Solitary intraosseous infantile myofibroma of the orbital roof

BACKGROUND: There are several rare tumors that can cause proptosis in an infant, including infantile myofibroma. METHODS: A 3-month-old infant developed a painless, bone-destructive superomedial orbital mass, raising concern for orbital malignant neoplasms. Computed tomography disclosed a bone-destructive mass of the sphenoid wing. On magnetic resonance imaging, the intraosseous mass was well-circumscribed, surrounded by cortical bone, and showed prominent enhancement. RESULTS: Superomedial orbitotomy and biopsy revealed a lesion composed of spindled to stellate cells, without mitotic activity, set in a fibromyxoid stroma. Immunohistochemical stains were positive for vimentin and actin. Ultrastructurally, there were actinlike thin filaments, mitochondria, and rough endoplasmic reticulum confirming a myofibroblastic proliferation and supporting the diagnosis of congenital infantile myofibroma. CONCLUSION: Infantile myofibroma is a benign tumor that occurs rarely in the ocular region but can cause prominent bone destruction, misleading the clinician to suspect a malignant neoplasm.     

Flame retardant epoxy resins based on diglycidyl ether of isobutyl bis(hydroxypropyl)phosphine oxide

Phosphorous‐containing epoxy resins were prepared from diglycidyl ether of isobutyl bis(hydroxypropyl)phosphine oxide (IHPOGly) and diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) by crosslinking with 2,4‐diaminotoluene. Several IHPOGly/DGEBA molar ratios were used to obtain materials with different phosphorous content. Thermal, dynamomechanical, and flame retardant properties were evaluated and related with the phosphorous content. The weight loss rate of phosphorous‐containing resins is lower than that of the phosphorous‐free resin for the thermoxidative degradation. Char yields under nitrogen do not show significant differences among the phosphorous‐containing resins and the phosphorous‐free resin, while under air char yields increase with the phosphorous content. The presence of phosphorous increases the limiting oxygen index (LOI) values even when the phosphorous content is low, and no significant differences with the phosphorous content are observed. V‐0 materials were obtained when the resins were tested for ignition resistance with the UL‐94 test. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 99: 1367–1373, 2006     

Handheld use condition-based bend test development

For handheld electronic applications such as cell phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs), repeated key strokes could result in considerable flexure of the printed circuit board (PCB) mounted inside the housing. In this study, a standardized four-point bend test, including test board design, test setup, and test input level, has been developed. The S-N curve has been obtained by plotting the reliability at all deflection levels as a function of solder joint strain energy density. The effect of test frequency has also been evaluated. The reliability model prediction of three-point bend reliability matches the experimental data extremely well. The transfer function between reliability stressing and field condition is a strain-energy-density-based power law relationship. Finite-element simulation has been conducted for the worst case cell phone subjected to key presses. The use condition data including strain profiles and frequency have been incorporated in the field life prediction. The four-point bend performance can be converted into the component reliability during cell phone field use conditions. This study establishes the correlation between the use conditions and reliability tests. The cyclic four-point bend test will be implemented in the Joint Electron Device Engineering Council (JEDEC) bend test standard for handheld components.     

In-Plant evaluation of a lactic acid treatment for reduction of bacteria on chilled beef carcasses.

The effectiveness of a lactic acid treatment consisting of spraying a 4% L-lactic acid solution (55 degrees C at source) on chilled beef carcasses to reduce bacterial populations was tested in a commercial slaughter environment. All carcasses had been treated with a proprietary decontamination treatment composed of a hot water spray followed by a lactic acid spray prior to chilling. Bacterial groups used to indicate reductions included aerobic plate count (APC), total coliform count, and Escherichia coli count, and samples were examined from the brisket, the clod, and the neck regions of 40 untreated and 40 treated carcass sides. Depending on the carcass surface region, APCs were reduced by 3.0 to 3.3 log cycles. Log coliform and E. coli counts were consistently reduced to undetectable levels. The small reductions observed for coliforms are attributable to counts on untreated carcasses already being near the lower detection limit of the counting method. The percentage of samples with detectable numbers of coliforms (positive samples) on untreated carcasses ranged from 52.5 to 92.5%, while 0.0% of the samples collected from treated carcasses contained detectable coliforms. Percent E. coli-positive samples ranged from 7.5 to 30.0% on untreated carcasses and 0.0% after treatment of carcass sides. These results indicate that a hot lactic acid spray with increased concentration and time of application may be effectively implemented for an additional decontamination treatment of chilled beef carcasses prior to fabrication.     

Phase I control chart based on a kernel estimator of the quantile function

To measure the statistical performance of a control chart in Phase I applications, the in‐control average run length (ARL) is the most frequently used parameter. In typical start up situations, control limits must be computed without knowledge of the underlying distribution of the quality characteristic. Assumptions of an underlying normal distribution can increase the probability of false alarms when the underlying distribution is non‐normal, which can lead to unnecessary process adjustments. In this paper, a control chart based on a kernel estimator of the quantile function is proposed. Monte Carlo simulation was used to evaluate the in‐control ARL performance of this chart relative to that of the Shewhart individuals control chart. The results indicate that the proposed chart is more robust to deviations in the assumed underlying distribution (with respect to the in‐control ARL) and results in an alternative method of designing control charts for individual units. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Antimicrobial resistance of Listeria monocytogenes isolated from various cabbage farms and packing sheds in Texas

Twenty-one isolates of Listeria monocytogenes from cabbage, environmental, and water samples were evaluated for antimicrobial resistance by the disk diffusion method. Ninety-five percent (20 of 21) of the isolates tested were resistant to two or more antimicrobial agents. This finding is significant, since multiresistant strains of Listeria spp. are not commonly found in nature. Eighty-five percent (17 of 20) of the multiresistant strains were resistant to penicillin, and the remaining multiresistant isolates were somewhat sensitive to penicillin. A multiresistant strain showing intermediate sensitivity to penicillin was resistant to gentamicin. One isolate was susceptible to all antimicrobial agents except penicillin. Penicillin- and gentamicin-resistant L. monocytogenes have not previously been reported from human, food, or environmental samples. This study provides evidence of the emergence of multiresistant L. monocytogenes strains, pointing to an increase in the potential threat to human health posed by this pathogen.     

Lactic acid sprays reduce bacterial pathogens on cold beef carcass surfaces and in subsequently produced ground beef

Organic acids have been shown to be effective in reducing the presence of pathogenic bacteria on hot beef carcass surfaces; however, application for decontaminating chilled carcasses has not been fully evaluated. In this study, a postchill, 30-s lactic acid spray (500 ml of 4% L-lactic acid, 55 degrees C) was applied onto outside rounds that had been contaminated with Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella Typhimurium, subsequent to prechill hot carcass treatments consisting of water wash alone or water wash followed by a 15-s lactic acid spray (250 ml of 2% L-lactic acid, 55 degrees C). The prechill treatments reduced both pathogens by 3.3 to 3.4 log cycles (water wash alone) to 5.2 log cycles (water wash and lactic acid). In all cases, the postchill acid treatment produced an additional reduction in E. coli O157:H7 of 2.0 to 2.4 log cycles and of 1.6 to 1.9 log cycles for Salmonella Typhimurium. The counts of both pathogens remained significantly lower in ground beef produced from the outside rounds that received prechill and postchill acid spray than from those that received a postchill spray only. These data indicate that organic acid sprays may be successfully applied for pathogen reduction in beef carcass processing after the cooler, especially when combined with prechill treatments.     

Electroneutral Na-coupled cotransporter expression in the kidney during variations of NaCl and water metabolism

The antiproteinuric effect of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibition in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) patients with diabetic nephropathy varies considerably. Therefore, we tested the potential role of an insertion (I)/deletion (D) polymorphism of the ACE gene on this early antiproteinuric responsiveness in an observational follow-up study. Sixty (II, N = 13; ID, N = 26 and DD, N = 21) young hypertensive IDDM patients suffering from diabetic nephropathy were investigated during three months before and for the initial six month period during ACE inhibition [captopril 44 (SD 22) mg/24 hr, no differences in drug dose between groups]. Blood pressure (MABP) and albuminuria (ELISA) were measured three (1 to 6) times before and three (1 to 13) times during ACE inhibition. At baseline the groups (II/ID/DD) had comparable (1) mean arterial blood pressure (MABP mm Hg) of 113 +/- 10/108 +/- 9/114 +/- 8, (2) albuminuria (geometric mean with 95% CI) 1394 (747 to 2608)/1176 (844 to 1797) and 1261 (827 to 2017) mg/24 hr, and (3) serum creatinine (geometric mean with 95% CI), 80 (68 to 93)/85 (76 to 97)/103 (85 to 119) mumol/liter, respectively. Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibition induced a significant reduction in MABP, albuminuria and kidney function in all three groups (II/ID/DD; P < 0.05): (1) MABP (mean +/- SD) 12 +/- 7/5 +/- 7/8 +/- 9 mm Hg (ANOVA, P = 0.02); (2) albuminuria [mean (95% CI)] 61 (34 to 77)/22 (3 to 37)/31 (13 to 46) %, (ANOVA, P < 0.01); and (3) increasing serum creatinine [mean (95% CI)] 8 (4 to 12)/9 (3 to 16)/8 (0 to 16) % (ANOVA, NS), respectively. Adjusting for differences in reduction in MABP did not change the association between decrease in albuminuria and ACE/ID genotypes (P < 0.01). A multiple linear regression analysis revealed that the ACE/ID polymorphism, albuminuria and MABP at baseline independently influenced the decline in albuminuria after initiation of ACE inhibition (R2 = 0.21, P < 0.01). A significant association between changes in MABP and albuminuria was demonstrated (R2 = 0.16, P < 0.01). Our data show that hypertensive albuminuric IDDM patients with the II genotype are particularly susceptible to commonly advocated renoprotective treatment.