Resonant applicator design for industrial microwave heating

The use of transmission-line modelling (TLM) as a general tool for designing cavity applicators for microwave heating purposes is discussed. This method is used to validate a recent procedure for designing rectangular cavities loaded with an inhomogenous dielectric layer. The influence of dielectric losses on the cavity resonances is studied.<>     

A new region of conservation is defined between human and mouse X chromosomes

Comparative mapping of the X chromosome in eutherian mammals has revealed distinct regions of conservation as well as evolutionary rearrangements between human and mouse. Recently, we and others mapped the murine homologue of CLCN4 (Chloride channel 4) to band F4 of the X chromosome in Mus spretus but to chromosome 7 in laboratory strains. We now report the mapping of the murine homologues of APXL (Apical protein Xenopus laevis-like) and OA1 (Ocular albinism type I), two genes that are located on the human X chromosome at band p22. 3 and in close proximity to CLCN4. Interestingly, Oa1 and Apxl map to bands F2-F3 in both M. spretus and the laboratory strain C57BL/6J, defining a new rearrangement between human and mouse X chromosomes.     

A psychiatric diagnostic system integrating probabilistic and categorical reasoning

We describe a diagnostic support system for clinical psychiatry and its evaluation results. The system has two inter-related components: a rule-based reasoning part associated with uncertainty, and a deterministic part, that uses heuristics to perform categorical reasoning. The system includes the 30 groups of psychiatric diagnoses which are classified under the categories 290 to 319 of the DSM-III-R and the ICD-9. There are, in fact, 1508 rules relating 208 clinical findings with 257 diagnoses. The reasoning strategy is based on selecting and differentiating diagnostic categories in a hierarchical classification tree. The system is intended to be used for education of medical students, and to help non-specialist clinicians, residents in psychiatry, or experts with few years of experience in decision making. We tested the diagnostic performance of the system using case reports extracted from a specialized journal. In 52.8% of the cases, the correct diagnosis was ranked as the first hypothesis using only the rule-based part. In combination with the deterministic strategy, the correct diagnosis could be made for 73.6% of the analyzed cases.     

Fatal congenital myopathy with actin filament deposits

We present the clinical and morphological findings in a case of progressive congenital myopathy. The symptoms present at birth included severe general muscular hypotonia, diffuse muscular atrophy, arthrogryposis, absence of spontaneous movements, and left ventricular hypertrophy. A biopsy specimen taken from the gastrocnemius muscle when the patient was 2 weeks old revealed deposits which consisted of actin filaments as shown by electron microscopy. The infant was occasionally respirator dependent but was mostly able to breathe unassisted. At the age of 5 months he died of respiratory failure. The actin filament deposits may explain the clinical findings.     

Assessment of the synergistic interactions of levofloxacin and ampicillin against Enterococcus faecium by the checkerboard agar dilution and time-kill methods

Multidrug-resistant enterococci have become increasingly difficult to eradicate in a growing number of nosocomial infections. With the emergence of vancomycin-resistant enterococci, the use of synergistic antibiotic combinations has become one of the only remaining therapeutic options. Levofloxacin, the active l-isomer of ofloxacin, is a new oral and intravenous fluoroquinolone with a broad spectrum of activity against numerous Gram-positive, Gram-negative, and atypical organisms. The in vitro activity of levofloxacin, alone and in combination with ampicillin, against recent clinical isolates of Enterococcus faecium was assessed for synergistic interactions using the checkerboard agar dilution technique and time-kill methodology. Against all strains, the static technique of checkerboard agar dilution demonstrated indifferent or additive effects for the ampicillin + levofloxacin combination. With the dynamic time-kill technique, synergy was demonstrated for ampicillin (16 micrograms/ml) + levofloxacin (2 micrograms/ml) combination against three levofloxacin-sensitive, ampicillin-resistant isolates. At 24 h, the combination yielded a > or = 2-log10 decrease in CFU/ml compared to levofloxacin alone, while ampicillin had negligible effects. Against both a levofloxacin-intermediate, ampicillin-resistant isolate, and a highly levofloxacin-resistant, ampicillin-resistant isolate, none of the ampicillin+levofloxacin combinations tested demonstrated a synergistic interaction. The time-kill method suggested synergy for the ampicillin+levofloxacin combination against some strains of E. faecium.     

The effect of finishing and polishing on surface roughness of a processed resilient denture liner

A raised ridge on a Molloplast-B sample was removed using one of three burs, four stones, or a coarse sandpaper disc. Samples were polished using pumice alone, tin oxide alone, or both agents. A flat, unfinished sample served as a control. The average surface roughness was measured after reductions and subsequent polishings. The length of time required for initial reduction was recorded. Average surface roughness measurements ranged from 16.0 to 1.4 microns, with the control measuring 0.66 micron. Without polishing, burs produced rougher surfaces than stones and required longer times for reduction. Bur samples also remained rougher than stone samples after pumicing. No significant differences were found between treatments or controls after the use of either a combination of pumice and tin oxide or tin oxide alone.