproteins following a fat-rich meal, as well as during prolonged fasting. Results The kinetic model described the metabolism of apoB48 in CM, VLDL1 and VLDL2. It predicted a low level of basal apoB48 secretion and, during fat absorption, an increment in apoB48 release into not only CM but also directly into VLDL1 and VLDL2. ApoB48 particles with a long residence time were present in VLDL, and in subjects with high plasma triglycerides, these lipoproteins contributed to apoB48 measured during fasting conditions. Basal apoB48 secretion was about 50 mg day?1, and the increment during absorption was about 230 mg day?1. The fractional catabolic rates for apoB48 in VLDL1 and VLDL2 were substantially lower than for apoB48 in CM. Discussion This novel non-steady-state model integrates the metabolic properties of both apoB100 and apoB48 and the kinetics of triglyceride. The model is physiologically relevant and provides insight not only into apoB48 release in the basal and postabsorptive states but also into the contribution of the intestine to VLDL pool size and kinetics.Peer reviewe

Tuning composition in graded AlGaN channel HEMTs toward improved linearity for low-noise radio-frequency amplifiers

Compositionally graded channel AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) offer a promising route to improve device linearity, which is necessary for low-noise radio-frequency amplifiers. In this work, we demonstrate different grading profiles of a 10-nm-thick AlxGa1-xN channel from x = 0 to x = 0.1 using hot-wall metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). The growth process is developed by optimizing the channel grading and the channel-to-barrier transition. For this purpose, the Al-profiles and the interface sharpness, as determined from scanning transmission electron microscopy combined with energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, are correlated with specific MOCVD process parameters. The results are linked to the channel properties (electron density, electron mobility, and sheet resistance) obtained by contactless Hall and terahertz optical Hall effect measurements coupled with simulations from solving self-consistently Poisson and Schr\uf6dinger equations. The impact of incorporating a thin AlN interlayer between the graded channel and the barrier layer on the HEMT properties is investigated and discussed. The optimized graded channel HEMT structure is found to have similarly high electron density (∼9 7 10 12 cm-2) as the non-graded conventional structure, though the mobility drops from ∼ 2360 cm2/V s in the conventional to ∼ 960 cm2/V s in the graded structure. The transconductance gm of the linearly graded channel HEMTs is shown to be flatter with smaller g m ′ and g m ″ as compared to the conventional non-graded channel HEMT implying improved device linearity

Potentiation of brain stimulation reward by morphine: effects of neurokinin-1 receptor antagonism

The abuse potential of opioids may be due to their reinforcing and rewarding effects, which may be attenuated by neurokinin-1 receptor (NK1R) antagonists

Genetic and environmental aspects in the association between attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms and binge-eating behavior in adults: A twin study

Background Prior research demonstrated that attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with binge-eating behavior, binge-eating disorder (BED), and bulimia nervosa (BN). The aim of this study was to investigate these associations in an adult twin population, and to determine the extent to which ADHD symptoms and binge-eating behavior share genetic and environmental factors. Methods We used self-reports of current ADHD symptoms and lifetime binge-eating behavior and associated characteristics from a sample of over 18 000 adult twins aged 20-46 years, from the population-based Swedish Twin Registry. Mixed-effects logistic regression was used to examine the association between ADHD and lifetime binge-eating behavior, BED, and BN. Structural equation modeling was used in 13 773 female twins to determine the relative contribution of genetic and environmental factors to the association between ADHD symptoms and binge-eating behavior in female adult twins. Results ADHD symptoms were significantly associated with lifetime binge-eating behavior, BED, and BN. The heritability estimate for current ADHD symptoms was 0.42 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.41-0.44], and for lifetime binge-eating behavior 0.65 (95% CI 0.54-0.74). The genetic correlation was estimated as 0.35 (95% CI 0.25-0.46) and the covariance between ADHD and binge-eating behavior was primarily explained by genetic factors (91%). Non-shared environmental factors explained the remaining part of the covariance. Conclusions The association between adult ADHD symptoms and binge-eating behavior in females is largely explained by shared genetic risk factors