Making co-enrolment feasible for randomised controlled trials in paediatric intensive care.

Enrolling children into several trials could increase recruitment and lead to quicker delivery of optimal care in paediatric intensive care units (PICU). We evaluated decisions taken by clinicians and parents in PICU on co-enrolment for two large pragmatic trials: the CATCH trial (CATheters in CHildren) comparing impregnated with standard central venous catheters (CVCs) for reducing bloodstream infection in PICU and the CHIP trial comparing tight versus standard control of hyperglycaemia

A computer-enhanced pH study of the formaldehyde–sulphite clock reaction

The formaldehyde-sulphite clock reaction was studied using an Orion SA 720 pH/ISE meter interfaced to an IBM PC. The laboratory software ‘ASYST’ was employed to facilitate data acquisition and data treatment. Experimental pH profiles thus obtained for the first time were simulated by invoking a theoretical model based on the reaction mechanism suggested by Burnett [1]. The variation of rate constants with compositions of reaction mixtures was also discuseed in light of the empirical expression proposed by Bell and Evans [2] for instantaneous rate constant of the clock reaction

VALIDATION OF MODEL-BASED IMAGE-MATCHING TECHNIQUE WITH BONE-PIN MARKER BASED MOTION ANALYSIS ON ANKLE KINEMATICS: A CADAVER STUDY

Krosshaug (2005) introduced a model-based image-matching (MBIM) technique for 3D reconstruction of human motion from uncalibrated video sequences. The aim of this study is to validate the MBIM technique on ankle joint movement with the reference to bone-pin marker based motion analysis on a cadaver. One cadaveric below-hip specimen was prepared for performing full-range plantarflexion/dorsiflexion, inversion/eversion and relative circular motion between two segments. The videos were recorded and analyzed by the MBIM technique and bone-pin marker based motion analysis. The results are presented as the qualitative visual evaluation and the root mean square (RMS) error. In general, the validation results showed good agreement between the MBIM estimation and bone-pin marker based motion analysis results. This technique will contribute to the motion measurement of ankle joint kinematics in the future, for instance, the motion analysis in real game situations and understanding the injury mechanisms of real injury cases

MODEL-BASED IMAGE-MATCHING KINEMATICS ANALYSIS OF THREE ANKLE SUPINATION SPRAIN INJURY CASES IN SPORTS

Ankle sprain is one of the most common injuries encountered at sport events. Three ankle supination sprain cases from high jump, tennis and hockey were chosen for analysis. Model-Based Image-Matching (MBIM) technique was implemented for reconstructing 3D ankle joint kinematics. The profiles of ankle joint kinematics were outputted from the selected sprain cases. The maximum inversion angle ranged from 78° to 142°. Plantarflexion was again found to be not necessary in ankle supination sprain injury. The results from the MBIM technique would contribute to the understanding of biomechanical injury mechanism of ankle supination sprain injury in sports. The future direction is to analyze more cases to consolidate the findings

INTRA-RATER AND INTER-RATER RELIABILITY OF A MODEL-BASED IMAGE-MATCHING MOTION ANALYSIS TECHNIQUE IN MEASURING ANKLE JOINT KINEMATICS

The aim of this study was to assess the intra-rater and inter-rater reliability of the MBIM technique in measuring ankle joint kinematics. Three cadaveric below-hip specimens were prepared for performing full-range plantar/dorsiflexion, in/eversion and relative circular motion between the shank and foot segments. A detailed skeleton matching protocol was given to two researchers and each researcher performed the matching five times on each specimen. Intra-rater and inter-rater reliability were assessed with interclass correlation (ICC). The results showed excellent intra-rater reliability (ICC coefficient > 0.978) and excellent inter-rater reliability (ICC coefficient > 0.981). Therefore, the MBIM technique for analyzing ankle joint kinematics is repeatable and is a good motion analysis tool for sports science and sports medicine related research

Efficient computation of min and max sensor values in multihop networks

Consider a wireless sensor network (WSN) where a broadcast from a sensor node does not reach all sensor nodes in the network; such networks are often called multihop networks. Sensor nodes take sensor readings but individual sensor readings are not very important. It is important however to compute aggregated quantities of these sensor readings. The minimum and maximum of all sensor readings at an instant are often interesting because they indicate abnormal behavior, for example if the maximum temperature is very high then it may be that a fire has broken out. We propose an algorithm for computing the min or max of sensor readings in a multihop network. This algorithm has the particularly interesting property of having a time complexity that does not depend on the number of sensor nodes; only the network diameter and the range of the value domain of sensor readings matter

Preliminary Observations on the Effects In Vivo and In Vitro of Low Dose Laser on the Epithelia of the Bladder, Trachea and Tongue of the Mouse

The effects of low dose CW laser were studied by in vivo and in vitro systems. The experimental tissues that were used included bladders, tracheas and tongues as experimental tissues. Buddings (round surface projections) from the transitional epithelium of bladder were frequently observed 3 days after laser treatment in both in vivo and in vitro systems. The trachea and tongue were less affected. In both the in vivo and in vitro systems, some epithelial cells of the trachea showed decreased microvilli and cilia 3 days after treatment whereas the epithelial cells of the tongue revealed no response to laser treatment in both systems. Low dose laser, however, appeared to promote the rate of healing of experimental tongue ulcer: healing was about 1 day earlier in the laser treated than non-treated animals and vessel infiltration and epithelialization were detected earlier in the treated

Stimulation of Collagen Formation in the Intestinal Anastomosis by Low Dose He-Ne Laser

The effect of low dose He-Ne laser on the healing of intestinal anastomosis was studied in the albino rat. A small piece of jejunum was removed from each rat and the ends sutured back with a simple interrupted pattern. In the experimental animal, the anastomosis was Irradiated through an optic fiber with a He-Ne laser (1 mW) for 15 minutes whereas in the control animal, the anastomosis was not irradiated. The differences between the two groups were compared by histology, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and autoradiography 3 and 7 days after operation. The laser treated experimental animals demonstrated thicker collagen fibers and an increased quantity of collagen at the junction of the anastomosis compared to control animals. Increased uptake of labelled proline was also evident in the laser treated animals. These observations all point to a possible enhancement of collagen synthesis triggered by laser irradiation