Anterior eye focusing of peripheral ultraviolet and visible radiation albedo

Concern about short- and long-term ultraviolet radiation (particularly UVB) damage to the eye has led to increased research in this area. Numerous studies have confirmed the pathogenic enhancing roles of reflected ultraviolet (UV) and visible radiation in our environment. There is concern that conventional sunglasses do not protect the eye adequately from reflected rays (albedo), especially on the lateral aspect, from behind and from below. Using eye models and computer ray tracing methods, the pathways of oblique rays incident at the temporal peripheral cornea have been plotted by Maloof, Ho and Coroneo.¹ These rays are refracted and focused and theoretically can result in up to 20 times the concentration of incident irradiance at the nasal anterior chamber angle and nasal equatorial cortex of the crystalline lens. The purpose of this study was to determine the limits of angular subtense of the incident peripheral light which is refracted in this manner in human subjects and to investigate the relation between corneal shape and certain ocular parameters to the limits. A statistically significant positive correlation was found between temporal entrance angle and anterior chamber depth (r = 0.70, P< 0.0006). The entrance angle ranged from 15 degrees to 30 degrees and was located 10 degrees to 45 degrees posterior to the coronal plane. Our results support Maloof and colleagues' predictions for the implication of focused peripheral UV and high intensity visible radiation in the pathogenesis of pterygium and cortical cataract and emphasise the need for lateral eye protection in conditions of high ultraviolet albedo.     

Mutational specificity of the syn 1,2-dihydrodiol 3,4-epoxide of 5-methylchrysene

The mutational specificity of the syn dihydrodiol epoxide of 5-methylchrysene in the supF gene of the pSP189 vector was examined. Transversion mutations at GC pairs predominated with G → T and G → C changes accounting for 42 and 21% of total base change mutations. The types of mutations found reflect the previously determined chemical preference of this reactive species for reaction with deoxyguanosine residues in DNA.     

Ultrasound registration of the bone surface for surgical navigation.

OBJECTIVE: To allow non-invasive registration of the bone surface for computer-assisted surgery (CAS), this investigation reports the development and evaluation of intraoperative registration using 2D ultrasound (US) images. This approach employs automatic segmentation of the bone surface reflection from US images tagged with the 3D position to enable the application of CAS to minimally invasive procedures. METHODS: The US-based registration method was evaluated in comparison to point-based registration, which is the predominant method in current clinical use. The absolute accuracy of the US-based registration was determined using a phantom pelvis, with fiducial registration providing the ground truth. The relative accuracy was determined by an intraoperative study comparing the US registration to the point-based registration obtained as part of the HipNav experimental protocol. RESULTS: The phantom pelvis study demonstrated equivalent accuracy between point- and US-based registration under in vitro conditions. In the intraoperative study, the US-based registration was sufficiently consistent with the point-based registration to warrant larger-scale clinical trials of this non-invasive registration method. CONCLUSION: Ultrasound-based registration eliminates the need for physical contact with the bone surface as in point-based registration. As a result, non-invasive registration could fully unlock the potential of computer-assisted surgery, enabling development of the next generation of minimally invasive surgical procedures.     

Changes in muscle morphology in dialysis patients after 6 months of aerobic exercise training.

BACKGROUND: In the present study we investigated the effect of a 6-month aerobic exercise programme on the morphology of the gastrocnemius muscle of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients. METHODS: Twenty-four ESRD patients volunteered to participate in the training programme and underwent muscle biopsy before training. Eighteen patients completed the training programme of whom nine agreed to a post-training biopsy (one woman and eight men, mean age 56 +/- 15 years). Data are presented for the nine subjects who were biopsied before (PRE) and after training (POST) and separately for the 15 subjects for whom we only have a biopsy before training (cross-sectional group). RESULTS: There were no significant differences (P > 0.05) in fibre type distribution or myosin heavy chain (MyHC) expression between the cross-sectional and PRE/POST groups. The mean cross-section fibre area after training (POST) increased by 46% compared with the PRE training status (P < 0.01). The proportion of atrophic fibres decreased significantly after training in type I, IIa and IIx fibre populations (from 51 to 15%, 58 to 21% and 62 to 32%, respectively). Significant differences were also found in capillary contact per fibre (CC/F), with the muscle having 24% (P < 0.05) more CC/F compared with the PRE training status. No significant differences in cytochrome c oxidase concentration were found between the groups. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, exercise appeared to be beneficial in renal rehabilitation by correcting the fibre atrophy, increasing the cross-section fibre area and improving the capillarization in the skeletal muscle of renal failure patients.     

Additive effects of CD59 expression in Gal knockout mice in vitro but not in an ex vivo model

Abstract: Transgenic expression of the human complement regulatory molecule CD59 in mice and genetic deletion of the major xenoantigen galactose α 1,3 galactose (Gal KO) each resulted in partial protection of spleen cells from lysis by human serum. These protective effects were additive when the two genetic modifications were combined. However, when the effects of these genetic modifications were examined in an ex vivo model in which mouse hearts were perfused with human plasma, it was Gal KO which was the modification which determined protection. CD59 expression alone was not protective and CD59 expression in combination with Gal knockout did not result in a significant additional increase in protection over and above that provided by Gal knockout alone. The likely explanation for this discrepancy between the in vitro and ex vivo data is that the H2-K^b promoter used to drive CD59 expression results I in substantially less expression on endothelium than on spleen cells.     

Parallel angioplasty dilatation catheter and guide wire: A new technique for the dilatation of calcified coronary arteries

Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) of heavily calcified rigid coronary arteries has decreased success and increased complication rates. Three cases are presented describing a new technique for the dilatation of severely calcified coronary arteries that were not dilatable by conventional angioplasty methods. This technique involves the use of a balloon dilatation catheter system parallel to a guide wire. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Impact of activated protein C resistance on general vascular surgical patients

Purpose: The prevalence of activated protein C resistance (APCR) and associated thrombotic morbidity among patients who undergo arterial reconstruction were investigated.Methods: Preoperative assays for functional APCR and factor V (Leiden) mutation were performed on 262 patients who underwent arterial reconstructions that consisted of cerebrovascular surgery (109), aortic or iliofemoral procedures (76), or infrainguinal bypass procedures (77). Patients were monitored for thrombotic complications during the postoperative period.Results: Depending on the stringency of the definition used, functional APCR was detected in 10.6% to 22.0% of patients tested. Factor V (Leiden) was found in 5.3% of patients. Thrombotic morbidity consisting of myocardial infarction, cerebrovascular event, or graft thrombosis occurred in 9.9% of patients, who were followed-up for a mean of 4.8 months. No significant overall correlations were found between APCR and thrombotic morbidity. Subgroup analysis revealed significant associations between functional APCR and total early postoperative thrombotic complications and early graft failure, and between factor V (Leiden) and early cerebrovascular events and late graft thrombosis (p < 0.03).Conclusions: Functional APCR is somewhat more prevalent among general vascular surgical patients than in the general population, but factor V (Leiden) is no more prevalent. APCR is not a prominent cause of thrombotic morbidity in contemporary vascular surgery. Nonetheless, it is a sufficiently important potential contributor to morbidity among some subgroups to warrant selective testing and directed therapy pending further study. (J Vasc Surg 1997;25:1054-60.)     

Examining the range of normal intraindividual variability in neuropsychological test performance.

Neuropsychologists often diagnose cerebral dysfunction based, in part, on marked variation in an individual's cognitive test performance. However, little is known about what constitutes the normal range of intraindividual variation. In this study, after excluding 54 individuals with significant health problems, we derived 32 z-transformed scores from 15 tests administered to 197 adult participants in a study of normal aging. The difference between each person's highest and lowest scores was computed to assess his or her maximum discrepancy (MD). The resulting MD values ranged from 1.6 to 6.1 meaning that the smallest MD shown by any person was 1.6 standard deviations (SDs) and the largest MD shown by any person was 6.1 SDs. Sixty-six percent of participants produced MD values that exceeded 3 SDs. Eliminating each person's highest and lowest test scores decreased their MDs, but 27% of the participants still produced MD values exceeding 3. Although MD values appeared to increase with age, adjusting test scores for age, which is standard in clinical practice, did not correct for this. These data reveal that marked intraindividual variability is very common in normal adults, and underscore the need to base diagnostic inferences on clinically recognizable patterns rather than psychometric variability alone.