Invasive angiology in acute arterial pathology in a critically ill newborn infant

Four patients who complained of symptoms and signs compatible with biliary tract disease and in whom the diagnosis of gallbladder (three cases) and common bile duct ascariasis (one case) was made sonographically are reported. In two patients with gallbladder ascariasis, cholecystectomy corroborated the presence of the round-worms, and was curative. The third patient was a pregnant woman (32nd gestational week) who took piperazine citrate, and a second sonogram performed 29 days later was completely normal. The fourth patient with common bile duct ascariasis underwent choledochotomy with extraction of one ascaris lumbricoides from the common duct, and a T tube was left in place for 15 days. All patients received antiparasitics and had a favorable outcome. Ultrasonography is an important noninvasive diagnostic procedure in the work-up of these patients, who usually describe a clinical picture suggesting gallstone disease: this is especially true in the presence of pregnancy.     

Thermal Diffusivity in Supercritical Fluids Measured by Thermal Lensing

Thermal diffusivities of supercritical CO₂ and C₂H₆ were determined over a wide density range with a photothermal technique. The thermal lens, formed by the degradation of the absorbed light energy as heat by the sample, allows the employment of a nonequilibrium method in the critical region. Controlling the refractive-index gradient, i.e., a density gradient, perturbations can be maintained at levels where convection is negligible. An easy-to-operate setup allowed us to measure thermal diffusivities in the density ranges 5 to 20 mol·dm^–3 for CO₂ at 308 and 313 K and 2 to 12 mol·dm^–3 for C₂H₆ at 308 K with a standard precision of 15%.     

The molecular biology of bladder carcinoma

OBJECTIVE: The clinical course of transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder can be difficult to predict due to its potential to invade the muscle layer and/or develop to a high grade lesion. Bladder carcinoma can arise from genetic changes that may activate the oncogenes (-c-erbB2, c-erbB1, c-myc, ras, etc.) and/or inactivate the suppressor genes (p53, Rb). The aim of the present study is to continue a study protocol on the molecular biology of bladder tumors. METHODS/RESULTS: From January, 1993 to January, 1995, 85 patients were studied. These patients were divided into two groups: the first group comprised 14 controls of urothelial tissue and the second comprised 65 cases of transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder. p53 expression was determined by an immunohistochemical method (NCL-p53-DO7 monoclonal antibody). Quantification of the p8 oncoprotein in cytosol and EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) in membrane was performed by ELISA (Oncogene Science) and RIA (Vienna Lab), respectively. A statistically significant relationship between the expression of p53 and EGFR with tumor stage and grade was found. Quantification of p185 and EGFR showed higher values in the tumor tissue than in the control samples, but a worse survival could not be determined. CONCLUSIONS: The present study shows that p53 expression can be considered to be a prognostic factor. It provides useful information on the aggressive behaviour of the tumor and has a direct relation with the survival rates.     

Effects of temperature, ammonium and glucose concentrations on yeast growth in a model wine system

In enology, alcoholic fermentation is a complex process involving several mechanisms. Slow and incomplete alcoholic fermentation is a chronic problem for the wine industry and factors leading to sluggish and stuck fermentations have been extensively studied and reviewed. The most studied cause of sluggish and stuck fermentation is the nitrogen content limitation. Nevertheless, other factors, such as temperature of fermentation and sugar concentration can affect the growth of yeasts. In this study we modelled the yeast growth‐cycle in wine model system as a function of temperature, sugar and ammonium concentrations; the individual effects and the interaction of these factors were analysed by means of a quadratic response surface methodology. Cell concentrations and weight loss were monitored in the whole wine fermentation process. The results of central composite design show that lower is the availability of nitrogen, higher is the cell growth rate; moreover, initial nitrogen concentration also influences survival time of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.     

Application of Romero García method to the degradation process of DGEBA/ETDA filled with ultra fine metallic copper

Summary The thermal properties of an epoxy resin (diglycidyl ether Bisphenol A, DGEBA) cured with a primary amine (ethylenediamine, ETDA) and filled with 10, 20 and 30 wt. % of ultra fine copper particles were analyzed. The thermal results were evaluated by means of the Romero-Garcia method, which allowed to obtain the resin degradation kinetic parameters, as well as the possible decomposition mechanism. From the obtained results is possible to infer that higger copper content strongly affects the degradation process of the epoxy resin, which causes a drop off on the composites thermal stability. This behavior could be attributed to water presence, being this effect less pronounced for the resin with 10 wt. % copper and unfilled resin. Regarding to decomposition mechanism, three way transport showed the best correlation for all samples.     

A comparative study of the durability and behaviour of fat lime and feebly-hydraulic lime mortars

Lime mortars are often used for repairs to historic buildings. This paper investigates two forms of lime binder: fat and feebly-hydraulic, in order to predict their long-term behaviours and hence ascertain which of the two possesses greater durability, so that they may be used more efficiently in restoration. Mortars were tested for properties governing moisture movement and also subject to durability cycles. The resistance to damage under freezing conditions was evaluated with the saturation coefficient. Thermal cycles had no effect on the mortars and gave no indication of the relative durabilities of the binders. Salt crystallization cycles, though effective in distinguishing the more durable of the two, were too aggressive to gauge a clear profile of salt weathering and succeeded in rapidly decomposing the samples. Tests on the properties governing moisture movement produced good indications of the degree to which the mortars permit flow through their fabrics. According to the results obtained, fat lime mortars are more durable than those made with feebly-hydraulic lime. The results also suggest that the feebly-hydraulic lime mortars are at a higher risk of decomposition by granular disintegration whereas fat lime mortars are better suited to damp, slightly exposed conditions. These results disagree with the general opinion that hydraulic limes are more durable than fat limes due to the additional strength and water insolubility arising from their hydraulicity.     

Report on the therapeutic use of rimantadine and amantadine]

A discussion is carried out about the experiences with the application of rimantadine and amantadine to patients with influenza. The basic general results consisted in the fact that 2 of the 74 patients treated had a high cure percent (> 68.0%) within the first 72 hours after using the drug. No new diseased were found among the 40 contacts to whom chemoprophylaxis was applied. There were only 3.9% adverse reactions among the total number of people treated with amantadine.     

Adequacy of medical referrals to hospital emergency service

OBJECTIVE: To assess the correctness and diagnostic concordance in referrals of patients to hospital Casualty Departments (CD); and the possible differences between rural and urban health centres (HC) as well as between general practitioners (GP) and family and community medicine (FCM) specialists. DESIGN: Observational study of a crossover nature. SETTING: Health area 1 in the province of Badajoz. PATIENTS AND OTHER PARTICIPANTS: 800 patients, referred to their local hospital Casualty Department. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: 50.5% of all referrals were considered justified. 15.1% of the patients referred were admitted to hospital. 50.7% of referrals from GPs were found to be correct, against 47% from FCM specialists; and 49% of those referred from rural HCs were correct, as against 45.9% of those referred from urban HCs (no significant differences). Only 54% of referrals had a diagnostic hypothesis, with diagnostic concordance at 50%. There was diagnostic concordance in 28.1% of GP referrals, against 33.3% of FCM specialists; and in 27.5% of those from rural HCs against 26.1% from urban HCs (no significant differences). CONCLUSIONS: We found no differences in the correctness of referrals or diagnostic concordance of patients seen in the CD of our city's health area, neither between patients referred from rural and urban HCs, nor between patients referred by GPs and FCM specialists.