Subtotal cor triatrium with left partial anomalous pulmonary venous connection--successful correction in an infant

This report concerns a 10-month-old infant with subtotal cor triatrium associated with left sided partial anomalous pulmonary venous connection to the innominate vein. In the operation, we found that the fossa ovalis existed between the right atrium and the accessory atrial chamber. We performed a radical operation which consisted of a resection of the intra-left-atrial diaphragma and a anastomosis of the vertical vein to the left atrium. His postoperative course was uneventful, and the result was satisfactory. We have presented and reviewed our case, and then discussed the embryogenesis and the hemodynamics. To our knowledge, our case represents the first successful surgical repair of this combination of defects in Japan.     

3-FG as substrate for investigating flux through the polyol pathway in dog lens by 19F-NMR spectroscopy

PURPOSE: To investigate flux through the polyol pathway in the dog lens by 19F-nuclear magnetic resonance (19F-NMR) spectroscopy, using 3-fluoro-3-deoxy-D-glucose (3-FG) as a substrate. METHODS: 3-FG metabolism was monitored by 19F-NMR analysis. Dog lenses were incubated in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium containing 10 mM 3-FG. Enzymatic reductase and dehydrogenase activities were spectrophotometrically determined, whereas the analyses of 3-FG metabolites were conducted by 19F-NMR analysis. Aldose reductase (AR) was immunohistochemically localized in dog lens with antibodies raised against dog kidney AR. RESULTS: 19F-NMR spectra indicate that incubation of purified dog lenses AR with 3-FG results in the formation of 3-fluoro-3-deoxy-D-sorbitol (3-FS) and that incubation of dog liver sorbitol dehydrogenase (SDH) with 3-FS results in the formation of 3-fluoro-3-deoxy-D-fructose (3-FF). This confirms that 3-FG is metabolized to 3-FF by the polyol pathway enzymes. The affinity (Km) of AR for 3-FG is approximately 20-fold better than that for D-glucose, whereas the Km of SDH for 3-FS was fourfold less than for D-sorbitol. 3-FG in cultured dog lenses is metabolized primarily to 3-FS; however, small amounts of 3-FF and 3-fluoro-3-deoxy-D-gluconic acid (3-FGA) are also formed. 3-FS formation was reduced by the AR inhibitor AL 1576, and 3-FF formation was eliminated by the SDH inhibitor CP-166,572. In dog lens epithelial cells cultured with 3-FG, only 3-FS is formed. Similarly, only 3-FS is formed when lens capsule containing primarily epithelial lens contaminated with superficial epithelial cells was incubated in 3-FG. Similar incubation of the remaining cortex resulted primarily in the formation of 3-FS and 3-FGA. This enzymatic distribution was confirmed by spectrophotometric activity analysis and the immunohistochemical localization of AR. CONCLUSIONS: The data confirm that flux through the polyol pathway primarily results in sorbitol accumulation. The absence of fructose and gluconic acid from cultured lens epithelium suggests that the epithelial cells primarily contain AR, whereas differentiated fiber cells also contain SDH and glucose dehydrogenase.     

Prognosis of residual spleen after partial splenic embolization for the treatment of hypersplenism in cirrhosis

The aim of this study was to elusidate the change in residual spleen volume after partial splenic embolization (PSE) in 43 cirrhotic patients with marked hypersplenism. Residual spleen volume was indicated as the rate (%) of residual spleen to initial spleen before PSE. Furthermore, the platelet count after PSE was observed in 23 patients followed up for 2 years. Residual spleen volume in patients with infarction rates of more than 80% (group A) had been maintained within 20 % even after 2 years, while they had obviously increased during the early stage after PSE in patients with infarction rates under 80% (group B), especially in patients with lower infarction rates (under 60%). Mean platelet count improved significantly in both groups after PSE (p < 0.001, respectively), but increased more in group A than in group B (p < 0.01). High fever and abdominal pain were observed in all cases of PSE. Other adverse effects such as pleural effusion and ascites that were frequent in group A were transient. These results suggest that PSE performed with a high infarction rate of the spleen provides effective, long-lasting results in the treatment of hypersplenism in cirrhosis.     

Significance of platelet-derived endothelial cell growth factor in the angiogenesis of human gastric cancer

Most patients with primary IgA nephropathy (IgAN) have a significantly higher memory repertoire of IgA1-producing B lymphocytes in their bone marrow together with high plasma levels of IgA1. The connection between the mucosal immune system and the bone marrow compartment is probably based on traffic of either antigen-presenting cells (APC) or antigen-specific lymphocytes. Cytokines play an important role in the proliferation and differentiation of lymphoid cells. In order to mimic the in vivo situation as much as possible, we assessed cytokine production profiles ex vivo in 23 IgAN patients and matched controls, using lipopolysaccharide (LPS)- or phytohaemagglutinin (PHA)-stimulated whole blood (WB) cultures. Interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), IL-2, IL-6, IL-10 and tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) production in culture supernatants were determined by cytokine-specific ELISAs. Compared with controls, PHA-stimulated cultures resulted in significantly higher IL-10 (P<0.001), IL-2 (P<0.005) and IFN-gamma (P<0.001) levels in IgAN patients, but no significant differences in TNF-alpha or IL-6 levels were found. In LPS-stimulated cultures, the only significant difference (P<0.001) between the two groups was the increased IL-10 production in IgAN patients. The enhanced cytokine production in stimulated WB cultures suggests altered monocyte-related T cell responses in patients with IgAN. Increased IL-10 production may eventually result in an increased number of IgA-producing B lymphocytes in the bone marrow. In addition, high levels of endogenous IL-10 may down-regulate the effector functions of monocytes, or possibly APC in general, and consequently the IgA response at the mucosal level.     

Effect of Pore–Grain-Boundary Interactions on Discontinuous Grain Growth

Pore behavior as influenced by migration of an abnormal grain boundary was studied. The pore behavior during the discontinuous growth of hot-pressed spinel (MgAl₂O₄) — whether the pore can move attached to the grain boundary — is particularly governed by the pore size and the matrix grain size. These phenomena can be understood from the interaction between the pore and the abnormal grain boundary.     

EPR study of the electronic states of β′-(BEDT-TTF)(TCNQ)

β′-(BEDT-TTF)(TCNQ) is a compound of BEDT-TTF (=ET) and TCNQ molecules aligned orthogonally with each other, forming two-dimensional sheets and one-dimensional columns of 1/4-filled π band, respectively. It is known that the metal-insulator transition occurs at 330 K at ambient pressure. We have measured the electronic spin susceptibility by means of the EPR-NMR method at 50 MHz, and the angular dependence of g-factor and line width of EPR both at Q (34 GHz) and W (94 GHz) band. We successfully confirmed that the antiferromagnetic transition occurs in ET sheets and TCNQ columns, independently.     

Interfacing cell-based assays in environmental scanning electron microscopy using dielectrophoresis

Development of the dielectrophoretic (DEP) live cell trapping technology and its interfacing with the environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) is described. DEP microelectrode arrays were fabricated on glass substrate using photolithography and lift-off. Chip-based arrays were applied for ESEM analysis of DEP-trapped human leukemic cells. This work provides proof-of-concept interfacing of the DEP cell retention and trapping technology with ESEM to provide a high-resolution analysis of individual nonadherent cells.     

Dynamic analysis of drug-induced cytotoxicity using chip-based dielectrophoretic cell immobilization technology

Quantification of programmed and accidental cell death provides useful end-points for the anticancer drug efficacy assessment. Cell death is, however, a stochastic process. Therefore, the opportunity to dynamically quantify individual cellular states is advantageous over the commonly employed static, end-point assays. In this work, we describe the development and application of a microfabricated, dielectrophoretic (DEP) cell immobilization platform for the real-time analysis of cancer drug-induced cytotoxicity. Microelectrode arrays were designed to generate weak electro-thermal vortices that support efficient drug mixing and rapid cell immobilization at the delta-shape regions of strong electric field formed between the opposite microelectrodes. We applied this technology to the dynamic analysis of hematopoietic tumor cells that represent a particular challenge for real-time imaging due to their dislodgement during image acquisition. The present study was designed to provide a comprehensive mechanistic rationale for accelerated cell-based assays on DEP chips using real-time labeling with cell permeability markers. In this context, we provide data on the complex behavior of viable vs dying cells in the DEP fields and probe the effects of DEP fields upon cell responses to anticancer drugs and overall bioassay performance. Results indicate that simple DEP cell immobilization technology can be readily applied for the dynamic analysis of investigational drugs in hematopoietic cancer cells. This ability is of particular importance in studying the outcome of patient derived cancer cells, when exposed to therapeutic drugs, as these cells are often rare and difficult to collect, purify and immobilize.     

Switched-Capacitor Track-and-Hold Amplifiers With Low Sensitivity to Op-Amp Imperfections

This paper describes high-precision switched-capacitor (SC) track-and-hold amplifier (THA) stages. They use a novel continuous-time correlated double sampling (CDS) scheme to desensitize the operation to amplifier imperfections. Unlike earlier predictive-CDS amplifiers, the circuits do not need a sampled-and-held input signal for their operation. During the tracking period, an auxiliary continuous-time signal path is established, which predicts the output voltage during the holding period. This allows accurate operation even for low amplifier gains and large offsets over a wide input frequency range. Extensive simulations were performed to compare the performance of the proposed THAs with earlier circuits utilizing CDS. The results verify that their operation is far more robust than that of any previously described SC amplifiers