Efficacy of exogenous fibronectin in wound healing in malnourished rats

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Fibronectin (FN) plays an important role in fibrin matrix formation during the wound healing process. The authors investigated whether exogenous FN increases the bursting strength (BS) of surgical wounds in malnourished rats. METHODS: Ninety rats were grouped according to three nutritional conditions (n = 30 in each group). All animals underwent a transverse celiotomy after 3 weeks of feeding, and FN (2 mg/body/day) was given postoperatively to 15 rats in each of the three groups. Wound BS was measured on postoperative days (PODs) 3, 5, and 7 after removal of the sutures. RESULTS: BS in normally nourished rats (group N; 142.6+/-23.4 mmHg) was significantly higher than that in protein malnourished rats (group PM, 110.2+/-11.2 mm Hg) and protein/ calorie (Cal)-malnourished rats (group PCM, 76.5+/-10.7 mm Hg) on POD 7 (P<.01). However, BS values for groups PM + FN (147.0+/-21.1 mmHg) and PCM + FN (115.1+/-28.9 mm Hg) were intensified significantly in comparison with groups PM and PCM (P<.01). Plasma FN levels in rats of the three FN nontreated groups were similarly decreased on POD 3 or 5, but returned to the preoperative level on POD 7, whereas those for the other three FN-treated groups increased after POD 3. CONCLUSION: Intravenous administration of FN might strengthen the weakened wounds of malnourished animals.     

Tetrahydropyranyl- and furanyl-protected polyhydroxystyrene in chemical amplification systems

Tetrahydropyranyl- (THP) and furanyl- (THF) protected polyhydroxystyrene (PHS) polymers have been investigated for their potential use in conjunction with onium salt acid precursors to yield high-sensitivity resist systems. The synthesized polymers have high transmittance at 248 nm (the wavelength used in next-generation excimer laser, KrF exposure tools). At 248 nm the transmittance for a 1-μm thick film is ～ 80% (Abs = 0.097 μm^?1). The acid sensitivity of the acetal functionality at room temperature is high, requiring careful handling of all materials to prevent any premature deprotection of the hydroxy group. The highest lithographic sensitivities obtained so far with a system consisting of poly(p-tetrahydropyranyl-oxy-styrene) base resin and 1 mol % of bis (p-tert-butyl phenyl) iodinium triflate (TBIT) was ～ 2 mJ / cm². High-resolution line and space patterns (0.35 μm) were obtained with a system comprising PHS-p-THP and an acid precursor, using an excimer laser step and repeat exposure at 248 nm.     

Relationship between medical expenditures and government-sponsored medical check-ups for the aged

Japanese law provides for regular medical examinations for the aged. A simulation study to determine the relationship between medical expenditures of cardiovascular disease patients and government-sponsored health check-ups for the aged was conducted in a small community town in Kanagawa Prefecture. The results showed that medical expenditures decreased in accordance with an increase in health screening. However, medical expenditure for out-patients increased slightly with an increase in screening for those cardiovascular disease patients who had not received treatment prior to the government health checkup.     

Influence of anti-LDL receptor antibody on the transfer of cholesterol from LDL to isolated lymphocytes in normal subjects

Results 2 1/2 years after an enuresis nocturna training are presented, including rate of success, percentage and duration of relapse for 113 children (mean age 11.6 year at the start of the training). The bibliotherapeutic treatment by parents did not require any intervention by a professional. Behaviour of parents in the event of a relapse differed between training conditions. Children in the Arousal condition recovered faster from a relapse, 90% of their parents used the Arousal training again at relapse or did not intervene at all and none of them consulted a professional. Clearly they had confidence in the method of Arousal training: combining the alarm device with reinforcement for correct behaviour at the time the alarm goes off. Parents in control conditions did not use the alarm device as often as the parents in the Arousal condition, but tried other means with less success, including consulting professionals.     

Vertical double flap design for repair of wide defects of the lower limb, using combined ascending scapular and latissimus dorsi flaps

Two cases are presented in which a scapular osteocutaneous flap and a latissimus dorsi musculocutaneous flap were applied as combined flaps with a single pedicle, to repair massive soft-tissue defects resulting from tibial hemisection in the lower limb. In each case, the oval-shaped donor site was divided into two parts (an ascending scapular flap and a latissimus dorsi flap, respectively) to repair the resected area, using a vertically designed, combined flap from the dorsolateral region. Consequently, after flap elevation, the donor site could be closed primarily and functions of the affected limb could be completely reconstructed. For reconstruction of defects too large to be covered with a single flap, the vertical double flap design of a combined ascending scapular and latissimus dorsi flap is a good alternative. It has the merits of easy dissection, broad area skin coverage and it also provides a composite flap that contains a scapular bone graft. Moreover, it allows a simple microsurgical anastomosis, as well as direct closure of the donor site. In addition, when the recipient site is on the lower leg, flap elevation can be carried out simultaneously with surgery at the recipient site. This means that the operative time can be shortened.     

Postoperative changes in the coagulation and fibrinolytic systems in endoluminal stent-graft treatment of thoracic aortic aneurysms

Length of stay (LOS) predictions in acute pancreatitis could be used to stratify patients with severe acute pancreatitis, make treatment and resource allocation decisions, and for quality assurance. Artificial neural networks have been used to predict LOS in other conditions but not acute pancreatitis. The hypothesis of this study was that a neural network could predict LOS in patients with acute pancreatitis. The medical records of 195 patients admitted with acute pancreatitis were reviewed. A backpropagation neural network was developed to predict LOS >7 days. The network was trained on 156 randomly selected cases and tested on the remaining 39 cases. The neural network had the highest sensitivity (75%) for predicting LOS >7 days. Ranson criteria had the highest specificity (94%) for making this prediction. All methods incorrectly predicted LOS in two patients with severe acute pancreatitis who died early in their hospital course. An artificial neural network can predict LOS >7 days. The network and traditional prognostic indices were least accurate for predicting LOS in patients with severe acute pancreatitis who died early in their hospital course. The neural network has the advantage of making this prediction using admission data.     

$V_rm DD$-Hopping Accelerators for On-Chip Power Supply Circuit to Achieve Nanosecond-Order Transient Time

A V_DD-hopping accelerator for on-chip power supply circuits is proposed and the effectiveness of the accelerator circuit is experimentally verified. The quick dropper with the linear regulator enables nanosecond-order transient time in on-chip distributed power supply systems. The measured transition time is less than 5 ns with a load circuit equivalent to 25-k logic gates in 0.18-mum CMOS. This is to be compared with the case without the accelerator of the order of mus and thus the acceleration by two orders of magnitude is achieved. Extensions of the basic approach are also discussed including implementation of the quick dropper for a switching DC-DC converter, the control stability improvement, automatic timing generation, and the parasitic element effects of the power lines     

Anesthetic management for a patient with pheochromocytoma using magnesium sulfate and epidural block

A 54-year-old woman with pheochromocytoma was anesthetized using magnesium sulfate infusion. Anesthesia was induced with thiopental and fentanyl, and maintained with 0.5% sevoflurane in nitrous oxide/oxygen and 60 mg.hr-1 of epidurally infused lidocaine. Muscle relaxation was achieved with intermittent administration of vecuronium under neuromuscular monitoring. Magnesium 2 g was infused prior to the tracheal intubation and followed by continuous infusion of 2 g.hr-1. These anesthetic techniques made hemodynamic state stable, and no additional vasoactive agents were needed. However, the infusion rate of magnesium was reduced to a half because of PQ interval prolongation. Magnesium is believed to be useful for anesthetic management for patients with pheochromocytoma, but the proper dose and the way of administration should be further investigated for their safe clinical use.     

Risk factors for neurologic deterioration after revascularization surgery in patients with moyamoya disease

To investigate the risk factors for postoperative neurological deterioration in patients with moyamoya disease, we retrospectively reviewed the perioperative course of 368 cases of revascularization surgery in 216 patients with this disease. Risk factors anecdotally associated with postoperative ischemic events were analyzed by comparing groups with or without a history of such events on the operative day. Ischemic events were noted in 14 cases (3.8%), 4 of which were defined as strokes and the others as transient ischemic attack (TIA). Postoperative neurological deterioration more often developed in patients who suffered from frequent TIAs, had precipitating factors for TIA, and underwent indirect nonanastomotic revascularization. The authors conclude that the incidence of postoperative ischemic events were related more to the severity of moyamoya disease and the type of surgical procedure than to other factors, including anesthetic management. IMPLICATIONS: Although preventing stroke is the major concern for patients with moyamoya disease, risk factors for perioperative cerebral ischemia have not been clarified. We retrospectively analyzed the perioperative course in 368 cases with this disease and found that the severity of the disease and type of surgical procedure were major determinants of postoperative cerebral ischemia.     

Development of an automatic Vickers hardness testing system usingimage processing technology

The mechanical characteristics of machines or machine parts depend on the properties of the materials from which they are made. Hardness is an especially important index for machine design. The Vickers hardness number of a test material is defined by the surface area of the indentation made in the surface of a test specimen by a diamond pyramid indenter. Diagonal lines that indicate the indentation size are usually several micrometers to several hundred micrometers long, depending on the hardness of the material. Conventional automatic Vickers hardness testing systems have been applied only to specular-polished specimens. A new fully automatic Vickers hardness testing system has been developed that emulates visual Vickers hardness testing in terms of accuracy and that automatically sets the threshold level of the image processor to suit indentation image data. It can be applied not only to the testing of rough-polished specimens while meeting the measurement accuracy specified in Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS) B 7725, but can also process one indentation within 20 s, including the indenting, focusing and image processing time