Biliary obstruction due to duodenojejunal intussusception in Peutz-Jeghers syndrome

We reported an operative case of bilateral coronary artery fistulae to pulmonary artery associated with a giant saccular aneurysm, the largest of which measured 30 x 30 mm. The patient was a 75 year old female who had anginal pain due to coronary steal phenomenon. A continuous murmur was detected. After establishing total cardiopulmonary bypass, two distal orifices of the fistula connected to the main pulmonary artery were closed with 5-0 polypropylene plegeted sutures. Aneurysmorrhaphy was then performed for giant saccular aneurysm. Postoperative course was uneventful.     

Influence of chemical composition on high temperature tensile properties of carbon steels

High temperature tensile test results of speciments from continuously cast steel slabs are investigated during cooling from 1250°C. Experiments in the temperature range from 1025°C down to room temperature are presented for nine heats of steels with carbon contents varying between 0.038 and 0.96 mass%. The influence of secondary precipitates on strength, strain hardening and reduction of area at fracture are discussed in relation to a temperature normalized by A_r3. The embrittlement of the hypereutectic steel by tertiary carbides indicates severe crack sensitivity below A. The minimum toughness just above A_r3 is attributed to increased N and Nb content.     

On the temperature and voltage dependence of short-term negative bias temperature stress

Initial NBTI degradation is often explained by elastic hole trapping which also considerably distorts long-term measurements. In order to clarify this issue, short-term NBT stress measurements are performed using different temperatures, stress voltages, and oxide thicknesses. The data shows a clear temperature activation and a super-linear voltage dependence, thereby effectively ruling out elastic hole tunneling. Rather, our data supports an explanation based on a thermally activated hole capture mechanism.     

Examining the interaction of marketing and financing decisions in a dynamic environment Die Analyse der Beziehungen von Marketing- und Finanzierungsentscheidungen in einem dynamischen Umfeld

The market success of a new product critically depends on the marketing strategy that is adopted during the introductory phase of its life cycle. The decision theoretic marketing literature provides useful insights to this problem through the application of new product diffusion models. While most of the diffusion models incorporate only marketing variables such as price or advertising into the adoption rates of the new product, we introduce the issue of financial decision making and argue that the success of a new product not only depends on an optimal marketing mix strategy but also on the financial decisions of a firm. We adopt a simple diffusion model and show that in case with demand uncertainty and limited liability more leverage (a higher debt equity ratio) causes the firm to be more aggressive in the product market, i.e., to reduce the price of the product. Our findings suggest that marketing decisions should not be taken in isolation but should be coordinated with financial variables.     

Heuristische Konfiguration und Scheduling für Echtzeitsysteme

In this paper we describe the scheduling of processes, threads and messages for a distributed hard-and software system (for air traffic control) which is supported by heuristics. Furthermore, we show how such application specific heuristics are linked to a reusable application framework.     

Wheat bran-based biorefinery 2: Valorization of products

Wheat bran is multi-layered and consists of different cell types with different chemical compositions. The relatively high content of protein as well as the small amount of lignin is the key differentiator to other lignocellulose containing biomasses. Following the classical route of a biorefinery, bran may be disintegrated to a high extent and separated into fractions of high purity in order to build up new chemicals which serve as precursors for higher polymerized compounds. Secondly, bran contains substances that are per se valuables, but need to be further separated and purified.     

A Comparison of Fast Methods for Measuring NBTI Degradation

Three fast measuring methods, namely, "on-the-fly," fast direct threshold-voltage (V_T) determination, and fast drain-current measurement near V_T, are compared. Problems of the different methods are thoroughly discussed, and an analysis of systematic and statistical errors has been done. An example comparing the V_T data extracted from the three methods is given. The results help us to understand the root causes for the observed differences in drift curves.     

Infant immunization with pneumococcal CRM197 vaccines: effect of saccharide size on immunogenicity and interactions with simultaneously administered vaccines

Six pentavalent pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (Pn-CRM197) were evaluated among 400 infants. The vaccines differed in saccharide chain length (oligosaccharide [OS] or polysaccharide [PS]) and saccharide quantity (0.5, 2, or 5 microg). Subjects were randomized into groups 1-6 (Pn-CRM197 recipients) or 7 (controls) for immunization at 2, 4, and 6 months of age. Pn-CRM197 were well tolerated and elicited mean antibody concentrations that exceeded those in controls for all 5 capsular serotypes. PS formulations were generally more immunogenic than their OS counterparts. For PS vaccines, a dose-response was documented (5 microg > 2 microg > 0.5 microg), but the differences between the 5- and 2-microg formulations were insignificant. The mean anti-PRP antibody concentration was significantly higher among Pn-CRM197 recipients. It is concluded that PS vaccines are more immunogenic than OS vaccines. The improved immunogenicity from Haemophilus type b oligosaccharide conjugate (HbOC) vaccine when given with Pn-CRM197 suggests that a decreased dose of HbOC vaccine may be sufficient to elicit protection.     

Band gap uniformity and layer stability of HgTe-CdTe superlattices grown by photon-assisted molecular beam epitaxy

Two material properties important to the application of HgTe/CdTe superlattices for device fabrication are band gap uniformity and thermal stability. In this paper, we present the results of an infrared photoluminescence study of (211)B HgTe/CdTe superlattices grown by photon-assisted molecular beam epitaxy which show that cut-off wavelength uniformity can be controlled to a level commensurate with the demands of advanced infrared detector fabrication. Infrared photoluminescence and transmission electron microscopy were also employed to demonstrate that (211)B HgTe/CdTe superlattices are less prone to interdiffusion than previously believed.