A case of bacteremia and disseminated intravascular coagulation after the conduit procedure for tetralogy of Fallot with pulmonary atresia

A case undergoing conduit procedure for tetralogy of Fallot with pulmonary atresia was complicated postoperatively by bacteremia due to non-fermentative Gram-negative rods and by disseminated intravascular coagulation. He was able to be cured without any sequela. The patient was a 16-year-old male, who had undergone Blalock-Taussig anastomosis in his infancy. The present operation was carried out as follows: ventricular septal defect was closed with a Teflon-patch and discontinuity between the right ventricle and the pulmonary artery was corrected using a Hancock's valved conduit. Two weeks after the operation, pleural effusion in the right chest cavity was shown by a chest X-ray film. On the 32nd postoperative day, high fever with chills occurred, and subsequently developed pulmonary edema, shock and hemorrhagic tendencies with petechia. Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Flavobacterium and Alcaligenes faecalis were detected by the culture of pleural effusion. The platelet count decreased to about 10,000/microliters. Carbenicillin, tobramycin and minocycline were administered for the infection, and heparin and aprotinin were used for disseminated intravascular coagulation. By these treatments for about 6 months, the patient became well and was discharged without any sequela.     

Elevated plasma catecholamines without alteration in cardiovascular responsiveness in young men with borderline hypertension

Plasma catecholamines and cardiovascular responses to upright posture, exogenous noradrenaline (NA), and isoproterenol (IP) were examined in 20 young men with borderline hypertension and in 10 age-matched normotensive volunteers. Resting plasma NA and adrenaline (Ad) levels were higher in the borderline hypertensive patients. Significant correlations were found among plasma NA and mean blood pressure (MBP) or heart rate (HR), and between plasma Ad and HR in all individuals in the supine position. The increases in plasma NA were similar between groups for orthostatic positions. Pressor response to exogenous NA and chronotropic response to exogenous IP were not augmented in borderline hypertensives. A negative correlation was found between plasma NA before infusion and the increases of MBP produced by NA or the increases of HR produced by IP in all the individuals. Our observations suggest that there is hyperactivity of the sympathoadrenal system without enhancement in cardiovascular reactivity to catecholamines in young men with borderline hypertension.     

An extended scheme of magnetic-bubble electronic dictionary

A scheme to incorporate input/output of simplified Chinese characters and phonetic Chinese into an electronic dictionary is described. Allowable search keys include HCH codes for ordinary Chinese characters, HCH codes for simplified Chinese characters, Chinese phonetic codes, Universal Words, and English and French words. The dictionary look-up can be done by specifying part of the key content. A microprocessor-based prototype has been cohstructed to demonstrate the scheme using magnetic bubble memory.     

Learning block-preserving graph patterns and its application to data mining

Recently, due to the rapid growth of electronic data having graph structures such as HTML and XML texts and chemical compounds, many researchers have been interested in data mining and machine learning techniques for finding useful patterns from graph-structured data (graph data). Since graph data contain a huge number of substructures and it tends to be computationally expensive to decide whether or not such data have given structural features, graph mining problems face computational difficulties. Let be a graph class which satisfies a connected hereditary property and contains infinitely many different biconnected graphs, and for which a special kind of the graph isomorphism problem can be computed in polynomial time. In this paper, we consider learning and mining problems for  . Firstly, we define a new graph pattern, which is called a block preserving graph pattern (bp-graph pattern) for  . Secondly, we present a polynomial time algorithm for deciding whether or not a given bp-graph pattern matches a given graph in  . Thirdly, by giving refinement operators over bp-graph patterns, we present a polynomial time algorithm for finding a minimally generalized bp-graph pattern for  . Outerplanar graphs are planar graphs which can be embedded in the plane in such a way that all of vertices lie on the outer boundary. Many pharmacologic chemical compounds are known to be represented by outerplanar graphs. The class of connected outerplanar graphs satisfies the above conditions for  . Next, we propose two incremental polynomial time algorithms for enumerating all frequent bp-graph patterns with respect to a given finite set of graphs in  . Finally, by reporting experimental results obtained by applying the two graph mining algorithms to a subset of the NCI dataset, we evaluate the performance of the two graph mining algorithms.     

Function approximation based on fuzzy rules extracted frompartitioned numerical data

We present an efficient method for extracting fuzzy rules directly from numerical input-output data for function approximation problems. First, we convert a given function approximation problem into a pattern classification problem. This is done by dividing the universe of discourse of the output variable into multiple intervals, each regarded as a class, and then by assigning a class to each of the training data according to the desired value of the output variable. Next, we partition the data of each class in the input space to achieve a higher accuracy in approximation of class regions. Partition terminates according to a given criterion to prevent excessive partition. For class region approximation, we discuss two different types of representations using hyperboxes and ellipsoidal regions, respectively. Based on a selected representation, we then extract fuzzy rules from the approximated class regions. For a given input datum, we convert, or in other words, defuzzify, the resulting vector of the class membership degrees into a single real value. This value represents the final result approximated by the method. We test the presented method on a synthetic nonlinear function approximation problem and a real-world problem in an application to a water purification plant. We also compare the presented method with a method based on neural networks.     

Antagonistic effect of N-(3-Aminopropyl)cyclohexylamine on neurotrophic action of spermine in primary cultured rat hippocampal and cerebellar neurons

We previously found that spermine potently promotes the neuronal survival and regeneration of primary cultured brain neurons. N-(3-Aminopropyl)cyclohexylamine (APCHA) was originally developed as a spermine synthase inhibitor. To test if endogenous spermine biosynthesis contributes to neuronal survival and morphogenesis, we examined the effects of APCHA in primary cultured rat hippocampal and cerebellar neurons. APCHA at concentrations up to 10(-6) M did not affect the neuronal survival, but significantly blocked the survival-promoting effect of spermine (10(-8) M). APCHA also blocked the spermine-induced promotion of neurite regeneration following axotomy. Unlike APCHA, another cyclohexylamine derivative trans-4-methylcyclohexylamine did not affect the neurotrophic effect of spermine. These results suggest that in primary cultured brain neurons, APCHA works as a spermine antagonist rather than as a spermine synthesis inhibitor.     

Molecular cloning of a fish gene encoding a novel seven-transmembrane receptor related distantly to catecholamine, histamine, and serotonin receptors

A genomic DNA fragment encoding a G protein-coupled seven-transmembrane receptor was isolated from Medaka fish, Oryzias latipes. The encoded protein is similar in sequence to other receptors including catecholamine, histamine and serotonin receptors. However, the similarity is much lower than those among members of these receptor subfamilies, thus suggesting this seven-transmembrane receptor to be an orphan receptor whose ligand has not yet been identified. Genomic Southern blot analysis suggested that the fish genome contains additional receptor genes related to the isolated gene, indicating that this novel receptor, possibly with its related receptors, might constitute a novel subfamily of the seven-transmembrane receptor superfamily.     

Effects of molybdenum on microstructural evolution and mechanical properties in Zr–Nb alloys as nuclear fuel cladding materials

The Zr–Nb alloys were modified by doping of Mo as a minor alloying element to seek for the nuclear fuel cladding materials with better characteristics. The effects of Mo on microstructural evolution and mechanical properties in Zr–Nb alloys were systematically investigated and elucidated. Results showed that the martensitic microstructure, a mixture of lath martensites and lens martensites with internal twins, was observed in the alloys quenched from β-phase. Width of the lath martensite reduced with the increasing Mo concentration, and the volume fraction of lens martensite increased with increase in the Mo concentration. After final annealing, a new kind of precipitate, namely β-(Nb, Mo, Zr), was identified in the Mo-containing alloys. It was also found that Mo reduced the growth of the precipitates but increased their number density. Furthermore, Mo addition retarded the recrystallization process strongly and reduced the grain size significantly. In terms of the mechanical properties, Mo addition enhanced the yield strength and the ultimate tensile strength at room temperature, however decreased the ductility. The grain size strengthening was presumed as the greatest contributor in this system.     

Development of advanced expansion due to compression (A-EDC) test method for safety evaluation of degraded nuclear fuel cladding materials

Expansion due to compression (EDC) test has been applied to evaluate the performance of nuclear fuel claddings where pellet-cladding mechanical interaction (PCMI) is introduced by swelling of fuel pellets and is triggered by the larger hoop deformation of the pellets, especially during accidental transients. The purpose of this study is to modify the EDC test to describe PCMI, specimen volume reduction and others. Ring-shaped specimens were cut from Zry-4 cladding tubes. Cylindrical metal pellets with 8 mm in diameter and 15 mm in maximum height were used as inner pellets. Expansion of the specimens due to the inner pellet compression was performed at room temperature. The experimental data were further analyzed by finite element method. Through the survey in the variation of the specimen and core, specimen size and inner pellet geometry were optimized. Excellent reproducibility with less error was confirmed. The uniaxial tension condition in the hoop direction up to the specimen failure was confirmed. Hoop stress–hoop strain curves were successfully derived.     

Lipopolysaccharide induces manganese superoxide dismutase in the rat pancreas: its role in caerulein pancreatitis

Intraperitoneal injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) at a dose of 50 micrograms/kg increased the activity and the mRNA level of manganese superoxide dismutase (Mn-SOD) but did not change those of copper/zinc-SOD (Cu/Zn-SOD) in the rat pancreas. Both the formation of pancreatic edema and the elevation of serum amylase during caerulein pancreatitis were significantly relieved in the rats pretreated with LPS (50 micrograms/kg) compared with the rats without the pretreatment. These results support the view that superoxides play a key role in the pathogenesis of caerulein pancreatitis, and that Mn-SOD in the pancreas may work as a defense against the development of this disease.