TREATMENT OF BEET SUGAR PLANT SEWAGE

Beet sugar is an industry yearly attaining greater and greater importance. Likewise the disposal of the wastes is a problem of increasing consequence in various sections of the country. This paper and the discussions constitute an unusual assembling of the facts, valuable to local authorities and those commercially interested, alike.     

Impact of scanning density on spectral domain optical coherence tomography assessments in neovascular age‐related macular degeneration

Purpose: To determine the effect of optical coherence tomography (OCT) B‐scan density on the qualitative assessment of neovascular age‐related macular degeneration (AMD). Methods: Data were collected from 59 patients imaged with Topcon 3D OCT‐1000 (128 B‐scans × 512 A‐scans). Custom software was used to generate less dense subsets of scans: 1/16 (eight B‐scans), 1/8 (16 B‐scans), 1/4 (32 B‐scans) and 1/2 (64 B‐scans). At each B‐scan density, scans were assessed for cystoid spaces, subretinal fluid (SRF), subretinal tissue (SRT) and pigment epithelium detachment (PED). For each sampling density, sensitivity, specificity and predictive values were calculated using the full volume scan (128 B‐scans) as the reference standard. Results: For cystoid spaces, the detection sensitivity was 76.3% at 1/16 density; this rose to 89.5% with a 1/4 density. For SRF, the detection sensitivity was 75.0% at a 1/16 density; this increased to 91.1% with 1/4 density. For PED, even at the lowest sampling density (1/16) the detection sensitivity was 86.4%; this rose to 94.9% at 1/4 density. For SRT, detection sensitivity at a 1/16 density was 64.7% and only rose above 90% with the densest sampling subset (1/2). Conclusions: Use of scanning protocols with reduced sampling densities resulted in decreased detection of key features of neovascular AMD; despite this, a sampling density reduced to 1/4 appeared to allow accurate assessment for most features. Current management of neovascular AMD is dependent on qualitative assessment of OCT images; with the recent proliferation of OCT systems, optimization and standardization of scanning protocols may be of value.     

Handgrip strength in English schoolchildren

Aims: The aims of this study were to evaluate patterns of handgrip (HG) strength in relation to gender and age in English schoolchildren and to compare this with existing data and produce reference data for this population. Methods: The HG of 7147 English schoolchildren (3773 boys and 3374 girls) aged 10–15.9 years was measured using a portable Takei handgrip dynamometer (Takei Scientific Instruments Co. Ltd, Tokyo, Japan). Centile data were produced using the Generalized Additive Models for Location, Scale and Shape. Z‐scores were generated using existing data for European children. Age and gender interactions were analysed using analysis of covariance. Results: In boys and girls, significant increases in HG were found between every age‐group (p < 0.001). Boys were significantly stronger than girls at every age (p < 0.001) and the boys’ age‐related increase was significantly greater than the girls’ (p < 0.001). Conclusion: This study provides reference data for handgrip strength in English schoolchildren. Handgrip strength in English children is broadly similar to existing European data, after adjusting for mass and stature. These data could be used for clinical or athletic screening of low and high strength in this population.     

Superparamagnetic iron oxide: enhanced detection of focal splenic tumors with MR imaging

Superparamagnetic iron oxide (AMI-25), a reticuloendothelial cell-specific contrast agent for magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, was evaluated for its ability to permit detection of splenic metastases in 18 patients. Superparamagnetic iron oxide, at a dose of 30 mumol of iron per kilogram, decreased the signal intensity of spleen from 19.5 +/- 4.8 to 3.1 +/- 2.2 (spin-echo sequence, repetition time msec/echo time msec = 1,500/42; P less than .05), without changing the signal intensity of tumor. As a result, the tumor-spleen contrast-to-noise ratio increased from 0.2 (tumor isointense relative to spleen) to 18.0 (tumor hyperintense relative to spleen). As a consequence of increased contrast, splenic tumors were detected in four of 18 patients (45 individual lesions; P less than .05), whereas nonenhanced MR imaging permitted detection of splenic lesions in only two of 18 patients (four individual lesions). Maximum tumor-spleen contrast was achieved within 60 minutes after intravenous administration. These initial clinical results indicate that MR imaging with superparamagnetic iron oxide may offer improved accuracy in the diagnosis of splenic tumors.     

Ferrite particles for bowel contrast in MR imaging: design issues and feasibility studies

Diverse materials with varying physical and magnetic properties have been evaluated as gastrointestinal contrast agents for magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. Uniform marking of the small bowel remains the greatest challenge. Ferrites are magnetically active iron oxide particles that are miscible with water and cause loss of signal on MR images. The decrease in MR signal intensity produced by ferrites occurs with a wide range of iron concentrations (0.1-10 mM) and with both T1- and T2-weighted pulse sequences. These effects of ferrites are explained by predominant T2 shortening with negligible T1 effects. The ferrite preparation used in this study was stable in vitro, with little iron solubilized by acid. Intragastric administration of ferrite (5 mg of iron per kg in 6 ml) routinely marked the small bowel of rats. The authors conclude that ferrites represent a promising new class of contrast agents for gastrointestinal MR imaging.