The Effect of Grip Span on Hand-gripping Control Strength

Abstract. The economic developments and industrial progressions, the automatic operations were getting more wide-spread. However, currently in various operation occasions, the workers are still required to face how to operate all kinds of hand tooling and equipments. In the industrial cases, there were many opportunities to use hand grip strength to operate machines. Hand grip strength has received increasing attention from industrial engineers and ergonomic researchers. The relation between hand grip strength and tool's grip span was important issues in ergonomics. Occasionally, it was little research to conduct. This study aims at exploring the relationship of tool's grip span and hand grip strength. Seventy two subjects rose from volunteers' participators, including 29 males and 43 females. Dependent variables were maximum volitional contraction and hand gripping control (HGC-70% , target value 70% MVC). Three different diameters of grip span were significance differences in maximum volitional contraction and hand gripping control. The study finds that the best diameter of tool's grip span was 47.6 mm. The finding will be served as a reference for task design, instrument design as well as for disease protected for industrial staffs

HuR cytoplasmic expression is associated with increased cyclin A expression and poor outcome with upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma

BACKGROUND: HuR is an RNA-binding protein that post-transcriptionally modulates the expressions of various target genes implicated in carcinogenesis, such as CCNA2 encoding cyclin A. No prior study attempted to evaluate the significance of HuR expression in a large cohort with upper urinary tract urothelial carcinomas (UTUCs). METHODS: In total, 340 cases of primary localized UTUC without previous or concordant bladder carcinoma were selected. All of these patients received ureterectomy or radical nephroureterectomy with curative intents. Pathological slides were reviewed, and clinical findings were collected. Immunostaining for HuR and cyclin A was performed and evaluated by using H-score. The results of cytoplasmic HuR and nuclear cyclin A expressions were correlated with disease-specific survival (DSS), metastasis-free survival (MeFS), urinary bladder recurrence-free survival (UBRFS), and various clinicopathological factors. RESULTS: HuR cytoplasmic expression was significantly related to the pT status, lymph node metastasis, a higher histological grade, the pattern of invasion, vascular and perineurial invasion, and cyclin A expression (p = 0.005). Importantly, HuR cytoplasmic expression was strongly associated with a worse DSS (p < 0.0001), MeFS (p < 0.0001), and UBRFS (p = 0.0370) in the univariate analysis, and the first two results remained independently predictive of adverse outcomes (p = 0.038, relative risk [RR] = 1.996 for DSS; p = 0.027, RR = 1.880 for MeFS). Cyclin A nuclear expression was associated with a poor DSS (p = 0.0035) and MeFS (p = 0.0015) in the univariate analysis but was not prognosticatory in the multivariate analyses. High-risk patients (pT3 or pT4 with/without nodal metastasis) with high HuR cytoplasmic expression had better DSS if adjuvant chemotherapy was performed (p = 0.015). CONCLUSIONS: HuR cytoplasmic expression was correlated with adverse phenotypes and cyclin A overexpression and also independently predictive of worse DSS and MeFS, suggesting its roles in tumorigenesis or carcinogenesis and potentiality as a prognostic marker of UTUC. High HuR cytoplasmic expression might identify patients more likely to be beneficial for adjuvant chemotherapy

THE EFFECT OF WRIST POSTURE AND FOREARM POSITION ON THE CONTROL CAPABILITY OF HAND-GRIP STRENGTH

Economic and industrial developments have yielded an increase in automated workplace operations; consequently, employees must learn to operate various hand tools and equipment. The hand grip strength exerted by workers during machinery operation has received increasing attention from engineers and researchers. However, research on the relationship between hand grip strength and posture&mdash;a crucial issue in ergonomics&mdash;is scant. Therefore, in this study, the relationships among wrist posture, forearm position, and hand grip strength were examined among 72 university students. Three wrist posture and forearm positions of grip span were tested to identify the maximum volitional contraction (MVC) and hand gripping control (HGC) required for certain tasks. A one-way analysis of variance was conducted using MVC and HGC as dependent variables, and the optimal wrist posture and forearm position were identified. The findings provide a reference for task and instrument design and protecting industrial workers from diseases

[[alternative]]The Study of influence Factor of Achievement in Organic Stereochemistry and Problem Solving Model

[[abstract]]The Study of Influence Factors of Achievement in Organic Stereochemistry and Problem Solving Model Kun-Hsi Liao Abstract The purposes of this article were to investigate the factors that influence the achievement in organic stereochemistry and discuss the reasons of learning difficulty in this course. Approach from the information-processing aspect, researcher proposed four-factor variables, spatial ability, reasoning ability, learning strategies and chemical prior knowledge, to examine their relationships with organic stereochemistry achievement and their effecting path diagrams on each other. Then, in order to understand the grouping effect on organic stereochemitry learning, researcher compared the outcome differences among sex groups, class groups and achievement level groups on spatial ability test, reasoning ability test, learning strategies questionnaire, chemical prior knowledge test and organic stereochemistry achievement test. Lastly, researcher used thinking-aloud problem solving method to interview students and analyzed verbal data to understand students' problem behaviors, problem characteristics and problem models. 311 samples collected from three universities in northern part of Taiwan. They completed five test instruments and one hand on reading-material. Paper, pencil tests were analyzed by researcher in quantitative statistical method. Thirteen students, randomly selected from mother group, interviewed by researcher in organic stereochemistry problem solving. Recalling materials were translated to protocol data and analyzed by researcher for qualitative method. The research results indicated that all four-factor variables, spatial ability, reasoning ability, learning strategies and chemical prior knowledge, positively related to organic stereochemistry achievement. They could explain 25.7% of total variance. The path diagram, identified by Linear Structure Relationship (LISREL), indicated that spatial ability, learning strategies and chemical prior knowledge had a direct effect path on the organic stereochemistry; but the reasoning ability through the spatial ability and chemical prior knowledge had an indirect effect path on the organic stereoechemistry achievement. Test scores in sex, classes, and achievement level groups, compared by ANOVA, ANCOVA, and LISREL methods. The results indicated that male had higher scores than female on spatial ability test, reasoning ability test, learning strategies questionnaire, chemical prior knowledge test and organic stereochemistry achievement test. But when to the exclusion of three covariance factors, class, department and reasoning ability, male and female had no significant difference at p> .05 on all five tests and 14 sub-tests. When to the exclusion of two covariance factors, sex and department, class level group had a significant difference at p< .01 on the organic stereochemistry achievement test, while other tests had no significant difference. Achievement level groups were significantly different at the p< .01 level on all test scores. In the problem solving parts, the results indicated that the three different level students, high-, middle- and low- groups had apparent differences in problem behavior and problem characteristic. Those results were similar as in the quantitative analysis. In the problem model parts, researcher analyzed thirteen students' verbal data and found seven different types of problem models. Researcher found male and female had different problem solving style. Male used to solve problems with stereographic rotation method and female used two-dimensional picture. Conclusively, organic stereochemistry achievement was not only effected by individual cognitive factors but also by class, and problem solving skills. The learning difficulty and score depression in organic stereochemistry achievement were attributed to scantiness of cognitive abilities, inability of understanding entire chemical concepts and misconception on R, S configuration determination. These findings would help teachers' teaching and students' learning in organic chemistry and other science subject maters. Key Word：Organic stereochemistry achievement, spatial ability, reasoning ability, learning strategies, prior knowledge, problem solving model, LISREL.

Thymic stromal lymphopoietin gene promoter polymorphisms and expression levels in Graves’ disease and Graves’ ophthalmopathy

Abstract Background Graves disease (GD) is an organ-specific autoimmune disease characterized by hyperthyroidism, diffuse goiter, autoantibodies against thyroid-specific antigens, and dermopathy. Studies of GD have demonstrated the importance of the Th2 and Th17 immune responses in mediating disease progression. In the present study, we investigated the role of a Th2 cytokine, thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP), in GD and Th17 differentiation. Methods In this study, we genotyped 470 patients with GD at 3 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in TSLP. In addition, the serum concentrations of TSLP were determined in 432 patients and 272 controls. Ten patients and controls each were further screened using in vitro Th17 differentiation assays. The SNPs were genotyped using ABI TaqMan® SNP genotyping assays. For the Th17 differentiation assays, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) isolated from the patients and controls were placed into Th17 differentiation media, and interleukin 17 expression levels were determined. Results Haplotype analysis indicated that patients with the Ht3 (TCC) haplotype have a 3.28-fold higher risk of developing GD (p = 0.007), whereas those with the Ht5 (TCG) haplotype had a 0.03-fold, reduced risk of developing GD (p = 1 × 10−14). SNP rs3806933 (p = 0.007) was associated with female Graves ophthalmopathy (GO). TSLP expression levels were higher in GD patients than in control subjects, and TLSP was also shown to promote the differentiation of Th17 cells in GD patients. Conclusions These results suggest that polymorphisms in TSLP may be used as genetic markers for the diagnosis and prognosis of GD. Furthermore, TLSP may be a target for treating GD.</p

Influence of the Timing of Leptomeningeal Metastasis on the Outcome of <i>EGFR</i>-Mutant Lung Adenocarcinoma Patients and Predictors of Detectable <i>EGFR</i> Mutations in Cerebrospinal Fluid

Background: We aim to evaluate the influence of the timing of leptomeningeal metastasis (LM) occurrence on the outcome of EGFR-mutant lung adenocarcinoma and to explore the predictors of detectable EGFR mutation in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Methods: EGFR-mutant lung adenocarcinoma patients with cytologically confirmed LM were included for analysis. EGFR mutation in CSF was detected by MALDI-TOF MS plus PNA. Results: A total of 43 patients was analyzed. Of them, 8 (18.6%) were diagnosed with LM prior to first-line EGFR-TKI treatment (early onset), while 35 patients (81.4%) developed LM after first-line EGFR-TKI treatment (late onset). Multivariate analysis suggested that both late-onset LM (aHR 0.31 (95% CI 0.10–0.94), p = 0.038) and a history of third-generation EGFR-TKI treatment (aHR 0.24 (95% CI 0.09–0.67), p = 0.006) independently predicted a favorable outcome. EGFR mutation detection sensitivity in CSF was 81.4%. The radiological burden of LM significantly correlated with CSF tumor cell counts (p = 0.013) with higher CSF tumor cell counts predicting a higher detection sensitivity of EGFR mutation (p = 0.042). Conclusions: Early onset LM was an independently poor prognostic factor. A higher radiological severity score of LM could predict higher tumor cell counts in CSF, which in turn were associated with a higher detection rate of EGFR mutation

Preliminary Neotectonic Map of Onshore-offshore Taiwan

International audienceThe diversity of the research in earth sciences leads to a multisource approach to investigate the surroundings of Taiwan. Various data sets combined by a Geographical Information System (GIS) enable us to propose an intergrated neotectonic map of onshore-offshore Taiwan. Several technical problems arise during the compilation of this map, such as the homogeneity of scales, projections and geodetic systems used, the validity and precision of each data set (line and pixel) and document, and the integration of qualitative and quantitative documents.Various types of information are taken into account in this approach, such as topography and bathymetry, geology (lithology, structure), geophysics (gravimetry, magnetism, etc.), geodesy (levelling, GPS, etc.), remote sensing and field works. This multisource approach has been applied to data sets both onland and offshore Taiwan, and has resulted in a preliminary neotectonic map of onshore-offshore Taiwan. This map provides a better comprehension of the geodynamic phenomena that affect Taiwan, and contributes significantly to the relations of the offshore structures and their corresponding reactivated extensional structures onshore (for instance, the Tainan, Taihsi, Okinawa, and Huatung basins).This document should benefit both academic research (structural and active fault maps) as well as the applied geological implications (such as natural hazards mapping and evaluation of geotechnic works)