On October 4, 2001, we confirmed the first bioterrorism-related anthrax case identified in the United States in a resident of Palm Beach County, Florida. Epidemiologic investigation indicated that ...exposure occurred at the workplace through intentionally contaminated mail. One additional case of inhalational anthrax was identified from the index patient's workplace. Among 1,076 nasal cultures performed to assess exposure, Bacillus anthracis was isolated from a co-worker later confirmed as being infected, as well as from an asymptomatic mail-handler in the same workplace. Environmental cultures for B. anthracis showed contamination at the workplace and six county postal facilities. Environmental and nasal swab cultures were useful epidemiologic tools that helped direct the investigation towards the infection source and transmission vehicle. We identified 1,114 persons at risk and offered antimicrobial prophylaxis.
To review the current options in the management of Warthin tumors (WTs) and to propose a working management protocol.
A systematic literature search was conducted using PubMed and ScienceDirect ...database. A total of 141 publications were selected and have been included in this review. Publications were selected based on relevance, scientific evidence, and actuality.
The importance of parotid WTs is increasing due to its rising incidence in many countries, becoming the most frequently encountered benign parotid tumor in certain parts of the world. In the past, all WTs were treated with surgery, but because of their slow growth rate, often minimal clinical symptoms, and the advanced age of many patients, active observation has gradually become more widely used. In order to decide on active surveillance, the diagnosis of WT must be reliable, and clinical, imaging, and cytological data should be concordant. There are four clear indications for upfront surgery: uncertain diagnosis; cosmetic problems; clinical complaints, such as pain, ulceration, or recurrent infection; and the patient's wish to have the tumor removed. In the remaining cases, surgery can be elective. Active surveillance is often suggested as the first approach, with surgery being considered if the tumor progresses and/or causes clinical complaints. The extent of surgery is another controversial topic, and the current trend is to minimize the resection using partial parotidectomies and extracapsular dissections when possible. Recently, non-surgical options such as microwave ablation, radiofrequency ablation, and ultrasound-guided ethanol sclerotherapy have been proposed for selected cases.
The management of WT is gradually shifting from superficial or total parotidectomy to more conservative approaches, with more limited resections, and to active surveillance in an increasing number of patients. Additionally, non-surgical treatments are emerging, but their role needs to be defined in future studies.
Onchocerca volvulus infection is traditionally diagnosed by examination of skin snips for the presence of microfilariae. A disadvantage of this method is the low sensitivity particularly with light ...or prepatent infection. Serodiagnosis using recombinant-antigen-based assays may provide a more sensitive diagnostic test. An ELISA based on a recombinant antigen OvH3 has previously been validated using sera from endemic areas. This study investigated the role of this ELISA-based assay for use in the serodiagnosis of onchocerciasis in non-endemic areas.
The ELISA-based assay was tested on sera from untreated patients with known onchocerciasis and on untreated and treated patients with definite or probable onchocerciasis identified from a hospital diagnostic database. The assay was also tested on sera from patients with other helminthic infections to determine the sensitivity and specificity of this assay in a tertiary referral laboratory dealing with sera from a variety of patients.
The sensitivity and specificity of the OvH3 assay were 93.2% and 93.5%, respectively, when tested on non-endemic patients with clinical diagnosis of onchocerciasis.
This study demonstrates the potential role of the assay as a sensitive and specific test for use in the serodiagnosis of onchocerciasis in a reference laboratory dealing with sera from patients in non-endemic setting.
We report here the first application of Group 9 metal complexes (i.e. iridium(III) and rhodium(III)) as inhibitors of amyloid fibrillogenesis and as luminescent probes for A beta sub(1-40) peptide. ...These complexes contained aromatic co-ligands to interact with the hydrophobic residues around the N-terminal domain of the A beta sub(1-40) peptide, as well as solvato co-ligands to allow coordinative bond formation with histidine residues. We demonstrate that these complexes could inhibit A beta sub(1-40)peptide aggregation in vitro, with potency superior to previous metal-based inhibitors reported. Furthermore, we have demonstrated the first example of luminescent detection of A beta sub(1-40) peptides by transition metal complexes.
We show the potential use of a single photodetector for multichannel pulse monitoring. Two-photon absorption in a microcavity structure is used as the nonlinear optical technique for pulse ...monitoring. Angle tuning of the device allows the resonance to be tuned. For the device studied here that is optimized for 2-ps pulses, a possible tuning range of 55 nm is shown.
In October 2001, the first inhalational anthrax case in the United States since 1976 was identified in a media company worker in Florida. A national investigation was initiated to identify additional ...cases and determine possible exposures to Bacillus anthracis. Surveillance was enhanced through health-care facilities, laboratories, and other means to identify cases, which were defined as clinically compatible illness with laboratory-confirmed B. anthracis infection. From October 4 to November 20, 2001, 22 cases of anthrax (11 inhalational, 11 cutaneous) were identified; 5 of the inhalational cases were fatal. Twenty (91%) case-patients were either mail handlers or were exposed to worksites where contaminated mail was processed or received. B. anthracis isolates from four powder-containing envelopes, 17 specimens from patients, and 106 environmental samples were indistinguishable by molecular subtyping. Illness and death occurred not only at targeted worksites, but also along the path of mail and in other settings. Continued vigilance for cases is needed among health-care providers and members of the public health and law enforcement communities.
This paper presents a theoretical and experimental investigation into the use of a two-photon absorption (TPA) photodetector for use in chromatic dispersion (CD) monitoring in high-speed, wavelength ...division multiplexing network. In order to overcome the inefficiency associated with the nonlinear optical-to-electrical TPA process, a microcavity structure is employed. An interesting feature of such a solution is the fact that the microcavity enhances only a narrow wavelength range determined by device design and angle at which the signal enters the device. Thus, a single device can be used to monitor a number of different wavelength channels without the need for additional external filters. When using a nonlinear photodetector, the photocurrent generated for Gaussian pulses is inversely related to the pulse width. However, when using a microcavity structure, the cavity bandwidth also needs to be considered, as does the shape of the optical pulses incident on the device. Simulation results are presented for a variety of cavity bandwidths, pulse shapes and durations, and spacing between adjacent wavelength channels. These results are verified experimental using a microcavity with a bandwidth of 260 GHz (2.1 nm) at normal incident angle, with the incident signal comprising of two wavelength channels separated by 1.25 THz (10 nm), each operating at an aggregate data rate of 160 Gb/s. The results demonstrate the applicability of the presented technique to monitor accumulated dispersion fluctuations in a range of 3 ps/nm for 160 Gb/s return-to-zero data channel.
PDF
