Attributable factors to the emergence of multidrug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis based on the observation of consecutive drug resistance test results

Determining whether there is evidence of underutilization of outpatient mental health care by Department of Defense (DoD) beneficiaries relative to the general population is the purpose of this study. It analyzes data from the 1994-1995 DoD Health Beneficiary Survey and compares the mental health status and usage rates of active duty members and their families with benchmark levels found in the general population. Although the mental health status for the DoD beneficiary population was found to be generally the same as that of the general U.S. population within gender categories, gender-specific usage rates of mental health services of DoD beneficiaries in the groups examined were well below rates recorded for the general population. The concept of psychological readiness is also introduced. Several recommendations for increasing access to mental health care are presented.     

High concentration of L-arginine suppresses nitric oxide synthase activity and produces reactive oxygen species in NB9 human neuroblastoma cells

Hereditary argininemia manifests as neurological disturbance and mental retardation, features not observed in other amino acidemias. The cytotoxic effect of a high concentration of L-arginine (L-Arg) was investigated using NB9 human neuroblastoma cells (NB9), which express neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS). When the concentration of L-Arg in the medium increased from 50 microM to 2 mM after incubation for 48 hr, the intracellular concentration of L-Arg increased from 68.0 +/- 1 pmol/10(6) cells to 1310.0 +/- 5 pmol/10(6) cells and that of L-citrulline (L-Cit) from undetectable levels to 47.1 +/- 0.2 pmol/10(6) cells (mean +/- SD of three independent analyses). This increase in intracellular L-Arg levels caused a decrease in NOS activity by approximately 71%. Flow cytometric analysis showed that reactive oxygen species (ROS) are produced in NB9 exposed to 2 mM L-Arg. The production of ROS was abolished by a NOS inhibitor, NG-nitro-L arginine-methylester. Production of ROS was also observed when NB9 were treated with L-Cit for 48 hr. To investigate the effect of L-Cit on the activity of NOS, a kinetic study on nNOS was conducted using cellular extracts from NB9. The apparent Km value of nNOS for L-Arg was 8.4 microM, with a Vmax value of 8.2 pmol/min/mg protein. L-Cit competitively inhibited NOS activity, as indicated by an apparent Ki value of 65 nM. These results suggest that L-Cit formed by nNOS in L-Arg-loaded neuronal cells inhibits NOS activity and nNOS in these L-Arg-loaded cells functions as a NADPH oxidase to produce ROS, which may cause neurotoxicity in argininemia.     

Efficacy of cefditoren pivoxil in the treatment of acute otitis media due to benzylpenicillin-insensitive Streptococcus pneumoniae

Clinical and bacteriological studies were carried out on cefditoren pivoxil (CDTR-PI) granule in infantile purulent acute otitis media treated at general practice settings and the following findings were obtained: 1. Two hundred forty eight strains were isolated from 210 patients, almost all of which (81.1%) harbored the following two strains: Streptococcus pneumoniae (42.3%) and Haemophilus influenzae (38.8%). Among S. pneumoniae, benzylpenicillin (PCG)-insensitive S. pneumoniae, (PISP) or PCG-resistant S. pneumoniae (PRSP) was 36.2%, corresponding to 15.3% of all the isolates and found in 18% of all patients. 2. The bacteria in the middle ear discharge and the nasopharyngeal swabs were correlated with conformity rate of more than 80% with regard to Streptococcus pyogenes, S. pneumoniae and H. influenzae but no Staphylococcus aureus was detected simultaneously from the two sources in any of the patients. S. aureus and coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) were considered to be contaminants that were originated from the external auditory meatus at the time of sampling. 3. Frequencies of isolation of S. pneumoniae from different age groups were higher in a lower age group between 0 and 4 years and those of PISP or PRSP had the similar tendency. 4. Antibacterial activities were determined for CDTR and related oral antibiotics against the strains of S. pneumoniae and H. influenzae as representative isolates. CDTR had stronger antibacterial activities against both bacteria than the reference antibiotics. CDTR was found to be transferred into the otorrhea at a mean concentration of 0.58 micrograms/ml after single administration of CDTR-PI granule formulation at 3 mg(potency)/kg. 5. As for bacterial eradication efficacies in the middle ear cavity and the nasopharynx, eradication rates were higher than 80% in the middle ear cavity in all cases without large differences among bacterial species but eradication rate of PISP was 30% in the nasopharynx, and it was significantly lower than those of PSSP and other bacteria. 6. In view of clinical effectiveness, the efficacy rate was 89.4% and bacteriological effects was 92.2%; in view of safety, adverse reactions were; observed in 9.5% and the rate of usefulness was 89.4%. 7. From above-stated results, CDTR-PI was considered as a useful oral antibiotic for infantile acute otitis media including PISP infections.     

Switching of H∞ controller under constraints and decision of controller state at instance of the controller switching

In real control systems, certain constraints are placed on the input, state, and output values. If such constraints are violated, the system may become unstable, in a worst‐case scenario. One of the promising approaches to solving this problem is to switch the controller according to the state of the closed‐loop system. No useful design strategy for each controller, however, has yet been developed. In addition, the determination of the controller state at the instant of controller switching has not been investigated. First, this paper presents a new design methodology which merges the switching control and H_∞ controller design into one design algorithm. Second, this paper presents a way of determining the controller state at the instant of controller switching. Finally, the proposed method is applied to force control of a one‐DOF manipulator in order to demonstrate the usefulness of the proposed method. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 142(2): 68–75, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.10082     

Endothelin-induced activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases in glomerular mesangial cells from normotensive and stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats

1. Kinase assay in myelin basic protein (MBP) containing polyacrylamide gels revealed that endothelin-1 (ET-1) and ET-3 increased MBP kinase activities in glomerular mesangial cells (MC) from Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats and spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHRSP). ET-1 stimulated MBP kinase activities more potently than ET-3. 2. Immunoprecipitation with anti-41-kDa MAPK antiserum showed that the MBP kinases activated by ET-1 correspond to 43- and 41-kDa MAPK. 3. Since Phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate, a direct activator of protein kinase C, also activated MAPK, protein kinase C was suggested to mediate ET-induced activation of MAPK. 4. These results suggest that MAPK may mediate the ET actions in glomerular mesangial cells from normotensive rats as well as spontaneously hypertensive rats. Since ET is produced by vascular endothelial cells of the kidney and glomerular mesangial cells, the ET signalling pathway may have some physiological and pathophysiological significance in vivo glomerulus.     

Melting of a vertical ice cylinder inside a rotating cylindrical cavity filled with binary aqueous solution

The melting of a vertical ice cylinder into a homogeneous calcium chloride aqueous solution inside a rotating cylindrical cavity with several rotating speeds is considered experimentally. The melting mass and temperature are measured on four initial conditions of the solution and four rotating speeds of the cavity. The temperature of the liquid layer becomes uniform by the mixing effect resulting from cavity rotation and it enhances the melting rate of the ice cylinder. As the cavity‐rotating speed increases, the melting rate increases. The dimensionless melting mass is related to the Fourier number and the rotating Reynolds number in each initial condition, therefore an experimental equation that is able to quantitatively calculate the dimensionless melting mass is presented. It is seen that the melting Nusselt numbers increase again in the middle of the melting process. The ice cylinder continues to melt in spite of the small temperature difference between the ice cylinder and the solution. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res, 37(6): 359–373, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/htj.20211     

Human skin model capable of natural shape variation

In the production of character animation that treats living things moving at will, as in the case of humans and animals, it is important to express natural action and realistic body shape. If we can express these freely and easily, we will be able to apply character animation to many fields, such as the simulation of dances and sports, and electronic stand-ins. The computer graphics technique may be one of the most effective means to achieve such goals. We have developed human skin model capable of natural shape variation. This model has a skeleton structure, and free form surfaces cover the skeleton just like skin. The model permits continuous motion of every components of the skeleton according to actions. During such movements, the skin retains smoothness and naturalness. We are verifying the human skin model by producing several short animation pieces.     

Process performance and change in sludge characteristics during anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge with ozonation.

A new process configuration combining anaerobic digestion with ozonation, and operated at long SRT, was studied with the objective of on-site reduction in sludge quantity and improving biogas recovery. The process performance with respect to solid reduction efficiency and other important process parameters like accumulation of inorganic solids, changes in sludge viscosity and dewatering characteristics were evaluated from the data of long term pilot scale continuous experiments conducted using a mixture of primary and secondary municipal sewage sludge. Due to sludge ozonation and long SRT, high VSS degradation efficiency of approximately 80% was achieved at a reactor solid concentration of 6.5%. A high fraction of inorganic solid (>50%) consisting mainly of acid insoluble and iron compounds was found to accumulate in the reactor. The high inorganic content accumulated in the digested sludge did not, however, contribute to the observed increase in sludge viscosity at high solid concentration. The sludge viscosity was largely found to depend on the organic solid concentration rather than the total solid content. Moreover, higher inorganic content in the digested sludge resulted in better sludge dewaterability. For a quick assessment of the economic feasibility of the new process, an economic index based on the unit cost of digested sludge disposal to unit electric cost is proposed.