Impact of varied time of feeding on the lactation and growth performance of West African Dwarf goat.

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of time of feeding on production performance of West African Dwarf (WAD) goats. Two experiments involving twenty-seven goats (15 bucks and 12 gravid does) were conducted. In Experiment I, the bucks were randomly allocated into three treatments of five replicates and fed for 115 days.

Continuous wave Fe:ZnSe mid-IR optical fiber lasers.

Today fiber lasers in the visible to near-infrared region of the spectrum are well known, however mid-infrared fiber lasers have only recently approached the same commercial availability and power output. There has been a push to fabricate optical fiber lasers out of crystalline materials which have superior mid-IR performance and the ability to directly generate mid-IR light. However, these materials cannot currently be fabricated into an optical fiber via traditional means.

Pregnancy and its Outcomes in Patients After Uterine Fibroid Embolization: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Uterine artery embolization (UAE) has been introduced for uterine fibroid treatment for two decades. Most of the patients are in reproductive age and many want future pregnancy. In this study, we will assess fertility, pregnancy and its outcomes in patients who have undergone UAE.

Analysis of Functional Connectivity and Oscillatory Power Using DICS: From Raw MEG Data to Group-Level Statistics in Python.

Communication between brain regions is thought to be facilitated by the synchronization of oscillatory activity. Hence, large-scale functional networks within the brain may be estimated by measuring synchronicity between regions. Neurophysiological recordings, such as magnetoencephalography (MEG) and electroencephalography (EEG), provide a direct measure of oscillatory neural activity with millisecond temporal resolution.

A dose-response study of levosimendan in a porcine model of acute ischaemic heart failure.

Objectives: Levosimendan is a novel inotropic agent claimed to improve myocardial contractility by a calcium-sensitizing effect. Our aim was to evaluate dose-dependent effects of levosimendan on left ventricular (LV) contractility and energetic properties in an acute, ischaemic heart failure porcine model.

Methods: Six pigs were used in an anaesthetized in vivo open-chest model.

A high fresh frozen plasma: packed red blood cell transfusion ratio decreases mortality in all massively transfused trauma patients regardless of admission international normalized ratio.

Background: Coagulopathy is present in 25% to 38% of trauma patients on arrival to the hospital, and these patients are four times more likely to die than trauma patients without coagulopathy. Recently, a high ratio of fresh frozen plasma (FFP) to packed red blood cells (PRBCs) has been shown to decrease mortality in massively transfused trauma patients. Therefore, we hypothesized that patients with elevated International Normalized Ratio (INR) on arrival to the hospital may benefit more from transfusion with a high ratio of FFP:PRBC than those with a lower INR.

Application of MEMS technology and engineering in medicine: a new paradigm for facial muscle reanimation.

Translational research may lead to development of micro-electromechanical system-based devices to treat muscle and nerve dysfunctions whose current treatments are inadequate and, at best, palliative. This paper discusses the development of engineered microsystems as a treatment option for palsies of the seventh cranial nerve and the potential application of these devices as a platform technology for treatment of other nervous dysfunctions. The engineering techniques for electrical and chemical stimulation of denervated muscle are discussed along with current caveats from clinical and engineering standpoints.

Costs and cost-effectiveness in hip and knee replacements. A prospective study.

The extensive benefits of the total hip (THA) and knee (TKA) replacements are well documented, but surprisingly little is known about their economics. We assessed costs, cost-effectiveness (C/E), and patient-related C/E variances in THA and TKA from data on 276 THA and 176 TKA patients. Patients with primary arthrosis, primary operation, and total joint replacement were recruited from seven hospitals between March 1991 and June 1992.

Depression in Finland: a computer assisted telephone interview study.

We examined the prevalence of depressive disorders and associated factors in the general population in Finland using the Computer-Assisted Telephone Interview (CATI) method. A total of 2293 (71%) of 3250 individuals randomly drawn from the population registry and representing the adult population of Finland in the age group 25-79 years were interviewed by telephone in autumn 1994. The interview included a short form of the University of Michigan version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (UM-CIDI) generating probability diagnoses of DSM-III-R major depressive episode and dysthymia.

Finnish public health nurses' experiences of primary health care based on the population responsibility principle.

Implementation of a 'population responsibility' principle in Finnish health centres began in the late 1980s. The aim of this study was to describe public health nurses' (PHNs') experiences of primary health care based on this principle and to identify contextual and personal factors related to their experiences. The sample consisted of PHNs in 10 health centres.

Deinstitutionalization of the elderly in Finland, 1981-91.

The success of Finnish deinstitutionalization policy among the elderly in 1981-1991 was evaluated in terms of institutionalization rates and case-mix. Censuses of institutionalized people in all public and private residential homes and health centre hospitals (or nursing homes) were performed in 1981, 1986 and 1991. Data on demographic factors, diagnoses and dependency level were gathered.

Comparison of health and functional ability between noninstitutionalized and least dependent institutionalized elderly in Finland.

Finland's active deinstitutionalization policy aims to reduce the number of elderly people in long-term residential care and to keep noninstitutionalized elderly people living at home as long as possible. As a contribution to the issue of the appropriateness of long-term institutional care, we compared the health and functional ability of elderly people living at home or in residential care to assess the theoretical possibility of discharging the least dependent elderly from residential homes. Findings from two separate data sets collected in 1992 were compared; one (n = 475) was obtained by computer-assisted telephone interview (elderly at home) and the other (n = 459) by postal survey (elderly in residential care).

Population views on access to community nursing services in Finland.

The aim of this study was to evaluate potential access to personal community nursing services and the desirability of these services from the point of view of different population groups. Potential access to personal community nursing services was defined as having one or more particular nurses to contact when needing help and advice in health matters. The desirability of these services was defined as the respondents' estimation of how useful they considered it to be for them to have access to personal community nursing services.

Economic depression and the use of physician services in Finland.

At the start of the 1990s, the economic situation in Finland deteriorated radically. During the depression (1991-93), health care expenditure decreased by about 10%, and was associated with considerable changes in Finnish health care. This paper reports studies of the determinants of use of physician services in Finland in the 1990s.

Health-related quality of life among the least dependent institutional elderly compared with the non-institutional elderly population.

The purpose of this study was to investigate health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and functional ability among the least dependent elderly in residential care, and to compare them with information on the general population. A stratified systematic sample (n = 1,587) was drawn from a one-day census of patients in all public residential homes in Finland on December 2, 1991. Sixty-nine per cent of residents in 1992 were able to participate (n = 1,097) and 86% of them returned the questionnaire (n = 948), of which n = 795 were acceptable, the response rate being 72%.

Private medicine and socioeconomic differences in the rates of common surgical procedures in Finland.

The aim of the study was to evaluate socioeconomic equity in access to surgical services in Finland and to explore the contribution of private sector procedures to any inequities. Data on nine common surgical procedures performed on patients aged 25 and over were obtained from the 1987-88 Finnish Hospital Discharge Register. Socioeconomic indicators were linked to the procedure data by personal identity numbers from the 1987 population census, which was also used to derive the data on population at risk.

Structure and costs of health care of diabetic patients in Finland.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to examine both the structure, including modes of drug treatment, ambulatory care, and hospital inpatient care, and the costs of health care for drug-treated diabetic patients in Finland.

Research Design And Methods: The modes of drug treatment and ambulatory care were studied with the help of a questionnaire given to all diabetic patients obtaining their medication through pharmacies in Finland during a 7-week period in 1989. The questionnaire sought information on drug treatment, site of health care, and frequency of visits to physicians.

Influence of morbidity and health care structure on hospitalization among adult diabetic patients.

The aim of the study was to investigate the influence of outpatient care, overall hospital bed provision and the prevalence of diabetes on the hospital use by adult diabetic patients. Population based data were collected in Finland from a 3-year period. Hospital admissions, inpatient days, and mean length of stay due to diabetes were derived from the Hospital Discharge Register.

Quality of life and functional ability in hip and knee replacements: a prospective study.

The impact of hip (THA) and knee arthroplasty (TKA) on patients' health-related quality of life (HRQOL), physical ability and functioning was assessed in a two year follow-up study of 276 hip and 176 knee patients. The eligibility criteria were a diagnosis of primary arthrosis, a primary operation, and total joint arthroplasty. Patients were interviewed by questionnaire prior to the operation and 6, 12 and 24 months after the surgery.

Hospital- and patient-related characteristics determining length of hospital stay for hip and knee replacements.

Total hip arthroplasty (THA) and total knee arthroplasty (TKA) are among the most prestigious health care technologies. Their popularity has grown rapidly, and an increasing proportion of health care resources is allocated to them. We studied patient- and hospital-related factors that cause variation in a major determinant of hospital costs, the length of hospital stay (LOS) for THA and TKA.

Socioeconomic equity in Finnish hospital care in relation to need.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the success of Finnish health care policy in establishing socioeconomic equity in the use of hospital inpatient care. We studied the use of short-term (< 30 days) care at Finnish general hospitals among those aged 25 or over, psychiatric and obstetric patients excluded. The data on service utilization were obtained from the 1988 Finnish Hospital Discharge Register.

Socio-economic mobility among patients with schizophrenia or major affective disorder. A 17-year retrospective follow-up.

Background: Social mobility among patients with schizophrenia or major affective disorder was compared with that among the general population.

Method: Mobility was studied retrospectively from 1970 to 1987. Socio-economic status (SES) was defined by occupation as in the population census (upper white-collar, lower white-collar, blue-collar, entrepreneur, farmer, unemployed).

Educational level and hospital use in mental disorders. A population-based study.

This population-based study presents socioeconomic differences in psychiatric inpatient care by diagnosis. Inpatient care among the Finnish population aged 25-64 years was studied using data from the Finnish National Hospital Discharge Register. All major mental disorders in the ICD-9 were included in the study.

Health and quality of life before and after hip or knee arthroplasty.

The impact of hip and knee arthroplasty based on the patients' own evaluations of their health, quality of life, and physical ability was assessed using a cross-sectional study design. The eligibility criteria were a diagnosis of primary arthrosis, primary operation, and total joint arthroplasty. Preoperative hip and knee patient groups were compared with similar groups who underwent arthroplasty 2 or 5 years previously.