A novel reprogrammable optical phase array (ROPA) device is presented as a reconfigurable electro-optic element. One specific application of the ROPA, a 1 x 6 electro-optic space switch, is fully described. Switching angles are within 2 degrees , and switching is achieved through a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) controlled, diffraction based, optical phase array in a bulk BaTiO3...

I have a very strong aversion to certain food textures such as potato (mashed, chipped, roasted, etc.), that causes me to gag violently. I am 22 years old and have a BMI of 16 which I blame in part to my very unbalanced diet. I am constantly lethargic but am eating three good portion meals a day. I was wondering if there was a way to get over this sensitivity as I am eating cereal without milk ...

In those hands I see chipped plates, plastic sofa case, dripping taps, the smell of too little tenement light, of urine rained on hapless clothes, a smell her grandson will call stale and will define everything in life he will forever run from. Her sallow hands, atrophic from not holding and not being held, like garaged brush stiffened with last year’s paint; hands that rest, as she finishes, o...

Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy was performed on 81 patients with urolithiasis (35 patients with ureteral stones, 25 patients with renal stones less than 2 cm in diameter, and 21 patients with renal stones more than 2 cm in diameter) at Kanbara Hospital from August to October, 1986. A 4 Fr catheter was placed transurethrally in the ureter up to the stone to identify the stone position and...

Patients with multiple cholesterol gallbladder stones have been found to be at a higher risk for the recurrence of gallstones after successful nonsurgical treatment than those with a solitary stone. Cholesterol gallstone recurrence, like primary gallstone formation, probably involves a triple defect with supersaturation, abnormally rapid nucleation of cholesterol in bile and altered gallbladder...

Calcium oxalate kidney stones contain low amounts of proteins, some of which have been implicated in progression or prevention of kidney stone formation. To gain insights into the pathophysiology of urolithiasis, we have characterized protein components of calcium oxalate kidney stones by proteomic approaches. Proteins extracted from kidney stones showed highly heterogeneous migration patterns ...

This study reports biochemical composition and morphological aspect of gallstones as investigated by spectroscopy IR method. Participants were 24 patients composed of 12 males and 12 females who underwent cholecystectomy with age mean of 44.8 years. The gallstones were classified either as pigments stones (n = 12), cholesterol stones (n = 8) or as mixed stones (n = 4) according to analysis by F...

OBJECTIVE To assess transoral treatment of submandibular lithiasis. DESIGN Study of a series of patients with submandibular stones undergoing transoral removal of the sialoliths. Duration of follow-up: 6 months to 7 years. SETTING Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen, Germany, center for treatment of salivary stones. PATIENTS...

BACKGROUND Some patients with common bile duct (CBD) stones develop cholangitis requiring drainage, while others do not. The aims of this study were to elucidate the clinical differences among patients with CBD stones who required and did not require emergent drainage, and to identify risk factors for the development of cholangitis requiring emergent drainage in patients with silent CBD stones....