Predictors of functional independence, quality of life, and return to work in patients with burn injuries in China's Mainland

Background:Burn injury may be associated with long-term rehabilitation and disability,while research studies on the functional performance after injuries,quality of life(QOL),and abilities to return to work of burn patients are limited.These outcomes are related not just to the degree and nature of injuries,but also to the socio-economical background of the society.This study aimed to identify the factors which might affect burn patients’abilities to reintegrate back to the society based on a sample in China's Mainland.Methods:A retrospective study was conducted to collect data of demographic characteristics,medical data about burn injuries,physical and psychological status,and self-perceived QOL at the initial phase and upon discharge from a rehabilitation hospital,timing of rehabilitation,and duration of rehabilitation intervention.Four hundred fifteen patients with burn injuries were recruited in the study.Multiple linear regression and logistic regression were used to obtain a model to predict the functional abilities and the perceived QOL at discharge and their changes during rehabilitation,as well as the post-injury work status within 6 months after discharge.Results:The functional performance at discharge and its change were significantly predicted by the functional abilities and QOL at the admission,duration of treatment,timing of rehabilitation,payer source,and total body surface area burned.The perceived QOL at discharge and its change were significantly predicted by the baseline QOL at admission and duration of treatment.The significant predictors of work status within 6 months post-discharge included age,education,payer source,total body surface area burned,perceived QOL,and bodily pain at admission.Conclusions:The present study identified a number of factors affecting the rehabilitation outcomes of people with burn injuries.Identification of these predictors may help clinicians assess the rehabilitation potential of burn survivors and assist in resource allocation.Policy makers should ensure that resources are adequate to improve the outcomes based on these factors.

Functional outcomes after home-based rehabilitation for heroin-induced spongiform leukoencephalopathy

A 22-year-old man with a 2-year history of heroin vapor inhalation developed spongiform leukoencephalopathy and underwent clinical and home-based rehabilitative treatments. Activities of daily living were measured using the Functional Independence Measure at discharge and at 6, 12, and 24 months after discharge. His neurological symptoms gradually disappeared with rehabilitative treatment, and the functional scale scores increased from 55 on admission to 105 at 24 months after discharge. These results suggest that home-based rehabilitation was effective in ameliorating the pathology and improving activities of daily living in this patient with heroin-induced spongiform leukoencephalopathy.

Study on Independent Supervision Function of Design Assurance System

The effective operation of a design assurance system cannot be achieved without the effective performance of the independent supervision function.As one of the core functions of the design assurance system,the purpose of the independent supervision function is to ensure that the system operates within the scope of procedures and manuals.At present,the function of independent supervision is a difficult and confusing issue for various original equipment manufacturers as well as suppliers,and there is an urgent requirement to put forward relevant requirements and form relevant methods.Based on the above mentioned objective,the basic requirements of the independent supervision function of design assurance system were studied,the problems and deficiencies in the organization,staffing,and methods existing in the current independent supervision function were analyzed,the improvement suggestions and measures for the performance of the independent supervision function from the aspects of the organization,staffing,procedures,and suppliers were put forward.The present work and conclusions provide guidance and direction for the effective operation of the design assurance system.

A Method of Clustering Components into Modules Based on Products' Functional and Structural Analysis

Modularity is the key to improving the cost-variety trade-off in product development. To achieve the functional independency and structural independency of modules, a method of clustering components to identify modules based on functional and structural analysis was presented. Two stages were included in the method. In the first stage the products’ function was analyzed to determine the primary level of modules. Then the objective function for modules identifying was formulated to achieve functional independency of modules. Finally the genetic algorithm was used to solve the combinatorial optimization problem in modules identifying to form the primary modules of products. In the second stage the cohesion degree of modules and the coupling degree between modules were analyzed. Based on this structural analysis the modular scheme was refined according to the thinking of structural independency. A case study on the gear reducer was conducted to illustrate the validity of the presented method.

The Need and Its Influence Factors for Community-based Rehabilitation Services for Disabled Persons in One District in Beijing

Purpose To explore the needs for basic community-based rehabilitation services for disabled persons in Xuanwu District, Beijing, China, and to identify factors which influence disabled persons to accept rehabilitation services. Method One hundred and eight disabled persons were selected by systematic sampling and simple random sampling to assess their needs for community-based rehabilitation services. Results Of the interviewees, 57A% needed the community-based rehabilitation services, but only 13.9% took advantage of it. The main factors influencing the interviewees to accept these services were cost （P〈0.05）, knowledge about rehabilitation medicine （P〈0.05）; and the belief in the therapeutic benefit of the community-based rehabilitation service （P〈0.05）. Conclusion A considerable gap exists between the supply of community-based rehabilitation services in Beijing and the needs for these services by disabled residents underscoring the need for improved availability, and for additional research.

Investigate Targeted Factors to Achieve Prediction Goal in Stroke Convalescence in Terms of Causal Relationships of Prediction Error

Background and Purpose: To investigate target functional independence measure (FIM) items to achieve the prediction goal in terms of the causal relationships between prognostic prediction error and FIM among stroke patients in the convalescent phase using the structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis. Methods: A total of 2992 stroke patients registered in the Japanese Rehabilitation Database were analyzed retrospectively. The prediction error was calculated based on a prognostic prediction formula proposed in a previous study. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) then the factor was determined using confirmatory factorial analysis (CFA). Finally, multivariate analyses were performed using SEM analysis. Results: The fitted indices of the hypothesized model estimated based on EFA were confirmed by CFA. The factors estimated by EFA were applied, and interpreted as follows: “Transferring (T-factor),” “Dressing (D-factor),” and “Cognitive function (C-factor).” The fit of the structural model based on the three factors and prediction errors was supported by the SEM analysis. The effects of the D- and C-factors yielded similar causal relationships on prediction error. Meanwhile, the effects between the prediction error and the T-factor were low. Observed FIM items were related to their domains in the structural model, except for the dressing of the upper body and memory (p < 0.01). Conclusions: Transfer, which was not heavily considered in the previous prediction formula, was found in causal relationships with prediction error. It is suggested to intervene to transfer together with positive factors to recovery for achieving the prediction goal.

NUAT T-splines of odd bi-degree and local refinement

This paper presents a new kind of spline surfaces, named non-uniform algebraic- trigonometric T-spline surfaces （NUAT T-splines for short） of odd hi-degree. The NUAT T- spline surfaces are defined by applying the T-spline framework to the non-uniform algebraic- trigonometric B-spline surfaces （NUAT B-spline surfaces）. Based on the knot insertion algorithm of the NUAT B-splines, a local refinement algorithm for the NUAT T-splines is given. This algorithm guarantees that the resulting control grid is a T-mesh as the original one. Finally, we prove that, for any NUAT T-spline of odd hi-degree, the linear independence of its blending functions can be determined by computing the rank of the NUAT T-spline-to-NUAT B-spline transformation matrix.

GENERALIZED VARIATIONAL PRINCIPLES OF SYMMETRICAL ELASTICITY PROBLEM OF LARGE DEFORMATIONS

This paper is based on the geometrical nonlinear theories of deformationpresented by Chen Zhi-da￣[1], Lagrange’s multiplier mothod is used to study thesymmetry elasticity problems of large deformation. The general rariational priieiplesof potential energy and coinplemenlary energy,and the general variation principle ofdynamic problem have been proved. In the meantme it is also proved that the generalvatiaton principles of potential energy and complementary energy are equivalent.

Recent developments in peptide ligation independent of amino acid side-chain functional group

Chemical synthesis of peptides and proteins has evolved into an indispensable tool for chemical biology. Peptide ligation is a straightforward technique for joining two short peptide fragments together via a native peptide bond to afford a larger natural peptide or protein. However, the junction sites are limited to several specific amino acids because most peptide ligations involve participation of the side-chain functional groups of the junction-site amino acids. To overcome such intrinsic limitations, "general"peptide ligations which do not rely on the side-chain functional group have been developed. This review summarized the recent developments in peptide ligations that are independent of side-chain functional group of ligation-junction-site amino acid.