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I Sobel

Publications and source records attributed to I Sobel.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

Recent results in color compositing of three-parameter magnetic resonance scans as a preoperative aid to the management of upper limb sarcomas.

We report on improved image quality and some recent clinical results with volume-rendered, color composite, multiparameter, magnetic resonance (MR) datasets and their color histograms. In a previous article we demonstrated the major components of an interactive visualization environment for multiparameter T1-, T2-, PD-weighted MR volume datasets. These are compositing of the three parametric volumes, color volume rendering of the resulting composite, interactive segmentation of the tissues based on color cluster statistics derived from display of the three-dimensional (3D) histogram, and head-tracking stereo display. We herein review the system design and describe improvements to the quality of the color volume rendering, in the display of the 3D color histogram data, and in the specification of the volume renderer's opacity function. Finally, we report on some recent clinical results using our system.

Arm↗

Effects of prolactin and prolactin plus luteinizing hormone on plasma testosterone levels in normal adult men.

In an earlier study, normal adult men were shown to have increased plasma testosterone (T) levels over a several-hour period after haloperidol-induced increases in plasma PRL levels. The present study was designed both to replicate our first study and to examine the potential synergism of PRL and LH in influencing T levels on a short term basis in normal men. Eight volunteers received on 4 separate days an in injection of saline or 0.5 mg haloperidol at 1000 h and an iv injection of saline or 88 IU human LH (hLH) at 1100 h in a double blind randomized block design arranged to augment plasma levels of PRL, LH, and PRL and LH together on the different test days as well as to afford a saline control day. Only five of the eight subjects had prompt PRL responses to haloperidol equivalent to those of our earlier study. As the purpose of this study was to examine the effect of increased PRL on plasma T levels, these five subjects were used for the determination of changes in plasma T. After haloperidol administration, their PRL levels rose an average of 19 ng/ml, to the high-normal range, and after the hLH infusions, their LH levels rose an average of 71 ng/ml. On the saline control day, mean T levels showed the normal diurnal decline. After 0.5 mg haloperidol, T levels were maintained for several hours, and after 88 IU hLH, T levels were increased for several hours. Increased PRL levels concomitant with hLH administration did not produce a T response greater than that caused by hLH alone. The results of this study replicate the effect of drug-induced PRL augmentation on plasma T levels found in our earlier study, but they fail to demonstrate a synergistic effect of acutely increased PRL on LH-stimulated T secretion. PRL thus seems to be another pituitary hormone capable of increasing plasma T in adult men, but it clearly is a weaker stimulus than LH.

Adult↗

Tracking procedures in follow-up studies of drug abusers.

One of the problems that researchers frequently confront is the tracking and locating of research subjects. "Deviant" populations may present special difficulties in this regard. The experiences of a trained field survey unit doing drug-related research are examined. The tracking procedures which they developed are systematically presented. While the substantive focus is on doing research among drug abusers, many of the stated procedures are applicable to research on other deviant groups and, indeed, to all social groups.

Follow-Up Studies↗

[Diagnostic image management and communication systems: experience at the University of Pisa].

Our work was aimed at implementing and validating a system for the acquisition, local management and remote transmission of diagnostic images. Integration of imaging equipment was performed in each of the two sites (5 km apart) in which the Department of Radiology of the University of Pisa is divided. Teleradiology was carried out using 64 Kbit/s lines as well as a 140 Mbit/s Metropolitan Area Network compliant with the Distributed Queue Dual Bus standard. Application domains included remote expert consultation and teleprocessing of diagnostic images. Remote expert consultation was performed in particular by using the 34 Mbit/s interconnection with the Metropolitan Area Network of Florence. Remote processing of diagnostic images using the high speed link allowed the cooperative work with scientific institutions in a field often limited by the complexity of image transfer and by the lack of a timely feed-back concerning the clinical value of processed images. Advanced processing of diagnostic images was performed in the field of stereographic display of CT and MR data sets. Moreover, experience was gained in the visualization, on a single composite image, of the multiparametric data obtained by means of different MR sequences (T1, Spin Density, T2), thus allowing to summarize, by using false colors, different tissue contrast information.

Computer Communication Networks↗