Pharmacokinetic and clinical evaluations of fluconazole in pediatric patients

Fluconazole (FLCZ) is a novel antifungal agent and available both in oral and intravenous forms. It is characterized by a long plasma half-life and a good absorbability into tissues. Because of these, it is expected to be used safety and to exhibit good clinical efficacy in the deep seated mycosis of children. We evaluated the efficacy of FLCZ given orally or intravenously to 6 patients. Pathogenic fungi isolated from all patients were Candida, and diagnosises made were candidemia in 3 cases, gastro-intestinal candidiasis in 2 and skin candidiasis. The clinical efficacies of FLCZ in 5 cases were excellent in 2 cases of gastro-intestinal candidiasis and poor in 3 cases of candidemia. None of the patients reported any side effect. In clinical laboratory tests, no abnormalities that were judged to be related to FLCZ were noted. In the study, clinical efficacy was shown to be poor in candidemia, because these cases had severe underlying diseases and the proper therapy was started too late. Thus earlier diagnosis and earlier treatment seem to be important for FLCZ to exhibit good clinical efficacy in the treatment of deep-seated mycosis.     

Effect of cholestyramine on bile acid metabolism in conventional rats

Effects of cholestyramine on biliary secretion of cholesterol, phospholipids and bile acids and fecal excretion of sterols and bile acids were examined in Wistar male rats. Six rats were fed a basal diet, and the other six were fed a basal diet supplemented with 5% cholestyramine for eight days. Bile flow and biliary secretion of bile acids and phospholipids (per hour per rat) decreased with cholestyramine treatment, while biliary cholesterol secretion (per hour per rat) remained unchanged. In the biliary bile acid composition, a marked increase of chenodeoxycholic acid with a concomitant decrease of β-muricholic acid was observed in cholestyramine-treated rats. Fecal excretion of total sterols and bile acids increased about three-and four-fold, respectively, after cholestyramine treatment. The increase of fecal bile acids derived from cholic acid was more predominant than that derived from chenodeoxylcholic acid, resulting in an increase of the cholic acid group/chenodeoxycholic acid group ratio.     

A case of primary HIV-1 infection

Effects of oleic acid or triolein on lymphatic recovery of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) given as an ethyl ester were examined in rats with cannulated thoracic ducts. Lymphatic recovery of ethyl DHA given with oleic acid or triolein was significantly higher than in rats given ethyl DHA alone. DHA distributed almost exclusively at the 1- and 3-position of triglyceride in lymph collected at 0-3 h after the administration, when it was given with oleic acid or triolein. A small part of DHA distributed at the 2-position when ethyl DHA was the sole fatty acid given. Oleic acid given as free acid or triolein with ethyl DHA was a major fatty acid at the 2-position. Intramolecular distribution of DHA and oleic acid in lymph triglyceride was similar when ethyl DHA was given with oleic acid or triolein.     

Development of the Continuous Dephosphorization and Decarburization Process Using BOF

The authors propose a new refining process, by which hot metal is dephosphorized and decarburized continuously in the same basic‐oxygen furnace, with intermediate deslagging following dephosphorization. After decarburization, slag is kept inside the furnace and reused to dephosphorize the next charge so as to minimize the quantity of slag discharge. Experiments were made to clarify the properties of this process, using an 8‐ton experimental converter. The results confirmed high productivity or a higher rate of dephosphorzation achievable with an increased rate of oxygen blowing and the addition of iron ore. Because of the dephosphorization by low‐basicity slag and the hot recycling of decarburizationslag to dephosphorize the next charge, lime consumption was relatively low. The proper conditions of this process, such as the slag composition for dephosphorization, rate of oxygen supply, bottom agitation, and rate of intermediate deslagging, are also discussed, based on the experimental results.     

Surgical management of patent ductus arteriosus in low body weight infants]

Between January 1980 and December 1994, seventeen premature infants weighing less than 2500 g underwent surgical management for the isolated patent ductus arteriosus (PDA). Indometacine therapy for closure of PDA was not effective for all these patients. In terms of the body weight at birth, they were divided into two groups; Group I (G-I) consisted of ten patients with birth weight less than 1000 g and Group II (G-II) of seven patients weighing more than 1000 g. The age at operation was 22.1 +/- 15.4 days in the G-I and 14.3 +/- 11.4 days in the G-II. The ductus was ligated in all patients but one of the G-II, in whom it was divided. There were five (50%) hospital deaths in the G-I and none in the G-II. The causes of death in the G-I were related to necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in two and infant respiratory distress syndrome (IRDS), acute renal failure, and broncho-esophagial fistula in each. The age at operation tended to be older in nonsurvivors rather than in survivors in the G-I (28.0 +/- 16.8 days vs. 16.2 +/- 14.0 days, respectively, but the difference did not reach significance). Before surgery, all patients in the G-I required mechanical ventilator support and nine of them were associated with IRDS. In contrast, only two patients in the G-II needed mechanical ventilation preoperatively. The postoperative period of intubation was also significantly longer in the G-I than in the G-II (51.6 +/- 35.2 days vs. 2.2 +/- 1.5 days, respectively, p < 0.05). In conclusions, the surgery for PDA can be safely performed even in small premature babies weighing less than 1000 g. When medical therapy for PDA is not effective in the premature patients, the surgical management should be considered as early as possible before their conditions become worse due to such critical complications as NEC, IRDS, and renal failure.     

A STATE SPACE TIME SERIES MODELLING METHOD WITHOUT INDIVIDUAL DETRENDING

Abstract. A state space method for building time series models without detrending each component of data vectors individually is presented. The method uses the recent algorithm based on the singular-value decomposition of the Hankel matrix and a two-step sequential procedure suggested by the notion of dynamic aggregation. Some asymptotic properties of the estimators of the model parameter and error estimates are also presented.     

Mechanistic study on photocuring of a methacrylates copolymer by benzophenones

The types of photochemical reactions that will occur in the photosensitive resin for optical devices, poly(methyl methacrylate-co-crotyl methacrylate) (PMMA–CMA) doped with meta-benzoylbenzophenone (BBP), were investigated. Oxetane formation, hydrogen abstraction followed by radical coupling, and pinacol formation were found to occur. The quantum yield for disappearance of benzophenone (BP) in the PMMA–CMA film was estimated as 0.68. The pendant crotyl group seems to be a major photoreaction site.     

Enhancement of steam absorption into a film of LiBr aqueous solution falling over a downward‐facing plate

An experimental study was performed on the enhancement of steam absorption into a LiBr aqueous solution. The enhancement method proposed here is to set an absorption heat transfer plate facing downward to generate free convection within a liquid film falling over the plate. The experiment was conducted varying the tilt angle of the heat transfer plate in a range of 40 to 90°. The heat transfer coefficients were compared for both cases of the heat transfer plate facing upward and downward. It was found from the experimental results that the downward‐facing plate has a higher heat transfer coefficient than the upward‐facing plate, which confirmed that free convection and mixing occur in the liquid film and enhance the absorption heat transfer in the case of the downward‐facing plate. The enhancement effect becomes remarkable as the tilt angle approaches horizontal, though the liquid film becomes thick and its thermal resistance increases. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res, 31(8): 606–616, 2002; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/htj.10062