Burning radionuclide question: what happens to iodine, cesium and chlorine in biomass fires?

Authorization is an important functionality that every hospital information system (HIS) should provide. An authorization mechanism permits information to be accessed only by properly authorized users. Authorization models and mechanisms have been widely investigated within the framework of HISs. However, their implementation into existing systems, that do not any longer meet increased authorization requirements, requires a major redesign effort. This paper describes a front end authorization mechanism that has been developed in an attempt to enhance the security features of an existing HIS without extensive modifications to the system structure.     

Chromosome 5 workshop

The clinician engages his penal, private and administrative responsibilities whenever he performs a medical act. Common law applies for private practice, as is the case of most pneumologists. Actually, there is little common law jurisprudence directly concerning pneumological situations. We present here the current trends and recent decisions made by judges faced with cases engaging physician's responsibilities.     

Technology directions for portable computers

This paper contains an evaluation of trends in the key system parameters (e.g., size, weight, function, performance, battery life) for battery-powered portable computers, together with a review of development trends in the technologies required for such systems. The discussion focuses on notebook-size portable computers. Those technologies which will have substantial impact on battery life and power budgets of future notebook computers receive the primary emphasis in this paper for example, liquid crystal displays, storage technology, wireless communication technology, and low power electronics. System power management is also be addressed. The basic theme of this paper is first to develop a view of what the key attributes of future notebook computers will be, and then to discuss how technologies must evolve to allow such systems to be advanced over the current state of the art in terms of portability and battery life     

Investigation of monolayer roughness in HgTe-CdTe superlattices

Infrared photoluminescence (PL) measurements were performed on (2ID-oriented superlattices with energy gaps in the range 110–495 meV. Most of the samples with thinner HgTe quantum wells displayed two PL peaks separated by Δhω ≈ 30–65 meV (which generally increased with decreasing well thickness). Both peak energies (E_p) sometimes varied gradually with location on the surface, and in one case three peaks of approximately equal spacing were observed in some locations. The data are consistent with a model which assumes the presence of randomly distributed islands having well thicknesses varying by approximately one monolayer. We find that Ahco and the variations of the spectra with temperature agree well with calculations based on this simple model.     

Laparoscopic versus open splenectomy for immune thrombocytopenic purpura

Erythrokeratodermia variabilis (EKV, OMIM 133200) is an autosomal dominant genodermatosis with considerable intra- and interfamilial variability. It has a disfiguring phenotype characterized by the independent occurrence of two morphologic features: transient figurate red patches and localized or generalized hyperkeratosis. Both features can be triggered by external factors such as trauma to the skin. After initial linkage to the RH locus on 1p, EKV was mapped to an interval of 2.6 cM on 1p34-p35, and a candidate gene (GJA4) encoding the gap junction protein alpha-4 (connexin 31, Cx31) was excluded by sequence analysis. Evidence in mouse suggesting that the EKV region harbours a cluster of epidermally expressed connexin genes led us to characterize the human homologues of GJB3 (encoding Cx31) and GJB5 (encoding Cx31.1). GJB3, GJB5 and GJA4 were localized to a 1.1-Mb YAC in the candidate interval. We detected heterozygous missense mutations in GJB3 in four EKV families leading to substitution of a conserved glycine by charged residues (G12R and G12D), or change of a cysteine (C86S). These mutations are predicted to interfere with normal Cx31 structure and function, possibly due to a dominant inhibitory effect. Our results implicate Cx31 in the pathogenesis of EKV, and provide evidence that intercellular communication mediated by Cx31 is crucial for epidermal differentiation and response to external factors.     

Functional analysis of Gscl in the pathogenesis of the DiGeorge and velocardiofacial syndromes

Gscl encodes a Goosecoid-related homeodomain protein that is expressed during mouse embryogenesis. In situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry studies show that Gscl is expressed in the pons region of the developing central nervous system and primordial germ cells. Gscl expression is also detected in a subset of adult tissues, including brain, eye, thymus, thyroid region, stomach, bladder and testis. Gscl is located within a region of the mouse genome that is syntenic with the region commonly deleted in DiGeorge and velocardiofacial syndrome (DGS/VCFS) patients. DGS/VCFS patients have craniofacial abnormalities, cardiac outflow defects and hypoplasia of the parathyroid gland and thymus due to haploinsufficiency of a gene or genes located within the deleted region. Thus, the genomic location of Gscl and its expression in a subset of the tissues affected in DGS/VCFS patients suggest that Gscl may contribute to the pathogenesis of DGS/VCFS. To determine the role of Gscl during mouse embryogenesis and in DGS/VCFS, we have deleted Gscl by gene targeting in mouse embryonic stem cells. Both Gscl heterozygous and Gscl null mice were normal and fertile, suggesting that Gscl is not a major factor in DGS/VCFS. Interestingly, expression of the adjacent Es2 gene in the pons region of Gscl null fetuses was absent, suggesting that mutations within the DGS/VCFS region can influence expression of adjacent genes. In addition, embryos that lacked both Gscl and the related Gsc gene appeared normal. These studies represent the first functional analysis of a DGS/VCFS candidate gene in vivo. These Gscl null mice will be an important genetic resource for crosses with other mouse models of the DGS/VCFS.     

Diaphragmatic and cardiac motion during suspended breathing: preliminary experience and implications for breath-hold MR imaging

PURPOSE: To investigate and quantify motion of the diaphragm and heart during suspended breathing at end inspiration and end expiration. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In 10 healthy adult volunteers, line scanning was performed to monitor the position of the diaphragm during a breath hold at end inspiration and end expiration, with a spatial and temporal resolution of 0.25 mm and 200 msec, respectively. Electrocardiographically gated, turbo fast low-angle shot (FLASH) magnetic resonance (MR) imaging was performed to monitor movement of the diaphragm and heart. RESULTS: During a breath hold, the diaphragm moved upward. At end expiration, the velocity of the diaphragm during suspended breathing was constant (mean, 0.15 mm/sec). At end inspiration, motion of the diaphragm during suspended breathing was more complex (range, 0.1-7.9 mm/sec). During a 20-second breath hold, mean displacement of the diaphragm was 25% of that during normal breathing. FLASH MR imaging revealed variations in the position of the heart during a breath hold. During suspended respiration, the heart did not return to the same position on consecutive heartbeats and, consequently, the margins of the heart typically moved inward. CONCLUSION: Breath holding does not eliminate motion of the diaphragm. Changes in the motion of the diaphragm and transthoracic pressure during a breath hold result in complex movement of the heart and may cause blurring during breath-hold MR imaging.     

Genetic and environmental contributions to the association between quantitative ultrasound and bone mineral density measurements: a twin study

This study was designed to assess the relative contributions of genetic and environmental factors to the variation and covariation of quantitative ultrasound (QUS) measurements and their relationships to bone mineral density (BMD). Forty-nine monozygotic (MZ) and 44 dizygotic (DZ) female twins between 20 and 83 years of age (53 +/- 13 years, mean +/- SD) were studied. Digital (phalangeal) QUS (speed of sound [SOS]) and calcaneal QUS (broadband ultrasound attenuation [BUA] and velocity of sound [VOS]) were measured using a DBM Sonic 1200 ultrasound densitometer and a CUBA ultrasound densitometer, respectively. Femoral neck (FN), lumbar spine (LS), and total body (TB) BMD were measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Familial resemblance and hence heritability (proportion of variance of a trait attributable to genetic factors) were assessed by analysis of variance, univariate, and multivariate model-fitting genetic analyses. In both QUS and BMD parameters, MZ twins were more alike than DZ pairs. Estimates of heritability for age- and weight-adjusted BUA, VOS, and SOS were 0.74, 0.55, and 0.82, respectively. Corresponding indices of heritability for LS, FN, and TB BMD were 0.79, 0.77, and 0.82, respectively. In cross-sectional analysis, both BUA and SOS, but not VOS, were independently associated with BMD measurements. However, analysis based on intrapair differences suggested that only BUA was related to BMD. Bivariate genetic analysis indicated that the genetic correlations between BUA and BMD ranged between 0.43 and 0.51 (p < 0.001), whereas the environmental correlations ranged between 0.20 and 0.28 (p < 0.01). While the genetic correlations within QUS and BMD measurements were significant, factor analysis indicates that common genes affect BMD at different sites. Also, individual QUS measurements appear to be influenced by some common sets of genes rather than by environmental factors. Significant environmental correlations were only found for BMD measurements and ranged between 0.50 and 0.65 (p < 0.001). These data suggest that QUS and BMD measurements are highly heritable traits. While it appears that there is a common set of genes influencing both QUS and BMD measurements, specific genes yet to be identified appear to have greater effects than that of shared genes in each trait.     

Life prediction for fatigue of T800/5245 carbob-fibre composites: II. Variable-amplitude loading

This is the second of two papers describing the fatigue response of a [(±45,0₂)₂]_s laminate of the T800/5245 composite system, a modern aerospace material consisting of high-failure-strain, intermediate-modulus carbon fibres in a toughened bismaleimide resin system. In the first paper, the fatigue response in repeated tension, repeated compression, and mixed tension-compression was determined at constant stress levels over a wide range of R values. The results of those constant-amplitude experiments were then used to define a programme of four- and two-block variable-loading experiments in an attempt to derive predictive methods for such loading conditions. Formulae have been developed to predict life under non-linear cumulative damage conditions and empirical data derived to validate the procedures.