A water-filled garment to protect astronauts during interplanetary missions tested on board the ISS

As manned spaceflights beyond low Earth orbit are in the agenda of Space Agencies, the concerns related to space radiation exposure of the crew are still without conclusive solutions. The risk of long-term detrimental health effects needs to be kept below acceptable limits, and emergency countermeasures must be planned to avoid the short-term consequences of exposure to high particle fluxes during hardly predictable solar events. Space habitat shielding cannot be the ultimate solution: the increasing complexity of future missions will require astronauts to protect themselves in low-shielded areas, e.g. during emergency operations. Personal radiation shielding is promising, particularly if using available resources for multi-functional shielding devices. In this work we report on all steps from the conception, design, manufacturing, to the final test on board the International Space Station (ISS) of the first prototype of a water-filled garment for emergency radiation shielding against solar particle events. The garment has a good shielding potential and comfort level. On-board water is used for filling and then recycled without waste. The successful outcome of this experiment represents an important breakthrough in space radiation shielding, opening to the development of similarly conceived devices and their use in interplanetary missions as the one to Mars.

Pediatric sialolithiasis distinctive characteristic in radiological imaging

AIM

Aim of the present paper was to investigate the imaging and related clinical characteristics of sialolithiasis in Italian pediatric population trying to determine the difference between pediatric and adult.

METHODS

Twenty-nine pediatric patients (age range 1-17 years) with pain and postprandial swelling and/or purulent discharge in the salivary gland areas were referred to radiology department after pediatric ear, nose and throat (ENT) evaluation. They all were submitted to ultrasound examination of the main salivary glands. Multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) only was performed in 2/6 patients, in 2/6 patients both sialography and MDCT were performed due to inconclusive MDCT features, 2/6 only sialography was performed. Sialoliths were classified on their location and size.

RESULTS

In 6 out of 29 patients (4 males, 2 females, age range 1-17 years) salivary stones were detected. Sialoliths were detected in 5/6 patients in the submandibular gland and 1/6 in the parotid gland. All sialoliths, excepted for a case of multiple sialoliths, were located in the distal part of the main salivary ducts.

CONCLUSION

Imaging characteristics of sialolith in pediatric group are similar than in adult population in few aspects. In fact sialoliths are smaller in size and located more frequently in the distal part of the main salivary duct, than in adult, making sialography cannulation more complex and requiring short thickness in MDCT.

Sialodochoplasty in the treatment of salivary-duct stricture in chronic sialoadenitis: technique and results

PURPOSE

This study was undertaken to investigate peroral balloon angioplasty of salivary-duct strictures (sialodochoplasty) in chronic sialadenitis, analysing the technique, results and limitations.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Nine patients underwent sialodochoplasty: seven for Stensen's-duct strictures and two for Wharton's-duct strictures. One patient had a double stricture of Stensen's duct and another a salivary stone associated with a Wharton's-duct stricture. All patients were subjected to preliminary sialography to evaluate stricture site, length and grade. Sialodochoplasty was performed after local anaesthesia and progressive dilation of the salivary-duct orifice.

RESULTS

The stricture was successfully dilated in 7/9 patients. The stricture was unchanged after dilatation in one patient, and in another, it recurred after 13 months. In the patient with a double stricture of Stensen's duct, one was resolved and the other was only partially dilated, with significant symptom improvement. One patient developed a new episode of sialadenitis after 3 months, which resolved with medical therapy. Five out of seven patients were asymptomatic at follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS

Sialodochoplasty is an effective procedure in the treatment of salivary-duct strictures, improving symptoms in the majority of patients. The procedure is repeatable and can be proposed as a first-line treatment for symptomatic salivary-duct stricture.

Interventional treatment of sialoliths in main salivary glands

PURPOSE

The aim of our study was to demonstrate the effectiveness of interventional radiology in the treatment of sialolithiasis, as the first-choice treatment for the removal of stones located in the middle and proximal tracts of the main salivary ducts, and to assess its limitations and contraindications.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Between February 1998 and May 2001 eleven interventional removals of sialoliths were performed for recurrent obstruction of the main salivary duct associated with chronic sialadenitis. Patients were selected on the basis of a preliminary sialogram, designed to determine the location and size of the stone. Exclusion criteria were location of the stone in the gland hilum or intraglandular stone, maximum stone diameter >20% of the duct calibre, signs of adherence of the stone to the duct wall. Stone removal, performed after obtaining informed consent, involved administering antibiotic therapy and local anaesthesia, and dilatating the duct ostium to enable introduction of the basket catheter. The basket was then advanced along the duct under fluoroscopic guidance and suitably manoeuvred so as to capture and extract the stone. On completing the procedure a sialogram was taken to ensure the complete patency of the duct. Patients were prescribed a short course of antibiotics and were followed up at 1, 3 and 6 months.

RESULTS

In 10/11 patients the stone was located in Wharton's duct and in 1/11 in Stensen's duct. Removal of the calculus was successful in 10/11 patients; in 2 of these it was necessary to reintroduce the basket after extraction of the stone, in order to eliminate small stone fragments and salivary sand; in 1 patient a preliminary balloon-catheter sialoplasty was performed prior to the procedure to dilatate a distal stenosis caused by chronic sialadenitis; in 3 patients it was necessary to make a small incision in the orifice to introduce the dilator. Removal of the sialolith was unsuccessful in 1/11 of the patients treated, as it proved impossible to capture the calculus, even after repeated attempts. 8/11 patients reported pain during the procedure and swelling in the gland region immediately after the procedure, which resolved spontaneously within 24-48 hours. 9/11 patients remained asymptomatic in the follow-up; only 1/11 patients experienced a recurrence of sialadenitis after a short time, with pus secretion, which resolved with antibiotic treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

The interventional removal of sialoliths in the salivary glands is an effective alternative to the conventional treatment of obstructive diseases of the glandular ducts.

The value of magnetic resonance imaging in a fistula of Wharton's duct

A 30-year-old woman developed a fistula of the Wharton's duct following excision of the submandibular gland. The contribution of conventional fistulography, MRI and MRI fistulography in detecting the exact extent of the fistula is discussed.

Internet research: improving traditional community analysis before launching a practice

Optometric practice management experts have always recommended that optometrists thoroughly research the communities in which they are considering practicing. Until the Internet came along, demographic research was possible but often daunting. Today, say these authors, it's becoming quite a bit easier ... and they show us how.

Guideline development process for optometric care of the patient with diabetes mellitus. American Optometric Association

BACKGROUND

The aim of this project was to develop a standard of optometric care for patients with diabetes mellitus in an effort to help the clinician bridge the gap between research and practice. These guidelines are intended to assist optometric practitioners in the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, management, and rehabilitation of their patients. The guidelines are based on the best available research and professional judgment regarding the effectiveness and appropriateness of optometric care and procedures.

METHODS

This paper details the methodology used by the AOA's Clinical Guidelines Coordinating Committee, Consensus Panel and the Center for Vision Care Policy of the State College of Optometry, SUNY, to develop practice guidelines for patients with diabetes mellitus.

Visual action therapy for global aphasia

Eight globally aphasic patients who had not responded to traditional treatment received Visual Action Therapy (VAT), a nonvocal approach which ultimately trains patients to produce symbolic gestures for visually absent stimuli. Statistical analyses of pre and post VAT scores earned on the Porch Index of Communicative Ability (PICA) showed highly significant improvement on those subtests which measure pantomimic and auditory comprehension skills. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Response of an agrammatic patient to a syntax stimulation program for aphasia

A Syntax Stimulation Program (SSP) based on the findings of neurolinguistic studies of agrammatic aphasic patients was used to treat one patient with a three year history of severe agrammatism. The SSP is designed to elicit eight different sentence constructions at two levels of difficulty using a story completion technique. The patient received pre-, mid- and post-treatment testing with the Northwestern Syntax Screening Test (NSST) and the cookie theft picture description of the Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination (BDAE). With 10 1/2 weeks of treatment, the patient's NSST expressive scores improved from 0 to 21, and his BDAE picture description showed increased phrase length and use of grammatical constructions. In addition, with this special treatment, the patient was able to produce grammatical speech in spontaneous conversation. Thus, the SSP appears to have therapeutic merit in training syntactic skills in presumably stable agrammatic patients.