Detection of pulmonary tuberculosis; comparative value of routine radiologic examinations and routine laboratory procedures

The abnormalities disclosed by the usual laboratory diagnostic procedures (blood cell count and hemoglobin determination, sedimentation rate determination, urinalysis, and serologic test for syphilis) are compared with the number revealed by stereophotoroentgen chest examination in a series of 951 patients. The number of significant abnormalities uncovered by the routine stereophotoroentgen examination of the chest was comparable to the number disclosed by the usual laboratory procedures used in patient evaluation. Some form of radiologic examination of the chest should be included in the routine laboratory procedures required for patient evaluation.     

DETECTION OF PULMONARY TUBERCULOSIS—Comparative Value of Routine Radiologic Examinations and Routine Laboratory Procedures

The abnormalities disclosed by the usual laboratory diagnostic procedures (blood cell count and hemoglobin determination, sedimentation rate determination, urinalysis, and serologic test for syphilis) are compared with the number revealed by stereophotoroentgen chest examination in a series of 951 patients.The number of significant abnormalities uncovered by the routine stereophotoroentgen examination of the chest was comparable to the number disclosed by the usual laboratory procedures used in patient evaluation.Some form of radiologic examination of the chest should be included in the routine laboratory procedures required for patient evaluation.     

生物安全三级实验室人员管理相关问题的探讨

在生物安全三级(BSL-3)实验室日常管理工作中,实验人员的管理是实验室安全运转的关键,可保证生物安全管理体系文件的准确执行,减少安全隐患.我们总结了数年来管理BSL-3实验室的经验和教训,对人员管理有关问题提出想法和建议,以供参考.     

Safety Considerations for In Vitro Toxicology Testing

A range of hazards may be encountered in in vitro toxicology laboratory work. Such hazards are primarily chemical reagents for which the level of risk, particularly with long-term exposure, may be difficult to ascertain. Cells and tissues may also present biosafety concerns and it is important that risk assessments are prepared for each procedure before commencing project work. Ideally control measures should be simple and combine the use of appropriate equipment with documented procedures supported by risk assessments. In any laboratory staff and procedures change significantly over time, thus monitoring of procedures (including waste disposal) and a comprehensive training programme for all staff are essential components to assure both the quality and safety of laboratory work.     

Experience with a Hospital Laboratory Admission Screen

A comprehensive laboratory admission screen can be instituted in any large laboratory but only in one in command of conventional technology and with the co-operation of the laboratory, medical, nursing and admitting staff.The capital equipment required is costly and subject to early obsolescence. The operating costs are initially high, but the influence of the screen on the general work load indicates that the total overall procedures ordered by the physician will be reduced in number and that over a three-year period, in an economy subject to continuous inflationary pressure, the total cost will approach what might have been expected had the screen not been instituted.By presenting, shortly after admission, a truly comprehensive laboratory profile, the total number of procedures ordered will be reduced and this reduction bears no relationship to whether or not the data supplied are medically useful.The equipment more recently available for a large admission screen is far superior, from the point of view of speed of assay and cost of maintenance and production, to the equipment that has been available to us in this study.It is believed that the unit cost of assay will continue to decline and that the principle of unsolicited testing will be expanded in the future to include procedures not presently in the profile.It is predicted that in the relatively near future almost all of the laboratory procedures that a clinician could conceivably request will have been done prior to his examination of the patient.     

Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Measures to be taken in blood transfusion establishments in order to protect the personnel

There is presently no evidence of AIDS transmission to laboratory workers. Because transmissible agent is suspected, precautions should be taken in laboratories. As a general rule, procedures appropriate for hepatitis B prevention are advised. These procedures concern blood collection, carrying, and processing. Measures should be taken in order to avoid blood spilling and work surfaces should be decontaminated. Disposable material should be preferred, and all potentially contaminated material should be decontaminated before disposal or reprocessing. All personnel should be aware of usual laboratory procedures concerning pipetting, hand washing, protective clothing and of general precautions against viral contaminations.     

Introduction to standardization of laboratory results

A fundamental goal of laboratory medicine is that laboratory results will be comparable or standardized and be independent of the laboratory where the testing was performed. Routine measurement procedures that are traceable to the same system of reference standards should produce numerical values for clinical samples that are comparable regardless of time, place, or laboratory generating the result. Standardization of laboratory measurements is key to providing accurate and reliable results from investigational studies and for optimal patient care.     

Research in nondomestic species: experiences in reproductive physiology research for conservation of endangered felids

Tremendous strides have been made in recent years to broaden our understanding of reproductive processes in nondomestic felid species and further our capacity to use this basic knowledge to control and manipulate reproduction of endangered cats. Much of that progress has culminated from detailed scientific studies conducted in nontraditional laboratory settings, frequently at collaborating zoological parks but also under more primitive conditions, including in the field. A mobile laboratory approach is described, which incorporates a diverse array of disciplines and research techniques. This approach has been extremely useful, especially for conducting gamete characterization and function studies as well as reproductive surveys, and for facilitating the development of assisted reproductive technology. With continuing advances in assisted reproduction in rare felids, more procedures are being conducted primarily as service-related activities, targeted to increase effectiveness of species propagation and population management. It can be a challenge for both investigators and institutional animal care and use committees (IACUCs) to differentiate these service-based procedures from traditional research studies (that require IACUC oversight). For research with rare cat species, multi-institutional collaboration frequently is necessary to gain access to scientifically meaningful numbers of study subjects. Similarly, for service-based efforts, the ability to perform reproductive procedures across institutions under nonstandard laboratory conditions is critical to applying reproductive sciences for managing and preserving threatened cat populations. Reproductive sciences can most effectively assist population management programs (e.g., Species Survival Plans) in addressing conservation priorities if these research and service-related procedures can be conducted "on the road" at distant national and international locales. This mobile laboratory approach has applications beyond endangered species research, notably for other scientific fields (e.g., studies of hereditary disease in domestic cat models) in which bringing the laboratory to the subject is of value.     

Effects of Heterogeneity and Experimental Scale on the Biodegradation of Diesel

Biodegradation of petroleum hydrocarbon contamination is a common method forremediating soils and groundwater. Due to complexities with field-scale studies,biodegradation rates are typically evaluated at the bench-scale in laboratory studies.However, important field conditions can be difficult to mimic in the laboratory. Thisstudy investigates three scaling factors that can impact laboratory biodegradation ratesand that are frequently unaccounted for in typical laboratory experimental procedures.These factors are soil heterogeneity, morphology of petroleum hydrocarbon non-aqueous phase liquids (NAPLs) and soil moisture distribution. The effects of these factors on the biodegradation rate of diesel NAPL is tested under a variety of experimental procedures from well-mixed batch studies to four-foot static soil columns. The results indicate that a high degree of variability results from even small-scale heterogeneities. In addition, it appears that as the experimental scale increases, the measured biodegradation rates slow. The results indicate that diesel biodegradation rates derived from small-scale experiments are not necessarily representative of field-scale biodegradation rates.     

Paraformaldehyde for Surface Sterilization and Detoxification

Paraformaldehyde powder, depolymerized by heat, produced formaldehyde gas that was effective in sterilizing laboratory rooms, a mobile laboratory trailer, various surfaces, fiberglass filter medium, and specialized laboratory equipment. A sporulating and nonsporulating strain of bacteria, a virus, and a bacterial toxin were used as test agents. The dissemination procedures and equipment, the assay techniques, and the facilities and equipment sterilized were described.     

Harmonisation of Measurement Procedures: how do we get it done?

Clinical laboratory measurement results must be comparable among different measurement procedures, different locations and different times in order to be used appropriately for identifying and managing disease conditions. Harmonisation in the broad sense is the overall process of achieving comparability of results among clinical laboratory measurement procedures that measure the same measurand. The term standardisation is used when comparable results among measurement procedures are based on calibration traceability to SI using a reference measurement procedure of the highest available order. When there is no higher order reference measurement procedure available, and it is unlikely that one can be developed, the term harmonisation refers to any process for achieving comparable results among measurement procedures for an individual measurand.This review explains calibration traceability and focuses on the principles of harmonisation for those measurands for which a reference measurement procedure does not exist. We discuss the value of harmonisation, the importance of commutable reference materials, the barriers to harmonisation that exist today, and conclude with a discussion of a current global effort to improve the state of harmonisation.     

Plant models to replace classical biochemistry practicals

The object of this general article is simply to suggest alternative inexpensive and novel procedures for biochemistry laboratory demonstrators and stil     

实验室管理在医学研究生培养中的作用

实验室管理与建设水平是衡量高校教学质量和科研水平的重要标志。培养高质量的医学研究生除了严把导师负责制、基础理论学习、研究生中期考核、严控学位论文质量等环节之外,实验室管理水平也是影响研究生培养质量的主要因素之一。规范严格的实验室管理制度能够保障实验室正常有序地运转,能够保障仪器设备的资源共享,能够规范实验操作,能够为研究生培养提供一个有效、有序、有利的技术支持和硬件保障。     

Fast one-step procedure for the detection of nucleic acids in situ by primer-induced sequence-specific labeling with fluorescein-12-dUTP.

We provide fast, simple, one-step procedures for sequence-specific detection of nucleic acids in situ. Tandem repeat sequences in DNA are stained within 30 min, and mRNA is stained within 2 h. The procedures are based on the incorporation of the newly available fluorescein-labeled dUTP into DNA synthesized in situ by primed in situ labeling, with denatured fragments of cloned DNA or oligonucleotides as primers. The extreme speed and simplicity of the reaction make it attractive for automatization in routine laboratory procedures and opens up new diagnostic possibilities.     

Scientific procedures on living animals in Great Britain in 2003: the facts, figures and consequences

The statistics for animal procedures performed in 2003 were recently released by the Home Office. They indicate that, for the second year running, there was a significant increase in the number of laboratory animal procedures undertaken in Great Britain. The species and genera used, the numbers of toxicology and non-toxicology procedures, and the overall trends, are described. The implications of these latest statistics are discussed with reference to key areas of interest and to the impact of existing regulations and pending legislative reforms.     

In-house quality assurance program in a state cytology laboratory

The history and procedures of the Cytology Branch of the North Carolina State Laboratory of Public Health are briefly reviewed, including its quality assurance procedures. The latter consists of (1) programs for education of smear providers (e.g., with printed material), (2) maintenance of optimal working conditions within the laboratory itself and (3) procedures to foster quality of screening (such as proper documentation, 10% rescreening of all negative smears, specimen reviews, educational programs and outside reviews).     

东方田鼠地方标准的编制以及相关研究进展

洞庭湖栖居的东方田鼠是目前所知的唯一对日本血吸虫感染有特殊抗性的啮齿类哺乳动物,受到了学者们重视并长期对它进行了实验动物化工作,规范实验东方田鼠的生产和应用并制定东方田鼠地方质量和检测标准具有实际意义。本文对东方田鼠地方标准制定的必要性和意义、标准制定的原则和依据进行了阐述;比较了其与现行法律、法规、标准的关系;简介了标准编制的具体步骤;说明了国际标准或国外先进标准的采标程度;国内外同类标准水平的对比情况以及作为推荐性标准的建议及其理由等。     

Practical Aspects of Synovial Fluid Aspiration: The Approaches to Major Extremity Joints and Examination of the Aspirate

Use of a few simple office laboratory procedures can provide accurate diagnosis of several forms of common diseases of joints. The average physician can discover unsuspected joint disease in this way, thereby avoiding expensive laboratory tests and delay in making the diagnosis. An adequate history and physical examination are needed in conjunction with analysis of fluid aspirated from the joint.     

Comparison and quantification of carnivore diet by faecal analysis: a critique, with recommendations, based on a study of the Fox Vulpes vulpes

Failure to address many of the difficulties inherent in the analysis of carnivore faeces has hitherto limited the value of this technique in comparing carnivore diets or quantifying carnivore food consumption. In this review, major problems are discussed, and improved procedures designed to overcome them are recommended.
The principal improvements recommended for laboratory procedures address the microscopic fraction of faeces, which cannot be analysed visually. This fraction may be derived from a variety of sources, leading to bias in previous techniques, particularly with regard to the importance of earthworms and birds. Attention to the microscopic fraction is necessary for correct comparison or quantitative determination of diet.
Particular attention is given to statistical procedures which quantify the errors that arise in collection of samples, or during analysis. Clear statement of such errors will lead to greater comparability between studies. The procedures recommended here define the limits to accuracy in relation to sample size, total faecal production, and laboratory methods. In conjunction with adequate pilot studies, these techniques will allow more effective design of ecological studies relating to carnivore diet and food consumption.     

Proper experimental design requires randomization/balancing of molecular ecology experiments

Properly designed (randomized and/or balanced) experiments are standard in ecological research. Molecular methods are increasingly used in ecology, but studies generally do not report the detailed design of sample processing in the laboratory. This may strongly influence the interpretability of results if the laboratory procedures do not account for the confounding effects of unexpected laboratory events. We demonstrate this with a simple experiment where unexpected differences in laboratory processing of samples would have biased results if randomization in DNA extraction and PCR steps do not provide safeguards. We emphasize the need for proper experimental design and reporting of the laboratory phase of molecular ecology research to ensure the reliability and interpretability of results.