Detection of cytomegalovirus in semen from a population of men seeking infertility evaluation

This paper presents the results of in vivo measurements on a worker from a fuel reprocessing plant who was involved in an actinide intake. The results revealed that false indications of an actinide lung burden could arise from a contaminant present elsewhere in the chest region. Consequently, it is important that lung monitoring programs for occupational workers handling actinides are conducted with this caution in mind and that due consideration is given even in cases of minor cuts/wounds in order to rule out substantial overestimation of internal radiation doses.     

Tyrosine-dependent basolateral sorting signals are distinct from tyrosine-dependent internalization signals

Converting cysteine 543 to tyrosine in the influenza virus hemagglutinin (HA) introduces both a basolateral sorting signal and an internalization signal into the HA cytoplasmic domain. Another HA mutant, HA+8, contains eight additional amino acids at the end of the cytoplasmic domain that include a powerful internalization signal. HA+8 was also sorted efficiently to the basolateral surface of Madin-Darby canine kidney cells. The simplest explanation for the observation that multiple sorting phenotypes depend upon the same small amino acid sequence is that certain tyrosine-based internalization signals might also function as basolateral sorting signals. To test this hypothesis, second-site mutations were introduced into HA C543Y or HA+8 to determine if the internalization and basolateral sorting functions can be separated. For HA C543Y, the same sequence positions were important for both basolateral sorting and internalization, but the two functions responded differently to individual amino acid replacements, indicating that they were distinct. For HA+8, the basolateral sorting signal required the same tyrosine as the internalization signal, but did not share any other characteristics. Thus, even when basolateral sorting signals that depend on tyrosine overlap or are co-linear with internalizations signals, the two sorting processes are sensitive to different characteristics of the sequence.     

Multiple respiratory gas monitoring causes changes of inspired oxygen concentration in closed anesthesia system

This case report describes an accessory hepatic duct (AHD) identified by intraoperative cholangiography during excisional surgery of a choledochal cyst (CC). The accessory duct was divided and reconstructed successfully to the Roux-en-Y jejunal loop. The postoperative course was uneventful, and follow-up abdominal sonography revealed neither evidence of biliary tract obstruction nor atrophic changes of the liver. It is advocated that an AHD should be meticulously reconstructed if it is divided during excisional surgery of a CC.     

Reproducibility of brachial ultrasonography and flow-mediated dilatation (FMD) for assessing endothelial function

Minimally invasive plastic surgery has expanded beyond the original confines of aesthetic applications to encompass all our endeavors in an attempt to restrict the size of surgical scars, limit postoperative discomfort, and hasten recovery of function. This evolution has already delineated methods to raise our workhorse muscle flaps and has negated the risks of laparotomy for various visceral flaps. It is then only a logical progression to use these endoscopic techniques to harvest fascial flaps so as to avoid the notorious donor site morbidity of the fasciocutaneous flap, which has certainly hindered the rapid acceptance of these otherwise valuable flaps. Endoscopic-facilitated elevation of a local adipofascial flap is described for which little or no additional skin incisions need ever be made.     

Conservative surgery for stage I ovarian carcinoma in women of childbearing age

OBJECTIVE: To assess the results of a policy of tailored conservative surgical management for young women with stage I ovarian carcinomas. DESIGN: Retrospective study. PARTICIPANTS: Ninety-nine women aged 40 years or younger who underwent either primary surgery in our department or were referred after primary surgery performed elsewhere. METHODS: Of the 99 women in our study, 56 underwent fertility-sparing surgery and 43 more radical surgery. Minimal requirements for conservative management were adequate staging and complete information about the therapeutic options. Factors important in the choice of the treatment were, age, wish to preserve fertility, histologic type and grade, and the stage of the tumour. RESULTS: Conservative treatment was conducted in 84% of nulliparous and in 33% of parous women; 62% of grade 1 tumours, 48% of grade 2, and 50% of grade 3 were treated conservatively. With a median follow up of seven years, we observed five recurrences (9%) of carcinoma in women treated conservatively and five (12%) in those treated more radically. Two women (one in each treatment arm) were saved after recurrence. Two recurrences after conservative surgery involved the residual ovary (3.6%). Two women developed borderline tumour in the contralateral ovary and both were treated by surgery. CONCLUSION: After adequate staging and accurate information is given to the patient, conservative treatment may be safe in some women with early ovarian cancer. The risk of recurrence in the contralateral ovary is low. Conservative surgery may be also considered in some Stage I grade 3 tumours and in some women with stage JC tumours.     

Estimating starting point of conduction of CMOS gates

To model effectively the output waveform and propagation delay of a CMOS gate, knowledge of the time point at which it starts to conduct is essential. An efficient method for calculating analytically this time point taking into account the structure of the gate and the input waveform, is introduced. Such a method can easily be integrated into a timing analysis system     

STI process steps for sub-quarter micron CMOS

This paper presents Shallow Trench Isolation (STI) process steps for sub-1/4 μ CMOS technologies. Dummy active areas, vertical trench sidewalls, excellent gap filling, counter mask etch step and CMP end point detection, have been used for a 0.18 μm CMOS technology. Electrical results obtained with a 5.5 nm gate oxide thickness show good isolation down to 0.3 μm spacing. Good transistor performances have been demonstrated.