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High Range (high + range)
Selected AbstractsFamilial clustering of Crohn's disease in Israel: Prevalence and association with disease severityINFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASES, Issue 2 2009Shomron Ben-Horin MD Abstract Background: There is limited data addressing the severity of Crohn's disease (CD) in patients with a family history of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) compared to sporadic cases. Methods: We investigated the familial occurrence of IBD and its correlation with disease behavior in CD patients attending the Israeli IBD Foundation meeting using a structured questionnaire. Results: The study group consisted of 181 CD patients with a total of 825 1st degree relatives. Positive family history for IBD in a 1st degree relative was reported in 30 patients (16%). Nine out of the 360 parents (2.5%) had IBD (4 CD, 5 UC). There were 17 siblings with IBD (15 CD, 2 UC) out of 351 (4.8%). Ten out of 114 (8.8%) offsprings had IBD (6 CD, 4 UC). When two siblings were affected, their respective age of disease onset was strikingly concordant (r = 0.76, p = 0.008). There was no difference between sporadic and familial CD patients in the age of disease onset, the location of disease, proportion of smokers or percentage of Ashkenazi origin. Furthermore, similar proportions of sporadic and familial patients underwent intestinal surgery, had penetrating or obstructive complications or were treated by immunomodulators and/or biologics. There was also no difference in the reported percentage of time with active disease or the number of flare-ups. Conclusions: The prevalence of familial disease among Jewish CD patients in Israel is at the high range of the rate found in other ethnicities. Having a positive family history of IBD has no impact on the severity of the disease. (Inflamm Bowel Dis 2008) [source] Prospect Theory and the Cuban Missile CrisisINTERNATIONAL STUDIES QUARTERLY, Issue 2 2001Mark L. Haas This article tests the predictions of expected-utility and prospect theories against the most important dimensions of the Cuban missile crisis. Largely through use of the most recently released information on the crisis from the American and Soviet governments, I attempt to ascertain the anticipated benefits, costs, and probabilities of success associated with each of the major policy choices that the key leaders in both superpowers perceived before each of the major decisions throughout the crisis was made. Using this information and the logic of extensive-form game-theoretic models of choice, I construct a baseline for expected-utility theory that helps us to understand when prospect or expected-utility theory provides the better explanation for a particular decision. Prospect theory predicts that when individuals perceive themselves to be experiencing losses at the time they make a decision, and when their probability estimates associated with their principal policy options are in the moderate to high range, they will tend to make excessively risky, non,value maximizing choices. I find that the evidence for the Cuban missile crisis supports this prediction for the most important decisions made by both Khrushchev and Kennedy. [source] Diagnostic assay of chromium (VI) in the ex vivo fluid of the urine of a smoker using a fluorine-doped handmade sensorJOURNAL OF CLINICAL LABORATORY ANALYSIS, Issue 2 2009Suw Young Ly Abstract A voltammetric diagnosis of a chromium (VI) ion was investigated using a fluorine-doped graphite pencil electrode. Square wave (SW) stripping working conditions were attained at a high range of 0.051,0.45,mg,L,1 and a microrange of 0.05,0.4,µg,L,1 in a 0.1,M NH4H2PO4 electrolyte solution, at a relative standard deviation of 1.68% (RSD, n=15), using 10.0,µg,L,1 Cr(VI). A fast experimental time was used only for the 120,sec SW accumulation time. An analytical detection-limit (DL) of 0.008,µg,L,1 was attained. DL appeared to be more sensitive than common voltammetric and spectrophotometric assays. The developed sensor was applied to tap water and the urine of a smoker. It was found that the methods can be applicable for in vivo fluid or medicinal diagnosis. J. Clin. Lab. Anal. 23:82,87, 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Does patient feedback improve the consultation skills of general practice trainees?MEDICAL EDUCATION, Issue 2 2010A controlled trial Medical Education 2010:44: 156,164 Context, This study aimed to assess if an additional patient feedback training programme leads to better consultation skills in general practice trainees (GPTs) than regular communication skills training, and whether process measurements (intensity of participation in the programme) predict the effect of the intervention. Methods, We carried out a controlled trial in which two sub-cohorts of GPTs were allocated to an intervention group (n = 23) or a control group (n = 30), respectively. In 2006, allocated first-year GPTs in the VU University Medical Centre attended a patient feedback training programme in addition to the regular communication skills training. The control group attended only regular communication skills training. Trainees were assessed by simulated patients who visited the practices and videotaped the consultations at baseline and after 3 months. The videotapes were randomly assigned to eight trained staff members. The MAAS-Global Instrument (range 0,6) was used to assess (a change in) trainee consultation skills. Results were analysed using a multi-level, linear mixed-model analysis. Results, Data on 50 GPTs were available for the follow-up analysis. Both intervention group and control group GPTs improved their consultation skills: mean MAAS-Global scores for all participants were 3.29 (standard deviation [SD] 0.75) at baseline and 3.54 (SD 0.66) at follow-up (P = 0.047). The improvement in MAAS-Global scores in the intervention group did not differ significantly from the improvement in the control group. The analysis showed a trend for intensity of participation in the patient feedback programme to predict greater improvement in MAAS-Global scores. Discussion, Although the baseline scores were already in the high range, consultation skills in both groups improved significantly. This is reassuring for current teaching methods. The patient feedback programme did not improve consultation skills more than regular communication skills training. However, a subgroup of GPTs who participated intensively in the programme did improve their consultation skills further in comparison with the less motivated subgroup. [source] Women who miscarry: The effectiveness and clinical utility of the Kessler 10 questionnaire in screening for ongoing psychological distressAUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF OBSTETRICS AND GYNAECOLOGY, Issue 1 2010Helen M. STALLMAN Background:, Early pregnancy loss has been linked to enduring psychological morbidity. Aims:, This study aimed to investigate the utility of the Kessler 10 (K10) questionnaire as a brief screening instrument to identify women at risk for the development of psychiatric diagnoses three months post-miscarriage. Method:, Participants were 117 consecutive women presenting at a public hospital emergency department and receiving a diagnosis of miscarriage. Main outcome measures:, K10 screen for psychological distress and the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM Disorders to determine psychiatric diagnoses. Results:, A majority of women (81.2%) experienced elevated levels of distress initially, 24.8% in the very high range. They were not at increased risk of psychiatric diagnoses at three months compared with the general population; however, they were significantly more likely to report subsyndromal symptoms at this time compared with the general population. The baseline K10 score was the only significant predictor of distress at follow-up (r = 0.45, P < 0.001). The receiver operating characteristic curve shows that a cut-off of 14 on the K10 has suitable sensitivity (97%) and specificity (82%) for predicting ongoing psychological distress in women who miscarry. Conclusions:, The K10 is effective in identifying women at risk for ensuring psychological symptoms following miscarriage. [source] Plasma adiponectin in heart transplant recipientsCLINICAL TRANSPLANTATION, Issue 1 2009Pierre Ambrosi Abstract:, Background:, The association between plasma adiponectin and metabolic syndrome may be impaired in heart transplant recipients, since renal failure is frequent among these patients. Thus, we studied the relationship between metabolic syndrome and plasma adiponectin in transplanted heart recipients. Methods:, Ninety-five heart transplant recipients were prospectively included 8.3 ± 5.6 yr after transplantation in this cross-sectional study. All patients had physical examination, echocardiography or routine biennial coronary angiography, and laboratory measurements. Results:, Metabolic syndrome was found in 31% of these patients. Plasma adiponectin was significantly lower in patients with metabolic syndrome (12.5 ± 8.3 ,g/mL) than in patients without (16.7 ± 9.4 ,g/mL, p = 0.03). Adiponectin levels were usually in the normal or high range (< 4 ,g/mL in only two patients). Low creatinine clearance was associated with higher plasma adiponectin (R=,0.26, p = 0.01). Plasma adiponectin was not significantly different between the 28 patients with angiographic evidence of graft vasculopathy (13.9 ± 9.5 ,g/mL) and the 67 patients without (16.1 ± 9.1 ,g/mL, p = 0.3). Conclusions:, Contrasting with a high frequency of metabolic syndrome in these patients, adiponectin levels were usually in the normal or high range, probably as a consequence of renal failure. This suggests that adiponectin is not a major determinant for insulin resistance among these patients. [source] Establishment of a strain inheriting a sex-linked SNP marker in Patagonian pejerrey (Odontesthes hatcheri), a species with both genotypic and temperature-dependent sex determinationANIMAL GENETICS, Issue 1 2010R. S. Hattori Summary The Patagonian pejerrey Odontesthes hatcheri is an atherinopsid species presenting genotypic sex determination (GSD) at intermediate temperatures and temperature-dependent sex determination at the low and high ranges of thermal tolerance. A recent study revealed the presence of a sex-linked SNP marker in some males of this species, but a strain which inherits the marker faithfully has not been established. This research was conducted to develop such a strain, for use as a tool to study the molecular mechanisms of gonadal sex differentiation and sexual dimorphism, and to obtain basic information on the GSD mode in this species. For these purposes, we performed backcrosses and full-sibling crosses using males and females whose presumptive genotypic sex was inferred from the presence of the sex-linked SNP marker. Four backcrosses between SNP, daughters and their SNP+ father generated balanced sex ratios with the phenotypic sex matching the genotypic sex in most cases (98.21%) at an intermediate, sexually neutral temperature (21 °C). Full-sibling crosses between these four SNP, females and their SNP+ brothers produced three progenies with balanced sex ratios and one with 94.4% males. The results of this study confirm that a strain inheriting the sex-linked SNP marker was successfully developed. Moreover, the inheritance pattern of the marker and the sex ratios of the progenies provide strong evidence that the GSD mode in O. hatcheri is the XX,XY system. [source] | ||||||||||