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Selected AbstractsDental gold alloys and contact allergyCONTACT DERMATITIS, Issue 2 2002Halvor Möller Contact allergy to gold as demonstrated by patch testing is very common among patients with eczematous disease and seems to be even more frequent among patients with complaints from the oral cavity. There is a positive correlation between gold allergy and the presence of dental gold. Gold allergy is often found in patients with non-specific stomatitides as well as in those with lichenoid reactions or with only subjective symptoms from the oral cavity. The therapeutic effect of substituting other dental materials for gold alloys is conspicuous in casuistic reports but less impressive in larger patient materials. The amount of dental gold is correlated qualitatively and quantitatively to the blood level of gold and the effects if any of circulating blood gold are unknown. There is clearly a need for prospective studies in the field and gold sodium thiosulfate is considered an important item in the dental series for patch testing. [source] Morphology of the digestive tract and feeding habits of Loricaria lentiginosa Isbrücker, 1979 in a Brazilian reservoirACTA ZOOLOGICA, Issue 2 2009L. F. Salvador-Jr Abstract The present study describes some aspects of the morphology of the digestive tract and the feeding patterns of Loricaria lentiginosa. Sixty-three specimens with gut contents were captured quarterly from November 2001 to August 2002 in Porto Colômbia reservoir, Rio Grande basin, southeastern Brazil. The species has bicuspid teeth inserted in the lips, unicuspid teeth in the dentary bone and pharyngeal teeth, besides having short, numerous and slightly separated gill rakers. The stomach is rudimentary and the intestine is relatively short (Intestinal Quotient = 1.32 ± 0.15). Molluscs, especially bivalves, represented the most important item on the diet of this species, followed by organic matter. The characteristics of the digestive tract as well as the dietary pattern, suggest that L. lentiginosa is able to explore bottom food resources, being classified as benthophagous with a tendency to malacophagy, and utilizing organic matter as an associated or additional food resource. Loricariidae species are able to use not only algae, sediment and detritus, but also plant and invertebrate items. [source] Developmental aspects of distal limb conformation in the horse: the potential consequences of uneven feet in foalsEQUINE VETERINARY JOURNAL, Issue 7 2006A. M. KROEKENSTOEL Summary Reasons for performing study: Distal limb conformation is generally accepted to be an important item with respect to performance and soundness in mature horses, but little is known about the developmental aspects. Objectives: To gain insight into the development of distal limb conformation and to assess the possible consequences of uneven feet in foals. Methods: Conformation of the distal front limbs of 23 Warmblood foals was scored visually and measured using radiographs, at ages 27 and 55 weeks. At the same ages, pressure measurements were made under both front feet. Results: At both ages the hoof-pastern axis was broken-backwards on radiographs, but only occasionally recognised as such, when scored by eye. Over time, the hoof angle decreased, while both the angles of the dorsal and solar surfaces of the distal phalanx (P3) increased and the parallelism between hoof wall and P3 improved. The foals with uneven feet at age 27 weeks showed a significant difference in distal limb loading that persisted until age 55 weeks. Conclusions: The alignment of the distal limb in the sagittal plane increased in a 6 month period. Visual assessment was not sensitive enough to appreciate this. The growth processes in the distal limb could not compensate for existing unevenness and ensuing asymmetrical limb loading. Potential relevance: Foals have a different conformation of the distal limb from mature horses, which should be taken into account when interpreting radiographs. Unevenness of the feet resulted in asymmetrical loading of the proximal and distal interphalangeal joint, which might lead to increased susceptibility to overload injuries and decreased performance at mature age. [source] Topology and Dependency Tests in Spatial and Network Autoregressive ModelsGEOGRAPHICAL ANALYSIS, Issue 2 2009Steven Farber Social network analysis has been identified as a promising direction for further applications of spatial statistical and econometric models. The type of network analysis envisioned is formally identical to the analysis of geographical systems, in that both involve the measurement of dependence between observations connected by edges that constitute a system. An important item, which has not been investigated in this context, is the potential relationship between the topology properties of networks (or network descriptions of geographical systems) and the properties of spatial models and tests. The objective of this article is to investigate, within a simulation setting, the ability of spatial dependency tests to identify a spatial/network autoregressive model when two network topology measures, namely degree distribution and clustering, are controlled. Drawing on a large data set of synthetically controlled social networks, the impact of network topology on dependency tests is investigated under a hierarchy of topology factors, sample size, and autocorrelation strength. In addition, topology factors are related to known properties of empirical systems. El análisis de redes sociales ha sido y es una dirección prometedora en el avance de las aplicaciones de modelos econométricos y de estadística espacial. El tipo de análisis de redes que proponemos es idéntico al análisis de sistemas geográficos, ya que ambos miden la dependencia entre observaciones conectadas que conforman un sistema. Un punto importante que no ha sido investigado en este contexto es la potencial relación entre las propiedades topológicas de redes (o descripción de redes de sistemas geográficos) y las propiedades de los modelos y pruebas (tests) espaciales. El objetivo de este artículo es investigar (dentro del marco de simulaciones Monte Carlo), la capacidad que poseen las pruebas de dependencia espacial para identificar un modelo autorregresivo espacial/de redes, en los casos en los que dos medidas topológicas de redes (grado de distribución y transitividad) son controlados. Haciendo uso de una base de datos de redes sociales controladas sintéticamente, este artículo evalúa el impacto de la topología de redes en las pruebas de dependencia espacial. Dicho impacto es evaluado con respecto a variaciones en los factores topológicos, el tamaño de muestra, y los niveles de autocorrelación espacial. Adicionalmente, los factores topológicos son relacionados a propiedades conocidas de varios sistemas empíricos. [source] Paediatric training for family doctors: principals and practiceMEDICAL EDUCATION, Issue 5 2002C Melville Background There is controversy as to how best to train general practitioners for the paediatric challenges they will meet in practice, in particular what should be included in training, what should be left out and how long should it last? Subjects and methods All 615 general practice principals referring to 6 hospitals were surveyed (40% response rate). Setting West Midlands region of England. Study design Postal questionnaire. Statistics Quantitative and qualitative assessment of responses. Quantitative responses were analysed by hospital, decade of qualification, and duration of paediatric training. Qualitative responses were analysed using grounded theory. Results Satisfaction with training was directly related to its duration, with low levels of satisfaction for less than 6 months paediatrics, moderate levels for 6,11 months, and high levels with 12 months or more. The most important item of training was recognition of the sick child. Acute and chronic paediatrics was generally well covered. Psychosocial aspects, public health and immunisation were poorly addressed. Neonatal resuscitation and first day checks were seen as relevant, but neonatal intensive care was not. Conclusions At least 6 months of paediatrics is necessary for GPs in training, but longer paediatric exposure further increases their satisfaction with training. GPs have a biopsychosocial rather than biomedical approach to their child patients, suggesting potential benefits from a greater emphasis on psychosocial and public health aspects at the expense of neonatal intensive care. Recognition of the sick child is essential, and acute and chronic organic illness should be covered in breadth. Possible future models for GP training in paediatrics are discussed. [source] Promoting development and use of systematic reviews in a developing countryJOURNAL OF EVALUATION IN CLINICAL PRACTICE, Issue 6 2009Reza Yousefi-Nooraie MD Abstract Introduction, One major barrier to develop health systems is the limited capacity for conducting research and implementation of research findings. We assessed the views of researchers, decision makers and research policy makers on how the development and usage of evidence from systematic reviews can be promoted in a country with limited resources. Methods, We surveyed 131 participants in six systematic review workshops for their views on important items influencing the production and usage of systematic reviews in a developing country. They were also asked to propose interventions to deal with potential barriers. We analysed the quantitative data using multidimensional scaling methods, and the qualitative data using content analysis approach. Results, We identified seven clusters of items that contribute to the promotion of conducting and using systematic reviews. For each cluster a set of interventions are proposed that health care decision makers and research policy makers may use for promoting conduct and use of systematic reviews. The clusters are ,importance for policy makers', ,access to international research', ,priority and support for systematic reviews', ,competency and willingness of researchers to conduct reviews', ,importance for end-users', ,quality of local primary research' and ,visibility and access to local research'. Discussion, The proposed interventions focus on national level initiatives for making the systematic reviews ,wanted' and improving the capacity to conduct research. Our findings emphasize the essential role of policy makers for promoting systematic reviews. They demonstrate that many barriers stem from the lower quality of and lack of access to primary research originating from developing countries. [source] Development and validation of the Food Allergy Quality of Life Questionnaire , Adult FormALLERGY, Issue 8 2009B. M. J. Flokstra-de Blok Background:, Health-related quality of life (HRQL) may be affected by food allergy. Presently, no disease-specific HRQL questionnaire exists for food allergic adults. Therefore, we developed and validated the Food Allergy Quality of Life Questionnaire , Adult Form (FAQLQ-AF) in the Dutch language. Methods:, Twenty-two food allergic patients (,18 years) were interviewed and generated 180 HRQL items. The most important items were identified by 54 food allergic patients using the clinical impact method resulting in the FAQLQ-AF containing 29 items (score range 1 ,not troubled' to 7 ,extremely troubled'). The FAQLQ-AF, the Food Allergy Independent Measure (FAIM) and a generic HRQL questionnaire (RAND-36) were sent to 100 other food allergic adults for cross-sectional validation of the FAQLQ-AF. Results:, Cross-sectional validity was assessed by the correlation between FAQLQ-AF and FAIM (, = 0.76, P < 0.001). The FAQLQ-AF had excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's , = 0.97). The FAQLQ-AF discriminated between patients who differ in severity of symptoms (anaphylaxis vs no anaphylaxis, total FAQLQ-AF score 4.9 vs 4.1; P = 0.041) and number of food allergies (>3 food allergies vs,3 food allergies, total FAQLQ-AF score 5.2 vs 4.2; P = 0.008). The total FAQLQ-AF score was correlated with one RAND-36 scale (convergent/discriminant validity). Conclusions:, The FAQLQ-AF is the first disease-specific HRQL questionnaire for food allergic adults and reflects the most important issues that food allergic patients have to face. The questionnaire is valid, reliable and discriminates between patients with different disease characteristics. The FAQLQ-AF is short and easy to use and may therefore be a useful tool in clinical research. [source] | ||||||||||