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Individual Measurements (individual + measurement)
Selected AbstractsDo mobile phone base stations affect sleep of residents?AMERICAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN BIOLOGY, Issue 5 2010Results from an experimental double-blind sham-controlled field study Objectives: The aim of the present double-blind, sham-controlled, balanced randomized cross-over study was to disentangle effects of electromagnetic fields (EMF) and non-EMF effects of mobile phone base stations on objective and subjective sleep quality. Methods: In total 397 residents aged 18,81 years (50.9% female) from 10 German sites, where no mobile phone service was available, were exposed to sham and GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications, 900 MHz and 1,800 MHz) base station signals by an experimental base station while their sleep was monitored at their homes during 12 nights. Participants were randomly exposed to real (GSM) or sham exposure for five nights each. Individual measurement of EMF exposure, questionnaires on sleep disorders, overall sleep quality, attitude towards mobile communication, and on subjective sleep quality (morning and evening protocols) as well as objective sleep data (frontal EEG and EOG recordings) were gathered. Results: Analysis of the subjective and objective sleep data did not reveal any significant differences between the real and sham condition. During sham exposure nights, objective and subjective sleep efficiency, wake after sleep onset, and subjective sleep latency were significantly worse in participants with concerns about possible health risks resulting from base stations than in participants who were not concerned. Conclusions: The study did not provide any evidence for short-term physiological effects of EMF emitted by mobile phone base stations on objective and subjective sleep quality. However, the results indicate that mobile phone base stations as such (not the electromagnetic fields) may have a significant negative impact on sleep quality. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 22:613,618, 2010. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] The determination of freeway space using two different methodsJOURNAL OF ORAL REHABILITATION, Issue 10 2002A. Johnson summary, The aim of this study was to determine the average freeway space of dentate subjects and relate this to recommended ranges for edentulous patients, also to see if any differences were observed between two different methods of measuring freeway space. The freeway space of 72 dentate subjects was measured, first using a Willis gauge, and secondly using a pair of sprung dividers. The intra- and interoperator variability was evaluated as was the reproducibility of the accuracy of both techniques. The mean freeway space using the Willis gauge was 3·3 mm, for both intra and inter operator variability, and with the sprung dividers 3·1 and 2·9 mm, respectively, with no significant difference being seen between any combination of results (P > 0·05). Individual measurements within the two measuring methods being assessed showed significant differences (P < 0·05). The mean measurements of freeway space in dentate subjects found in this study were within the recommended 2,4 mm range, however, 15% of the subjects in the study had freeway space measurements outside this range. This study would suggest that the range for freeway space measurement could more realistically be 2,7 mm. [source] Delay in blood glucose monitoring during an insulin infusion protocol is associated with increased risk of hypoglycemia in intensive care units,JOURNAL OF HOSPITAL MEDICINE, Issue 6 2009Rajesh Garg MD Abstract BACKGROUND: Hypoglycemia during insulin infusion therapy is a major problem. We investigated whether a delay in blood glucose (BG) monitoring during an insulin infusion protocol (IIP) in the intensive care unit (ICU) is associated with hypoglycemia. METHODS: Data were collected for 50 consecutive patients treated with Brigham and Women's Hospital's IIP. Point-of-care BG values were obtained from the bedside paper flow sheets and the exact times of individual measurements were ascertained from an internet-based glucose meter download program. Data were carefully studied for protocol time violations, defined as a delay of >10 minutes after the recommended time for BG measurement. RESULTS: A total of 2309 BG values were evaluated for time violation. A total of 1474 (63.9%) measurements had been obtained at the recommended time or earlier; 835 (36.1%) measurements had been obtained >10 minutes after the recommended time for measurement. There were a significantly higher proportion of BG values <80 mg/dL following the time violation as compared to no time violation (17.8% versus 11.6%; P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: We conclude that the risk of hypoglycemia during insulin infusion therapy is higher after a delay in BG measurement. Journal of Hospital Medicine 2009;4:E5,E7. © 2009 Society of Hospital Medicine. [source] Electromyography of scoliotic patients treated with a braceJOURNAL OF ORTHOPAEDIC RESEARCH, Issue 5 2003Daniel Odermatt Abstract When a brace is used to correct spinal deviation, patients may seek to ease the discomfort from the pressure exerted by the orthosis by actively recruiting specific trunk muscles. The effect of bracing on trunk electromyography (EMG) has been reported in only one study where a limited number of electrodes were placed mainly in the thoracic region. Our hypothesis was that a multi-electrode mapping of the activity of the thoracic, lumbar, and abdominal trunk muscles would provide a more representative picture of the muscular reaction in response to bracing. With a larger number of EMG measuring sites, the presence of any brace-induced trunk muscle activity should be detected. Therefore, EMG signals of 11 adolescent idiopathic scoliosis patients who had been undergoing Boston brace treatment for 0.7-3 years were collected during four isometric tasks to evaluate the response of trunk muscles in the minutes following the application of the brace. Twenty-two pairs of bipolar electrodes were used to measure the EMG signals of the main superficial trunk muscles during four isometric tasks. EMG signals of trunk muscles were compared in braced and unbraced conditions. Brace-induced increases in EMG activity were significant in 43% of the individual measurements and in three of the four tasks for the group mean values. Increases were greater in the lumbar area, especially on the convex side of the secondary (lumbar) curve. These results thus suggest that immediately following the application of the brace, significant muscular responses can be observed in some patients. © 2003 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. [source] Diurnal and seasonal variations in stomatal conductance of rice at elevated atmospheric CO2 under fully open-air conditionsPLANT CELL & ENVIRONMENT, Issue 3 2010HIROYUKI SHIMONO ABSTRACT Understanding of leaf stomatal responses to the atmospheric CO2 concentration, [CO2], is essential for accurate prediction of plant water use under future climates. However, limited information is available for the diurnal and seasonal changes in stomatal conductance (gs) under elevated [CO2]. We examined the factors responsible for variations in gs under elevated [CO2] with three rice cultivars grown in an open-field environment under flooded conditions during two growing seasons (a total of 2140 individual measurements). Conductance of all cultivars was generally higher in the morning and around noon than in the afternoon, and elevated [CO2] decreased gs by up to 64% over the 2 years (significantly on 26 out of 38 measurement days), with a mean gs decrease of 23%. We plotted the gs variations against three parameters from the Ball-Berry model and two revised versions of the model, and all parameters explained the gs variations well at each [CO2] in the morning and around noon (R2 > 0.68), but could not explain these variations in the afternoon (R2 < 0.33). The present results provide an important basis for modelling future water use in rice production. [source] Evaluating the multiple coil configurations of the EM38DD and DUALEM-21S sensors to detect archaeological anomaliesARCHAEOLOGICAL PROSPECTION, Issue 2 2009David Simpson Abstract The multiple coil configurations of two electromagnetic induction sensors were tested on a field with strong electrical and magnetic contrasts. The first sensor, EM38DD, measures either the apparent electrical conductivity (ECa or ,a) or the apparent magnetic susceptibility (MSa or ,a) of the soil at two coil orientations. The second sensor, DUALEM-21S, measures both ECa and MSa at two coil orientations and two coil separations. The goal was to test if measuring with the multiple coils resulted in a better detection of near-surface artefacts and the natural soil variability. The ECa of all coil configurations was closely related to the depth of a clay substrate beneath the topsoil sandy loam, which was verified by soil augering. Configurations with a shallower theoretical depth of exploration were less influenced by the clay substrate. Combining two coil configurations revealed important ECa anomalies, not visible on individual measurements, associated with a brick wall foundation and a former ditch. The MSa maps showed totally different anomaly patterns, related to anthropogenic disturbances in the soil, such as the filling-in with brick rubble of a former pond. Depending on the depth and thickness of the disturbance and the relative response of the sensor configurations, the MSa anomalies were entirely positive for one configuration but other configurations also had negative anomalies. It was concluded that multiple coil configurations provide a better insight into the build-up of the soil profile and are better able to detect anomalies than single measurements. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The double-mode RR Lyrae variable BS ComASTRONOMISCHE NACHRICHTEN, Issue 8 2007I. Dékány Abstract We present the frequency analysis of the multicolour time series photometry of the field RRd variable BS Comae. The large number of data points in each of the BV (RI)C bands and the ,0.01 magnitude accuracy of the individual measurements allow us a high precision analysis of the properties of the combination frequencies due to nonlinear coupling. Through the combination of the frequency spectra in different colors we show that except for the components corresponding to the linear combinations of the two pulsation modes, there are no other components present above the millimagnitude amplitude level. (© 2007 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] | |||||||||||||