Intense beam of metastable Muonium.

Precision spectroscopy of the Muonium Lamb shift and fine structure requires a robust source of 2S Muonium. To date, the beam-foil technique is the only demonstrated method for creating such a beam in vacuum. Previous experiments using this technique were statistics limited, and new measurements would benefit tremendously from the efficient 2S production at a low energy muon ( < 20  keV) facility. Such a source of abundant low energy µ + has only become available in recent years, e.g. at the Low-Energy Muon beamline at the Paul Scherrer Institute. Using this source, we report on the successful creation of an intense, directed beam of metastable Muonium. We find that even though the theoretical Muonium fraction is maximal in the low energy range of 2-5 keV, scattering by the foil and transport characteristics of the beamline favor slightly higher µ + energies of 7-10 keV. We estimate that an event detection rate of a few events per second for a future Lamb shift measurement is feasible, enabling an increase in precision by two orders of magnitude over previous determinations.

Pharmacological management of pediatric Kerion celsi.

We report a case of severe tinea capitis, treated successfully with griseofulvin. In our opinion, the treatment of this severe dermatophytosis with griseofulvin is safe and effective. Other treatments, such as itraconazole pulsed therapy, failed, despite an initial improvement, leading to an aggressive recurrence of the lesion. We chose griseofulvin for its well-known large spectrum activity, also against uncommon species, like Microsporum Gypseum, which are responsible for the most severe cases.

[High sensitive photometric assay of pancreatic lipase and clinical investigation of urinary lipase in patients with various histopathological types of primary glomerulonephritis].

We measured the activity of urinary lipase by high sensitive photometric method using 1,2-dirinoleoilglycerol as a substrate. Also, we investigated the clinical significance of the activity of urinary lipase in patients with chronic glomerulonephritis (GN) with special reference to the relation between the levels of the enzyme and histopathological changes of the kidney. Urinary activity of N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) and urinary beta 2-microglobulin (BMG) were also measured to compare the difference of renal handling of these 3 substances. We could obtain the following results; 1) Good coefficient of correlation was observed between the activity of urinary lipase and the excretion of urinary BMG. 2) No correlation was observed between the activity of urinary lipase and the amount of urinary NAG in patients with chronic GN. 3) In some of the cases with secondary tubulointerstitial edema and inflammatory infiltration, the values of the activity of urinary lipase were markedly elevated. These results suggested that lipase was removed from the serum mainly by glomerular filtration and reabsorbed almost completely by tubular epithelial cells like the renal handling of BMG. In contrast, NAG secreted through the different renal metabolism in proximal tubule. The activity of urinary lipase might be a diagnostic marker for the secondary acute tubulointerstitial lesions in patients with chronic GN.

[The clinical significance of Creola body in the sputum of asthmatic patients].

In order to clarify the relationship between agglomerated bronchial epithelial cells, i.e. Creola body (CrB), in the sputum and each pathogenetic factor of bronchial asthma, the incidence of CrB in sputum stained by Papanicolaou's method and observed under a light microscope was evaluated in 45 cases of bronchial asthma and 9 cases of obstructive pulmonary diseases. The following results were obtained: 1) CrB was observed specifically in the sputum of patients with bronchial asthma. In comparison with CrB-negative cases, CrB-positive cases had a greater number of days with attacks and a higher incidence of eosinophils in the sputum. 2) The presence of CrB in the sputum tended to be at a high rate in non-atopic cases with low serum IgE values, but had no obvious correlation with either the incidence of neutrophils in the sputum, the present age of the patient, the severity of the disease or bronchial hyperresponsiveness to methacholine. These results suggest that the involvement of histolesionable factors such as persistent bronchial contraction and release of major basic protein from eosinophils in the airway may lead to the formation of CrB.