A commissioning rod assembly for the Jamaican SLOWPOKE-2 nuclear reactor.

Within the framework of the Material Management and Minimization Conversion Program of the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration, the Argonne National Laboratory approved the manufacturing of a Jamaica's SLOWPOKE-2 nuclear reactor (JM-1) mock-up, reactor removal tools, and commissioning rods by Polytechnique Montreal. This mock-up reactor was then used to practice dry runs of the JM-1 high enriched uranium core removal activities and fresh low enriched uranium core loading operations of the JM-1 reactor conversion. One of the most crucial elements in the commissioning of a new reactor core is the commissioning rod assembly. Hence, this paper presents the design, the fabrication, the calibration, and the dry runs performed at Polytechnique Montreal with commissioning rod assembly. The work was then resumed at Jamaica's International Centre for Environmental and Nuclear Sciences.

Biogeochemical cycle of arsenic and calculating the enrichment factor by using Li element.

In this study, the biogeochemical cycle of arsenic in the Bosporus and the Golden Horn, which have a two-layer stratified structure, was investigated and the dominant feature in this cycle was observed to be the anthropogenic (domestic + industrial) activities. On the contrary, in the rural areas which are far from human activities, such as Igneada, the seawater-atmosphere interchange can be observed evidently in the periods covering the primary production.

Low dose cyclosporin A versus pulsed cyclophosphamide in Behçet's syndrome: a single masked trial.

A single masked trial of cyclosporin A 5 mg/kg/day versus monthly 1 g intravenous boluses of cyclophosphamide was conducted among 23 patients with Behçet's syndrome and active, potentially reversible uveitis. The trial was unmasked after a mean of 12 (SD 2) months for the cyclosporin A group (n = 12) and a mean of 10 (SD 3) months for the cyclophosphamide group (n = 11). During the initial 6 months the visual acuity significantly improved (p < 0.001) in the cyclosporin A group whereas this was not observed in the cyclophosphamide group. The subsequent follow-up of patients up to 24 months suggested that the initial improvement in visual acuity with cyclosporin A was not sustained. More extensive and especially long-term studies of cyclosporin A in the uveitis of Behçet's syndrome are warranted.

Short term cyclosporin A treatment of Behçet's disease.

Eleven separate three-month courses of cyclosporin A, an oral solution 10 mg/kg/day, were administered to eight patients with Behçet's disease with sight-threatening posterior uveitis. It was found to be effective in arresting the inflammatory activity in the eye as well as the mucocutaneous lesions of Behçet's disease. Improvement in visual acuity was observed within one week of starting therapy. Severe exacerbations in the ocular and mucocutaneous lesions occurred on withdrawal of the drug. At this dosage side effects included hirsutism in all women, and a slight rise of serum bilirubins in two patients and of blood urea in one patient. The latter two conditions responded rapidly to dose adjustment.

Von Willebrand factor in Behçet's syndrome.

Plasma von Willebrand factor F VIII related antigen levels were elevated in 13 patients with Behçet's syndrome and vascular disease compared to 17 with Behçet's syndrome without vascular involvement and 23 healthy controls. As expected 12 diseased controls, 9 of whom had systemic sclerosis, had still higher levels of F VIII related antigen.

Behçet's disease. Relation of serum C-reactive protein and erythrocyte sedimentation rates to disease activity.

In a prospective study of 150 patients with Behçet's disease, significant associations were shown between CRP positivity and the presence of erythema nodosum (p less than 0.02) and acute thrombophlebitis (p less than 0.05) and between ESR and erythema nodosum (p less than 0.01), acute thrombophlebitis (p less than 0.001), and acute arthritis (p less than 0.01). Mucocutaneous, ocular, or central nervous system activities did not show significant associations with these indices of inflammation. In 50 patients in whom quantitative CRP determinations were performed, clinical disease activity was accompanied by slight to moderate increases in CRP and ESR.

Male patients with Behçet's syndrome have stronger pathergy reactions.

The effects of patient's sex and age at onset on the pathergy reaction (cutaneous hypersensitivity to a needle prick) and its correlation with disease activity in Behcet's syndrome was investigated by two independent observers in a blind protocol. Among 92 male patients the pathergy reaction was more strongly positive (p less than 0.025) than among 67 female patients of similar age and disease duration. The age at onset did not affect the severity of the pathergy reaction, although, the early onset females (age at onset 24 years or less) had the lowest prevalence of pathergy positivity (52%), compared to early onset males and late onset (age at onset 25 years or more) males and females (73-75%). As previously reported the disease was more severe among males and among those with early onset of either gender. On the other hand, no correlation between the strength of the pathergy reaction and clinical severity could be discerned.

Influence of age of onset and patient's sex on the prevalence and severity of manifestations of Behçet's syndrome.

Eye disease, arthritis, folliculitis, and thrombophlebitis were more common among males, and erythema nodosum among females, in 297 patients with Behcet syndrome (BS) at their first visit despite an identical disease duration. Younger males and females (age of onset 24 years or less) had a higher prevalence of eye disease and total clinical activity than did the older patients (age of onset 25 years or more). Among the 51 patients followed up for 52 months (SD 7 months) the total clinical activity became significantly less (p less than 0.05) in the whole group at the end of this period. This was particularly true for older females. While male sex and a younger age of onset are associated with more severe disease in BS, overall, the syndrome ran an improving or stable course over 4 1/2 years.

A comparative study of the pathergy reaction among Turkish and British patients with Behçet's disease.

Forty-eight Turkish and 12 British patients along with 24 Turkish and 7 British healthy controls were assessed for the presence of the pathergy phenomenon. A photographic method with 'blind' reading was utilised. The pathergy phenomenon was present only among the Turkish patients.

The arthritis of Behçet's disease: a prospective study.

A prospective study of arthritis was performed in 47 patients with Behçet's disease followed up over a 47-month period (mean 19.25 months, SD 14.09). These patients had a total of 80 episodes of arthritis, which were analysed for joint distribution and symmetry, in 56 of which the duration could also be determined. Attacks were oligoarticular, affecting up to 4 joints per patient, 54 (68%) being monoarticular. Knees, ankles, and wrists were the most commonly involved joints. Involvement of spinal, shoulder, hip, and sacroiliac joints was rare. The arthritis was usually not deforming and subacute; 82% (46/56) of the attacks lasted for 2 months or less and 18% (10/56) for between 3 months and 4 years. The ESR was moderately elevated during the attacks. In 32 specimens the synovial fluid was inflammatory (cell count 14.7 +/- 10.1 x 10(9)/l), but in 19 (59%) a good mucin clot formed. Synovial biopsy in 12 patients revealed superficial ulceration, paucity of plasma cells, and in 5 instances lymphoid follicle formation.

Olecranon nodules in a case of Behçet's disease.

A 33-year-old male with definite Behçet's disease had rheumatoid-like nodules at his elbows. This finding, we believe, represents another manifestation of vasculitis in Behçet's disease.

Behçet's disease: lack of correlation of clinical manifestations with HLA antigens.

It has been suggested that certain tissue types are associated with different clinical manifestations of Behçet's disease in Japan and England. Regional differences in the associations between HLA antigens and Behçet's disease have been established. We tissue type 119 patients with Behçet's disease in Istanbul and attempted to correlate various clinical manifestations with HLA antigens. The frequency of only one tissue antigen, HLA-B5, was found to be increased in these series. HLA-B5 was present in 94 of 119 patients (77%) compared to 89 of 268 controls (33%), P less than 0.0001, ARR = 6.79. Age of onset, sex, incidences of ocular disease, arthritis, thrombophlebitis and erythema nodosum did not show any positive or negative associations with any of the alleles tested.

A case of Whipple's disease complicated by fatal hepatitis.

Whipple's disease was diagnosed in a 42-year-old woman by the histological examination of a mesenteric lymph node taken at laparotomy, and the electron microscopic examination of a peroral intestinal biopsy specimen. She responded well to tetracycline therapy, but succumbed to fatal hepatitis ten weeks after the diagnosis of Whipple's disease