Body fat in normal adults estimated by oxygen-18- and deuterium-dilution and by anthropometry: a comparison

We estimated body fat in 20 normal adults (10 males and 10 females) from 18O- and 2H-dilution spaces and from the equations of Durnin & Womersley and Pollock, Schmidt & Jackson based on skinfold thickness measurements. Differences between methods for body fat estimation were found to be sex-dependent: subsequent analyses indicated significant differences between methods within each sex. Regardless of sex, the highest fat estimates were obtained with the 18O-dilution method, followed by those obtained with the 2H-dilution method or the Durnin & Womersley equation. The lowest fat estimates were obtained using the Pollock, Schmidt & Jackson equation. The 18O-dilution method and the Durnin & Wormersley anthropometric method are both suitable and appropriate for body fat estimation in adults studied under field conditions.     

血液与非血液灌流行缺血预处理鼠心的电生理实验研究

本实验研究血液与非血液灌流条件下缺血预处理（ＩＰ）对心肌的保护作用。应用离体大鼠Ｌａｎｇｅｎｄｏｒｆ灌流模型，分血液灌流ＩＰ组、非血液（ＫｒｅｂｓＨｅｎｓｅｌｅｉｔ液，ＫＨ液）灌流ＩＰ组及相应的对照组。测量心肌电生理特性等指标。结果与ＫＨ液灌流心脏相似，用血液灌流的大鼠心脏经ＩＰ后，在随后的停灌和复灌期间，心室颤动阈升高，心律失常发生率明显降低。实验结论为在用血液灌流离体大鼠心脏模型上，ＩＰ对心肌的保护作用与用生理溶液灌流的模型基本相同。     

Comparison of energy expenditure estimated in healthy infants using the doubly labelled water and energy balance methods

The doubly labelled water method was used to estimate energy expenditure in 20 formula-fed infants (10 aged 1 month and 10 aged 4 months). We then compared the energy expenditure values with energy balance values calculated from energy intake and energy cost of growth. Our purpose was to compare various published equations for calculating CO2 expiration rates (and thus energy expenditure values) from the isotopic data. Those equations in which we used measured values for 18O and 2H isotope dilution spaces and estimated or measured values for insensible water losses yielded energy expenditure values (69.7 +/- 8.4 kcal/kg/d) that agreed most closely with energy balance data (70.3 +/- 11.9 kcal/kg/d). Equations in which we used a constant ratio of 1.03 between the 2H and 18O isotope dilution spaces resulted in energy expenditure values (66.3 +/- 10.2 kcal/kg/d) lower than those predicted by the energy balance data. Data analysis by nonlinear curve fitting compared to logarithmic transformation did not alter the estimates of energy expenditure obtained in these infants.     

Historical perspective of optometrists' and other health professionals' involvement in hospitals

For a number of years, optometrists have had informal working and referral relationships with many hospitals. Many hospitals were requesting diagnostic and treatment services from community optometrists while many optometrists were also requesting official recognition. With changes in the medical staff standard of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals (JCAH)a that allowed independently licensed practitioners to be on staff, a number of optometrists have been requesting clinical privileges and to be on the Medical Staff. Practicing in a hospital can augment one's practice and can allow the optometrist greater opportunities to interact with other professionals and utilize the hospital's diagnostic facilities.     

Contact angles of substances used for internal tamponade in retinal detachment surgery

In order to ascertain the tamponade effect of air and silicone oil we examined the contact angles subtended by ex vivo human retina, Teflon and Perspex to find a suitable experimental material which would mimic the surface properties of the retina at a three-phase interface. Using the captive bubble technique to measure the contact angle, it was found that air subtended a larger contact angle (38.8°) with the retina than did silicone oil (18.2°). On coating the Perspex surface with protein (PCP), it was observed that the surface properties were modified such that PCP subtended contact angles with air (43.0°) and silicone oil (16.4°) similar to those subtended by ex vivo human retina. Using PCP as an experimental material that mimics ex vivo human retina, spherical chambers were employed in order to examine qualitatively and to quantify the arc of contact obtained with air and silicone oil. It was found that air gave a greater arc of contact for the same percentage fill than silicone oil.     

After the Intensive Care Nursery Experience: Families' Perceptions of Their Well Being

This article describes family well being after a child's intensive care nursery experience. Thirty families of children who were graduates of intensive care nurseries participated in the study. Fifteen families of children with identifiable disabilities and 15 families of children with no identifiable disabilities were interviewed and completed standardized questionnaires. A comparison of family well being was done across three dimensions: the child's characteristics and caregiving needs, the family's support resources and needs, and the family's values and beliefs regarding their child's hospitalization and resulting special needs. Both groups of families had realized a renewed sense of meaning concerning family, children, and life itself due to their child's medical crises or disability. Families of children with disabilities, however, noted their financial concerns, burdens with their child's caregiving, and their difficulty in locating services for their child. These families' experiences underscore the need for a coordinated transition from the hospital to the community for the family and child.     

Surgical treatment of brain metastases from renal cell carcinoma

Between January 1976 and December 1986, 22 patients with renal cell carcinoma underwent surgical resection of brain metastases at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Ten of the patients had metastases limited to the brain and 12 also had extracranial metastases. Twenty patients received external radiotherapy. Five had craniotomy after failing radiation therapy and 15 had adjuvant radiotherapy. Two patients died within thirty days following craniotomy; the median survival of the remaining 20 patients was 20.9 +/- 6.8 months calculated according to a Weibull survival model. Variables examined in relation to survival included absence or presence of extracranial metastases at time of craniotomy, time interval between nephrectomy and diagnosis of cerebral metastases, neurologic status prior to craniotomy, location of the brain tumor, and patient age. None of the variables was significant at the 10 percent level by the Weibull analysis. However, three favorable prognostic factors, namely metachronous brain metastasis more than one year after nephrectomy, minimal or no neurologic deficit at time of craniotomy, and infratentorial lesions show a trend toward improved survival with p less than 0.20. The data suggest that surgical resection of a single and occasionally multiple brain metastases is warranted in selected patients with renal cell carcinoma.     

Body pain and treatment response in late-life depression.

OBJECTIVE: The authors investigated the influence of body pain on 1) time to treatment response and 2) suicidal ideation, in late-life depression. They hypothesized that higher levels of body pain would predict a longer time to and lower likelihood of response, and increased levels of suicidal ideation. METHODS: Subjects (N=187) were older adult outpatients (age > or =69 years), with current episodes of major depression, who were openly treated with paroxetine up to 40 mg daily and weekly interpersonal psychotherapy. Response was defined as 3 consecutive weeks of Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression at < or =10. Body pain was measured with the Bodily Pain Index of the SF-36 quality-of-life assessment. Authors used survival-analysis models on the responder sample to test the effect of body pain on response, after controlling for severity of depression. RESULTS: Overall response rate was 75.4%. Nonresponders reported more severe pain at baseline. After covarying for severity of baseline depression, no effect was found for physical pain on time-to-response or degree of suicidality. Bodily pain remained stable during acute treatment for responders, independent of depression response to combination psychotherapy and antidepressant treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Older adult patients with higher levels of physical pain can still respond to antidepressant treatment; however, reported bodily pain may be associated with a more difficult-to-treat depression.