Pneumothorax and other lung diseases: effect of altered resolution and edge enhancement on diagnosis with digitized radiographs

Prior studies have shown that pneumothorax is one of the more difficult entities to diagnose with digitized radiography. This study was designed to test whether increasing resolution from 1.25 to 2.5 line pairs per millimeter (lp/mm) and image processing (edge enhancement from unsharp masking) would increase accuracy and confidence in the diagnosis of pneumothorax, as well as normal cases and other forms of lung disease. Conventional radiographs were digitized with use of a laser reader and then reformatted as film hard copy. Eleven observers read 35 cases reformatted in three different ways (1.25 lp/mm, 2.5 lp/mm, 1.25 lp/mm unsharp mask). The images with finer resolution (2.5 lp/mm) and unsharp mask images were superior to those with coarser resolution (1.25 lp/mm) for the diagnosis of pneumothorax. There was no difference in diagnostic accuracy for normal patients. For abnormalities other than pneumothorax, the unsharp mask images were significantly worse. Confidence in the diagnosis of pneumothorax and other abnormalities was highest with the finest resolution (2.5 lp/mm).     

Breast-feeding the smallest consumer.

Breast-feeding has numerous advantages, yet the trend to breast-feed is declining. Nurses, as well as patients, can benefit from increasing their knowledge base about breast-feeding. Nurses have an important role to play in supporting breast-feeding mothers with current research-based knowledge. More importantly, nurses also serve as patient advocates for the neonate. The use of appropriate nursing diagnoses may facilitate an optimal breast-feeding experience for our smallest consumer, the neonate.     

导数光谱系数倍率法测定多组分体系感冒清胶囊中盐酸吗啉胍的含量

This paper provides a basic principle and experimental technique of derivative signal multiplier spectrophotometry in multicomponent mixture. A microcomputer was used to process the spectral data measured on a manual spectrophotometer (UV-7520) for the determination of moroxydine hydrochloride in Gan Mao Qing capsules. Quantitative analysis of multicomponent mixture can be done without sample separation. The selection of optimal wavelength pairs is performed through the program with a computer. The method needs no special spectrophotometer and is simple, rapid and easy to operate. The mean recovery was 99.98 +/- 0.53% (n = 12).     

Influence of posture on hepatic perfusion and the presystemic biotransformation of propranolol: simulation of the food effect

Several research groups have reported that the oral administration of propranolol with protein-rich food leads to a marked increase (mean + 60%) in the area under the drug plasma concentration-time curve (AUC oral) of this highly metabolized and well-absorbed drug. It has been postulated that this "food effect" is caused at least in part by a transient increase in hepatic blood flow (QH) with its associated decrease in first-pass metabolism (hepatic extraction is a monotonic decreasing function of QH). A randomized crossover study using postural manipulations to produce changes in QH of the magnitude observed after food consumption (20% to 50%) was performed in an attempt to isolate the contribution of transient changes in QH to the food effect phenomenon. A solution of 80 mg propranolol HCl was taken orally and subjects were randomly assigned to postural manipulation protocols that should change QH such that AUC oral would be minimized (phase 1) or maximized (phase 2). Estimated QH (indocyanine green total body clearance from blood) was determined before and at three time points during each phase. It was observed that indocyanine green total body clearance during periods of standing was 15% to 40% below that observed during periods of seating (significant at p less than 0.05 for many of the appropriate comparisons). However, AUC oral for propranolol was not affected (mean +/- 1 SD; AUC phase 2/AUC phase 1+= 0.98 +/- 0.28) by these changes in QH, which are comparable to those encountered after food consumption.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Summary of the scientific literature for pain and anxiety control in dentistry journal literature,January 1986-December 1987

This bibliography contains both foreign (in brackets) and English language citations obtained from Index to Dental Literature, Index Medicus, and Psychological Abstracts for the period January 1986 to December 1987. Although a careful search of these indexes was performed, every relevant citation may not be included. Comments or suggestions regarding this bibliography are welcomed by the author.