Pharmacokinetics, safety, and activity of nevirapine in human immunodeficiency virus type 1-infected children

The challenge of useful serial photographic documentation of hair loss can be met by using a regimented approach at each photographic session. Patient outcomes that are better documented allow for more informed decisions to be made about the course of therapy by both the physician and the patient.     

Delorme operation for rectal prolapse

A consecutive series of 49 elderly patients of mean age 73 years with full-thickness rectal prolapse underwent the Delorme operation between 1986 and 1990. A standard technique was used, or supervised, by one surgeon. In this prospective series, 43 patients were reviewed clinically. The Delorme operation abolished rectal prolapse in 32 patients. Half of the 40 with faecal incontinence were rendered continent. Failure was related to previous anorectal surgery and/or psychiatric illness. Of the 11 patients in whom the first procedure failed, four were improved by a second Delorme operation. The Delorme operation is a suitable procedure for elderly and/or medically unfit patients with rectal prolapse. Good results have also been demonstrated for younger patients, suggesting that the operation may have wider application.     

Splitting hairs: dissecting roles of signaling systems in epidermal development

A case of hepatic portal venous gas following intestinal ileus in a critically ill patient in the intensive care unit, who went on to have a successful outcome, is described. Although hepatic portal venous gas (HPVG) is usually associated with an abdominal catastrophe and portends a poor clinical outcome, there are a number of benign causes of HPVG. The pathophysiological processes such as gut bacterial translocation and altered intestinal permeability that may occur as a paraphenomenon in the setting of HPVG are discussed.     

Properties of high-voltage stress generated traps in thin siliconoxide

It has previously been shown that trap generation inside thin oxides during high voltage stressing can be coupled to time-dependent-dielectric-breakdown distributions through the statistics linking wearout to breakdown. Since the stress-generated traps play a crucial role in the wearout/breakdown process, it is important to understand the properties of these traps. The properties of the traps in oxides with thicknesses between 2.5 nm and 22 nm have been studied, with emphasis on oxides in the 8.5-nm to 13-nm thickness range. The Coulombic scattering cross section of the traps responsible for the reduction in the tunneling current, an estimate of the spatial and energy distribution of the traps, and the charging/discharging properties of the traps have been measured. It will be shown that the measured properties of the high-voltage, stress-generated traps can be adequately described by the tunneling of electrons into and out of traps     

A new triple stain for Helicobacter pylori suitable for the autostainer: carbol fuchsin/Alcian blue/hematoxylin-eosin

OBJECTIVE: To develop an inexpensive stain to simultaneously visualize gastric morphology and Helicobacter pylori. METHODS: Gastric biopsies were stained with Genta stain using manual methods, and with carbol fuchsin/Alcian blue/hematoxylin-eosin using an automatic slide stainer (Sakura DRS-601). Slides were then coded and interpreted by 2 pathologists. Helicobacter pylori was scored using a visual scale (0 [none] to 5 [maximum]). RESULTS: One hundred slides were scored; H pylori was present in 64%. Carbol fuchsin/Alcian blue/hematoxylin-eosin stain gave excellent demonstration of gastric morphology. All positive cases (score > or =2) were correctly interpreted. Thirty-six slides had a score of 1 (< or =2 bacteria per entire slide). Of these, 10 were scored negative by Genta stain and 12 were scored negative by the carbol fuchsin/Alcian blue/hematoxylin-eosin stain (P = not significant). Hematoxylin-eosin was significantly less accurate than either of the other 2 stains (P < .02). CONCLUSION: The carbol fuchsin/Alcian blue/hematoxylin-eosin (El-Zimaity) stain is an economical stain suitable for simultaneous visualization of H pylori infection and gastric morphology.     

Positioning GSM telephones

Due to the FCC requirement that operators of mobile communications networks be able to accurately locate mobile callers requesting emergency assistance via 911 by the year 2001, there has been a lot of activity among cellular and PCS providers to examine cellular positioning options. This article examines positioning solutions for the GSM group of standards. Worldwide deployment of GSM systems is well underway, and the positioning characteristics of the various systems are similar. The authors examine the ability to derive position information from GSM signals, based on their May 1996 achievement of accurate position measurements using GSM. Features of GSM signals relevant to positioning are analyzed as well as results achieved and the authors' ongoing positioning trials. Finally, other issues related to GSM positioning and mobile phone positioning in general are covered     

Moderating effects of goal acceptance on the relationship between group cohesiveness and productivity.

Despite the fact that several researchers have suggested that goal acceptance moderates the relationship between group cohesiveness and group productivity, only 1 study (C. N. Greene, 1989) has directly tested this proposition, and virtually no study has examined whether leaders who foster group goal acceptance actually do enhance the relationship between group cohesiveness and group productivity. Two studies were conducted to address these issues. In Study 1, goal acceptance was found to moderate the relationship between group cohesiveness and the quantity of performance of 40 machine crews in a paper mill located in the northeastern United States. In Study 2, the extent to which leaders fostered the acceptance of group goals was found to moderate the relationships between group cohesiveness and quantitative measures of group productivity in 71 insurance agency units located throughout the United States. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

In situ compositional analysis of acidocalcisomes in Trypanosoma cruzi

We measured the elemental content of different compartments in Trypanosoma cruzi epimastigotes using quick freezing, ultracryomicrotomy, and electron probe microanalysis. Vacuoles identified by high electron density contained (in units of mmol/kg dry weight +/- S.E.) large amounts of phosphorus (1390 +/- 13), magnesium (646 +/- 19), calcium (171 +/- 5), sodium (161 +/- 18), and zinc (148 +/- 6). No other compartment had appreciable calcium or zinc content. Iron (128 +/- 16 mmol/kg) was detected only in vacuoles distinct from the electron-dense vacuoles and other organelles. Incubation of cells for 70 min in culture medium in the presence of ionomycin plus nigericin led to a very significant 3- or 2-fold increase in potassium in the electron-dense vacuoles and the iron-rich vacuoles, respectively, with no significant change in the other elements investigated. This indicated the acidic nature of the vacuoles and demonstrated that the electron-dense vacuoles correspond to what were described previously as acidocalcisomes, i.e. acidic compartments rich in Ca2+. The acidocalcisomes were investigated by separation of epimastigote fractions on Percoll gradients in combination with Triton WR-1339 treatment. This detergent caused a rapid vacuolation; these vacuoles were shown by electron microscopy to be largely transparent, with a diffuse matrix. Percoll gradient fractionation demonstrated decreases in the density of various organelle markers in detergent-treated cells compared with controls. Large decreases in the density of the acidocalcisome and the mitochondrion were seen, as well as smaller decreases in the density of the other markers. Conventional electron microscopy of epimastigotes loaded with gold-labeled transferrin indicated that the endosomal system was separate from vacuoles that probably corresponded to the calcium-containing organelles detected by electron probe microanalysis. The combined results provide evidence that acidocalcisomes are organelles different from lysosomes or other organelles previously described in these parasites.     

Enhanced methionine levels and increased nutritive value of seeds of transgenic lupins (Lupinus angustifolius L.) expressing a sunflower seed albumin gene

With the aim of improving the nutritive value of an important grain legume crop, a chimeric gene specifying seed-specific expression of a sulfur-rich, sunflower seed albumin was stably transformed into narrow-leafed lupin (Lupinus angustifolius L.). Sunflower seed albumin accounted for 5% of extractable seed protein in a line containing a single tandem insertion of the transferred DNA. The transgenic seeds contained less sulfate and more total amino acid sulfur than the nontransgenic parent line. This was associated with a 94% increase in methionine content and a 12% reduction in cysteine content. There was no statistically significant change in other amino acids or in total nitrogen or total sulfur contents of the seeds. In feeding trials with rats, the transgenic seeds gave statistically significant increases in live weight gain, true protein digestibility, biological value, and net protein utilization, compared with wild-type seeds. These findings demonstrate the feasibility of using genetic engineering to improve the nutritive value of grain crops.