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High-Q broadband passives are needed for monolithic microwave circuits in silicon. Coplanar waveguides (CPWs) provide an effective way to implement passives in silicon monolithic microwave integrated circuits. Silver "fat" wires in the backend interconnects, used for CPW fabrication, will reduce the bulk resistive loss in metallization to the lowest possible level, which is vital to minimize noise. Electromigration, electrochemical migration, and agglomeration issues are not a problem for silver microwave passives, because of their coarse dimensions and the low current densities encountered in these structures. In this letter, Ag and Cu CPWs were designed, fabricated and tested. Silver CPWs showed a 2-3 Ω/cm improvement in resistance over copper devices at 20 GHz. A circuit was identified in which the application of silver passives could provide an improvement in noise performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We recently reported the identification of a RING finger-containing protein, HHARI (human homologue of Drosophila ariadne), which binds to the human ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme UbcH7 in vitro. We now demonstrate that HHARI interacts and co-localizes with UbcH7 in mammalian cells, particularly in the perinuclear region. We have further defined a minimal interaction region of HHARI comprising residues 186-254, identified individual amino acid residues essential for the interaction, and determined that the distance between the RING1 finger and IBR (in between RING fingers) domains is critical to maintaining binding. We have also established that the RING1 finger of HHARI cannot be substituted for by the highly homologous RING finger domains of either of the ubiquitin-protein ligase components c-CBL or Parkin, despite their similarity in structure and their independent capabilities to bind UbcH7. Furthermore, mutation of the RING1 finger domain of HHARI from a RING-HC to a RING-H2 type abolishes interaction with UbcH7. These studies demonstrate that very subtle changes to the domains that regulate recognition between highly conserved components of the ubiquitin pathway can dramatically affect their ability to interact.

For patients who ingest foreign bodies, pre-operative radiography is an invaluable tool that allows the surgeon to confirm the presence of the foreign body, preempt potential difficulties and plan the best method for foreign body removal. This is particularly important when a foreign body is of usual shape and size. We present a series of radiographs and pictures of some of the retrieved foreign bodies of five patients who swallowed unusual foreign bodies.

Background: Any malignancy has the propensity to metastasize to skin. The frequency of skin metastases vary in different tumors and occur in about 0.7% to 10% of all patients diagnosed with cancer. It is rare in nasopharyngeal carcinoma., Method: Three cases of relapsed nasopharyngeal carcinoma with diffuse dermal involvement were described. Their clinical presentation, results of investigations, and response to treatment were reviewed. Literature review of similar forms of presentation was done by means of a MEDLINE search., Results: At the time of dermal relapse, all three patients had a uniform clinical picture of facial, periorbital, and lip swelling associated with stridor and dysphagia. Histologic findings showed dermal infiltrates of malignant cells, and CT scan showed diffuse infiltration of the subcutaneous tissue. Despite chemotherapy, the clinical course was relentless., Conclusion: This report describes a presentation of disease that is underdiagnosed and heightens awareness of oncologists to this form of recurrence in nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Background: Undifferentiated nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is characterized by prominent lymphocytic infiltration. Although the lymphoid infiltrate in NPC has been examined extensively in morphologic and immunocytochemical studies, the significance of this lymphoid infiltrate and its correlation with prognosis has been a subject of controversy for years., Objective: To elucidate the significance of lymphoid infiltration in undifferentiated NPC., Design: Evaluation of the relationship between lymphocytic infiltration in NPC and cervical lymph node status, ultrastructural examination of the lymphoid infiltrate, and assessment of lymphocytic infiltration as an independent prognosticator of regional node metastasis., Materials and Methods: Lymphocytic infiltration was evaluated quantitatively in 20 cases of undifferentiated NPC using light microscopy. Four cases of undifferentiated NPC were processed for conventional electron microscopy. The effects of degree of lymphocytic infiltration, age, and tumor stage on cervical nodal metastasis were analysed using the logistic regression model., Results: The degree of lymphoid infiltration correlated with cervical nodal metastasis (P<.001). Ultrastructural evidence of lymphocytes destroying cancer cells was seen. Lymphocytic infiltration was found to be an independent factor affecting cervical nodal metastasis (P =.02, univariate analysis; P =.03, multivariate analysis)., Conclusions: The lymphoid infiltrate is beneficial in undifferentiated NPC, and its presence may deter regional metastasis of cancer cells to the cervical nodes.

The specificity of the ubiquitin degradation system is regulated through interaction between individual ubiquitin-conjugating enzymes (E2s) and multiple ubiquitin-protein ligases (E3s). Here we describe the characterisation of a novel gene (ARIH1) that encodes the human homologue of Drosophila ariadne which interacts with the E2s, UbcH7 and UbcH8 and represents a component of an E3 complex. Three PACs (189N19, 142P17 and 179H7) were isolated that contain this gene. Using these PACs as probes, we mapped ARIH1 to human chromosome 15q24 by fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH). Sequencing of the ARIH1 PACs showed that the gene has 13 introns. In addition, we isolated two PACs (345D8 and 571P19) containing the mouse orthologue (Arih1) of ARIH1. The intron-exon structure of Arih1 was identical to ARIH1 and the proteins demonstrated a 98% identity at the amino acid level. Furthermore, comparison of Drosophila ariadne with ARIH1 indicates an identity at the amino acid level of 70% and introns at 3/7 identical sites. The high degree of homology demonstrated by the mouse and human orthologues of Drosophila ariadne indicates an important, conserved biological function, consistent with a putative role in ubiquitylation., (Copyright 2000 S. Karger AG, Basel.)

A 14-year-old Chinese female presented with severe sorethroat and swinging fever for two weeks despite one course of oral amoxycillin followed by one course of Unasyn (combination of sultamicillin, sulbactam and ampicillin). Throat swab grew Pseudomonas pseudomallel. Serology for its antibodies was very strongly positive (> 1:512). In this part of the world the IHA titre of 1:16 or greater is significant. She was successfully treated with intravenous ceftazidime. The swinging fever settled within two days. The nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal lesions cleared after a week of therapy. A further two weeks of Ceftazidime were given to ensure a complete resolution of the infection. Oral tetracycline was given for maintenance therapy. Melioidosis involving various organs have been reported particularly pulmonary melioidosis. Nasopharyngeal melioidosis has not been reported, as far as we know. This is the first reported case.

Kimura's disease is an immune mediated inflammatory disorder that usually involves the head and neck region, primarily affecting the salivary glands, adjacent muscle and regional lymph nodes. Peripheral blood eosinophilia is the norm. Clinically and radiologically, it is difficult to differentiate Kimura's disease from salivary gland malignancy, lymphoma or haemangioma. The radiological findings of a patient who presented with a left facial mass involving the left parotid gland and the adjacent muscles are discussed. We also propose that the difference in the degree of enhancement between the initial and subsequent computed tomography study done two and a half years later may be due to the development of increased fibrosis and sclerosis as the disease progresses.

Nineteen patients who had completed their course of dermatattoo treatment for the camouflage of port-wine hemangioma were evaluated at an average of 3.1 years following completion of treatment. A panel of 7 people evaluated preoperative and postoperative photographs and judged that none of the patients were more than "50 percent improved" in the camouflaging of their hemangioma, and that most of them (15 out of 19) were either "not improved" or "25 percent improved," as compared to their original photographs. We cannot rule out the possibility that this treatment may be effective in adults, as all of our patients at the time of their first treatment were between the ages of 4 and 20 years; and most of them were between 6 and 10 years old. On the basis of this evaluation, we no longer recommend the technique of dermatattoo for camouflage of port-wine hemangioma in patients in the younger age group.