An anaphylactic reaction is a generalized allergic effect (also called anaphylactic shock). Allergic or anaphylactoid reactions range from sneezing, urticaria and itching, bronchospasm, facial and laryngeal edema to life-threatening symptoms including cardiovascular collapse, shock and respiratory distress.
Iodinated contrast materials are safe and widely used. However, anaphylactoid reactions occur rarely after administration of x-ray contrast agents. Most hypersensitivity symptoms appear short time after the intravenous, oral, rectal or other application (e.g., retrograde pyelography), only few are delayed by hours.
Patients with a history of allergic, asthmatic or reactions to contrast agents are at increased risk of anaphylaxis. Pre-treatment with corticosteroids and antihistamines decreases the incidence of an adverse reaction.

The Auger electron is emitted caused by the Auger effect. The kinetic energy of the Auger electron depends on the type of atom and the chemical environment. The energy of the Auger electron is in the range between 280 eV (electron volt) and 2100 eV. These different energy levels are utilized for chemical analysis.

See also Auger Effect, Compton Electron, Conversion Electron, Initiating Electron and Auger Pierre Victor.

The company is developing and making specialized medicines for treating multiple sclerosis, dermatological disorders, female health concerns, cancer and is creating new diagnostic imaging techniques. Berlex, Inc. is a pioneer in the imaging market. It has introduced a broad range of imaging agents. Its contribution began in 1988 with the introduction of the world's first magnetic resonance imaging agent, Magnevist® (gadopentetate dimeglumine) injection. Berlex is headquartered in New Jersey and the U.S. affiliate of Bayer Schering Pharma AG, Germany.

Henri Becquerel demonstrated beta particles in 1900. Identical with electrons is there negative charge at -1. Their mass is 549 millionths of one AMU, 1/2000 of the mass of a proton or neutron. Beta particles consist of high energetic electrons emitted by radioactive nuclei or neutrons. By the process of beta decay, one of the neutrons in the nucleus is transformed into a proton and a new atom is formed which has one less neutron but one more proton in the core. Beta decay is accompanied by the emission of a positron (the antiparticle of the electron), a positive charged antineutrino. Beta particles have a greater range of penetration than alpha particles but less than gamma rays or x-rays. The name beta was coined by Rutherford in 1897. The traveling speed of beta particles depends on their energy. Because of their small mass and charge beta particles travel deep into tissues and cause cellular damage and possible cancer.

See also Radiation Shielding.

The basic unit of information.
Definition: The smallest unit of information in the storage on a computer. Eight bits are grouped together to form one byte, additional start and stop bit.
Larger units are
kilobyte (kB) = 1 000 bytes (computer storage 1024 bytes)
megabyte (MB) = 1 000 kB (computer storage 1024 kB)

See also Bit Range, Binary System, Decimation, Digitization, Sampling Rate and Picture Archiving and Communication System.