Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura and hemolytic uremic syndrome (TTP/HUS). Description of a series of 35 patients

Subsequent to the implementation of a severity marker stamp in case notes, an audit was performed in 86 admissions with acute asthma to a specialist centre over a 12 month period. Compared to previous audit the documentation of severity markers was significantly better (PEFR: 52% vs 83% p = 0.001, Respiratory rate: 44% vs 81% p = 0.001, ABG: 72% vs 80% p = 0.04, air entry: 58% vs 86% p = 0.001, speech: 27% vs 86% p = 0.001, exhaustion: 4% vs 86% p = 0.001). In contrast to the previous audit where no patient received FiO2 > 0.35, 66% of the cases in the repeat audit received FiO2 0.60 (p = 0.001). The mean duration of admission was five days and showed highest partial correlation (r = 0.6) to the time in hours for the pulse to fall to 80/min. Multiple linear regression showed that this was the only variable best predicting the duration of admission (R2 = 0.3). Admission pulse rate (p = 0.04) and serum K+ (p = 0.04) best discriminated between patients admitted for over and under five days. Logistic regression identified only the admission pulse as significant in calculating the odds of the patient staying in the hospital for > 5 days.     

Fibrinolytic variables and cardiovascular prognosis in patients with stable angina pectoris treated with verapamil or metoprolol. Results from the Angina Prognosis study in Stockholm

BACKGROUND: Disturbed fibrinolytic function may influence the progression of coronary atherosclerosis and contribute to thrombotic cardiovascular (CV) events. METHODS AND RESULTS: In the Angina Prognosis Study in Stockholm (APSIS), patients with stable angina pectoris were studied prospectively during double-blind treatment with metoprolol or verapamil. Various measures of fibrinolytic function were studied in 631 (of 809) patients. During a median follow-up time of 3.2 years (2132 patient-years), 32 patients suffered a CV death, 21 had a nonfatal myocardial infarction (MI), and 77 underwent revascularization. Plasma levels of tissue plasminogen activator (TPA) activity and antigen (ag), plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI-1) activity at test, and TPA responses to exercise were determined at baseline and after 1 month's treatment and were related to subsequent fatal and nonfatal CV events. Univariate Cox regression analysis revealed that elevated levels of TPA-ag at rest (P < .05), high PAI-1 activity (P < .05), and low TPA-ag responses to exercise (P < .05) were associated with increased risk of subsequent CV death. After adjustment for baseline risk factors, TPA-ag independently predicted CV death or MI. In addition, PAI-1 activity independently predicted CV death or MI in male patients. Verapamil treatment was associated with a 10% decrease of TPA-ag levels and metoprolol treatment with a 2% increase (P < .001 for treatment difference). CONCLUSIONS: Plasma TPA-ag levels at rest, and among male patients PAI-1 activity as well, independently predict subsequent CV death or MI in patients with stable angina pectoris.     

Apoptosis in the early stage of compensatory renal growth following uninephrectomy in the young and old rats

Myostatin (GDF-8) is a member of the transforming growth factor-beta superfamily and plays a role in muscle growth and development. Mice having targeted disruption of this gene display marked increases in muscle mass, a phenotype similar to the muscular hypertrophy (mh) in several cattle breeds. Physical mapping data developed from YAC clones indicate the bovine myostatin gene lies close to the centromere of bovine Chromosome (Chr) 2 (BTA2) at 2q11, indistinguishable from the cytogenetic location of the mh locus. In addition, a polymorphism in the second intron of the gene was used to show that myostatin maps within the interval previously shown to contain mh. These data suggest myostatin may be the gene causing muscular hypertrophy in cattle.     

Health status of the over 60 years of age population and its relationship with sociodemographic factors (ANCO Project)

OBJECTIVE: To describe the health status of a population over 60 years and to study their relationship with several socio-demographic variables. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study, population based. SETTINGS: A community. PARTICIPANTS: A randomized sample of 1,103 non institutionalized people over 60 years living in the city of Cordoba (Spain). MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: By mean of a personal interview at home we used the OARS-MFAQ-VE questionnaire. Low self-rated health was associated with the age, to be female sex, a low cultural background, and a low income. Only 5.2% of the study people do not suffered any illness and 56% state that their health problems are major problems for doing their current activities. 4.9% declared to have some degree of physical incapacity. 3.7% of elderly population has an important cognitive deficit. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of elderly people has good health. Age is related with a poor health. Women have more health problems than men.     

基于Native Mode ATM API的应用系统模型及关键技术

ＡＴＭ技术作为Ｂ－ＩＳＤ的基础，在传输包括话音、图像、数据的综合业务环境中具有现有其它网络技术所不具备的技术优势，然而目前真正基于ＡＴＭＮａｔｉｖｅＭｏｄｅ的应用还很少，而大量基于Ｏｖｅｒｌａｙ Ｍｏｄｅ的ＡＴＭ应用不能充分发挥ＡＴＭ技术的优势。随着信息技术的发展，将会有大量的综合业务应用出现，它具有和传统数据通信安全不同的业务特性，必须通过一种灵活，高效的应用程序接口给予支持，本文提出基于Ｎａｔ     

Polarization control in a vertical cavity surface emitting laser submitted to optical feedback

We study experimentally and theoretically two polarization effects in a vertical cavity surface emitting laser submitted to optical feedback. In a first experiment, we obtain flips between two linearly polarized laser modes up to a frequency of 50 MHz using an external cavity with a polarizer. In a second experiment, polarization self modulation is demonstrated up to a frequency of 2.6 GHz, using a quarter wave plate instead. Numerical calculations, based on a four levels model for the active medium, show a good agreement with the experiments.     

The activity of acid phosphatase and its isoenzymes in patients with food poisonings

Changes in the activity of acid phosphatase (AP) and its isoenzymes (tartrate-insensitive AP and formalin-insensitive AP) were investigated in patients with food poisoning in the course of the disease. The activity of AP and its isoenzymes in the serum started to grow in early convalescence and reached maximum in late convalescence. Total activity of AP in food toxic infections consists primarily of the activity of its platelet fraction. AP activity may serve as an additional criterion to predict vascular platelet involvement of hemostasis.     

Picosecond photodiffraction in semiconductor multiquantum wells and microcavities

We study the transient gratings photogenerated in the picosecond regime in three families of structures, namely : - structures of thickness in the order of one micron, including quantum wells (GaAs/GaAlAs, CdTe/ CdZnTe). A transmission modulation due to the electric field has been observed. We show that, in accordance with our calculations, this modulation is screened faster than 10 ps at a fluence of a few µJ/cm2. - A structure including GalnAs/GalnAsP MQWS in a cavity. This structure shows a top diffraction efficiency of 2.5 × 10-² at 1.55 µm for an energy of excitation in the order of 100 µJ/cm2. The diffraction efficiency exhibits several oscillations due to Fabry-Pårot effects. By introducing cavity effects in our model, we show that the diffraction efficiency is amplified by more than a factor 2 with respect to the no-cavity case. Calculations show that the diffraction efficiency may reach 6 × 10-² around 1.625 µm, for a front mirror reflectivity of 90 %. - Structures including bulk GaAs microcavities. The risetime is lower or in the order of 1 ps while the diffraction efficiency attains 1 %, with an average power of 4 mW (i.e. an energy of 2 µJ/cm²/pulse), compatible with a commutation of packets at 80 MHz.     

Pharmacokinetic and bioequivalence study of two gemfibrozil preparations

A comparative pharmacokinetic study has been performed in 19 healthy male volunteers in a single-dose, randomized, two way cross-over design with two preparations of gemfibrozil (CAS 25812-30-0) capsules each of them containing 300 mg active ingredient. The test preparation was Innogem 300 mg capsule. The plasma concentration of gemfibrozil was determined by a validated HPLC-UV analytical method. The statistical comparison of individual pharmacokinetic parameters (AUC0-16, AUC0-oc Cmax, tmax) of the two capsule preparations was performed by three-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), Wilcoxon's, Westlake's, Schuirmann's and Hanck-Anderson's method as well as by the calculation of confidence intervals on the ratio of test/reference. The relative bioavailability of the test preparation with respect to the reference preparation in terms of the AUC0-oc was 104.06 +/- 21.61%. No statistically significant difference was found between the pharmacokinetic parameters, calculated from plasma concentration-time curves, indicating that the two preparations were bioequivalent.