Establishment of transgenic mice carrying human fetus-specific CYP3A7

OBJECTIVE: To determine the value of cytology in the follow-up of cervical cancer. STUDY DESIGN: The study group consisted of 230 patients with invasive cervical carcinoma who were followed for one to seven years. Forty-four patients developed recurrences or metastases. During this period, cytologic investigations involved 795 exfoliative smears from the cervix or vaginal vault, 10 fine needle aspirates and 5 fluids. RESULTS: Thirty-three patients had positive or inconclusive cervical or vault smears that were histologically proven to be recurrences, and the other 11 patients had clinically obvious recurrences that were not smeared. Cytology first alerted the clinicians to recurrence in eight patients. Of 25 cervical or vault smears reported as malignant, 24 (96%) were histologically confirmed, and 1 showed radiation change on biopsy. In all 22 cases of smears reported as inconclusive, a biopsy followed, and in 9 (41%) of these, recurrence was demonstrated histologically. Inability to distinguish radiation change from recurrent malignancy was the chief cause of inconclusive smears. Five fluids and seven fine needle aspirates were diagnosed as malignant, saving patients an invasive diagnostic procedure. CONCLUSION: Cytology is a useful, cost-effective, noninvasive and accurate investigation in the follow-up of cervical cancer.     

Clinical results of endovascular stent graft repair for fifty cases of thoracic aortic aneurysms

Between February 1995 and December 1997, 50 cases (55 lesions) of thoracic aortic aneurysms including 20 cases of aortic dissections were treated with an endovascular technique using the stent grafts. All patients were treated in the operating room under general anesthesia and the stent grafts were implanted through 18 Fr. or 20 Fr. sheaths via femoral arteries under fluoroscopic guidance. The stent graft was composed of several units of self-expanding stainless-steel Z stents covered with an ultra-thin polyester fabric. Stent graft deployment was technically successful in 53 of 55 lesions (delivery success rate: 96.4%). Exclusion of the aneurysms and entry closing without endoleak were achieved within two weeks after the operation in 43 of 53 lesions (initial success rate: 81.1%). Endoleak was found in 10 lesions (minor endoleak: 8 and major endoleak: 2 lesions). Two patients died in the periopertive period of delivery failures as injury to external iliac artery and damage to the delivery sheath caused by tortuous and narrow access routes. Endovascular stent graft repair of thoracic aortic aneurysms is minimally invasive operation in comparison with conventional surgical graft replacement with extracorporeal circulation. These early results suggest that the stent graft repair is possibly safe and useful treatment for the patients of thoracic aortic aneurysms especially in high risk patients. However, careful long-term follow-up is necessary to prove the value and the effects of this endovascular treatment and improvement of the stent graft system and technical training of endovascular surgery for operators are required to reduce the delivery failure and to determine the stent graft repair is reliable treatment.     

Perinatal expression and inducibility of human CYP3A7 in C57BL/6N transgenic mice

The expression and inducibility of CYP3A7 transgene in the fetus and suckling neonates from one of the transgenic lines (M10) were investigated by Northern and Western blot analyses. The mRNA expression could be detected as early as the 15th embryonic day and increased gradually with advancing gestation but then remarkably so after birth. The protein expression was also detectable postnatally and increased. Inducibility was achieved in neonatal mice via maternal exposure to zinc sulfate. Midazolam hydroxylase activities could be detected in liver microsomes prepared from 14-day-old neonates. These activities were significantly higher in transgenic than nontransgenic lines of mice (p < 0.001).     

Gas discrimination method for detecting transformer faults by neural network

This paper describes a method available for early detection of abnormality in an oil-filled transformer. In this method, four gas sensors having different characteristics and neural network are used to identify gas species (H₂, CH₄, C₂H₄, C₂H₂ and mixture of two species). To improve the selectivity of gas sensors, the time response patterns induced by changing sensor temperature and the stationary sensor output are identified by neural network. Furthermore, the mixture ratio of gases is derived by using the stationary sensor output in response to the changing sensor temperature. Gas species are well discriminated, and the mixture ratio derived from the sensor output agrees well with the measurement by gas chromatography. Therefore, it is confirmed that our method is applicable to the transformer diagnostic technology.     

C-Mode Scan and Resolution Improvement Techniques for Ultrasonic Diagnosis

This paper presents a new method for obtaining plane images perpendicular to the axis of the transducer and discusses some resolution improvement techniques utilizing a computer. The method, called C-mode scan, is carried out by successive application of a conventional B-mode scan, and supplies more information such as the outline, size, and extent of a lesion such as a breast tumor. To improve the resolution of a transducer, a deconvolution technique together with non-linear filtering are employed from a spectral point of view. Several clinical images produced by C-mode and the computer improvement of resolution are demonstrated.     

Experimental validation of the tetrahedral skeleton model pressure drop correlation for silica monoliths and the influence of column heterogeneity

This paper describes the use of computational fluid dynamics for the calculation of the flow resistance through computer-generated models resembling silica monoliths. This study was undertaken to determine the effect of skeleton heterogeneity on the flow resistance and, more precisely, to test the hypothesis that increased skeleton heterogeneity decreases the flow resistance. To evaluate the proposed model, 24 real silica monoliths have been prepared using the same method, covering a wide range of skeleton sizes (2.2 microm < d(s) < 8 microm) and porosities (0.47 < epsilon < 0.66). The permeability of these monoliths was determined by pressure drop measurements, and structural information was obtained by image analysis of laser scanning confocal microscopy-generated 3D images of the skeleton structure. The results indicate that the presence of preferential flow paths due to an increased heterogeneity of the flow through pore space reduces the flow resistance of monolithic media. It is also shown that the pore size is hence a much better suited scaling dimension than the skeleton size to reduce the permeability of monolithic columns.     

Syntheses,characterizations, and redox behaviors of new self-assembled metal complexes with bridging ligands incorporating chalcogen sites

Three new complexes, [Zn(dbsf)₂(dmf)₂] · 5.5dmf (dbsf = 4,4′-sulfonyldibenzoate) (1β), [Cu(tdsa)(phen)₂] · 1.5EtOH (tdsa = 5,5′-thiodisalicylate, phen = 1,10-phenanthroline) (2), and [Cu(sdp)(phen) · Cu(Hsdp)(phen)(CH₃COO)] · 3EtOH (sdp = 4,4′-sulfonyldiphenolate) (3) were prepared and structurally characterized. Complex 1β shows a one-dimensional coordination framework constructed from bridges between Zn(II) centers with two ligands. Complex 2 is a monomeric complex, which assembles by π–π interactions. Complex 3 shows a unique two-dimensional coordination framework that is constructed from two Cu(II) centers, sdp, and Hsdp. The redox properties of these three complexes were characterized by solid-state cyclic voltammetry. Complexes 1β and 3 show irreversible reduction waves because of the reduction of their sulfone sites. Complex 2 shows an irreversible oxidation wave because of oxidation of the sulfide site.