Introducing the EPP house (topological space) method to solve MRP problems.

The problem of product and process planning analysed so far is how we can take advantage of our strategy in planning. Among the principles of manufacturing and service management concepts is that after planning demand, planning transformation is one of the key steps of integrated efficiency; it makes it possible to save costs that are not value adding and are not necessary from the customer's point of view. Currently, the methods of material requirements and capacity planning can be seen as classic solutions that are based on dependency relations between different resources, which can be dynamic in space and time.

Right precordial leads and lead aVR at exercise electrocardiography: does it change test results?

Background: A recent study on exercise testing (ET) suggested that ST-segment changes in the right precordial leads (RPL) may increase its sensitivity substantially. However, this study looked at a highly selected population of patients who all underwent thallium-201 scintigraphy and coronary angiography. The present study evaluated the clinical utility of ST-segment changes in the RPL and lead aVR in an unselected population of patients undergoing ET.

Effectiveness of a planned strategy using cardiac rehabilitation nurses for the management of dyslipidemia in patients with coronary artery disease.

Background: Firm evidence exists for reduction in mortality and morbidity by lipid-lowering therapy in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD), yet a significant proportion remain untreated. This prospective study determined the effectiveness of a planned strategy of management using a cardiac rehabilitation nurse in achieving (1) lower 6-month low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels and (2) a higher proportion of patients on pharmacologic therapy.

Methods: A cardiac rehabilitation nurse arranged for the lipid profiles and initiated pharmacologic therapy as soon as possible after the diagnosis of CAD.

Feasibility of direct discharge from the coronary/intermediate care unit after acute myocardial infarction.

Objectives: This investigation was designed to determine the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of direct discharge from the coronary/intermediate care unit (CICU) in 497 consecutive patients with an acute myocardial infarction (AMI).

Background: Although patients with an AMI are traditionally treated in the CICU followed by a period on the medical ward, the latter phase can likely be incorporated within the CICU.

Methods: All patients were considered for direct discharge from the CICU with appropriate patient education.

Aneurysm of the membranous ventricular septum producing subpulmonic outflow tract obstruction.

The authors report the case of a 31-year-old asymptomatic male who, following investigations for cardiac murmur, was found to have congenitally corrected (status solitus of the atria, left looping of the ventricles, leftward aorta in relation to the pulmonary artery [S,L,L]) transposition of the great vessels with significant right-sided ventricular outflow tract obstruction due to a large aneurysm of the membranous ventricular septum. Diagnosis was made with transesophageal echocardiography and confirmed during corrective surgery. The authors review the literature with regard to aneurysms of the membranous ventricular septum and their association with congenital heart disease, and they discuss the use of noninvasive tests aiding the diagnosis.

In vivo interference between pathogenic and non-pathogenic viruses.

The interference among viruses is a well-documented biological phenomenon, both in animals and tissue culture systems. In two of our previous in vivo experiments and in four independent animal experiments, which are described in this presentation, interferences were successfully used to influence the outcomes of viral diseases by using non-pathogenic viruses. In this study, four pathogenic viruses were studied in their natural hosts, and against these viruses, in different combinations, 15 non-pathogenic viruses were tested.

Interference between human hepatitis A virus and an attenuated apathogenic avian virus.

The effect of an attenuated apathogenic avian bursa virus on the course of human hepatitis A viral infection was studied in marmoset monkeys. The monkeys were infected with human hepatitis A virus, then superinfected with avian bursa virus one and three weeks after initial inoculation with human hepatitis A virus. The superinfected monkeys did not show the characteristic serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase (SGPT) elevation.

Comparative toxicity of polychlorinated biphenyl and polybrominated biphenylin the rat thyroid gland: light and electron microscopic alterations after subacute dietary exposure.

The comparative toxicity of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) and polybrominated biphenyl (PBB) in thyroid glands was studied in male Holtzman rats. Four-week-old animals were fed at dietary levels of 0, 5, 50, and 500 ppm for 5 weeks and then sacrificed. PCB and PBB produced similar dose-dependent ultrastructural lesions in thyroid follicular cells of rats.

Comparative toxicity of polychlorinated biphenyl and polybrominated biphenyl in the rat liver: light and electron microscopic alterations after subacute dietary exposure.

The comparative toxicity of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) and polybrominated biphenyl (PBB) in livers was studied in male Holtzman rats. Four-week-old animals were fed at dietary levels of 0, 5, 50, or 500 ppm for 5 weeks and then sacrificed. The mean liver-body weight ratios of the 50 and 500 ppm groups were increased.

Effect of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) on the thyroid gland of rats. Ultrastructural and biochemical investigations.

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) produced ultrastructural lesions in thyroid follicular cells and reductions in serum thyroxine levels in rats that were time- and dose-dependent. The acute effects (4 week) of PCB (50 and 500 ppm) consisted of an accumulation of lysosomal bodies and colloid droplets in follicular cells with abnormalities of microvilli on the luminal surface. The chronic administration (12 week) of PCB (50 and 500/250 ppm) resulted in a striking distention of many follicular cells with large lysosomal bodies with strong acid phosphatase activity and colloid droplets, blunt and abnormally branched microvilli, and mitochondrial vacuolation.

Hepatitis B antibodies in hospital personnel.

Sera from 544 hospital personnel members with different degrees of exposure to the agent of hepatitis B were tested for HB8Ag and anti-HB8 by counterelectrophoresis, radioimmunoassay and passive hemagglutination. The laboratory staff and persons having direct contact with patients exhibited a significantly higher prevalence of anti-HB8 (16.2%) as compared with the other groups: administrative staff (4.

Acute, subacute, and residual effects of polychlorinated biphenyl (pcb) in rats. II. Pathology and electron microscopy of liver and serum enzyme study.

This study was undertaken to determine the residual effects of a polychlorinated biphenyl (Aroclor 1254) fed to male rats at dietary concentrations of 0, 5, 50, and 500 ppm in diet. The animals were treated for 4 wk (acute and subacute phase), then observed for periods of up to 50 wk following termination of exposure (residual phase). The most significant histopathologic alteration was fatty degenerative change in the liver, which was most marked at 9 wk.

Acute, subacute, and residual effects of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) in rats. I. Biologic half-life in adipose tissue.

Sprague-Dawley rats were fed diets containing Aroclor 1254 at o, 5, 50, or 500 ppm for 4 wk. The biologic half-life of Aroclor 1254 in adipose tissue of rats fed 500 ppm, as determined by a gas chromatographic method, was 8 wk in males and 12 wk in females. These results are in line with sex-linked differences reported previously for other chlorinated hydrocarbons.

Distribution of hepatitis B virus subtypes in Romania.

The higher incidence of HB8Ag/ayw (71%) in sera collected from acute viral hepatitis cases, as well as from patients with chronic active hepatitis, healthy carriers and blood donors of 20 Romanian counties emphasizes the local prevalence of the ayw determinant in our country.

[Distribution of subtypes of viral hepatitis B antigen in areas of Rumania].

The results of subtyping the B antigen in 551 sera from patients with viral hepatitis, chronic evolutive hepatitis and cirrhosis, chronic carriers, donors and healthy subjects, were confirmed as positive HBAg by diffusion in agar, counterelectrophoresis and radioimmunology, and characterized by the d-y and w-r determinants by rheophoresis. The high incidence of the y determinant in all nine counties investigated probably reflects the prevalence of this serotype in Romania, recalling the distribution of subtypes observed in the south of Europe.