Quantitative pulmonary imaging using computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging

Measurements of lung function, including spirometry and body plethesmography, are easy to perform and are the current clinical standard for assessing disease severity. However, these lung functional techniques do not adequately explain the observed variability in clinical manifestations of disease and offer little insight into the relationship of lung structure and function. Lung imaging and the image-based assessment of lung disease has matured to the extent that it is common for clinical, epidemiologic and genetic investigation to have a component dedicated to image analysis. There are several exciting imaging modalities currently being used for the non-invasive study of lung anatomy and function. In this review, we will focus on two of them; X-ray computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. Following a brief introduction of each method, we detail some of the most recent work being done to characterize smoking-related lung disease and the clinical applications of such knowledge

Determination of regional lung air volume distribution at mid-tidal breathing from computed tomography: A retrospective study of normal variability and reproducibility

© 2014 Fleming et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. Background: Determination of regional lung air volume has several clinical applications. This study investigates the use of mid-tidal breathing CT scans to provide regional lung volume data.Methods: Low resolution CT scans of the thorax were obtained during tidal breathing in 11 healthy control male subjects, each on two separate occasions. A 3D map of air volume was derived, and total lung volume calculated. The regional distribution of air volume from centre to periphery of the lung was analysed using a radial transform and also using one dimensional profiles in three orthogonal directions.Results: The total air volumes for the right and left lungs were 1035 +/- 280 ml and 864 +/- 315 ml, respectively (mean and SD). The corresponding fractional air volume concentrations (FAVC) were 0.680 +/- 0.044 and 0.658 +/- 0.062. All differences between the right and left lung were highly significant (p < 0.0001). The coefficients of variation of repeated measurement of right and left lung air volumes and FAVC were 6.5% and 6.9% and 2.5% and 3.6%, respectively. FAVC correlated significantly with lung space volume (r = 0.78) (p < 0.005). FAVC increased from the centre towards the periphery of the lung. Central to peripheral ratios were significantly higher for the right (0.100 +/- 0.007 SD) than the left (0.089 +/- 0.013 SD) (p < 0.0001).Conclusion: A technique for measuring the distribution of air volume in the lung at mid-tidal breathing is described. Mean values and reproducibility are described for healthy male control subjects. Fractional air volume concentration is shown to increase with lung size.Air Liquid

La ganaderia tradicional del norte del estado de Veracruz

This article deals with the importance of livestock in Veracruz regarding the production of live cattle as well as the number of head of cattle. Hernán Cortés introduced the cattle of the American continent which landed in Veracruz, at first it was only creole cattle, but then the European cattle were introduced, which did not resist the climatic conditions. It was until the cebuino cattle arrived at the State when the cattle rising. The state of Veracruz is divided into 10 regions and in turn the northern zone is divided into 3: Huasteca alta region, Huasteca baja and totonaca. The type of livestock that prevails in the state is extensive grazing, where animals circulate freely in the grasslands which occupy more than 50% of the extension of the state. Dual-purpose livestock is also exploited, which is the result of the zebuine and Bos taurus crosses that are resistant to the extreme state climate and where produce meat and milk and cows feed their calves.Este artículo trata de la importancia de la ganadería en Veracruz respecto a la producción de ganado en pie así como el número de cabezas de ganado. Hernán Cortés introdujo el ganado al continente americano el cual desembarcó en Veracruz, al principio solo era ganado criollo, pero después se introdujo el ganado europeo, el cual no resistió las condiciones climáticas. Fue hasta que llegó el ganado cebuino al Estado cuando despuntó la ganadería. El Estado de Veracruz se divide en 10 regiones y a su vez la zona norte se divide en 3: región huasteca alta, huasteca baja y totonaca. El tipo de ganadería que prevalece en el Estado es de pastoreo extensiva, donde los animales circulan libre en los pastizales los cuales ocupan más del 50% de la extensión del Estado. También se explota la ganadería de doble-propósito, que es el resultado de las cruzas cebuinas y Bos taurus las cuales son resistentes al clima extremo del Estado y donde los animales producen carne y leche y las vacas alimentan a sus becerros