RESUMO
This study was undertaken to compare several methods of evaluating the common assumption that laboratory data may be treated as if they had been drawn from an underlying Gaussian distribution. As had been described earlier, the usual Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was found to be unsatisfactory due to its sensitivity to rounding. In addition, a recently suggested modification also was shown to be unsuitable, because it was quite insensitive when applied to simulated data known to be positively skewed. The authors suggest the following: that the coefficients of kurtosis and skewness are valuable for use against specified alternatives; that the traditional Kolmogorov-Smirnov test is appropriate if the degree of rounding is minimal; and that a satisfactory "omnibus" test is not yet available.
Assuntos
Análise Química do Sangue , Coleta de Dados , Feminino , Humanos , Masculino , Probabilidade , Valores de Referência , Estatística como AssuntoRESUMO
In this paper, we use a scientific controversy, and the efforts to legitimize and undermine a theory, to examine the co-production of facts and the rules for verifying facts over time. We discuss these processes in terms of what we call 'styles of scientific practice.' In contrast to the focus of idealist philosophers on theory production and validation as forms of logic or ways of thinking, our styles of practice also include the activities of hands and eyes and the discourses between multiple actors in diverse situations. We discuss aspects of the different styles of practice deployed by opponents in a current controversy surrounding the etiology of AIDS to understand how the same data are interpreted in different ways to support diametrically opposed views. Our study describes and examines rules of confirmation used by supporters of the theory that HIV causes AIDS. For example, we introduce an 'epidemiological' style of practice used by AIDS researchers to synthesize information to understand this disease. Styles of practice stress the historically located collective efforts of scientists, technicians, administrators, institutions, and various 'publics' as they build and sustain ways of knowing. Yet, we also show that the 'history' is also a contested construction, not a given in dusty archives. We describe the different versions of history constructed by various participants in the debate to validate their current constructions and definitions of the disease AIDS. Finally, we discuss the politics behind disease definitions and the consequences of different definitions.
Assuntos
Síndrome da Imunodeficiência Adquirida/epidemiologia , Síndrome da Imunodeficiência Adquirida/microbiologia , HIV , Filosofia Médica , Ciência/métodos , Atitude Frente a Saúde , Causalidade , Métodos Epidemiológicos , Humanos , Estilo de Vida , Lógica , Política , Pesquisa , Sociologia Médica , PensamentoRESUMO
Forty patients with cervical myelopathy due to OPLL (Ossification of the Posterior Longitudinal Ligament) of the cervical spine were studied. According to Abe's or Yamamoto's classification, 12 of them had a 50% decrease in the cross-sectional area of the spinal canal. Subtotal vertebrectomy was carried out in 8 of these patients and the remaining 4 patients received posterior decompression. We concluded that anterior decompression, if possible, is the treatment of choice and posterior decompression is recommended only for the longitudinal type involving more than 3 segments.
Assuntos
Vértebras Cervicais/cirurgia , Ligamentos Articulares/cirurgia , Ossificação Heterotópica/cirurgia , Compressão da Medula Espinal/cirurgia , Estenose Espinal/cirurgia , Vértebras Cervicais/diagnóstico por imagem , Humanos , Laminectomia , Ligamentos Articulares/diagnóstico por imagem , Ossificação Heterotópica/classificação , Ossificação Heterotópica/diagnóstico por imagem , Complicações Pós-Operatórias/diagnóstico por imagem , Compressão da Medula Espinal/classificação , Compressão da Medula Espinal/diagnóstico por imagem , Estenose Espinal/classificação , Estenose Espinal/diagnóstico por imagem , Taiwan , Tomografia Computadorizada por Raios XRESUMO
A genomic clone containing two linked human pregnancy-specific beta 1-glycoprotein (PS beta G) genes has been isolated and characterized. The two genes are arranged in the same 5'----3' orientation; the 3' region (including the A2 and B-C exons) of the upstream gene, PSGGA, is linked to the 5' region (including the 5'/L and L/N exons) of PSGGB, the downstream gene. Depending upon the domains compared, PSGGA and PSGGB share 92-98% nucleotide and 86-95% amino acid sequence identity with PSG93, the most abundant PS beta G transcript. The 3' exon (B-C) of PSGGA contains four alternative splice sites and three polyadenylylation sites, which account for the 3' heterogeneity previously reported in the PS beta G family. Each of the predicted PSGGA-encoded proteins would have a different carboxyl terminus. PSGGB corresponds to the previously identified cDNA PSG6, which encodes proteins containing a 34-amino acid leader peptide and a 108-amino acid N domain, which is one amino acid shorter than the majority of PS beta G N domains. Additionally, the PSGGB-encoded proteins contain the cell-surface recognition tripeptide Arg-Gly-Asp, shared by several previously reported PS beta Gs as deduced from cDNA sequences. Northern blot hybridization performed with a PSGGB-specific oligonucleotide probe to the N domain revealed that PSGGB or a PSGGB-like gene encodes a major 1.7-kilobase mRNA in hydatidiform mole tissues and a major 2.0-kilobase mRNA in term placenta tissues. Moreover, the PSGGB-specific probe hybridized most strongly with mRNA from molar trophoblastic tissue, suggesting that the PSGGB-like species may be the gene preferentially expressed in gestational trophoblastic disease. Additionally, the sequence of a 2315-base-pair PS beta G cDNA (PSG95) that contains an N-A1-A2-B2-C domain arrangement is reported. The coding region of PSG95 is identical to the previously reported cDNA clones PSG1d and FL-NCA, but PSG95 contains an additional 518 and 523 base pairs in the 3' end as compared with PSG1d and FL-NCA, respectively.
Assuntos
Genes , Ligação Genética , Mola Hidatiforme/genética , Proteínas da Gravidez/genética , Glicoproteínas beta 1 Específicas da Gravidez/genética , Neoplasias Uterinas/genética , Sequência de Aminoácidos , Sequência de Bases , Northern Blotting , Clonagem Molecular , Éxons , Feminino , Biblioteca Gênica , Humanos , Dados de Sequência Molecular , Sondas de Oligonucleotídeos , Placenta/metabolismo , Gravidez , RNA Mensageiro/genética , Mapeamento por RestriçãoRESUMO
Spontaneous bacterial empyema occurs in about 0.4% of cirrhotic patients, but recurrent attack has rarely been reported. Herein we report a case of repeat episodes of spontaneous bacterial empyema. The patient presented with fever, shortness of breath and three episodes of spontaneous bacterial empyema (accompanied by septic shock in two episodes) within six months. Chest roentgenography showed massive right-side pleural effusion. Thoracentesis yielded pleural effusion containing a neutrophil count of more than 500/microliter. A blood culture grew non-O1 Vibrio cholerae in one episode and the pleural effusion culture grew Aeromonas hydrophila. A chest-tube was inserted during the latest episode due to a low pH and glucose concentration in the pleural fluid. The patient recovered well after medical treatment. The etiology, diagnosis and management of spontaneous bacterial empyema are discussed.