Hyperendemic pulmonary tuberculosis in a Peruvian shantytown

Even excellent clinical function after ileo-anal pouch construction is associated with a variety of physiological abnormalities. Small bowel intestinal motility is essentially normal but the ileal reservoir serves to markedly suppress the ileal motor response both to progressive distension by intestinal contents and to transmitted myoelectrical complexes. As a result, the healthy pouch can accommodate a large volume of intestinal content before the rising baseline pressure and the appearance of large isolated contraction waves produce an urge to defecate. Evacuation in the normal pouch patient is rapid and highly efficient and is achieved by means of the Valsalva maneuver without any evidence of significant intestinal propulsion. External anal sphincter function is fully preserved but internal anal sphincter function is significantly impaired in the immediate postoperative period. Recovery occurs over the next 6 to 12 months but is often incomplete. Bacterial overgrowth in the pouch and prepouch ileum is almost universal and results in the premature deconjugation of primary bile salts and accumulation of secondary bile salts within the pouch. These produce morphologic changes in the ileal mucosa, and their excretion in pouch effluent gradually depletes the bile salt pool. Anerobic organisms also bind with vitamin B12 and the vitamin B12-intrinsic factor complex, resulting in subtle but measurable reductions in vitamin B12 levels in pouch patients. Finally, anerobic fermentation of mucus and undigested carbohydrate results in excessive quantities of short chain fatty acids within the pouch lumen. The clinical significance of these substances is unclear, but they may have an adverse action on both ileal mucosal and smooth muscle function. In essence, however, the pouch surgeon can maximize the likelihood of good clinical function by constructing a large capacity pouch, by avoiding surgery in patients with clearly deficient anal sphincter mechanisms, and by careful attention to pouch-anal anastomotic technique.     

Preparation and characterization of a new polymer/pharmaceutical-based composite. Part I: Meloxicam

Composites of low-density polyethylene (LDPE), poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) (EVA), poly(ethylene-co-octadecene), and an LDPE/EVA blend were prepared with different amounts of meloxicam (1, 3 and 5 wt %) by the melt blending process. Meloxicam was homogenously dispersed in polymer matrices. The polymer–meloxicam composites showed thermal behavior and thermal characteristics similar to those of the original polymers. Meloxicam release from the composites was examined in vitro for 50 days. The composites were incubated in phosphate-buffered solution and meloxicam concentration was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. The prolonged release of the drug indicates that meloxicam-loaded plastic rings offer potential for control of reproduction and chronic inflammatory conditions.     

Control strategies for power smoothing using a flywheel driven by a sensorless vector-controlled induction machine operating in a wide speed range

This paper presents a novel control strategy for power smoothing. The system is based on a sensorless vector-controlled induction machine driving a flywheel. The problem of regulating the DC-link voltage against input power surges or sudden changes in load demand is addressed. The induction machine is controlled to operate in a wide speed range by using flux weakening above rated speed. A model reference adaptive system observer is used to obtain the rotational speed in the whole speed range. The observer parameters are adapted during flux weakening in order to obtain close tracking of the flywheel speed. Experimental results for the operation of the induction machine between zero to more than twice base speed are presented and discussed.     

Reducing the period of immobilization following pressure sore surgery: a prospective, randomized trial

The primary structures of two subunits of an alpha-amylase inhibitor (alpha AI-2) from a wild common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) were revealed by a comparison of the amino acid sequence previously deduced from the nucleotide sequence with the amino- and carboxyl-terminal amino acid sequences determined by conventional methods. The polypeptide molecular weight of alpha AI-2 obtained by the light-scattering technique, considered together with the sequence molecular weights revealed for the subunits, indicated that alpha AI-2 has the subunit stoichiometry of an alpha 2 beta 2 complex. These structural features were closely similar to those recently elucidated for a white kidney bean (P. vulgaris) alpha-amylase inhibitor, which is quite different in the inhibitory specificity from alpha AI-2. The post-translational processing of the precursor glycoproteins to form the tetrameric structure appeared to require an Arg residue close to the processing site. Further, the proper associations of the subunits into the tetrameric structures seemed to be strictly controlled by a few amino acids on the subunit interfaces.     

Specification of spatial integrity constraints in pictorialdatabases

A model and a language for specifying spatial integrity constraints in pictorial databases are presented. Spatial integrity constraints are assertions about the correct behavior of database systems that specify acceptable database states and state transitions. They also serve as restrictions on positions occupied by objects in a picture. The language presented primarily uses pictures to specify constraints. The constraint pictures depict unacceptable database states. A data model provides the basic semantics for picture interpretation     

Accurate template-based correction of brain MRI intensity distortion with application to dementia and aging

This paper examines an alternative approach to separating magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) intensity inhomogeneity from underlying tissue-intensity structure using a direct template-based paradigm. This permits the explicit spatial modeling of subtle intensity variations present in normal anatomy which may confound common retrospective correction techniques using criteria derived from a global intensity model. A fine-scale entropy driven spatial normalisation procedure is employed to map intensity distorted MR images to a tissue reference template. This allows a direct estimation of the relative bias field between template and subject MR images, from the ratio of their low-pass filtered intensity values. A tissue template for an aging individual is constructed and used to correct distortion in a set of data acquired as part of a study on dementia. A careful validation based on manual segmentation and correction of nine datasets with a range of anatomies and distortion levels is carried out. This reveals a consistent improvement in the removal of global intensity variation in terms of the agreement with a global manual bias estimate, and in the reduction in the coefficient of intensity variation in manually delineated regions of white matter.     

The effect of side chains on the partial specific volumes of poly(o-alkylphenyl methacrylate)s and polydiitaconates

Partial specific volumes ν of a series of poly(o-alkyl phenyl methacrylate)s and polydiitaconates were determined by density measurements, in toluene and tetrahydrofuran solutions, respectively. The effect of the size and nature of the side groups on partial specific volume is analyzed. Good agreement is found between the experimental ν values and those obtained theoretically from the group contribution method.     

Control strategies for enhanced power smoothing in wind energysystems using a flywheel driven by a vector-controlled induction machine

This paper presents a novel control strategy for power smoothing in wind energy applications, especially those feeding a stand-alone load. The system is based on a vector-controlled induction machine driving a flywheel and addresses the problem of regulating the DC-link system voltage against both input power surges/sags from a wind turbine or sudden changes in load demand. The control is based on a feedforward compensation scheme augmented by a nonlinear controller. Two feedforward compensation schemes are discussed and the limitations and performance of each scheme are analyzed. Experimental results are presented which verify the excellent performance of the feedforward compensation technique