Neuroleptic malignant syndrome and mivacurium: a safe alternative to succinylcholine?

Neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS) and malignant hyperthermia (MH) may have a common pathogenic mechanism; therefore, it has been suggested that known triggering agents for MH (such as succinylcholine) should be avoided in patients with NMS. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) continues to play a major therapeutic role in contemporary psychiatry, and succinylcholine has been the muscle relaxant of choice in attenuating violent muscle contractions induced by ECT. Mivacurium is a non-depolarizing muscle relaxant with a relatively rapid onset and a short duration of action, and to date it has been proved safe in MH-susceptible patients. In this case report, following succinylcholine use during ECT, a patient with NMS developed an increase in temperature and serum creatine kinase (CK) level, possibly due to an MH reaction. Since the patient's mental status necessitated further ECT, mivacurium was administered during subsequent treatment and resulted in effective attenuation of muscle contractions without elevation of patient temperature or CK levels. In addition, there was no marked prolongation of the anaesthetic. Mivacurium is a suitable agent for patients with NMS undergoing ECT, as it has not been associated with precipitation of an MH response.     

Arsenic intoxication presenting with macrocytosis and peripheral neuropathy, without anemia

A case of arsenic intoxication associated with macrocytosis and neuropathy, without anemia, is presented. Evaluation of a 68-year-old man with a long history of peripheral neuropathy and persistent macrocytosis revealed exposure to an insecticide. Analysis of urine and hair revealed elevated levels of arsenic. A short course of d-penicillamine failed to promote urinary excretion of arsenic. Removal of the insecticide resulted in resolution of macrocytosis and slight improvement of neuropathy. This case emphasizes that arsenic intoxication should be considered in patients with macrocytosis with peripheral neuropathy, even in the absence of anemia.     

HIV arthritis

Whether reexposure of varicella-immune persons to varicella-zoster virus would protect against or predispose to development of zoster was analyzed. The rate of zoster in 511 leukemic recipients of varicella vaccine who had 1 or > 1 dose of varicella vaccine and in those who did or did not have a household exposure to varicella was determined. A Kaplan-Meier life-table analysis revealed that the incidence of zoster was lower in those given > 1 dose of vaccine (P < .05). A Cox proportional hazards analysis showed that both household exposure to varicella and receipt of > 1 dose of vaccine were highly protective (P < .01) against zoster. Thus, the risk of zoster is decreased by reexposure to varicella-zoster virus, either by vaccination or by close exposure to varicella.     

Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Heat-treated GeSb_2Te_4 Thin Films

The effect of annealing on microstructure,adhesive and frictional properties of GeSb 2 Te 4 films were experimentally studied.The GeSb 2 Te 4 films were prepared by radio frequency(RF)magnetron sputtering,and annealed at 200℃and 340℃under vacuum circumstance,respectively.The adhesion and friction experiments were mainly conducted with a lateral force microscope(LFM)for the GeSb 2 Te 4 thin films before and after annealing.Their morphology and phase structure were analyzed by using atomic force microscopy(AFM)and X-ray Diffraction(XRD)techniques,and the nanoindention was employed to evaluate their hardness values.Moreover,an electric force microscope(EFM)was used to measure the surface potential. It is found that the deposited GeSb 2 Te 4 thin film undergoes an amorphous-to-fcc and fcc-to-hex structure transition;the adhesion has a weaker dependence on the surface roughness,but a certain correlation with the surface potential of GeSb 2 Te 4 thin films.And the friction behavior of GeSb 2 Te 4 thin films follows their adhesion behavior under a lower applied load.However,such a relation is replaced by the mechanical behavior when the load is relatively higher.Moreover,the GeSb 2 Te 4 thin film annealed at 340℃presents a lubricative property.     

Screen‐printed biosensor for allergens

Allergen levels in indoor environments, leading to many diseases, eg asthma, rhinitis and conjunctivitis, affect a large and increasing fraction of the population. A quite effective and inexpensive method of a rough but very rapid overall assessment of total allergen level in the environment has been developed. The method involved estimation of protein in allergen extracts by screen‐printed electrodes using two different techniques. The biosensor comprised a rhodinised carbon working electrode, a silver/silver chloride reference electrode and a carbon counter electrode. In the first method the enzyme protease reacted with allergen protein to release amino acid, which produced hydrogen peroxide in the presence of amino acid oxidase. This was detected amperometrically. The second method used potassium bromide as electrolyte and the electrode was subjected to dual potential. Bromine, released due to electrolysis at higher potential, was consumed by the allergen protein at lower potential. In the first method, a unique technique was used to microencapsulate the enzyme protease and immobilise it on the surface of the electrode by in‐situ polymerisation to avoid contact with the amino acid oxidase. A total of seven allergens were tested and the results gave a good correlation with the standard protein measurement method. Environmental specimens from indoors, schools and workplaces can be evaluated for the aeroallergens produced by dust mites, animal hairs, cockroach debris, pollens, etc as a means of determining the exposure risk. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry     

硅丙乳液及其建筑涂料的制备和性能研究

先将乙烯基有机硅单体及环状有机硅单体在碱催化下,合成有机硅预聚体,再与丙烯酸酯进行共聚制得硅丙乳液及其建筑涂料。研究了有机硅加入形式、有机硅中间体分子量、有机硅加入量等因素对硅丙乳液及其涂料性能的影响,并与相应的纯丙体系进行比较。结果表明,采用分子量较小的有机硅中间体,有机硅用量为10%左右时所制得的乳液及涂料性能优异,对丙烯酸酯的改性效果明显。     

雷达目标特征提取的一种方法

将小波变换和马氏距离相结合，提出了一种基于ISAR成像的雷达目标特征提取方法。对ISAR成像数据进行正交二进Symlet小波分解和门限处理，对数据进行压缩，然后计算压缩后坐标点的马氏（Mahalanobis)距离，得到目标稳定的特征向量。由实验结果看出，此向量具有在一定范围内的不变性，能够用于雷达目标识别。     

汽车空调冷凝器腐蚀试验的表征与评价

介绍了汽车空调冷凝器的腐蚀试验程度及方法，对试验后的冷凝器进行了密封性检查，并用光学显微镜和扫描电镜检测和分析了材料的显微结构，焊接质量，腐蚀性质及其腐蚀深度等。通过对冷凝器的宏微观检查与表征，评价了冷凝器质量的优劣，提出了改进措施与建议。