Drug resistant tuberculosis in prisons in Azerbaijan: case study

Tuberculosis is a significant health problem in Azerbaijan. In prisons, this problem is compounded by overcrowding, poor general health, a high representation of risk groups, late case finding, and incomplete treatments. The present study investigated the extent of drug resistance at the Central Penitentiary Hospital in Baku--the country's only treatment center for prisoners with tuberculosis. This International Committee of the Red Cross program, established in 1995, uses the directly observed treatment, short course (DOTS) strategy. Sputum samples were collected from two groups of prisoners: 1) 28 patients who failed to respond, clinically or bacteriologically, after a minimum of 8 weeks to the treatment regimen recommended by the World Health Organization and 2) 38 patients consecutively enrolled over a 4-week period from whom sputum was taken before the start of treatment. Mycobacterium tuberculosis was isolated from all 66 sputum specimens. In the first group, 25 strains (98%) were multidrug resistant (to rifampicin and isoniazid). Such resistance occurred in all new cases and 14 (82%) of the 17 failure or relapse cases. In the second group, 9 strains (24%) were multidrug resistant and only 12 (32%) were fully susceptible. This resistance was found in 3 strains (15%) among the 20 new cases and in 6 strains (33%) among the 18 cases of treatment failure or relapse. These findings suggest that prisoners may have an important future role in the transmission of tuberculosis, especially multidrug resistant forms, in the former Soviet Union.     

Corrosion behaviour of high pressure die-cast and semi-solid cast AZ91D alloys

The microstructure and the corrosion behaviour of high pressure die-cast and semi-solid cast AZ91D magnesium alloys have been investigated. Semi-solid processing leads to a structure with large rounded grains of a solid solution of magnesium (α phase) whereas die-cast alloys are more homogeneous. Electrochemical measurements, particularly with impedance spectroscopy, have shown that the semi-solid cast alloy possesses a corrosion rate at least 35% below that of the die-cast alloy. This can be explained with considering the differences between the composition of the primary α phase and the volume fraction of the β phase, in the two types of alloy.     

Dynamic modelling of consecutive reactions: Application to the acrylonitrile amination

When dealing with optimal control problems to maximize the selectivity of reactions for fine chemical synthesis, representative kinetic and thermodynamic models should be available. While literature appears to be very extensive on theoretical approaches to solve the problem, examples presenting complete models of chemical transformations are scarce. This paper presents the identification of consecutive reactions carried out in a batch reactor. Material and energy balances, satisfying dynamical state evolutions in the temperature range 20-60°C are deduced, for concentrations of acrylonitrile ranging up to 1.6 kmol·m^?3. The stoichiometric network is simplified into two reactions, one reversible and one irreversible. Reaction enthalpies are measured from isothermal runs conducted in the RC1 heat-flow calorimeter from Mettler Toledo.     

A single equation describes excitonic absorption spectra in allquantum-sized semiconductors

The relative motion of the electron-hole pairs which constitute Wannier-Mott excitons in semiconductor quantum wells, superlattices, and quantum wires can never be considered strictly 1-D, 2-D, or 3-D. We propose an exact generalization of the well-known calculations of Elliott in the 3-dimensional case, and of Shinada and Sugano for 2-dimensional media-we calculate the absorption spectrum by bound and unbound excitonic states, by using a metric space with a noninteger dimension α>1. Whatever the dimensionality, i.e., for any quantum-sized structure, the whole optical density spectrum is obtained from a single compact equation, in excellent agreement with experimental data and with the most accurate available theories. We present examples of calculated spectra for quantum wells under applied perpendicular electric fields, and for quantum wires     

Phosphorus deficiency, parathyroid hormone and bone resorption in the growing rat

Sham-operated and parathyroidectomized (PTX) rats were divided into two pair-fed groups, one on a normal mineral intake (0.5% Ca, 0.3% P), the other on a regimen low in phosphorus (0.5% Ca, 0.03% P). P depletion led to a drop in plasma P and urine P, a rise in plasma Ca and a marked rise in urine Ca, a drop in serum magnesium and a rise in urine Mg. The changes were more pronounced in the PTX animals, but final values were the same in both groups. Parallel bone-seeking isotope (85Sr, 177Lu, 237Np) studies in nonablated animals revealed an increase in the urinary nuclide output and in the urine/tibia ratio in P-deficient animals. Normal and primary bone osteocytes decreased and enlarged osteocytes increased as a result of P deficiency; osteoclasts and osteoblasts also increased. Bone composition showed a drop in ash content and a rise in water, with a light decrease in both Ca and P, and a corresponding rise in hydroxyproline and nitrogen in the P-deficient animals. The results are interpreted to mean that P-deficiency in the young growing rat leads to an increase in bone resorption which occurs also in the absence of parathyroid hormone (PTH). The fact that final values were similar in the control and PTX P-deficient animals suggests that steady-state regulation can also occur without PTH. Because P-deficiency leads to rapid hypercalcemia and rapid marked hypercalciuria, there may exist a mechanism for phosphate regulation which would then supersede Ca homeostasis. The change in serum and urine Mg levels may reflect a decrease in tubular Ca and Mg reabsorption associated with P-deficiency.     

Réalisation d'un appareil d'Analyse Thermique Différentielle pour l'étude des produits organiques,contrǒle par un thermomètre à contact variable et un autotransformateur tournant

New Differential Thermo Analysis Apparatus for the Testing of Organic Substances The authors describe, a new heating and regulating apparatus for the differential thermo analysis of organic substances in a range of ?100° to +300°C. The apparatus has a contact thermometer whose range can be changed by a right-left changeable synchronmotor. The heating capacity is changed with an automatically controlled regulating transformer which receives the regulating impulses apart from a contact thermometer from a R-C-part as well. It is therefore possible to divide heating and cooling in separate time and thermal steps. Again the control gives the amount of correction for the regulation of heating so that the reproducible thermal and time cycles are run which permit the accurate analysis of, for example, the transformation points of the triglycerides. Along with the circuit diagram and a functional diagram, two examples of thermograms taken with this apparatus are given.     

Mg-based hydrogen storage materials: Surface segregation in Mg2Cu and related catalytic effects

Fresh surfaces of Mg₂Cu polycrystals cleaved in UHV have been investigated by AES, XPS and X-ray induced AES at room temperature. They show chemical decomposition of the surface leading to pronounced increase of surface Mg content. In contrast to the Mg the Cu remains essentially metallic, even on air exposed samples. It is suggested that this segregation prevents the formation of a compact oxide or hydroxide layer, thereby enabling dissociation of molecular hydrogen at the metallic Cu precipitations and/or the metallic Mg₂Cu subsurface. The results support comparable conclusions drawn earlier for LaNi₅, FeTi and Mg₂Ni.     

Urinary complications of the resectable cancers of the cervix uteri (author's transl)

The authors studied the urinary complications following 721 operations performed between 1960 and 1974 for cervix uterin carcinoma. The surgical method was the one used at the Fondation Curie according to the protocol of treatment. They have noted that: --first, the surgical act as primary treatment (672 cases) was innocuous, as this series showed only 0,6% of the severe complications; in contrast, when the surgery is performed for a recurrence after a total dose irradiation, the severe complications raised to 8%; --secondly, the uretero-hydronephroses following this type of surgery are relatively frequent on the systematic urograms, but most of them are quite asymptomatic and without later sequelae only 0,3% of them required a surgical treatment. The authors analyse the factors influencing the ureteral stenoses, especially the extent of lymphadenectomy and the associated external irradiation. They studied too the ureteral stenoses due to a local recurrence.