Household Characteristics, Cost of Illness and Coping Mechanism of Families of Hospitalized Acute Encephalitis Syndrome Children: A Mix Method Study

Background: AES is responsible for causing high social and economic burden to the affected families. The study was conducted to know the household characteristics, cost of illness and coping strategy adopted by the family members of AES children admitted to a tertiary care facility in Assam, India. Methods: It was a sequential exploratory mixed method study, with a cross-sectional survey among AES chil-dren and their guardians, followed by In Depth interview. Results: Out of 51 cases 55% were male. The median age was 11 years. 53% of the families belonged to lower socioeconomic class. 96% of families reported to reside in rural areas. Commonly reported household assets were mobile phone 94%, bicycle 86%, television 31% and motorcycle 29%. Three major themes were emerged to contribute towards economic burden. The first major theme is “Direct cost” due to patient trans-portation cost (mean Rs 1161.00) and hospital costs: mostly due to medicinal cost (mean Rs1955.00), investi-gational cost (mean Rs 2920.00) and food cost (mean Rs 8375.00). The second theme “Indirect cost” is due to work days loss: 100% care providers had missed work days during hospital stay of their children and 84% had missed work days during post hospital care. The third theme is “Inherent cost spotted through coping mechanisms” which mostly 94% included borrowing money from the market and 31.4% selling household assets. Conclusion: Cost of illness is a huge burden to the AES afflicted families which demands reforms in health care financing and reimbursement in current context.

Unusual clinical presentations of scrub typhus, a neglected tropical disease: A case series from north India

Background & objectives: Scrub typhus is a neglected tropical disease common in Asia and Africa. It usually presents with non-specific symptoms like fever, rashes, and lymphadenopathy. It has a varying range of clinical picture that often leads to misdiagnosis and initiation of non-specific treatment. This disease is thus associated with high morbidity and mortality. We aim to highlight the uncommon presentations of this common disease to create awareness regarding the unusual presentations of scrub typhus. Methods: This prospective study was performed over a period of two months enrolling eleven adult patients with serological evidence of anti-scrub typhus IgM antibodies. Results: All enrolled 11 cases [5 males (45.5%) and 6 females (54.5%)] were positive for anti-ST IgM antibodies and negative for other tested microbial agents. 7/11 (63.6%) patients were admitted with a clinical diagnosis of acute encephalitis syndrome (AES as per standard WHO definition), 3/11 (27.3%) patients presented with jaundice and 1/11 (9.1%) patients presented with rashes. Two out of 7 (28.6%) AES cases had developed peripheral gangrene of extremities. Interpretation & conclusion: Scrub typhus is a common tropical disease that can have various unusual clinical presentations like meningoencephalitis, vasculitis, acute kidney injury, jaundice, MODS. It closely mimics other infective etiologies making its diagnosis difficult. A high index of suspicion and clinical awareness is required in clinical practice to identify the different presentations of this disease so that early treatment can be initiated to reduce morbidity and mortality associated with this disease.

Regional homogeneity in depression:a meta-analysis of resting-state functional-MRI studies / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

Objective To effectively combine the results of resting state regional homogeneity(ReHo) fMRI studies in depression.Methods Literatures between 2003-2016 on fMRI of depression in PubMed,Web of Knowledge,EBSCO host medline,CNKI,CQVIP and Wanfang Med Online were taken as research objects.Screening the relevant data according to the included and excluded standard,then,software of AES-SDM was employed to do Meta analysis,in addition,the age,gender,duration of disease,the year of education and treatment were also analyzed.Results 23 articles met the standard,including 1 036 cases,of which 507 for the depression group,529 for the control group.Meta analysis showed the significant ReHo abnormalities of Default Mode Network(DMN) which centers on left precuneus,left superior frontal gyrus and right cingulate gyrus,in addition,left lenticular nucleus,left postcentral gyrus,left cerebellum and left fusiform gyrus had significant ReHo differences.In the regression analysis,gender,age,duration of disease,years of education,disease severity were all affected factors.The difference of cingulate gyrus was the most stable,and the duration of the disease significantly affected cingulate gyrus (SDM =2.777).Conclusion The abnormalities of DMN which centers on left precuneus,left,medial superior frontal gyrus and right cingulate gyrus are the most consistent in depression,the DMN is closely related to depression.

Data security and privacy protection of wireless medical sensor network based on hybrid encryption / 医疗卫生装备

Objective To propose a hybrid encryption algorithm involving in elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) and advanced encryption standard (AES) to solve the problems of wiretapping and tampering of medical data in wireless channel transmission.Methods The sender used AES session key for medical data encryption and ECC public key for AES session key,and applied SHA-1 to obtaining the information summary of medical data and ECC public key to gaining information summary signature.The recipient employed ECC private key to verify the signature and then to decrypt AES session key,and finally decrypt medical data with AES session key.Results The proposed security solution gained advantages over the conventional ECC algorithm and hybrid cryptographic algorithm of RSA and AES in encryption and decryption time,safety strength and energy consumption,so that the confidentiality and integrity of medical data could be ensured during transmission.Conclusion The hybrid encryption scheme can meet the requirement of wireless medical sensor network in low time complexity,and realizes the protection of the patient data and privacy.

The aesthetic analysis of midface ratio after folding aponeurosis of levator palpebrae superioris muscle in the ptosis correction / 实用医学杂志

Objective To measure the ratio of the length between upper edge of eyebrow and edge of lower eyelid(L1)/the length between edge of lower eyelid and nasal base(L2)in the fordless-eyelid and upper lid ptosis patients who received levator aponeurosis folding surgery. To analyze the change in the proportion of midfa-cial aesthetics. Methods From December 2015 to October 2016,a total of 21 patients were recruited as study group. Those patientswere diagnosed with foldless eyelid and upper lid ptosis. They received levator aponeurosis folding procedures were carried out in our departmentand the pre- and post-operative photographs were collected. Full-face pictures of 20 Chinese female movie stars were prepared as control group. The ratiosof L1/L2(J)were measured via Adobe Photoshop CS6. The statistical significance was analyzed and the change of midfacial propor-tion was evaluated. Results In study group,the mean value of pre- and post-operative L1/L2(J1)is 0.746 and (J2)0.657 postoperatively. In control group,the mean value of L1/L2(J3)is 0.667. Statistical differences showed between the pre- and post-operative samples and between pre-operative samples and control group. There was no statistical difference between post-operative and control group samples. The ratios between L1 and L2 in post-opera-tive samples are close to those in control group ,which are closer to the golden radio. Conclusions Levator aponeurosis folding can effectively lower eyebrow in patients with upper lid ptosis and shorten the length between eyebrow and lower eyelid. Therefore harvesting a more appropriate and harmonious ratio of L1/L2 according the golden section theory. The changes in the proportion of midfacial aesthetics after operation could be used as a key point in the pre-operative communication and post-operative effect evaluation ,besides the size of palpebral fissure and corneal exposure rate.

The aesthetic analysis of midface ratio after folding aponeurosis of levator palpebrae superioris muscle in the ptosis correction / 实用医学杂志

Objective To measure the ratio of the length between upper edge of eyebrow and edge of lower eyelid(L1)/the length between edge of lower eyelid and nasal base(L2)in the fordless-eyelid and upper lid ptosis patients who received levator aponeurosis folding surgery. To analyze the change in the proportion of midfa-cial aesthetics. Methods From December 2015 to October 2016,a total of 21 patients were recruited as study group. Those patientswere diagnosed with foldless eyelid and upper lid ptosis. They received levator aponeurosis folding procedures were carried out in our departmentand the pre- and post-operative photographs were collected. Full-face pictures of 20 Chinese female movie stars were prepared as control group. The ratiosof L1/L2(J)were measured via Adobe Photoshop CS6. The statistical significance was analyzed and the change of midfacial propor-tion was evaluated. Results In study group,the mean value of pre- and post-operative L1/L2(J1)is 0.746 and (J2)0.657 postoperatively. In control group,the mean value of L1/L2(J3)is 0.667. Statistical differences showed between the pre- and post-operative samples and between pre-operative samples and control group. There was no statistical difference between post-operative and control group samples. The ratios between L1 and L2 in post-opera-tive samples are close to those in control group ,which are closer to the golden radio. Conclusions Levator aponeurosis folding can effectively lower eyebrow in patients with upper lid ptosis and shorten the length between eyebrow and lower eyelid. Therefore harvesting a more appropriate and harmonious ratio of L1/L2 according the golden section theory. The changes in the proportion of midfacial aesthetics after operation could be used as a key point in the pre-operative communication and post-operative effect evaluation ,besides the size of palpebral fissure and corneal exposure rate.

An outbreak of Japanese encephalitis after two decades in Odisha, India.

Sudden deaths in children due to acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) from a tribal dominated district of Malkangiri in Odisha, India, was reported during September-November, 2012. The investigation was carried out to search for the possible viral aetiology that caused this outbreak. Clinico-epidemiological survey and seromolecular investigation were carried out to confirm the viral aetiology. Two hundred seventy two suspected cases with 24 deaths were observed. The patients presented with low to moderate grade fever (87%), headache (43%), vomiting (27%), cold (18%), cough (17%), body ache (15%), joint pain (15%), rash (15%), abdomen pain (9%), lethargy (5%), altered sensorium (8%), convulsion (2%), diarrhoea (3%), and haematemesis (3%). Laboratory investigation showed Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) IgM in 13.8 per cent (13/94) in blood samples and JEV RNA in one of two cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples. Paddy fields close to the houses, high pig to cattle ratio, high density (33 per man hour density) of Culex vishnui mosquitoes, low socio-economic status and low health awareness in the tribal population were observed. This report confirmed the outbreak of JEV infection in Odisha after two decades.

Chikungunya virus infection amongst the acute encephalitis syndrome cases in West Bengal, India.

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) infection from the acute encephalitis syndrome cases is an uncommon form and has been observed in the year 2010-11 from West Bengal, India. The case–1 and case–2 had the acute encephalitis syndrome; case–3 was of acute disseminated encephalomyelitis whereas the case–4 had the symptoms of meningo-encephalopathy with bulbar involvement. We are reporting four cases with neurological complications involving central nervous system (CNS) due to CHIKV infection from this state for the fi rst time. The virus has spread almost every districts of this state rapidly. At this stage, these cases are public health threat.

Método pedagogía de las situaciones: su influencia en la toma de decisiones de la fase de ataque de jugadoras de baloncesto / Método pedagogia das situações: sua influência na tomada de decisões da fase de ataque de jogadoras de basquete / Positions pedagogy method: its influence in the making of decisions of female basketball players during the offensive phase

Esta investigaci¢n evalu¢ la influencia del M‚todo Pedagog¡a de las Situa- ciones (MPS), (propuesta de Bl zquez, 1986), sobre la toma de decisiones de jugadoras de baloncesto universitario. Para la toma de decisiones, se aplicaron las sugerencias de Refoyo (2001) e Iglesias (2005). En el estudio participaron 24 sujetos, divididos en grupo experimental y grupo control. Los resultados mostraron que el m‚todo Pedagog¡a de las Situaciones (MPS) produjo cambios significativos en la toma de decisiones en la acci¢n dos contra uno. Estos cambios se pueden explicar por la modificaci¢n de toma de decisiones como consecuencia de las repeticiones realizadas du- rante la fase experimental del presente trabajo.

This research evaluated the influence of the Positions Pedagogy Method (PPM) (suggested by Bl zquez, 1986) on female college basketball players at the time of making decisions. For decisions making, Refoyo’s (2001) and Iglesias’ (2005) suggestions were applied. 24 subjects participated in this study; the participants were divided into two groups, one experimental group and one control group. The results showed, that the positions pedagogy method (PPM) produced significant changes in the decisions making on the action two against one. These changes can be explained by the modification in making decisions (cortical areas), as a result of the repetitions performed during the experimental phase of this work.

Esta investiga‡Æo avaliou a influˆncia do M‚todo Pedagogia das Situa‡ães (MPS), (proposta de Bl zquez, 1986), sobre a tomada de decisães de jogadoras de basquete universit rio. Para a tomada de decisães, aplicaram-se as sugestães de Refoyo (2001) e Iglesias (2005). No estudo participaram 24 pessoas, divididas em grupo experimental e grupo controle. Os resultados mostraram que o M‚todo Pedagogia das Situa‡ães (MPS) produziu altera‡ães significativas na tomada de decisães na a‡Æo dois contra um. Estas altera‡ães podem ser explicadas pela modifica‡Æo de tomada de decisães como consequˆncia das repeti‡ães realizadas durante a fase experimental do presente trabalho.

Component analysis of nucleosides, amino acids, and mineral elements in pollen of Gingko biloba / 中草药

Objective: To analyze the nutritional ingredient in the pollen of Gingko biloba and provide the theoretical basis for the comprehensive utilization of pollen of G. biloba. Methods: The nucleosides and dissociative amino acids in the pollen of G. biloba were detected by UPLC-TQM. The content of nucleosides in pollen of G. biloba was calculated with the help of UPLC-TQ/MS, and the mineral elements in the pollen of G. biloba were determined by ICP-AES. Results: In pollen of G. biloba there were 24 abundant dissociative amino acids accounting for 62.316 mg/g totally. In this number, dissociative essential amino acids accounted for 6.23 mg/g with the highest content of 17.11 mg/g aspartic acid (ASP). Meanwhile, a small quantity of taurine, approximately 0.24 mg/g, has been tested out. Furthermore, there were 16 kinds of nucleosides in the pollen of G. biloba. Among those nucleosides, guanosine made up for the highest percent with 251.99 μg/g while other nucleosides accounted for a low percent. In pollen of G. biloba, K is the most abundant with 26.301 mg/g, followed by Ca with 7.076 mg/g, Mg with 5.361 mg/g, and Fe with 2.545 mg/g. As to the heavy mental elements, as and Cd were not found in it. Conclusion: From above analysis, pollen of G. biloba can provide the theoretical basis for the development of health-care food with pollen of G. biloba.

Clinical Profile and Outcome of Acute Encephalitis Syndrome in Dhulikhel Hospital of Nepal.

Introduction: Acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) is a constellation of clinical signs and or symptoms i.e. acute fever with acute change in mental status. AES may be present as encephalitis, meningoencephalitis or meningitis. It can be associated with severe complication, including impaired consciousness, seizure, limb paresis or death. Materials and Methods: Study consisted of retrospective analysis of hospital records of children up to 16 years of age admitted with diagnosis of AES in the department of Paediatrics Dhulikhel Hospital, Kathmandu University Teaching Hospital, Dhulikhel Kavre from January 2010 to December 2011. Results: During the two years (January 2010 to December 2011), 47 patients of AES were admitted. Among the admitted cases there were 34 male and 13 female patients. Meningitis cases were 29, encephalitis cases were 14 and 4 meningoencephalitis cases. Among the meningitis cases, viral meningitis accounted for 12, bacterial meningitis accounted for 15 and 1 tubercular meningitis.One was eosinopilic meningitis in which the causative organism was found to be fasciolosis by ELISA. Viral encephalitis was found to be the most common cause of encephalitis. Sensorineural hearing loss was seen in 3 cases, subdural effusion in 1 and hydrocephalus in 1. One patient had intracranial hemorrhage with hemiparesis as a complication of eosinophilic meningitis. Conclusion: Acute encephalitis syndrome is one of the most common causes of PICU admission in Dhulikhel hospital. Bacterial meningitis was common among the acute encephalitis syndrome followed by viral meningitis. One case of eosinophilic meningitis with intracranical hemorrhage and hemiparesis was found. Sensorineural hearing loss was found to be commonest complication.

Differentiation of different brands of alcoholic beverages by trace element profile: A pilot study.

A pilot study was conducted to differentiate various brands of alcoholic beverages commonly sold in Hyderabad city (Andhra Pradesh, India). Various brands of liquor were scanned up to parts per billion (PPB) level for more than 72 elements using the following method – Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-AES). The results obtained showed significant difference in the elemental profiles of various brands of liquor. Absence of some elements such as copper showed marker parameter for the liquor brands. This survey shows that trace elemental profiling could be a reliable method for differentiating various brands of liquor.

A Selective Encryption Algorithm Based on AES for Medical Information / 대한의료정보학회지

OBJECTIVES: The transmission of medical information is currently a daily routine. Medical information needs efficient, robust and secure encryption modes, but cryptography is primarily a computationally intensive process. Towards this direction, we design a selective encryption scheme for critical data transmission. METHODS: We expand the advandced encrytion stanard (AES)-Rijndael with five criteria: the first is the compression of plain data, the second is the variable size of the block, the third is the selectable round, the fourth is the optimization of software implementation and the fifth is the selective function of the whole routine. We have tested our selective encryption scheme by C++ and it was compiled with Code::Blocks using a MinGW GCC compiler. RESULTS: The experimental results showed that our selective encryption scheme achieves a faster execution speed of encryption/decryption. In future work, we intend to use resource optimization to enhance the round operations, such as SubByte/InvSubByte, by exploiting similarities between encryption and decryption. CONCLUSIONS: As encryption schemes become more widely used, the concept of hardware and software co-design is also a growing new area of interest.

Japanese Encephalitis in Children admitted at Patan Hospital.

This is a hospital based retrospective study, which was done in Pediatric ward of Patan hospital. Study period was one and half year (from Srawan 2063 to 2064 poush).Data were taken from discharge book of Pediatric ward, from the record section of this hospital, and from JE surveillance office, WHO, Kathmandu. All children from 1 month to 14 years ,who were admitted in Pediatric ward with symptoms of Meningitis, Meningoencephalitis and Encephalitis were included in this study and patients more than 14 years of age and symptoms not suggestive of meningitis, meningoencephalitis or encephalitis were excluded from the study. Headache; vomiting and fever were the chief complaints of patients. Two patients died during study period. There were 16 patients with serologically confirmed Japanese encephalitis.

Ingredients and cytotoxicity of MTA and 3 kinds of Portland cements / 대한치과보존학회지

The aim of this study was to compare the compositions and cytotoxicity of white ProRoot MTA (white mineral trioxide aggregate) and 3 kinds of Portland cements. The elements, simple oxides and phase compositions of white MTA (WMTA), gray Portland cement (GPC), white Portland cement (WPC) and fast setting cement (FSC) were measured by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES), X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF) and X-ray diffractometry (XRD). Agar diffusion test was carried out to evaluate the cytotoxicity of WMTA and 3 kinds of Portland cements. The results showed that WMTA and WPC contained far less magnesium (Mg), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), and zinc (Zn) than GPC and FSC. FSC contained far more aluminum oxide (Al2O3) than WMTA, GPC, and WPC. WMTA, GPC, WPC and FSC were composed of main phases, such as tricalcicium silicate (3CaO.SiO2), dicalcium silicate (2CaO.SiO2), tricalcium aluminate (3CaO.Al2O3), and tetracalcium aluminoferrite (4CaO.Al2O3.Fe2O3). The significance of the differences in cellular response between WMTA, GPC, WPC and FSC was statistically analyzed by Kruskal-Wallis Exact test with Bonferroni's correction. The result showed no statistically significant difference (p > 0.05). WMTA, GPC, WPC and FSC showed similar compositions. However there were notable differences in the content of minor elements, such as aluminum (Al), magnesium, iron, manganese, and zinc. These differences might influence the physical properties of cements.

Analysis of Manganese Content in Frequently Consumed Foods by Koreans

Using ICP-AES, we analyzed manganese content in 366 foods consumed frequently by Koreans. For the analysis, it was included a total of 366 foods such as 51 kinds of grains, 7 kinds of potatoes and starches, 7 kinds of sugars and sweeteners, 12 kinds of legumes, 11 kinds of nuts and seeds, 68 kinds of vegetables, 7 kinds of mushrooms, 33 kinds of fruits, 13 kinds of meats, 4 kinds of eggs, 48 kinds of fishes and shellfishes, 7 kinds of seaweeds, 16 kinds of milks, 8 kinds of oils and fats, 27 kinds of beverages, 34 kinds of seasonings, 13 kinds of processed foods and others. Among the grains, starches and sugars, manganese content of rice was 0.745 mg/100 g. As for legumes, the content of manganese in soybean milk was 0.033 mg/100 g and in black beans was 4.075 mg/100 g. In nuts and seeds, the content of manganese in gingko nuts was 0.268 mg/100 g while that in pine nuts was 8.872 mg/100 g. Among the vegetables, manganese contents were 0.061 mg/100 g in cherry tomato and 14.017 mg/100 g in ginger. In mushrooms, the highest manganese content was displayed in ear mushroom at 10.382 mg/100 g. Dried jujube and shrimp were found to be the fruits and fishes with high manganese contents at 2.985 mg/100 g and 3.512 mg/100 g, respectively. Among dairy foods, oils and beverages, manganese content was the highest in instant coffee powder at 2.577 mg/100 g. Seasonings and processed foods posted 0.010 mg/100 g in Sagolgomtang, instant soup and 23.846 mg/100 g in pepper. In a furture, more various food for manganese content needs to be analyzed and a reliable food database should be compiled from the findings of researches in order to estimate manganese consumption accurately.

Studies on Contents of Heavy Metals in Niuhuang Jiedu Tables / 浙江中医药大学学报

[Objective]To compare the contents of heavy metals in 6 types of Niuhuang jiedu tables.[Methods]The content of heavy metals in 6 types of Niuhuang jiedu tables before or after passed through metabolically man-made stomach liquid was detected by inductively coupled plasma atomic eminssion spectrometry(ICP-AES).[Results]These contents of heavy metals in 6 drugs were more than the order in chinese standards.But the contents of acid-soluble heavy metals were much less than or partially accorded with total heavy metals in the same batch of sample.[Conclusion]The content of acid-soluble heavy metals may be taken as one of the items of quality control for the Niuhuang jiedu tablets and traditional Chinese medicine patent prescription.

Determination of the Content of Zn in Shenningsan Capsules by ICP-AES Capsules by Atomic Absorption Spectrometry / 中国中医药信息杂志

Objective To establish an ICP-AES method for determination of the content of Zn in Shenningsan Capsules. Methods The sample was digested with HNO3-HClO4, and determined by the ICP-AES method. The determined wavelength was at 213.8 nm, the electric current of the light was set at 10.0 mA, the slit-width was 0.5 nm, the flow rate of acetylerce was 2.0 L/min and the flow rate of air was 9.4 L/min, the hight of burning was 7.5 mm. Results The ion concentration of Zn had the good linear range of 0.2～1.6 ?g/mL, Y=0.054X+0.001 1 (r2=0.999 3). The average recovery of the content of Zn in Shenningsan Capsules was 99.56% with RSD of 2.00%. The content of Zn in Shenningsan Capsules was 68.6 ?g/g. Conclusion The method is simple and reliable. It can be used effectively for the quality control of Shenningsan Capsules.

Determination of Reference Concentrations of Strontium in Urine by Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometry

Objective: The aim of this study was to establish reference concentrations of urinary strontium by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). Methods: For the determination of strontium, urine samples were collected from healthy Japanese (n=146; 115 males, 31 females; mean age, 33±9 years; age range, 18 to 58 years). The urine samples stored at or below −20°C were thawed with incubation at 40°C for 30 min and sediments were dissolved by vigorous shakings. Then, the samples were centrifuged at 3000 g for 5 min, and the supernatant was directly aspired into a P-5200-3600/1200 ICP-AES system from Hitachi Ltd., Tokyo, Japan. Results: A steeper increase in the S/N ratio and a good effective linearity of the calibration line was obtained at 407.771 nm in the range of 0–300 μg/L strontium standard solution. Urine samples having the same background signal as that of 18 MΩ cm ultrapure blank water, a good correspondence of the single peak pattern of the spectra, accuracy and precision of spike recovery were also confirmed. Urinary strontium concentrations showed a log-normal distribution and a geometric mean concentration of 143.9 μg/L, with 5–95% confidential interval of 40.9–505.8 μg/L. Conclusion: The results of this study will be useful as guidelines for the biological monitoring of strontium in normal subjects and in individuals therapeutically or environmentally exposed to strontium.

Determination of reference concentrations of strontium in urine by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>The aim of this study was to establish reference concentrations of urinary strontium by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>For the determination of strontium, urine samples were collected from healthy Japanese (n=146; 115 males, 31 females; mean age, 33±9 years; age range, 18 to 58 years). The urine samples stored at or below -20°C were thawed with incubation at 40°C for 30 min and sediments were dissolved by vigorous shakings. Then, the samples were centrifuged at 3000 g for 5 min, and the supernatant was directly aspired into a P-5200-3600/1200 ICP-AES system from Hitachi Ltd., Tokyo, Japan.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>A steeper increase in the S/N ratio and a good effective linearity of the calibration line was obtained at 407.771 nm in the range of 0-300 μg/L strontium standard solution. Urine samples having the same background signal as that of 18 MΩ cm ultrapure blank water, a good correspondence of the single peak pattern of the spectra, accuracy and precision of spike recovery were also confirmed. Urinary strontium concentrations showed a log-normal distribution and a geometric mean concentration of 143.9 μg/L, with 5-95% confidential interval of 40.9-505.8 μg/L.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The results of this study will be useful as guidelines for the biological monitoring of strontium in normal subjects and in individuals therapeutically or environmentally exposed to strontium.</p>