Pigmented basal cell carcinoma of the eyelid. Apropos of a clinical case

A clinico-pathologic case of a 83-year-old female patient with a deeply pigmented inferior lid tumor is reported. The histopathological study of the tumor demonstrated a pigmented basal cell carcinoma. Numerous different tumors may affect the eyelids, melanocytic or not in nature. True melanomas are infrequent compared with the numerous other pigmented tumors, which always need a histological analysis.     

Synthesis and biological evaluation of new 3-aralkylamino-2-aryl-2H-1, 2,4-pyridothiadiazine 1,1-dioxides as potential CCK-receptor ligands

A series of 2-aralkyl-4H-pyridothiadiazine 1,1-dioxides and 3-aralkylamino-2-aryl-2H-pyrido[4,3-e]-1,2,4-thiadiazine 1,1-dioxides structurally related to quinazolinone CCK receptor antagonists were synthesized and evaluated as CCK-A and CCK-B receptor ligands. The compounds were effective as cholecystokinin-ligands in the micromolar range of concentration, c.f. the cholecystokinin receptor antagonists asperlicin, lorglumide or benzotript, and were thus less potent than the best quinazolinones previously reported. Although the compounds were unsuitable for drug use, the work contributed to our understanding of the chemistry of unusual 2,3-disubstituted pyridothiadiazinedioxides.     

Thermorheological analysis of glass beads-filled polymer melts

The complex viscosity of two thermoplastic polymer melts (high density polyethylene and polystyrene) filled with polydisperse glass beads (10–53 μm) has been studied in the domain of linear viscoelasticity as a function of frequency, temperature, and filler concentration. In the experimental windows examined, the complex viscosity can be well described by a new empirical model, which contains a Cross-type viscosity model for the frequency dependence, a Quemada-type model for the filler concentration dependence, and a compensation effect for the temperature dependence. This model allows the prediction of the complex viscosity of a glass bead-filled thermoplastic melt provided only four parameters are known, namely: the average maximum packing volume fraction characteristic of the filler geometry and size distribution, the flow activation energy of the thermoplastic, the shear-thinning parameter, and an adjustable parameter, also characteristic of the thermoplastic.     

Mapping and load-balancing iterative computations

We consider the mapping of iterative algorithms onto heterogeneous clusters. The application data is partitioned over the processors, which are arranged along a virtual ring. At each iteration, independent calculations are carried out in parallel, and some communications take place between consecutive processors in the ring. The aim is to determine how to slice the application data into chunks, and to assign these chunks to the processors, so that the total execution time is minimized. One major difficulty is to embed a processor ring into a network that typically is not fully connected, so that some communication links have to be shared by several processor pairs. We establish a complexity result that assesses the difficulty of this problem, and we design a practical heuristic that provides efficient mapping, routing, link- sharing, and data distribution schemes.     

Editorial

Higher-Order and Symbolic Computation -     

Multiscale morphology and thermo‐mechanical history of poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC)

The multiscale morphology of rigid poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) formulations (in the nanometre to the micrometre range) was investigated by high resolution scanning electron microscopy, ultra‐small‐, small‐ and wide‐angle X‐ray scattering, as a function of thermo‐mechanical history. It has been shown that the hierarchical structure of PVC grains, when in the dry blend, disappeared during gelation that combines mechanical stress (ie shear stress and hydrostatic pressure) and heating. Nevertheless, the memory of the presence of the smallest particles (domains with diameters of about 80 nm) containing dense amorphous PVC and nanoscaled crystallites, has been highlighted by the study of the change of the microstructure when PVC was reprocessed with high mechanical deformation at a lower temperature than the previous gelation temperature. As a result, the main phenomena occurring during gelation were, in a first step, the disappearance of the hierarchical structure of the grains and, in a second step, the inter‐diffusion of the chains across the frontiers of the primary particles (mechanically reversible), but maintaining the domain structure. The crystalline microstructure was affected by thermo‐mechanical history, but the gelation level should not be estimated strictly in relation to the crystalline morphology. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry     

Ionic properties of non-aqueous liquid and PVDF-based gel electrolytes containing a cesium thiolate/disulfide redox couple

Liquid electrolytes containing a cesium thiolate/disulfide redox couple, prepared from 5-mercapto-1-methyltetrazole cesium salt (CsT) and di-5-(1-methyltetrazole)disulfide (T₂) dissolved in several aprotic solvents and solvent mixtures, have been studied using various techniques. FTIR spectroscopy reveals that relatively strong interactions occur between the reduced species T⁻ and DMSO or DMF while Cs⁺ ions are very weakly coordinated to the SO or CO bond. It is shown that the electrolyte consisting of 1.55 mol kg⁻¹ CsT in the solvent mixture DMSO/DMF (40/60%) exhibits the highest conductivity (1.1×10⁻² and 2.3×10⁻² S cm⁻¹ at 23 and 80 °C, respectively), and that the presence of the oxidized species T₂ does not affect significantly its electrical properties up to a CsT:T₂ molar ratio of 5:1. Conductivity values as a function of salt concentration are discussed in terms of the effective number of charge carriers, taking into account the level of ionic association, and of the ionic mobility. Optically transparent gel electrolytes have been prepared by incorporation of the optimal liquid electrolyte into various amounts of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF). It is shown that ionic mobility is not much affected by the polymer concentration, suggesting that migration of ions occurs mainly through the solvent mixture surrounded by the PVDF matrix.     

Effect of the antioxidants selenium and beta-carotene on HIV-related endothelium dysfunction

Patients infected with HIV are at increased risk of atherosclerosis, and have evidence of endothelium dysfunction. The hypothesis was tested that HIV-related endothelium dysfunction is related to loss of antioxidants. This was done by the supplementation of the antioxidants selenium and beta-carotene. We supplemented the diet of 10 HIV-seropositive subjects with 100 microg selenium daily, 11 subjects with 30 mg beta-carotene twice daily while 15 subjects were not supplemented. Plasma was obtained at outset and after a year, and tested by ELISA for endothelial cell, platelet and inflammatory markers. The non-supplemented patients experienced increases in von Willebrand factor and soluble thrombomodulin (both p <0.01). There were no changes in any of the indices in the patients taking selenium or beta-carotene. Increased von Willebrand factor and soluble thrombomodulin in the non-supplemented patients imply increased damage to the endothelium over the year of the study. Therefore we interpret the lack of increase in the patients taking antioxidants as evidence of the protection of the endothelium by these agents.     

Potential interest of anti-ischemic agents for limiting cyclosporin A nephrotoxicity

Chronic administration of cyclosporin A induces nephrotoxicity in humans. This is related to a cyclosporin A-induced constriction of afferent glomerular arterioles and mesangial cells, which leads to a decrease in filtration pressure and creatinine clearance. Afterwards, cellular lesions are observed involving mainly tubular atrophy and interstitial fibrosis, both of which are nonspecific. The initial mechanism of its toxicity is not clearly explained. The current pharmacological approach is symptomatic in order to counteract or minimize the consequences of a prime cause, which still remains to be defined. However, cyclosporin A has a deletereous effect on mitochondrial functions and mainly on ATP synthesis, which occurs when Ca2+ accumulates in matrix mitochondria. The effects of trimetazidine, an antischemic drug used in the treatment of angina pectoris, have been assessed. This drug is effective in experimental models of hypoxia induced by cyclosporin A: it restores ATP synthesis previously decreased by Ca2+ and cyclosporin A, and releases a part of Ca2+ excess accumulated by mitochondria at concentrations reached in humans at usual dosage regimens. At higher concentrations, it reverses the mitochondrial permeability transition previously generated (opened) by Ca2+ and a pro-oxidant such as terbutylperoxide (t-BH). It was also observed that trimetazidine does not modify the immunosuppressive effects of cyclosporin A in various models. These data suggest that nephrotoxicity of cyclosporin A is not irrevocably linked to its immunosuppressive effect but that it may be possible to counteract at least partly its nephrotoxic effects without altering its effectiveness in preventing graft rejection.