Optic chiasm astrocytomas of childhood. 1. Long-term follow-up

There are many in vivo animal models for studying airway mucus secretion and hypersecretion, each with advantages and disadvantages. Use of a particular test system will depend upon the aspect of secretion to be modelled. Airway hypersecretory diseases exhibit chronic mucus hypersecretion, of which the clinical impact is predominantly in the distal airways. The majority of documented test preparations study acute secretion, invariably using tracheal preparations, but have been invaluable in elucidating the normal physiology of airway mucus secretion. Chronic models of the hypersecretory state in the distal airways have been developed, but are predominantly histologic in nature (for example quantification of increased goblet cell number). There are few investigations of mucus hypersecretion. Examination of the 'antisecretory' potential of pharmaceutical compounds has been investigated predominantly in chronic histologic models with the drug being given 'prophylactically' rather than 'therapeutically'. Refinement of chronic hypersecretory models should lead to elucidation of the connection between airway irritation, inflammation, MUC gene expression, mucous cell hyperplasia/metaplasia, airway hypersecretion and bronchial hypersecretory disease.     

Hereditary motor and sensory neuropathies. Clinical and molecular genetic aspects

Hereditary motor sensory neuropathies are a heterogeneous group of inherited diseases of the peripheral nerves. In this review the clinical and genetic differences between the sub-groups of this disease will be discussed. Since the discovery of a 1.5 mb duplication on chromosome 17 p11.2-12 in most patients with a hereditary motor sensory neuropathy and a variety of different mutations on chromosomes 1 and X in other patients with a similar disease profile, Dycks' clinical classification needs to be re-evaluated. In this review Dycks' taxonomy of heridihary neuropathies will be compared to a new genetic classification and a relevant diagnostic procedure proposed when a hereditary neuropathy is suspected.     

External-Memory Algorithms for Processing Line Segments in Geographic Information Systems

In the design of algorithms for large-scale applications it is essential to consider the problem of minimizing I/O communication. Geographical information systems (GIS) are good examples of such large-scale applications as they frequently handle huge amounts of spatial data. In this paper we develop efficient external-memory algorithms for a number of important problems involving line segments in the plane, including trapezoid decomposition, batched planar point location, triangulation, red--blue line segment intersection reporting, and general line segment intersection reporting. In GIS systems the first three problems are useful for rendering and modeling, and the latter two are frequently used for overlaying maps and extracting information from them.     

Milk production, health, behavior, and endocrine responses of cows exposed to electrical current during milking

Six cows were exposed during milkings to electrical current to assess its effects on behavior, health, milking performance, and endocrine responses. Three treatments (0, 4, and 8 mA) were applied in a changeover design over three consecutive 1-wk periods. A cow received the same current treatment during 14 consecutive milkings, beginning with the evening milking (d 1) and ending with the morning milking (d 8). Treatments began 5 min before milking and continued until milking unit removal. Treatments consisted of 60 Hz square wave current of 5-s duration applied every 30 s from udder to hooves. Milk accumulation curves provided information about milk yields, milking times, peak milk flow rates, and times of peak milk flow. Residual milk yields also were measured. Milk was analyzed for protein, fat, and somatic cells. Blood samples from 60 min before to 60 min after treatment were collected, and oxytocin, prolactin, and cortisol concentrations were measured. Behavioral responses to current decreased with time. Changes of milking performance and milk composition were not significant. Changes of milking related cortisol responses during 8-mA current stimulation were significant. Oxytocin release was delayed during 8-mA treatments. Current treatments did not affect prolactin.     

Life table study of Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) in Puerto Rico fed only human blood versus blood plus sugar

Life table studies were performed in 1996 with Aedes aegypti (L.) during the low (cool/dry) and high (hot/rainy) dengue virus transmission seasons in Puerto Rico. Mated adult females from field-collected pupae were placed individually in cages and divided into 2 treatment groups: one was fed only human blood and the other human blood plus a 10% sucrose solution. Survival and number of eggs laid were recorded daily for each female. During both seasons, age specific survivorship was higher for the blood plus sugar group, groups fed only human blood had higher reproductive outputs (mx), and net replacement rates (Ro) for blood only groups were higher than for those fed blood plus sugar. Intrinsic rates of growth (r) were the same for both treatments during the low (cool/dry) transmission season, but higher for the blood-only treatment during the high (hot/rainy) transmission season. Our results indicate that feeding on only human blood provides an evolutionary advantage to Ae. aegypti females in Puerto Rico. These results are similar to those from an earlier study carried out with Ae. aegypti in Thailand; the advantage of feeding on human blood does not seem to be restricted to a particular geographic region. We also found that the benefits associated with human feeding persist through epidemiologically different times of the year. We conclude that feeding on human blood is reproductively beneficial for Ae. aegypti, which may increase their contact with human hosts, and therefore may influence their vectorial capacity for dengue viruses through frequent feeding on blood.     

Real-time evaluation and visualization of learner performance in a mixed-reality environment for clinical breast examination

We investigate the efficacy of incorporating real-time feedback of user performance within mixed-reality environments (MREs) for training real-world tasks with tightly coupled cognitive and psychomotor components. This paper presents an approach to providing real-time evaluation and visual feedback of learner performance in an MRE for training clinical breast examination (CBE). In a user study of experienced and novice CBE practitioners (n = 69), novices receiving real-time feedback performed equivalently or better than more experienced practitioners in the completeness and correctness of the exam. A second user study (n = 8) followed novices through repeated practice of CBE in the MRE. Results indicate that skills improvement in the MRE transfers to the real-world task of CBE of human patients. This initial case study demonstrates the efficacy of MREs incorporating real-time feedback for training real-world cognitive-psychomotor tasks.     

The volume integral method of eddy-current modeling: Verification

The volume integral method of eddy-current modeling represents a flaw in metal as a set of electric dipoles located within volume elements or cells defining the flaw volume. Given this dipole distribution, impedance changes may be computed. The electric field of the dipole distribution is determined by an integral equation relating, by means of the electric field Green's tensor, the electric field due to the source to the total electric field in the flaw. The integral equation is solved by assuming that the total electric field is constant in each volume element, resulting in a matrix equation. The method has been programmed for use on a microcomputer. The method and computer program are verified using the analytical solution for a small spherical flaw and three sets of measured impedance data, measured by air-core coils along profiles overlying both surface-breaking and buried simulated flaws of known dimensions. Operating frequencies ranged between 900 and 4000 Hz. Generally agreement is good at lower frequencies ( 1000 Hz). At higher frequencies ( 4000 Hz), the agreement is not as good. This is thought to be due to the inability of the constant electric field approximation to model the steep electric field gradients present in the host metal at high frequency. The results are also sensitive to the method of computation of the electric field due to the source. Some improvements can and should be made to the method.