Egg and banana sign of severe pulmonary arterial hypertension.

The egg and banana sign can be seen on chest computed tomography (CT) in patients with severe pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). It is identified by the presence of the pulmonary artery (PA) lateral to the aortic arch with the aortic arch being described as the banana and the PA as the egg.

Two functionally distinct NADP-dependent ferredoxin oxidoreductases maintain the primary redox balance of .

Electron bifurcation has recently gained acceptance as the third mechanism of energy conservation in which energy is conserved through the coupling of exergonic and endergonic reactions. A structure-based mechanism of bifurcation has been elucidated recently for the flavin-based enzyme NADH-dependent ferredoxin NADP oxidoreductase I (NfnI) from the hyperthermophillic archaeon NfnI is thought to be involved in maintaining the cellular redox balance, producing NADPH for biosynthesis by recycling the two other primary redox carriers, NADH and ferredoxin. The genome encodes an NfnI paralog termed NfnII, and the two are differentially expressed, depending on the growth conditions.

REVIEW OF INDEPENDENT NURSE PRESCRIBING IN A PAEDIATRIC CYSTIC FIBROSIS (CF) AND RESPIRATORY POPULATION.

Aim: With pressures on junior doctors' availability in the NHS, non-medical prescribing is topical. Independent Nurse Prescribers (INPs) can prescribe any licensed medicine for any medical condition within their level of competence.1 An audit was undertaken of the four INPs employed by the Respiratory Department evaluating current prescribing practices.

Engineering hydrogen gas production from formate in a hyperthermophile by heterologous production of an 18-subunit membrane-bound complex.

Biohydrogen gas has enormous potential as a source of reductant for the microbial production of biofuels, but its low solubility and poor gas mass transfer rates are limiting factors. These limitations could be circumvented by engineering biofuel production in microorganisms that are also capable of generating H2 from highly soluble chemicals such as formate, which can function as an electron donor. Herein, the model hyperthermophile, Pyrococcus furiosus, which grows optimally near 100 °C by fermenting sugars to produce H2, has been engineered to also efficiently convert formate to H2.

Exploiting microbial hyperthermophilicity to produce an industrial chemical, using hydrogen and carbon dioxide.

Microorganisms can be engineered to produce useful products, including chemicals and fuels from sugars derived from renewable feedstocks, such as plant biomass. An alternative method is to use low potential reducing power from nonbiomass sources, such as hydrogen gas or electricity, to reduce carbon dioxide directly into products. This approach circumvents the overall low efficiency of photosynthesis and the production of sugar intermediates.

Mutational Analyses of the Enzymes Involved in the Metabolism of Hydrogen by the Hyperthermophilic Archaeon Pyrococcus furiosus.

Pyrococcus furiosus grows optimally near 100°C by fermenting carbohydrates to produce hydrogen (H(2)) or, if elemental sulfur (S(0)) is present, hydrogen sulfide instead. It contains two cytoplasmic hydrogenases, SHI and SHII, that use NADP(H) as an electron carrier and a membrane-bound hydrogenase (MBH) that utilizes the redox protein ferredoxin. We previously constructed deletion strains lacking SHI and/or SHII and showed that they exhibited no obvious phenotype.

Recombinogenic properties of Pyrococcus furiosus strain COM1 enable rapid selection of targeted mutants.

We recently reported the isolation of a mutant of Pyrococcus furiosus, COM1, that is naturally and efficiently competent for DNA uptake. While we do not know the exact nature of this mutation, the combined transformation and recombination frequencies of this strain allow marker replacement by direct selection using linear DNA. In testing the limits of its recombination efficiency, we discovered that marker replacement was possible with as few as 40 nucleotides of flanking homology to the target region.

Terahertz inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) imaging with a quantum cascade laser transmitter.

A coherent transceiver using a THz quantum cascade (TQCL) laser as the transmitter and an optically pumped molecular laser as the local oscillator has been used, with a pair of Schottky diode mixers in the receiver and reference channels, to acquire high-resolution images of fully illuminated targets, including scale models and concealed objects. Phase stability of the received signal, sufficient to allow coherent image processing of the rotating target (in azimuth and elevation), was obtained by frequency-locking the TQCL to the free-running, highly stable optically pumped molecular laser. While the range to the target was limited by the available TQCL power (several hundred microwatts) and reasonably strong indoor atmospheric attenuation at 2.

Frequency stabilization of a single mode terahertz quantum cascade laser to the kilohertz level.

A simple analog locking circuit was shown to stabilize the beat signal between a 2.408 THz quantum cascade laser and a CH(2)DOH THz CO(2) optically pumped molecular laser to 3-4 kHz (FWHM). This is approximately a tenth of the observed long-term (t approximately sec) linewidth of the optically pumped laser showing that the feedback loop corrects for much of the mechanical and acoustic-induced frequency jitter of the gas laser.

Terahertz sideband-tuned quantum cascade laser radiation.

A compact, tunable, narrowband terahertz source was demonstrated by mixing a single longitudinal mode 2.408 THz, free running quantum cascade laser with a 2-20 GHz microwave sweeper in a conventional corner-cube-mounted Schottky diode. The sideband spectra were characterized with a Fourier transform spectrometer, and the radiation was tuned through several D(2)O rotational transitions to estimate the longer term (t > or = several sec) bandwidth of the source.

Transformation of the multimode terahertz quantum cascade laser beam into a Gaussian, using a hollow dielectric waveguide.

We demonstrate that a short hollow dielectric tube can act as a dielectric waveguide and transform the multimode, highly diverging terahertz quantum cascade laser beam into the lowest order dielectric waveguide hybrid mode, EH(11), which then couples efficiently to the free-space Gaussian mode, TEM(00). This simple approach should enable terahertz quantum cascade lasers to be employed in applications where a spatially coherent beam is required.

Crew resource management training--clinicians' reactions and attitudes.

Many health care organizations are adopting crew resource management (CRM) training from the aviation industry as a patient safety practice. Although CRM has high face validity, its effects have not been thoroughly evaluated in aviation or health care. Its potential to improve team communication, coordination, and patient safety, however, makes efforts to study CRM necessary and worthwhile.

Using aviation safety measures to enhance patient outcomes.

Recent media reports have put a spotlight on the increasing number of medical errors occurring in US health care institutions. In contrast to health care's increasing error rate, the aviation industry is experiencing a decreasing error rate. Could the safety techniques used in the aviation industry be applied to health care? This article explores that question.

Cockroach allergen abatement with extermination and sodium hypochlorite cleaning in inner-city homes.

Background: Although the importance of cockroach allergen in chronic asthma has now been well defined, little progress has been made in the control of cockroach allergen in infested homes.

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the ability of a combination of professional pest extermination and household cleaning using a solution of sodium hypochlorite to reduce cockroach infestation and allergen levels in cockroach infested homes.

Methods: Seventeen cockroach-infested homes were studied with three homes serving as controls.

Removal of cockroach allergen from inner-city homes.

Background: Allergen avoidance has been shown to improve the morbidity and physiology of asthma. Although cockroach allergen has been implicated in chronic asthma, little work has been reported on the feasibility of allergen removal from infested homes.

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the effect of professional pest control and home cleaning on cockroach infestation and allergen concentrations in settled dust samples from the kitchens, bedrooms, and television-living rooms of inner-city homes.

Review of cardiac events in USAF aviators.

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to define the cardiac event rate in the U.S. Air Force (USAF) aviator population.

Chronic back disability: USAF officers at separation and exposure to +Gz.

This is the second of two studies done to determine whether moderate Gz exposure facilitates back disability. Cumulative trauma (repeated moderate to high G) exposures could be a precipitant of back pain in the military population. There is at present no reliable method of predicting who will suffer from back pain.

Diagnosis of congenital dislocated hips (CDH).

Radiology imaging, along with clinical orthopedic assessments, plays an important role in the diagnosis and treatment of Congenital Dislocated Hips. The validity of the radiologic examinations relies heavily on the examiner or technologist. This article explains some of these examinations and describes the benefits, disadvantages, and important facts to be aware of while performing them.

Total parathyroidectomy and forearm autotransplantation for chronic renal failure: a useful tool for the general surgeon in private practice.

We reviewed 12 cases of chronic renal failure in patients with secondary hyperparathyroidism who had total parathyroidectomy and forearm autotransplantation during the years 1978 to 1984. All had elevated parathyroid hormone and calcium levels before the procedure. Using a technique previously described, with relatively large parathyroid grafts in the forearm, calcium levels were effectively reduced and maintained below the upper limit of the normal range (10.

Growth hormone responses to continuous infusions of growth hormone-releasing hormone.

The pattern of GH secretion during a continuous 4-h iv infusion of 1 microgram/kg.h GH-releasing hormone (1-44)-NH2 (GHRH-44) or saline was examined in 15 adult men. There was prompt release of GH beginning within 20 min of starting the GHRH-44 infusions, reaching peak GH levels of 43 +/- 11 (+/- SE) ng/ml within 60-90 min.

Induction of relaxin secretion in rhesus monkeys by human chorionic gonadotropin: dependence on the age of the corpus luteum of the menstrual cycle.

Peripheral concentrations of immunoreactive relaxin are undetectable in primates during the nonfertile menstrual cycle, but become measurable during the interval when chorionic gonadotropin (CG) rises in early pregnancy. The objectives of the current study were to determine if exogenous CG, administered in a dosage regimen which invoked patterns and concentrations resembling those of early pregnancy, would induce relaxin secretion in nonpregnant rhesus monkeys, and whether the induction was dependent on the age of the corpus luteum (CL) at the onset of treatment. Female rhesus monkeys received twice-daily i.

Effect of a potent gonadotropin releasing hormone antagonist on pulsatile testosterone and gonadotropin secretion in the male nonhuman primate.

A potent gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) antagonist [Ac-delta 3Pro1, pFDPhe2, DTrp3,6]-GnRH was given to adult male monkeys to determine the acute effect on pulsatile testosterone and gonadotropin secretion. Blood was drawn at 30 min intervals over 54 h without anesthesia using a mobile vest and tether assembly to support an indwelling catheter. After a 6 h control period, 0.

Facial pattern differences in long-faced children and adults.

Vertical facial morphology has traditionally been studied by examining subjects chosen because of open bite/overbite or mandibular plane angle. The underlying skeletal and dental morphology associated with clinical facial appearance of normal and vertically dysplastic children and adults has not been well documented. The purposes of this study were to (1) describe vertical facial morphology in long-, normal-, and short-faced children and long-faced and normal adults, and (2) identify morphologic factors associated with the clinical evaluation of long-faced and normal subjects.