BACKGROUND The World Health Organization recommends vitamin A supplementation (VAS) at vaccination contacts after 6 mo of age to reduce mortality. However, it is unknown whether the effect of VAS is independent of vaccinations. One of the original VAS trials from Ghana had collected vaccination information. OBJECTIVE We reanalyzed the data to explore the hypothesis that VAS reduces mortality ...

Because we have a clinical impression that elderly patients have low back pain while in motion and standing, but less pain when sitting, we investigate characteristics of nonspecific low back pain (NSLBP), using a new detailed visual analog scale (VAS) scoring system. One hundred eighty-nine patients with NSLBP were divided into an elderly group (≥65 years old, n = 56) and a young group (<65 ye...

OBJECTIVES This study evaluates whether a low preoperative quality of life (QoL), measured with the EuroQoL instruments EQ-5D and EQ-visual analogue scale (VAS) can be used as a predictor of mortality after elective isolated myocardial revascularization. METHODS A total of 2501 patients, with a mean age of 65.3 ± 9.4 (range 18-93) years and a mean additive EuroSCORE of 2.7 ± 2.1 (0-12), under...

We evaluated a biodegradable graft for reconstruction of rat vasa deferentia with long obstructed or missing segments. A total of 47 Sprague-Dawley rats underwent bilateral vasectomy and were divided into groups according to length of the vas deferens affected (0.5, 1, 1.5 cm). After 8 weeks, poly-(D,L-lactide) (PDLA) grafts were used to reconnect the vas deferens. Grafts and adjoining vasa def...

Moderate and severe levels of experimental valvular aortic stenosis (VAS) were produced in anesthetized, open-chest dogs to determine the effects of VAS on subepicardial (EPI) and subendocardial (ENDO) blood flow, O2 extraction, and O2 consumption (MVO2). Regional flow was determined by microspheres, and O2 saturation and extraction were analyzed by a three-wavelength absorbance microspectropho...

BACKGROUND Although several reports address characteristic 12-lead electrocardiographic findings of outflow tract ventricular arrhythmias (OT-VAs), the accuracy of electrocardiogram-based algorithms to predict the OT-VA origin is sometimes limited. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to develop a magnetocardiography (MCG)-based algorithm using a novel adaptive spatial filter to differentiate between V...

BACKGROUND Radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) of idiopathic ventricular arrhythmias (VAs) originating from the basal portion of the left ventricular (LV) summit, which is divided from the apical LV (A-LV) summit by the great cardiac vein (GCV), is challenging. This study investigated the efficacy of RFCA and electrocardiographic and electrophysiological characteristics of these VAs. METH...

BACKGROUND Vitamin A supplementation (VAS) at birth has been associated with decreased mortality in Asia. Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine is given at birth in tuberculosis-endemic countries. Previous studies suggest that VAS may influence the immune response to vaccines. OBJECTIVE Our objective was to examine whether VAS influences the immune response to simultaneously administered BCG ...

BACKGROUND Existing evidence for validity of the visual analog scale of the EQ-5D-3L questionnaire (EQ-VAS) is weak in Chinese-speaking respondents in Singapore. We therefore investigated the validity of the Chinese (Singapore) version of EQ-VAS in patients with diabetes. METHODS In a cross-sectional survey, patients with type 2 diabetes seen in a primary care facility completed an identical ...