Anomalous dielectric response of very small quantities of virgin, aged and failed silicone oil

A technique is described for making dielectric spectroscopy measurements of very small quantities (<1μl) of oil. The technique utilises surface tension to hold the oil between the plates of a capacitor, the inter-electrode distance being controlled by a micrometer. Breakdown strength can also be estimated using this technique. Three samples of silicone oil, used in cable sealing ends, were tested: virgin, used and failed. A major component in the frequency dependent impedance had the form Z(ω)=B(1-b)(iω)/sup.1-p/). This component was interpreted in terms of a fractal percolation model, and the anomalous thickness dependence predicted by the model verified by varying the inter-electrode distance. The difference observed for the three different samples indicate that conducting contaminants are responsible for the percolation system

Sawing Recovery of Several Sawmills in Jepara

In the situation of wood material shortage, it is important to furniture manufacturers to efficiently utilize the wood. Increasing efficiency for improving value added of small medium enterprises of wood furniture industries in Jepara should be carried out from the first stage in wood processing: sawing that will convert logs into sawn timber. A study has been carried out on improving sawing recovery of sawntimber by live-sawing pattern to make loseware lumber for furniture material in Jepara region. This study was done by investigating the current sawing recovery data as determined during one full day's processing at each of the four bandsaw mill facilities and one chainsaw/carving facility. The results indicate that the current recovery rate of sawmilling services companies in Jepara reached 70 - 80 %. These recoveries are relatively high due to the live sawing pattern used and the fact that sawn boards were not edged or resawn into square pieces at the mill. Compared to existing rules and the Government standard for calculating the recovery rate, sawmilling service companies in Jepara have practiced efficient processing in sawing

Abstracts in high profile journals often fail to report harm

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To describe how frequently harm is reported in the abstract of high impact factor medical journals.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p><it>Design and population</it>: We carried out a blinded structured review of a random sample of 363 Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs) carried out on human beings, and published in high impact factor medical journals in 2003. <it>Main endpoint</it>: 1) Proportion of articles reporting harm in the abstract; and 2) Proportion of articles that reported harm in the abstract when harm was reported in the main body of the article. <it>Analysis</it>: Corrected Prevalence Ratio (cPR) and its exact confidence interval were calculated. Non-conditional logistic regression was used.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>363 articles and 407 possible comparisons were studied. Overall, harm was reported in 135 abstracts [37.2% (CI95%:32.2 to 42.4)]. Harm was reported in the main text of 243 articles [66.9% (CI95%: 61.8 to 71.8)] and was statistically significant in 54 articles [14.9% (CI95%: 11.4 to 19.0)]. Among the 243 articles that mentioned harm in the text, 130 articles [53.5% (CI95% 47.0 to 59.9)] reported harm in the abstract; a figure that rose to 75.9% (CI95%: 62.4 to 86.5) when the harm reported in the text was statistically significant. Harm in the abstract was more likely to be reported when statistically significant harm was reported in the main body of the article [cPR = 1.70 (CI95% 1.47 to 1.92)] and when drug companies (not public institutions) funded the RCTs [cPR = 1.29 (CI95% 1.03 to 1.67)].</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Abstracts published in high impact factor medical journals underreport harm, even when harm is reported in the main body of the article.</p

Assessment of the Quality of Reporting in Abstracts of Randomized Controlled Trials Published in Five Leading Chinese Medical Journals

BACKGROUND: Clear, transparent and sufficiently detailed abstracts of randomized trials (RCTs), published in journal articles are important because readers will often base their initial assessment of a trial on such information. However, little is known about the quality of reporting in abstracts of RCTs published in medical journals in China. METHODS: We identified RCTs abstracts from 5 five leading Chinese medical journals published between 1998 and 2007 and indexed in MEDLINE. We assessed the quality of reporting of these abstracts based on the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) abstract checklist. We also sought to identify whether any differences exist in reporting between the Chinese and English language version of the same abstract. RESULTS: We identified 332 RCT abstracts eligible for examination. Overall, the abstracts we examined reported 0-8 items as designated in the CONSORT checklist. On average, three items were reported per abstract. Details of the interventions (288/332; 87%), the number of participants randomized (216/332; 65%) and study objectives (109/332; 33%) were the top three items reported. Only two RCT abstracts reported details of trial registration, no abstracts reported the method of allocation concealment and only one mentioned specifically who was blinded. In terms of the proportion of RCT abstracts fulfilling a criterion, the absolute difference (percentage points) between the Chinese and English abstracts was 10% (ranging from 0 to 25%) on average, per item. CONCLUSIONS: The quality of reporting in abstracts of RCTs published in Chinese medical journals needs to be improved. We hope that the introduction and endorsement of the CONSORT for Abstracts guidelines by journals reporting RCTs will lead to improvements in the quality of reporting

Racial Differences in Tuberculosis Infection in United States Communities: The Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults Study

Previously reported associations between race/ethnicity and tuberculosis infection have lacked sufficient adjustment for socioeconomic factors. We analyzed race/ethnicity and self-reported tuberculosis infection data from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study, a well-characterized cohort of 5115 black and white participants, and found that after adjusting for sociodemographic and clinical factors, black participants were more likely to report tuberculosis infection and/or disease (odds ratio, 2.0; 95% confidence interval, 1.5–2.9)

CONSORT 2010 Statement: Updated Guidelines for Reporting Parallel Group Randomised Trials

Kenneth Schulz and colleagues describe the 2010 version of the CONSORT Statement, which updates the previous reporting guideline based on new methodological evidence and accumulated experience

Plasma transfusions prior to insertion of central lines for people with abnormal coagulation

Background: The insertion of central venous catheters (CVCs) may be associated with peri- and post-procedural bleeding. People who require a central line often have disorders of coagulation as a result of their underlying illness, co-morbidities or the effects of treatment. Clinical practice in some institutions is to mitigate the risk of bleeding in these patients by prophylactically transfusing fresh frozen plasma (FFP) in order to correct clotting factor deficiencies prior to central line insertion. However, FFP transfusion is not without risk, and it remains unclear whether this intervention is associated with reduced rates of bleeding or other clinically-meaningful outcomes. Objectives: To assess the effect of different prophylactic plasma transfusion regimens prior to central line insertion in people with abnormal coagulation. Search methods: We searched for randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (the Cochrane Library 2016, Issue 3), PubMed (e-publications only), Ovid MEDLINE (from 1946), Ovid Embase (from 1974), the Transfusion Evidence Library (from 1950) and ongoing trial databases to 1 March 2016. Selection criteria: We included RCTs involving transfusions of plasma to prevent bleeding in people of any age with abnormal coagulation requiring insertion of a central venous catheter, published in English. Data collection and analysis: We used standard methodological procedures expected by Cochrane. Main results: We identified four trials eligible for inclusion, of which three are ongoing. We did not exclude any studies because they were not published in English. The included study randomised 81 adults in intensive care whose INR (International Normalised Ratio) was greater than or equal to 1.5 to no FFP or to a single dose of 12 mL/kg FFP prior to undergoing central venous catheterisation (58 participants) or other invasive procedure (23 participants). It is the subgroup of 58 adults undergoing CVC insertion that were included in this review, the study authors provided unpublished data for this review's outcomes. The quality of the evidence was low or very low across different outcomes according to the GRADE methodology. The included study was at high risk of bias due to lack of blinding of participants and personnel and imbalance in the number of participants who had liver disease between study arms. There was insufficient evidence to determine a difference in major procedure-related bleeding within 24 hours (one RCT; 58 participants; no events in either study arm, very low-quality evidence). We are very uncertain whether FFP reduces minor procedure-related bleeding within 24 hours of the study (one RCT; 58 participants, RR 0.67, 95% CI 0.12 to 3.70, very low-quality evidence). No studies were found that looked at: all-cause mortality; the proportion of participants receiving plasma or red cell transfusions; serious adverse reactions (transfusion or line-related complications); number of days in hospital; change in INR; or quality of life. The three ongoing studies are still recruiting participants (expected recruitment: up to 355 participants in total). and are due to be completed by February 2018. Authors' conclusions: There is only very limited evidence from one RCT to inform the decision whether or not to administer prophylactic plasma prior to central venous catheterisation for people with abnormal coagulation. It is not possible from the current RCT evidence to recommend whether or not prophylactic plasma transfusion is beneficial or harmful in this situation. The three ongoing RCTs will not be able to answer this review’s questions, because they are small studies and do not address all of the comparisons included in this review (355 participants in total). To detect an increase in the proportion of participants who had major bleeding from 1 in 100 to 2 in 100 would require a study containing at least 4634 participants (80% power, 5% significance)

Substantial chest-wall deformity following tissue expansion after radiotherapy

We present the case of a 54-year-old woman who underwent a two-stage breast reconstruction with a tissue expander after sustaining a lumpectomy and local radiotherapy for breast cancer. During expansion, the woman developed an abnormal concave deformity of the chest wall. Although respiratory or aesthetic consequences were expected, our patient reported only pain and was satisfied with the end result. Osteoporosis or local recurrence was excluded as predisposing factors, and radiotherapy was considered to be the causal factor in our patient. On the basis of this finding, we advise surgeons to take the risk of chest-wall deformity into consideration when planning a reconstruction with tissue expanders, especially in patients with a history of radiotherapy, and we recommend an alternative reconstructive method in this group of patients

Transparent and accurate reporting increases reliability, utility, and impact of your research: reporting guidelines and the EQUATOR Network

Although current electronic methods of scientific publishing offer increased opportunities for publishing all research studies and describing them in sufficient detail, health research literature still suffers from many shortcomings. These shortcomings seriously undermine the value and utility of the literature and waste scarce resources invested in the research. In recent years there have been several positive steps aimed at improving this situation, such as a strengthening of journals' policies on research publication and the wide requirement to register clinical trials