The objective of this study was to describe the clinical features, possible predisposing factors and treatment outcomes associated with bacteremia du to Acinetobacter species other than Acinetobacter baumannii. A review of laboratory and medical charts over a period of 18 months revealed 61 cases of bacteremia due to Acinetobacter species other than A. baumannii occurring in 59 patients. Six of these were considered not significant. Fifty cases represented catheter-related bacteremia, one case was associated with meningitis following brain surgery, and four cases could not be classified. Clinical courses wre usually benign: all but four patients were cured, but death was not related to Acinetobacter bacteremia in any case. Therapy included catheter removal alone (32.8%), appropriate antimicrobials alone (12.7%), or both (49.1%). Plasmid analysis showed distinct patterns in all strains isolated from different patients and did not reveal any epidemiological relationship among cases. Acinetobacter species other than A. baumannii are clinically significant organisms with limited pathogenic potential. They are almost exclusively involved in devise-related bacteremia. Clinical and epidemiological features of infections due to these organisms are clearly distinct from infections due to A. baumannii.

Acinetobacter↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Endoscopic pseudocyst drainage: a new instrument for simplified cystoenterostomy.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Drainage↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Fate of antimony in municipal solid waste incineration.

The average antimony concentration in municipal solid waste is estimated to be about 10-60 ppm. Thermodynamical models predict a volatile behavior for antimony compounds, yet literature mass balances show that about 50% of the antimony input remains in the grate ashes. This fact can be explained by the formation of thermally stable antimonates in the fuel bed due to interactions with alkali or earth-alkali metals. Thermogravimetric experiments revealed an increased thermal stability for antimony oxide in presence of oxygen and calcium oxide. Spiking experiments on the test incinerator TAMARA showed that chlorination processes have a strong effect on antimony volatilization whereas high fuel-bed temperatures and addition of antimony oxide only have a moderate effect. In the grate ashes, antimony shows a pH-depending leaching property, which is typical for anionic species. This fact supports the thesis that antimony is present in the grate ashes in an anionic speciation.

Journal Article↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Adsorption of PCDD/F on MWI fly ash.

The removal of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/F) from waste incinerator off-gas is a costly task, because a considerable part of the PCDD/F may exist in the gas phase (often 50-100% around 200 degrees C). The volatile fraction passes the particle filter and the subsequent gas cleaning equipment, so that an additional unit is needed to remove the gaseous PCDD/F from the flue gas. Moreover, dioxins and furans can accumulate in some parts of the equipment in a way that they can act as a latent source. In this work, we investigate the possibility to adsorb the PCDD/F at the fly ash particles and to remove them during the filtration. The gas/particle partitioning of the PCDD/F depends on the temperature, the vapor pressure, the particle size, the particle number density and on the physical and chemical properties of the particle surface. These relationships are investigated by model calculations and by pilot scale experiments (500 Nm3/h) which employ one selected hexachlorinated dioxin congener. At room temperature, approx. 90% of the HxCDD are found in the particulate phase, while at 135 degrees C that portion is only 10%. This means that at ambient temperatures, the gas/particle partitioning of the dioxin corresponds well to the sublimation equilibrium. At higher temperatures, it is much different from the sublimation equilibrium and the apparent adsorption enthalpy is smaller than the enthalpy of sublimation. This observation is in agreement with literature data. From the above experiments and from similar literature data, the efficiency of fly ash particles as a sink for PCDD/F can be evaluated. The data suggest that the adsorption rate is not the limiting factor for the transfer into the particulate phase. The important factors appear to be the chemical composition of the fly ash and the temperature.

Journal Article↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Polypropylene as regenerable absorber for PCDD/F emission control.

A new method for the PCDD/F reduction in exhaust gases of incineration plants is based on the property of polypropylene (PP) of interacting with PCDD/F to a variable degree depending on the temperature. After having been loaded with PCDD/F at approx. 80 degrees C, the PP absorber material can be regenerated by a temperature increase of about 50 degrees C. Hence, PP can be applied in a closed cycle as a thermally regenerable PCDD/F separator without an additional waste flow being generated. The setup of the pilot plant and the first results achieved shall be described.

Absorption↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Binding sites for growth hormone releasing factor on rat anterior pituitary cells.

Growth hormone releasing factors (GRFs) have been isolated from human pancreatic tumours (hGRF) and rat hypothalamus (rhGRF). The response to GRF at the pituitary level can be modulated by other factors, including glucocorticoids, thyroid hormones, somatostatin and other neuropeptides and somatomedins. Glucocorticoids enhance GRF-induced growth hormone (GH) secretion in primary cultures of rat anterior pituitary cells, and the synthetic glucocorticoid dexamethasone has recently been shown to increase the amounts of GH released in freely moving rats in response to submaximal doses of intravenous GRF. To investigate whether somatotroph sensitivity to GRF is modulated at its receptor level, we have developed a radioreceptor assay using an iodinated analogue of hGRF as radioligand. We report here that the relative binding affinities of rGRF, hGRF and the two analogues are correlated with their in vitro biological potencies. Further, the number of GRF binding sites is drastically decreased in cells deprived of glucocorticoids either in vivo or in vitro.

Adrenalectomy↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Fatal case due to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus small colony variants in an AIDS patient.

We describe the first known case of a fatal infection with small colony variants of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in a patient with AIDS. Recovered from three blood cultures as well as from a deep hip abscess, these variants may have resulted from long-term antimicrobial therapy with trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole for prophylaxis of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗