A Numerical Study on Temperature Distribution of Line Heated Anisotropic Carbon Fiber Composites

Earlier we have described the various uses of infrared line scanner based thermal nondestructive testing equipment [1]. Time constants of measurements made with these kind of equipment are very suitable for testing carbon fiber composites. Scanning a line heat source over a sample surface causes a nonuniform temperature distribution in the sample. In addition to the heat flow normal to the surface, lateral heat flow exists in the surface plane. In the case of carbon fiber composites with a specific oriented structure, the surface temperature distributions depend on the direction where the line source moves. Generally, this is true of any sample having anisotropic thermal conductivity. In oriented carbon fiber composites the bulk thermal conductivity can be considered anisotropic, because the heat transfer in the composite is different in the direction of the fibers compared to perpendicular directions [2,3]. Varis et al. have discussed these phenomenon briefly with the testing of carbon fiber tubes using numerical methods [4]. Here, we represent a more detailed numerical analysis of the effects of line heating on a sample having anisotropic thermal conductivity

Associations between pre-pregnancy obesity and asthma symptoms in adolescents

Background: The high prevalence of children's asthma symptoms, worldwide, is unexplained. We examined the relation between maternal pre-pregnancy weight and body mass index (BMI), and asthma symptoms in adolescents. Methods: Data from 6945 adolescents born within the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986 were used. Prospective antenatal and birth outcome data, including maternal pre-pregnancy weight and BMI, and asthma symptoms in adolescent offspring at age 15–16 years, were employed. Logistic regression analyses were performed to examine the associations between relevant prenatal factors and asthma symptoms during adolescence. Results: Current wheeze (within the past year) was reported by 10.6% of adolescents, and physician-diagnosed asthma by 6.0%. High maternal pre-pregnancy BMI was a significant predictor of wheeze in the adolescents (increase per kilogram per square metre unit; 2.7%, 95% CI 0.9 to 4.4 for ever wheeze; 3.5%, 95% CI 1.3 to 5.8 for current wheeze), and adjusting for potential confounders further increased the risk (2.8%, 95% CI 0.5 to 5.1; 4.7%, 95% CI 1.9 to 7.7, respectively). High maternal pre-pregnancy weight, in the top tertile, also significantly increased the odds of current wheeze in the adolescent by 20% (95% CI 4 to 39), and adjusting for potential confounders further increased the risk (OR=1.52, 95% CI 1.19 to 1.95). Results were similar for current asthma. Furthermore, these significant associations were observed only among adolescents without parental history of atopy but not among those with parental history of atopy. Conclusions: The association demonstrated here between maternal pre-pregnancy overweight and obesity, and asthma symptoms in adolescents suggests that increase in asthma may be partly related to the rapid rise in obesity in recent years

Measurements and Variability of Arterial Blood Pressure and Heart Interval in Conscious and Anesthetized Dogs

No abstract availabl

Stroke as the First Manifestation of Atrial Fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation may remain undiagnosed until an ischemic stroke occurs. In this retrospective cohort study we assessed the prevalence of ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack as the first manifestation of atrial fibrillation in 3,623 patients treated for their first ever stroke or transient ischemic attack during 2003-2012. Two groups were formed: patients with a history of atrial fibrillation and patients with new atrial fibrillation diagnosed during hospitalization for stroke or transient ischemic attack. A control group of 781 patients with intracranial hemorrhage was compiled similarly to explore causality between new atrial fibrillation and stroke. The median age of the patients was 78.3 [13.0] years and 2,009 (55.5%) were women. New atrial fibrillation was diagnosed in 753 (20.8%) patients with stroke or transient ischemic attack, compared to 15 (1.9%) with intracranial hemorrhage. Younger age and no history of coronary artery disease or other vascular diseases, heart failure, or hypertension were the independent predictors of new atrial fibrillation detected concomitantly with an ischemic event. Thus, ischemic stroke was the first clinical manifestation of atrial fibrillation in 37% of younger (<75 years) patients with no history of cardiovascular diseases. In conclusion, atrial fibrillation is too often diagnosed only after an ischemic stroke has occurred, especially in middle-aged healthy individuals. New atrial fibrillation seems to be predominantly the cause of the ischemic stroke and not triggered by the acute cerebrovascular event

Comparison of EQ-5D and 15D instruments for assessing the health-related quality of life in cardiac surgery patients

Peer reviewe

Mortality after stroke in patients with paroxysmal and chronic atrial fibrillation - The FibStroke study

Background: Recent studies have reported that patientswith paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) have lower risk of thromboembolism and better prognosis than patients with chronic AF. We sought to address the differences in ischaemic events in patients with paroxysmal AF and chronic AF.Methods: The FibStroke study is a cross-sectional observational multicenter registry that included AF patients with an ischaemic stroke, TIA (transient ischaemic attack) or intracranial bleed during 2003-2012 identified from discharge registries of four Finnish hospitals. Altogether 1448 patients with paroxysmal and 1808 patients with chronic atrial fibrillation suffered a total of 707 TIA-episodes and 2549 ischaemic strokes.Results: Mortality within 30 days after the index event was significantly lower in patients with paroxysmal AF than with chronic AF (7.6% vs 16.9%, p < 0.01). At the onset of event, 62.8% of the patients with paroxysmal AF were in sinus rhythm, and these patients had better prognosis after the event compared to patients with other rhythmthan sinus rhythm(mortality 5.2% vs 15.7%, p < 0.01). In the propensity score matched analysismortality after stroke was significantly lower in patients with paroxysmal AF than in patients with chronic AF (11.6% vs 17.8%, p < 0.01), while mortality after TIA was also lower, but did not reach statistical significance (0.4% vs 1.7%, p = 0.31).Conclusions: Asignificant proportion of strokes in AF patients occur in patients with paroxysmal AF, but they have better prognosis than patients with chronic AF. The prognosis is also significantly better in patients who are in sinus rhythm at the onset of event.

Effectiveness of the Chest Strap Electrocardiogram to Detect Atrial Fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a significant cause of cardioembolic strokes. AF is often symptomless and intermittent, making its detection challenging. The aim of this study was to assess the possibility to use a chest strap (Suunto Movesense) to detect AF both by cardiologists and automated algorithms. A single channel electrocardiogram (ECG) from a chest strap of 220 patients (107 AF and 111 sinus rhythm SR with 2 inconclusive rhythms) were analyzed by 2 cardiologists (Doc1 and Doc2) and 2 different algorithms (COSEn and AFE-vidence). A 3-lead Holter served as the gold standard ECG for rhythm analysis. Both cardiologists evaluated the quality of the chest strap ECG to be superior to the quality of the Holter ECG; pPeer reviewe

Medication reviews and deprescribing as a single intervention in falls prevention: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: our aim was to assess the effectiveness of medication review and deprescribing interventions as a single intervention in falls prevention. METHODS:   DESIGN: systematic review and meta-analysis. DATA SOURCES: Medline, Embase, Cochrane CENTRAL, PsycINFO until 28 March 2022. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: randomised controlled trials of older participants comparing any medication review or deprescribing intervention with usual care and reporting falls as an outcome. STUDY RECORDS: title/abstract and full-text screening by two reviewers. RISK OF BIAS: Cochrane Collaboration revised tool. DATA SYNTHESIS: results reported separately for different settings and sufficiently comparable studies meta-analysed. RESULTS: forty-nine heterogeneous studies were included. COMMUNITY: meta-analyses of medication reviews resulted in a risk ratio (RR) of 1.05 (95% confidence interval, 0.85–1.29, I(2) = 0%, 3 studies(s)) for number of fallers, in an RR = 0.95 (0.70–1.27, I(2) = 37%, 3 s) for number of injurious fallers and in a rate ratio (RaR) of 0.89 (0.69–1.14, I(2) = 0%, 2 s) for injurious falls. HOSPITAL: meta-analyses assessing medication reviews resulted in an RR = 0.97 (0.74–1.28, I(2) = 15%, 2 s) and in an RR = 0.50 (0.07–3.50, I(2) = 72% %, 2 s) for number of fallers after and during admission, respectively. LONG-TERM CARE: meta-analyses investigating medication reviews or deprescribing plans resulted in an RR = 0.86 (0.72–1.02, I(2) = 0%, 5 s) for number of fallers and in an RaR = 0.93 (0.64–1.35, I(2) = 92%, 7 s) for number of falls. CONCLUSIONS: the heterogeneity of the interventions precluded us to estimate the exact effect of medication review and deprescribing as a single intervention. For future studies, more comparability is warranted. These interventions should not be implemented as a stand-alone strategy in falls prevention but included in multimodal strategies due to the multifactorial nature of falls. PROSPERO registration number: CRD4202021823

Current state of terrestrial ecosystems in the joint Norwegian, Russian and Finnish border area

Appendix 15/15 of the publication "State of the environment in the Norwegian, Finnish and Russian border area 2007" (The Finnish Environment 6/2007)