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Biomedical subjects

E J Sternglass

Publications and source records attributed to E J Sternglass.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1994

Nuclear fallout, low birthweight, and immune deficiency.

An investigation of the mortality rates of young adults born in the postwar period of large-scale atmospheric nuclear testing (1945-1965) in the United States and other western industrial nations reveals an increasingly anomalous rise in mortality from its previous secular decline. Beginning in the late 1970s and particularly since 1983, the deterioration in the health of the 25-44 age group is related to in utero exposure to fission products in the milk and diet, associated with an unprecedented rise in underweight births and neonatal mortality known to be accompanied by loss of immune resistance. The 1945-1965 rise in the percentage of live births below 2500 grams is highly correlated with the amount of strontium-90 in human bone, both peaking in the mid-1960s. In the 1980s, for the baby boom generation (those born between 1945 and 1965), cancer incidence and mortality due to infectious diseases associated with a rising degree of immune deficiency, such as pneumonia, septicemia, and AIDS, increased sharply. This process of increasing immune deficiency appears to have been exacerbated by continuing secondary exposures to accidental reactor releases and by an acceleration of radiation-induced mutation of pathogenic microorganisms increasingly resistant to drugs.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Breast cancer: evidence for a relation to fission products in the diet.

To establish the possible relation between breast cancer mortality and low doses of radiation due to fission products in the environment, the mortality rates in the nine census regions of the United States for the years 1984-1988 were correlated with the cumulative airborne releases from all the nuclear plants in each region for the period 1970-1987. A high correlation coefficient of 0.91 was obtained for a logarithmic dependence on the total releases, consistent with an indirect action via free-radical oxygen at very low dose rates, in contrast to a direct action on DNA at high dose rates, explaining the wide differences in risk per unit dose obtained in earlier studies. The recent temporal changes of breast cancer rates in the New York metropolitan area including nearby Connecticut, Westchester, and Long Island were examined in relation to the releases from nearby nuclear plants and found to be consistent with a dominant role of short-lived fission products in drinking water and fresh milk. The results support a major role for nuclear plant releases in industrial countries in the recent rises of breast and other forms of cancers not related to smoking, especially among older persons, and strongly support the need to replace nuclear reactors with more benign ways to generate electricity.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1982

Diode array digital radiography: initial clinical experience.

Initial clinical results are described for a new method of digital radiography based on high-detail self-scanning linear diode arrays which overcome many of the limitations of present film or other digital methods. The technique uses a fan-shaped x-ray beam to produce a nearly scatter-free image on a phosphor strip that is fiber-optically coupled to six self-scanning arrays of light-sensitive diodes spaced 0.025 mm, thus providing 6,144 discrete sensors across the field of view. Because these diodes have a greatly expanded dynamic range and operate at very low noise, it becomes possible to visualize small density differences or contrast below 1% both in the light and dark areas of the image. Because of the efficiency of detection and display, radiation doses can be reduced for a given information content. Our preliminary clinical studies have shown to broad application of our method in examining the chest and abdomen and in performing intravenous digital arteriography.

Angiography↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Quasimonochromatic radiation for dental radiography.

Because of the greater sensitivity of commonly used dental films near 40 kv and the inherently greater contrast between bone and other oral tissues that is achieved at lower energies than those conventionally used, a considerable reduction of radiation exposure can be obtained by the use of those quasimonochromatic photons whose energy lies between 30 and 40 kv. The simplest and clinically most efficacious and econimical method of obtaining this quasimonochromatic radiation using fixed-anode tubes involves the use of Ce, 0.008 inch in thickness, as a band-pass filter, with reduction of skin exposure by a third to a half. The considerable dose reduction achieved at an increased exposure time of only 1.2 seconds is significant in view of the fact that both a greater percentage as well as a greater number of people are receiving radiation for oral diagnosis every year. Since the quasimonochromatic rays produced are less energetic than much of the radiation in the unfiltered beam, the radiation doses from scattered radiation to skull, bone marrow, and gonads also are reduced. In addition, the softer photons result in less Compton scattering, reducing the fog and improving the diagnostic quality of the film. Quasimonochromatic radiation may also be used to enhance the contrast wherever iodine contrast medium is needed since iodine absorbs very strongly above its absorption edge near 33 kev, suggesting another use of this technique in the area of oral diagnosis.

Filtration↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Digital radiography of the chest by self-scanning linear diode arrays.

Diode array digital radiography DADR is a method of radiographic imaging that combines the advantages of computer technology with self-scanning linear diode arrays. These digital images are superior to those obtained by film in recording and displaying information in the lightest and the darkest areas of the film, resulting in a balanced image of the entire thorax without compromising detail, and at reduced radiation dose. This is a direct result of the wide dynamic range, high contrast sensitivity, fiber optic coupling, small diode size, short exposure time, and rejection of scattered x-rays of the system coupled with digital post-processing enhancement of the image displayed at 1024 X 1024 pixels.

Adult↗