Diphtheria in Ukraine. The current aspects of diphtheria epidemiology (1)

From 1991 forth, a diphtheria epidemics has been spreading in Ukraine, the cause of which is decline in the level of collective immunity. The highest incidence rates are registered in large industrial centers. In rural areas, morbidity rates were found to be half as high as those in urban ones, particularly so among the adults. Morbidity and mortality were greater among those children of under school age who did not attend the child's pre-school institutions. Immunization of the adults done on a single-procedure basis does not protect them either against the disease or lethal outcome. The observed decline in mortality is due to the detection of mild forms of the disease, earlier diagnose and, therefore, start of the treatment. But even in 1994 the epidemic situation with respect to diphtheria looks serious in Ukraine, which fact necessitates inaugurating antiepidemic measures on a continuous basis, the mainstay of which is vaccinal prevention.     

The microstructure and phase relationships in rapidly solidified type 304 stainless steel powders

The microstructure and relative amounts of fcc and bcc phases have been studied for rapidly solidified Type 304 stainless steel powders produced by vacuum gas atomization (VGA) and centrifugal atomization (CA). The VGA powder solidifies with a cellular microstructure while the CA powder has a dendritic microstructure. The volume fraction of fcc phase in the CA powder is found to increase from 40 Pct to 97 Pct with increasing particle size from 30 to 125 μm. In the VGA powder, the volume fraction of fcc phase is found to decrease from about 90 Pct to 77 Pct over the same range of particle sizes. The origins of the fcc and bcc phases in each powder are considered. It is concluded that bcc is present as both a primary crystallization phase in the smaller CA particles (<75 μm) and as compositionally stabilized eutectic ferrite at the cell walls of particles of both CA and VGA powders in which fcc was the primary crystallization phase.     

The role of C-reactive protein (CRP) determination in the early diagnosis of infections with opportunistic microorganisms in HIV-infected children

The levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) in sera of 71 HIV-seropositive children and of 71 apparently healthy children were determined by Mancini method. The results demonstrate that HIV-infection per se doesn't increase the concentration of CRP in serum. After this we wanted to determine the relationship between CRP and evolution of HIV-infection. For this we used a set of 8 children in different stages of HIV-infection. For each child we had at least 2 sera, used for diagnosis and CRP assay. Three children (one with AIDS [correction of SIDA] and 2 in intermediate stage) had elevated levels of CRP. The reason for these elevations were an acute salmonellosis, a febrile episode of unknown origin and for the last child, once a staphylococcal infection of the skin and once an acute bronchiolitis clinically but not microbiologically documented. In conclusion, HIV-infection per se doesn't induce increased levels of the CRP, in any stage; this protein could be used as a marker of bacterial, parasitic and cytomegalovirus infections.     

Common genital dermatoses in male patients attending a public sexually transmitted disease clinic in Singapore

The male genitalia is a common site of various dermatoses. Male patients attending a sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinic may present with dermatoses that are not due to sexually transmitted diseases. A prospective study on 467 male patients attending a public STD clinic showed various dermatoses which were either anatomical variants (pearly penile papules in 67 patients [14.3%], sebaceous hyperplasia in 16 [3.4%], Tyson's glands in 32 [7%] and penile melanosis in 13 [2.8%]) or pathological conditions (balanitis in 45 [9.6%], eczema in 10 [2.1%], traumatic ulcers in 10 [2.1%], folliculitis and furunculosis in 8 [1.7%], scabietic nodules in 7 [1.5%], genital candidiasis in 7 [1.5%] and a few miscellaneous conditions). Fifty percent of the patients with Tyson's glands also had pearly penile papules. Most of the anatomical variants were incidental findings whereas most patients with the pathological dermatoses presented with these lesions. Unfamiliarity with these dermatoses may cause unnecessary anxiety to the patient and physician, resulting in inappropriate treatment.     

Experimental study of NiFe and CoFe throughmask electrodeposition of high aspect ratio features

The electrodeposition of NiFe and CoFe onto rotating disk electrodes and into high aspect ratio features in 300 μm-thick photoresist was studied using electrolytes previously considered in the literature. The through-thickness uniformity of the plated features was characterized with reference to the rotating disk electrode results. Current efficiencies for various deposition conditions were also characterized. The composition of NiFe was more sensitive to mixing than CoFe on a rotating disk electrode. This sensitivity was reflected in the higher nonuniformity in general of the plated high aspect ratio NiFe features; a feature with an aspect ratio of three showed decreasing Fe content towards the feature bottom, with the Fe content at the bottom less than half that at the top. CoFe showed only slightly decreasing Fe content for the same aspect ratios. The composition of both alloys near the feature opening (where more mixing occurs) was consistent with that of deposits obtained from rotating disk electrodes at high rotation rates.     

Quantitative structure-activity relationships of 2, 4-diamino-5-(2-X-benzyl)pyrimidines versus bacterial and avian dihydrofolate reductase

Quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSAR) have been formulated for a set of 15 2,4-diamino-5-(2-X-benzyl)pyrimidines versus dihydrofolate reductase from Lactobacillus casei and chicken liver. QSARs were also developed for comprehensive data sets containing mono-, di-, and trisubstituted benzyl derivatives. Particular emphasis was placed on the role played by ortho substituents in the overall binding process and subsequent inhibition of the catalytic process in both the prokaryotic and eucaryotic DHFRs. Comparisons between the two QSARs reveal subtle differences at specific positions which can be optimized to design more selective antibacterial agents.