M-CAVI, a neoadjuvant carboplatin-based regimen for the treatment of T2-4N0M0 carcinoma of the bladder

Dupuytren's disease is a proliferative fibroplasia that can lead to a significant contracture of the metacarpophalangeal (MCP) and interphalangeal (IP) joints, causing a functional disability. Surgical excision of the Dupuytren's tissue and release of the contracted joints may be necessary to restore function. Most patients require hand therapy postoperatively. Postoperative complications have been reported at 17%. These include excessive inflammation, hematoma, ischemic skin necrosis, infection, granuloma formation, transient paresthesia, scar contracture, persistent proximal interphalangeal (PIP) flexion contracture, distal interphalangeal (DIP) hyperextension deformity, joint stiffness, poor flexion and grip strength, pain, and reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD). The hand therapist plays a vital role in the early detection and treatment of many of these complications.     

Assessment of scientific profiles and capabilities of Ph.D. programs in Chile: A scientometric approach

It is well known that the quality of a doctorate program is related to the level of involvement of its faculty in research. Thus, we worked with the hypothesis that postulates that if the in-house scientific output of the core faculty involved in a Ph.D. program can be appraised in such a manner that the achievements render quantitative and qualitative indicators, it is possible to depict profiles amenable for comparisons. We describe the methodology, that uses performance scientometric indicators, and results obtained after studying five Ph.D. programs in the field of Cell and Molecular Biology/Biochemistry in three different Chilean universities and show that the approach serves to portray the in-house capacity of each programvis a vis national and international standards.     

Thermal crack problems for a bimaterial with an interface crack and internal defects subjected to a heat source

The interaction between internal defects and an interface crack in a bimaterial subjected to a thermal load, in particular a heat source, is examined. Attention is focused on the construction of the associated integral equations.     

High- and low-energy collisionally activated decompositions of octaethylporphyrin and its metal complexes

High-energy (HE) and low-energy (LE) collisionally activated decompositions of octaethylporphyrin (OEP) and its metal complexes (ZnOEP and CuOEP) depend on whether the precursor is produced by electrospray ionization as protonated molecules or by fast atom bombardment as radical cations or protonated molecules. LE activation leads to such simple product-ion spectra that a complete picture of fragmentation emerges only after nine stages of tandem mass spectrometry (MS). HE activation, on the other hand, gives product-ion spectra that afford an integrated view of all the decomposition channels in a single MS/MS experiment. These results are the basis of a recommendation that OEP is an appropriate model compound for investigating energy effects in the collisional activation of organic and bioorganic molecule ions.     

Surgical treatment of noniatrogenic trauma of the femoral arteries

Trauma to the femoral arteries corresponds to 30 percent of all arterial traumas. The authors reviewed 74 patients with noniatrogenic trauma of the femoral arteries treated from January 1991 to December 1993. Ages ranged from 11 to 50 years, with a mean of 24. Seventy-one patients were male and three female. Fifty-two patients (70.2 percent) were white, 20 (27 percent) were black and two (2.8 percent) were Asian. Trauma due to firearms had the highest incidence, with 61 cases (82.4 percent). Absence of pulse was the most frequent clinical symptom (62.5 percent). Severe ischemia, with risk of loss of limb, was found in 66.2 percent of the cases. The superficial femoral artery was impaired in 77 percent of the cases. A preoperative arteriography was performed on only five patients, victims of multiple penetrating trauma or an asymptomatic penetrating wound along a vessel passage. In six cases, arterial and venous ligature was the chosen procedure. In three cases, a primary arterial anantomosis was performed. Simple arterriorraphy was feasible in one patient. In 64 of the patients, a venous graft was undertaken using a segment of the inverted great saphenous vein withdrawn from the other lower limb. Fasciotomoy was used in 32 patients (43.2 percent), all of whom exhibited pasting of the lower limb muscles at admission. One patient died during the immediate postoperative period as the result of multiple organ failure caused by polytraumatism. Preservation of the limb was attained in 72 patients (97.3 percent) Severe, previously-incurred ischemia was responsible for the only two amputations, aggravated by an exceedingly long delay between the time of injury and surgery. One of these patients, in addition to severe ischemia, had extensive injuries to the soft tissues. We conclude that trauma of the femoral arteries, attended while the limb still maintains its vitality, has a positive clinical outcome with a high rate of limb preservation. Mortality usually results from injury to other organs.     

Fabrication of Si nanostructures by controlled sidewall oxidation

We have fabricated Si dots and wires with widths as small as 2 nm by thermally oxidizing an etched mesa in a controlled manner. Electrical contacts are deposited on the Si nanostructures so that their current-voltage characteristics may be measured. For dots fabricated from wafers with a n-i-n doping profile we observe alinear dependence of the room temperature conductance on the device diameter, which we explain in terms of the profile of the Si/SiO₂ interface. We are able to extract the width of the unoxidized Si from this dependence and find that the I(V) of devices with active widths less than 10 nm measured at 77 K is non-linear. I(V) measurements are also presented for bar shaped devices fabricated from pn material which clearly show that rectification occurs, even for active widths less than 10 nm.