Acceptance and Perception of Nigerian Patients to Medical Photography

The aim of the study was to determine the acceptance and perception of Nigerian patients to medical photography. A self‐administered questionnaire was distributed among Nigerian patients attending oral and maxillofacial surgery and plastic surgery clinics of 3 tertiary health institutions. Information requested included patients' opinion about consent process, capturing equipment, distribution and accessibility of medical photographs. The use of non‐identifiable medical photographs was more acceptable than identifiable to respondents for all purposes (P = 0.003). Most respondents were favourably disposed to photographs being taken for inclusion in the case note, but opposed to identifiable photographs being used for other purposes most especially in medical websites and medical journals. Female respondents preferred non‐identifiable medical photographs to identifiable ones (P = 0.001). Most respondents (78%) indicated that their consent be sought for each of the outline needs for medical photography. Half of the respondents indicated that identifiable photographs may have a negative effect on their persons; and the most commonly mentioned effects were social stigmatization, bad publicity and emotional/psychological effects. Most of the respondents preferred the use of hospital‐owned camera to personal camera/personal camera‐phone for their medical photographs. Most respondents (67.8%) indicated that they would like to be informed about the use of their photographs on every occasion, and 74% indicated that they would like to be informed of the specific journal in which their medical photographs are to be published. In conclusion, non‐identifiable rather than identifiable medical photography is acceptable to most patients in the studied Nigerian environment. The use of personal camera/personal camera‐phone should be discouraged as its acceptance by respondents is very low. Judicious use of medical photography is therefore advocated to avoid breach of principle of privacy and confidentiality in medical practice.     

Assessing the capabilities of a 4kx4k CCD camera for electron cryo-microscopy at 300kV

CCD cameras have numerous advantages over photographic film for detecting electrons; however the point spread function of these cameras has not been sufficient for single particle data collection to subnanometer resolution with 300kV microscopes. We have adopted spectral signal to noise ratio (SNR) as a parameter for assessing detector quality for single particle imaging. The robustness of this parameter is confirmed under a variety of experimental conditions. Using this parameter, we demonstrate that the SNR of images of either amorphous carbon film or ice embedded virus particles collected on a new commercially available 4kx4k CCD camera are slightly better than photographic film at low spatial frequency (<1/5 Nyquist frequency), and as good as photographic film out to half of the Nyquist frequency. In addition it is slightly easier to visualize ice embedded particles on this CCD camera than on photographic film. Based on this analysis it is realistic to collect images containing subnanometer resolution data (6-9A) using this CCD camera at an effective magnification of approximately 112000x on a 300kV electron microscope.     

Photoduplication and fluorescence measurement in polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.

A simple method of photoduplication of gel electrophoresis, visualized with fluorescent reagents, is described. The procedure is convenient and rapid and requires no camera or expensive equipment. Using electrophoresis duplicating paper (Kodak), positive prints suitable for documentation or publication may be obtained. With usual photographic paper, negative prints may be obtained, allowing reliable measurement by scanning. The technique may be applied to protein or nucleic acid electrophoresis.     

Crystallization and preliminary X-ray studies of an aspartate aminotransferase mutant from Escherichia coli

Mutant aspartate aminotransferase V39L (Val39 replaced by Leu) from Escherichia coli has been crystallized into a monoclinic cell from a polyethylene glycol solution (pH 7.5) by vapor diffusion. The space group and the unit cell dimensions have been determined using a precession camera, a CAD4 diffractometer and a Nicolet Xentronics area detector to be P2(1) with a = 86.8 A, b = 79.9 A, c = 89.4 A, beta = 118.74 degrees. The crystals diffract to better than 2.3 A and are suitable for X-ray structure analysis.     

Estimating Alpine ibex Capra ibex abundance from photographic sampling

Monitoring procedures for Alpine ibex Capra ibex are limited in habitats with reduced visibility and when physical capture and marking of the animals is not intended. Photographic sampling, involving using camera‐trap data and identifying ibex from natural markings, was adopted with capture‐recapture models to estimate the abundance of ibex in Austria. The software CAPTURE's model produced an average capture probability of 0.44 with an estimate of 34–51 ibex and a mean population size of 38 ibex. This first study showed the applicability of photographic capture‐recapture techniques to estimate the abundance of ibex based on their natural markings.     

Programmed investigation unit.

The programmed investigation unit (PIU) is a inpatient unit where a full range of investigational medicine can be organised. It provides the basic minimum nursing care and is suitable for ambulant patients who can care for themselves. Requests for admission to the PIU at the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle upon Tyne, come directly from clinical units, and the staff of these units perform some of the tests and remain responsible for the patient while she is in the unit. At present the unit caters only for female medical patients. The average waiting time for admission is three weeks, and because the unit now deals with most investigations the waiting time for admission to the female general medical wards has fallen considerably. The staff of the unit have gained expertise in diagnostic methods, while the nurses of general medical wards have been free to concentrate on nursing those patients who need it. Separating patients who need investigations from those on general medical wards seems a logical way of using resources and staff to best effect.     

ESTIMATION OF BODY MASS IN THE SOUTHERN ELEPHANT SEAL, MIROUNGA LEONINA, BY PHOTOGRAMMETRY AND MORPHOMETRICS

A simple photographic technique was developed to indirectly estimate body mass data for southern elephant seal ( Mirounga leonina ) cows (postlactation), yearlings, and immature males and females. Regressions of mass on both photographic and morphometric variables (together and separately) yielded useful, predictable models. Using such variables, the best estimation of the actual mass was for postlactation cows, with a 95% confidence interval of ± 2.66% of the predicted body mass. Although combining photographic and morphometric variables produced the most reliable models specifically for cows and yearlings, the most practical model contained only the morphometric variables length and girth squared. Side area was the best correlated single photographic variable and this corresponded with other studies. Photogrammetry could be useful when animals cannot be sedated and are located on a flat surface, but it does require animals to be motionless when approached. Thus, the procedure may be more suited to bulls rather than other age classes and could have a role in studies where large numbers of mass estimations are rapidly required. If sedation is utilized in smaller animals, then the use of body length and girth is the most suitable indirect mass estimation technique to avoid the use of heavy weighing equipment.     

Area security unit in a psychiatric hospital.

Since 1974 a psychiatric hospital security unit, designed to serve the whole catchment area, has cared for mentally ill (mostly psychotic) patients with disturbed behaviour that cannot be managed in open wards. There are a few long-term dangerous patients but most stay only briefly. The admission of women to the unit was not followed by the expected reduction in violence. The unit has facilities for occupational therapy, physical recreation, work, and study, which are particularly important for those who are too dangerous to leave it. The unit''s calming influence depends as much on the supportive effect of the high staff ratio as on the use of tranquillisers. This type of unit is not suitable for patients with personality disturbances who "act out" or for mentally abnormal offenders; but it functions well as a crisis centre for the disturbed mentally ill, and there is an increasing demand for its services.     

Changing use of camera traps in mammalian field research: habitats,taxa and study types

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Photographic identification of individuals of a free‐ranging,small terrestrial vertebrate

Recognition of individuals within an animal population is central to a range of estimates about population structure and dynamics. However, traditional methods of distinguishing individuals, by some form of physical marking, often rely on capture and handling which may affect aspects of normal behavior. Photographic identification has been used as a less‐invasive alternative, but limitations in both manual and computer‐automated recognition of individuals are particularly problematic for smaller taxa (<500 g). In this study, we explored the use of photographic identification for individuals of a free‐ranging, small terrestrial reptile using (a) independent observers, and (b) automated matching with the Interactive Individual Identification System (I³S Pattern) computer algorithm. We tested the technique on individuals of an Australian skink in the Egernia group, Slater's skink Liopholis slateri, whose natural history and varied scale markings make it a potentially suitable candidate for photo‐identification. From ‘photographic captures’ of skink head profiles, we designed a multi‐choice key based on alternate character states and tested the abilities of observers — with or without experience in wildlife survey — to identify individuals using categorized test photos. We also used the I³S Pattern algorithm to match the same set of test photos against a database of 30 individuals. Experienced observers identified a significantly higher proportion of photos correctly (74%) than those with no experience (63%) while the I³S software correctly matched 67% as the first ranked match and 83% of images in the top five ranks. This study is one of the first to investigate photo identification with a free‐ranging small vertebrate. The method demonstrated here has the potential to be applied to the developing field of camera‐traps for wildlife survey and thus a wide range of survey and monitoring applications.     

Artefact-reduced kinematics measurement using a geometric finger model with mixture-prior particle filtering

It is challenging to measure the finger's kinematics of underlying bones in vivo. This paper presents a new method of finger kinematics measurement, using a geometric finger model and several markers deliberately stuck on skin surface. Using a multiple-view camera system, the optimal motion parameters of finger model were estimated using the proposed mixture-prior particle filtering. This prior, consisting of model and marker information, avoids generating improper particles for achieving near real-time performance. This method was validated using a planar fluoroscopy system that worked simultaneously with photographic system. Ten male subjects with asymptomatic hands were investigated in experiments. The results showed that the kinematic parameters could be estimated more accurately by the proposed method than by using only markers. There was 20–40% reduction in skin artefacts achieved for finger flexion/extension. Thus, this profile system can be developed as a tool of reliable kinematics measurement with good applicability for hand rehabilitation.     

Suitable indicators and an altered empirical equation for calculating the CO2 concentration in colorimetric determinations of photosynthetic rate

Cresol red was found to be the most suitable of the six colour pH indicators tested for the colorimetry of CO₂ concentration within the range of 100 to 2000 p.p.m. In the region near pH 8-2 (corresponding approximately to 300 p.p.m. CO₂)this indicator is most suitablein view of its low unit concentration, although somewhat greater differences in absorbancy can be found on changing pH by one unit if an approximately six-fold higher concentration of thymol blue is used. For higher concentrations of CO₂ (pH below 7-5) phenol red is most appropriate. Tropaeolin 000 and aurin (rosolic acid) are not suitable. It is more convenient in spectrophotometry and colorimetry using filters with narrow spectral ranges to apply any of the above indicators in the green-yellow-orange spectral region rather than in blue radiation. When the air to be measured is bubbled through a bicarbonate solution, an equilibrium between the CO₂ concentration in the air and pH value is established in less than 10 min for differences in CO₂ concentration from 100 to 400 p.p.m. Partial pressure of CO₂ and the experimentally established pH value are related by the altered equation: pH =α- 0-934 log P. The values of α at different temperatures were determined.     

Integrating aspects of ecology and predictive modelling: implications for the conservation of the leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis) in the Eastern Himalaya

An understanding of species ecology is vital for effective conservation, particularly if the species forms an important constituent of the lesser mammal guild and regulates small mammal and bird populations. As the ecological role of the leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis) in the intricate eastern Himalayan habitats is not known, we assessed the site occupancy, detection probability and activity pattern of leopard cats in Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve, India, based on sign surveys and camera trapping. The estimated site occupancy was 0.352?±?0.061 and detection probability was 0.143?±?0.0484. Occupancy modelling indicated low elevation, high rodent abundance and tree cover as best predictors for the occupancy of leopard cat. Diet based on analysed scats revealed murids as the most dominant prey (89.2 %). Information based on photographic captures indicated that the leopard cat exhibited a nocturnal activity pattern (peak activity between 0200–0300 hours), which coincided with its principal prey (revealed through diet analysis), but mainly contradicted with other sympatric competitors, hence indicating a temporal partitioning of resources among them. Ecological niche factor analysis indicated that the leopard cat exhibits high global marginality (1.32) and low global tolerance (0.275). The habitat suitability map for leopard cats showed majority of the habitat as unsuitable (1,959.44 km²) and predicted only 164.54 km² areas of lower temperate forests as moderate to highly suitable. As highly suitable habitats of the leopard cat are in close proximity to villages, conflict issues are a major threat and therefore need to be addressed in conservation program for this felid.     

A Review of Experience Operating a General Medical Intensive Care Unit

From 18 months'' experience of operating a four-bedded general medical intensive care unit a high staff-to-patient ratio was the most important factor in its success. Heavy capital spending does not appreciably reduce the importance of adequate numbers of trained staff, though patient-monitoring equipment can be useful and sometimes vital. As the scope for intensive care widens, the problems of clinical care become difficult, because no doctor is likely to be competent enough to provide for all categories of patients, and there is no intensive care equivalent of the general physician. Intensive care is likely to function best in a divisional specialist system of clinical care.     

Comparisons between written and computerised patient histories.

Patient histories were obtained from 99 patients in three different ways: by a computerised patient interview (patient record), by the usual written interview (medical record), and by the transcribed record, which was a computerised version of the medical record. Patient complaints, diagnostic hypotheses, observer and record variations, and patients'' and doctors'' opinions were analysed for each record, and records were compared with the final diagnosis. About 40% of the data in the patient record were not present in the medical record. Two thirds of the patients said that they could express all or most of their complaints in the patient record. The doctors found that the medical record expressed the main complaints better (52%) than the patient record (15%) but that diagnostic hypotheses were more certain in the patient record (38%) than in the medical one (26%). The number of diagnostic hypotheses in the patient record was about 20% higher than that in the medical record. Intraobserver agreement (51%) was better than interobserver agreement (32%), while the inter-record agreement varied from 25% (between the medical and patient records) to 35% (between the transcribed and patient records). One third of final diagnoses were seen in the medical record, with 29% and 22% for the transcribed and patient records, respectively. Interobserver agreement in the final diagnosis was 35%. The results of the study suggest that computerised history taking is suitable for certain patients in addition to, and not as a substitute for, the oral interview with a doctor.     

基于红外相机技术对陕西老县城国家级自然保护区大中型兽类及林下鸟类资源分析

兽类和鸟类多样性的监测是生物多样性保护中的重要一环。2017年4月至2018年5月,按照网格法在位于陕西省西安市周至县的老县城国家级自然保护区布设了36台红外相机,对保护区内大中型兽类和林下鸟类多样性进行调查。累积7 835个相机工作日,获得野生动物独立有效照片1 915张,共鉴定出32种鸟类和兽类物种,隶属8目18科,其中被IUCN红色名录评估为濒危(EN)、易危(VU)和近危(NT)的物种分别有2种、4种和3种。相对丰富度指数最高的为羚牛(Budorcas taxicolor)(IRA=36.81);夏季(7.68)和秋季(7.81)物种拍摄率大于春季(4.65)和冬季(4.30),不同季节拍摄到的物种数和物种多样性指数差异不显著。不同海拔段物种拍摄率、物种数和物种多样性指数均不具有明显差异。濒危物种中的羚牛不同海拔段拍摄率存在明显差异。主成分分析表明,拍摄物种与相机位点之间相关性较强,这与相机位点附近的生境条件有关。研究结果初步掌握了老县城保护区内大中型兽类和林下鸟类种类组成、相对多度及分布状况,为未来保护区野生动物资源保护和管理提供基础资料。     

Photography as a tool of research and documentation in plant tissue culture

Summary Scientific photography is an important facet of plant tissue culture. The aim of photography in plant tissue culture should be to illustrate clearly the developmental stages occurring in vitro. However, the photographic results presented in publications are often poor, and morphogenetic responses are often not clearly documented. Plant tissue culture is a very visual science, and the valuable tool of photography is often not used properly. If the morphogenetic responses are not well documented, an important part of the reserch is missed, and the report ends up having limited scientific value. Simple methods for improving the results of photography in plant tissue culture are discussed, along with photographic equipment, photomacrography, stereophotomicrography, suitable backgrounds for photography, use of a digital scanner, and the construction of photographic plates.     

Enjeux,défis,opportunités et stratégie durable d’implantation de l’imagerie hybride TEMP/TDM dans un pays à ressources médicales limitées,la Côte d’Ivoire

From HO Anger's analogic gamma camera to digital camera, developed countries are at the time of hybrid cameras SPECT/CT and PET/CT. Sub-Saharan black Africa in the image of Côte d’Ivoire, a country with limited medical resources shows an important delay in the evolution of the health system in general and particularly in medical imaging equipment. The purpose of this paper was to approach the issues, challenges and sustainable strategy for the implementation of hybrid imaging SPECT/CT in a developing country where the rate of morbidity and mortality remains high due to infectious but also cancer diseases because of the inadequacy of the health technical platform. To address these challenges, Côte d’Ivoire like many countries in sub-Saharan Africa with limited medical resources must design, test and develop clinical strategies adapted to developing countries. Health authorities of this country must develop a policy for sustainable financing of medical imaging, including the training of the adequate health personnel according to a model of corporate leadership. In this perspective, Côte d’Ivoire must have a SPECT/CT instead of a simple gamma camera. This would allow to optimize its diagnostic health system in oncology, bone and joint disease and in many other medical disciplines. And especially since the SPECT/CT is a high-performance device that has largely demonstrated its diagnostic efficiency and that can be used as SPECT alone or as isolated CT. In addition, this country should take over digital imaging in the context of cooperation with some countries of Africa and Europe ahead in the field of modern medical imaging, seeking assistance from international organizations (IAEA, RAD-AID, WHO,…). Finally this country should implement methods of assessment, types of performance indicators to guide planning for future projects of its system.     

Une methode de tri de fichiers pour des mini-et des micro-ordinateurs

The authors describe a new sorting method of files which belongs to the class of direct-addressing sorting methods. It makes use of a variant of the classical technique of ‘virtual memory’. It is particularly well suited to mini- and micro-computers which have a small core memory (32 K words, for example) and are fitted with a direct-access peripheral device, such as a disc unit. When the file to be sorted is medium-sized (some thousand records), the running of the program essentially occurs inside the core memory and consequently, the method becomes very fast. This is very important because most medical files handled in our laboratory are in this category. However, the method is also suitable for big computers and large files; its implementation is easy. It does not require any magnetic tape unit, and it seems to us to be one of the fastest methods available.     

Electronic imaging system for direct and rapid quantitation of fluorescence from electrophoretic gels: application to ethidium bromide-stained DNA

We have built an electronic imaging system based on a modified charge-coupled-device television camera that directly quantitates the distribution of fluorescence from electrophoretic gels, chromatograms, and other stationary sources. Exposure times can exceed 1 min. Unlike the photographic system that it replaces, the response of the camera is directly proportional to the intensity of incident fluorescence, and image data are digitized and stored in computer memory ready for analysis immediately upon completion of an exposure. We describe procedures for the display, normalization, and archival storage of image data and programs that use images of ethidium bromide-stained DNA in alkaline agarose gels to quantitate single-strand breaks in DNA.