Nutritional support: enhancing the quality of life of the terminally ill patient with cancer

The clinical dietitian on the palliative-care unit is actively involved in initiating, implementing, and evaluating individualized nutrition care plans for all patients. The dietitian can add to the comfort of the patient by facilitating the maintenance of good nutritional health for as long as possible. Undoubtedly, this involvement contributes to overall success of the program.

Determining motion parameters for scenes with translation and rotation

A study of methods that determine the rotation parameters of a camera moving through synthetic and real scenes is conducted. Algorithms that combine ideas of Jain and Prazdny, using hypothesizeand-verify paradigm, are developed to find translational and rotational parameters. An argument is made for using hypothesized motion parameters rather than relaxation labeling to find correspondence. Some work with real scenes shows the difficulties introduced by noise, the lack of resolution, and the need for better low-level techniques.

Plasma beta-thromboglobulin levels in lung cancer

beta-Thromboglobulin (beta-TG) is a platelet-specific protein that is released into plasma when platelets are activated in vivo. The involvement of platelets in tumor metastasis has been shown in animal studies. To study the role of platelets in tumor metastasis in humans, we measured plasma concentrations of beta-TG in 20 patients with newly diagnosed lung cancer and 11 healthy control subjects. The mean plasma concentration of beta-TG was significantly elevated in patients with advanced or metastatic lung cancer when compared with concentrations in healthy controls or patients with limited disease. This study suggests there is in vivo activation of platelets in patients with advanced or metastatic lung cancer.

Pseudocholinesterase/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio in serum of normal persons and of hyperlipoproteinemics

The proposed complementary risk factor, pseudocholinesterase/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio, was significantly higher in patients with type IIb and IV hyperlipoproteinemias then in controls. In contrast, the established risk factor, total cholesterol/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio, was significantly higher in patients with type IIa and IV hyperlipoproteinemias. Discriminant analysis indicated that prediction of risk for coronary heart disease on the basis of lipoprotein phenotypes can be improved by about 20% when both the above factors are assessed concurrently. On the basis of earlier studies in humans and animals, we also suggest that the proposed risk factor may provide a better understanding of events leading to enhanced risk for coronary heart disease as a consequence of nutrition and of abnormal metabolism of lipids and lipoproteins.

Pseudocholinesterase/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio in serum of normal persons and of hyperlipoproteinemics

The proposed complementary risk factor, pseudocholinesterase/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio, was significantly higher in patients with type IIb and IV hyperlipoproteinemias then in controls. In contrast, the established risk factor, total cholesterol/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio, was significantly higher in patients with type IIa and IV hyperlipoproteinemias. Discriminant analysis indicated that prediction of risk for coronary heart disease on the basis of lipoprotein phenotypes can be improved by about 20% when both the above factors are assessed concurrently. On the basis of earlier studies in humans and animals, we also suggest that the proposed risk factor may provide a better understanding of events leading to enhanced risk for coronary heart disease as a consequence of nutrition and of abnormal metabolism of lipids and lipoproteins.

The influence of chenodeoxycholic acid on cholesterol and bile acid turnover in humans with cholelithiasis

The in vivo dynamics of cholesterol were determined in 8 individuals who were part of a national double-blind study testing the efficacy of chenodeoxycholic acid ingestion on the dissolution of gallstones. Despite the ingestion of this bile acid in amounts in excess of its normal endogenous flux, the conversion of neutral sterol to chenodeoxycholic acid continued. The flux of neutral sterol to endogenous chenodeoxycholate was lower for the patients ingesting bile acid than for one of the patients on placebo, but was similar to that of the other control and similar to previously published chenodeoxycholate flux in patients with cholesterol cholelithiasis. The remaining flux was on the basis of the very efficiently absorbed dietary chenodeoxycholate. The total cholesterol fractional catabolic rate and flux were not appreciably diminished by the administration of either high or low dose chenodeoxycholate to these individuals with cholesterol cholelithiasis.

Direct computation of the focus of expansion

Optical flow carries valuable information about the nature and depth of surfaces and the relative motion between observer and objects. In the extraction of this information, the focus of expansion plays a vital role. In contrast to the current approaches, this paper presents a method for the direct computation of the focus of expansion using an optimization approach. The optical flow can then be computed using the focus of expansion.

Optimal quadtrees for image segments

Quadtrees are compact hierarchical representations of images. In this paper, we define the efficiency of quadtrees in representing image segments and derive the relationship between the size of the enclosing rectangle of an image segment and its optimal quadtree. We show that if an image segment has an enclosing rectangle having sides of lengths x and y, such that 2N-1 × max (x, y) ¿ 2N, then the optimal quadtree may be the one representing an image of size 2N × 2N or 2N+1 × 2N+1. It is shown that in some situations the quadtree corresponding to the larger image has fewer nodes. Also, some necessary conditions are derived to identify segments for which the larger image size results in a quadtree which is no more expensive than the quadtree for the smaller image size.

Structure of the Tetrahymena pyriformis rRNA gene. Nucleotide sequence of the transcription termination region

The 3'-terminal regions of the 25 S rRNA and 35 S rRNA were mapped in the HindIIIC fragment of the T. pyriformis rRNA gene (Niles, E. G., and Jain, R. K. (1981) Biochemistry 20, 905-909). The precise locations of these termini were identified by S1 nuclease mapping. The 35 S rRNA was shown to contain two major 3'-ends, one identical to the 3'-end of the mature 25 S rRNA and one which is 15 bases longer. The nucleotide sequence of 440 base pairs of DNA in the terminator region was determined. There are several oligo T stretches and regions of dyad symmetry. Three models of transcription termination are presented which are based on possible secondary structures in the 3'-terminal region of the 35 S rRNA.

Tissue chromium exchange in the rat

This study of chromium (Cr) exchange in the rat combined measurements of 51Cr distribution and tissue Cr content to permit an assessment of tissue Cr exchange under control conditions and during varied Cr intakes. Liver Cr was found to be 50 to 100% exchangeable whereas pancreas Cr was only 34% exchangeable. In kidney, the specific activity of 51Cr exceeded that of serum by more than 100%, indicating a complex type of exchange involving both a rapidly exchanging Cr pool and an "inner" Cr pool with "sink-like" characteristics. Chromium deprivation of moderate degree reduced serum Cr and tissue exchangeable Cr pools but did not change total tissue Cr, 51Cr distribution, or glucose tolerance. Chromium supplementation and Cr overload increased serum Cr and total, exchangeable, and nonexchangeable tissue Cr pools but did not alter 51Cr distribution. These results indicate that the merging of tracer techniques with tissue Cr analyses yields a more complete view of Cr exchange than 51Cr distribution alone. The data support the hypothesis that specific transport characteristics exist in tissues that may regulate the biological role of Cr.