Rhinologic and sinonasal changes in PR3 ANCA pulmonary vasculitis.

BACKGROUND: Over 70-95% patients with PR3 ANCA pulmonary vasculitis present with upper respiratory tract symptoms or sings. Nasal cavity usually presents with obstruction and chronic refractory infections (rhinosinusitis) which commonly manifest as bloody discharge or crusting obstruction. Mucopurulent discharge may occur in the acute phase or remission, along with other symptoms suggesting sinusitis. Later on, saddle nose deformities can occur due to collapse of the nasal septum. Other common destruction areas are the maxillary ostia, erosion of the tubinates or damage of soft palate. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to characterize pathologies of nasal and sinonasal CT scans in patients with PR3 pulmonary ANCA vasculitis and to establish the CT diagnostic criteria for WG. Between 2005-2009 sinonasal CT visualization was performed in 35 patients (19 female, 16 male) with PR3 ANCA positive WG. RESULTS: Bony destruction of the nasal cavity was revealed in 15 (42.8%), damage or distortion of the paranasal sinuses in 20 (57.1%), the mastoid cells in 7 (20%), and the orbits in 7 (20%) patients. Sclerosing osteitis of the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses were observed in 11 (31.4%) and in 24 (68.5%), respectively. Bony thickening of the nasal cavity was shown in 5 (14.2%) patients and of the paranasal sinuses in 7 (20%) (unilateral in 2 and bilateral in 5 patients). Seven patients (20%) had orbital masses; all unilateral. Septal perforation was observed in 11 (31.4%) and saddle nose deformity in 7 (20%) patients. CONCLUSIONS: Maxillary sinuses are regions which are most frequently affected during the course of PR3 ANCA pulmonary vasculitis. CT imagines may be a useful supplement to clinical and activity scoring of WG disease with pulmonary involvement.

Factors affecting the yield and properties of bacterial cellulose.

Acetobacter xylinum E(25) has been applied in our studies in order to find optimal culture conditions for effective bacterial cellulose (BC) production. The strain displays significantly higher stability in BC production under stationary culture conditions. In contrast, intensive agitation and aeration appear to drastically reduce cellulose synthesis since such conditions induced formation of spontaneous cellulose nonproducing mutants (Cel-), which dominated in the culture. Mutation frequency strictly depends on the medium composition in agitated cultures. Enrichment of the standard SH and Yamanaka media with 1% ethanol significantly enhanced BC production in stationary cultures. Horizontal fermentors equipped with rotating discs or rollers were successfully applied in order to improve culture conditions. Relatively slow rotation velocity (4 rpm) and large surface area enabling effective cell attachment are optimal parameters for cellulose production. Physical properties of BC samples synthesized either in stationary cultures or in a horizontal fermentor revealed that cellulose from stationary cultures demonstrated a much higher value of Young's modulus, but a much lower value of water-holding capacity.

Nuclear tetrahedral symmetry: possibly present throughout the periodic table.

More than half a century after the fundamental, spherical shell structure in nuclei had been established, theoretical predictions indicated that the shell gaps comparable or even stronger than those at spherical shapes may exist. Group-theoretical analysis supported by realistic mean-field calculations indicate that the corresponding nuclei are characterized by the TD(d) ("double-tetrahedral") symmetry group. Strong shell-gap structure is enhanced by the existence of the four-dimensional irreducible representations of TD(d); it can be seen as a geometrical effect that does not depend on a particular realization of the mean field. Possibilities of discovering the TD(d) symmetry in experiment are discussed.

[Creating models of the development of a computer-assisted system of cardiovascular services]. / Generowanie scenariuszy rozwoju systemu opieki kardiologicznej wspomagane komputerem.

In the paper computer aided method is described which can be applied for scenario generation of the health care system for cardiovascular diseases treatment. The real life system is represented in the form of patient flows in the network of diagnostic and therapeutic medical services. The adequate computer system with certain requirements for input data is then prepared. The alternative projections can be automatically calculated and evaluated by the expert teams for scenario generation. Selected preliminary scenarios obtained for ischemic heart disease are presented.

The effect of quipazine and LSD on monoamines in the rat striatum.

Rats given quipazine (5 mg/kg) or LSD (0.05 mg/kg), were decapitated at the time of maximum of behavioral effect of drugs (head twitches), resp. 30 and 15 min, or when the behavioral effects disappeared (resp. 60 and 30 min), and concentrations of dopamine (DA), noradrenaline (NA), serotonin (5HT) and 5-hydroxyindole-3-acetic acid (5-HIAA) were assayed in the striatum. Quipazine significantly elevated the DA level at both periods tested. LSD at the peak of its action depressed the level of 5-HIAA, and in the next period produced a significant depression of striatal levels of NA, 5HT and 5-HIAA.

Gas-liquid chromatographic determination of individual sugars in confectionery products.

A gas-liquid chromatographic (GLC) procedure is presented for the separation and quantitative determination of sucrose, lactose, maltose, and glucose in commercial confectionery products. By converting reducing sugars to oximes and then forming trimethylsilyl ethers of these compounds and separating them on a 6 ft X 4 mm id glass column packed with 2% OV-17 on 100--120 mesh Supelcoport, single peaks were obtained for each of the sugars. Results for sugars present in samples at levels of 5% or more are within 2.8%, on the average, of results obtained by polarization measurements. The data also compare favorably with others in the literature on similar products analyzed by other GLC procedures that do not involve oxime formation.