Controlled pore size, thickness and surface free energy of super-hydrophobic PVDF® and Hyflon®AD membranes

Super-hydrophobic membranes were manufactured by using two per-fluorinated polymers such as PVDF and Hyflon AD. The combination of controlled structure and supra-molecular chemistry made these membranes ideal interfaces to be used in membrane contactors.     

Surgical management of the neck in squamous cell carcinoma of the floor of the mouth

Approximately 98% of Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) and 80% of Angelman syndrome (AS) cases have deletions at a common region in chromosome 15q11-13, uniparental disomy for chromosomes 15 (UPD15), or mutations affecting gene expression in this region. The resulting clinical phenotype (PWS or AS) in each class of mutation depends upon the parent of origin. Both disorders are characterised at the molecular level by abnormal methylation of imprinted genes at 15q11-q13 including the small nuclear ribonucleoprotein N gene (SNRPN). Current diagnostic strategies include high resolution cytogenetics, fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH), Southern blot hybridisation, or microsatellite typing. We have developed a novel and rapid diagnostic test for PWS and AS based on differential digestion of expressed (paternally imprinted) SNRPN sequences by the methylation sensitive endonuclease NotI or repressed (maternally imprinted) SNRPN sequences by the methylation requiring nuclease McrBC, followed by PCR amplification of the SNRPN promoter. We have evaluated this test by blinded analysis of 60 characterised DNA samples (20 PWS, 20 AS, and 20 unaffected controls). SNRPN sequences could not be amplified from PWS patient DNA which had been digested with McrBC, nor from AS patient DNA which had been digested with NotI. We were able to make a correct diagnosis of PWS, AS, or unaffected in all 60 samples tested. This novel test is rapid and has a high specificity and sensitivity for deletion and UPD15 cases. These features make this new test suitable as the initial step in a molecular diagnostic strategy for PWS/AS.     

Pinhole porosity in high-alloy steel castings

Pinhole porosity in castings made in green sand molds is one of the hazards which has confronted industry for many years. Much has been written about this problem in carbon and low-alloy steels, but this paper considers the same occurrence in high-alloy steels.     

Loss of motor units in Alzheimer's disease

Little attention has been paid in the literature to the state of the peripheral nervous system (PNS) in Alzheimer's disease (AD). We conducted a comprehensive electrophysiological study in 15 AD patients looking for functional abnormalities within their PNSs. A reduction of the number of functioning motor units (MU) was found in the thenar and soleus muscles of most of these patients without enlargement of the remaining MUs territories, while the motor and sensory conduction velocities of the peripheral nerves were preserved. These results suggest dysfunction of the spinal motoneurones in patients afflicted with this condition.     

Perineural invasion of the lower alveolar nerve by oral cancer: a follow-up study of 12 cases

The authors studied the intraocular pressure (IOP) changes after phacoemulsification with two different kinds of foldable silicone lens implantation using Healon GV as viscoelastic substance. One hundred patients undergoing cataract surgery were enrolled in this study. Inclusion criteria were: absence of ocular hypertension or glaucoma. Patients were randomly assigned to plate haptic (Silens PH, Domilens Chiron Vision, Lyon, France) or three-piece (CeeOntrade mark& ;920, Pharmacia spa, Milano, Italia) silicone intraocular lens (IOL) implantation. Following phacoemulsification and cortical aspiration, the capsular bag was reinflated with Healon GV. After foldable silicone IOL insertion residual Healon GV was removed from the anterior chamber. IOP was measured preoperatively and at 6, 24 h and 1 week postoperatively. Six hours postoperatively IOP was higher in the Silens PH group than in the CeeOn group (20. 85+/-5.42 vs. 18.88+/-2.95 mm Hg, p= 0.026). The difference was confirmed after 24 h (21.02+/-5.18 vs. 17.34+/-3.18 mm Hg, p < 0.01). Despite the medical treatment (acetazolamide 250 mg orally every 6 h), at the 24-hour control 2 eyes with plate haptic silicone lens showed IOP values higher than 30 mm Hg. Slitlamp examination showed in both eyes a shallowing of the anterior chamber together with the evidence of capsular bag hyperdistension and capsular block resulting from the occlusion of the circular anterior capsule opening by the plate haptic IOL. Residual Healon GV removal from the anterior chamber was performed. At 1-week control both eyes showed normalization of IOP. The use of a plate haptic silicone lens may be associated with a more consistent retention of Healon GV in the eye with trapping in the capsular bag. Retained viscoelastic may cause either trabecular meshwork blockage by viscoelastic substance or postoperative capsular bag hyperdistension, anteroplacement of the IOL optic and capsular block from occlusion of the circular anterior opening by the IOL optic.     

A double-blind, randomized, fixed-dose trial of fluoxetine vs. amitriptyline in the treatment of major depression complicating Alzheimer''s disease

Serum-soluble HLA class I molecules (sHLA) have immunomodulatory functions and their serum levels correlate with the HLA class I phenotype. We studied longitudinal changes of serum sHLA levels in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM). A total of 198 serum samples were obtained from 40 IDDM patients before and after IDDM onset. sHLA was assayed by a sandwich ELISA. sHLA levels in IDDM patients at the initiation of insulin therapy (IDDM onset) were markedly reduced compared with those in normal controls (334.2 +/- 26.3 ng/ml vs 492.4 +/- 55.5 ng/ml, mean +/- SEM, P = 0.0038). They fell sharply during 6 months before and after the onset of IDDM. The dynamic profile of sHLA and the time course of beta-cell loss were different between IDDM patients with and without HLA-A24. In those with HLA-A24, sHLA became significantly lower than normal controls with HLA-A24 at IDDM onset. Recovery of their sHLA values occurred at 3 years from IDDM onset. On the other hand, in those without HLA-A24, sHLA levels began to decrease since the onset of IDDM and became significantly lower than normal controls without HLA-A24 at 4 years after the onset. Recovery of sHLA occurred at more than 6 years from the onset. An early (within 18 months), complete loss of beta-cell function occurred in 5 of 13 IDDM patients with HLA-A24 compared with 1 of 14 of those without HLA-A24 (P = 0.077). A late (more than 36 months after the onset of IDDM), complete loss of beta-cell function occurred in 7 of 14 IDDM patients without HLA-A24 but in none of 13 of those with HLA-A24 (P = 0.0058). These results indicate that the decline of sHLA is synchronous with massive beta-cell destruction, and that these events occur during a short period in IDDM patients with HLA-A24, whereas they occur during a relatively long period in those without HLA-A24.     

Neuroendocrine (Merkel cell) carcinoma of the oral mucosa: report of a case with immunohistochemical study and review of the literature

Merkel cell carcinoma (Mcc) is an uncommon and aggressive tumour with neuroendocrine features that occur predominantly in the head and neck region. The rarity of this tumour, especially when it arises in the oral mucosa, makes both early identification and standardisation of treatment difficult, particularly as regards complementary treatment. The availability of monoclonal antibodies with restricted specificity for some antigens thought to be related to neuroendocrine carcinomas, such as Merkel cell carcinoma, and ultrastructural studies offer some new leads to investigation. This has allowed, a greater number of these tumours to be discovered, thereby increasing the chances of effective management. A case of Mcc of the floor of the mouth is reported, together with the results of cytokeratin, neuron specific enolase and chromogranin immunohistochemistry.     

The analog signal processing board for the HEAT telescopes

The aim of the Pierre Auger Observatory is to measure with high statistics the flux, the arrival directions and the mass composition of cosmic rays at the highest energies. Since 2009, the Auger Collaboration has added three new High Elevation Auger Telescopes (HEAT) along with a new 25 km² infill array in the field of view of the new telescopes. These enhancements have lowered the energy threshold of the Observatory by about an order of magnitude. In combination with the existing telescopes in Coihueco the vertical field of view is extended to about 60°, allowing the measurement of nearby air showers arising from primaries with energies as low as 2×10¹⁷ eV.In this paper we describe the new front-end analog board developed to process the signals generated by the photomultipliers of the HEAT telescopes. Eighty analog boards have been produced, fully characterized and tested. The main characteristics of the electronic circuits and the circuit parameters are illustrated.     

Two simple new bibliometric indexes to better evaluate research in disciplines where publications typically receive less citations

The paper proposes two simple new indexes—k and w—to assess a scientist’s publications record based on citations. The two indexes are superior to the widely used h index (Hirsch, 2005), as they preserve all its valuable characteristics and try to overcome one of its shortcomings, i.e. that it uses only a fraction of the information contained in a scientist’s citations profile and, as a result, it is defined over the set of positive integers and does not show a sufficiently fine ‘granularity’ to allow a fully satisfactory ranking of scientists. This problem is particularly acute in many areas of Social Sciences and Humanities, where scientific productivity and citation practices typically yield fewer citations per paper and, as a consequence, are characterized by ‘structurally’ lower values of the h index. Both the indexes proposed are defined over R⁺, their integer part is equal to the scientist’s h index and they fall in the right-open interval [h, h+1). While the h index is influenced only by part of the citations received by a scientist’s most-cited publications, the k index takes into account all the citations received by her most-cited publications and the w index accounts for the citations received by the entire set of her publications. Variants of the k and w indexes are proposed which consider co-authorship. To show the extent to which the h index and the new indexes proposed may yield different results, they are calculated for 332 professors of economics in Italian universities and the results obtained used to rank Italian university departments.