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Our problem is about propagation of waves in stratified strips. The operators are quite general, a typical example being a coupled elasto-acoustic operator H defined in ℝ2 × I where I is a bounded interval of ℝ with coefficients depending only on z∈I. One applies the ‘conjugate operator method’ to an operator obtained by a spectral decomposition of the partial Fourier transform Ĥ of H. Around each value of the spectrum (except the eigenvalues) including the thresholds, a conjugate operator may be constructed which ensures the ‘good properties’ of regularity for H. A limiting absorption principle is then obtained for a large class of operators at every point of the spectrum (except eigenvalues). If the point is a threshold, the limiting absorption principle is valid in a closed subspace of the usual one (namely L, with s>½) and we are interested by the behaviour of R(z), z close to a threshold, applying in the usual space L, with s>½ when z tends to the threshold. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Objective Recent studies have shown that in vitro endothelial cells are activated by antiphospholipid antibodies and may support leukocyte adhesion. We studied levels of soluble intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (sICAM-1, sCD54), soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (sVCAM-1, sCD106), and soluble E-selectin (soluble endothelial leukocyte adhesion molecule 1 [sELAM-1, sCD62E]) in sera from patients with primary antiphospholipid syndrome (primary APS), and compared them with those from patients with systemic lupus erythematosus–associated APS (SLE-APS) or pure SLE, as well as with those from 2 control groups composed of healthy volunteers and patients with thrombosis unrelated to autoimmune diseases. Methods Serum samples from 24 patients with primary APS, 15 patients with SLE-APS, 22 patients with pure SLE, 48 control patients with thrombosis, and 18 healthy volunteers were examined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays specific for sICAM-1, sVCAM-1, and sELAM-1. Results Serum levels of sVCAM-1, but not sICAM-1 or sELAM-1, were significantly increased in all patient study groups compared with thrombosis control patients and healthy volunteers, but did not differ between the groups of patients with primary APS, SLE-APS, or pure SLE. Concentrations of sVCAM-1 were significantly higher in primary APS or SLE-APS patients with severe, recurrent thrombosis and were negatively correlated with platelet counts in primary APS patients. In patients with primary APS, sVCAM-1 levels were higher if there was thrombotic kidney involvement and correlated with creatinemia. Conclusion Serum sVCAM-1 concentrations are increased in patients with primary APS, especially those with repeated thrombotic events or kidney involvement. These findings suggest that endothelial/monocyte interaction may be important in the pathogenesis of primary APS.

We report here on an elderly patient, aged 88 years, who developed acquired hemophilia, with a high titer of factor VIII inhibitors and severe hemorrhage, in the absence of a detectable cause. Marked and prolonged efficacy was observed after rituximab.

Our purpose is to show in a precise manner the mathematical approach of the problem of the acoustic diffraction by an infinitely thin screen. The classical equations of acoustics are transformed into integral equations. The sound field diffracted by the obstacle is described by a double layer potential, the density of which is equal to the step of the potential across the screen. To avoid the mathematical difficulties, the infinitely thin screen will be considered as the limit of a sequence of obstacles with finite thickness. On such obstacles, the operators can be defined, thanks to the theory of Pseudo-differential operators and Pseudo-Poisson kernels. Then a limiting process is used and gives existence and unicity of the desired solutions in Sobolev spaces.

Die aus den Diazoverbindungen (II), (VI) bzw. (IX) erzeugtenCarbene reagieren mit Tropiliden (I) zu den Bicycloocta.- dienen (III), (VII) bzw.(VIII), die als exo/endo-Gemische, in denen das exo-Stereoisomere uberwiegt, vorliegen.