OBJECTIVE Area 7 of the autonomous region of Madrid has one of the highest incidences of tuberculosis (23/100,000 population per year 2004). This study aimed to identify tuberculosis control in this area. METHODS A descriptive study of tuberculosis cases diagnosed in area 7 from January 1, 1999 to December 31, 2004 was carried out by analyzing the incidence of tuberculosis and the management ...

In clinical research, questionnaires are an important tool available for population and large family studies to gather information on a patient’s medical history. In 1989, we described a large kindred of FrenchCanadian descent with an 8-fold increased risk of venous thrombosis due to the 3363C insertion in the protein C gene [1]. We developed a questionnaire for use in this family to assess gen...

A new score statistic is derived, which uses information from registries (age-specific incidences) and family studies (sib-sib marginal correlation) to weight affected sibling pairs according to their age at onset. Age at onset of sibling pairs is modelled by a gamma frailty model. From this model we derive a bivariate survival function, which depends on the marginal survival and on the margina...

We conducted a tuberculosis contact investigation for a female military recruit with an unreported history of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDRTB) and subsequent recurrence. Pertinent issues included identification of likely contacts from separate training phases, uncertainty on latent MDRTB infection treatment regimens and side effects, and subsequent dispersal of the contacts after exposure.

New results of HST and VLT observations of isolated pulsars and their environments are presented.We present the first deep optical observations of the nearby pulsar PSR J0108-1431, the identification evidence of PSR 1929+10 based on the proper motion measurement of its optical counterpart and a deep investigation at optical wavelengths of the X-ray PWN around Vela.

We derive an analytic equation for a ratiometric wavelength measurement system and analyze the influence of the optical source signal bandwidth. Our investigation shows that in a particular optical sensing system, the higher the bandwidth of the optical signal, the better resolution the system will achieve. Experiments based on two types of optical signals (output signal of a tunable laser and ...

We propose a secure communication scheme based on anticipating synchronization of two chaotic laser diodes, one subject to incoherent optical feedback and the other to incoherent optical injection. This scheme does not require fine tuning of the optical frequencies of both lasers as is the case for other schemes based on chaotic laser diodes subject to coherent optical feedback and injection. O...

The development of a practical screening procedure for phenylketonuria and the improvement in methods of chemical analysis have led to a realization that Folling's (1934) disease of phenylketonuria is not a single entity. In this commentary, the current view on some aspects of phenylketonuria will be reviewed and the problems illustrated by experience gained in the Phenylketonuria Clinic at the...