Numerical investigation of the rider's head injury in typical single-electric self-balancing scooter accident scenarios.

As the use of electric self-balancing scooters (ESSs) increases, so does the number of related traffic accidents. Because of the special control method, mechanical structure and driving posture, ESSs are prone to various single-vehicle accidents, such as collisions with fixed obstacles and falls due to mechanical failures. In various ESS accident scenarios, the rider's head injury is the most frequent injury type. In this study, several typical single-ESS accident scenarios are reconstructed via computational methods, and the risk of riders' head/brain injury is assessed in depth using various injury criteria. Results showed that two types of ESSs (solo- and two-wheeler) do not have clear differences in head kinematics and head injury risks; the head kinematics (or falling posture) and ESS accident scenario exhibit a distinct effect on the head injury responses; half of the analysed ESS riders have a 50% probability of skull fracture, a few riders have a 50% risk of abbreviated injury scale (AIS) 4+ brain injury, and none has a diffuse axonal injury; the ESS speed plays an important role in producing the head/brain injury in ESS riders, and generally, higher ESS speed generates higher level of predicted head injury parameters. These findings will provide theoretical support for preventing head injury among ESS riders and data support for developing and legislating ESSs.

A multidisciplinary clinic approach to improve physician-related diagnostic delay for patients with axial spondyloarthritis: a retrospective study.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the diagnostic delay (DD) and physician-related DD (pDD) in patients with axial spondyloarthritis (SpA) and the potential benefits of a multidisciplinary clinic (MDC) approach. METHODS: A retrospective study was undertaken among patients with axial SpA, which aimed to analyse DD, pDD and their risk factors. The influence of pDD on disease outcomes was examined. The pDDs among consecutive SpA patients in an MDC cohort were compared with propensity score matched historical controls (1:1). RESULTS: A total of 208 patients with axial SpA formed the historical control group and 49 patients with axial SpA formed the MDC cohort after introduction of the MDC. The median DD and pDD in the historical controls were 25.5 and 10.0 months, respectively. A cut-off of pDD > 4 months was associated with more active disease and functional impairment. An initial visit to a non-rheumatologist was the most significant risk factor for pDD. Following MDC introduction, the median pDD decreased from 13 months to 1 month after adjustments were made for confounders such as sex, education level, history of smoking, human leukocyte antigen-B27 status and SpA/ankylosing spondylitis classification criteria. CONCLUSION: The MDC was a promising approach that resulted in a reduced pDD among patients with axial SpA.

The performance of different anti-dsDNA autoantibodies assays in Chinese systemic lupus erythematosus patients.

To compare the performance of different commercial anti-dsDNA autoantibody assays, including multiplex-based immunoassay (Bio-Plex), Farr radioimmunoassay (Farr), ELISA, chemiluminescent immunoassay (CLIA), and Crithidia Luciliae indirect immunofluorescence test (CLIFT) in Chinese patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). SLE patients (n = 119) as well as healthy controls (n = 200) and disease controls (n = 100) were recruited, and serum anti-dsDNA autoantibodies were detected by Bio-Plex, Farr, two ELISA assays (Medical & Biological Laboratories-ELISA, EUROIMMU-ELISA), CLIA, and a standard CLIFT. The correlation of anti-dsDNA autoantibody levels to SLE disease activity was calculated, and the specificity and sensitivity of these methods were measured by receiver-operator characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. In ROC curve analysis, Bio-Plex showed the largest area under the curve (AUC) over other assays. Cutoff adjustment according to ROC enhanced the performance of all quantitative assays. Overall, Bio-Plex and CLIFT have higher specificity (>90.00%). ELISA and CLIA results are correlated with disease activity, and Bio-Plex results have the strongest correlation with SLEDAI score and active renal involvement. Bio-Plex assay has better overall performance in anti-dsDNA detection over Farr, ELISA, and CLIA methods in Chinese SLE patients.

Immobilization of glucoamylase onto novel porous polymer supports of vinylene carbonate and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate.

Glucoamylase was immobilized onto novel porous polymer supports. The properties of immobilized glucoamylase and the relationship between the activity of immobilized enzyme and the properties of porous polymer supports were investigated. Compared with the native enzyme, the temperature profile of immobilized glucoamylase was widened, and the optimum pH was also changed. The optimum substrate concentration of immobilized glucoamylase was higher than that of native enzyme. After storage for 23 d, the immobilized glucoamylase still maintained about 84% of its initial activity, whereas the native enzyme only maintained about 58% of the initial activity. Moreover, after using repeatedly seven times, the immobilized enzyme maintained about 85% of its initial activity. Furthermore, the properties of porous polymer supports had an effect on the activity of the immobilized glucoamylase.