In the first six months of a formal Internal Quality Assessment Scheme operating in the Department of Histopathology, Broadgreen Hospital, Liverpool, 1005 items of data were gathered, relating to 80 cases. The scheme entails a random 2% sample of biopsy specimens being selected, each case being analysed using a structured proforma, and a numerical scoring system being allocated to all aspects o...

Hemolysis frequently causes preanalytical errors in laboratory measurements. We aimed to develop a quality improvement indicator for evaluating the extent of inappropriate procedures causing hemolysis in clinical samples collected in medical care units. We defined the threshold value of the hemolysis index (H index) causing significant interference with analyte measurement and analyzed the H in...

The purposes of this study were to compare universal blood lead screening for young children versus targeting by a risk assessment questionnaire and to examine the cost implications of each approach. Costs reflect the total number of blood tests required and cost of specimen collection, handling, and testing per elevated case. The setting included the metropolitan areas of Minneapolis and St. P...

A series of renal biopsy specimens taken at the time of percutaneous nephrolithotomy were investigated for the presence and location of foci of microcalcification. Calcium was found in 18 of 25 (72%) of biopsy specimens from stone formers and in only seven of 30 (23%) of control biopsy specimens. This may indicate defective intrarenal handling of calcium as plasma calcium concentration was norm...

Measurement of plasma concentrations of the natriuretic peptides has recently been recognised as a potentially useful means of identifying patients with left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD). Most studies, including our own, suggest that brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) may be superior to N-terminal atrial natriuretic peptide for diagnostic purposes. The widespread applicability of BNP wo...

a vermiform specimen taken from a 10-year-old boy patient with the chief complain of sneezing, coughing and nasal dis-charge with a history of consumption of fast snack in the day before and liver of sheep in two weeks ago was referred for diagnosis to the helminth taxonomy laboratory, dept. of mdical parasitology and mycology, school of public health, tehran university of medical sciences, ira...

Measurement of fish steroids in water provides a non-invasive alternative to measurement in blood samples, offering the following advantages: zero or minimal intervention (i.e. no anaesthetic, bleeding or handling stress); results not being biased by sampling stress; repeat measurements on the same fish; the possibility of making non-lethal measurements on small and/or rare fish; integrating th...

The aim of this work was to evaluate the reproduction (verifying if there was reproductive activity and, if so, with what intensity) of the most abundant species of the fish community in Passa Cinco stream, in relation to the dry and wet season periods and to the longitudinal gradient, through the application of the reproductive intensity index (RII). The sample collection was carried out durin...

Small-animal imaging has become an important technique for the development of new radiotracers, drugs and therapies. Many laboratories have now a combination of different small-animal imaging systems, which are being used by biologists, pharmacists, medical doctors and physicists. The aim of this paper is to give an overview of the important factors in the design of a small animal, nuclear medi...