Natural orifice endoscopy in small animal models has been limited in the past by instrument size and optical performance. In this report, we investigate the feasibility of using a recently developed microvideo endoscopy system to evaluate the colon microcirculation. Using a murine model of acute colitis, microvideo endoscopy was useful ...

We use the Listing of Impairments (the listings) at the third step of the sequential evaluation process when we evaluate your claim for benefits based on disability under title II and title XVI of the Social Security Act (the Act). This final rule extends until July 1, 2008, the date ...

Procedures were developed for the synthesis of 3-methyl-5-phenylethynyl[1,2,4]triazine (4), 6-methyl-3-phenylethynyl[1,2,4]triazine (5), and 5-methyl-3-phenylethynyl[1,2,4]triazine (6a) as analogues of 2-methyl-6-(phenylethynyl)pyridine (2). The compounds were evaluated for antagonism of glutamate-mediated mobilization of internal calcium in an mGluR5 in vitro efficacy assay. The most potent of the three analogues was 6a. Twenty additional analogues ...

There are several objectives to be achieved during the diagnostic evaluation of a male partner of an infertile partnership. The first is to identify whether or not there is a male factor present and, if so, whether this is attributable to an underlying medical illness. The second is to identify ...

Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) is a common problem affecting up to 35% of the female population. SUI results from a laxity of the pelvic floor anatomy, neuromuscular injury of the external urinary sphincter mechanism or both. Evaluation of the condition includes careful history, physical examination and urine analysis. Additional tests ...

BACKGROUND: The most comprehensive evaluation of vertebrate skeletal development involves the use of Alizarin Red S dye to stain ossified bone and various other dyes to stain cartilage. The dye used most widely to stain fetal cartilage in rodents and rabbits is Alcian Blue 8GX. However, the global supply of ...

The frequency of labor induction has increased significantly in recent years. Although medically indicated inductions comprise a portion of this increase, elective inductions have increased in frequency as well. Given that elective inductions, by definition, provide no benefit from a strictly medical standpoint, it is particularly important to evaluate whether ...

The ability to objectively measure an amputee's walking activity over prolonged periods can provide clinicians with a useful means of evaluating their patients' outcomes. The present study aimed to validate the temporospatial data output from a commercially available ambulatory activity monitor (PAM, Ossur) fitted to trans-tibial and trans-femoral amputees, against ...

OBJECTIVE: To provide information on medical evaluation procedures for respirator use in private sector establishments. METHODS: In 2001, data on respirator use and practices were collected in a survey of private sector establishments. RESULTS: Of establishments where respirators were required, 46% did not evaluate employees' medical fitness. Evaluations for fitness ...

This study evaluated the effects of recasting on high noble, noble, and nickel-based alloys, as well as on titanium. Four specimens of each material were cast and recast 7 times. Chemical composition, microstructure, microhardness, and ion release were determined before and after the first cast and following each recast. Zinc ...

Shilajit is a pale-brown to blackish-brown exudation, of variable consistency, exuding from layers of rocks in many mountain ranges of the world, especially the Himalayas and Hindukush ranges of the Indian subcontinent. It has been found to consist of a complex mixture of organic humic substances and plant and microbial ...

INTRODUCTION: Participation of air medical service programs in emergency response drills can reveal important information regarding preparedness. This article reviews one program's participation in a drill, the evaluation methods used to assess the program's response, and the findings of the drill evaluation. METHODS: A comprehensive evaluation method was developed and ...

BACKGROUND: There is increasing evidence that bacterial biofilms are present within the sinonasal mucosa of patients with medically recalcitrant chronic rhinosinusitis. The antibiotic concentrations needed to eradicate biofilms are much higher than those commonly used and pose an increased risk for systemic side effects. Topical medications are an alternative approach ...

The clinical characteristics of head trauma were evaluated in 18 wrestlers belonging to a female professional wrestling organization, 13 regular members and five trainees aged 15-34 years. Medical examinations for head trauma were performed in all wrestlers, and wrestlers treated at our emergency outpatient department were clinically evaluated. In addition, ...

PURPOSE: To translate and adapt the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Methodology Index (BASMI) - a metrological measurement for the assessment of patients with ankylosing spondylitis to Brazilian-Portuguese and to analyze the applicability of the questionnaire. METHODS: The Brazilian-Portuguese version of the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Methodology Index was achieved through a translation ...

Aptamer-based assays represent a modern and attractive approach in bioanalytical chemistry. The DNA thrombin aptamer has been extensively investigated, and the coupling of this aptamer to different transduction principles has demonstrated the wide applicability of aptamers as bioreceptors in bioanalytical assays. The goal of this work was to critically evaluate ...

OBJECTIVE: Patient-orientated questionnaires are important instruments for the assessment of outcome in the clinical environment and in musculoskeletal research. The objective of this study was to cross-culturally adapt the Patient Rated Elbow Evaluation (PREE) into German (PREE-G) and to test its reliability, validity and psychometric properties. METHODS: The PREE was ...

There is a paucity of information in the literature regarding the mendosal suture. Furthermore, reports of the closure of this presumed suture of childhood are variable. This study seeks to establish the presence or absence of this structure in the adult. Fifty adult skulls were evaluated for the presence or ...

Misspellings are common in medical documents and can be an obstacle to information retrieval. We evaluated an algorithm to identify misspelled words through analysis of their prevalence in a representative body of text. We evaluated the algorithm's accuracy of identifying misspellings of 200 anti-hypertensive medication names on 2,000 potentially misspelled ...

Exercise-associated hyponatraemia (EAH) in marathon runners has been reported in the medical literature with incidence varying from 0-130 per 1000 finishers. EAH assessment is enhanced utilising a combination of race weight changes, screening questions, vital signs and clinical examination. Those who fail to lose 0.75kg are seven times more likely ...

The American Board of Family Medicine deployed virtual patient simulations in 2004 to evaluate Diplomates' diagnostic and management skills. A previously reported dynamic process generates general symptom histories from time series data representing baseline values and reactions to medications. The simulator also must answer queries about details such as palliation ...

The ultimate goals of preoperative medical assessment are to reduce the patient's surgical and anesthetic perioperative morbidity or mortality, and to return him to desirable functioning as quickly as possible. It is imperative to realize that "perioperative" risk is multifactorial and a function of the preoperative medical condition of the ...

Implanted programmable pumps that infuse intrathecal baclofen (ITB) markedly enhance the ability of clinicians to manage severe spasticity in appropriately selected patients. Studies addressing the efficacy of this treatment modality have primarily used clinical outcome measures of impairment, particularly reduction in stiffness as measured by the Ashworth scale. Several recent ...

OBJECTIVE: This paper reports on the latest results of an Indexing Initiative effort addressing the automatic attachment of subheadings to MeSH main headings recommended by the NLM's Medical Text Indexer. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Several linguistic and statistical approaches are used to retrieve and attach the subheadings. Continuing collaboration with NLM ...

INTRODUCTION: Physicians spend a considerable amount of time in Continuing Medical Education (CME) to maintain their medical licenses. CME evaluation studies vary greatly in evaluation methods, levels of evaluation, and length of follow-up. Standards for CME evaluation are needed to enable comparison among different studies and to detect factors influencing ...

We present an interactive visualization system for the evaluation of indexing results of the MEDLINE data-base over the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) structure in a graphical radial-tree layout. It displays indexing similarity measurements with 2D color coding and a 3D height field permitting the evaluation of the automatic Medical Text ...

Between 1799 and 1806, trials of vaccination to determine its safety and efficacy were undertaken in hospitals in London, Paris, Vienna, and Boston. These trials were among the first instances of formal hospital evaluations of a medical procedure and signal a growing acceptance of a relatively new approach to medical ...

BACKGROUND: Methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) in Norway emphasizes rehabilitation and control with strict intake criteria and rules for involuntary termination. Consequently, the programme should be characterized as high threshold and restrictive, which is somewhat out of tune with the general European trend towards harm reduction and diversity. METHODS: The programme ...

Selecting a collection agency--or evaluating the one you have--can improve bottom line results while maintaining your professional image. This article provides criteria for choosing a prospective collection agency and evaluating the strategies a collection agency employs, and discusses what a client medical practice should expect in analyses and support.

In this study, the viability of using electrostatic painting residues--paint sludge--as a raw material to the red clay industry was investigated. Red clay-based ceramic masses containing electrostatic paint residues were formulated during the study. The clays were obtained from the Rio do Rastro deposit, in Gravataí, and were of the ...

The black stone (BS) has been used since antiquity to treat envenomations. Since no actual clinical trial has ever been performed we used an experimental approach to evaluate its efficacy against the venoms of Bitis arietans, Echis ocellatus and Naja nigricollis. Local application of BS after intramuscular venom injection had ...

Hair luster has long been a key objective for consumers in the hair care market and many researchers have sought to quantitate the luster of hair fibers or tresses. Recently, a fast polarimetric video camera called SAMBA with a high polarization contrast was introduced that can effectively separate specular and ...

Syncope is a relatively common clinical syndrome that is a subset of a broader range of conditions that cause transient loss of consciousness (TLOC). Other TLOC conditions include seizures, concussions, and intoxications. However, despite frequent confusion in the medical literature, syncope is and should be clearly distinguished from those other ...

In two experiments we investigated three-term reasoning with spatial relational assertions using the preposition between as compared to projective prepositions (such as to the left of). For each kind of assertion we distinguish the referent expression (i.e., the grammatical subject) from the relatum expression (i.e., the internal argument of the ...

The refractory overactive bladder patient is a complex new entity for the urologic community. We present the most current review of this difficult subject matter with an emphasis on evaluation and new treatment options such as sacral neuromodulation and botulinum toxin injection. It is hoped that in this new era ...

Evaluation of teaching at universities is traditionally realized in terms of student ratings. Curriculum evaluation is rarely done in a systematic manner. More often, the emphasis is placed on a particular aspect, which is only of little help in terms of modifying education. A very prominent example is that of ...

A new therapeutic approach to malaria led to the discovery of ferroquine (FQ, SR97276). To assess the importance of the linkage of the ferrocenyl group to a 4-aminoquinoline scaffold, two series of 4-aminoquinolines, structurally related to FQ, were synthesized. Evaluation of antimalarial activity, physicochemical parameters, and the beta-hematin inhibition property ...

STUDY OBJECTIVES: To measure the tracheal diameters (TDs) [transverse (Tr) TD, and anteroposterior (AP) TD] and left main bronchus diameters (LBDs) [Tr and AP] using multiplane CT scan reconstructions with a tridimensional correction of the declination. To evaluate the relationship between clinical variables and CT scan diameters of the tracheobronchial ...

PURPOSE: This study assesses the relationship between 4 Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) outcome project measures for interpersonal and communication skills and medical knowledge; specifically, monthly performance evaluations, objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs), the American Board of Family Practice in-training examination (ABFP-ITE) and the Davis observation code (DOC) ...

BACKGROUND: To the best of our knowledge, no specific dermoscopic criteria have been described in the medical literature for the diagnosis of pyogenic granuloma. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the morphological findings of pyogenic granuloma under dermoscopic observation. METHODS: Dermoscopic examination (using the DermLite Foto; 3Gen, LLC, Dana Point, CA, U.S.A.) of ...

Psychotropic medications for the violent adolescent can be used safely and effectively as long as a thorough evaluation is conducted beforehand,and appropriate monitoring is attended to for the duration of treatment. Table 1 summarizes several clinical conditions associated with aggressive and violent behaviors, and the recommendations for first-, second-, and ...

Refugee doctors find it difficult to get back to medical work in their new countries. This article describes the setting up and evaluation of the Placing Refugee doctors In Medical Employment (PRIME) project which resulted in 15 out of 25 participants getting substantive jobs in open competition within a year, ...

BACKGROUND: Candidates for commercial spaceflight may be older than the typical astronaut and more likely to have medical problems that place them at risk during flight. Since the effects of microgravity on many medical conditions are unknown, physicians have little guidance when evaluating and certifying commercial spaceflight participants. This dynamic ...

We analyzed the frequency and characteristics of Vk-Jk and Vlambda-Jlambda rearrangements inpatients with precursor-B-acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and evaluated the applicability of these rearrangements as targets for minimal residual disease (MRD) detection. Using the BIOMED-2 primer sets, Vk-Jk and Vlambda-Jlambda rearrangements were detected in 30% and 17% of patients, respectively. ...

To assess the value of diagnostic hysteroscopy in a primary workup of infertility. We performed a retrospective analysis (Canadian Task Force Classification II-2) of 221 infertile patients referred to the Outpatient Center for Uterine Cavity Evaluation and the Tel-Aviv University affiliated Assaf Harofe Medical Center for evaluation of the uterine ...

In view of the clinical importance of contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN), numerous potential risk-reduction strategies have been evaluated. Adequate intravenous volume expansion with isotonic crystalloid (1.0-1.5 mL/kg per hr) for 3-12 hours before the procedure and continued for 6-24 hours afterward can lessen the probability of CIN in patients at risk. ...

This article is chiefly limited to the routine radiographic evaluation of shoulder arthroplasties and guidelines to their interpretation. Other imaging modalities for the evaluation of joint replacements are discussed elsewhere in this issue. The basic types of shoulder reconstructions and some of the shoulder replacement designs in previous and current ...

Spoken medical dialogue is a valuable source of information for patients and caregivers. This work presents a first step towards automatic analysis and summarization of spoken medical dialogue. We first abstract a dialogue into a sequence of semantic categories using linguistic and contextual features integrated in a supervised machine-learning framework. ...

We are revising the criteria in the Listing of Impairments (the listings) that we use to evaluate claims involving cardiovascular impairments. We apply these criteria when you claim benefits based on disability under title II and title XVI of the Social Security Act (the Act). The revisions reflect advances in ...

The number of biofunctional textiles with an antimicrobial activity has increased considerably over the last few years. Whilst in the past it was predominantly technical textiles which had antimicrobial finishes, in particular to protect against fungi, nowadays textiles worn close to the body have been developed for a variety of ...