Spinous Process Osteotomy to Facilitate the Access to the Spinal Canal When Decompressing the Spinal Canal in Patients with Lumbar Spinal Stenosis

Study DesignRetrospective study.PurposeThe main purpose of this study was to investigate the union-rate of the spinous process after performing a spinous process osteotomy and whether union affects the clinical results after surgery.Overview of LiteratureIn the present study, spinous process osteotomy was used to facilitate access to the spinal canal when performing a decompressive procedure for lumbar spinal stenosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the union rate of the spinous process and its effect on the clinical results of the procedure.MethodsAll patients were included in the study that underwent a decompressive procedure through spinous process osteotomy be between January 1, 2007 and December 31, 2007. Operation protocols were reviewed. A computed tomography (CT) scan was performed to evaluate the union of the osteotomies of the spinous process. According to the CT-scans, patients were divided into three groups: "complete-union," "partial-union," and "non-union." Patients reported their clinical results through a self-administered questionnaire.ResultsThe mean period of follow up was 21.6 months (range, 16-28 months). A total of 44% of the performed osteotomies were considered as united. Ten patients (18%) were classified as "complete-union," 30 patients (55%) as "partial-union," and 15 patients (27%) as "non-union." The "complete-union" group showed better clinical results and scored significantly better in the Oswestry Disability Index and EQ-5D. However, no statistical difference was found in the pain-scores. There were no differences between the "partial-union" group and the "no-union" group.ConclusionsWe found a radiologic union for 60 out of 135 (44%) spinous process osteotomies

The effect of seamustard on blood lipid profiles and glucose level of rats fed diet with different energy composition

Recently, Korean people are consuming seaweeds almost 3.5 times more now than three decades ago. It is well known that seaweeds contain lots of soluble dietary fiber in addition to micronutrients such as β-carotene, iodine and some bioactive components. Seaweeds are considered to be effective for preventing chronic diseases including obesity, diabetes mellitus, atherosclerosis, cancer or constipation. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of seamustard intake on body weight gain, blood glucose level and lipid profiles in rats fed diets with different energy nutrient composition. Male Sprague-Dawley rats (average initial weight 103.7 g) were divided into groups for two experiments as follows; Control, M2.5 & M5 groups (Exp. I) and M5, M10, HCM5, HCM10, HFM5 & HFM10 groups (Exp. II). The rats were fed diet and water ad libitum for 4 weeks. In general, there was no significant difference in blood glucose and triglyceride concentration among groups. In Exp. I, serum LDL-cholesterol level of rats fed diet with 5% seamustard powder (M5) was significantly lower than that of control group, while HDL-cholesterol level, TC/LDL ratio and weight of adrenal gland were higher. In Exp. II, food intake, body weight gain and EER of high fat diet with 10% seamustard group (HFM10) were the lowest among groups. Except gastrocnemius muscle, all organ weights of HFM10 group were the lowest. Fecal cholesterol excretion and serum LDL-cholesterol concentration of HFM10 group were the highest, while serum HDL-cholesterol level was the lowest among groups. Interestingly, HDL-cholesterol concentration was the highest in HCM5 group among groups. From these results, it was suggested that seamustard intake might be more effective for body weight control, but not for improving blood lipid profiles in high fat diet than in high carbohydrate diet

Anbefaling på valg av standarder/rammeverk for velferdsteknologi

Velferdsteknologi kan gi mange, uansett alder, mulighet for å bo hjemme under trygge forhold dersom man blir syk, behøver omsorg eller bare ønsker mulighet til å bo hjemme i en sen fase i livet

Periprandial changes of the sympathetic–parasympathetic balance related to perceived satiety in humans

Food intake regulation involves various central and peripheral mechanisms. In this study the relevance of physiological responses reflecting the autonomic nervous system were evaluated in relation to perceived satiety. Subjects were exposed to a lunch-induced hunger-satiety shift, while profiling diverse sensory, physiological, and biochemical characteristics at 15 min intervals. Sensory ratings comprised questionnaires with visual analogues scales about their feeling of satiety, desire to eat, fullness, and hunger. Physiological characteristics included heart rate, heart rate variability, and blood pressure, while biochemical markers such as cortisol levels and α-amylase activity were monitored in saliva. The four sensory ratings correlated with heart rate and salivary α-amylase suggesting a higher sympathetic tone during satiety. Furthermore, heart rate variability was associated with age and waist-to-hip ratio and cortisol levels negatively correlated with body mass index. Finally, neither chewing nor swallowing contributed to a heart rate increase at food consumption, but orosensory stimulation, as tested with modified sham feeding, caused a partial increase of heart rate. In conclusion, after meal ingestion critical physiological alterations reveal a elevated sympathetic tone, which is a potential measure of satiety

Biomedical Issues of Dietary fiber β-Glucan

β-glucan is a polysaccharide in the form of fiber and the main element of fiber in grains such as barley, oats, yeast and mushrooms. Many studies have examined the efficacy of β-glucan in terms of the lipid lowering effects, blood sugar reduction, weight reduction, immune modulator, and anticarcinogenic effect. However, there is no comprehensive review article on the biomedical issues regarding β-glucan. The authors searched for systematic reviews and clinical experiments for each relevant topic and reviewed the biomedical effects of β-glucan, for the purpose of developing research strategies for the future

A patologização do sedentarismo

A identifica????o do sedentarismo como fator de risco para doen??as cr??nico-degenerativas influenciou significativamente nas recomenda????es de sa??de p??blica em defesa de estilos de vida fisicamente ativos. O artigo estuda o processo de patologiza????o do sedentarismo e seus desdobramentos para o campo da sa??de p??blica. Num primeiro momento, discutimos de que maneira o modelo biom??dico serve de base para a transposi????o de aspectos da conduta humana como ???fator de risco??? e, a seguir, como patologia, tal qual no caso espec??fico da ???S??ndrome da Morte Sedent??ria???, assim classificada por alguns autores. Em seguida, analisamos como essa vis??o vem sendo difundida no campo da sa??de, tomando por base um programa institucional que, ao mesmo tempo em que transforma o sedentarismo em doen??a, apresenta a atividade f??sica como um rem??dio cujos resultados podem se estender a todas as esferas da vida. Nessa linha de racioc??nio, em que os mal-estares de nossa civiliza????o s??o medicalizados e tornados mercadoria ao serem transformados em riscos e patologias, a atividade f??sica torna-se vacina para o corpo social.The identification of physical inactivity as a risk factor for chronic degenerative diseases has significantly influenced public health recommendations in support of physically active lifestyles. This study analyzes the pathologization of sedentariness and its implications in the public health field. First we discuss how the biomedical model serves as a basis to transform aspects of human behavior into ???risk factors??? and subsequently into pathologies such as the ???Sedentary Death Syndrome???, as some authors classify it. Second, we analyze how this view is being spread in the health field; our analysis is based on an institutional program which transforms sedentariness into illness while presents physical activity as a medicine whose results can reach all aspects of life. According to this rationale, in which the discomforts of our civilization are medicalized and made into commodities as they are transformed into risks and pathologies, physical activity becomes a vaccine to be applied to the social body

Interval Censored Regular Vines With Application to Event-Based Modelling of Precipitation and Temperature

Mange typer ekstremvær skyldes årsaker som følge av sammenhengen mellom temperatur og nedbør. I utsatte områder forårsaker perioder med høy temperatur og lite nedbør tørke, mens perioder med høy temperatur og nedbør er assosiert med flom i fjellområder, grunnet økning i smeltevann fra isbreer. I denne oppgaven ser vi på denne sammenhengen ved å utvide bygemodellen fra De Michele & Salvadori (2003) til å inkludere temperatur. Alle modell-parameterne kan modelleres i en simultanfordeling ved bruk av par-copula-konstruksjoner, som er et generelt verktøy for modellering av ikke-Gaussiske multivariate fordelinger. Typiske værdata består av timesmålinger av nedbør og temperatur. Disse inneholder mange duplikater, spesielt i de lave halene, som bidrar til forventningsskjevhet i estimasjonene av kontinuerlige prosesser. Li et al. (2016) viste at så kalt "intervall-sensurert" estimatsjon er forventningsrett i to dimensjoner. Vi foreslår to metoder for å generalisere intervall-sensurering til multivariate par-copula-konstruksjoner, og disse blir testet i en simuleringsstudie. Metodene er forventningsrette i lave nivåer av par-copula-konstruksjonene, men ikke generelt i de høye nivåene når korrelasjonene er sterke. Den beste metoden er fortsatt noe bedre enn alternativene, og blir fokuset for anvendelsen til bygemodellen. I modellen fra De Michele & Salvadori (2003) er observasjonene antatt å være uavhengige realiseringer fra samme fordeling innad i hver sesong. Temperatur har, imidlertid, en klar sesongbasert trend, og siden bygeobservasjonene er en irregulær tidsrekke, blir det brukt Fourier-ledd med ARIMA-korreksjon for å modellere temperatur. De tilgjengelige dataene for denne studien er av lav kvalitet, og den estimerte avhengigheten mellom temperatur og nedbør er lavere enn forventet, så den fulle temperatur-nedbørsmodellen er heller en konseptuell demonstrasjon av intervall-sensurerte regulære par-copula-konstruksjoner. Vi lager en større modell, med fokus på ulike konstruksjonsstrukturer for hver sesong, og en mindre som mer spesifikt modellerer forholdet mellom nedbørintensitet, varighet og temperatur