Measurement of two-dimensional blood velocity vectors by the ultrasonic speckle projection technique

A technique has been developed for measuring the two in-plane components of blood velocity using ultrasound. The principle is based on analyzing a time sequence of successive images of the speckle pattern, and forming spatial projections of the resulting three-dimensional data set. The mathematics may be understood in terms of sections through a three-dimensional Fourier transform of the original data. The technique has been tested with data from a computer-controlled scanner using a tissue-mimicking phantom, and with data from a commercial ultrasound scanner using images of flowing blood in a jugular vein. In both cases, velocity vectors with many different orientations were measured, demonstrating the feasibility of the method. A less restrictive real-time implementation is suggested.     

Pediatric pyeloplasty: outcome analysis based on patient age and surgical technique

OBJECTIVES: To analyze our experience with open pyeloplasty, with specific emphasis on procedural outcome on the basis of patient age, surgical technique, complication rate, and complication management. METHODS: All patients from 1974 to 1994 who underwent pyeloplasty at our institution were included in our review. Charts were analyzed for age at presentation, presenting signs and symptoms, type of surgical reconstruction, complications and treatment, and final outcome. RESULTS: From 1974 to 1994, 234 pyeloplasties were performed in 227 patients (108 less than 1 year old, 119 more than 1 year old). The percentage of children less than 1 year old increased throughout: 24% for 1975 to 1980, 37% for 1981 to 1990, and 69% for 1991 to 1994. Presenting signs and symptoms varied according to the age of the child at pyeloplasty. For children less than 1 year old, these were prenatal ultrasound in 86 (79%), urinary tract infection (UTI) in 9 (8%), and abdominal mass in 5 (4.6%). For children more than 1 year old, these were pain in 57 (48%), UTI in 29 (24%), hematuria in 12 (10%), and prenatal ultrasound in 3 (2.5%). Reconstruction was a dismembered pyeloplasty in all cases. The majority of patients in both age groups underwent a nonintubated repair (less than 1 year old, 99 of 114; more than 1 year old, 102 of 120). Postoperative results were evaluated by ultrasound or intravenous urography, with improvement or stable results in 95% of children less than 1 year old and in 96% of children more than 1 year old. Complications included UTI in 18 patients (7.7%), recurrent obstruction in 5 (2.1%), and persistent leak in 4 (1.7%). The complication rate was not related to age. CONCLUSIONS: The nonintubated, dismembered pyeloplasty is an excellent technique for all age groups and has a low complication rate.     

In-situ spectroscopic ellipsometry of HgCdTe

An in-situ spectroscopic ellipsometer has been equipped on a molecular beam epitaxy system to improve control of HgCdTe growth. Using this device, in-situ analysis of composition, growth rate, and surface cleanliness were monitored. A real time model which determined the compositional profile was used. The ellipsometer was employed to give in-situ real time control of the growth process.     

Effects of level and frequency on the detection of decrements and increments in sinusoids

Thresholds for the detection of decrements in level of sinusoidal signals were measured as a function of decrement duration, level (25, 40, 55, and 70 dB SPL) and frequency (250, 1000, and 4000 Hz) in eleven normally hearing subjects. Thresholds for detecting a brief increment in level were also measured. The sinusoids were presented in a background noise intended to mask spectral splatter associated with the decrement or increment. Performance tended to worsen with decreasing frequency, for all decrement durations and for increment detection. Performance also worsened with decreasing level. The results were analyzed using a model consisting of a compressive nonlinearity, a sliding temporal integrator, and a decision device. The analysis indicated that the worsening in performance with decreasing frequency and decreasing level can be attributed partly to increases in the equivalent rectangular duration (ERD) of the temporal integrator, but mainly to changes in the efficiency of the detection process following the temporal integrator; at lower frequencies and levels a larger change is required at the output of the integrator for threshold to be reached. At each frequency, the ERD was relatively invariant with level for levels more than about 20 dB above the absolute threshold.     

Short-term effects of pure anti-oestrogen ICI 182780 treatment on oestrogen receptor, epidermal growth factor receptor and transforming growth factor-alpha protein expression in human breast cancer

Expression of oestrogen receptor (ER), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and transforming growth factor-alpha (TGF alpha) proteins was assessed by immunocytochemistry on primary breast cancer specimens obtained before and following short-term (7-day) presurgical exposure to pure anti-oestrogen (7 alpha- [9- (4,4,5,5,5-pentafluoropentylsulphinyl) nonyl] estra-1,3,5, (10)-triene-3,17 beta-diol, ICI 182780) treatment and compared with no-treatment controls. Paired needle-core and mastectomy samples were obtained from 21 patients. Effects of ICI 182780 (10(-7)M) on MCF7 breast cancer cell ER, EGFR and TGF alpha expression were also examined over 14 days. ER protein was significantly suppressed by ICI 182780 in vivo (P = 0.009) and comparative analysis of short term ICI 182780 effects in vitro, using ER-positive MCF7 cells, gave largely equivalent results. EGFR and TGF alpha protein levels were unaltered by treatment. ICI 182780 suppresses ER without a concomitant rise in either EGFR or TGF alpha.     

Carry-over effects of dietary crude protein and triiodothyronine (T3) in broiler chickens

Indian River male broiler chickens growing from 7 to 30 d of age were fed on diets containing crude protein levels ranging from 120 to 300 g/kg plus 0 or 1 mg triiodothyronine (T3)/kg diet. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of these treatments on lipogenesis after a common diet was fed (180 g crude protein/kg diet from 30 to 56 d of age). Dietary treatment groups were sampled at 30 and 56 d. In vitro lipogenesis was determined by incubating liver explants for 2 h at 37 degrees in Hanks' salts containing 25 mM-HEPES and 10 mM-[2-14C]acetate and then measuring acetate incorporation into total lipid. Growth and feed consumption from 7 to 30 d increased (P < 0.01) as dietary protein increased from 120 to 210 g/kg diet. Both measurements decreased as crude protein increased from 210 to 300 g/kg diet. T3 decreased (P < 0.01) growth and feed intake during this period. Low-protein (< 180 g/kg) diets increased (P < 0.05) and T3 decreased lipogenesis in 30-d-old chickens. Although birds given T3 from 7 to 30 d grew at the greatest rate from 30 to 56 d of age, the final body weight was still less than controls. In vitro lipogenesis at 56 d of age was not affected by either of the two dietary treatments. In contrast, the relative size of the abdominal fat pad (g/kg body weight) at 56 d was decreased by feeding T3 from 7 to 30 d. Any changes in metabolism elicited by either dietary protein levels or hormone treatments may be specific to the particular dosing interval and are not sustained when a common diet is fed during a repletion period.