Prospective study of the prevalence and co-morbidities of obstructive sleep apnea in active-duty army personnel in the three southernmost provinces of Thailand using questionnaire screening

Background: It is crucial for the army to know the prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea(OSA) syndrome in activeduty army personnel. Little information has been reported on the prevalence of OSA and clinical features in activeduty army personnel. This study was aimed to estimate the prevalence of snoring and risk of developing OSA in activeduty army personnel in Thailand and to identify the co-morbidities of OSA. In total, 1107 participants who were aged20–60 years and were deployed to the three southernmost provinces of Thailand were enrolled. All the participants completed the Phramongkutklao(PMK) Hospital OSA Questionnaire that was modified and validated from the Berlin Questionnaire and underwent physical examination. The participants were 1107 active-duty army personnel in the three southernmost provinces of Thailand, both males and females, aged 20–60 years.Methods: The PMK OSA Questionnaire was used to assess the risk of OSA together with interviewing for snoring,fatigue, falling asleep and day-time sleepiness. Physical examination of the neck, chest and hip circumference,and height was performed. Information concerning physical training, co-morbid diseases, smoking and alcoholic consumption was collected.Results: The prevalence of snoring was 58.5, and 4.8% met the PMK OSA Questionnaire criteria, thus indicating a high risk of OSA. The information obtained indicated that laryngopharyngeal reflux(LPR), current smoking and alcoholic consumption were significantly higher in the high-risk OSA group.Conclusions: Early detection and treatment of OSA in active-duty army personnel are imperative. Physical examination and polysomnography can be used to reveal the high-risk group. High body mess index(BMI), laryngopharyngeal reflux, current smoking and alcoholic consumption are modifiable factors for OSA and are avoidable. A policy to decrease the BMI and risk of LPR, as well as to stop smoking and alcoholic consumption, should be applied.

Comparison of Antioxidant Status between Pilots and Non-flight Staff of the Army Force: Pilots May Need More Vitamin C

Objective To compare the blood antioxidant levels and dietary antioxidant intakes between pilots and non-flight staff of the Army Force in The Islamic Republic of Iran. Methods Thirty-seven helicopter pilots and 40 non-flight staff were included in this study. Their general characteristics were recorded and their weight, height, and waist circumference were measured. Their daily intake of energy and nutrients including antioxidants was assessed using a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Serum levels of total antioxidant capacity （TAC）, malondialdehyde （MDA）, and glutathione reductase （GR）, glutathione peroxidase （GPx）, superoxide dismutase （SOD）, and catalase （CAT） in red blood cells were also measured. Results The median erythrocytes SOD, serum MDA level and the mean serum level of TAC and erythrocytes GPx were significantly higher in pilots than in non-flight staff. The median vitamin C intake was significantly lower in pilots than in non-flight staff. The serum MDA levels were similar in non-flight staff and pilots when their vitamin C intake was 〈168 mg and significantly lower in non-flight staff than in pilots when their vitamin C intake was 〉168 mg. Conclusion The serum MDA level is lower in non-flight staff than in pilots when their vitamin C intake level is high, indicating that pilots need more vitamin C than non-flight staff.

Effects of fluoride on growth and reproduction of the army worm, Mythimna separata (Walker)

This paper deals with effects of airborne fluorine on the army worm, Mythimna separata (Walker), by rearing the larvae on the wheat foliage exposed to HF or fumigating the larvae on the artificial diet with the pollutant. Larval relative growth rate (GR) and index of population trend of the insect reduced by 5% and 11%, respectively, when the larvae were reared on the foliage taken from the wheat plants exposed to 0.87 g·dm-2·day-1 of fluorine compared with those of the control. An extra instar appeared in a majority of the larvae treated. Survival rate and GR of the larvae on the wheat plant being exposure to the same concentration of fluorine in field open-top fumigation device were 40% and 15% lower than that of the control, respectively. Similar experiment with the insect on the artificial diet also showed that direct impact of the pollutant on the army worm was greater than its indirect effect via their host plant.

Structure analysis of levitation chassis of medium-to-low speed maglev vehicles based on left-right decoupling

Levitation chassis, as an extremely important component of maglev vehicles, provides functions of transmitting levitation force and steering force, and directly affects the safety performance of the vehicle. Based on the vertical dynamics model of the levitation chassis, kinetic equations of the model are established, and a simulation program is designed to analyze the structural decoupling function of the chassis, especially under the influence of elastic constraints between the left and right modules, which are exclusively owned by maglev vehicles. A finite element model of the levitation chassis based on left-right decoupling is constructed. Analysis results of the model show that the mechanical properties of the chassis tailored for the vehicle meet the design requirements, and the stiffness and strength is adequate to bear the weight of the whole vehicle.

Research on virtual entity decision model for LVC tactical confrontation of army units

According to the requirements of the live-virtual-constructive(LVC)tactical confrontation(TC)on the virtual entity(VE)decision model of graded combat capability,diversified actions,real-time decision-making,and generalization for the enemy,the confrontation process is modeled as a zero-sum stochastic game(ZSG).By introducing the theory of dynamic relative power potential field,the problem of reward sparsity in the model can be solved.By reward shaping,the problem of credit assignment between agents can be solved.Based on the idea of meta-learning,an extensible multi-agent deep reinforcement learning(EMADRL)framework and solving method is proposed to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of model solving.Experiments show that the model meets the requirements well and the algorithm learning efficiency is high.

Effects of temperature on population growth and intake of food by the army worm, Mythimna separata (Walker)

Population life tables of the army worm, Mythimna separata, were constructed and nutritional parameters of food for the larvae were examined at 5 temperatures from 16℃ to 32℃. The temperature suitable for growth and reproduction of the insect ranged from 20℃ to 28℃ with the optimum of 24℃. Their survivalship and fecundity were much poorer at 32℃ than at 16℃. Indices of population trend of the insect at these temperatures could well fitted with the parabolic curve which theoretically indicated that the population density would multiply by some 660 after one generation circle at the optimal temperature, 22.6℃, and it would decline at temperatures higher than 32.9℃ or lower than 12.3℃. Larval food intake and their AD tended to go up while their ECI and ECD to go down with a rise in temperature. These alterations in population size and feeding behavior caused by temperature would exert an important effect on their damage to crops.

Secondary effect of SO_2 pollution: enhanced growth of the army worm, Mythimna separata (Walker)

Effects of SO2 pollution on growth of the army worm, Mythimna separata, were investigated by rearing the larvae for 12 days on the wheat plants being exposed to SO2 levels ranged from 50 to 200 ppb in the field open-top fumigation devices. Larval period shortened while their mean relative growth rate (MRGR) increased as SO2 dose elevated. Similar experiment with the insect on the artificial diet excluded the possibility that SO2 pollution directly stimulated growth of the army worm.The patterns of change in amino acid hydrolysates in the host foliage suggested that contents of methionine, and perhaps, arginine in food material exposed to unpolluted air were at such levels that they could only support sub-optimum growth of the insect, and SO2 pollution increased concentrations of these limiting amino acids, resulting in better performance of the larvae.

Prescription of intermittent preventive therapy (IPTp) among doctors practicing in an army hospital in Lagos, Nigeria

Background: Malaria infestation in pregnancy is a major public health concern and ranks amongst the commonest complications of pregnancy in Nigeria. Approximately 50,000 Nigerian women die each year from largely preventable pregnancy related complications. Intermittent preventive therapy for malaria in pregnancy (IPTp) is a key recommendation in the National guideline for malaria treatment in Nigeria. This study assessed the prescription pattern of intermittent preventive therapy with Sulphadoxine-Pyrimethamine for pregnant women among doctors practicing in 68 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital, Yaba, Lagos, Nigeria. Methods: This was a retrospective study using case notes of pregnant women seen at antenatal clinic of 68 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital, Yaba, Lagos, Nigeria from January, 2008 to December, 2008. A total of 336 case notes were reviewed. The findings were precoded, data entry and analysis was done using EPI INFO 2002. Results: A good proportion of the women (82.9%) booked for antenatal clinic within the first and second trimesters of pregnancy. Most commonly prescribed by doctors was the weekly pyrimethamine (daraprim) for malaria prophylaxis in pregnancy (100.0%). Very few doctors prescribed intermittent preventive therapy with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine, and the few who did prescribed just one dose. Conclusion: The study showed a very low level of prescription of IPTp among doctors practicing at 68 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital, Yaba, Lagos, Nigeria. There is a great need for training of these doctors and other health professionals on the recommendations of the current National Antimalarial Treatment Guidelines.

Unsatisfactory Knowledge, Attitude and Practice on Leptospirosis among Army Personnel’s in Northeastern Malaysia

Leptospirosis is a re-emerging zoonotic disease caused by infection of the bacteria belongs to Genus leptospira. It occurs in tropical, subtropical and temperate zones. It is also known as occupational-related disease as certain occupations are associated with the occurrence of leptospirosis. Army is identified as one of the high-risk occupations in contracting leptospirosis. This study was done to determine knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) among army personnel on leptospirosis. A cross sectional study was conducted among 616 army personnel in four based camps in Northeastern Malaysia, who fulfilled the inclusion and exclusion criteria. A validated KAP questionnaire was used, consisting of knowledge, attitude and practice questions. More than half (52.8%) of the respondents had poor knowledge score. For the attitude score, almost the same proportions had satisfactory attitude. The same finding was seen in practice score, whereby those with good practice (54.9%) and bad practice (45.9%). In conclusion, the finding showed that almost all army personnel had unsatisfactory KAP, thus, it is recommended for the army to have a good health education program on leptospirosis among army personnel to protect the army personnel from risk of getting leptospirosis.

Utilization of the current national antimalarial treatment guidelines among doctors in army hospitals in Lagos, Nigeria

Introduction: Human malaria infection remains a problem of public health importance in many regions of the world. The infection continues to spread particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. In Nigeria, malaria and its treatment have been affected by factors like wrong diagnosis, wrong attitude of the people, unavailability of drugs, fake and substandard drugs, attitude and practices of medical and paramedical personnel. Nigeria’s national standard for malaria treatment was recently changed to artemisinin combination therapy. Methods: A descriptive study using a structured questionnaire was administered to all doctors (123) practicing in the three Army hospitals in Lagos. The study was done between March, 2009 and April, 2009. The findings were precoded;data entry and analysis was done using EPI INFO version 3.5.1 statistical software. Results: Presumptive/clinical diagnosis was still a common practice for diagnosing malaria among doctors, as well as the use of microscopy. None of the doctors had the facility for diagnosing malaria with rapid diagnostic test in their hospitals. Fifty one percent of the doctors stated that they utilized the current National antimalarial treatment guidelines. Significant proportion of the doctors used Artemisinin-based Combination Therapy (ACTs) as first line treatment of uncomplicated malaria in adults and children. Chloroquine was the commonest drug for first line treatment of uncomplicated malaria in pregnancy. Only 45.5% of the doctors had correct knowledge of Intermittent Preventive Treatment in pregnancy (IPTp), while 33.3% knew the stage of pregnancy in which a pregnant woman should receive IPTp with sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine. Awareness and the content of knowledge of the current National antimalarial treatment guideline were not affected by the category or current position of the doctors. Thirteen percent of the respondents had attended training/update workshop organized by the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) Roll Back Malaria programme on the current National antimalarial treatment guideline. Conclusion: The study showed that there is need to improve use of recommended antimalarial medicines for all categories of patients by doctors in Army Hospitals in Lagos. More effort should be made by the Federal Ministry of Health and other stakeholders to organize training and refresher courses on the current National antimalarial treatment guidelines for all categories of health care providers.

Seroprevalence of Leptospirosis among Army Personnel in Northeastern Malaysia

Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease caused by pathogenic Leptospira. The disease affects various high-risk groups including army personnel, who are at risk because of field activities that bring them into close contact with zoonotic reservoirs. This cross-sectional study determined the seroprevalence of leptospirosis among 616 asymptomatic army personnel in Northeastern Malaysia. Sociodemographic data were obtained using validated questionnaires. Serological screening for leptospirosis was performed using an ELISA method and confirmed by microscopic agglutination test (MAT). Samples indeterminate and positive according to ELISA (n = 117) were sent for MAT testing. A MAT titer ≥ 100 was considered positive evidence of exposure to leptospirosis. The overall seroprevalence of leptospirosis among the subjects was 16.2% (95% confidence interval: 13.32, 19.15). The most common reaction obtained with the sera tested by MAT was against a strain of Leptospira spp. isolated from Terengganu (38.3%) followed by L. biflexa serovar Patoc (35.2%). In conclusion, the seroprevalence of leptospirosis among army personnel in Northeastern Malaysia is high.

The Impact of Leptospirosis Health Education Module (LHEM) on Changes of Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) among Army Personnel in Northeastern Malaysia

Community-based interventions in prevention and control of leptospirosis, have been uniformly unsuccessful. Individual counseling and health education play an important role in the prevention and control of the disease. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of intervention on the knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) score on leptospirosis among the army personnel after receiving a health education given. A validated questionnaire was used to assess knowledge, attitude and practice at pre- and post-intervention. A total of 188 army personnel from the two camps involved in this study with 94 respondents in control and intervention groups respectively. Leptospirosis Health Education Module (LHEM) was given to the intervention group. There was significant improvement in knowledge score before and after intervention done (mean difference = 24.25, 95% CI: 21.93, 26.56;p &#8722;14.13, 95% CI: &#8722;15.82, &#8722;12.45;p &#8722;0.72, 1.55;p > 0.05). For the intervention effect, the subjects in intervention group had significantly higher mean attitude score as compared to the subjects in control group (mean difference = &#8722;2.12, 95% CI: &#8722;2.99, &#8722;1.24;p &#8722;0.47, 1.98;p > 0.05). For the intervention effect regardless of time, the subjects in intervention group had significantly higher mean practice score as compared to the subjects in control group (mean difference = 4.16, 95% CI: 2.80, 5.52;p < 0.001). The leptospirosis health education module was found to cause improvement in KAP score in the intervention group.

Do Occupational Factors Render Army Service a High-Leptospirosis-Risk Occupation?

Objective: Leptospirosis is a known zoonotic disease which is closely related to certain high-risk occupational group. This study aimed to identify the risk factors associated with seropositive leptospirosis among army personnel. Methodology: A cross sectional study was conducted involving 616 army personnel using a self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of sociodemographic, occupational and environmental data as well as recreational activities history. Serum sample for leptospirosis was taken for screening with IgM Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (IgM ELISA) test. Positive tests were confirmed by Microscopic Agglutination Test (MAT). Results: All respondents were male, Malays and married with the mean age of 29.28 (7.15) years old. The mean duration of working was 11.50 (7.75). Majority of the respondents were non-officer and riflemen, smokers (455 (73.9%), stayed inside the camp and engaged in recreational activities. The mean duration of employment was 11.50 (7.75) years. The overall seroprevalence of leptospirosis was 16.2% (95% CI: 13.32, 19.15) and the predominant pathogenic serovar identified was Terengganu (38.2%). Those who had lower educational levels were more protective for positive leptospirosis compared to those who have only primary education (OR: 0.32;95% CI: 0.14, 0.76;p = 0.009). Conclusion: Despite being named as one of the high-risk occupations for leptospirosis, this study found no significant occupational factors related to leptospirosis seropositivity among army personnel.

Single Production of Top Quark via e^-γ Collision in Left-Right Twin Higgs Model

In the context of the left-right twin Higgs （LRTH） model, we fist study single production of the standard model （SM） top quark via e-γ collisions. We find that the corrections of the LRTH model to the cross section of the process e-γ→vebt might be observed only for f ≤750 GeV and the heavy top quark mass scale M ≥500 GeV in future high energy linear e^＋e^- collider （LC） experiment with the center-of-mass （CM） energy √s = 500 GeV and a yearly integrated luminosity of ￡ = 100 fb^-1. We also consider single production of the heavy top quark T via e-γ collisions. Our numerical results show that the possible signals of the heavy top quark T might be observed via the decay channel T →Ф^＋b→tbb in future LC experiment with √s = 3 TeV and ￡ = 500 fb^-1.

Production of Charged Higgs Bosons from Left-Right Twin Higgs Model at TeV Energy e^-γ Colliders

The left-right twin Higgs （LRTH） model predicts the existence of three additional Higgs bosons： one neutral Higgs φo and a pair of charged Higgs bosons φ±. In this paper, we study two pair production processes of these new particles at the next generation eγ colliders, i.e., e-γ → e-φ＋φ- , and e-γ→vRφ-φ0. We find that the production cross section of the process e-γ → e-φ＋φ- are at the level of several tens fb, the production cross section of the process e-γ→vRφ-φ0 can reach 0.35 fb with the reasonable parameter values. As long as the charged Higgs bosons are not too heavy, we conclude that these processes might be used to test for the left-right twin Higgs model in future high-energy linear collider experiments.

Associated ZH and WH Production in Left-Right Twin Higgs Model at LHC

At the CERN large hadron collider （LHC）, production of the Higgs boson in association with Z or W bosons provides a dramatic experimental signal for detecting the standard model （SM） Higgs boson. In this paper, we consider the contributions of the left-right twin Higgs （LRTH） model to the processes qq＇ --~ Z（W）H. Our numerical results show that, in the favorable parameter spaces, the cross sections deviate distinctly from the predictions of the SM. The possible signals of the LRTH model can be detected via these processes at the LHC experiments.

Single Production of Charged Gauge Boson W_H^-from Left-Right Twin Higgs Model in Association with Top Quark at LHC

The twin Higgs mechanism has recently been proposed to solve the little hierarchy problem. In the context of the left-right twin Higgs （LRTH） model, we discuss single production of the new charged gauge boson WH^- , which is predicted by the left-right twin Higgs model, in association with top quark at the CERN Large Hadron Collider （LHC）. It is found that, for a typical nonzero value of mass mixing parameter M = 150 GeV in the LRTH model, the production cross section is in the range of 3 ×10^-2 - 6.07×10^3 fb at the LHC. As long as the WH^- is not too heavy, the possible signatures of the heavy charged gauge boson might be detected at the LHC experiments.

Medical Journal of Chinese People's Liberation Army

+Source Journal for Chinese Scientific and Technical Papers and Citations+Core Journal of Chinese Synthetic Medical Periodicals+Source Journal of Chinese Science Citation Database (CSCD)Medical Journal of Chinese People’s Liberation Army (Med J Chin PLA) is published by the People’s Military Medical Press, under the auspices of Directorate of Medical Services.

Characteristics of Left-Right Spiral Hollow Cylindrical Roller

Based on new rolling-sliding compound bearings,the wear between the one-way spiral hollow cylindrical roller and the ribs of the inner and outer ring of rolling-sliding compound bearings is reduced by innovational structural design. A new left-right spiral hollow cylindrical roller is proposed to replace the one-way spiral hollow cylindrical roller. The finite element analysis models of ordinary cylindrical rollers,one-way spiral hollow cylindrical rollers and left-right spiral hollow cylindrical rollers are respectively established by ABAQUS.The axial displacement of their center mass and the stress distribution of left-right spiral hollow cylindrical rollers are compared and analyzed. Theoretical study results show that this new left-right spiral hollow cylindrical roller not only inherits the advantages of one-way spiral hollow cylindrical rollers,but also avoids the axial offset and the serious wear of the one-way spiral hollow cylindrical roller. And the theory research conclusion is verified by the experiment. The left-right spiral hollow cylindrical roller has the advantages to overcome boundary stress concentration like logarithmic convex roller. The rolling-sliding compound bearings equipped with the new rollers can be better to adapt to the impact of vibration load.

Approaches of Realizing Cultural Value of Red Revolutionary Site in Jiangxi Province:A Case Study of Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army in Xiushui County

Red revolutionary site is a significant carrier for inheriting and spreading red culture,a witness of revolutionary history and stones,and also the best place to show connotations and value of red culture.Taking the regiment headquarter and the division headquarter of the First Division of the First Army in Xiushui County,Jiangxi Province for example,this paper explored cultural value of red site,analyzed the existing problems,tried to figure out scientific approaches of realizing cultural value of red site,so as to promote the sharing and inheritance of cultural value of red revolutionary site.