Estimation of the diagnostic accuracy of organ electrodermal diagnostics

Objective. To estimate the diagnostic accuracy and the scope of utilisation of a new bio-electronic method of organ diagnostics. Design. Double-blind comparative study of the diagnostic results obtained using organ electrodermal diagnostics (OED), with clinical diagnosis as the criterion standard. Setting. Department of Surgery, Helen Joseph Hospital, Johannesburg. Patients. Two hundred pre-selected inpatients of mean age 38 years (standard deviation 9 years) with suspected pathology of one (or more) of the following organs: oesophagus, stomach, gallbladder, pancreas, colon, kidneys, urinary bladder and prostate. In total, 714 of the abovementioned internal organs were selected for statistical consideration. Main outcome measures. The degree of rectification of the measuring current once the resistance ‘breakthrough effect' has been induced in the skin, as well as the difference in impedance measured at organ projection areas (OPAs) (skin zones corresponding to particular internal organs). Results. In total, 630 true OED results were obtained from the 714 subjects considered, with a detection rate of 88.2% (95% confidence interval (CI): 85.6 - 90.5%). Established OED sensitivity was 89.5% (CI: 85.2 - 92.8%) and OED specificity equalled 87.5% (CI: 84.0 - 90.4%). The predictive value for positive OED results was 81.7% (CI: 76.9 - 85.9%) and for negative OED results 93.0% (CI 90.1 - 95.2%). Healthy organs usually produced the OED result ‘healthy' or ‘within normal limits', while subacute pathology displayed ‘subcute' and acute pathology ‘acute'. The OED results were not affected by either the type or the aetiology of disease, i.e. OED estimated the actual extent of pathological process activity within particular organs but did not directly explain the cause of pathology. Conclusions. So-called OPAs do exist on the skin surface. Pathology of a particular organ causes a related OPA to rectify electrical currents once the resistance ‘breakthrough effect' has been induced in the skin. Pathology of an internal organ also increases the impedance of the corresponding OPA. The degree of rectification or difference in impedance is proportional to the extent of the pathological process within this organ. OED which utilises the abovementioned electrical phenomena of the skin, is a reliable bio-electronic method of non-invasive medical diagnostics, with high rates of sensitivity, specificity and predictive values. OED may be used to detect diseased organs and estimate the extent of pathological process activity. S Afr Med J 2004; 94: 547-551

Diagnostic accuracy of organ electrodermal diagnostics

Objective. To estimate the diagnostic accuracy as well as the scope of utilisation of a new bio-electronic method of organ diagnostics.Design. Double-blind comparative study of the diagnostic results obtained by means of organ electrodermal diagnostics (OED) and clinical diagnoses, as a criterion standard.Setting. Department of Surgery, Helen Joseph Hospital, Johannesburg.Patients. 70 pre-selected inpatients of mean age 36 (SD =7) years with suspected pathology of one (or more) of the following organs: oesophagus, stomach, duodenum, biliary tract, pancreas, colon, kidneys and urinary tract. In total, 276 of the above mentioned internal organs were selected for statistical consideration. Main outcome measures. The difference between the so-called basic electrical impedance of the skin and the impedance value established for a particular organ projection area (the skin zone corresponding to a particular internal organ).Results. In total 250 true OED results were obtained from the 276 subjects considered: detection rate 90.6% (95% Cl 87.1 - 94.1 %). Established OED sensitivity was 91.8% (95% Cl 88.6 - 95.0%) and OED specificity equalled 89.9% (95% Cl 86.4 - 93.4%). The predictive value for positive OED results was 83.3% (95% Cl 78.9 - 87.7%) and for negative OED results 95.2% (95% Cl 92.0 - 98.4%). The OED results were affected neither by the type nor the aetiology of disease, i.e. OED estimates the actual extent of the pathological process within particular organs but does not explain the cause of pathology directly. No sideeffects of the OED examinations were observed.Conclusions. So-called organ projection areas do exist on the skin surface. The electrical impedance of the projection areas corresponding to diseased organs is increased, relative to that of healthy organ-related skin zones. The difference in impedance is proportional to the intensity of the pathological process. OED, which utilises these electrical phenomena of the skin, may detect diseased organs and estimate the extent of pathological process activity within these organs

Value of tissue harmonic imaging (THI) and contrast harmonic imaging (CHI) in detection and characterisation of breast tumours

The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which tissue harmonic imaging (THI), speckle reduction imaging (SRI), spatial compounding (SC) and contrast can improve detection and differentiation of breast tumours. We examined 38 patients (14 benign, 24 malignant tumours) with different combinations of THI, SRI and SC. The effect on delineation, margin, tissue differentiation and posttumoral phenomena was evaluated with a three-point score. Additionally, 1oo not palpable tumours (diameters: 4–15 mm) were examined by contrast harmonic imaging (CHI) with power Doppler. After bolus injection (0.5 ml Optison), vascularisation and enhancement were observed for 20 min. The best combination for detection of margin, infiltration, echo pattern and posterior lesion boundary was the combination of SRI level 2 with SC low. THI was helpful for lesions OF more than 1 cm depth. In native Power Doppler, vessels were found in 54 of 100 lesions. Within 5 min after contrast medium (CM) injection, marginal and penetrating vessels increased in benign and malignant tumours and central vessels mostly in carcinomas (p<0.05). A diffuse CM accumulation was observed up to 20 min after injection in malignant tumours only (p<0.05). THI, SRI and SC improved delineation and tissue differentiation. Second-generation contrast agent allowed detection of tumour vascularisation with prolonged enhancement

Harnessing synergies in tin-clay catalyst for the preparation of poly(ϵ-caprolactone)/halloysite nanocomposites

11 págs.; 9 figs.; 5 tabs.The first example of synergistic alkynyl-tin initiated ring-opening polymerization of cyclic ester in the presence of nanotubular silica particles is herein reported. Hydroxyl groups on the halloysite (HNTs) surface act as initiators for caprolactone polymerization and the resulting polymers are covalently grafted to the HNTs. The covalent anchorage of the poly(ϵ-caprolactone) (PCL) backbone to the HNTs ensures a high degree of interpenetration at the hybrid interface thereby allowing long-term stability of the PCL-grafted-HNTs suspension. Scanning electron microscopy analyses showed the uniform dispersion of the HNTs filler within the PCL matrix. The melt viscosity of the poly(ϵ-caprolactone)/HNTs composites decreases with increasing clay content. Thermal stability and microindentation hardness properties of the resulting nano-composites were significantly improved, as compared to native, non-reinforced PCL. 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.The study has been carried out with financial support from Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and from Hassan II Academy of Science and Technology of Morocco. FJBC gratefully acknowledges the MINECO, Spain (Grant MAT2013-47898-C2-1-R and MAT2013-47972-C2-1-P) for the generous support of this work.Peer Reviewe

Screening of eating disorders using the SCOFF-F among 964 active workers and students.

International audienc

Dépistage des troubles du comportement alimentaire à l’aide du SCOFF-F chez 964 actifs et étudiants en Haute-Vienne

International audienceIntroduction et but de l’étudeLes troubles du comportement alimentaire (TCA) dont l’anorexie mentale (AM), la boulimie nerveuse (BN), l’hyperphagie boulimique (HB) et l’hyperphagie nocturne (HN) sont de pathologies psychiatriques sévères. Le dépistage des TCA peut se faire à l’aide du SCOFF-F. L’objectif de notre travail était :– de dépister les TCA à l’aide du SCOFF-F chez des étudiants et travailleurs actifs de la Haute-Vienne ;– de rechercher les facteurs associés à un SCOFF-F positif.Matériel et méthodesCette étude prospective a été menée pendant 5 mois dans 6 services de médecine du travail et un service de médecine universitaire. À l’aide d’un auto-questionnaire anonyme, des données déclaratives concernant l’âge, l’IMC, la présence de TCA, les activités physiques ont été recueillies. Le SCOFF-F était aussi réalisé (positif si 2 réponses positives sur 5). L’analyse statistique comprenait les tests t de Student, du Chi2 et la régression logistique.Résultats et analyse statistiqueAu total, 964 personnes d’un âge moyen de 34,3 ± 12,6 ans ont été inclus. L’IMC moyen était de 24,4 ± 4,6 kg/m2, avec 4,7 % de dénutris et 12,2 % d’obèses. À noter que 26,7 % étaient étudiants. Les personnes déclaraient avoir une AM, une BN, une HB et une HN dans 2,5 %, 4,0 %, 3,6 %, et 2,8 % des cas respectivement. Le SCOFF-F était positif dans 13,7 % des cas, et de façon plus importante chez les étudiants (46,9 % vs 23,6 %, p < 0,0001). En analyse multivariée, un âge plus faible, les femmes, un IMC plus haut, une activité sportive à haut niveau, la qualité de vie altérée par les troubles et les TCA déclarés étaient positivement associées à un SCOFF-F positif (OR = 1,03, p = 0,01 ; OR = 2,17, p = 0,009 ; OR = 1,09, p = 0,002 ; OR = 3,00, p = 0,002 ; OR = 5,3, p < 0,0001 et OR = 4,20, p < 0,0001 respectivement). Pour les TCA déclarés, un SCOFF-F positif était plus spécifiquement associé à la BN et l’HN (OR = 4,6, p = 0,001 et OR = 5,64, p = 0,002 respectivement).ConclusionNotre étude fournit les premières données sur le dépistage des TCA chez des adultes en Haute-Vienne. Le SCOFF-F a dépisté près de 14 % de TCA, ce qui est cohérent avec la littérature. Dans notre population, il semble plus spécifiquement positif en cas de BN et d’HN déclarées. Même si nous n’avons pas retrouvé d’association en fonction du statut socioprofessionnel, les étudiants restent une population à risque qu’il est facile de dépister en médecine universitaire à l’aide du SCOFF-F