Studies on purification and some properties of nisin from Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis Al2

Protoporphyria is a genetic disorder in which patients may develop severe protoporphyrin-induced liver damage and require transplantation. Because unique problems occur in the perioperative period and because excess production of protoporphyrin by the bone marrow continues after liver transplantation, the efficacy of this procedure for protoporphyric liver disease is uncertain. We present follow-up of nine patients who underwent liver transplantation. Two patients died within 2 months of transplantation, one from complications of abdominal bleeding and the other from sepsis after bowel perforations. The remaining seven patients had follow-up at 14 months to 8 years after transplantation (mean, 3.8 years). Two of the seven had suffered skin burns from exposure to operating room lights, which healed without scarring. Three had axonal neuropathies in the postoperative period requiring prolonged mechanical ventilation, and motor defects persisted in two. Five patients had normal liver chemistries at follow-up (mean, 3.5 years), with liver biopsy results normal or showing mild portal triad abnormalities, but erythrocyte protoporphyrin levels remained significantly elevated (1,765 +/- 365 mcg/dL; normal, < 65). The other two patients, both of whom had rejection, cytomegalovirus infection, and biliary tract obstruction requiring endoscopic therapy, had a recurrence of protoporphyric liver disease as indicated by liver biopsy features. One died 5 years after transplantation from complications of the liver disease. The other was stable 3.3 years after transplantation and was being monitored for possible retransplantation. Thus, liver transplantation can be performed successfully in patients with protoporphyric liver disease, with intermediate survival rates comparable to the general transplant population. However, disease may recur in the graft, particularly if there are complications that cause cholestasis.     

Dynamic elastic-plastic behaviour of whipping pipes: experiments and theoretical model

This paper is concerned with the problem of pipe whip, the dynamic response of a high pressure piping system subjected to an end force as the result of a pipe break which releases a jet of fluid from the broken section. Both experimental and theoretical results are presented concerning the dynamic elastic-plastic behaviour of cantilever pipes subjected to a transverse force pulse at the free end. Comparisons between experimental data and theoretical predictions are made for mild-steel pipes with outer diameter-to-thickness ratios of 19.5, 28 and 32. It is demonstrated that, for these geometries, the whipping pipes display three characteristically different responses, viz. elastic, plastic hardening behaviour for thick pipes, elastic, plastic hardening-softening behaviour for moderately thick pipes and elastic, plastic hardening-softening-collapse behaviour for thinner pipes. The experimental data taken from a series of high-speed films are compared with the predictions of the instantaneous shapes of the whipping pipes derived from both a rigid, perfectly-plastic, large deflection, dynamic beam model and a more comprehensive model which incorporates the effects of elasticity and plastic hardening and softening, the details of which are presented in the paper.     

Structural and gas-sensing properties of nanometre tin oxide prepared by PECVD

A low-temperature plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD) technique has been employed to produce ultrafine tin oxide powders. The structural features and phase transition of this material have been characterized using differential thermal analysis (DTA), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy (IR) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The oxygen absorption behaviour and gassensing properties have been investigated by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and electrical measurements. Thick film gas sensors made from such ultrafine SnO₂ powders yield better sensitivities than those of normal undoped SnO₂ gas sensors. A gas-sensing reaction mechanism is also proposed.     

Nonlinear distortion prediction of active filters

The represention of circuit variables in frequency-domain complex matrix and nonlinearities by power series gives rise to a nonlinear distortion prediction technique, the intermodulation-balance method. This operates entirely in the frequency domain. The technique is verified by a single-amplifier filter with a two-tone input signal     

Design of an isolated pig heart preparation for positron emission tomography and magnetic resonance imaging

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: Validation of new positron emission tomography (PET) tracers or magnetic (MR) imaging contrast agents is based on isolated rodent heart preparations. The use of larger animals could provide a more direct validation using the devices used for humans. METHODS: An isolated pig heart preparation has been developed and adapted to the technical constraints of whole body PET and MR imaging. This preparation could be used either in the Langendorff or working mode after selective cannulation of both coronary arteries. RESULTS: The authors showed that quantification of regional kinetics of PET tracers was possible using this preparation by measuring fluorine-18-labeled deoxyglycose (18FDG) kinetics in remote and ischemic territories. Experiments using MR imaging contrast agents, for myocardial perfusion, demonstrated the ability of this preparation to accurately validate these contrast agents over a wide range of flow rates. CONCLUSIONS: An isolated pig heart preparation could be developed to fulfill the constraints of PET and MR imaging, and proved useful for the study of the distribution of different tracers or contrast media developed for functional cardiac imaging in humans.     

Enhanced single-mode operation in multisection DFB lasers with bothlocalized and distributed phase shift

Multisection distributed feedback lasers with both localized (λ/8 phase shift) and distributed phase shift (produced by a phase-adjustment region) are investigated theoretically. It is shown that such a mixed phase shift, combined with a stronger coupling coefficient in the center of the cavity, may enlarge the threshold gain margin as well as the output optical power, enhance the intra cavity field flatness and produce an effective index profile leading to a low sensitivity to spatial-hole burning (SHB) (with respect to conventional λ/4 phase-shifted DFB lasers). As a consequence, the side-mode suppression ratio (SMSR) is improved and single-mode operation up to high bias currents is maintained     

Late cytomegalovirus disease in marrow transplantation is predicted by virus load in plasma

Late occurrence of cytomegalovirus (CMV) disease after day 100 after bone marrow transplantation has become an increasing problem; whether a quantitative measurement of CMV DNA in plasma by polymerase chain reaction (P-PCR) could be predictive of such disease was investigated. In a prospective study, 117 subjects undergoing allogeneic marrow transplantation were followed for 120 days with weekly CMV blood cultures, with day 35 bronchoalveolar lavage CMV cultures, with weekly CMV P-PCR, and with clinical follow-up for an additional 1-2 years. Despite preemptive ganciclovir, CMV disease occurred in 9% of subjects, with a median time of onset of 176 days. Quantitative CMV P-PCR was associated with the late development of CMV disease (P = .01). Of 43 subjects with positive P-PCR results, 23% developed CMV disease, but no disease occurred in the 74 subjects with negative P-PCR (P < .001), despite the fact that 22% had CMV isolated from lung lavage fluid and 32% had CMV isolated from blood.