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Digital
Terms modified by Digital Selected AbstractsThe effect of sertindole on QTD and TPTEACTA PSYCHIATRICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 5 2010J. Nielsen Nielsen J, Andersen MP, Graff C, Kanters JK, Hardahl T, Dybbro J, Struijk JJ, Meyer JM, Toft E. The effect of sertindole on QTD and TPTE. Objective:, Recent research suggests that other surrogate markers than QTc, including QTc dispersion and Tpeak-Tend, may better correlate with cardiac arrhythmia risk. While sertindole significantly prolongs the QTc interval, the effects on other markers of arrhythmia risk, such as QTc dispersion and Tpeak-Tend are unknown. Method:, Digital 12-lead ECG was recorded at baseline and at steady-state in 37 patients switched to sertindole. ECG was analysed for Fridericia-corrected QT duration (QTcF), QT dispersion and Tpeak-Tend. Results:, From a baseline QTcF of 407 ± 22 ms, mean QTcF prolongation during sertindole treatment was 20 ± 23 ms, P < 0.01. No effect on QTc dispersion was found (,1 ± 11 ms; P = 0.41). No increased duration of the Tpeak-Tend interval from baseline was found (+7 ± 21 ms; P = 0.05). Conclusion:, These findings might be related to the absence of confirmed Torsade de Pointes (TdP) cases related to sertindole exposure, despite sertindole's QTc prolonging effects. [source] Digital versus Local Anesthesia for Finger Lacerations: A Randomized Controlled TrialACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 10 2006Stuart Chale MD Abstract Objectives To compare the pain of needle insertion, anesthesia, and suturing in finger lacerations after local anesthesia with prior topical anesthesia with that experienced after digital anesthesia. Methods This was a randomized controlled trial in a university-based emergency department (ED), with an annual census of 75,000 patient visits. ED patients aged ,8 years with finger lacerations were enrolled. After standard wound preparation and 15-minute topical application of lidocaine-epinephrine-tetracaine (LET) in all wounds, lacerations were randomized to anesthesia with either local or digital infiltration of 1% lidocaine. Pain of needle insertion, anesthetic infiltration, and suturing were recorded on a validated 100-mm visual analog scale (VAS) from 0 (none) to 100 (worst); also recorded were percentage of wounds requiring rescue anesthesia; time until anesthesia; percentage of wounds with infection or numbness at day 7. Outcomes were compared by using Mann-Whitney U and chi-square tests. A sample of 52 patients had 80% power to detect a 15-mm difference in pain scores. Results Fifty-five patients were randomized to digital (n= 28) or local (n= 27) anesthesia. Mean age (±SD) was 38.1 (±16.8) years, 29% were female. Mean (±SD) laceration length and width were 1.7 (±0.7) cm and 2.0 (±1.0) mm, respectively. Groups were similar in baseline patient and wound characteristics. There were no between-group differences in pain of needle insertion (mean difference, 1.3 mm; 95% confidence interval [CI] =,17.0 to 14.3 mm); anesthetic infiltration (mean difference, 2.3 mm; 95% CI =,19.7 to 4.4 mm), or suturing (mean difference, 7.6 mm; 95% CI =,3.3 to 21.1 mm). Only one patient in the digital anesthesia group required rescue anesthesia. There were no wound infections or persistent numbness in either group. Conclusions Digital and local anesthesia of finger lacerations with prior application of LET to all wounds results in similar pain of needle insertion, anesthetic infiltration, and pain of suturing. [source] 95 Development of macroalgal (seaweed) taxonomic keys utilizing digital & media technologyJOURNAL OF PHYCOLOGY, Issue 2003R. L. Lehman Digital, user-friendly seaweed identification keys and instructional materials can provide information that allows students and researchers to enhance and improve marine field and ecological studies by including macroalgae. In much of the scientific literature, the seaweeds are only characterized to division (red, green, and brown), sometimes to genus, and very rarely to species; so there is clearly a need for a reference that facilitates the identification of the seaweeds. Many of the problems occur because of the lack of user-friendly identification keys. However, it is not necessary to be an expert to identify seaweeds as many of the key characteristics used in their identification can be ascertained with the naked eye, a hand lens and an inexpensive microscope. What is needed is an identification guide that uses and displays important characters and identification structures visually (both macroscopic and microscopic) so that research scientists, students, teachers and the general public will be able to identify the seaweeds with confidence. We are using Lucid Professional software to construct digital keys for the identification of macroalgae from the Texas Coastal Bend. The advantages include: 1) key characters along with descriptions and images for specific macroalgae may be chosen from a geographic area of choice, 2) the user may evaluate the characters in any order and difficult or uncertain characters may be ignored, 3) descriptive pages of images, definitions, video clips and illustrations may be included for each taxon, and 4) the key can be displayed as a website or packaged as a CD to be used with laptop computers in the field. [source] Paper to Digital: Documents in the Information AgeJOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR INFORMATION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, Issue 9 2009Christine Urquhart Dr. [source] Status of Mammography after the Digital Mammography Imaging Screening Trial: Digital versus FilmTHE BREAST JOURNAL, Issue 2 2006D. David Dershaw MD Abstract: Well-publicized results of the recent Digital Mammography Imaging Screening Trial (DMIST) have again shown that there is no clear advantage in mammographic screening of the general population with digital versus film mammography. However, several subgroups,women less than 50 years old, pre- or perimenopausal, and denser breasts,did better with digital mammography than with film. Data also suggest that women with the opposite characteristics might do better with film mammography. This article reviews the data of the four studies comparing digital and film mammographic screening. In addition, it describes the technology involved in the two types of mammographic image capture, the advantages and disadvantages of each type of imaging, and the future possibilities opened by digital technique. Because less than one-tenth of mammography units in use in the United States are digital, the availability of this technology to women undergoing screening and to physicians referring patients to screening sites is very limited. The author suggests that the quality of mammography, rather than the technique used to capture the image, is more important in selecting a mammography facility. For those who have a facility that offers both digital and film mammography, consultation on which type of imaging might be better for an individual woman would be appropriate. Because digital mammography from different manufacturers is based on differing technologies and because data comparing the advantages or disadvantages of these differing types of equipment are not available, it is impossible to recommend which type of digital mammography equipment is best for those undergoing mammography with these types of units. [source] Community Telecentres in Brazil: The Porto Alegre Experience: Toward Digital and Social InclusionBULLETIN OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR INFORMATION SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY (ELECTRONIC), Issue 4 2004Sônia Elisa Caregnato No abstract is available for this article. [source] Customer Relationships go DigitalBUSINESS STRATEGY REVIEW, Issue 1 2003George S Day First page of article [source] Marginal Bone Level around Implants Assessed in Digital and Film Radiographs: In Vivo Study in the DogCLINICAL IMPLANT DENTISTRY AND RELATED RESEARCH, Issue 1 2000Eva Borg DDS ABSTRACT Background: One of the objectives of postoperative radiographic examinations of implants is to evaluate the marginal bone height and its changes over time. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the influence of digital image processing on measurements of the marginal bone level around implants. Material and Methods: Implants in beagle dogs, used to study the development of peri-implantitis and subsequent healing following treatment, were monitored with conventional radiography and a digital image plate system. Five observers measured the distance between a reference point and the bone level. Measurements in conventional radiographs were made with the use of an x-ray viewer (2X) and a magnifying lens (7X). For the digital images, the system's built-in measuring function was used together with five image processing techniques: edge enhancement (matrixes set on 5 and 25), inverted grey scale, single color highlight, and color intensity mapping together with the brightness and contrast control. From the time of maximum breakdown and the end of the experiment, histologic values were available. Results: Differences between techniques and observers increased toward the end of the healing period. Measurements made at maximum breakdown did not differ significantly from the histologic value. Measurements made after healing all methods, except that using edge enhancement and a 25 × 25 kernel, differed significantly from the histologic value by underestimating the bone level. Conclusions: Measurements of bone level around implants from digital radiographs are as accurate and precise as those from film images. In particular cases, the use of specific image processing algorithms may improve both accuracy and precision. After healing, the histologic specimens showed an incomplete bone fill in the crater with a remaining thin layer of connective tissue in contact with the fixture, and in such situations, the morphology of the bone will give a more complicated diagnostic task. [source] REMEDIATION AND LOCAL GLOBALIZATIONS: How Taiwan's "Digital Video Knights-Errant Puppetry" Writes the History of the New Media in ChineseCULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY, Issue 2 2007TERI SILVIO This article analyzes the Pili International Multimedia Company's "digital video knights-errant puppetry" serials, a popular culture genre unique to Taiwan, to answer two questions. First, how do digital technologies, originally developed to meet the needs of the American military and entertainment industries, become embedded in a different cultural context? Second, how does this embedding allow media technologies to become something through which distinctly local models of globalization itself may be imagined? Analyzing both the style of the serials and the discourse of producers and fans, I argue that new media technologies, despite their foreign origins, may not only be adapted or resisted, but may also come to be imagined as emerging from local aesthetics and local needs. Through the specific ways they utilize both digital and traditional technologies, the Pili producers and fans construct a utopian vision of what globalization might look like if Taiwan were at the center. [source] Effectiveness of limited cone-beam computed tomography in the detection of horizontal root fractureDENTAL TRAUMATOLOGY, Issue 3 2009vanç Kamburo Root fractures were created in the horizontal plane in 18 teeth by a mechanical force and fragments were relocated. Another 18 intact teeth with no horizontal root fracture served as a control group. Thirty-six teeth were placed in the respective empty maxillary anterior sockets of a human dry skull in groups three by three. Intraoral radiographs were obtained in three different vertical views by utilizing Eastman Kodak E-speed film, CCD sensor, RVG 5.0 Trophy and a PSP sensor Digora, Optime. Cone beam CT images were taken with a unit (3D Accuitomo; J Morita MFG. Corp, Kyoto, Japan). Three dental radiologists separately examined the intraoral film, PSP, CCD and cone beam CT images for the presence of horizontal root fracture. Specificity and sensitivity for each radiographic technique were calculated. Kappa statistics was used for assessing the agreement between observers. Chi-square statistics was used to determine whether there were differences between the systems. Results were considered significant at P < 0.05. Cone beam CT images revealed significantly higher sensitivities (P < 0.05) than the intraoral systems between which no significant differences were found. Specificities did not show any statistically significant differences between any of the four systems. The kappa values for inter-observer agreement between observers (four pairs) ranged between 0.82,0.90 for the 3DX evaluations and between 0.63,0.71 for the different types of intraoral images. Limited cone beam CT, outperformed the two-dimensional intraoral, conventional as well as digital, radiographic methods in detecting simulated horizontal root fracture. [source] Digital versus Local Anesthesia for Finger Lacerations: A Randomized Controlled TrialACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 10 2006Stuart Chale MD Abstract Objectives To compare the pain of needle insertion, anesthesia, and suturing in finger lacerations after local anesthesia with prior topical anesthesia with that experienced after digital anesthesia. Methods This was a randomized controlled trial in a university-based emergency department (ED), with an annual census of 75,000 patient visits. ED patients aged ,8 years with finger lacerations were enrolled. After standard wound preparation and 15-minute topical application of lidocaine-epinephrine-tetracaine (LET) in all wounds, lacerations were randomized to anesthesia with either local or digital infiltration of 1% lidocaine. Pain of needle insertion, anesthetic infiltration, and suturing were recorded on a validated 100-mm visual analog scale (VAS) from 0 (none) to 100 (worst); also recorded were percentage of wounds requiring rescue anesthesia; time until anesthesia; percentage of wounds with infection or numbness at day 7. Outcomes were compared by using Mann-Whitney U and chi-square tests. A sample of 52 patients had 80% power to detect a 15-mm difference in pain scores. Results Fifty-five patients were randomized to digital (n= 28) or local (n= 27) anesthesia. Mean age (±SD) was 38.1 (±16.8) years, 29% were female. Mean (±SD) laceration length and width were 1.7 (±0.7) cm and 2.0 (±1.0) mm, respectively. Groups were similar in baseline patient and wound characteristics. There were no between-group differences in pain of needle insertion (mean difference, 1.3 mm; 95% confidence interval [CI] =,17.0 to 14.3 mm); anesthetic infiltration (mean difference, 2.3 mm; 95% CI =,19.7 to 4.4 mm), or suturing (mean difference, 7.6 mm; 95% CI =,3.3 to 21.1 mm). Only one patient in the digital anesthesia group required rescue anesthesia. There were no wound infections or persistent numbness in either group. Conclusions Digital and local anesthesia of finger lacerations with prior application of LET to all wounds results in similar pain of needle insertion, anesthetic infiltration, and pain of suturing. [source] On the reliability of long-period response spectral ordinates from digital accelerogramsEARTHQUAKE ENGINEERING AND STRUCTURAL DYNAMICS, Issue 5 2008Roberto Paolucci Abstract Using records from co-located broadband and digital strong motion (SM) instruments, it is first shown that the displacement waveforms obtained by double integration of the accelerogram need not be free of unrealistic baseline drift to yield reliable spectral ordinates up to at least 10,s. Secondly, to provide objective criteria for selecting reliable digital SM records for ground motion predictions at long periods, a set of synthetic accelerograms contaminated by random long-period noise has been used, and the difference between the original accelerograms and the spurious ones in terms of response spectra has been quantified, by introducing a noise index that can be easily calculated based on the velocity waveform of the record. The results of this study suggest that high-pass filtering the digital acceleration record from a cutoff period selected to suppress baseline drifts on the displacement waveform appears to be in most cases too conservative and unduly depletes reliable information on long-period spectral ordinates. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Going Dutch in London City Comedy: Economies of Sexual and Sacred Exchange in John Marston's The Dutch Courtesan (1605)ENGLISH LITERARY RENAISSANCE, Issue 1 2010Marjorie Rubright Conventional approaches to London city comedy have explored the genre's dependence upon character types. Through a consideration of the ways in which English and Dutch ethnicity is represented in city comedy, this essay reveals that a critical and methodological revision is necessary. In John Marston's The Dutch Courtesan and Thomas Middleton's The Family of Love, puns and double entendres vivify characterizations of Dutchness and Englishness as unstable and problematically proximate. What emerges is a study of the chiastic interplay of differences and similarities that constitute Englishness and Dutchness in London city comedy. I argue that across the Anglo-Dutch relation identity was more of an analogous phenomenon than a digital one. In tracing how English-identified characters "go Dutch," this essay argues that city comedy was actively exploring and keeping in play the fluidity of signifiers of ethnic difference, especially language, diet, and religious belief. (M.R.) [source] The effects of local anaesthetic solution in the navicular bursa of horses with lameness caused by distal interphalangeal joint painEQUINE VETERINARY JOURNAL, Issue 5 2003JOHN SCHUMACHER Summary Reasons for performing study: Analgesia of the palmar digital (PD) nerves has been demonstrated to cause analgesia of the distal interphalangeal (DIP) joint as well as the sole. Because the PD nerves lie in close proximity to the navicular bursa, we suspected that that analgesia of the navicular bursa would anaesthetise the PD nerves, which would result in analgesia of the DIP joint. Objectives: To determine the response of horses with pain in the DIP joint to instillation of local anaesthetic solution into the navicular bursa. Methods: Lameness was induced in 6 horses by creating painful synovitis in the DIP joint of one forefoot by administering endotoxin into the joint. Horses were videorecorded while trotting, before and after induction of lameness, at three 10 min intervals after instilling 3.5 ml local anaesthetic solution into the navicular bursa and, finally, after instilling 6 ml solution into the DIP joint. Lameness scores were assigned by grading the videorecorded gaits subjectively. Results: At the 10 and 20 min observations, median lameness scores were not significantly different from those before administration of local anaesthetic solution into the navicular bursa (P,0.05), although lameness scores of 3 of 6 horses improved during this period, and the 20 min observation scores tended toward significance (P = 0.07). At the 30 min observation, and after analgesia of the DIP joint, median lameness scores were significantly improved (P,0.05). Conclusions: These results indicate that pain arising from the DIP joint can probably be excluded as a cause of lameness, when lameness is attenuated within 10 mins by analgesia of the navicular bursa. Potential relevance: Pain arising from the DIP joint cannot be excluded as a cause of lameness when lameness is attenuated after 20 mins after analgesia of the navicular bursa. [source] Wireless signal-preamble assisted Mach,Zehnder modulator bias stabilisation in wireless signal transmission over optical fibreEUROPEAN TRANSACTIONS ON TELECOMMUNICATIONS, Issue 6 2008Debashis Chanda Lithium niobate based Mach,Zehnder electro-optic modulators are increasingly being used in high-speed digital as well as analog optical links. Depending on the application, digital or analog, the bias point of such a modulator is held constant at a particular point on the sinusoidal electrical to optical power transfer characteristics of the modulator. Bias point drift is one of the major limitations of lithium niobate based Mach,Zehnder electro-optic modulators. This increases the bit error rate of the system and affects adjacent channel performances. In one of the most popular methods of bias control, a pilot tone is used to track the bias point drift. However, pilot tone based bias tracking reduces overall intermodulation free dynamic range of the link. In this paper we propose a method where Mach,Zehnder modulator bias drift is tracked and maintained at the desired point by tracking the power variation of the preamble of wireless signal data frames. The method has no detrimental effects on system performances as no external signal is exclusively injected into the system for bias tracking purposes. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Development of a historical ice database for the study of climate change in CanadaHYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES, Issue 18 2002Frédéric Lenormand Abstract The Canadian government has been compiling various observations on freshwater and coastal sea ice conditions for many years. However, the records are not easily accessible and are dispersed within different government departments. Given this, a major effort was undertaken in order to gather all available observations into a common database,the Canadian Ice Database (CID). This database will respond to the needs for climate monitoring in Canada, the validation and improvement of numerical ice models and the development of new remote-sensing methods. Indeed, several studies have shown that freshwater ice and sea ice are good proxy indicators of climate variability and change. The first version of CID contains in situ observations from 757 sites distributed across Canada, which were originally kept on digital or paper records at the Meteorological Service of Canada Headquarters and the Canadian Ice Service (CIS). The CID holds 63 546 records covering the period from ice season 1822,23 to 2000,01. An analysis of the database allows one to trace the temporal evolution of the ice networks. The freeze-up/break-up network of 2000,01 only represents 4% of what it was in 1985,86. A drastic decline of the ice thickness and the snow on ice network is also observable. In 1997,98, it represented only 10% of the network that existed in 1984,85. The major budget cuts in Canadian government agencies during the late 1980s and the 1990s offer the most plausible explanation for the drastic decline in the ice observation networks. Weekly ice coverage determination on large lakes from satellite imagery by the CIS and the national volunteer ice monitoring program, IceWatch, may provide a means of reviving, at least, the freeze-up/break-up network. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Electronic Paint: Understanding Children's Representation through their Interactions with Digital PaintINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ART & DESIGN EDUCATION, Issue 3 2007John Matthews This article investigates very young children's use of a stylus-driven, electronic painting and drawing on the tablet PC. The authors compare their development in the use of this device with their use of other mark-making media, including those which derive from pencil and paper technologies and also with mouse-driven electronic paintbox programs. After experience of using of electronic paint, two of the children were introduced to simple programming software. The authors wanted to find out how the introduction of electronic, digital, interactive devices impact upon children's development in semiotic understanding. [source] Tear-film lipid layer morphology and corneal sensation in the development of blinking in neonates and infantsJOURNAL OF ANATOMY, Issue 3 2005John G. Lawrenson Abstract The aim of the study was to evaluate the role of lipid layer thickness and corneal sensation in the development of blinking in neonates. The study group comprised sixty-four neonates and infants (mean age 27.5 ± 15 (sd) weeks, range 3.4,52) whose mothers were attending a general practice healthy baby clinic. Spontaneous eye-blink activity was determined from digital videographic recordings; tear film lipid layer morphology wasexamined using interference patterns produced by the Keeler TearscopeÔ Plus over a five-point grading scale (higher grades are associated with thick and stable lipid films); corneal sensation threshold was assessed with the Non-Contact Corneal Aesthesiometer (NCCA), using the eye-blink response as an objective indication that the cooling stimulus had been felt; palpebral aperture dimensions were measured using calibrated digital still images of the eye in the primary position. The overall mean spontaneous blink-rate was found to be 3.6 (± 0.3) blinks min,1, and the mean interblink time was 21.6 (± 2.8) s. The lowest blink-rates were observed in the 0,17-week age group (average 2 blinks min,1). The blink-rate showed a highly significant correlation with age (r = 0.46, P < 0.01). The overall mean lipid layer grading was 3.6 (± 0.2 SE) arbitrary units. Higher grades were found in the newborn and the mean grading score reduced with age (P < 0.01). The mean sensation threshold to blink (TTB) was 0.69 (0.04 SE) mbar, which did not differ from a control group of older subjects (P > 0.05). There was a rapid increase in palpebral aperture length and width from birth to 1 year old, with surface area increasing by 50% over the same period. We concluded that the low rate of spontaneous eye blink activity in neonates is associated with a thick stable lipid layer that may be a function of a small palpebral aperture. Furthermore, neonates appear to have the capacity to detect ocular surface cooling, which is a major trigger for spontaneous blinking. [source] QT Dispersion Does Not Represent Electrocardiographic Interlead Heterogeneity of Ventricular RepolarizationJOURNAL OF CARDIOVASCULAR ELECTROPHYSIOLOGY, Issue 8 2000MAREK MALIK Ph.D. QT Dispersion and Repolarization Heterogeneity. Introduction: QT dispersion (QTd, range of QT intervals in 12 ECG leads) is thought to reflect spatial heterogeneity of ventricular refractoriness. However, QTd may be largely due to projections of the repolarization dipole rather than "nondipolar" signals. Methods and Results: Seventy-eight normal subjects (47 ± 16 years, 23 women), 68 hypertrophic cardiomyopathy patients (HCM; 38 ± 15 years. 21 women), 72 dilated cardiomyopathy patients (DCM; 48 ± 15 years, 29 women), and 81 survivors of acute myocardial infarction (AMI; 63 ± 12 years, 20 women) had digital 12-lead resting supine ECGs recorded (10 ECGs recorded in each subject and results averaged). In each ECG lead, QT interval was measured under operator review by QT Guard (GE Marquette) to obtain QTd. QTd was expressed as the range, standard deviation, and highest-to-lowest quartile difference of QT interval in all measurable leads. Singular value decomposition transferred ECGs into a minimum dimensional time orthogonal space. The first three components represented the ECG dipole; other components represented nondipolar signals. The power of the T wave nondipolar within the total components was computed to measure spatial repolarization heterogeneity (relative T wave residuum, TWR). OTd was 33.6 ± 18.3, 47.0 ± 19.3, 34.8 ± 21.2, and 57.5 ± 25.3 msec in normals, HCM, CM, and AMI, respectively (normals vs DCM: NS, other P < 0.009). TWR was 0.029%± 0.031%, 0.067%± 0.067%, 0.112%± 0.154%, and 0.186%± 0.308% in normals, HCM, DCM, and AMI (HCM vs DCM: NS. other P < 0.006), The correlations between QTd and TWR were r = -0.0446, 0.2805, -0.1531, and 0.0771 (P = 0.03 for HCM, other NS) in normals, HCM, DCM, and AMI, respectively. Conclusion: Spatial heterogeneity of ventricular repolarization exists and is measurable in 12-lead resting ECGs. It differs between different clinical groups, but the so-called QT dispersion is unrelated to it. [source] Digital photography: A primer for pathologistsJOURNAL OF CLINICAL LABORATORY ANALYSIS, Issue 2 2004Roger S. Riley Abstract The computer and the digital camera provide a unique means for improving hematology education, research, and patient service. High quality photographic images of gross specimens can be rapidly and conveniently acquired with a high-resolution digital camera, and specialized digital cameras have been developed for photomicroscopy. Digital cameras utilize charge-coupled devices (CCD) or Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) image sensors to measure light energy and additional circuitry to convert the measured information into a digital signal. Since digital cameras do not utilize photographic film, images are immediately available for incorporation into web sites or digital publications, printing, transfer to other individuals by email, or other applications. Several excellent digital still cameras are now available for less than $2,500 that capture high quality images comprised of more than 6 megapixels. These images are essentially indistinguishable from conventional film images when viewed on a quality color monitor or printed on a quality color or black and white printer at sizes up to 11×14 inches. Several recent dedicated digital photomicroscopy cameras provide an ultrahigh quality image output of more than 12 megapixels and have low noise circuit designs permitting the direct capture of darkfield and fluorescence images. There are many applications of digital images of pathologic specimens. Since pathology is a visual science, the inclusion of quality digital images into lectures, teaching handouts, and electronic documents is essential. A few institutions have gone beyond the basic application of digital images to developing large electronic hematology atlases, animated, audio-enhanced learning experiences, multidisciplinary Internet conferences, and other innovative applications. Digital images of single microscopic fields (single frame images) are the most widely utilized in hematology education at this time, but single images of many adjacent microscopic fields can be stitched together to prepare "zoomable" panoramas that encompass a large part of a microscope slide and closely simulate observation through a real microscope. With further advances in computer speed and Internet streaming technology, the virtual microscope could easily replace the real microscope in pathology education. Later in this decade, interactive immersive computer experiences may completely revolutionize hematology education and make the conventional lecture and laboratory format obsolete. Patient care is enhanced by the transmission of digital images to other individuals for consultation and education, and by the inclusion of these images in patient care documents. In research laboratories, digital cameras are widely used to document experimental results and to obtain experimental data. J. Clin. Lab. Anal. 18:91,128, 2004. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Sonographic examination of the oral phase of swallowing: Bolus image enhancementJOURNAL OF CLINICAL ULTRASOUND, Issue 2 2002Michael J. Casas DDS Abstract Purpose The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ability of 4 liquid boluses to enhance pixel brightness and the ease with which the boluses could be identified during the sonographic evaluation of oral swallowing in healthy young adults. Methods Ten healthy adult volunteers (5 men and 5 women), ranging in age from 21 to 31 years, underwent sonographic evaluation of the oral phase of swallowing while sitting in their usual feeding position. We compared the ability of the 4 following liquids to improve sonographic visualization of swallowing with that of water: a carbonated cola beverage, 5.0 ml of Thick-It in 120 ml of water, 2.5 ml of Thick-It in 120 ml of water, and 7.5 ml of confectioners' sugar in 120 ml of water. Water was used as a control. In each case, 5 ml of the liquid was introduced into the subject's oral cavity using a syringe, and the subject was instructed to swallow. Digitized still images and recorded video sequences of sonographic examinations of the swallowing were analyzed. The brightness of the bolus image on selected digitized video frames was measured digitally using Image Analyst software. Pixel brightness within selected regions of interest for each of the test liquids was statistically compared with that for water. Seven clinicians rated the visualization of each test liquid and water on paired sonographic videotape sequences. These ratings and the level of agreement between them were statistically tested. Results Only the carbonated cola beverage demonstrated statistically greater pixel brightness than that of water on digitized video frames (p = 0.01), whereas both cola (with a moderate inter-rater agreement, , = 0.50) and 5.0 ml Thick-It mixed with 120 ml of water (with a fair inter-rater agreement, , = 0.24) were significantly better visualized on sonographic video sequences. Conclusions The digital still-frame analysis confirmed the clinicians' ratings of bolus visualization on real-time sonography, but dynamic sonography is more important than still frames in assessing sonographic swallow media because the dynamic images more closely parallel what is seen in clinical practice. Future investigations of sonographic contrast agents for use in the examination of the oral phase of swallowing should use both static digital (still-frame) and dynamic (real-time) assessment methods, as well as expert reviewers. © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Clin Ultrasound 30:83,87, 2002; DOI 10.1002/jcu.10034 [source] Digital Photography and the Assessment of Therapeutic Results after Bleaching ProceduresJOURNAL OF ESTHETIC AND RESTORATIVE DENTISTRY, Issue 2003WOLFGANG M. BENGEL DR MED DENT ABSTRACT The therapeutic outcome of tooth-bleaching procedures can be assessed by different methods, one of them being digital photography. However, none of the methods seems to be perfect. In this overview factors are discussed that have an influence on color rendition and image brightness in (digital) photography. A photographic procedure is proposed that results in comparable images. Beginning with a short description of some digital cameras currently used in dental photography, the article discusses the influence of light and camera technology on image brightness and color rendition in detail. Even if a highly standardized procedure is performed, there remain factors that affect color and brightness that cannot be excluded completely. Therefore, a photographic procedure is proposed that includes a piece of gray card in the picture as a neutral reference object. In this way, color casts can be eliminated and image brightness can be fine tuned using a standard image-editing program (Adobe Photoshop®, Adobe Systems Incorporated, San Jose, CA, USA) before the relevant color values are metered by the same software. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE A photographic procedure using digital cameras is proposed that is relatively simple and sufficiently precise to allow the assessment of the therapeutic outcome of tooth-bleaching procedures. [source] Monitoring bird migration with a fixed-beam radar and a thermal-imaging cameraJOURNAL OF FIELD ORNITHOLOGY, Issue 3 2006Sidney A. Gauthreaux Jr ABSTRACT Previous studies using thermal imaging cameras (TI) have used target size as an indicator of target altitude when radar was not available, but this approach may lead to errors if birds that differ greatly in size are actually flying at the same altitude. To overcome this potential difficulty and obtain more accurate measures of the flight altitudes and numbers of individual migrants, we have developed a technique that combines a vertically pointed stationary radar beam and a vertically pointed thermal imaging camera (VERTRAD/TI). The TI provides accurate counts of the birds passing through a fixed, circular sampling area in the TI display, and the radar provides accurate data on their flight altitudes. We analyzed samples of VERTRAD/TI video data collected during nocturnal fall migration in 2000 and 2003 and during the arrival of spring trans-Gulf migration during the daytime in 2003. We used a video peak store (VPS) to make time exposures of target tracks in the video record of the TI and developed criteria to distinguish birds, foraging bats, and insects based on characteristics of the tracks in the VPS images and the altitude of the targets. The TI worked equally well during daytime and nighttime observations and best when skies were clear, because thermal radiance from cloud heat often obscured targets. The VERTRAD/TI system, though costly, is a valuable tool for measuring accurate bird migration traffic rates (the number of birds crossing 1609.34 m [1 statute mile] of front per hour) for different altitudinal strata above 25 m. The technique can be used to estimate the potential risk of migrating birds colliding with man-made obstacles of various heights (e.g., communication and broadcast towers and wind turbines),a subject of increasing importance to conservation biologists. SINOPSIS Estudios previos, en donde no se ha hecho uso de radar, han utilizado cámaras infrarojas de imagen termal (CIT) y el tamaño de individuos como indicador, para detereminar la altura de vuelo. Sin embargo, este método puede dar origen a errores si las aves que vuelan a una misma altura varían en tamaño. Para subsanar esta dificultad y tomar medidas más exactas de la altura de vuelo y el número de individuos en una bandada, desarrollamos una técnica que combina un radar de rayos fijos con antena parabólica (RRF) con una cámara infraroja de imagen termal (RRT/CIT). El CIT provee de un conteo preciso de las aves pasando por un área circular fija de muestreo y el radar provee el dato preciso de la altura de vuelo. Utilizando una videograbadora digital, analizamos las muestras tomadas con la combinación RRT/CIT durante la migración otoñal noctura en el 2000 y el 2003 y durante la migración primaveral diurna del 2003, a través del Golfo de México. Utilizamos la cámara de video para hacer exposiciones en lapsos de tiempo en lo tomado por el CIT y desarrollamos criterios para distinguir entre aves, murciélagos e insectos, usando la huella dejada en el video y la altura del objeto. El CIT trabajo de forma eficiente tanto de dia como de noche, pero aún mejor cuando el cielo estaba despejado (cuando esta ausente la interferencia por la irradiación de calor de parte de las nubes). El sistema RRT/CIT, aunque costoso, es una herramienta valiosa para medir con presición las rutas migratorias y el número de aves moviéndose a diferente altura. Dicho sistema es de gran utilidad para determinar el riesgo de coliciones de aves migratorias con obstáculos construidos por el hombre a diferentes alturas (ej. torres de comunicación o turbinas de viento), asuntos de gran relevancia e importancia para la conservación de aves. [source] Comprehensive Analysis of Expressed Sequence Tags from the Pulp of the Red Mutant ,Cara Cara' Navel Orange (Citrus sinensis Osbeck)JOURNAL OF INTEGRATIVE PLANT BIOLOGY, Issue 10 2010Jun-Li Ye Expressed sequence tag (EST) analysis of the pulp of the red-fleshed mutant ,Cara Cara' navel orange provided a starting point for gene discovery and transcriptome survey during citrus fruit maturation. Interpretation of the EST datasets revealed that the mutant pulp transcriptome held a high section of stress responses related genes, such as the type III metallothionein-like gene (6.0%), heat shock protein (2.8%), Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (0.8%), late embryogenesis abundant protein 5 (0.8%), etc. 133 transcripts were detected to be differentially expressed between the red mutant and its orange-color wild genotype ,Washington' via digital expression analysis. Among them, genes involved in metabolism, defense/stress and signal transduction were statistical overrepresented. Fifteen transcription factors, composed of NAM, ATAF, and CUC transcription factor (NAC); myeloblastosis (MYB); myelocytomatosis (MYC); basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH); basic leucine zipper (bZIP) domain members, were also included. The data reflected the distinct expression profile and the unique regulatory module associated with these two genotypes. Eight differently expressed genes analyzed in digital were validated by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. For structural polymorphism, both simple sequence repeats and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) loci were surveyed; dinucleotide presentation revealed a bias toward AG/GA/TC/CT repeats (52.5%), against GC/CG repeats (0%). SNPs analysis found that transitions (73%) outnumbered transversions (27%). Seventeen potential cultivar-specific and 387 heterozygous SNP loci were detected from ,Cara Cara' and ,Washington' EST pool. [source] Ectopic dermal ridge configurations on the interdigital webbings and postaxial marginal portion of the hindlimb in Hammertoe mutant mice (Hm),JOURNAL OF MORPHOLOGY, Issue 10 2008Sumiko Kimura Abstract The effects of the hereditary malformation of Hammertoe mutant mice (gene symbol Hm) on the digital pads and dermal ridge configurations on their hindlimbs were examined. In the wild-type (+/+) mice with normally separated digits, dermal ridges developed only on the pads. Heterozygous (Hm/+) and homozygous (Hm/Hm) mutant mice, however, had a broad big toe, fused interdigital soft tissues, reduced claws, an extra rudimentary postaxial digit and camptodactyly. The dermal ridges appeared not only on the pads, affected in their number and configurations, but also on the ventral surface of the interdigital webbings and postaxial marginal area exhibiting an extra rudimentary digit and webbing. These aberrant configurations may be related to the abnormal occurrence of programmed cell death (PCD) in the interdigital zones and the postaxial marginal portion in Hm/+ and Hm/Hm mice. That is, the diminished cell death may fail to decrease the cell density in the interdigital zones and postaxial marginal portion and result in the webbing and an extra rudimentary digit and webbing, respectively. Simultaneously, it could also interrupt the migration of surviving cells of these areas toward the neighboring digits and the distal area of the sole and produce the ectopic dermal ridges on the way to the as yet unformed (presumptive) digital and plantar volar pads. The present findings suggest that normal interdigital and pre/postaxial PCD contributes not only to the separation of digits, the initial formation of individual digits of different sizes, and the inhibition of the extra digit but also to the development of the presumptive digital and plantar pads, including dermal ridges. J. Morphol., 2008. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Neuroanatomy of the harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) from magnetic resonance imagesJOURNAL OF MORPHOLOGY, Issue 3 2003Lori Marino Abstract Cetacean (dolphin, whale, and porpoise) brains are among the least-studied mammalian brains because of the formidability of collecting and histologically preparing such relatively rare and large specimens. Among cetaceans, there exist relatively few studies of the brain of the harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena). Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) offers a means of observing the internal structure of the brain when traditional histological procedures are not practical. Therefore, MRI has become a critical tool in the study of the brain of cetaceans and other large species. This article represents the first MRI-based anatomically labeled three-dimensional description of the harbor porpoise brain. Coronal plane sections of the brain of a young harbor porpoise were originally acquired and used to produce virtual digital scans in the other two orthogonal spatial planes. A sequential set of images in all three planes has been anatomically labeled and displays the proportions and positions of major neuroanatomical features. These images allow for the visualizing of the distinctive features of the harbor porpoise brain from various orientations by preserving the gross morphological structure of the specimen. J. Morphol. 257:308,347, 2003. © 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] 95 Development of macroalgal (seaweed) taxonomic keys utilizing digital & media technologyJOURNAL OF PHYCOLOGY, Issue 2003R. L. Lehman Digital, user-friendly seaweed identification keys and instructional materials can provide information that allows students and researchers to enhance and improve marine field and ecological studies by including macroalgae. In much of the scientific literature, the seaweeds are only characterized to division (red, green, and brown), sometimes to genus, and very rarely to species; so there is clearly a need for a reference that facilitates the identification of the seaweeds. Many of the problems occur because of the lack of user-friendly identification keys. However, it is not necessary to be an expert to identify seaweeds as many of the key characteristics used in their identification can be ascertained with the naked eye, a hand lens and an inexpensive microscope. What is needed is an identification guide that uses and displays important characters and identification structures visually (both macroscopic and microscopic) so that research scientists, students, teachers and the general public will be able to identify the seaweeds with confidence. We are using Lucid Professional software to construct digital keys for the identification of macroalgae from the Texas Coastal Bend. The advantages include: 1) key characters along with descriptions and images for specific macroalgae may be chosen from a geographic area of choice, 2) the user may evaluate the characters in any order and difficult or uncertain characters may be ignored, 3) descriptive pages of images, definitions, video clips and illustrations may be included for each taxon, and 4) the key can be displayed as a website or packaged as a CD to be used with laptop computers in the field. [source] Digital soil mapping in Germany,a reviewJOURNAL OF PLANT NUTRITION AND SOIL SCIENCE, Issue 3 2006Thorsten Behrens Abstract Digital soil mapping as a tool to generate spatial soil information provides solutions for the growing demand for high-resolution soil maps worldwide. Even in highly developed countries like Germany, digital soil mapping becomes essential due to the decreasing, time-consuming, and expensive field surveys which are no longer affordable by the soil surveys of the individual federal states. This article summarizes the present state of soil survey in Germany in terms of digitally available soil data, applied digital soil mapping, and research in the broader field of pedometrics and discusses future perspectives. Based on the geomorphologic conditions in Germany, relief is a major driving force in soil genesis. This is expressed by the digital,soil mapping research which highlights the great importance of digital terrain attributes in combination with information on parent material in soil prediction. An example of digital soil mapping using classification trees in Thuringia is given as an introduction in digital soil-class mapping based on correlations to environmental covariates within the scope of the German classification system. [source] A Systematic Review of the Performance of Methods for Identifying Carious LesionsJOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH DENTISTRY, Issue 4 2002James D. Bader DDS Abstract This systematic review evaluates evidence describing histologically validated performance of methods for identifying carious lesions. A search identified 1,407 articles, of which 39 were included that described 126 assessments of visual, visuaVtactile, radiographic (film and digital), fiber optic transillumination, electrical conductance, and laser fluorescence methods. A subsequent update added four studies contributing 10 assessments. The strength of the evidence was judged to be poor for all applications, signifying that the available information is insufficient to supporf generalizable estimates of the sensitivity and specificity of any given application of a diagnostic method. The literature is problematic with respect to complete reporting of methods, variations in histological validation methods, the small number of in vivo studies, selection of teeth, small numbers of examiners, and other factors threatening both internal and external validity. Future research must address these problems as well as expand the range of assessments to include primary teeth and root surfaces. [source] STORMFLOW SIMULATION USING A GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION SYSTEM WITH A DISTRIBUTED APPROACH,JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN WATER RESOURCES ASSOCIATION, Issue 4 2001Zhongbo Yu ABSTRACT: With the increasing availability of digital and remotely sensed data such as land use, soil texture, and digital elevation models (DEMs), geographic information systems (GIS) have become an indispensable tool in preprocessing data sets for watershed hydrologic modeling and post processing simulation results. However, model inputs and outputs must be transferred between the model and the GIS. These transfers can be greatly simplified by incorporating the model itself into the GIS environment. To this end, a simple hydrologic model, which incorporates the curve number method of rainfall-runoff partitioning, the ground-water base-flow routine, and the Muskingum flow routing procedure, was implemented on the GIS. The model interfaces directly with stream network, flow direction, and watershed boundary data generated using standard GIS terrain analysis tools; and while the model is running, various data layers may be viewed at each time step using the full display capabilities. The terrain analysis tools were first used to delineate the drainage basins and stream networks for the Susquehanna River. Then the model was used to simulate the hydrologic response of the Upper West Branch of the Susquehanna to two different storms. The simulated streamflow hydrographs compare well with the observed hydrographs at the basin outlet. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||