Pregnancy and inflammatory bowel disease: Do we provide enough patient education? A British study of 1324 women

AIM: To examine patient knowledge and factors influencing knowledge about pregnancy in British women with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). METHODS: This is a post hoc analysis of a study of female members of Crohn’s and Colitis United Kingdom, aged 18-45 years who were sent an online questionnaire recording patient demographics, education, employment, marital status, and disease characteristics. Disease related pregnancy knowledge was recorded using Crohn’s and colitis pregnancy knowledge score (CCPKnow). RESULTS: Of 1324 responders, 776 (59%) suffered from Crohn’s disease, 496 (38%) from ulcerative colitis and 52 (4%) from IBD-uncategorised. CCPKnow scores were poor (0-7) in 50.8%, adequate (8-10) in 23.6%, good (11-13) in 17.7% and very good (≥ 14) in 7.8%. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that higher CCPKnow scores were independently associated with higher educational achievement (P < 0.001), younger age at diagnosis (P = 0.003) and having consulted a health care professional about pregnancy and IBD (P = 0.001). CONCLUSION: Knowledge was poor in 50%. Speaking with health-care professionals was a modifiable factor associated with better knowledge. This illustrates the importance of disease related pregnancy educatio

Orbital frustration at the origin of the magnetic behavior in LiNiO2

We report on the ESR, magnetization and magnetic susceptibility measurements performed over a large temperature range, from 1.5 to 750 K, on high-quality stoichiometric LiNiO2. We find that this compound displays two distinct temperature regions where its magnetic behavior is anomalous. With the help of a statistical model based on the Kugel'-Khomskii Hamiltonian, we show that below T_of ~ 400 K, an orbitally-frustrated state characteristic of the triangular lattice is established. This then gives a solution to the long-standing controversial problem of the magnetic behavior in LiNiO2.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, RevTex, accepted in PR

La gestion sociale urbaine dans les pays en développement : rapport de fin de recherche mai 1993

Les réflexions proposées ici représentent une étape dans une recherche menée par une équipe du laboratoire TMU sur le thème de "la gestion sociale urbaine dans les pays en développement" ; elle privilégie dans le champ global de la gestion urbaine la dimension sociale, en la considérant comme mécanisme de régulation des rapports sociaux urbains, et comme système de contrôle des populations urbaines. La recherche s'appuie sur l'observation et l'analyse des pratiques des gestionnaires et de celles des citadins, à partir de deux entrées : la régularisation foncière, technique de gestion du sol urbain, mais aussi mode de régulation des rapports sociaux en ville, et la gestion urbaine partagée des services urbains. C'est autour de ces deux axes que s'est tenue une journée de réflexion en mai 1992, qui a permis de mieux cerner les possibilitiés et les limites de la gestion sociale urbaine à son niveau le plus approprié, celui des collectivités territoriales locales. (Résumé d'auteur

Stimulating and evaluating acquired knowledge of addiction among residents through repeat testing: A pilot study

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/108638/1/ajad12141.pd

Study of beamforming techniques for ultrasound imaging in nondestructive testing

Many of the innovations in modern materials testing technology make use of ultrasound. Therefore, the theory and application of ultrasound have become of extreme importance in nondestructive inspection of complete engineered systems. However, despite the fact that most of these ultrasound inspection techniques are based on well-established phenomena, two key problems pertaining to their application still remain unresolved. These problems can be identified as (1) the material being tested is assumed to be isotropic and homogeneous by nature, and (2) the scanning/data collection process, prior to the reconstruction scheme, is very time consuming. As a result, techniques for fast, accurate testing of anisotropic and nonhomogeneous media have been the focus of attention in modern non-destructive testing research;This dissertation first describes the development and implementation of a time domain synthetic aperture focusing technique (SAFT) to reconstruct flaws imbedded within Plexiglass[superscript] TM\/ and Graphite/Epoxy samples. A modification to the present SAFT algorithm is then proposed in order to improve the quality of the images produced by SAFT when applied to composites. In addition, since the finite element method (FEM) can be used to solve hyperbolic partial differential equations, which govern wave propagation, FEM solutions are used to mimic a SAFT measurement. That is, the FEM is used to simulate the action of a transducer array. This is done to study the sensitivity of parameters involved in the SAFT algorithm. Using the same FEM model as a test bed, the data independent beamformer, in its basic form, is studied to determine its performance in reducing data acquisition time. It is seen that this technique is capable of adjusting the weights of the interpolating filter (beamformer) to predict an incoming signal from a desired direction while discriminating against other signals from different directions;SAFT results indicate that the FEM model can be used as a Test Bed for SAFT sensitivity studies, and point out the possible use of lateral displacement data for SAFT reconstruction. Extensive beamforming test comparisons reveal that the resulting optimal filters are indeed able to predict not only A-scan signals from a set of data produced by a nonuniformly spaced transducer baseline, based on one material geometry, but also A-scan signals from a data set produced by a nonuniformly spaced transducer baseline based on a different material geometry. This has particular significance for fast testing and imaging of isotropic and anisotropic materials in ultrasonic nondestructive evaluation techniques

Acute Posterior Multifocal Placoid Pigment Epitheliopathy Associated with Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor and Hurthle Cell Tumor

Acute posterior multifocal placoid pigment epitheliopathy (APMPEE) is a chorioretinal inflammatory disease of unknown origin. Patients usually present with a rapid loss of central/paracentral vision over the course of a week in both eyes. The fundus exhibits rapid appearance of multiple deep subretinal yellow-white, flat lesions at the RPE/choriocapillaris level. This in turn causes changes of both the ellipsoid zone and RPE which can result in permanent central vision loss. The pathogenesis is controversial but is associated with a recent viral illness and can involve the central nervous system with concern for cerebral vasculitis. Rare reports of APMPEE associated with systemic vasculitis such as Wegener’s granulomatosis and malignancy such as clear cell renal carcinoma have been reported. We report a case of APMPEE with concurrent diagnosis of gastrointestinal stromal tumor and Hurthle cell tumor. While such association may well be coincidental, the near simultaneous presentation raised our suspicion for potential association

Ultrasonic Wave Propagation in a Tooth Phantom

Although ultrasonic energy has been used widely for general medical diagnostic purposes and as a tool for the nondestructive inspection of engineering components, a lack of understanding of the fundamental wave propagation phenomena in teeth has largely precluded its application to dentistry. This paper studies the physics of ultrasound/teeth interactions. Based on the authors’ experience with the detection of defec engineering materials using ultrasound and the development of finite element computer code to study the wave propagation, initial studies have already been made on a tooth phantom. Results indicate that this numerical model can indeed be used to study the complex ultrasound interactions with dental anomalies, such as pulpitis and abscesses, and that such results could be used to optimize the design of appropriate transducers and equipment for dentistry applications. The primary reason why this technique is important and should take place is that ultrasonography has a great advantage over the presently available X-ray technology in that it does put any strain on the patient nor does it cause any pain. Most importantly, ultrasonic waves are nonionizing which, when used at low sound intensity levels, do not cause any health risks to the patient nor to the operator

The Glitter Virus!

A children's book, created by AUB students from the Education Department, for the course EDUC218 as a final project