Afterload reduction in the management of postinfarction ventricular septal defect

The primary goal in the medical management of ventricular septal defect complicating myocardial infarction is to support cardiac function and control symptoms, if possible, for a period of 4 to 6 weeks. If the patient survives this period, surgical correction of the defect is technically easier and safer. In many cases, However, cardiac function is severly compromised, intractable biventricular failure develops,early operation is necessary and the likelihood of successful repair is diminished.     

Intraventricular chemotherapy in neonatal meningitis

All of 16 infants with neonatal meningitis treated during a 30-month period were found to have accompanying ventriculitis at the time of the initial ventricular puncture. Fifteen of these infants were caused by gramm-negative organisms. All infants received antibiotics systemically and intraventricularly via an implanted ventriculostomy reservoir or by direct ventricular injection. Antibiotic concentrations within the ventricular fluid were monitored during chemotherapy; the complications encountered during treatment are discussed. Fifteen infants survived the infection; of these, seven infants were normal at follow-up examinations. In our experience intraventricular chemotherapy as an adjunct to systemic administration of antibiotics has greatly reduced the mortality rate in neonatal meningitis.     

Fecal bile acids and neutral sterols in patients with familial polyposis

Fecal neutral steroids and bile acids were measured in patients with familial polyposis, family controls who are immediate relatives of patients, and controls other than relatives. All subjects were consuming a mixed Western diet at the time of collection of stool specimens. Although the total fecal neutral sterol concentrations were not different between the groups, the patients with familial polyposis excreted a high amount of cholesterol and low levels of coprostanol and coprostanone compared with other groups. Patients with familial polyposis excreted levels of total bile acids in their feces comparable to those excreted by controls; lithocholic acid excretion was decreased in patients with familial polyposis. These findings suggest that analysis of stools for cholesterol and its metabolites be useful in screening the siblings of polyposis families for latent disease.     

Metastasis of malignant melanoma of the nasal mucosa to the small intestine

Malignant melanoma of the mucous membranes is rare and has a very poor prognosis. When localized in the nose, the tumor becomes apparent late in the course of the disease with nasal obstruction and epistaxis. Distant metastases are uncommon, but any organ of the body can be involved. A case of a malignant melanoma of the nasal mucosa with metastasis to the small intestine is presented, and the natural history of the metastatic disease is discussed.     

Rewarming from immersion hypothermia: a comparison of three techniques

Analysis of measurements from the tali of 21 individual fossil primates from Africa shows that the specimens fall into five clearly defined groups. Accordingly, these specimens have been included as groups along with extant species in a subsequent canonical analysis thus allowing the fossils to play their part in the determination of the canonical separations. The results of this procedure show that the five fossil groups lie in a part of the canonical space not occupied by any extant African primate. Their positions are between the envelope of Asiatic apes (Hylobates and Pongo) and the envelope of African forms near the edge which contains Pan and Papio. One fossil group is so similar to Hylobates that its talus may have functioned in locomotion in a parallel manner. Others lie near to Pongo in directions proceeding towards Pan and Papio and it is possible that this similarity may indicate remnants of morphological adaptation for climbing in these fossils. At the same time, however, individual specimens are closer to one or another of the extant groups and this considerable spread suggests that the locomotor adaptations as evidenced by talar morphology, of the primate fauna in Africa, may have been very different from those of the present day. This would not the inconsistent with the different habitats, floras and non-primate faunas that may have characterized the East African scene at these earlier times. Particular fossils from Olduvai and Kromdraai that are supposed to be australopithecine and therefore bipeds, are confirmed (Oxnard, '72; Lisowski et al., '74) as being totally different from man in their talar morphology and essentially rather similar to the majority of the other fossil tali examined.     

Purification and characterization of a pregastric esterase from a hygienized kid rennet paste

Rennet pastes obtained by maceration of gastric tissues from suckling kids are used traditionally to produce some artisanal cheeses in Spain. Besides milk-clotting function, rennet pastes provide proteolytic activity and lipolytic system, essentially pregastric, necessary in the development of piquant flavor typical of these cheeses. A simple and reproducible procedure allows us to obtain a standardized rennet paste that posses the desired activity and is of good microbiological quality. Concomitantly, a kid pregastric esterase (KPGE) was purified to homogeneity. The purification procedure was based on an aqueous extract of hygienized rennet paste (HRP), which was chromatographed on DEAE-Sepharose Fast Flow then adsorbed on phenyl superose followed by a re-chromatography on the same column. The final enzymatic preparation, where the overall activity recovery was 3%, showed a molecular mass of 53 kDa. The highest activity was determined on p-nitrophenyl butyrate, but marked hydrolysis was also detected on beta-naphthyl caprylate. In contrast, low activity on tributyrin (substrate under emulsion form) was detected, thus confirming the esterase character of purified enzyme.     

W-CDMA Uplink Capacity and Interference Statistics of a Long Tunnel Cigar-shaped Microcells Using the Hybrid Model of Propagation with Imperfect Power Control

The uplink capacity and the interference statistics (mean and variance) of the sectors of the cigar-shaped W-CDMA microcell are studied. A model with eighteen sectors is used to analyze the uplink. The microcells are assumed to exist in a long tunnel with at least nine base stations. The hybrid model of propagation is used in the calculations. The capacity and the interference statistics of the sectors are studied in terms of the most important parameters: sector radius, specific attenuation factor, antenna sidelobe levels, bend losses and the power control standard deviation error.