Adult T-cell leukaemia and lymphoma: report of two cases and a brief review of the literature

Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) can cause adult T-cell leukaemia/lymphoma (ATLL). Two patients originating from the Caribbean area with ATLL are described. The first patient developed respiratory insufficiency due to acute T-cell leukaemia. The diagnosis was suspected because of characteristics of abnormal lymphocytes in the blood smear. The second patient had lymphadenopathy and developed severe hypercalcaemia. Both patients were typical cases of ATLL. The pathogenesis, clinical manifestations, pitfalls and treatment of this intriguing disease are discussed

An Exploratory Investigation Of The InternetInvolvement: Instrument Development, MeasurementAnd Implications For Electronic Commerce

With the advent of the Internet or the World Wide Web, economic entities such as business firms and consumers are converging to the new frontier for economic exchange: Electronic Commerce. Businesses are investing in infrastructure, content and transaction specific relationships paving the way for electronic commerce over the Internet. But the antecedent of any consumer related activities over the Internet requires afundamental understanding of the Involvement construct as related to the Internet. The concept of involvement has played a significant role in explaining consumer behavior in the marketing literature as well as in developing and formulating marketing strategies and policies. In this paper, we focus on developing and validating the Involvement construct as related to the Internet from an electronic commerce perspective. Data was collected for this purpose and initial analysis reveals that the construct is likely to be multi-dimensional and each dimension taps into two aspects of Internet Involvement. One representing the aesthetic or fascinating aspect of the Internet such as animations, Java applets, fancy graphics, etc., and the other representing the value creating aspect of the Internet such as easy access to interesting and valuable information, product or service offerings, knowledge enhancements etc. This paper contributes to the literature by investigating a crucial concept underlying many consumer behaviors such as exposure to media, processing of advertising information, response to persuasive messages, word-of-mouth communications about new products or services, etc. in the context of electronic commerce

Net-distributed Co-operation Including Developing Countries, Practical Case Study - Iran

The scientific transfer of key technology features to developing countries, together with adequate competence, localisation and adaptation, is the primary purpose of the proposed investigation. It is evident that introducing high-level CAD design and detailing will improve the planning process in developing countries. Successful utilization of applied information technology for the planning process, however, depends on the user-interface of individual software. Therefore, to open the great opportunity embedded in CAD software for clients globally, the language and character-set barrier of traditional user-interfaces must be overcome. A proposal for a research program is given here to address such issue in favour of global civil engineering

An Exploratory Analysis of Information Content of Corporate Web Pages as Advertising Media

In the case of television advertising, the advertising enters the potential buyers’ environment in an uninitiated way. In the case of Web advertising, the potential buyer must initiate the access to the corporate Web pages. Hence, the Web as an advertising media demands a much stronger access motivation than television advertising. So the need for a more meaningful information content is perhaps greater in the case of Web advertising compared to other avenues

Managing Transformation under Uncertainty

The paper in a nutshell: In this paper, we present the normative concept of green industrial policy, which we define as encompassing any policy measure aimed at aligning the structure of a country’s economy with the needs of sustainable development within established planetary boundaries. We elaborate on why we need green industrial policy, how it differs from conventional industrial policy, why it is faced with significantly bigger challenges, and how these can be met. What and how we produce and consume is largely shaped by markets. However, markets fail to solve many of the environmental challenges we are facing. Therefore, we need governments to intervene, thus reclaiming the primacy of public policy in setting and implementing societal objectives. While safeguarding the sustainability of human life on our planet makes green industrial policy a highly normative undertaking, the economic case for green industrial policy is strong as well – the success stories of such ‘green’ frontrunners as Germany and Denmark demonstrate the competitiveness potential of the new technologies. However, as shown by decades of discussion on industrial policy, government intervention almost invariably brings about risks of political capture and government failure. Green industrial policy is thus not only governed by ethical norms, but also by politics. The risks of failure are magnified by the urgency and scale of today’s global environmental challenges, requiring particularly bold, comprehensive and well-orchestrated government intervention under high uncertainty. By highlighting lessons learned from practical cases of both success and failure, we show how these risks can be, and have been, managed. In particular, we submit that a broad- based social vision and contract need to be forged – supported by change coalitions and coupled with policy process safeguards, openness to policy learning, and an alignment of green industrial policies with market mechanisms

Reduktion von Wundheilungsstörungen nach medianer Sternotomie durch Gentamicin-Kollagenschwamm

Postoperative Wundheilungsstörungen nach herzchirurgischen Eingriffen sind seltene, jedoch gefürchtete und ernstzunehmende Komplikationen, die zu schwerwiegenden Konsequenzen bis hinzu einer Poststernotomie-Mediastinitis mit möglicherweise letalen Ausgang führen können. In einer prospektiven, monozentrisch angelegten Studie wird angestrebt, ein infektionspräventives Behandlungskonzept herauszuarbeiten, mit dem das Risiko für thorakale Wundinfektionen verringert werden kann. Ob mit der Anwendung eines vor operativen Thoraxverschlusses retrosternal eingelegten Gentamicin-Kollagenschwammes eine Reduktion der Inzidenz von Wundheilungsstörungen nach medianer Sternotomie erreicht werden kann, wird in der vorliegenden Studie geprüft. Dazu kommt eine Kombination aus dem Desinfektionsmittel ChloraPrep® und dem Resorbaschwamm Genta-Coll resorb® zum Einsatz

Aplicación de técnicas de PCR en tiempo real a la trazabilidad y autenticidad de los piensos

La trazabilidad y el correcto etiquetado de los piensos y sus ingredientes son factores esenciales para prevenir fraudes y garantizar la seguridad alimentaria. En el ámbito de la lucha contra las Encefalopatías Espongiformes Transmisibles (EETs), la prohibición de la Unión Europea (UE) de alimentar a rumiantes y otros animales de granja con harinas de carne y huesos derivadas de animales, hace necesaria la disponibilidad de metodologías que permitan identificar el origen de las materias primas e ingredientes presentes en los piensos. El método oficial de análisis microscópico tradicionalmente empleado para este fin presenta limitaciones a la hora de diferenciar entre los huesos de mamíferos y de aves, así como para determinar el origen animal específico de las partículas detectadas. Por ello, una de las prioridades de la UE en los últimos años ha sido potenciar la búsqueda y desarrollo de técnicas analíticas alternativas que permitan la detección específica de todos los componentes que integran los piensos. Teniendo en cuenta estos aspectos, en esta Tesis Doctoral se han desarrollado técnicas de PCR en tiempo real con sondas TaqMan® para el control de autenticidad y trazabilidad de ingredientes de origen animal utilizados en la fabricación de los piensos. Las especies objeto de este trabajo han sido: vaca (Bos taurus), oveja (Ovis aries), cabra (Capra hircos), grupo rumiante, cerdo (Sus scrofa), pollo (Gallus gallos), pavo (Meleagris g-allopavo), pato (Anal platyrhynchos x Cairina moschata), oca (Anser anser), grupo aviar, caballo (Equus caballus), conejo (Oryctolagus cuniculus), liebre (Lepus capensis), grupo lepórido (conejo y liebre) y pescados..

Specific PCR detection of Arcobacter butzleri, Arcobacter cryaerophilus, Arcobacter skirrowii, and Arcobacter cibarius in chicken meat.

An enrichment PCR assay using species-specific primers was developed for the detection of Arcobacter butzleri, Arcobacter cryaerophilus, Arcobacter skirrowii, and Arcobacter cibarius in chicken meat. Primers for A. cryaerophilus, A. skirrowii, and A. cibarius were designed based on the gyrA gene to amplify nucleic acid fragments of 212, 257, and 145 bp, respectively. The A. butzleri-specific primers were designed flanking a 203-bp DNA fragment in the 16S rRNA gene. The specificity of the four primer pairs was assessed by PCR analysis of DNA from a panel of Arcobacter species, related Campylobacter, Helicobacter species, and other food bacteria. The applicability of the method was then validated by testing 42 fresh retail-purchased chicken samples in the PCR assay. An 18-h selective preenrichment step followed by PCR amplification with the four Arcobacter primer sets revealed the presence of Arcobacter spp. in 85.7% of the retail chicken samples analyzed. A. butzleri was the only species present in 50% of the samples, and 35.7% of the samples were positive for both A. butzleri and A. cryaerophilus. A. skirrowii and A. cibarius were not detected in any of the chicken samples analyzed. The enrichment PCR assay developed is a specific and rapid alternative for the survey of Arcobacter contamination in meat

Detección de ADN bovino y ovino en piensos comerciales mediante una técnica de PCR en tiempo real

En este trabajo se ha desarrollado una técnica de Reacción en Cadena de la Polimerasa (PCR) en tiempo real utilizando sondas TaqMan, para la detección de la presencia de ADN bovino y ovino en piensos comerciales. El método combina el uso de cebadores específicos de vaca y oveja que amplifican fragmentos de ADN de 84 pb en el gen mitocondrial 12S ARNr y 88 pb en la región mitoncondrial D-loop, respectivamente, junto con cebadores universales que amplifican un fragmento conservado de ADN de 141 pb en el gen nuclear 18S ARNr de los organismos eucariotas. La técnica desarrollada permitió detectar hasta un 0,1% de harinas de carne y hueso en las muestras de piensos comerciales analizados.A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay using TaqMan probes has been developed for detection of bovine and ovine DNA commercial feedstuffs. The real-time PCR method combines the use of bovine and ovine-specific primers that amplify DNA fragments of 84 bp on the mitochondrial 12S ribosomal RNA gene and 88 bp on the mitochondrial D-loop region, respectively, together with universal primers that amplify a 141 bp DNA fragment on the nuclear 18S ribosomal RNA gene from eukaryotic organisms. The PCR method developed in this assay was able to identify as low as 0.1% bovine and ovine content of meat and bone meals in the feed samples analyzed