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Estimates are presented of the alpha particle doses accumulated by individual organs and soft tissues of Reference Man in a 50-yr period following single intakes of 226Ra and 228Ra. With no decay of 226Ra daughter products in soft tissue, the median dose is 67 mrad per μCi 226Ra intake. With no translocation of 228Ra daughter products, the dose per μCi 228Ra intake is 5.77 times the corresponding value for 226Ra. Biological variability introduces substantial uncertainty when applying these estimates to a particular individual. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess whether outcomes and costs differ for elderly patients admitted to rehabilitation hospitals, subacute nursing homes, and traditional nursing homes.Design: Inception cohort stratified by provider type and followed prospectively for 6 months.Setting: A total of 92 hospital-based units and freestanding facilities from 17 states.Patients: A total of 518 randomly selected patients with hip fracture and 485 stroke patients admitted from November 1991 to February 1994.Main Outcome Measures: At 6 months comparing community residence, recovery to premorbid levels in 5 activities of daily living (ADLs), Medicare costs, and the number of therapy and physician visits. Outcomes were adjusted for premorbid residence and function, caregiver availability, comorbid illness, admission function, cognition, depression, sensory deficits, and mobility impairments.Results: On admission, rehabilitation hospital patients were more likely (P<.001) to have caregivers and better cognitive and physical function. Hip fracture patients admitted to rehabilitation hospitals did not differ from patients admitted to nursing homes in returning to the community (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 1.3; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.6-2.6) or in the number of ADLs recovered to premorbid level (difference, 0.09 ADL; 95% CI, -0.27-0.44), but stroke patients admitted to rehabilitation hospitals were more likely to return to the community (adjusted OR, 3.3; 95% CI, 1.5-7.2) and recover ADLs (difference, 0.63 ADL; 95% CI, 0.20-1.07). Subacute nursing home patients with stroke were more likely than traditional nursing home patients to return to the community (adjusted OR, 6.8; 95% CI, 2.2-21.4), there was no difference in return to the community for patients with hip fracture (adjusted OR, 1.6; 95% CI, 0.7-3.6), and there were no differences in recovery of ADLs for either condition. Medicare costs were greater (P<.001) for rehabilitation hospital patients than for subacute nursing home patients, and the costs for subacute nursing home patients were greater (P=.03 for stroke and .009 for hip fracture) than for traditional nursing home patients.Conclusions: Study findings are consistent with enhanced outcomes for elderly patients with stroke treated in rehabilitation hospitals but not for patients with hip fracture. Subacute nursing homes were more effective than traditional nursing homes in returning patients with stroke to the community, despite comparable functional outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The amounts of cortical and trabecular bone mineral mass were measured by means of microdissection and an ashing technique at approximately 2.5 mm intervals along the most distal 12 cm of radii and ulnae from four women aged 21, 43, 63, and 85. The data show that the distributions of mineral mass and percentage of trabecular bone are similar in both bones. At sites in the radius and ulna commonly used in the photon absorptiometric method of bone mineral mass measurement the percentage of trabecular bone varies between 10% and 50%. The percentage of trabecular bone in the most distal 10% of the length of the radius and ulna remains approximately constant with age but the percentage in the segment which lies between 30% and 40% of the length, measured from the styloid process, increases with age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 133Xenon clearance technique was used to measure blood flow in the capillary bed of non-inflamed attached gingiva. Measurements were made before and after brushing in a standardized manner. The results show that blood flow through attached gingiva is greater than in published data for skin and increases significantly with brushing. The increases measured, however, are much smaller than those reported for skin under similar stimuli. It is concluded that the high flow within unbrushed attached gingiva may be nearer the maximal possible flow than is the case for skin. The smaller increases measured as a result of brushing the gingival tissues may therefore represent a near maximal microcirculatory response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A radiochemical technique for the rapid and precise measurement of glucose utilization of fresh samples of dental plaque is described. The method appears to be a sensitive indicator of the actual glycolytic ability of an organized microbial plaque including activity in the Embden-Meyerhof pathway as well as heterolactic fermentation and the Entner-Dondoroff pathway. It was found that the glycolytic rate of plaque associated with periodontal pockets was significantly higher than that for plaque not so associated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ultramicrochemical methods were used to assay lactic dehydrogenase, (L.D.H.) malic dehydrogenase (M.D.H.) and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogeaase (G-6-P.D.H.) in biopsy specimens obtained from palatal mucosa and gingiva of young human volunteers. Half the specimens examined came from individuals who had used a chlorhexidine containing mouthrinse for 18 months and the other half from individuals using a placebo mouthrinse. There were no statistically significant differences in enzyme activity between the two groups. It is concluded that the activities of the glycolytic processes investigated, confirm the lack of any chronic inflammatory process in the chlorhexidine exposed tissue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]