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Biomedical subjects

W P Brown

Publications and source records attributed to W P Brown.

15 recordsLinked to original sources

Comparison of three intra-oral storage phosphor systems using subjective image quality.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the subjective image quality of three intra-oral storage phosphor systems. METHODS: DenOptix (Dentsply/Gendex, Chicago, IL, USA), Digora (Soredex, Helsinki, Finland), and CD-Dent (DigiDent Digital Imaging Technologies, Nesher, Israel) were compared. Two different imaging plates (IPs), BAS300 and HR300 (Fuji Photo Film Co., Tokyo, Japan) were used with the DenOptix system. The specimen was the maxilla and surrounding soft tissues of an adult cadaver. Imaging was at 70 kVp and 8 mA with a focus-detector distance of 38 cm using an optical bench. The exposure times were varied and a panel of five dentists independently evaluated the images produced with each system/IP receptor for seven features; proximal caries, gingival soft tissues, cortical bone, root canal space, root apices, periodontal ligament space and endodontic instrument clarity on a three-interval confidence scale. The best three exposures were chosen according to the highest scores for each system. These images were re-read in random order a total of 10 times. Pair-wise comparisons were made by use of odd's ratio analysis. A 95% confidence interval was applied. RESULTS: Images made with the DenOptix system/BAS IP combination were perceived to have the best overall image quality. The DenOptix/HR IP combination and Digora were rated almost equally in second place. The DigiDent system was ranked inferior. The Digora was considered to be the best for demonstrating gingival soft tissues (P < 0.05) and the DenOptix/HR300 combination the best for clarity of endodontic instruments (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: While the DenOptix/BAS 300 combination was rated highest overall, the ranking of image quality by modality was found to be task-dependent. Digora was rated best for demonstrating gingival soft tissues.

Adult↗

Clinical and epidemiological features of simian parvovirus infection in cynomolgus macaques with severe anemia.

We recently identified a simian parvovirus (SPV) in cynomolgus monkeys with severe anemia. We describe here the clinical and epidemiological findings in the original outbreak and in a second episode of anemia involving monkeys in a drug safety study at a separate facility. The major clinical findings associated with SPV infection were a severe normocytic, normochromic anemia. In the original episode the anemia was predominantly nonregenerative, whereas in the second outbreak there was an initial strong, regenerative response. In the absence of predisposing factors, SPV infection was mild or inapparent. However, the presence of concurrent acute infection with type D simian retrovirus in the original episode is believed to have been a major predisposing factor for the development of immunodeficiency and persistent SPV infection, culminating in severe anemia. It is unclear whether simian retrovirus infection played a role in the second episode, but it is possible that the drug used may have been a factor, because severely anemic monkeys were in the high drug dosage group. We conclude that SPV should be considered in the differential diagnosis of severe anemia in monkeys.

Anemia↗

Cardiovascular complications of chronic catheterization of the jugular vein in the dog.

Cardiovascular changes associated with indwelling catheters were evaluated in 51 adult beagle dogs catheterized for 4 to 9 weeks. Pathologic changes consistent with traumatic injury were in the vena cava and endocardium of the right atrium of 88% of cannulated dogs. Lesions were characterized by surface denudation and diffuse intimal thickening due to myointimal hyperplasia and deposition of extracellular matrix. Affected intima was lined by hyperplastic, poorly differentiated endothelial cells and contained round to oval cells with characteristics of smooth muscle cells. After 9 weeks, thickened intima was vascularized and composed of spindle-shaped cells and fibrillar stroma. Intimal sclerosis and localized proliferative papillary projections in the vena cava cranial to areas of myointimal hyperplasia occurred infrequently. Traumatic lesions, regardless of location or severity, did not extend below the internal elastic membrane. Inflammatory cellular responses, when present, were minimal. The location, distribution, and morphogenesis of catheter-related cardiovascular lesions distinguishes them from those induced by chemical toxicity or pharmacotoxicity.

Animals↗

Interpreting results of coulometry and immunoprecipitation in diagnosing iron disorders.

Concentration of iron in plasma, total iron-binding capacity (TIBC), and transferrin saturation are often determined by standard spectrophotometric methods, but iron concentration may be quantified by immunoprecipitation or, electrochemically, by controlled-potential coulometry. Because these iron assays do not all measure the same form(s) of iron, we studied subjects in various states of iron nutriture: normal adults, iron-deficient patients, thalassemia patients with unsaturated transferrin or oversaturated transferrin, and patients with idiopathic hemochromatosis. The spectrophotometric and coulometric methods detected essentially all non-heme iron in plasma; results correlated well but showed a negative bias toward the coulometric method. Results by an immunoprecipitation procedure, which measures only transferrin-bound iron, correlated well with those obtained coulometrically but were slightly higher than the latter. The characteristics of the various methods for iron must be understood by the clinical laboratory if diagnosis of iron disorders is to be accurate.

Electrochemistry↗

Whole-blood hemoglobin determinations: a comparison of methodologies.

The Coulter Model S provides an accurate measurement of total hemoglobin (Hb) content in peripheral blood even when elevated levels of carboxyhemoglobin (HbCO) are present. Commercial standards and diluents for spectrophotometric determinations of cyanmethemoglobin (HiCN) are variable in quality. All diluents studied produce turbidity in some samples, and this may explain why manual Hb determinations tend to be higher than hemoglobin measurement on the Coulter S. The most reliable diluent was the reagent described by Van Kampen and Zijlstra. Its reliability is enhanced by centrifugation of sample in diluent. The use of a narrow-band-pass spectrophotometer for routine HiCN determinations in a clinical laboratory is not recommended because of its sensitivity to turbidity and HbCO.

Carboxyhemoglobin↗

In vitro response to chloramphenicol, tetracycline, ampicillin, gentamicin, and beta-lactamase production by halophilic Vibrios from human and environmental sources.

Isolates of Vibrio parahaemolyticus and V. alginolyticus from human and environmental sources were examined for antibiotic susceptibility by the methods of minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) in broth and agar diffusion. These strains were found to be almost uniformly susceptible to chloramphenicol and tetracycline within attainable serum levels. The relationships of zone sizes to MICs for these two antimicrobial agents and ampicillin conformed essentially to those obtained by standard methods with gram-negative rods. Most strains were resistant to ampicillin and exhibited beta-lactamase activity, which accounted for this resistance. Nine of 30 V. alginolyticus strains from environmental sources were ampicillin resistant but did not produce measurable amounts of beta-lactamase. Three strains exhibited multiresistance to high concentrations of chloramphenicol, tetracycline, and ampicillin, which suggests the presence of plasmids. Although the great majority of vibrios appeared to be susceptible to gentamicin by agar diffusion, susceptibility could not be measured by MIC because the added NaCl, required for growth by the halophilic vibrios, diminished gentamicin activity.

Amidohydrolases↗

Pressure sensitivity of streptococcal growth in relation to catabolism.

The sensitivity of Streptococcus faecalis growth to hydrostatic pressures ranging up to 550 atm was found to depend on the source of adenosine triphosphate for growth. Barotolerance of cultures growing in a complex medium with ribose as major catabolite appeared to be determined primarily by the pressure sensitivity of ribose-degrading enzymes. Apparent activation volumes for growth were nearly identical to those for lactate production from ribose, and yield coefficients per mole of ribose degraded were relatively independent of pressure. In contrast, cultures with glucose as main catabolite were less sensitive to pressure; glycolysis was less severely restricted under high pressure than was growth, and yield coefficients declined with pressure, especially above 400 atm. Thus, two distinct types of barotolerance could be defined-one dominated by catabolic reactions and one dominated by noncatabolic reactions. The results of experiments with a series of other catabolites further supported the view that catabolic reactions can determine streptococcal barotolerance. We also found that growing, glucose-degrading cultures increased in volume under pressure in the same manner that they do at 1 atm. Thus, it appeared that the bacterium has no alternative means of carrying out glycolysis under pressure without dilatation. Also, the observation that cultures grown under pressure did not contain abnormally large or morphologically deformed cells suggested that pressure did not inhibit cell division more than cell growth.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

Molecular weight of type a botulinum toxin.

Clostridium botulinum type A does not produce a 12,000 molecular weight toxin. The reported isolation of such a material by Gerwing et al. could not be confirmed.

Journal Article↗