Wireless impact sensing headband - W.I.S.H.

The prevalence of undiagnosed head injuries in the athletic world, and their associated health risks, is too great to ignore. This is especially true in non-helmeted sports where the availability of impact monitoring technologies is few and far between. In this paper, we discuss our wireless impact sensing headband technology that aids in the awareness and detection of potential concussions, from inception through design completion. Through the use of a custom-built validation system capable of simulating impact collisions, along with a series of experiments and revisions, our team was able to build a device that can sense and transmit data throughout the majority of the impact range of standard concussions. This system has the potential to help millions of athletes around the world be much better prepared in the event of a potentially life-threatening head impact. However, while our system is able to accurately detect and transmit impact data in real time, we found that additions such as the ability to sample at a much higher rate than experimented with, a more ergonomic design, and a lightweight, durable enclosure would be needed in order for our product to be a viable mass-market competitor. Although the product is not ready for the mass market as of today, it will be a vital part to larger systems used for predictive analytics and more innovative and robust athletic game strategy

Association of baseline absolute neutrophil counts and survival in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer treated with second-line antiangiogenic therapies : exploratory analyses of the RAISE trial and validation in an electronic medical record data set

In the RAISE trial, ramucirumab+leucovorin/fluorouracil/irinotecan (FOLFIRI) improved the median overall survival (mOS) of patients with previously treated metastatic colorectal cancer versus patients treated with placebo+FOLFIRI but had a higher incidence of neutropaenia, leading to more chemotherapy dose modifications and discontinuations. Thus, we conducted an exploratory post-hoc analysis of RAISE and a retrospective, observational analysis of electronic medical record (EMR) data to determine and verify the association of neutropaenia, baseline absolute neutrophil count (ANC) and survival. The RAISE analysis used the study safety population (n=1057). IMS Health Oncology Database (IMS EMR) was the source for the real-world data set (n=617). RAISE patients with treatment-emergent neutropaenia had improved mOS compared with those without (ramucirumab arm: 16.1 vs 10.7 months, HR=0.57, p<0.0001; placebo arm: 12.7 vs 10.7 months, HR=0.76, p=0.0065). RAISE patients with low ANC versus high baseline ANC also had longer mOS (ramucirumab arm: 15.2 vs 8.9 months, HR=0.49, p<0.0001; placebo arm: 13.2 vs 7.3 months, HR=0.50, p<0.0001). The results were similar for IMS EMR low versus high baseline ANC (bevacizumab+FOLFIRI patients: 14.9 vs 7.7 months, HR=0.59, p<0.0001; FOLFIRI alone: 14.6 vs 5.4 months, HR=0.37, p<0.0001). Patients in the RAISE trial with low baseline ANC were more likely to develop neutropaenia (OR: ramucirumab arm=2.62, p<0.0001; placebo arm=2.16, p=0.0003). Neutropaenia during treatment, and subsequent dose modifications or discontinuations, do not compromise treatment efficacy. Baseline ANC is a strong prognostic factor for survival and is associated with treatment-emergent neutropaenia in the analysed population. , Results

Age, period, and cohort analysis of regular dental care behavior and edentulism: A marginal approach

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To analyze the regular dental care behavior and prevalence of edentulism in adult Danes, reported in sequential cross-sectional oral health surveys by the application of a marginal approach to consider the possible clustering effect of birth cohorts.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Data from four sequential cross-sectional surveys of non-institutionalized Danes conducted from 1975-2005 comprising 4330 respondents aged 15+ years in 9 birth cohorts were analyzed. The key study variables were seeking dental care on an annual basis (ADC) and edentulism. For the analysis of ADC, survey year, age, gender, socio-economic status (SES) group, denture-wearing, and school dental care (SDC) during childhood were considered. For the analysis of edentulism, only respondents aged 35+ years were included. Survey year, age, gender, SES group, ADC, and SDC during childhood were considered as the independent factors. To take into account the clustering effect of birth cohorts, marginal logistic regressions with an independent correlation structure in generalized estimating equations (GEE) were carried out, with PROC GENMOD in SAS software.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The overall proportion of people seeking ADC increased from 58.8% in 1975 to 86.7% in 2005, while for respondents aged 35 years or older, the overall prevalence of edentulism (35+ years) decreased from 36.4% in 1975 to 5.0% in 2005. Females, respondents in the higher SES group, in more recent survey years, with no denture, and receiving SDC in all grades during childhood were associated with higher probability of seeking ADC regularly (<it>P </it>< 0.05). The interaction of SDC and age (<it>P </it>< 0.0001) was significant. The probabilities of seeking ADC were even higher among subjects with SDC in all grades and aged 45 years or older. Females, older age group, respondents in earlier survey years, not seeking ADC, lower SES group, and not receiving SDC in all grades were associated with higher probability of being edentulous (<it>P </it>< 0.05).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>With the use of GEE, the potential clustering effect of birth cohorts in sequential cross-sectional oral health survey data could be appropriately considered. The success of Danish dental health policy was demonstrated by a continued increase of regular dental visiting habits and tooth retention in adults because school dental care was provided to Danes in their childhood.</p

Amerikai hatások Boris Vian irodalmi tréfájában

Dans le premier roman de Vernon Sullivan, qui est l’un des plusieurs pseudonyme de Boris Vian, de nombreux influences américaines peuvent être observées. Non seulement l’élite française mais Boris Vian lui-même a adoré la culture américaine en plus, pendant l’occupation allemande cela signifie la liberté pour eux. Le premier roman de Sullivan/Vian est un canular littéraire qui lui a donné la gloire et l’indignité en même temps. Cette œuvre contient plusieurs éléments de la culture américaine (les influences du jazz, du roman policier américains). En outre Vian a voulu attirer l’attention du public français sur la discrimination croissante contre les noirs aux Etas Unis.egységes, osztatlanFranciaB