To provide a quantitative description of postnatal retinal expansion in rabbits, a new procedure was developed to map the retinae, which cover the inner surface of hemispheres or parts of rotation ellipsoids, in situ, onto a single plane. This method, as well as the known distribution of Müller cells per unit retinal surface area, were used to estimate the redistribution of specific subpopulations of Müller cells within different topographic regions of the retinae. Müller cells are known to exist as a stable population of cells 1 week after birth and can therefore be used as "markers" for determining tissue expansion. Our results show that differential retinal expansion occurs during development. Peripheral retinal regions expand at least twice as much as the central ones. Furthermore, there is a greater vertical than horizontal expansion. This differential retinal expansion leads to a corresponding redistribution of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) accumulating amacrine cells. Differential retinal expansion, however, does not account for all of the changes in the centro-peripheral density gradient of cells in the ganglion cell layer (GCL)--mostly retinal ganglion cells--during postnatal development. The changes in the ganglion cell layer were evaluated in Nissl-stained wholemount retinal preparations. Additionally, the difference between expansion-related redistribution of cells in the GCL and Müller cells was confirmed in wholemount preparations where Müller cells (identified as vimentin positive) and cells in the GCL (identified by fluorescent supravital dyes) were simultaneously labeled. It is assumed that many of the ganglion cells within the retinal center are not translocated during retinal expansion, possibly because their axons are fixed. In contrast, 5-HT accumulating amacrine cells--which are interneurons without a retinofugal axon--display a passive redistribution together with the surrounding retinal tissue.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Out-patient palliative care of children with cancer and their families].

Pediatric palliative care is still in its beginning. Most children with life-threatening disorders succumb with incomplete symptom control under in-patient conditions. Due to the limited number of patients and large hospital-home distances the realization of out-patient concepts of palliative care especially for children and adolescents with cancer is purposeful and beneficial. In a pilot project such an a aforementioned concept of pediatric palliative care proved successfully working despite insufficient conditions. Guidelines of pediatric palliative care are to be defined at short notice in order to ascertain autonomy and mobility of patients aiming at highest possible quality of life. The recently initiated program of integrating ambulatory and in-patient care within the regulations set forth in Germany's last health care system reform offers the chance of palliative home care of children in their terminal phase of life.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Influence of temperature on the output of a mechanical coupler.

This research determined the influence of temperature on the output of two Bruel and Kjaer 4930 mechanical couplers using a Radioear B-71, B-72, and a Pracitronic KH 70 bone vibrator. When the temperature of the mechanical couplers was varied from 17 degrees C (62.6 degrees F) to 29 degrees C (84.2 degrees F) in steps of 3 degrees C (5.4 degrees F) and the bone vibrators had a constant temperature, the output of each mechanical coupler systematically decreased as its temperature increased for each bone vibrator type. The largest output differences for both couplers and each vibrator occurred at 4000 Hz. The average of these differences across the couplers and vibrators was 6.6 dB higher at 17 degrees C than at 29 degrees C which dB/3.6 degrees F). When the temperature of the bone vibrators was 17 and 29 degrees C and the mechanical couplers were maintained at a constant temperature, there were little or no differences in the output of the mechanical couplers. The temperature of a mechanical coupler rather than that of the bone vibrator is a critical variable in bone conduction calibration. Mechanical coupler temperature-dependent output coefficients were determined for use in bone conduction calibration from 250 to 4000 Hz for all three bone vibrator types and at 6000 and 8000 Hz for the KH 70.

Audiometry↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Measurement methods for self-assessment of the state of health by rheumatism patients].

In the course of the preparation of multicenter clinical trials involving patients suffering from rheumatic diseases, a self-administered questionnaire for the subjective assessment of health status was developed and tested; the pilot study included 186 patients at 14 hospitals. The questionnaire gathered data in the following areas: pain, complaints, psychological wellbeing, depression, anxiety, and functional status. Experts participating in our project thought these parameters to be relevant to the self-assessment of health status. Scales from the literature on psychometry and health indicators were chosen to assess the parameters. In the pilot study the usefulness and feasibility of the parameters and measurements were tested. A revised and shorter form of the original self-administered questionnaire was developed on the basis of the results of the pilot study, and this questionnaire was then recommended for use in clinical trials. The questionnaire is discussed in the light of the recent literature reporting on similar assessment methods for rheumatic patients.

Adult↗