Automatic detection of oesophageal intubation based on ventilation pressure waveforms shows high sensitivity and specificity in patients with pulmonary disease.

Background: Unrecognised endotracheal tube misplacement in emergency intubations has a reported incidence of up to 17%. Current detection methods have many limitations restricting their reliability and availability in these circumstances. There is therefore a clinical need for a device that is small enough to be practical in emergency situations and that can detect oesophageal intubation within seconds.

Histochemical changes in the composition of mucins in goblet cells during methotrexate-induced mucosal atrophy in rats.

Changes in the composition of mucins in jejunal goblet cells were investigated histochemically after a single intraperitoneal injection of methotrexate in rats (40 mg methotrexate/kg body weight). At 48 h after injection of methotrexate, when mitotic activity in the crypts approximates to zero, an almost complete disappearance of mucin-containing goblet cells can be observed. At 96h, when proliferative activity in crypts is excessive, neutral mucin- and sialomucin-containing goblet cells dominate in the crypts, whereas in controls the crypts display sulphomucin-containing goblet cells.