Precision of bone densitometry measurements: When is change true change and does it vary across bone density values?

The precision error of the bone densitometer is used to interpret significant change in bone mineral density (BMD) in serial studies. The precision error can be expressed as standard deviation (SD) or coefficient of variation (CV). The aims of this study are to determine the precision error over a range of BMD values and to demonstrate the application of the precision error in clinical practice. A bone phantom was used consisting of a perspex block with eight compartments containing varying amounts of hydroxyapatite powder to simulate a range of bone densities. The block was scanned 21 times and manual regions placed over each compartment to measure the BMD in each compartment. There were no significant differences in the variances or SD for all eight compartments, that is, over the range of BMD normally encountered in clinical practice. However, the calculated CV show a progressive fall in values as the BMD rises. Therefore, the SD should be used to calculate significant BMD change. In a practise with quality control procedures in place to detect calibration drift and with appropriately trained personnel, a change of approximately 0.05 g/cm² is generally regarded as being a significant change at a 95% confidence level.     

Gemini表面活性剂在气/液界面上的微区形貌随表面压的变化

测定了Gemini表面活性剂在pH值为10．86，NaBr浓度为1．0mol／L的溶液气／液界面上的表面压一分子面积的等温线。用自制的Brewster角显微镜(BAM)观察了由Gemini表面活性剂在界面上所形成单分子膜的微区形貌随表面压的变化。结果表明：当pH值为10．86时，Gemini表面活性剂在1．0mol／L NaBr溶液的气／液界面上生成了凝聚态的单分子膜；当表面压较低时，观察到在界面上形成了同心圆结构；随着表面压的增加，这些同心圆可发生聚并而形成多中心结构。     

Sertoli-Leydig cell tumour in an infertile patient after stimulated ovulation

A 36 year-old infertile female developed a stage IV (FIGO) ovarian carcinoma consisting of a poorly differentiated Sertoli-Leydig cell tumour after receiving one course of ovulation induction with follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), human menopausal gonadotrophin (HMG) and human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG) followed by gonadotrophin-releasing hormone analogue (GnRHa). The patient died of liver metastasis and hepatic failure 4 1/2 months after first diagnosis, despite aggressive treatment consisting of debulking surgery and aggressive adjuvant chemotherapy.      

双探头SPECT心肌灌注显像中位移伪影的实验研究

目的 探讨双探头SPECT心肌灌注显像时位移伪影的影像特征和识别方法。方法 将心脏模型置于检查床上，与受检患者的心脏方向一致。在图像采集过程中，模型依次沿相当于患者左右、头尾和前后方向分别在不同起始点、对不同帧数作一定距离的位移。结果位移伪影的共同特点是表现为室壁放射性分布不均匀，“热区”与“冷区”交替出现，在短轴上最早出现，且表现最为明显；伪影进一步发展会在水平长轴和垂直长轴上表现为心尖附近放射性稀疏或缺损，出现与相邻室壁伴行且形态相近的“伴影”。结论位移伪影主要表现为室壁放射性分布不均，“热区”与“冷区”交替出现，在短轴图像上易于早期发现。     

Perceived intensity and pleasantness of sucrose taste in male alcoholics

AIMS: The aim of the present study was to evaluate a possible relationship between taste responses to sweet solutions and alcoholic status. METHODS: The rated intensity and pleasantness of sucrose taste was compared in male alcoholics (n = 45) and non-alcoholic controls (n = 33). RESULTS: The rated intensity, but not pleasantness, of water taste (0% sucrose) was higher in the alcoholics. The two groups did not differ with respect to the rated intensity or pleasantness of sucrose solutions (1-30%). The proportion of sweet-likers, i.e. subjects rating 30% sucrose as most pleasant, was similar in both groups (the controls: 57.6%, the alcoholics: 62.2%). A subgroup of alcoholics with a paternal history of alcoholism (n = 22) rated the highest sucrose concentration as more pleasant compared to alcoholics without alcoholic fathers. The proportion of sweet-likers among the alcoholics with a paternal history of alcoholism (77.3%) was significantly higher than that found in the alcoholics without a familial history of alcoholism (47.8%). CONCLUSIONS: The present results suggest the following: (i) alcohol dependence is not associated with any major alterations in taste responses to sucrose solutions, (ii) sweet liking is a phenotypic marker of male alcoholics with a paternal history of alcoholism.     

Signal transduction and the regulation of actin conformation during myeloid maturation: studies in HL60 cells

Maturation of human myeloid cells is associated with quantitative and qualitative changes in protein kinase C (PKC) and increases in N-formyl- L-methionyl-L-leucyl-L-phenylalanine (FMLP) receptors, actin, and actin regulatory proteins. We have studied the actin responses and cell shape changes caused by FMLP and its second messenger pathways in HL60 cells undergoing neutrophilic maturation. In uninduced cells, the PKC activators 12-O-tetradecanoyl phorbol-13-acetate (TPA), bryostatin, and 1-oleyl-2-acetylglycerol (OAG) resulted in 15% to 30% decreases in F- actin, whereas FMLP had no effect. Ionomycin had no effect on actin but did cause a 10-fold increase in intracellular calcium. Cells grown for 24 hours in 1% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) acquired the ability to polymerize actin in response to FMLP and ionomycin. TPA continued to cause a decrease in F-actin at 24 hours, but caused an increase in F- actin at 48 to 72 hours of maturation. The PKC inhibitor 1-5- isoquinolinesulfonyl 2-methylpiperazine (H7) partially blocked the F- actin increase caused by TPA in induced cells, but had no effect on the decrease in F-actin caused by TPA in uninduced cells or the increase in F-actin seen in FMLP-treated neutrophils. F-actin rich pseudopods developed following TPA or FMLP stimulation of induced HL60 cells; in uninduced cells neither agent caused pseudopod formation but TPA caused a dramatic loss of surface ruffles. The ability of FMLP and ionomycin to elicit a neutrophil-like actin response in HL60 cells within 24 hours after DMSO treatment shows that the actin regulatory mechanism is mature by that time. The inability of ionomycin to increase F-actin in uninduced cells supports the view that calcium increases alone are insufficient for actin polymerization. The longer maturation time required for HL60 cells to develop an actin polymerization response to TPA compared with FMLP, coupled with the inability of H7 to block the FMLP-mediated F-actin increase in neutrophils, suggests that the F- actin increase caused by FMLP is not mediated solely by PKC. Lastly, the TPA-induced F-actin decrease and shape changes in uninduced HL60 cells, and the longer time required for a "mature" response to TPA, may reflect immaturity in the PKC isoenzyme pattern rather than immaturity of the actin regulatory mechanism.     

A second BamHI DNA polymorphism and haplotype association in the factor IX gene

A second BamHI DNA polymorphism has been identified in the factor IX gene in an American black population at an allelic frequency of 0.13. This site has been localized within 500 basepairs (bp) 5' to the XmnI intron 3 polymorphic site and increases the heterozygosity of black females at the factor IX gene locus. In addition, haplotype analysis of factor IX genes at five polymorphic loci indicates that although there is conservation of sequences between the races, factor IX genes show more heterogeneity in an American black population and thus more heterozygosity is observed in black females compared with whites. This increased heterogeneity is due to DNA polymorphisms unique to black populations and to linkage equilibrium between the most 5' and 3' polymorphic sites in factor IX genes in blacks.     

DIFFUSE IDIOPATHIC SKELETAL HYPEROSTOSIS (DISH) OF THE SPINE: A CAUSE OF BACK PAIN? A CONTROLLED STUDY

This is the first controlled study of the frequency of backpain in a European caucasian population with diffuse idiopathicskeletal hyperostosis (DISH). Elderly patients admitted to hospital for reasons other thanback pain were assessed for the presence of spinal DISH usingthe routine lateral chest radiograph films. A total of 106 probands(82 males, 24 females) with a mean age of 70 years fulfilledthe criteria for DISH as defined previously. One hundred andseventyeight patients (117 males, 61 females) not meeting thesecriteria were used as controls. The prevalence of back painwas assessed by a blinded interviewer using a structured questionnaire.Our primary hymthesis was that spinal DISH positive probandshad not had back pain more often than controls. The controlledstudy showed no statistically significant difference in painfrequency between spinal DISH positive probands and controlsat any spinal level. We conclude that back pain does not occur more often in radiographicallydefined DISH positive probands than in controls. The radiologicalfinding of spinal DISH, as far as it does not lead to stenosisof the spinal canal or dysphagia, thus seems to be a findingwithout clinical relevance. KEY WORDS: Spine, Radiographs, Pain, Osteoarthritis, Forestier's disease, Ankylosing vertebral hyperostosis