Newly formed cystic lesions for the development of pneumomediastinum in Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Pneumocystis jirovecii</it>, formerly named <it>Pneumocystis carinii</it>, is one of the most common opportunistic infections in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients.</p> <p>Case presentations</p> <p>We encountered two cases of spontaneous pneumomediastinum with subcutaneous emphysema in HIV-infected patients being treated for <it>Pneumocystis jirovecii </it>pneumonia with trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Clinicians should be aware that cystic lesions and bronchiectasis can develop in spite of trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole treatment for <it>P. jirovecii </it>pneumonia. The newly formed bronchiectasis and cyst formation that were noted in follow up high resolution computed tomography (HRCT) but were not visible on HRCT at admission could be risk factors for the development of pneumothorax or pneumomediastinum with subcutaneous emphysema in HIV-patients.</p

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Multimaterial 3D Printed Fluidic Device for Measuring Pharmaceuticals in Biological Fluids

Multimaterial 3D printing provides a unique capability for the creation of highly complex integrated devices where complementary functionality is realized using differences in material properties. Using a single and automated print process, microfluidic devices were fabricated containing (i) an optically transparent structure for fluorescence detection, (ii) electrodes for electrokinetic transport, (iii) a primary membrane to remove particulates and macromolecules including proteins, and (iv) a secondary membrane to concentrate small molecule targets. The device was used for the simultaneous extraction and concentration of small molecule pharmaceuticals from urine, which was followed by an on-chip electrophoretic separation of the concentrated targets for quantitative analysis. Owing to the high level of functional integration inside the device, manual handling was minimal and restricted to the introduction of the sample and buffer solutions. The 3D printed sample-in/answer-out device allowed the direct quantification of ampicillin - a small molecule pharmaceutical - in untreated urine within 3 min, down to 2 ppm. These results demonstrate the potential of 3D printing for on-demand fabrication of disposable, functionally integrated devices for low-cost point-of-collection (POC) diagnostics

Retrospective study on necrotizing enteritis in piglets in Switzerland

The re-emergence of necrotizing enteritis (NE) in Swiss pig breeding farms raised concern that, besides C. perfringens type C strains, additional C. perfringens toxinotypes might cause this disease. Therefore we retrospectively investigated the association of NE with C. perfringens type C or different C. perfringens toxinotypes. We evaluated pathological lesions, routine diagnostic bacteriology results, and multiplex real-time PCR analyses from DNA extracts of archived intestinal samples of 199 piglets from our diagnostic case load. 96.5% of NE cases and 100% of herds affected by NE were positive for C. perfringens type C genotypes. Animals without necrotizing enteritis revealed a significantly lower detection rate of type C genotypes. Non affected piglets showed a high prevalence for beta-2-toxin positive C. perfringens type A strains. Collectively, our data indicate that outbreaks of NE in piglets in Switzerland cannot be attributed to newly emerging pathogenic toxinotypes, but are due to a spread of pathogenic C. perfringens type C strains

In-situ ellipsometry: Identification of surface terminations during GaN growth

Spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) is used to determine GaN surface termination during growth with metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE) by a correlation to well known results of plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (PAMBE). The results manifest that in MOVPE under typical growth conditions the surface is not terminated by a Ga-bilayer as suggested for MBE. Moreover, it turns out that ellipsometry can be used to characterize the surface reconstruction in wurtzite GaN similar as reflectance anisotropy does for cubic III–V-compounds. The optical spectra for the PAMBE reveal clear differences between growth under Ga-rich and N-rich conditions, which are attributed to the presence of a Ga-bilayer and various N-rich reconstructions on the surface [1]. (© 2003 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)</p

Studies on transparent spinel magnesium indium oxide thin films prepared by chemical spray pyrolysis

Ternary semiconducting oxide compound magnesium indium oxide films (MgIn2O4), manifesting high transparency were prepared by metal organic chemical spray pyrolysis technique. Precursors prepared for various cationic ratios of Mg/In=0.35, 0.40, 0.45 and 0.50 were thermally sprayed onto quartz substrates, decomposed at 450 °C and the spinel phase evolution was studied. X-ray diffraction, Rutherford backscattering and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies have been conducted to confirm the formation of single-phase MgIn2O4 films with Mg/In ratio 0.50. From optical transmission studies, the observed optical band gaps varied from 3.18 to 3.86 eV (0.35bMg/Inb0.5). The electrical conductivity variations of these films were measured in the temperature range between 30 and 150 °C by four-probe technique (34.07–1.44×10−5 S cm−1) and the Hall coefficient showed n-type electrical conduction and high carrier concentration (0.16×1020–0.89×17 cm−3)

Surface termination during GaN growth by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy determined by ellipsometry

Spectroscopic ellipsometry is used to study GaN films during growth by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE) in correlation to well known results of plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (PAMBE). Results for the PAMBE reveal clear differences between growth under Ga-rich and N-rich conditions, which are attributed to the presence of a Ga bilayer on the surface (also seen with low energy electron diffraction) in the Ga-rich case. Results for MOVPE surfaces during growth or for surfaces which are stabilized under NH3 are very similar to the N-rich PAMBE result. It is concluded that under normal growth conditions in MOVPE in contrast to PAMBE the surface is not terminated by a Ga bilayer. © 2003 American Institute of Physics.</em