How to use analysis of variance correctly——an analysis of variance for the univariate quantitative data collected from the nested design / 四川精神卫生

The purpose of this paper was to introduce the nested design and its quantitative data analysis of variance and the SAS implementation. If one of the following two characteristics existed in a specific experimental study， a nested design could be considered to arrange the experiment. Firstly， there was a nested relationship between factors in natural attributes. Secondly， with professional knowledge as the basis， the impact of each factor on the quantitative observation results was divided into primary and secondary. The first feature mentioned above meant that the factors related to the subjects had the conditions for grouping and regrouping. The second feature mentioned above meant that the status of each factor was unequal. In the variance analysis of quantitative data， the calculation formulas of variable error mean square was required to use. Based on four examples and with the help of the SAS software， this paper implemented the univariate analysis of variance for the quantitative data of the nested design， and gave the detailed explanations for the output results of SAS software.

How to use χ2 test correctly——the analysis of common relative risk for the data of a multiway table and the implementation of SAS software / 四川精神卫生

The purpose of the paper was to introduce the relative risk analysis method of g×2×2 table data and the calculation method based on SAS software. The contents included the following aspects： firstly， the homogeneity test of the data in the g×2×2 table was performed； secondly， when the data met the homogeneity requirements， the point estimation and confidence interval estimation of the common relative risk based on the correction method were implemented； thirdly， when the data did not meet the requirements of homogeneity， the common relative risk RRDL and its 95% confidence interval were estimated， based on the DerSimonian-Laird method （DL method for short）； fourthly， when the data met and did not meet the requirements of homogeneity， the hypothesis of "whether the common relative risk equals to 1" was tested. Combining two examples and based on SAS software， the paper completed the following three tasks： ① the homogeneity test for the relative risk； ② the point estimation of the common relative risk； ③the confidence interval estimation of the common relative risk. The last two tasks were performed under the conditions of the data met and did not meet the homogeneity requirements， respectively. The output results of SAS software were explained， and the statistical and professional conclusions were made.

Effectiveness and Determinant Variables of Augmentative and Alternative Communication Interventions in Cerebral Palsy Patients with Communication Deficit: a Systematic Review

ABSTRACT Purpose Assess the effectiveness of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) interventions in patients with CP and to reveal determinant variables of main intervention outcomes: receptive and expressive language. Research strategies The search was performed in following databases: MEDLINE (Ovid); PubMed (NLM); Embase (Ovid); Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews; Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature; Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects; Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials; Health Technology Assessment database and PEDro. Selection criteria Full-text and peer-reviewed studies in English studying the effectiveness of AAC in patients with cerebral palsy were included. Studies with patients (<18 years) diagnosed with CP were included. Data analysis A narrative analysis was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of AAC methods. A random-effects model meta-analysis was used to assess determinants of AAC intervention outcomes. Results The online database and manual reference search revealed 445 records. Nine studies investigating a total of 294 subjects with CP met predefined eligibility criteria: 4 studies with single subject, multiple baseline research designs, 3 longitudinal cohort studies, 1 case control study and 1 case series. Results revealed moderate-quality evidence that AAC interventions improve the receptive and expressive communication skills in patients with CP. The random-effects model meta-analysis revealed the power of identified determinant variables affecting the AAC intervention outcomes. Conclusion Diversity of CP patients requires proper analysis of determinant variables to ensure the efficacy of AAC assessment and intervention. More studies of high methodological and practical quality assessing the efficacy of AAC interventions are needed to clarify the evidence.

Meta-análisis para evaluar eficiencia de selección genómica en cereales: Meta-analysis for evaluating the efficiency of genomic selection in cereals

La selección genómica (SG) es usada para predecir el mérito de un genotipo respecto a un carácter cuantitativo a partir de datos moleculares o genómicos. Estadísticamente, la SG requiere ajustar un modelo de regresión con múltiples variables predictoras asociadas a los estados de los marcadores moleculares (MM). El modelo se calibra en una población en la que hay datos fenotípicos y genómicos. La abundancia y la correlación de la información de los MM dificultan la estimación, y por ello existen distintas estrategias para el ajuste del modelo basadas en: mejor predictor lineal insesgado (BLUP), regresiones Bayesianas y aprendizaje automático. La correlación entre el fenotipo observado y el mérito genético predicho por el modelo ajustado, provee una medida de eficiencia (capacidad predictiva) de la SG. El objetivo de este trabajo fue realizar un meta-análisis de la eficiencia de la SG en cereales. Se realizó una revisión sistemática de estudios relacionados a SG y se llevó a cabo un meta-análisis, para obtener una medida global de la eficiencia de la SG en trigo y maíz, bajo diferentes escenarios (cantidad de MM y método estadístico usado para la SG). El metaanálisis indicó un coeficiente de correlación promedio de 0,61 entre los méritos genéticos predichos y los fenotipos observados. No se observaron diferencias significativas en la eficiencia de la SG realizada con modelos basados en BLUP (RR-BLUP y GBLUP), enfoque estadístico más comúnmente usado. El incremento de MM no cambia significativamente la eficiencia de la SG.

Genomic selection (GS) is used to predict the merit of a genotype with respect to a quantitative trait from molecular or genomic data. Statistically, GS requires fitting a regression model with multiple predictors associated with the molecular markers (MM) states. The model is calibrated in a population with phenotypic and genomic data. The abundance and correlation of MM information make model estimation challenging. For that reason there are diverse strategies to adjust the model: based on best linear unbiased predictors (BLUP), Bayesian regressions and machine learning methods. The correlation between the observed phenotype and the predicted genetic merit by the fitted model provides a measure of the efficiency (predictive ability) of the GS. The objective of this work was to perform a metaanalysis on the efficiency of GS in cereals. A systematic review of related GS studies and a meta-analysis, in wheat and maize, was carried out to obtain a global measure of GS efficiency under different scenarios (MM quantity and statistical models used in GS). The meta-analysis indicated an average correlation coefficient of 0.61 between observed and predicted genetic merits. There were no significant differences in the efficiency of the GS based on BLUP (RR-BLUP and GBLUP), the most common statistical approach. The increase of MM data, make GS efficiency do not vary widely.

Impacto de la intensidad horaria de la estadística en las pruebas saber 11 / Impact of the time intensity of statistics in the saber 11 tests / Impacto da intensidade temporal da estatística sobre as provas saber 11

Resumen Introducción. En Colombia la Ley General de Educación dio la potestad a las instituciones educativas de organizar sus propios currículos acorde con los proyectos educativos institucionales. Con base en esta autonomía, algunas instituciones fragmentaron el área de matemáticas en asignaturas como estadística y geometría con distribución de tiempo semanal a cada una de ellas. Otras instituciones se organizan en temas y los desarrollan en momentos particulares del año escolar. En ese sentido, conocer los efectos que podrían tener una u otra organización en los procesos educativos representa un interés para profesores, investigadores e instituciones educativas. Objetivo. Determinar el efecto que la distribución de la intensidad horaria de la asignatura estadística podría tener en el desempeño de los estudiantes en la Prueba Saber 11° en instituciones educativas públicas de Medellín-Colombia. Materiales y métodos. Los datos se extrajeron de los resultados de Pruebas Saber 11. Se hizo ajuste de un modelo lineal con efectos mixtos. Resultados. Después de controlar el efecto institución, algunas variables específicas de los estudiantes sí inciden en los resultados obtenidos en matemáticas, pero la distribución de la intensidad horaria que se dedica a la enseñanza de la estadística no es un factor significativo. Conclusiones. La distribución del tiempo e intensidad horaria dedicada a la estadística no tiene un efecto automático ni inmediato en el desempeño de los estudiantes, las instituciones deben considerar estrategias para promover competencias de los estudiantes acordes con su condición económica y social.

Abstract Introduction. In Colombia, the General Education Law gave Educational Institutions the authority to organize their academic curricula according to their corresponding Educational Projects. Based on this institutional autonomy, some educational institutions have divided the area of mathematics into subjects such as statistics and geometry; also they have allocated a weekly time to each one of these subjects. In contrast, other institutions organize the area of mathematics by themes developed at specific times during the school year. In this sense, knowing the effects that one or another allocation could have on educational processes represents an interest for research and for teachers and educational institutions. Objective. Determine the effect that the allocation of teaching hours spent on the statistics subject could have on student performance on the Saber 11th Test in public educational institutions from Medellín-Colombia. Materials and Method. Data were extracted from the Saber 11-test results. A linear model was adjusted with mixed effects. Results. After controlling for the institution effect, it was found that some student-specific variables do impact the results in mathematics. However, allocation of teaching hours spent on statistics is not a significant factor. Conclusions. Time allocation and teaching hours spent on a statistics course do not have automatic or immediate impact on student performance. Every institution should consider strategies to promote student competencies according to their economic and social conditions.

Resumo Introdução. Na Colômbia a Lei Geral da Educação forneceu o poder às instituições educativas de organizar seus próprios currículos conforme com os projetos educativos institucionais. Com base nesta autonomia, algumas instituições fragmentaram a área de matemáticas em disciplinas como estatística e geometria com distribuição do tempo semanal em cada uma delas. Outras instituições organizam-se em temas e os desenvolvem em momentos particulares do ano escolar. Neste sentido, conhecer os efeitos que poderiam ter uma ou outra organização nos processos educativos representa um interesse para professores, pesquisadores e instituições educativas. Objetivo. Determinar o efeito que a distribuição da intensidade temporal da disciplina estatística poderia ter no desempenho dos estudantes nas Prova Saber 11° em instituições educativas públicas de Medellín-Colômbia. Materiais e Métodos. Os dados foram extraídos dos resultados das Provas Saber 11. Realizou-se o ajuste de um modelo lineal com efeitos misturados. Resultados. Depois de controlar o efeito instituição, algumas variáveis específicas dos estudantes sim incidiram nos resultados obtidos em matemáticas, mas a distribuição da intensidade temporal que se dedica ao ensino da estatística não é um fator significativo. Conclusões. A distribuição do tempo e intensidade temporal dedicada à estatística não tem um efeito automático e nem imediato no desempenho dos estudantes, as instituições devem considerar estratégias para promover habilidades dos estudantes acordes com sua condição econômica e social.

Determinantes do emprego secundário e informalidade: evidências adicionais para o mercado de trabalho brasileiro / Determinants of secondary employment and informality: additional evidence for the Brazilian labor market / Determinantes del empleo secundario e informalidad: evidencias adicionales para el mercado de trabajo brasileño

O objetivo deste estudo é analisar os fatores que determinam a escolha de um indivíduo por um emprego secundário e como tal decisão está relacionada com a informalidade. Para tanto, a partir dos dados da Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílios (PNAD) contínua, é estimado um modelo logit de efeitos aleatórios para verificar os fatores que influenciam nesta decisão de inserção. Os resultados apontam que o rendimento do trabalho principal, a escolaridade e a informalidade no emprego principal influenciam positivamente na decisão dos trabalhadores em ingressar em um emprego secundário.

This study aims to analyze the factors that determine an individual's choice of having secondary employment and how this decision is related to informality. To that end, based on data from "Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílios (PNAD) contínua", we estimate a random effects Logit model to verify factors influencing this decision of insertion. Results indicate that the main work income, schooling and informality in the main employment have a positive influence on the worker's decision to seek secondary employment.

El objetivo de este estudio es analizar los factores que determinan la elección de un individuo de tener un empleo secundario y cómo esta decisión está relacionada con la informalidad. Para ello, a partir de los datos de la Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílios (PNAD) contínua, se estima un modelo logit de efectos aleatorios para verificar los factores que influyen en esta decisión de inserción laboral. Los resultados apuntan a que el rendimiento del trabajo principal, la escolaridad y la informalidad en el empleo principal influyen positivamente en la decisión de los trabajadores de obtener en un empleo secundario.

Estimación y variabilidad temporal de talla de madurez gonadal de la caballa (Scomber japonicus peruanus) en el litoral peruano / Estimation and temporal variability in size at gonad maturity of Chub Mackerel (Scomber japonicus peruanus) in the Peruvian littoral

Se estimaron valores de la talla de madurez gonadal (L50) de la caballa (Scomber japonicus peruanus) para los años 1994 - 2017 en el litoral peruano. El análisis se realizó para el periodo noviembre - marzo donde ocurre la mayor actividad reproductiva. La proporción de hembras maduras en relación a la talla se ajustó mediante un modelo logístico binomial, para ello se utilizaron modelos lineales generalizados con efectos mixtos (MLGM) que asumieron efectos aleatorios asociados a los periodos. El ajuste con el MLGM, mediante sus efectos fjos estimó una L50 de 24.8 cm de longitud a la horquilla (LH) (24.69 cm - 24.9 cm), mientras que con cambios entre periodos, mediante sus efectos aleatorios, los valores oscilaron entre 20.4 cm y 27.0 cm de LH en promedio. Se observó que un aumento en la temperatura causó la disminución de la L50 en los periodos 1997 - 1999 y 2015 - 2016, los cuales coinciden con la presencia de eventos El Niño. Una correlación positiva fue encontrada entre las L50 y la biomasa desovante, estos cambios en las L50 podrían indicar un efecto de denso-dependencia. No se mostró una tendencia en la serie de L50, por tanto no habría un efecto de la presión de pesca, traducida como la tasa instantánea de mortalidad por pesca (F) sobre la L50. Sin embargo, creemos que estas disminuciones de la L50, en relación a una baja densidad poblacional y principalmente a un incremento en la F deben darse como un efecto a largo plazo y no en eventos puntuales como se reflejaron en nuestros resultados.

The values of size-at-gonad maturity (L50) of chub mackerel (Scomber japonicus peruanus) were estimated for the years 1994 - 2017 in the Peruvian littoral. The analysis was performed for the period November - March where the highest reproductive activity occurs. The proportion of mature females was ftted using a logistic binary model, through generalized linear mixed models (MLGM), which assumes random effects associated with the periods. The GLMM, with fixed effects estimated a L50 of 24.8 cm of fork length (FL) (24.69 cm - 24.9 cm), while with changes between periods, with random effects, L50 ranged between 20.4 cm and 27.0 cm FL. It was observed that an increase in temperature caused the decrease of the L50 in the years 1997 - 1999 and 2015 - 2016, which coincides with El Niño events. A positive correlation was found between the L50 and spawning biomass, so changes in L50 may be a density-dependent effect. There was no trend in the L50 series, so there would be no effect of the fishing mortality (F) on the L50. However, we think that the decrease in the L50 in relation to a low population density and mainly an increase in F should be given as a long-term effect and not in isolated events as our results showed.

Joint Modeling of Multivariate Longitudinal Data and Its Application / 世界科学技术-中医药现代化

Multiple outcomes measured repeatedly for the same subject are common in longitudinal observation.If we use the approach by analyzing each outcome separately,it may lead to wrong conclusions due to the failure of accounting for joint evolution of different outcomes.To adequately capture the interdependence among multiple outcomes,we proposed a joint modeling for multivariate longitudinal data by constructing a linear mixed-effects model for each outcome and accommodating the relationship among multiple outcomes through correlation in random effects.Maximum likelihood method was adopted to estimate parameters in this model.The application of this method was demonstrated through the analysis of stroke data.

The changing landscape of religious affiliation in Brazil between 1980 and 2010: age, period, and cohort perspectives / /Um estudo sobre a filiação religiosa no Brasil entre 1980 e 2010: efeitos de idade, período e coorte / /El cambio de panorama de las afiliaciones religiosas en Brasil entre 1980 y 2010: perspectivas de edad, período y cohorte

There has been a remarkable decline in the number of Catholics in Brazil over the last few decades, a fact that is attributed to the growth of Pentecostal churches and to an increase in the number of people with no religious affiliation. We analyzed the age, period, and cohort effects associated with religious affiliation in Brazil from 1980 to 2010, applying the Hierarchical Age-Period-Cohort and Cross-Classified Random Effects Model. We observed that age effects were significant but low for Catholics and Pentecostals, and were substantial for those with no religious affiliation, with a negative relationship. For these first two religious affiliations, period effects were of greater magnitude with clear trends: negative for Catholics and positive for Pentecostals. Cohort effects were significant for all three affiliations, but magnitudes were lower than the other two effects. We also verified that the likelihood of being a Pentecostal decreased with formal education, and the opposite occurred for persons with no religious affiliation. These effects, however, were smaller for younger cohorts, possibly due to the reduced social selectivity of recent students pursuing higher education and the increase in overall levels of education...

Houve uma marcante redução no número relativo de católicos no Brasil nas últimas décadas, fato que é associado, principalmente, ao crescimento das igrejas pentecostais e neopentecostais, bem como ao aumento no número de pessoas sem filiação religiosa. Foram analisados os efeitos de idade, período e coorte associados à filiação religiosa no Brasil entre 1980 e 2010, com o uso do modelo idade-período-coorte hierárquico e modelos de efeitos randômicos com classificação-cruzada. Observaram-se efeitos de idade significativos, mas de pequena magnitude para católicos e pentecostais, e efeitos substanciais para aqueles sem filiação religiosa, sendo essa com uma relação negativa. Para as duas primeiras afiliações, os efeitos de período eram de maior magnitude e com tendências claras: negativa para católicos e positiva para pentecostais. Os efeitos de coorte foram significativos para as três afiliações, mas as magnitudes foram menores do que para dos dois outros efeitos. Também verificou-se que a propensão em ser pentecostal diminui com o nível de educação, sendo que o contrário ocorre para pessoas sem religião. Entretanto, esses efeitos são menos marcantes para coortes mais jovens, possivelmente por causa da natureza menos seletiva da educação superior atualmente no Brasil e do aumento generalizado dos níveis de educação...

Ha ocurrido una notable reducción en el número de católicos en Brasil en las últimas décadas, un hecho que se atribuye al crecimiento de las iglesias pentecostales y un aumento del número de personas sin afiliación religiosa. Analizamos los efectos de edad, período y cohortes asociadas a las afiliaciones religiosas en Brasil desde 1980 hasta 2010, aplicando modelos Jerárquico de Edad-Período-Cohorte y de Efecto Aleatorio de Clasificación Cruzada. Observamos que los efectos de edad fueron significativos pero de baja magnitud para católicos y pentecostales, mientras fueron sustanciales para aquellos sin afiliación religiosa, con una relación negativa. Para las dos primeras afiliaciones religiosas, los efectos de período fueron de mayor magnitud y presentaron tendencias claras: negativas para los católicos y positivas para los pentecostales. Los efectos de cohorte fueron significativos para todas las tres afiliaciones, pero las magnitudes fueron menores que los otros dos efectos. También verificamos que la propensión a ser pentecostal se reduce con la educación formal, y lo opuesto ocurrió con las personas sin afiliación religiosa. Sin embargo, tales efectos fueron menores para cohortes más jóvenes, posiblemente debido a la reducción de la selectividad social de estudiantes recientes en búsqueda de una educación más alta y al aumento general en todos los niveles de educación...

Activation Characteristics of the Primary Motor (M1) and Supplementary Motor (SMA) Areas during Robust Unilateral Finger Tapping Task / Jurnal Sains Kesihatan Malaysia

This study investigated the functional specialisation characteristics of brain in multiple right-hand dominant subjects pertaining to the activation of the cerebral motor cortices evoked by unilateral finger tapping, especially in primary motor (M1) and supplementary motor (SMA) areas. This multiple-subject study used unilateral (UNIright and UNIleft) selfpaced tapping of hand fingers to activate the M1 and SMA. Brain activation characteristics were analysed using statistical parametric mapping (SPM). Activation for UNIright and UNIleft showed the involvement of contralateral and ipsilateral M1 and SMA. A larger activation area but with a lower percentage of signal change (PSC) were observed in the left M1 due to the control on UNIright (4164 voxels at α = 0.001, PSC = 1.650) as compared to the right M1 due to the control on UNIleft (2012 voxels at α = 0.001, PSC = 2.377). This is due to the influence of the tapping rate effects which is greater than what could be produced by the average effects of the dominant and sub-dominant hands. The significantly higher PSC value observed in the right M1 (p < 0.05) is due to a higher control demand used by the brain in coordinating the tapping of the sub-dominant fingers. The findings obtained from this study showed strong evidence of the existence of brain functional specialisation and could be used as baseline references in determining the most probable motor pathways in a sample of subjects.

Comparación de cuatro modelos de regresión para el estudio de factores de riesgo de hato para datos binomiales correlacionados / Comparison of four regression models for the study of herd risk factors for binomial correlated data

The objectives of this study were to compare four linear or logistic regression models and to determine their effects on the level of significance and parameter estimates, using the data from a study on seroprevalence of brucellosis in goats. Information on 5 114 does tested during 2002-2003 from 79 herds in the Bajio region in Michoacan, Mexico was used. The models were: the prevalence of seropositive animals per herd (V1), analyzed by a general linear model (GLM), herds with at least one seropositive animal, analyzed by standard logistic regression (SLRH); V1 analyzed by standard logistic regression (SLR), assuming independence among results within a same herd (SLRA); and V1 analyzed by mixed LR, considering the herd as random effect (MLR). The risk factors included in the four models were: the presence of abortions the year previous to the study, cleanness of the corral (hygiene) and length of lactation. The V1 variable transformed to arcsine-square root did not show a normal distribution. SLRH model (SLR assuming the herd as the unit of interest) and MLR were not compared because they were not nested models. MLR model adjusted the data better than the SLRA model. The deviance (-2LL) from model SLRH (70.6) was similar to their degrees of freedom (75), suggesting that the model adjusted the data very well. Levels of significance for the risk factors were different, depending of the model used. GLM and SLRH models showed significant effects (P < 0.02) only for the presence of abortions; SLRA model showed significant effect (P < 0.05) for the three risk factors, and MLR, effects of the presence of abortions and lactation length, but not for hygiene. The values for the odd ratios (OR) for the SLRA and MLR models were different; the narrowest confidence intervals corresponded to the SLRA model, and the widest to the SLRH model.

Los objetivos de este estudio fueron comparar cuatro modelos de regresión lineal o logística y determinar sus efectos sobre los niveles de significancia y parámetros, utilizando los datos de un estudio de seroprevalencia de brucelosis en cabras. Se utilizó la información de 5 114 cabras en 79 hatos de la región del Bajío, en Michoacán, México, durante 2002-2003. Los modelos fueron: la prevalencia de animales seropositivos por hato (V1), analizados mediante un modelo lineal general (MLG); hatos con al menos un animal seropositivo, analizados mediante regresión logística estándar (RLEH), V1 analizada mediante RLE, suponiendo independencia entre resultados dentro de un mismo hato (RLEA) y V1 analizada mediante RL mixta, considerando al hato como efecto aleatorio (RLM). Los factores de riesgo incluidos en los cuatro modelos fueron: presencia de abortos el año anterior al estudio, limpieza del corral (higiene) y duración de la lactancia. La variable V1 transformada a arcoseno-raíz cuadrada no mostró distribución normal. El modelo RLEH (RL estándar considerando al hato como la unidad de interés) y RLM no se compararon por no ser modelos anidados. El modelo RLM ajustó mejor los datos que el modelo RLEA. La deviance (-2LL) del modelo RLEH (70.6) fue similar a sus grados de libertad (75), ello sugiere que este modelo ajustó estadísticamente bien los datos. Se encontraron niveles de significancia diferentes para los factores de riesgo, según el modelo estadístico utilizado. Los modelos MLG y RLEH mostraron efectos significativos (P < 0.02) sólo de presencia de abortos; el modelo RLEA mostró efecto significativo (P < 0.05) para los tres factores de riesgo, y el RLM, efectos de presencia de abortos y duración de la lactancia, pero no de higiene. Los valores de la razón de momios (OR) para los modelos RLEA y RLM fueron diferentes; los intervalos de confianza más estrechos correspondieron al modelo RLEA, y los más amplios, al RLEH.

The Acquisition, Analyses and Interpretation of fMRI Data: A Study on Functional Specialisation in Primary Auditory Cortices

In this study, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is used to investigate func-tional specialisation in human auditory cortices during listening. A silent fMRI paradigm was used to reduce the scanner sound artefacts on functional images. The subject was instructed to pay attention to the white noise stimulus binaurally given at an inten-sity level of 70 dB higher than the hearing level for normal people. Functional speciali-sation was studied using the Matlab-based Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM5) software by means of fixed effects (FFX), random effects (RFX) and conjunction analyses. Individual analyses on all subjects indicated asymmetrical bilateral activation of the left and right hemispheres in Brodmann areas (BA) 22, 41 and 42, involving the primary and secondary auditory cortices. The percentage of signal change is larger in the BA22, 41 and 42 on the right as compared to the ones on the left (p>0.05). The average number of activated voxels in all the respective Brodmann areas are higher in the right hemisphere than in the left (p>0.05). FFX results showed that the point of maximum intensity was in the right BA41 whereby 599±1 activated voxels were ob-served in the right temporal lobe as compared to 485±1 in the left temporal lobe. The RFX results were consistent with that of FFX. The analysis of conjunction which fol-lowed, showed that the right BA41 and left BA22 as the common activated areas in all subjects. The results confirmed the specialisation of the right auditory cortices in pro-cessing non verbal stimuli.

Brain Activations Evoked by Passive and Active Listening: A Preliminary Study on Multiple Subjects / Jurnal Sains Kesihatan Malaysia

A functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study was conducted on 4 healthy male and female subjects to investigate brain activation during passive and active listening. Two different experimental conditions were separately used in this study. The first condition requires the subjects to listen to a simple arithmetic instruction (e.g. one-plus-two-plus-three-plus-four) – passive listening. In the second condition, the subjects were given the same series of arithmetic instruction and were required to listen and perform the calculation – active listening. The data were then analysed using the Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM5) and the MATLAB 7.4 (R2007a) programming softwares. The results obtained from the fixed (FFX) and random effects analyses (RFX) show that the active-state signal intensity was significantly higher (p < 0.05) than the resting-state signal intensity for both conditions. The results also indicate significant differences (p < 0.001) in brain activation between passive and active listening. The activated cortical regions during passive listening, as obtained from the FFX of the first condition is symmetrical in the left and right temporal and frontal lobes covering the cortical auditory areas. However, for the second condition, which was active listening, more activation occurs in the left hemisphere with a reduction in the number of activated voxels and their signal intensity in the right hemisphere. Activation mainly occurs in the middle temporal gyrus, precentral gyrus, middle frontal gyrus, superior temporal gyrus and several other areas in the frontal lobes. The point of maximum signal intensity has been shifted to a new coordinates during active listening. It is also observed that the magnetic resonance signal intensity and the number of activated voxel in the right and left superior temporal lobes for the second condition have been reduced as compared to that of the first condition. The results obtained strongly suggest the existence of functional specialisation. The results also indicate different networks for the two conditions. These networks clearly pertain to the existence of functional connectivity between activation areas during listening and listening while performing a simple arithmetic task.

Evaluation of Health Exams on Local Vibration Illness among Shipyard Workers / 대한산업의학회지

A hand-arm vibration syndrome, local vibration illness, occurs in some workers who use hand held vibration tools. It consists of white fingers, diffusely distributed finger neuropathy, pain in the hand and arm, and a small excess risk of osteoarthritis. This study is aimed to identify effective methods to confirm local vibration illness among various health exams, which are mentioned in worker's special health exam regulation. In addition, this study is aimed to quantitatively assess the daily vibration exposure level as a major determinant of vibration illness. The subjects, 46 vibration workers, were selected according to the results of the first special health exam about vibration hazards at shipbuilding industry in 1997. They all had experiences of work related blanching of fingers. Fifteen controls, who had no vibration exposure at all, were also recruited to compare their test results with the results of vibration workers. We adopted 1 subjective and 6 objective tests to evaluate the effectiveness and feasibility for confirming local vibration illness. These tests were history taking of subjective symptoms according to the Stockholm classification, checking blood pressure of finger, checking grasp power, checking finger skin temperature, nail-bed pressing test, vibration perceptional threshold test, and skin prick test for pain perception. Among these, checking skin temperature, nail-bed pressing test, and vibration perception test included cold water provocations. We also estimated some vibration exposure levels of hand held vibration tools by using previously published data from one automobile company. In conclusion, history taking of subjective symptoms according to the Stockholm classification, nail-bed pressing test, and vibration perceptional threshold test were discovered to be effective to diagnose local vibration illness. Furthermore, vibration perceptional threshold on right fingers showed a dose-response relationship to daily vibration exposure levels. The parameter beta was 0.0005(+/-0.0002), and statistically significant by REM (random effects model).