Outcomes of Neonatal Candidiasis: The Impact of Delayed Initiation of Antifungal Therapy

Objective/Methods. To determine the outcomes of invasive neonatal candidiasis before institution of routine antifungal prophylaxis, we conducted a retrospective review of cases of invasive candidiasis in newborns in a referral-based neonatal intensive care unit located in a single tertiary academic center between January 1998 and December 2002. Results. Sixty-three newborns with invasive neonatal candidiasis were identified. Overall mortality rate was 35%. Virtually every infant had a central venous catheter (CVC), required mechanical ventilation and previous administration of antibacterial agents. Delayed institution of antifungal therapy was associated with increased mortality. In addition, length of hospitalization, duration of prior antibacterial therapy, mechanical ventilation, and CVC use, as well as evidence of end-organ disease, were associated with an adverse outcome. Conclusions. Reliance on available laboratory tools in cases of invasive neonatal candidiasis can result in delayed diagnosis and increased mortality. A risk-factor-based approach to empirical treatment could be justified in this setting

Influence of surface tension, osmotic pressure and pores morphology on the densification of ice-templated ceramics

International audienceWe attempt here to clarify the influence of the nature of the solvent on the ice-templating process, based on literature experimental results of porosity and suspension concentration. In particular, we compare the relative influence of surface tension, osmotic pressure and the pore size and radius of curvature on the densification of the green bodies. Variations of the osmotic pressure when changing the solvent can yield significantly different behaviour during the freezing stage and therefore significantly affect the densification behaviour, an effect not apparent when using the Shanti model. In addition, and equally important, a modification of the macropores morphology is induced by the evolution of the solvent crystals morphology, and resulting in smaller and more intricate crystals and macropores which facilitates the densification. The radius of curvature is probably also an essential parameter controlling the densification of ice-templated ceramics

Numerical Evaluation of the Accuracy and Stability Properties of High-order Direct Stokes Solvers with or without Temporal Splitting

The temporal stability and effective order of two different direct high-order Stokes solvers are examined. Both solvers start from the primitive variables formulation of the Stokes problem, but are distinct by the numerical uncoupling they apply on the Stokes operator. One of these solvers introduces an intermediate divergence free velocity for performing a temporal splitting (J. Comput. Phys. [1991] 97, 414-443) while the other treats the whole Stokes problem through the evaluation of a divergence free acceleration field (C.R. Acad. Sci. Paris [1994] 319 Serie I, 1455-1461; SIAM J. Scient. Comput. [2000] 22(4), 1386-1410). The second uncoupling is known to be consistent with the harmonicity of the pressure field (SIAM J. Scient. Comput. [2000] 22(4), 1386-1410). Both solvers proceed by two steps, a pressure evaluation based on an extrapolated in time (of theoretical order Je) Neumann condition, and a time implicit (of theoretical order Ji) diffusion step for the final velocity. These solvers are implemented with a Chebyshev mono-domain and a Legendre spectral element collocation schemes. The numerical stability of these four options is investigated for the sixteen combinations of (Je,Ji), 1 ≤ Je, Ji ≤

On Predicting The Turbulence-induced Secondary Flows Using Nonlinear K-∈ Models

Low turbulent Reynolds number direct simulation data are used to calculate the invariants of the Reynolds stress and the turbulent dissipation rate in a square duct. The results show that, depending on the region where the analysis is carried out, the turbulent flow field comes close to one-, two-, and three-component states. Modeling such flows - even at higher Reynolds numbers - will require models that can approach all three states. A number of related nonlinear k-∈ models are tested a priori using the direct simulation data. The numerical simulation using Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes equations with these models was performed. Their ability to predict the secondary flows, with a low-Reynolds k-∈ model, cannot be gauged from realizability. © 1996 American Institute of Physics.8718561868Speziale, C.G., Analytical methods for the developments of Reynoldsstress closures in turbulence (1991) Annu. Rev. 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Fluids, 6, p. 3144Gibson, M.M., Launder, B.E., Ground effects on pressure fluctuations in the atmospheric boundary layer (1979) J. Fluid Mech., 86, p. 491Cheesewright, R., McGrath, G., Petty, D.G., (1990) LDA Measurements of Turbulent Flow in a Duct of Square Cross Section at Low Reynolds Number, , Aeronautical Engineering Department, University of London, Report No. ER 101Huser, A., Biringen, S., Direct numerical simulation of turbulent flow in a square duct (1993) J. Fluid Mech., 257, p. 65Gavrilakis, S., Numerical simulation of low-Reynolds-number turbulent flow through a straight square duct (1992) J. Fluid Mech., 244, p. 101Gavrilakis, S., (1993) Turbulent Velocity Structures Derived from POD Analyses, , Institute de Machines Hydrauliques et de Mécanique des Fluides, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Report No. T-93-30Antonia, R.A., Kim, J., Browne, L.W.B., Some characteristics of small-scale turbulence in turbulent duct flow (1991) J. Fluid Mech., 233, p. 369Bradshaw, P., Blair Perot, J., A note on turbulent energy dissipation in viscous wall region (1993) Phys. Fluids, 5, p. 3305Kim, J., Moin, P., Moser, R., Turbulent statistics in fully developed channel flow at low Reynolds number (1987) J. Fluid Mech., 177, p. 133Tennekes, H., Lumley, J.L., (1972) A First Course in Turbulence, , MIT Press, Cambridge, MALumley, J.L., Computational Modeling of Turbulent Flows (1978) Advances in Applied Mechanics, 18, p. 123. , Academic Press. New YorkGavrilakis, S., Large-scale structures in the turbulent flow near a right-angled corner (1994) 1st ERCOFTAC Workshop on Direct and Large-Eddy Simulation, , SurreyGessner, F.B., The origin of secondary flow in turbulent flow along a corner (1973) J. Fluid Mech., 58, p. 1Speziale, C.G., The dissipation rate correlation and turbulent secondary flows in noncircular ducts (1986) Trans. Am. Soc. Mech. Eng. J. Fluid Eng., 108, p. 118Durbin, P.A., Near-wall turbulence closure modeling without damping functions (1991) Theor. Comput. Fluid Dyn., 3, p. 1Rodi, W., Mansour, N.N., Low Reynolds number k-∈ modeling with the aid of direct simulation (1993) J. Fluid Mech., 250, p. 509Mompean, G., Three-equation turbulence model for prediction of the mean square temperature variance in grid-generated flows and round jets (1994) Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer, 37, p. 1165Chien, K.Y., Prediction of channel and boundary-layer flows with a low-Reynolds-number turbulence model (1982) AIAA J., 20, p. 33Lam, C.K.G., Bremhorst, K., A modified form of the k-∈ model predicting wall turbulence (1981) Trans. Am. Soc. Mech. Eng. J. Fluid. Eng., 103, p. 456Reynolds, W.C., Computation of turbulent flows (1976) Annu. Rev. Fluid Mech., 8, p. 183Lindberg, P.A., (1994), private communicationNisizima, S., A numerical study of turbulent square-duct flow using an anisotropic k-∈ model (1990) Theor. Comput. 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Kesselberg te Leuven/Holsbeek (Leuven en Holsbeek, provincie Vlaams-Brabant). Studieopdracht naar een archeologische evaluatie en waardering

In opdracht van het agentschap Onroerend Erfgoed evalueerde Condor Archaeological Research bvba tussen januari 2012 en februari 2013 de archeologische site van de Kesselberg te Leuven en Holsbeek (prov. Vlaams-Brabant) in functie van de mogelijke opmaak van een archeologisch beschermingsdossier. Door de jarenlange prospecties van A. Boschmans en de opgravingen in 1959 door J. Mertens (Nationale Dienst voor Opgravingen) stond de Kesselberg reeds lang bekend als een archeologisch waardevolle zone met o.a. de aanwezigheid van een versterking uit de ijzertijd, verschillende oudere vondsten en de mogelijke aanwezigheid van kasteel Kesselstein, dat teruggaat tot de 11e eeuw. Vandaag bestaat het gebied van circa 20 ha voornamelijk uit bos met hier en daar een stuk open weiland. Enkele percelen zijn bebouwd. In het voorliggend rapport worden de resultaten van de studieopdracht beschreven. Tussen het begin van de 20e eeuw en het midden van de jaren 70 is meer dan anderhalve hectare van de Kesselberg weggegraven. Met dank aan Boschmans zijn er rijke archeologische gegevens bekend over het afgegraven gedeelte, maar zeer veel relicten zijn zeker ook ongedocumenteerd verdwenen. Tot in het midden van de jaren 70 liep over de Kesselberg een groot en intens gebruikt motorcross parcours. Veldwaarnemingen en geofysisch onderzoek brachten de resten van die diepe verstoringen aan het licht en ook van oudere gebouwen. Volgens het proefsleuvenonderzoek, waarbij verschillende grondsporen zijn vastgesteld, hadden deze verstoringen en de natuurlijke erosie in sommige zones al bij al toch nog betrekkelijk weinig impact. Grote delen van het terrein bleken nog onverstoord of zwak verstoord. In dit gebied is dus zeker nog heel wat informatie aanwezig die beter inzicht kan geven over de voormalige nederzetting(en). De studie beveelt aan deze resten te beschermen zodat verdere degradatie van de archeologische waarden wordt tegengegaan

On Distributive Subalgebras of Qualitative Spatial and Temporal Calculi

Qualitative calculi play a central role in representing and reasoning about qualitative spatial and temporal knowledge. This paper studies distributive subalgebras of qualitative calculi, which are subalgebras in which (weak) composition distributives over nonempty intersections. It has been proven for RCC5 and RCC8 that path consistent constraint network over a distributive subalgebra is always minimal and globally consistent (in the sense of strong $n$-consistency) in a qualitative sense. The well-known subclass of convex interval relations provides one such an example of distributive subalgebras. This paper first gives a characterisation of distributive subalgebras, which states that the intersection of a set of $n\geq 3$ relations in the subalgebra is nonempty if and only if the intersection of every two of these relations is nonempty. We further compute and generate all maximal distributive subalgebras for Point Algebra, Interval Algebra, RCC5 and RCC8, Cardinal Relation Algebra, and Rectangle Algebra. Lastly, we establish two nice properties which will play an important role in efficient reasoning with constraint networks involving a large number of variables.Comment: Adding proof of Theorem 2 to appendi

Improvements for imaging ceramics sintering in situ in ESEM

International audienceSintering of green samples of alumina produced by ice-templating was followed in situ in an environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM) up to temperatures as high as 1375 degrees C. These alumina samples with well-defined architectures are of great interest in the field of materials science due to their high specific strength (especially in compression), low density and adaptable porosity. For the present study, they also have the advantage to exhibit an important topography, inducing interesting contrast when imaged in an ESEM. Improvements of the imaging conditions in the ESEM were essential to really follow the sintering process involving formation of necks between grains or shift of the centre of grains. This paper describes the improvements made and the results observed on the sintering process of alumina green samples processed by ice-templating

Resistance noise scaling in a 2D system in GaAs

The 1/f resistance noise of a two-dimensional (2D) hole system in a high mobility GaAs quantum well has been measured on both sides of the 2D metal-insulator transition (MIT) at zero magnetic field (B=0), and deep in the insulating regime. The two measurement methods used are described: I or V fixed, and measurement of resp. V or I fluctuations. The normalized noise magnitude SR/R^2 increases strongly when the hole density is decreased, and its temperature (T) dependence goes from a slight increase with T at the largest densities, to a strong decrease at low density. We find that the noise magnitude scales with the resistance, SR /R^2 ~ R^2.4. Such a scaling is expected for a second order phase transition or a percolation transition. The possible presence of such a transition is investigated by studying the dependence of the conductivity as a function of the density. This dependence is consistent with a critical behavior close to a critical density p* lower than the usual MIT critical density pc.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures, Proceedings of SPIE: Fluctuations and noise in materials, D. Popovic, M.B. Weissman, Z.A. Racz Eds., Vol. 5469, pp. 101-113, Mspalomas, Spain, 200

Age-dependent changes in insulin-like immunoreactivity in rat submandibular salivary glands.

In recent years, a growing interest had arisen in hormonal factors in salivary glands. We have investigated the changes in the content of an insulin-like immunoreactive (ILI) compound in the submandibular salivary glands of Sprague Dawley rats during physiological aging, in the range 15 days-27 months. The amount of ILI in the submandibular glands of young adult rats was found to be doubled in the post-natal period until the age of puberty and was maintained in senescence. No significant correlation was found between age-dependent variations in ILI levels of submandibular salivary glands and circulating insulin concentrations, further supporting previous indications that ILI is being synthesized in situ. It is possible that ILI could exert paracrine effects within the glands, as regards the development of other glandular structures during the first months of life, as well as the preservation of glandular function in senescent animals as well