Unilateral pulmonary agenesis: a report of four cases, two diagnosed antenatally and literature review.

Pulmonary agenesis is a rare congenital malformation of lung development defined as complete absence of lung tissues, bronchi, and pulmonary vessels; it may be uni- or bilateral. The right-sided form carries the poorest prognosis due to severity of co-existent anomalies. Its diagnostic circumstances are variables: first reported cases were diagnosed at autopsy, but early postnatal as well as fortuitous discovery have been reported. In recent years, progress in obstetrical imaging has made antenatal diagnosis possible so that fetal ultrasound and MRI allow early diagnosis and refinement by permitting the elimination of differential diagnoses (diaphragmatic hernia, cystic adenomatoid malformation of the lung, giant lobar emphysema, and situs inversus). This anomaly is compatible with normal life provided co-existent malformations are thoroughly investigated and managed in a multidisciplinary setting. We report four cases of lung agenesis two of which were diagnosed antenatally at 23rd and 30th weeks of gestation respectively. Our aim is to describe the circumstances having led to diagnosis and report both follow-up and outcome of our patients.

An experimental UHV AFM-STM device for characterizing surface nanostructures under stress/strain at variable temperature.

A compression setup fully integrated in an ultra high vacuum chamber is presented. The system has been designed to combine in situ mechanical test together with near field microscopy at variable temperature, from 90 to 600 K. Compressive stress can be applied on the samples up to 500 MPa at different strain rates ranging from 10(-6) s(-1) to 10(-2) s(-1). The setup performances are highlighted through investigations on Au and Ni3(Al,Ta) single crystals. In particular, it is demonstrated that the high mechanical stability of the original apparatus allows us to follow in situ the evolution of the same area of interest over a large range of temperature and to keep the high spatial resolution offered by near field microscopy, even at high strain levels.

Microstructural and conductivity changes induced by annealing of ZnO:B thin films deposited by chemical vapour deposition.

Zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films have attracted much attention in recent years due to progress in crystal growth for a large variety of technological applications including optoelectronics and transparent electrodes in solar cells. Boron (B)-doped ZnO thin films are deposited by low pressure chemical vapour deposition (LPCVD) on Si(100). These films exhibit a strong (002) texture with a pyramidal grain structure. The ZnO films were annealed after growth; the annealing temperature and the atmosphere appear to strongly impact the layer conductivity. This work will first present the modification of the physical properties (carrier concentration, mobility) extracted from the simulation of layer reflection in the infrared range. At low annealing temperatures the mobility increases slightly before decreasing drastically above a temperature close to 250 °C. The chemical and structural evolution (XPS, x-ray diffraction) of the films was also studied to identify the relationship between microstructural modifications and the variations observed in the film conductivity. An in situ XRD study during annealing has been performed under air and low pressure conditions. As observed for electrical properties, the microstructural modifications shift to higher temperatures for vacuum annealing.

[Pulmonary toxoplasmosis in patients with human immunodeficiency virus infection. 21 cases]. / Toxoplasmose pulmonaire chez les patients infectés par le virus de l'immunodéficience humaine. 21 observations.

OBJECTIVES: Assess expression of pulmonary toxoplasmosis, the second most frequent localization after brain, in patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). METHODS: Twenty-one HIV-infected patients (18M, 3F) were admitted for pulmonary toxoplasmosis between September 1987 and February 1995. Mode of HIV transmission was unprotected homosexual sexual activity (n = 16), intravenous drug abuse (n = 3) and transfusion (n = 2). RESULTS: Isolated pulmonary toxoplasmosis was found in 11 patients. In 10 patients pulmonary toxoplasmosis was associated with cerebral (n = 4), bone marrow (n = 2), ocular (n = 1) and multifocal (n = 3) localizations. Seven patients were admitted for acute pulmonary distress. Fever (reported for 20 patients) and nonproductive cough (reported for 16 patients) were the most common clinical symptoms. Chest roentgenogram revealed bilateral pulmonary infiltrates in 16 (76%) patients. Mean absolute CD4 count was 25 +/- 57 (range 0-110). Serologic evidence of past infection was observed in 18 patients. Serology tests were not done for two patients and negative for one. Two patients presented co-infection with Pneumocystis carinii. Fourteen patients had elevated serum lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) concentration. Among those, 4 patients whose LDH concentration was elevated more than ten fold died of respiratory distress. Patients received pyrimethamine and sulfadiazine (n = 13) or clindamycin (n = 8). Seven patients died during the first month after diagnosis was made. For the other patients, mean survival was 8 months. No relapse of toxoplasmosis was observed. All the patients took a secondary prophylaxis. CONCLUSION: No difference between patient with isolated pulmonary toxoplasmosis and patients with associated extra-pulmonary localization was noted for clinical, biological, radiological presentations and outcome.

Pulmonary toxoplasmosis in HIV-infected patients: usefulness of polymerase chain reaction and cell culture.

Toxoplasmosis is a serious opportunistic infection in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). The lung is a major site of infection after the central nervous system. The aim of the study was to assess the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and cell culture for the detection of Toxoplasma gondii. One hundred and thirty two human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients with respiratory manifestations, who underwent fibreoptic bronchoalveolar lavage, were investigated. Detection of Toxoplasma gondii was compared using three techniques: Giemsa staining; polymerase chain reaction with specific primers derived from the P30 gene; and culture on the MRC5 cell line. Toxoplasma gondii was detected in the same four samples by all three techniques. We conclude that PCR adds little to conventional (and cheaper) tools already used to diagnose pulmonary toxoplasmosis.

[Sero-immunological research by immunofluorescence of rats bilharziosis in Guandeloupe. Epidemiological interest, comparative studies in various biotopes (author's transl)]. / Enquête séro-immunologique par immunofluorescence de la bilharziose murine en Guadeloupe. Intérêt épidémiologique, étrude comparative dans différents biotopes.

A sero-immunological survey by immunofluorescnece has been conducted on 94 rats (R. rattus and R. norvegicus) captured in Guadeloupe, in there different biotopes where the presence of S. mansoni carriers had been reported. These biotopes are those of the "Grand Etang" (Great Pond), the fresh-water mangrove and its back-mangrove area, and the Beaugendre valley. The post-mortem performed on the rats revealed that 92 % of those carrying. S. mansoni eggs of full-grown worms, had a rate of antibodies superior to 40. The rates of antibodies obtained, as well as the percentages of S. mansoni-parasited rats vary according to the biotopes. Two hypotheses can account for these variations: a smaller or greater adaptation of the S. mansoni stock to the rat; a change in the comportment of rats which would thus be more or exposed to reinfestations.

[Oncicola venezuelensis n. sp. (Archiacanthocephala-Oligacanthorhynchida), a parasite of the ocelot (Felis pardalis L.) (author's transl)]. / Oncicola venezuelensis n. sp. (Archiacanthocephala; Oligacanthorhynchida), parasite de l'ocelot (Felis paradalis L.).

Oncicola venezuelensis n. sp. is described from the Ocelot, Felis pardalis L. from Venezuela. It differs from other species of the genus mainly by it's longer lemnisci. The lemnisci have six nuclei. O. venezuelensis n. sp. is compared to the twenty one species of the genus Oncicola and the main distinctive characteristics are given.