Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA): long-term outcome and aeromedical implications.

Background: Currently U.S. Air Force aviators are permanently disqualified from all military flying duties after PTCA.

Cloned enzyme donor immunoassay (CEDIA) for drugs-of-abuse screening.

Large numbers of specimens (5000-18,000) were screened for amphetamines, barbiturates, cocaine, marijuana, opiates, and phencyclidine by RIA (Roche), Emit II (Syva), and a new immunoassay, CEDIA (cloned enzyme donor immunoassay, Microgenics). All immunoassays performed equivalently for cocaine, opiates, and phencyclidine. All immunoassays detected the same amphetamine/methamphetamine-positive specimens, but all also detected numerous specimens containing cross-reacting sympathomimetic amines.

Limit of detection (LQD)/limit of quantitation (LOQ): comparison of the empirical and the statistical methods exemplified with GC-MS assays of abused drugs.

The limit of detection (LOD) for any analytical procedure, the point at which analysis is just feasible, may be determined by a statistical approach based on measuring replicate blank (negative) samples or by an empirical approach, consisting of measuring progressively more dilute concentrations of analyte. The limit of quantitation (LOQ), or concentration at which quantitative results can be reported with a high degree of confidence, may likewise be determined by either approach. We used both methods to determine LOD and LOQ for forensic gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric (GC-MS) analyses of abused drugs.

Fish and other aquatic animal kills: causes and relevance to public health for military health care professionals.

Environmental contamination is a public health issue. Fish or other aquatic animal kills can be a sign that contamination of the aquatic environment has occurred. They are highly visible to the public.

Alcohol-related mortality in the U.S. Air Force, 1990.

Alcohol-related morbidity and mortality represent a major public health problem in the United States, particularly among young men. Standardized comparisons of alcohol use have demonstrated that members of the military consume more alcohol than matched civilians. To quantify the impact of alcohol use by active duty members of the Air Force for calendar year 1990, we reviewed 283 death certificates and analyzed the cause of death using the Alcohol-Related Disease Impact (ARDI) computer program.

Estimates of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) incidence and trends in the US Air Force.

The results of HIV screening between early 1986 and February 1991 in the United States Air Force are presented. In this period, two total-force screenings were conducted. HIV incidence estimates are presented by age, ethnicity/race, sex and occupational category.

Accuracy and precision of a robotic sample processor.

The accuracy and precision of the Packard Probe 1000, a computer-driven robotic sample processor, were determined using NCCLS Guideline 18-P, employing a rigorous gravimetric procedure. For volumes of 25, 100, and 200 muL, inaccuracy ranged from -0.5 to +0.