This paper studies the cost efficiency of bank in a partial universal banking system (PUBS), Taiwan. Instead of assuming one common technology in the bank cost function, two technologies are assumed to be imbedded in the cost function. We use fee revenues as threshold to divide the banks into two technologies. A bank whose fee revenues exceeding the threshold is designated as universal bank tec...

Purple urine bag syndrome (PUBS) is purple discoloration of urinary catheter, tubing and bag and it is a rare and uncommon manifestation of urinary tract infection. Female gender, constipation, urinary tract infection, dementia, alkaline urine and high urinary bacterial counts are main risk factors. Here we report a 70 year old woman living in a nursing home presented with diarrhea, decreased o...

An 87-year-old woman was hospitalized for post-fall syndrome. Even though there was improvement in the post-fall syndrome, she had urinary retention, associated with fecaloma. Urinary catheterization showed acute urinary retention of 500mL. Urine microscopy and culture showed a resistant Escherichia coli strain. Given the absence of both clinical signs (apart from urinary retention) and inflamm...

With rising concerns of heavy metal exposure in pregnancy and early childhood, this study was conducted to assess the relationship between the lead, cadmium, mercury, and methylmercury blood levels in pregnancy and neonatal period. The study population included 104 mothers and their children pairs who completed both baseline maternal blood sampling at the second trimester and umbilical cord blo...

BACKGROUND Purple urine-bag syndrome (PUBS) is a rare phenomenon in which the contents of urine bags turn purple or blue following patient catheterization. The condition often causes care givers tremendous distress. We investigated the prevalence and possible causes of PUBS for a group of elderly patients. METHODS A total of 157 patients featuring urine catheterization, 13 of whom exhibiting ...

OBJECTIVE To document and analyse the presentation and outcome of surgical management of liver trauma. METHODS The study was a retrospective review of records of all surgeries carried out at the Department of General Surgery, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), Islamabad, from January 2003 to December 2010. The study included all adult patients of either gender who presented with l...

Purple urine bag syndrome (PUBS) is a complication of urinary tract infections (UTIs) where catheter bags and tubing turn purple. It is alarming for patients, families, and clinicians; however, it is in itself a benign phenomenon. PUBS is the result of UTIs with specific bacteria that produce sulphatases and phosphatases which lead tryptophan metabolism to produce indigo (blue) and indirubin (r...

Process variation is a major concern in the semiconductor industry today. Probabilistic statistical static timing analysis (SSTA), where random variables are used to represent arrival times, has been proposed as a method to address this challenge. However, there are a number of modeling and accuracy difficulties associated with probabilistic SSTA analysis and optimization methods, such as how t...

OBJECTIVE In some cases of non-immune hydrops there is congenital or acquired fetal anemia. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential value of fetal middle cerebral artery peak systolic velocity (MCA-PSV) in the assessment and management of non-immune hydrops due to anemia. METHODS Fetal MCA-PSV and fetal hemoglobin concentration, in blood obtained by cordocentesis, were measured...

Dear Sir, Diagnosis and management of anti-Coltona (Coa) alloimmunisation during pregnancy is a rare and challenging condition. Only five cases have been described up to now, four in the 1970s and one in 2008, but diagnosis and management have changed in the meantime (Smith et al., 1970; Simpson, 1973; McIntyre et al., 1976; Fuhrmann et al., 1979; Michalewska et al., 2008). We here present such...