A patient with acromegalic heart disease--a case report

A perioperative anesthetic management of a 69 year old woman with acromegaly whose clinical course was characterized by severe heart failure is described. The patient showed symptoms of massive cardiomegaly. Endocrine studies indicated that her pituitary tumor was active with hyperproduction of growth hormone. There was no demonstrable evidence for other known causes of heart disease. Following hormonal therapy using continuous subcutaneous infusion of somatostatin for about two months, there was improvement in daily activity and reduction in heart size. After the improvement of cardiac function, transsphenoidal hypophysectomy was performed under general anesthesia and its perioperative course was quite uneventful. We conclude that because cardiac involvement such as left ventricular dilatation in acromegaly might be reversible with proper treatment, any surgical procedure, as long as the case is elective, should be considered after hormone therapy.     

Distribution of bile acids in rats

Distribution and biliary and fecal excretion of bile acids were examined in Wistar strain male rats of about 300 g body weight. The pool size of the rats on ordinary diet was 40 mg/rat, biliary secretion was 14 mg/hr, and fecal excretion was 10 mg/day. Bile acids were mainly located in the small and large intestinal contents, 87% and 10%, respectively; but a portion was found in the intestinal wall and the liver. Rats fed 2% cholesterol-supplemented diet for a week showed similar values for pool size and biliary secretion with the rats on ordinary diet, but higher values for fecal excretion and distribution ratio in the large intestinal contents. Cholic acid was a major component in the bile, small intestinal wall, small intestinal content and liver, while the bile acid composition ratios were roughly similar to each other, although a relatively large amount of α-muricholic acid was found in the intentinal wall and liver. Both the wall and content compositions of the large intestine were similar to that of the feces, in which lithocholic, deoxycholic, α- and β-muricholic acids were the main components, although the ratios of α- and β-muricholic acids in the large intestinal wall were larger than those in the intestinal contents or feces. The high concentrations of these bile acids may indicate a difference of transport velocity across the cell membrane, but the mechanism is not known.     

Modifying ability of Ql-free coal-tar pitch to develop optical anisotropy in co-carbonizations

Carbonization properties of a Ql-free coal-tar pitch (CTP-ASM) prepared by selective precipitation were studied to evaluate it as a source for needle-coke. Its modifying ability for production of needlecoke in co-carbonizations with principal carbonizing substances which gave cokes of mozaic texture in single carbonizations was estimated by changing mixing ratios. The shape and size of the anisotropic optical texture in the co-carbonized coke were measured by point counting. CTP-ASM and Ashland A240, of eight additives, had the highest modifying ability in the co-carbonizations with Khafji vacuum residue. Both contained ca. 6% benzene-insolubles (Bl), and had f_a values of ≈0.9. Other additives of either lower or higher Bl or f_a showed less modifying ability. The modifying susceptibility of principal carbonizing substances varies with their structure and properties. Based on a systematic investigation of co-carbonizations the compatibility between a principal carbonizing substance and an additive is discussed from a viewpoint of their structural parameters.     

Methylamine stimulates the action of ricin toxin but inhibits that of diphtheria toxin

The action of ricin toxin was stimulated by addition of methylamine or some other amines, as shown by measuring the inhibition of protein synthesis of cultured cells by the toxin. Under the same conditions, however, the action of diphtheria toxin was completely inhibited by the amines. In a cell-free protein-synthesizing system, methylamine had no effect on the action of the A chain of ricin toxin and fragment A of diphtheria toxin. Studies on the interactions of 125I-labeled toxins with cells revealed that methylamine did not alter toxin-receptor bindings, but affected the entry of the toxins into the cells. Studies were also made on the effects of methylamine on the actions of two hybrid toxins, formed from a subunit of Wistaria floribunda lectin and fragment A of diphtheria toxin and the A chain of ricin toxin, respectively. Results suggested that the processes of entry of ricin toxin and diphtheria toxin, or at least parts of these processes, are different.     

Penetration model of gas absorption into slurry accompanied by an instantaneous irreversible chemical reaction

Recently, the problem of absorption of gases into nonhomogeneous solvents has drawn more attention than ever as it found in various fields such as flue gas scrubbing, hydroprocessing, coal conversion and medicine. Since the first treatment of this problem by Ramachandran and Sharma⁽¹⁾, several models based on the film concept have been proposed^(2-7). There is, however, no penetration theory for the evaluation of the rate of the absorption of a gas into a slurry containing suspended solid particles. In this paper, a penetration model is presented for the absorption of gas A into a slurry containing solid B with an instantaneous irreversible chemical reaction.     

Phase relationship on Mo-S system at high temperatures

Changing the partial pressure of sulfur Ps₂ at temperatures of 750° and 950°C, phase equilibria on the Mo-S system by solid-gas reaction were investigated. Hexagonal 2H-MoS₂ and monoclinic Mo₂S₃ phases were identified from the x-ray powder diffraction pattern. The 2H-MoS₂ had a slight homogeneity range, i.e. MoS_1.978 to MoS_2.0 at 950°C, MoS_1.983 to MoS_2.0 at 750°C. No remarkable variation of lattice parameters for the MoS₂ was observed. The composition of the Mo₂S₃ phase was not stoichiometric MoS_1.5 but MoS_1.457 at 950°C. At 750°C the composition of the Mo₂S₃ phase could not be determined since it was quite difficult to establish the equilibrium state between the gas and the condensed phases. This finding agreed well with the result of Morimoto and Kullerud.     

Preparation and Properties of Bi4 − x Nd x Ti3O12 Thin Films by Chemical Solution Deposition

Neodymium-modified Bi₄Ti₃O₁₂, (Bi, Nd)₄Ti₃O₁₂ (BNT) ferroelectric thin films have been prepared on Pt/TiO_x/SiO₂/Si substrates using metal-organic precursor solutions by the chemical solution deposition method. The BNT precursor films crystallized into the Bi layered perovskite Bi₄Ti₃O₁₂ (BIT) as a single-phase above 600C. The synthesized BNT films revealed a random orientation having a strong 117 reflection, whereas non-substituted BIT thin films exhibited a random orientation with strong 00l diffractions. Among Bi_{4 – x}Nd_xTi₃O₁₂ [x = 0.0, 0.5, 0.75, 1.0] thin films, Bi_3.25Nd_0.75Ti₃O₁₂ thin films showed a well-saturated P-E hysteresis loop with the highest P_r (22 C/cm²) and a low E_c (69 kV/cm) at an applied voltage of 5 V. The Nd-substitution with the optimum amount for the Bi site in the BIT structure was effective not only for promoting the 117 preferred orientation but also for improving the microstructure and ferroelectric properties of the resultant films.     

Ionic conductivity of polymer gels deriving from alkali metal ionic liquids and negatively charged polyelectrolytes

We have prepared polymer gel electrolytes with alkali metal ionic liquids (AMILs) that inherently contain alkali metal ions. The AMIL consisted of sulfate anion, imidazolium cation, and alkali metal cation. AMILs were mixed directly with poly(3-sulfopropyl acrylate) lithium salt or poly(2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid) lithium salt to form polymer gels. The ionic conductivity of these gels decreased with increasing polymer fraction, as in general ionic liquid/polymer mixed systems. At low polymer concentrations, these gels displayed excellent ionic conductivity of 10⁻⁴ to 10⁻³ S cm⁻¹ at room temperature. Gelation was found to cause little change in the diffusion coefficient of the ionic liquid, as measured by pulse-field-gradient NMR. These data strongly suggest that the lithium cation migrates in successive pathways provided by the ionic liquids.