Severe pulmonary hypertension reversed by antibiotics in a patient with Whipple's disease

The case is described of a 58 year old man with systemic Whipple's disease with pericardial and pleural effusions and severe pulmonary hypertension. After three months of antibiotic treatment there was a complete resolution, not only of the symptoms known to be associated with Whipple's disease (diarrhoea, arthralgia, pericardial and pleural effusions), but also of pulmonary hypertension.     

Detection and Validation of Clusters of Polynomial Zeros

We consider the task of partitioning the zeros of a real or complex polynomial into clusters and of determining their location and multiplicity for polynomials with coefficients of limited accuracy. We derive computational procedures for the solution of this task which combine symbolic computation with floating-point arithmetic. The validation of the existence ofmzeros in a specified small disk is described.     

Determination of diffusing capacity by modeling the dynamics of C18O uptake in newborns

Dynamic modeling of lung C¹⁸O diffusion is used to measure the C¹⁸O transfer factor (TL_co) of 14 newborns aged 1-4 mo. The model equation is based on the alveolar fractions of C¹⁸O and on changing alveolar ventilation induced by the rebreathing conditions. The model does not involve the volume of the rebreathing bag which is usually needed when applying rebreathing technique add which is a source of error. The equation is discretized and solved for recorded data obtained with equipment adapted to use in newborns. A least-square parameter calculation technique is applied to estimate TL_co. Results show a strong relationship between this index and the biometrical ones and confirm those found in the literature featuring that the measurement duration can be considerably shortened     

Contact lenses. 2: Contact lens associated infections

Contact lens wearers, especially those who wear soft or extended wear contact lenses, are at increased risk of suffering from keratitis. Among the causes of corneal infections, an inadequate hygiene or overextended wear play an important role. An insufficient cleaning and disinfection leads to contamination with pathological germs. Sites of entry for these germs are corneal microlesions, caused by the setting and removal of contact lenses, and epithelial defects, as a result of the wearing of old or defective contact lenses. Primary eye diseases of patients who wear contact lenses can be altered by their wearing, and vice-versa. Even more, miscellaneous infections may lead to infectious corneal ulcerations. Having an adequate hygiene, a proper patient orientation during the medical visit, and a regular control are therefore of great importance for the reduction in the frequency of such infections by patients who wear contact lenses.     

Nitric oxide synergistically enhances DNA strand breakage induced by polyhydroxyaromatic compounds, but inhibits that induced by the Fenton reaction

This paper deals with the muscle force of the cervical spine in patients with cervical syndrome compared to the muscle activity in non-patients. It has thus been observed that both the flexors' and the extensors' force of the cervical spine is much greater in non-patients (the flexors' P < 0.01 and the extensors' P < 0.01). The precise measurements having been carried out by a dynamometer. The groups being tested comprised 50 persons each, 25 men and 25 women. The average age of the patients group was 43.1 years, namely between 21 and 57 years, while that of the non-patients group was 42.3 years, between 24 and 56 years. As regards the professional engagement of both groups and, accordingly, the strain on the cervical spine and the corresponding musculature, they were approximately the same.     

Deterministic and stochastic Petri net models of protection schemes

The authors establish the relevance of Petri net modeling to protection studies. They illustrate how the different Petri net models capture the information that is of importance to both qualitative and quantitative evaluation of protection schemes. The marked Petri nets allow one to evaluate the qualitative performance measures of conservativeness, safeness, and properness. Time Petri nets are able to represent the timing parameters of protection schemes, and serve as a tool for the establishment of relationships between these parameters, in order that the coordination between primary and backup protection is ensured. An alternative means of representing timing information is the timed Petri net, which is useful in the computation of the cycle times of the operational cycles of protection schemes. Stochastic Petri nets adequately represent the stochastic nature of protection. Their advantage over simulation techniques as a means of computing the mean sojourn time and the steady-state probability of occupancy of each state of the protection scheme is demonstrated     

Beugung am Kegel elliptischen Querschnitts und die Sommerfeldsche Lösung des Halbebenenproblems

Übersicht In dieser Arbeit wird die Beugung am Kegel elliptischen Querschnitts behandelt. Wir leiten zwei Greensche Funktionen ab, die der Dirichlet- bzw. der Neumann-Bedingung auf dem Kegel genügen und die Ausstrahlungsbedingung erfüllen. Das Randwertproblem wird zurückgeführt auf die Lösung eines zweiparametrigen Eigenwertproblems mit zwei gekoppelten Laméschen Differentialgleichungen. Wir analysieren insbesondere die Beugung einer ebenen Welle an der sektorförmigen Fläche. Im Grenzfall eines Sektoröffnungswinkels von 180° gehen die Reihenentwicklungen unter Zuhilfenahme eines speziellen Gegenbauerschen Additionstheorems und einer erzeugenden Funktion für Besselfunktionen mit ganzzahligem und halbzahligem Index über in die Sommerfeldsche Lösung des Halbebenenproblems.

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Diffraction by an elliptic cone and Sommerfeld's half-plane solution

Contents In this article we examine the diffraction by an elliptic cone. We derive two Green's functions satisfying the Dirichlet-resp. Neumann-condition on the boundary of the cone. The boundary value problem is reduced to a two-parametric eigenvalue problem with two coupled Lamé equations. We analyse the diffraction of a plane wave by a plane angular sector. In the limiting case of a sector angle of 180° the series expansions pass — using a special form of Gegenbauer's addition theorem and the generating function for Bessel functions with integral and half-integral indices — into Sommerfeld's half-plane solution.

     

Control of volatile organic compounds by an AC energizedferroelectric pellet reactor and a pulsed corona reactor

Two laboratory-scale plasma reactors, an alternating current (AC) energized ferroelectric (high dielectric ceramic) packed bed reactor and a nanosecond pulsed corona reactor, were constructed. This study was done to develop baseline engineering data to demonstrate the feasibility of the application of plasma reactors to the destruction of various volatile organic compounds (VOCs) at PPM levels. Complete destruction was obtained for toluene. Conversions of methylene chloride at 95% and trichlorotrifluoroethane (known as CFC-113) at 67% were achieved for the plasma reactors used. The conversion was dependent on the mean electron energy in the reactor and was also related to how strongly halogen species were bonded with carbon     

Attenuation of anticonvulsant effects of diazepam after chronic treatment with bicuculline

Changes in the GABAergic system after chronic treatment with bicuculline were examined in two strains of inbred rats, Fischer 344 (F344) and Lewis (LEW). Rats received an IP injection of either bicuculline (2 mg/kg) or vehicle once a day for 12 days. After this chronic treatment, the effects of diazepam (1 mg/kg, IP) and pentobarbital (20 mg/kg, IP) on bicuculline-induced convulsions were measured. Bicuculline was acutely infused into a tail vein at 0.0415 mg/min, and the infusion was terminated when rats showed seizure. Following the chronic bicuculline treatment, the anticonvulsant effect of diazepam, but not of pentobarbital, was significantly reduced as compared to its effect following chronic vehicle treatment in both strains. Both diazepam and pentobarbital showed a significant difference in anticonvulsant effects between strains (F344 > LEW). The hypnotic effects of muscimol, barbital, pentobarbital, and ethanol following chronic bicuculline treatment were examined. There was no significant difference in sleep time induced by these drugs between bicuculline- and vehicle-treated rats. These results suggest that the attenuation of diazepam's anticonvulsant effect after chronic bicuculline treatment may result from functional changes in benzodiazepine receptors and that the anticonvulsant effects of diazepam and pentobarbital may be influenced by genetic factors. Moreover, the hypnotic effects of several drugs tested are apparently not affected by chronic bicuculline treatment.