ADSORPTIVE CATHODIC STRIPPING VOLTAMMETRIC DETERMINATION OF SEVERAL HEAVY METALS (Ni, Co, Cu, Pb) IN NATURAL WATERS

Joint Research on Environmental Science and Technology for the Eart

CryptoDex: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase III trial of adjunctive dexamethasone in HIV-infected adults with cryptococcal meningitis: study protocol for a randomised control trial.

BACKGROUND: Cryptococcal meningitis (CM) is a severe AIDS-defining illness with 90-day case mortality as high as 70% in sub-Saharan Africa, despite treatment. It is the leading cause of death in HIV patients in Asia and Africa.No major advance has been made in the treatment of CM since the 1970s. The mainstays of induction therapy are amphotericin B and flucytosine, but these are often poorly available where the disease burden is highest. Adjunctive treatments, such as dexamethasone, have had dramatic effects on mortality in other neurologic infections, but are untested in CM. Given the high death rates in patients receiving current optimal treatment, and the lack of new agents on the horizon, adjuvant treatments, which offer the potential to reduce mortality in CM, should be tested.The principal research question posed by this study is as follows: does adding dexamethasone to standard antifungal therapy for CM reduce mortality? Dexamethasone is a cheap, readily available, and practicable intervention. METHOD: A double-blind placebo-controlled trial with parallel arms in which patients are randomised to receive either dexamethasone or placebo, in addition to local standard of care. The study recruits patients in both Asia and Africa to ensure the relevance of its results to the populations in which the disease burden is highest. The 10-week mortality risk in the control group is expected to be between 30% and 50%, depending on location, and the target hazard ratio of 0.7 corresponds to absolute risk reductions in mortality from 30% to 22%, or from 50% to 38%. Assuming an overall 10-week mortality of at least 30% in our study population, recruitment of 824 patients will be sufficient to observe the expected number of deaths. Allowing for some loss to follow-up, the total sample size for this study is 880 patients. To generate robust evidence across both continents, we aim to recruit roughly similar numbers of patients from each continent. The primary end point is 10-week mortality. Ethical approval has been obtained from Oxford University's Tropical Research Ethics Committee (OxTREC), and as locally mandated at each site. TRIAL REGISTRATION: International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Number: ISRCTN59144167 26-July-2012

A hidden HIV epidemic among women in Vietnam

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The HIV epidemic in Vietnam is still concentrated among high risk populations, including IDU and FSW. The response of the government has focused on the recognized high risk populations, mainly young male drug users. This concentration on one high risk population may leave other populations under-protected or unprepared for the risk and the consequences of HIV infection. In particular, attention to women's risks of exposure and needs for care may not receive sufficient attention as long as the perception persists that the epidemic is predominantly among young males. Without more knowledge of the epidemic among women, policy makers and planners cannot ensure that programs will also serve women's needs.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>More than 300 documents appearing in the period 1990 to 2005 were gathered and reviewed to build an understanding of HIV infection and related risk behaviors among women and of the changes over time that may suggest needed policy changes.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>It appears that the risk of HIV transmission among women in Vietnam has been underestimated; the reported data may represent as little as 16% of the real number. Although modeling predicted that there would be 98,500 cases of HIV-infected women in 2005, only 15,633 were accounted for in reports from the health system. That could mean that in 2005, up to 83,000 women infected with HIV have not been detected by the health care system, for a number of possible reasons. For both detection and prevention, these women can be divided into sub-groups with different risk characteristics. They can be infected by sharing needles and syringes with IDU partners, or by having unsafe sex with clients, husbands or lovers. However, most new infections among women can be traced to sexual relations with young male injecting drug users engaged in extramarital sex. Each of these groups may need different interventions to increase the detection rate and thus ensure that the women receive the care they need.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Women in Vietnam are increasingly at risk of HIV transmission but that risk is under-reported and under-recognized. The reasons are that women are not getting tested, are not aware of risks, do not protect themselves and are not being protected by men. Based on this information, policy-makers and planners can develop better prevention and care programs that not only address women's needs but also reduce further spread of the infection among the general population.</p

Étude expérimentale de la distribution des masses moléculaires dans des polychlorures de vinyle polymérisés par voie ionique

L’étude expérimentale de la distribution des masses moléculaires dans des échantillons de polychlorure de vinyle, polymérisés par le chlorure de tertiobutyl magnésium en milieu tétrahydrofuranne, confirme la nature ionique du mécanisme de polymérisation et montre en particulier l’absence de réactions de transfert et le caractère instantané de la réaction d’amorçage

Étude par résonance magnétique nucléaire des oxalates et formiates de thorium

Les études par RMN ont montré que l’eau de cristallisation des oxalates de thorium mono et dihydratés se trouve sous tonne H2O. Dans l’oxalate hexahydraté, une partie de cette eau est sous forme intersticielle. Dans le formiate de thorium anhydre, tous les protons occupent des positions semblables. La complexité des spectres obtenus avec les formiates de thorium hydratés ne nous a pas permis de formuler des conclusions certaines concernant les positions relatives des atomes d’hydrogène

Polymérisation de monomères vinyliques amorcée par les systèmes diéthylzinc-peroxydes ou hydroperoxydes organiques

Les systèmes diéthylzinc-peroxydes organiques, qui réagissent très vivement en donnant des radicaux éthyle et des radicaux alcoyles ou acyloxyles, amorcent la polymérisation radicalaire du styrène, du méthacrylate de méthyle et de l’acrylonitrile. La polymérisation est initialement très rapide eL conduit à des polymères de faible masse moléculaire possédant de nombreux groupements éthyles en extrémité de chaîne. Les hydroperoxydes et les peroxydes d’acyle fournissent les systèmes les plus actifs tandis que le peroxyde de dicumyle est moins efficace. Une partie des groupes terminaux est constituée de restes peroxydiques. Les phénomènes de complexation entre le diéthylzinc et les monomères polaires ne modifient le cours des réactions que dans la mesure où les complexes formés sont insolubles dans le milieu réactionnel

Commonly misdiagnosed round pneumonia in a child: a case report

Round pneumonia, a specific radiological finding in children, is often caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae; but it is easily misdiagnosed with some other diseases, causing many difficulties for clinicians. We described a case report of round pneumonia in a 9-year-old boy, with chest pain, following fever, productive cough, left-sided pulmonary consolidation syndrome, tachypnea, no chest indrawing, and a round homogenous lesion about 4 cm in diameter with a clear border in the left upper lobe position on chest X-ray. He was initially misdiagnosed as a lung tumor. He was correctly diagnosed with round pneumonia prior to pneumonectomy and was successfully treated with antibiotics. Therefore, it is important to carefully analyze round pneumonia cases that are often misdiagnosed, resulting in poor therapy