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At least 307 records · Page 17Linked to original sources
PubMed2007

Technical note: A system for continuous recording of ruminal pH in cattle.

Continuous recording of ruminal pH in cannulated cattle has been practiced to study rumen metabolism. However, most systems reported did not permit animal mobility during pH recording. Therefore, the objective of this study was to develop a continuous rumen pH data acquisition system that permitted animal mobility during data acquisition. A further objective was to compare the pH readings obtained using the continuous recording system to readings obtained at the same time using spot sampling. The continuous recording system was composed of a heavy-duty electrode and a data logger. The electrode was attached to a 0.5-kg weight to help maintain the electrode in the ventral sac of the rumen. The electrode was connected via a 0.5-m cable to a lightweight data logger that was mounted on the animal's back using a belt wrapped around the girth. The data logger was battery powered and could hold over 13,000 pH data values. A personal digital assistant was used to configure and download data from the data logger during the experiment. Ruminal pH was continuously recorded (every 10 s) using a dry Holstein cow fed alfalfa hay ad libitum in a 3-d experiment to compare the performance of the continuous system to spot samples taken from the ventral sac of the rumen, the same location as the continuous electrode. The spot samples were collected 3 times per d for 3 d. At every sampling time, 3 replicate samples were collected, pH was determined immediately using a handheld pH meter, and readings were averaged (n = 3) and compared with the average of the 3 pH readings recorded using the continuous system at the same time. The pH recorded by spot sampling (6.63 +/- 0.04) was greater (P = 0.009) than that of the continuous system (6.56 +/- 0.03), with a correlation of r = 0.88 (P = 0.002). The continuous recording system has the potential to facilitate measurement of ruminal pH in free-roaming cattle.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

[The physical aspects of traditional radiology and of computed radiology compared].

In the last decade a new radiographic technique has been establishing itself which makes the most of technological progress in the fields of laser optics, of materials and of computer science and integrates conventional techniques introducing the digital image also into radiographic diagnosis. The authors, who have gained a wide experience in both the theory and the applications of Computed Radiography (CR), carefully reviewed Italian literature and found no review article on technical theoretical principles, while many such papers are found in international literature. Therefore, they took the lead for a review paper on this subject. For easier reading, the paper was divided into three parts: the first one is the necessary introduction to the physical parameters to understand radiographic images, i.e., the signal-to-noise ratio, the modulation transfer function, the Wiener spectrum and the detective quantum efficiency. The second part deals with the physical features of the formation of conventional radiographic images: the latest notions about the conversion of X-ray energy into light photons by intensifying screen phosphors are here reported. Finally, radiographic image readability is related to the characteristics of the screen-film system. The third part of the paper deals with CR, in particular with the problems related to image acquisition through the screens called imaging plates, to the laser reading technique and to image reconstruction. Finally, the different physical phenomena leading to radiant image degradation are examined sequentially, bearing in mind that the diagnostic yield of CR images can be improved with image processing, to obtain images which can be compared to conventional ones.

Algorithms↗
PubMed1999

Prone SPET scintimammography.

Prone single photon emission tomography (SPET) was performed in 24 patients with suspected primary or recurrent breast cancer to determine if this technique offers more accurate imaging than that obtained from planar scintimammography. All patients were imaged on a specially designed couch with two cushion inserts. The first insert was lined with lead and was used to perform prone lateral planar scintimammography 5 min after the injection of 740 MBq 99Tcm-MIBI. The second insert did not contain lead and was used to perform a prone SPET acquisition for 30 min immediately after planar imaging. The results of both studies were read independently and there was agreement between the two techniques in 23 cases (96%). All cases of cancer proven on histology were found on planar imaging, but a 4-mm ductal cancer was missed on prone SPET. This was thought to be due to activity from this medial cancer being obscured by the star artefact produced by back-projection reconstruction from activity in the heart. There were two false-positive studies with both techniques. However, prone SPET enabled better localization and characterization of breast cancers than planar imaging. Prone SPET imaging of the breast produces results similar to prone lateral imaging and may be used instead of planar imaging if a reduced total acquisition time is desirable. Care must be taken when reading scans in the presence of small tumours near the heart when back-projection reconstruction techniques are used.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Conserved methylation imprints in the human and mouse GRB10 genes with divergent allelic expression suggests differential reading of the same mark.

Grb10/GRB10 encodes a cytoplasmic adapter protein which modulates coupling of a number of cell surface receptor tyrosine kinases with specific signalling pathways. Mouse Grb10 is an imprinted gene with maternal-specific expression. In contrast, human GRB10 is expressed biallelically in most tissues, except for maternal-specific expression of one isoform in muscle and paternal expression in fetal brain. Owing to its location in 7p11.2-p12, GRB10 has been considered a candidate gene for the imprinted growth disorder, the Silver-Russell syndrome (SRS), but its predominantly biallelic expression argues against involvement in the syndrome. To investigate the discrepant imprinting between mouse and human, we compared the sequence organization of their upstream regions, and examined their allelic methylation patterns and the splice variant organization of the mouse locus. Contrary to expectation, we detected both maternal and paternal expression of mouse Grb10. Expression of the paternal allele arises from a different promoter region than the maternal and, as in human, is restricted to the brain. The upstream regions are well conserved, especially the presence of two CpG islands. Surprisingly, both genes have a similar imprinted methylation pattern, the second CpG island is a differentially methylated region (DMR) with maternal methylation in both species. Analysis of 24 SRS patients did not reveal methylation anomalies in the DMR. In the mouse this DMR is a gametic methylation mark. Our results suggest that the difference in imprinted expression in mouse and human is not due to acquisition of an imprint mark but in differences in the reading of this mark.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

[Middle-Finland public health nurses participate in a large-sized longitudinal studies. Language development and its relation to reading ability].

Dyslexia, specific reading disability, which seriously impairs school achievement and interferes with the acquisition of information, is estimated to affect about 3-15% of the population. In a longitudinal study started in the University of Jyväskylä researchers will follow the development of language and other cognitive skills of babies of 160 families from birth to about 10 years' age in search for early precursors of dyslexia. Trough screening parents for dyslexia we hope to obtain new information about specific features of reading and writing problems in adulthood, which helps us to focus our search for important features of early language problems linked to development of dyslexia. Finnish public health nurses are involved the study in the field.

Child↗
PubMed1999

[Characterization of arterial stenosis using 3D imaging. Comparison of 3 imaging techniques (MRI, spiral CT and 3D DSA) and 4 display methods (MIP, SR, MPVR, VA) by using physical phantoms)].

INTRODUCTION: Accurate assessment of arterial stenosis is a major public health issue for the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases. The number of imaging techniques and types of software for display of imaging data is increasing. Few studies that compare these different techniques are available in the literature. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using phantoms to reproduce the main types of arterial stenosis, the authors compared three 3D acquisition techniques (MRA, CTA, and 3D DSA) and four types of display methods (MIP, SR, MPVR, and VA). The degree, the shape, and the location of different types of stenoses were analyzed by three experienced observers during two successive readings. Intra- and inter-observer reproducibility were assessed. The results of the various acquisition techniques and display methods also were compared to the digital reference data (CFAO) of the physical phantoms. RESULTS: The degree of intra- and inter-observer reproducibility for the assessment of shape and location of the stenoses was good. Visual assessment of the degree of stenosis showed significant differences between two observers as well as in two readings by one observer. The 3D DSA was the most accurate technique for assessing the degree of stenosis. CTA provided better results than MRA. MPVR provided an accurate assessment of the degree of the stenosis. 3D DSA and CTA assessed stenosis form and localization adequately, with no significant difference; both methods appeared to be more accurate than MRA. SR provided the best information on the eccentric nature of the stenosis. The shape was very well assessed by VA and MPVR. CONCLUSIONS: Even though 3D DSA is the most accurate acquisition technique for visualization, the combined use of SR and MPVR appears to be the best compromise to describe the morphology and degree of stenosis. Further improvements in automatic 3D image processing could offer a better understanding and increased possibilities for assessing arterial stenosis.

Angiography, Digital Subtraction↗
PubMed2004

Language switching mechanisms in simultaneous interpreters: an ERP study.

Recent event-related potential (ERP) and neuroimaging studies suggest that bilingual individuals are able to inhibit the processing of a non-target language while speaking or reading in another language. The neural mechanisms subserving code switching still remain matter of debate. The aim of the present study was to shed some light on the neurofunctional bases of such mechanisms. ERPs were recorded in native Italian simultaneous interpreters and monolingual controls during a semantic processing task in which the subjects had to evaluate the sensibleness of final words of incomplete sentences. All participants were strictly right-handed. Interpreters knew at least four languages (from four to eight) at a professional level, from among 11 European and Asian languages, and had an excellent command of English (L2). Four hundred short sentences were presented visually; half of them had an unexpected final word, producing a semantic incongruence. Sentences could be entirely in Italian or in English (unmixed); alternatively, the body of the sentence could be in English and the final word in Italian or vice versa (mixed). ERPs were time locked to the onset of the final word. Both reaction times (RTs) and electrophysiological data indicated a lesser degree of hemispheric lateralization for linguistic function during L2 rather than L1 processing in interpreters. The first effect of lexical switching and code switching was recorded in the time window between 140 and 200 ms at left anterior sites. At N400 level, ERPs were significantly larger to L2 than to L1 words only in the mixed and not in the unmixed condition. No effect of language was observed in the unmixed condition, thus suggesting that the difference in L1/L2 processing was not related to a difference in proficiency, but rather to a different functional organization of semantic integration systems due to the later age of acquisition of L2 compared to L1. Interpreters were faster at reading and comprehending sentences in English ending with an Italian word than vice versa (L2 --> L1 switch).

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Core training in surgery: what does it need to include?

Core training for surgeons in any surgical specialty should include education in the relevant basic science knowledge, training in fundamental diagnostic skills, the development of surgical technical skills and considerable experience in patient care. However, for a number of reasons it is no longer acceptable to guide such training based only on such broad goals, not the least of which is the advent of resident duty-hour limitations that make it unrealistic to expect residents to simply acquire, by random observation and participation, all of the important elements of their future practices. Rather, it is necessary to provide a curriculum of learning opportunities specifically structured to allow them to gain the requisite knowledge and skills. Thus, the curriculum for the core surgical training of future vascular surgeons should be based on a very specific learning objectives, stating what information is to be learned or what action is to be done, under what conditions they are to be performed, and what criteria will be used to ascertain the acquisition of the necessary knowledge or skill. Next, the best methods of instruction, including reading materials, lectures, and exposure to specific surgical procedures must be defined and the appropriate instructional materials identified, selecting the best of existing materials or, if necessary, creating them. Finally, the residents' acquisition of knowledge and skills must be assessed. Previously this occurred through a loose combination of performance evaluations from clinical rotations, faculty group discussions, and annual in-training exams culminated in the American Board of Surgery certification process. Now evaluation must relate to specific educational objectives. This is all a daunting task currently being undertaken by vascular surgery program directors, albeit with input from the Residency Review Committee and the Vascular Surgery Board of the American Board of Surgery. Eventually, overall surgical curriculum will evolve to satisfy these educational ground rules, but currently it is very much a work in progress in most programs.

Certification↗
PubMed2004

The impact of developmental speech and language impairments on the acquisition of literacy skills.

Children with developmental speech/language impairments are at higher risk for reading disability than typical peers with no history of speech/language impairment. This article reviews the literacy outcomes of children with speech/language impairments, clarifying the differential risk for three groups of children: speech production impairments alone, oral language impairments alone, and speech production and oral language impairments. Children at greatest risk for reading and writing disabilities are children with language impairments alone and children with comorbid speech impairments and language impairments. For children with speech impairments alone, there is limited risk for literacy difficulties. However, even when reading skills are within the average range, children with speech impairments may have difficulties in spelling. Children with language impairments are likely to display reading deficits in word decoding and reading comprehension. It is not clear what role early literacy interventions play in the amelioration of reading difficulties in these populations.

Child↗
PubMed1978

Digital interface for bioelectrical data acquisition system.

The action potential digitalized and stored by means of a fast solid state electronic waveform recording system (Digitalizer) can be directly read out on a printer or in a computer for further processing. It has been designed a digital interface allowing the automatization of these bioelectrical data acquisition and printing process.

Action Potentials↗
PubMed2003

Passing on tacit knowledge in anaesthesia: a qualitative study.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the acquisition of knowledge in anaesthetic practice using qualitative methods. METHODS: An ethnographic study examining the nature of expertise in anaesthesia in one English hospital. The study used qualitative research methods, including observation of anaesthetic practice and interviews with members of the anaesthetic team. An integral part of the study was a process of feedback to the anaesthetic team including presenting observational data and conducting debriefing interviews with individual team members. RESULTS: The study highlights the continued importance of the clinical apprenticeship in passing on knowledge, but also emphasizes the central role of practising independently in the acquisition of skills. Anaesthetists who participated in debriefing interviews or read observational transcripts found the experience valuable for thinking about their own practice. DISCUSSION: One suggestion arising from the use of qualitative methods in this setting is that the type of detailed, systematic observation and data recording used in this study could be beneficial in the training and, possibly, appraisal of anaesthetists. This novel and innovative application of qualitative methods in anaesthesia is described and discussed with a view to broadening the debate about specialist training.

Anesthesia↗
PubMed2005

Development and operation of a pixel segmented liquid-filled linear array for radiotherapy quality assurance.

A liquid isooctane (C(8)H(18)) filled ionization linear array for radiotherapy quality assurance has been designed, built and tested. The detector consists of 128 pixels, each of them with an area of 1.7 mm x 1.7 mm and a gap of 0.5 mm. The small pixel size makes the detector ideal for high gradient beam profiles such as those present in intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and radiosurgery. As the read-out electronics we use the X-ray Data Acquisition System with the Xchip developed by the CCLRC. Studies concerning the collection efficiency dependence on the polarization voltage and on the dose rate have been made in order to optimize the device operation. In the first tests, we have studied dose rate and energy dependences. Dose rate dependence was found to be lower than 2.1% up to 5 Gy min(-1), and energy dependence lower than 2.5% up to 20 cm depth in solid water. Output factors and penumbras for several rectangular fields have been measured with the linear array and were compared with the results obtained with a 0.125 cm(3) air ionization chamber and radiographic film, respectively. Finally, we have acquired profiles for an IMRT field and for a virtual wedge. These profiles have also been compared with radiographic film measurements. All the comparisons show a good correspondence. The device has proved its capability to verify on-line therapy beams with good spatial resolution and signal-to-noise ratio.

Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation↗
PubMed1997

Rapid measurement of Gd-DTPA extraction fraction in a dialysis system using echo-planar imaging.

Gd-DTPA (Magnevist, Berlex, Wayne, NJ) extraction fractions (EF) have been measured for three dialysis filter types using an echo-planar imaging (EPI) Look-Locker T1 measurement technique under conditions of fast and slow flow. The mean EF measured in Fresenius (Bad Homburg, Germany) F3, F6, and F8 dialysis filters were 0.015 +/- 0.005, 0.053 +/- 0.004, and 0.084 +/- 0.003, respectively, under conditions of fast flow which provided complete refreshment of spins in the intervals between read-out pulse samples of the T1 relaxation recovery. Data acquisition and post-processing techniques were developed to extend the accuracy of the LL technique to systems with slow flow which did not provide complete refreshment of spins between samples of the T1 recovery. A multi-shot EPI LL interleaved acquisition of relaxation recovery space (IRRS) provided T1 measurement accuracy comparable to the refreshed system, +/- 10, but at the expense of increased scan times (factor of 2 or 3). Discarding the first few non-equilibrium relaxation recovery samples from the T1 fit allowed accurate T1 estimation (+/- 10) with a single-shot EPI LL method under conditions of slow flow. These EPI LL EF measurement methods may provide useful techniques for evaluating renal function in vivo.

Dialysis↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The effects of computer-assisted instruction on number combination skill in at-risk first graders.

The purpose of this pilot study was to assess the potential for computer-assisted instruction (CAI) to enhance number combination skill among children with concurrent risk for math disability and reading disability. A secondary purpose was to examine the effects of CAI on spelling. At-risk students were assigned randomly to math or spelling CAI, which they received in 50 sessions over 18 weeks. Acquisition and transfer effects were assessed. The results indicated that math CAI was effective in promoting addition but not subtraction number combination skill and that transfer to arithmetic story problems did not occur. Spelling CAI effects were reliable on acquisition and transfer spelling measures, with small to moderate effect sizes on transfer to reading measures. These results provide the basis for additional work with larger samples.

Aptitude↗
PubMed1984

The clinical aspects of memory disorders: contributions from experimental studies of amnesia and dementia.

Many of the standardized memory tests employed by clinical neuropsychologists fail to demonstrate important differences in the memory disorders of amnesic and demented patients. To exemplify this heterogeneity of amnesic symptoms, the anterograde and retrograde amnesias of patients with Huntington's Disease (HD) and of patients with alcoholic Korsakoff's syndrome are compared. While both patient groups have similar MQs, they differ dramatically in their recall and recognition memory and in their ability to acquire procedural (rule-based) information. The Korsakoff patients are impaired in both recall and recognition memory but are able to acquire and retain mirror reading skills. In contrast, the patients with HD are impaired in their acquisition of procedural knowledge and in verbal recall although their recognition memory approaches normality. The importance of such information for the assessment of the patients' memory disorders is discussed.

Alcohol Amnestic Disorder↗
PubMed1979

Variability in reading retardation.

It is argued that much of the confusion which has arisen as to the nature of dyslexia is because retarded readers have so frequently been studied as if they formed a qualitatively homogeneous group. It is suggested that in fact reading is not a unitary process, but that it involves the acquisition of a succession of skills; and that different retarded readers may break down at different stages in the acquisition of these. There may be types of retarded reader who are unable (1) to analyse complex visual shapes; or (2) to analyse whole word sounds into phonemes; or (3) to make simple regular grapheme-phoneme associations; or (4) to grasp irregularities in these; or (5) to group single words into phrases and sentences. Each of these disabilities may be associated with a particular type of deficiency in conceptual thinking.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Real age of acquisition effects in word naming and lexical decision.

Age of acquisition (AoA) has been reported to be a predictor of the speed of reading words aloud (word naming) and lexical decision, with early-acquired words being responded to faster than later-acquired words in both tasks. All previous studies of AoA effects have, however, relied upon adult estimates of word learning age the validity of which it is easy to cast doubt upon. Using objective age of acquisition norms derived from children's naming data, this study shows that AoA effects do not depend upon the use of adult ratings. In addition to effects of real AoA, influences of word frequency and orthographic neighbourhood size were obtained in both word naming and lexical decision. Imageability affected lexical decision but not word naming, while the characteristics of the word's initial phoneme affected word naming but not lexical decision.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Computational prediction and experimental verification of novel IdeR binding sites in the upstream sequences of Mycobacterium tuberculosis open reading frames.

IdeR (iron-dependent regulator) is a key regulator of virulence factors and iron acquisition systems in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Despite the wealth of information available on IdeR-regulated genes of M.tuberculosis, there is still an underlying possibility that there are novel genes/pathways that have gone undetected, the identification of which could give new insights into understanding the pathogenesis of M.tuberculosis. We describe an in silico approach employing the positional relative entropy method to identify potential IdeR binding sites in the upstream sequences of all the 3919 ORFs of M.tuberculosis. While many of the predictions made by this approach overlapped with the ones already identified by microarray experiments and binding assays, pointing to the accuracy of our method, a few genes for which there has been no evidence for IdeR regulation were additionally identified. Our results have implications on the iron-dependent regulatory mechanism of M.tuberculosis vis-a-vis the activity of urease operon and novel transcription regulators and transporters.

Bacterial Proteins↗