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PubMed2005

[Learning healthy living--health management in schools. Health promotion in schools with particular consideration of socially disadvantaged students].

"Learning to Live Healthy" is a cooperation project between the Central Association of Health Insurers and the Health Associations of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Rhineland-Palatinate. Our goal is to develop a healthy environment for all teachers and students in the "School Organization". Our focus lies -- more strongly than with earlier projects for school health promotion -- in the improvement of the health of teachers and non-teaching personnel. Not until their resources are strengthened and overwork/overload broken down, can resources be directed to health promotion for and with students, and health risks connected with social inequalities can be diminished. The project operates with the setting approach, and uses the principles of Workplace Health Management- Integration, Participation and Project Management. The project utilizes the instruments of project organization to jump-start the process of change in the School Organization, systematically, through goal-oriented action and sustainable development, thus improving the quality of education.

Cultural Deprivation↗
PubMed1989

[Landmarks in uveitis research].

The author presents a personal review of the changing approach to the problem of the etiology of uveitis and its treatment during the past 40 years. Goldmann's ingenious idea concerning local antibody formation within the eye was the starting point of many research projects.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Method of stochastic prediction of population estimates based on Kendall's birth and death process.

"An attempt has been made to incorporate density and time-dependent birth and death rates into the generalized birth and death process given by Kendall (1948). The probability generating function of the process has also been investigated. A simple method of estimating the parameters of the process has been illustrated in the text. The applicability of the method for predicting the population of India, starting from the several deterministic projection figures given for any base year, is also discussed in the text."

Asia↗
PubMed1999

Anatomical loops and their electrical dynamics in relation to whisking by rat.

An accumulation of anatomical, behavioral, and electrophysiological evidence allows us to identify the neuronal circuitry that is involved with vibrissa-mediated sensation and the control of rhythmic vibrissa movement. Anatomical evidence points to a multiplicity of closed sensorimotor loops, while electrophysiological data delineate the flow of electrical signals in these pathways. These loops process sensory input from the vibrissae and send projections to direct vibrissa movement, starting at the level of the hindbrain and proceeding toward loops that involve multiple structures in the forebrain. The nature of the vibrissa-related electrical signals in behaving animals has been studied extensively at the level of neocortical loops. Two types of spike signal are observed that serve as a reference of vibrissa motion: a fast signal that correlates with the relative phase of the vibrissae within a whisk cycle and a slow signal that correlates with the amplitude, and possibly the set-point, of the vibrissae during a whisk. Both signals are observed in vibrissa primary sensory (S1) cortex, and in some cases they are sufficiently robust to allow vibrissa position to be accurately estimated from the spike train of a single neuron. Unlike the case for S1 cortex, only the slow signal has been observed in vibrissa primary motor (M1) cortex. The control capabilities of M1 cortex were estimated from experiments with anesthetized animals in which progressive areas along the vibrissa motor branch were microstimulated with rhythmically applied currents. The motion of the vibrissae followed stimulation of M1 cortex only for rates that were well below the frequency of rhythmic whisking; in contrast, the vibrissae followed stimulation of the facial nucleus, whose cells directly drive the vibrissae, for rates above that of whisking. In toto, the evidence implies that there is fast signaling from the facial nucleus, through the mystacial pad and the vibrissae and up through sensory cortex, but only slow signaling at the level of the motor cortex and down through the superior colliculus to the facial nucleus. The transformation from fast sensory signals to slow motor control is an unresolved issue. On the other hand, there is a candidate scheme to understand how the fast reference of vibrissa motion in the whisk cycle may be used to decode the angle of the vibrissae upon their contact with an object. We discuss a circuit in which servo mechanisms are used to determine the angle of contact relative to the preferred phase of the fast reference signals. Support for this scheme comes from results with anesthetized animals on the frequency and phase entrainment of intrinsic neuronal oscillators in S1 cortex. A prediction based on this scheme is that the output from a decoder circuit is maximal when the angle of contact differs from the preferred phase of a fast regerence signal. In contrast, for correlation-based schemes the output is maximal when the angle of contact equals the preferred phase.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Treatment planning for heavy-ion radiotherapy: physical beam model and dose optimization.

We describe a novel code system, TRiP, dedicated to the planning of radiotherapy with energetic ions, in particular 12C. The software is designed to cooperate with three-dimensional active dose shaping devices like the GSI raster scan system. This unique beam delivery system allows us to select any combination from a list of 253 individual beam energies, 7 different beam spot sizes and 15 intensity levels. The software includes a beam model adapted to and verified for carbon ions. Inverse planning techniques are implemented in order to obtain a uniform target dose distribution from clinical input data, i.e. CT images and patient contours. This implies the automatic generation of intensity modulated fields of heavy ions with as many as 40000 raster points, where each point corresponds to a specific beam position, energy and particle fluence. This set of data is directly passed to the beam delivery and control system. The treatment planning code has been in clinical use since the start of the GSI pilot project in December 1997. Forty-eight patients have been successfully planned and treated.

Algorithms↗
PubMed1997

Planning research.

The starting point for any research project should be a question. Once this has been defined and the relevant scientific literature reviewed, a protocol should be drawn up. This will be used not only as a guide to the conduct of the study and in the preparation of the final report, but also in seeking any financial support and approvals that are required for the investigation. A protocol is normally arranged in sections covering the background to the study, the question(s) that it will address, the methods that will be used for the collection and analysis of data, the statistical power of the investigation (where relevant), any ethical considerations, and the financial input that will be needed. A pilot study is often helpful where aspects of the study method are untried or of uncertain validity.

Occupational Medicine↗
PubMed2005

The PDS-XADS reference accelerator and its radioprotection issues.

At the start-up of the FP5 project PDS-XADS, the main initial specifications for the accelerator system (e.g. beam energy, beam intensity, beam profile, their stability and the accelerator availability and reliability) have been defined by Working Package 1 (WP1), 'Global Coherence', in connection with the other WPs of the project. From this, WP3 ('The Accelerator') has assessed the main requirements and the corresponding technical answers. A reference solution, based on a linear superconducting accelerator with its associated doubly achromatic beam line has been worked out to some detail. For high reliability, the proposed design is intrinsically fault tolerant, relying on highly modular 'de-rated' components associated with a fast digital feedback system. The proposed solution also appears to be robust in terms of operational aspects like maintenance and radioprotection. A programme for the remaining R&D required has been elaborated and is proposed within the FP6 project EUROTRANS.

Equipment Design↗
PubMed2005

Neutron analysis of spent fuel storage installation using parallel computing and advance discrete ordinates and Monte Carlo techniques.

In the United States, the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 mandated centralised storage of spent nuclear fuel by 1988. However, the Yucca Mountain project is currently scheduled to start accepting spent nuclear fuel in 2010. Since many nuclear power plants were only designed for -10 y of spent fuel pool storage, > 35 plants have been forced into alternate means of spent fuel storage. In order to continue operation and make room in spent fuel pools, nuclear generators are turning towards independent spent fuel storage installations (ISFSIs). Typical vertical concrete ISFSIs are -6.1 m high and 3.3 m in diameter. The inherently large system, and the presence of thick concrete shields result in difficulties for both Monte Carlo (MC) and discrete ordinates (SN) calculations. MC calculations require significant variance reduction and multiple runs to obtain a detailed dose distribution. SN models need a large number of spatial meshes to accurately model the geometry and high quadrature orders to reduce ray effects, therefore, requiring significant amounts of computer memory and time. The use of various differencing schemes is needed to account for radial heterogeneity in material cross sections and densities. Two P3, S12, discrete ordinate, PENTRAN (parallel environment neutral-particle TRANsport) models were analysed and different MC models compared. A multigroup MCNP model was developed for direct comparison to the SN models. The biased A3MCNP (automated adjoint accelerated MCNP) and unbiased (MCNP) continuous energy MC models were developed to assess the adequacy of the CASK multigroup (22 neutron, 18 gamma) cross sections. The PENTRAN SN results are in close agreement (5%) with the multigroup MC results; however, they differ by -20-30% from the continuous-energy MC predictions. This large difference can be attributed to the expected difference between multigroup and continuous energy cross sections, and the fact that the CASK library is based on the old ENDF/B-II library. Both MC and SN calculations were run in parallel on a BEOWULF PC-cluster (eight processors). Timing results indicate that the SN calculation yielded a detailed dose distribution at over 318,426 points in -164 h. Unbiased continuous energy MC required 214 h to calculate dose rates with a 1% relative error in only 18 regions on the surface of the cask. The biased A3MCNP calculations yields dose rates with -0.8% relative error in only 2.5 h on one processor. This study demonstrates that a parallel code, such as the 3-D parallel SN transport code, PENTRAN can solve a complex large problem, such as the storage cask, accurately and efficiently. Moreover, this calculation was performed on a relatively inexpensive PC-cluster. Possible inadequacies of the CASK cross section library still need to be evaluated.

Computer-Aided Design↗
PubMed1992

Longitudinal sexual behavior changes in injecting drug users.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether injection drug users (IDU) maintained sexual behavior risk reduction over an 18-month period that had been noted previously over a 4-month period. DESIGN: A repeated measures design was utilized with IDU assessed initially at study enrollment and again 18 months later. METHODS: Sexual behaviors of a group of 220 IDU (148 men and 72 women) were assessed by a structured interview at the start of an AIDS prevention project and again 18 months later. RESULTS: Having multiple sex partners during the 12 months before initial assessment was reported by 42.6% of the men and 35.7% of the women. Significantly fewer had multiple sex partners during the 10 months before follow-up assessment (men, 20.9%; women, 14.3%). Condom use for vaginal intercourse increased from a mean of 11.9% initially to 27.8% at follow-up for men. The increase in condom use was greater for those with multiple sex partners. Women did not report significant increases in condom use. Continued involvement in unsafe sexual behaviors was associated with exchanging sex for money or drugs, using drugs to help meet sexual needs, alcohol use and drug use. CONCLUSIONS: Risk reductions noted previously were maintained over 18 months for the majority of the sample. Drug-use treatment and interventions that closely examine the interplay between drug use and sexuality for individual IDU are recommended as strategies to further reduce the sexual risk of HIV transmission among IDU.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Harvey Cushing: the New Haven years.

Cushing's New Haven years were limited professionally to the completion of projects that had been previously started. These were the description of basophilism and the completion of the meningioma monograph and A Surgeon's Journal. His early years as a student at Yale led him to subsequent intense involvement in events in the developing Yale University. One little-appreciated aspect was Cushing's involvement in the early history of national health care.

Connecticut↗
PubMed2006

Computed tomography diagnosis of acute appendicitis: advantages of reviewing thin-section datasets using sliding slab average intensity projection technique.

OBJECTIVES: We sought to compare sliding slab mode and standard stack mode in the computed tomography (CT) diagnosis of acute appendicitis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Contrast-enhanced CT was performed in 85 patients, 35 of whom had appendicitis. Four readers retrospectively reviewed 5-mm thick transverse sections (4-mm increment) using the stack mode and 2-mm thick sections (1-mm increment) with the sliding slab, average intensity projection. The sliding slab mode started with a 5-mm thick transverse slab, but the readers were encouraged to change the viewing angle and the slab thickness. RESULTS: In sliding slab mode, the readers changed the viewing angle in 89 of 340 observations (24%) and decreased the slab thickness in 26 observations (8%). Although the receiver operating characteristic analysis did not show a significant difference (P = 0.18), the sliding slab mode enhanced the pooled sensitivity (93.6% vs. 98.6%, P = 0.02), specificity (92.0% vs. 97.5%, P = 0.01), and mean confidence for the diagnosis (P < 0.001) or exclusion (P = 0.002) of acute appendicitis; reduced inconclusive interpretations (5.6% vs. 1.8%, P = 0.01); and visualized the appendix more clearly (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Compared with the stack mode, the sliding slab mode enhances diagnostic confidence and more clearly visualizes the appendix.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1993

Research experiences with Fini Schulsinger.

For the past 31 years (1961-1992) Fini Schulsinger and I have been exploring the origins of schizophrenia. We have started a number of longitudinal projects that are still keeping us rather busy; after all, retirement just means more time for research. Through our students and these projects, our collaboration may never end.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

A cytogenetically anchored genetic map of bovine chromosome 1 obtained by integrating flow-sorted chromosome-derived microsatellite markers into the international bovine map.

A genomic library was constructed from a peak of flow-sorted bovine chromosomes 1 + X after PCR amplification. Forty-three bovine chromosome 1 microsatellites were isolated, genetically mapped and integrated in the international genetic map. In addition, BAC clones from a goat BAC library were identified for five markers (DVEPC119, INRA011, BM4307, KAP8 and MAF64). These goat BACs could be mapped by FISH onto bovine chromosome 1 to bands 1q44-->q45, 1q25, 1q21, 1q12 and 1q14-->q21, respectively. This map reduces the average interval between consecutive markers on the international bovine genetic map from 5.5 cM to 2.5 cM, and provides a good starting point for positional cloning projects in cattle, sheep or goats.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Searching the literature creatively: updating your skills in reviewing the literature.

Reviewing the literature is not only an essential aspect of research, it can be a creative process. Computerized searches decrease the hours that searches formerly took and allow the researcher to link concepts in ways that were previously difficult to do. Be consistent with your approach to reviewing the literature and your reward will be a comprehensive overview of the extant literature--an excellent start to validating your research project.

Abstracting and Indexing↗
PubMed2001

The Danish National Birth Cohort--its background, structure and aim.

BACKGROUND: It is well known that the time from conception to early childhood has importance for health conditions that reach into later stages of life. Recent research supports this view, and diseases such as cardiovascular morbidity, cancer, mental illnesses, asthma, and allergy may all have component causes that act early in life. Exposures in this period, which influence fetal growth, cell divisions, and organ functioning, may have long-lasting impact on health and disease susceptibility. METHODS: To investigate these issues the Danish National Birth Cohort (Better health for mother and child) was established. A large cohort of pregnant women with long-term follow-up of the offspring was the obvious choice because many of the exposures of interest cannot be reconstructed with sufficient validity back in time. The study needs to be large, and it is aimed to recruit 100,000 women early in pregnancy, and to continue follow-up for decades. The Nordic countries are better suited for this kind of research than most other countries because of their population-based registers on diseases, demography and social conditions, linkable at the individual level by means of the unique ID-number given to all citizens. Exposure information is mainly collected by computer-assisted telephone interviews with the women twice during pregnancy and when their children are six and 18 months old. Participants are also asked to fill in a self-administered food frequency questionnaire in mid-pregnancy. Furthermore, a biological bank has been set up with blood taken from the mother twice during pregnancy and blood from the umbilical cord taken shortly after birth. Data collection started in 1996 and the project covered all regions in Denmark in 1999. By August 2000. a total of 60,000 pregnant women had been recruited to the study. It is expected that a large number of gene-environmental hypotheses need to be based on case-control analyses within a cohort like this.

Cohort Studies↗
PubMed1993

Children at risk--a presentation of a Nordic project.

In 1991, money was granted by Nordisk Ministerråd to prepare a Nordic project concerning children at risk. Since then, preparations have gone forward to organize a project focussing on 10-year olds' experiences of risk and protective factors in their daily lives. The project combines data from fairly large cohorts or samples with in-depth studies concerning specific analyses of risk and protective factors, life events, children's experiences with various helping services and child welfare, children's school environment etc. A project group with participants from all the Nordic countries has been established, and three meetings have been arranged during 1992. The Nordic project as such aims to started fully 1993.

Child↗
PubMed1987

Primary health care is not cheap: a case study from Guinea Bissau.

In 1977 the Ministry of Health in Guinea Bissau started two regional community health projects. In this article we describe the progress of the Tombali project. Three aspects are discussed: the "Learning Process Approach" used in the project; measurement of the effectiveness of the project and the problems of collecting and interpreting these data; and the ratio of investment to recurrent costs and the proportions borne by government and by villagers. Primary health care projects evolve slowly, and the importance of the willingness of project workers, donor agencies, and the national government to work without a blueprint plan is emphasized. We discuss ways of evaluating the success of primary health care schemes; the measurement of any change in health status is difficult and discounts other benefits that may result, such as encouraging community participation and involving villagers in government activities. Both government and villagers contribute significantly to the scheme, the government and donors bearing most of the investment costs, while most of the recurrent costs fall on the villagers. The data show that for neither government nor villagers is the scheme a cheap option to secure health care for rural populations. Finally, we discuss the lessons to be learned by national governments, donor agencies, and health workers from this attempt to implement a primary health care program.

Budgets↗
PubMed1991

Evaluation of reproductive traits in Bos taurus and Bos indicus crossbred heifers: effects of postweaning energy manipulation.

Reproductive traits were evaluated in Bos taurus and Bos indicus crossbred heifers that were fed different diets during the postweaning period. The study was designed in a 2 x 2 x 2 factorial arrangement of treatments. Angus x Hereford (AH; n = 148) and Brahman x Hereford (BH; n = 148) heifers were sorted after weaning by body weight into light (LW) and heavy (HW) weight blocks. Heifers in each weight block were assigned to diets calculated to reach a target weight of 55% (LE) or 65% (HE) of their projected mature weights by the start of the breeding season. Puberty was determined after a 160-d observation period and characterized by the following criteria: 1) behavioral estrus, 2) presence of a palpable corpus luteum (d 6 to 10; estrus = d 0), and 3) rise in serum progesterone above 1 ng/ml (d 6 to 10). A higher (P = .01) proportion of AH heifers than of BH heifers reached puberty by the breeding season (93% vs 67%). Interactions of breed x weight block and energy level x weight block also contributed to this difference. Weight at puberty was heavier (P = .001) among HE than among LE heifers and greater for heifers in HW than for those in LW blocks (P = .02). Differences in prebreeding weight, body condition, average daily gain, hip height, and pelvic area were influenced selectively by breed, energy level, or weight block. Pregnancy rates were higher (P = .01) among AH than among BH heifers. Incidence and severity of dystocia was influenced by the breed x energy level interaction (P = .01). Brahman x Hereford heifers had less (P = .01) dystocia than AH heifers, HE heifers had less (P less than .02) dystocia than LE heifers, and HE-AH heifers had less (P less than .01) dystocia than LE-AH contemporaries. Subsequent duration of the postpartum interval to estrus was shorter (P = .002) among AH than among BH females. Pregnancy rates at the end of the 2nd yr were higher (P = .02) among LW than among HW females and weights were heavier (P = .001) at weaning among calves weaned from BH dams.

Animal Feed↗