Allergic alveolar diseases. Problems in diagnosis and management

One of the diagnostic possibilities to consider when a patient presents with cough, fever, dyspnea, or pulmonary infiltrates is hypersensitivity pneumonitis. Some of the problems encountered in diagnosis of diffuse lung disease are illustrated in two case reports. In one of the cases, interstitial pneumonitis of insidious onset was attributed to inhalation of thermophilic organisms in moldy silage. In the other, the outstanding pathologic feature was bronchiolitis obliterans, and circumstantial evidence pointed to a home humidifier as the source of the problem.     

Removal of a bound ligand from a macromolecule by gel filtration

If a solution of macromolecule of concentration c and volume a, initially saturated with a ligand of dissociation constant K, is gel filtered through a volume v of solution initially free of ligand, the saturation y with which it emerges is given by the equation y-lny-1=Kv/ca.     

Surgical correction of torsion of the penis

Torsion of the penis is a rare anomaly, believed to be due to abnormal skin attachment and not to any structural abnormality of the corpora. The rotation is usually to the left in a counter-clockwise fashion. The urethral meatus is placed in a oblique position and the median raphe makes a spiral curve from the base of the penis towards the meatus. Three boys with congenital torsion of the penis are reported. A corrective operative for this condition is described. Penile torsion was first described by Verneuil in 1857, but in the past no operative correction was recommended, since attempts to move the skin around were believed not to correct the spiral alignment of the corpora cavernosa.     

Liver vitamin A slow release syndrome in cattle with a multiple nutrient imbalance

Data on liver vitamin A concentrations in malnourished, debilitated, down cattle in tropical, northern Australia support the hypothesis that 12% annual cattle mortality was due, in part, to a slow release of liver vitamin A. High Ca and low Zn levels in the legume forage apparently contributed to the slow release. The cattle showed marked sensitivity to sunlight and exhibited problems of sight. The malnourished yearling steers averaged 183.3 micrograms vitamin A/g wet liver vs 152.3 micrograms for steers slaughtered off good green wet season forage. Indications of a slow release of liver vitamin A were that: (1) only 4 to 7 micrograms vitamin A/g liver were in the alcohol fraction or release form; (2) after adjustments for decreases in liver and blood volume in starving animals, blood vitamin A was lowered to 18 micrograms/100 ml, which was low in relation to the adjusted liver vitamin A level of 91.7 micrograms/g, and (3) after adjustments, the liver had released only 1,667 units of vitamin A/day in the dry season, or about 1/4 of maintenance needs. The cattle were grazing a legume forage pasture containing 7.1% protein and no measurable carotene. The forage was deficient in Zn (25 ppm), which would slow the release of liver vitamin A. High Ca levels in the legume forage (.4 to .54%) in combination with low P levels (.11 to .18%) would further aggravate the low Zn level.     

A finite strip method for the buckling of plate structures under arbitrary loading

A finite strip method is presented for the stability analysis of prismatic thin walled structures under arbitrary loading. Sample problems are analysed and the economy of the method compared with the finite element method is demonstrated.     

Accelerated testing of on‐board diagnostics

Modern products frequently feature monitors designed to detect actual or impending malfunctions. False alarms (Type I errors) or excessive delays in detecting real malfunctions (Type II errors) can seriously reduce monitor utility. Sound engineering practice includes physical evaluation of error rates. Type II error rates are relatively easy to evaluate empirically. However, adequate evaluation of a low Type I error rate is difficult without using accelerated testing concepts, inducing false alarms using artificially low thresholds and then selecting production thresholds by appropriate extrapolation, as outlined here. This acceleration methodology allows for informed determination of detection thresholds and confidence in monitor performance with substantial reductions over current alternatives in time and cost required for monitor development. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.