Bidirectional Glenn shunt for right ventricular endomyocardial fibrosis

A 25-year-old man in New York Heart Association functional class IV with right ventricular endomyocardial fibrosis received a palliative bidirectional Glenn shunt. Despite a stormy postoperative convalescence the bidirectional Glenn shunt provided good long-term palliation.     

Socioeconomic position and prevalence of self-reported diabetes in rural Kerala, India: results from the PROLIFE study

This article aims to study the relationship between socioeconomic position (SEP) and prevalence of self-reported diabetes in a rural population in Kerala, India. This study was designed as a cross-sectional survey. Data from PROLIFE, a prospective cohort study involving the long-term follow-up of the residents of an administrative unit in Kerala, India, was used. The 33 379 households in the study area were divided into 4 groups (SEP1 to SEP4) on the basis of household assets. Prevalence of diabetes was ascertained through a lifestyle questionnaire. The proportion of self-reported diabetes was highest (at 11.1%) in SEP4, the group with the highest socioeconomic status, when compared with 3.1% in SEP1. The trend was similar in both sexes. Prevalence of self-reported diabetes increases as one moves up the socioeconomic ladder in this rural community.     

A proposal for applying molecular markers as an aid to identifying potential cases of imported tuberculosis in immigrants

In recent years, the percentage of tuberculosis (TB) cases in immigrants in Spain has increased markedly. In this context, discrimination between cases with potentially imported TB and cases likely to have acquired it by recent transmission after arrival is a basic issue. In this study, we evaluated molecular markers to obtain information on the geographic origin of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) strains and to determine whether they could help to identify imported TB cases. We analyzed the pks15/1 gene, spoligotype, and MIRU locus 24 in 168 MTB isolates from immigrants of 32 nationalities and from a selection of autochthonous cases. In non-Asian immigrants we could not detect major differences with the autochthonous cases. For the Asian cases, we found some specific features for these markers. pks15/1 was intact in 69% of the Asian patients, but this gene had a 7-bp deletion in all non-Asian and Spanish (non-Beijing) cases. The spoligotype-defined lineages EAI and CAS, and the allele with two repetitions in MIRU locus 24 was found exclusively among Asian immigrants. The analysis of certain bacterial molecular markers could help to discriminate between potentially imported TB cases and those more probably acquired in the host country.     

中国结核病控制-日本援助项目安徽省实施性研究

目的　了解我省项目工作的现状及项目工作对我省结防工作的影响。方法　根据 2 0 0 2～ 2 0 0 3年《中国结核病控制工作季报表》和《结核病人登记调查表》 ,分析项目病人的发现、治疗等情况。结果　 2 0 0 3年项目地区肺结核、涂阳肺结核登记率分别为 5 3 .4/10万、2 0 .0 /10万 ,分别高于非项目地区 44 .7%、10 0 % ;2 0 0 2年项目地区涂阳肺结核病人治愈率 78.5 % ,明显高于非项目地区。结论　项目工作取得了显著成果 ,为我省其它地区实施项目工作提供了经验 ,为我省结核病控制工作的可持续发展打下了基础。     

Mechanistic insight into the improved Li ion conductivity of solid polymer electrolytes

Polymer based solid electrolytes (SEs) are envisaged as futuristic components of safer solid state energy devices. But the semi-crystalline nature and slow dynamics of the host polymer matrix are found to hamper the ion transport through the solid polymer network and hence solid state devices are still far beyond the scope of practical application. In this study, we unravel the synergistic roles of Li salt (LiClO₄) and two different polymers – polyethylene oxide (PEO) and polydimethyl siloxane (PDMS), in the Li ion transport through their solid blend based electrolyte. A detailed study using dielectric spectroscopy and thermo-mechanical analysis is conducted to understand the tunability of the PEO chain dynamics with LiClO₄ and the mechanism of hopping of Li ions by forming ion pairs with oxygen dipoles on the PEO backbone is established. Despite the lack of PDMS''s capability to solvate ions and promote ion transport directly, its proper mixing within the PEO host matrix is demonstrated to enhance ion transport due to the influence of PDMS on the segmental dynamics of PEO. A detailed molecular dynamics study supported by experimental validation suggests that even inert polymers can affect the dynamics of the active host matrix and increase ion transport, leading to next generation high ionic conductivity solid matrices, and opens new avenues in designing polymer based transparent electrolytes.

The studies shown here prove that both the Li salt and ‘inert-polymer’ mixing have paramount importance in the tunability of Li ion conductivity in solid electrolytes for batteries.