An analysis of slow phase velocity on congenital nystagmus-asymmetrical responses of optokinetic stimulation

Persistence of the hypoglossal artery is an unusual congenital abnormality of the carotid arterial system, and the simultaneous occurrence of atheromatous disease in the internal carotid artery and persistent hypoglossal artery is even more uncommon. Carotid surgery in this situation is challenging, and the surgeon must be aware of potential inherent pitfalls. A 74-year-old woman with asymptomatic stenosis of both internal carotid and hypoglossal arteries associated with occlusion of the contralateral internal carotid artery underwent successful revascularization. The anatomy of this unusual lesion and the surgical strategies, which included cranial nerve dissection and mandibular subluxation, are reviewed.     

CD7 positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia successfully treated with high dose cytosine arabinoside and mitoxantrone: a case report

Primary Sjogren's syndrome (pSS) is a common autoimmune connective tissue disease in China yet without a universally accepted diagnostic criteria. In this study a new criteria was proposed and compared with other six sets of criteria. Fifty-five items in 112 pSS and 185 controls were evaluated. Results show the criteria we proposed contained one major and nine minor items. For the purpose of identifying patients in clinical studies, a major with at least three of the nine minor items or at least five of the minor items should be presented. The major item is anti-SSA/SSB(+) and the minors are, (1) dry eyes or dry mouth (> 3 months, persistently), (2) swollen salivary glands (recurrently or persistently), (3) rampant dental caries, (4) Schirmer test (< 5 mm in 5 min.) or corneal staining(+), (5) unstimulated salivary flow (< 0.03 ml/min) or abornal parotid sialography, (6) minor salivary gland biopsy (> or = 1 focus), (7) renal tubular acidosis, (8) hypergammaglobuminemia (gamma globulin > or = 30%) or hypergammaglobuminemic purpura, (9) RF > 1 : 20 or ANA > 1 : 20. Other connective tissure diseases, pre-existing lymphoma, AIDS, sarcoidosis, graft vs host disease must be excluded. The criteria we proposed had a high specificity of 98.2% and sensitivity of 94.1%.     

Application of microwaves and millimeter waves for thecharacterization of teeth for dental diagnosis and treatment

This paper presents applications of microwaves and millimeter waves for the characterization of teeth. This is done by measuring the complex permittivity over the frequency range from 0.04 to 40 GHz. These measurements have revealed that dental caries are significantly more lossy to microwaves and millimeter waves than the healthy tooth, and this difference can be used for dental diagnosis. The experimental results have been confirmed by using the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. In addition, millimeter-wave heating of the lossy dental caries can be used as a sterilization treatment. It is concluded that millimeter waves can be used for dental medical diagnosis as well as dental medical treatment     

Crystal orientation of β-phase isotactic polypropylene induced by magnetic orientation of N,N′-dicyclohexyl-2,6-naphthalenedicarboxamide

Melt crystallization of isotactic polypropylene (iPP), containing crystallites of N,N′-dicyclohexyl-2,6-naphthalenedicarboxamide (DCNDCA) as a nucleating agent of the the β-phase iPP crystal, is carried out under a magnetic field (6 T) to obtain the alignment of the iPP crystal induced by magnetic alignment of DCNDCA. In a previous paper, DCNDCA was reported to undergo magnetic alignment in a liquid suspension. The obtained iPP sample exhibits alignment of the β-phase crystal with the c-axis aligned perpendicular to the magnetic field. The comparison of this alignment of iPP with the reported magnetic alignment of DCNDCA indicates that the β-phase crystal grows epitaxially on the DCNDCA crystal. The (330)_β plane of the iPP crystal lies on the bc-plane of the DCNDCA crystal in which the direction of the c-axis of the iPP coincides with the direction of the b-axis of the DCNDCA crystal.     

Synthesis, structure and antitumor activity of a new water-soluble platinum complex, (1R,2R-cyclohexanediamine-N,N'')[2-hydroxy-4-oxo-2-pentenoato(2-)-O2] platinum(II)

Patients with thalassemia major require multiple blood transfusions leading to hemochromatosis. These patients often have pubertal delay and growth failure, the etiology of which has not been fully elucidated. We performed an extensive endocrine evaluation which included measurements of spontaneous and stimulated levels of gonadotropins, GH, thyroid hormone, and adrenal hormones in 17 patients between the ages of 12 and 18 yr with hemochromatosis receiving desferoxamine therapy. All of the 17 patients had at least one endocrine abnormality, and 12 had more than one abnormality. Abnormalities of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis were the most common. Six patients had clinical evidence of delayed puberty with spontaneous and stimulated gonadotropin and sex steroid levels appropriate for their delayed pubertal stage. All 14 children in puberty LH pulsatility index below the mean for pubertal stage compared to normal children. Six of the 14 had LH pulsatility index more than 2 SD below the mean for pubertal stage. This may be an indicator of abnormal pituitary function. Six patients failed either the provocative GH tests (peak GH < 7 micrograms/L) or had a mean spontaneous GH less than 1 microgram/L. The 4 patients who failed provocative tests had growth velocities more than 2 SD below the mean for bone age. Three patients had evidence of primary hypothyroidism. We conclude that all patients with hemochromatosis need periodic careful endocrine evaluations because the incidence of endocrine dysfunction is substantial and they may benefit from hormonal therapy.     

Creation of Ultra-precision Microstructures with High Aspect Ratios

In recent years, ultra-precision micromachining technology has been used in a variety of fields such as optical instruments, electronic devices, medical equipments, etc. At present, it is essential to meet the requirement of producing various shapes, one of which is a structure with a high aspect ratio. Such structures are applied, for example, to a shaft of micro robot, a long part of microactuator and micromachine, a microneedle for syringe, etc. However, due to its fragile nature, it is extremely difficult to fabricate the structure with a high aspect ratio since it is easily damaged during cutting. It is intended to produce micro towers with high aspect ratios by applying the ultra-precision milling technology using a single crystal diamond cutting tool. The method enables accurate creation of a variety of microstructures with high aspect ratios. In addition, the study also proposes a new machining method to create microneedle arrays, avoiding the contact of cutting edge with already machined parts again. As a result, it is concluded that the proposed method has the potential of producing a variety of microstructures with high aspect ratios.     

Some experimental findings in compression-after-impact (CAI) tests of CF/PEEK (APC-2) and conventional CF/epoxy flat plates

Compression-after-impact (CAI) tests have been conducted for quasi-isotropic thick plates with 48 plies by using the NASA method and on plates with 32 plies by using the SACMA method. Specimens are made of CF/PEEK (APC-2) and conventional CF/epoxy for the NASA plates and CF/epoxy for the SACMA plates. In the NASA CAI tests, the sequence of delamination buckling and its propagation is clearly revealed through various experimental techniques. One major technique is moiré topography, and the other is thermo-mechanical stress analysis with a high-accuracy infrared sensor. The arrest of delamination propagation just before catastrophic failure due to high fracture toughness is clearly captured by the moiré camera. This behavior provides good CAI values of CF/PEEK. The initial buckling properties of the delaminated region by the impact are then extensively discussed. Numerical predictions of initial buckling stress have been obtained by modelled geometry of the delaminated region simplified from its precise structure clarified by ultrasonic C-scanning. They agree fairly well with the experimental results. The in-plane stress distribution in the delaminated region before initial buckling is measured by an infrared stress graphic system. This compared favorably with finite element predictions. Two types of symmetric buckling modes with respect to the central plate surface, twin and single peak ones, are experimentally captured.     

Kinetics and mechanism of carbothermic reduction of magnesia

The reaction between MgO and graphite powders under flowing argon atmosphere was studied using a dynamic thermogravimetric method. In the temperature range 293 to 1973 K, the effects of compacting pressure, magnesia/carbon ratio, heating rate, Ar carrier-gas flow rate, and CO-partial pressure were investigated. An experimentally determined reaction mechanism was proposed and discussed. The reduction process could be divided into two stages. The first stage includes the direct reaction between MgO and graphite particles and partial gas-solid reaction at relatively low temperature (below 1750 K). The overall reaction rate depends on the solid phase-boundary reaction between magnesia and carbon particles. The second stage is the gas-solid reaction between CO and MgO, which determines the overall reaction rate. The apparent activation energies of the two stages were estimated to be 208.29 and 374.13 kJ/mol, respectively.     

Intracoronary infusion of E6010 has more potent thrombolytic activity than tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) in dogs: a higher plasma level of E6010 than t-PA causes potent thrombolytic activity

We examined the thrombolytic properties of a novel modified human tissue plasminogen activator (PA) (E6010), in which cysteine 84 is replaced by serine, and which has a prolonged biologic half-life (t1/2). We compared the thrombolytic efficacy of continuous intracoronary (i.c.) infusion of E6010 with that of recombinant human tissue PA (rt-PA) in a canine model with copper coil-induced 1-h-old coronary artery thrombi and also compared the relation between thrombolytic efficacy and plasma clearance represented by pharmacokinetic parameters of i.c.-infused E6010 and rt-PA. Sixty-minute E6010 and rt-PA i.c. infusions were compared. The thrombolytic effects of i.c.-infused E6010 and rt-PA, represented by time to reperfusion (TR), reperfusion rate at 60 min (RR), and reocclusion rates at 60 min after reperfusion (OR) were as follows. E6010: Dose 0.06, 0.15, 0.3 (mg/kg/h); TR 25 +/- 10, 15 +/- 10, 13 +/- 5 (min); RR 100, 100, 100 (%); and OR 0, 0, 17 (%), respectively. Recombinant t-PA: Dose 0.06, 0.15, 0.3 (mg/kg/h); TR 47 +/- 12, 18 +/- 17, 14 +/- 4 (min); RR 50, 75, 100 (%); and OR 100, 33, 33 (%), respectively. These findings indicate that E6010 has more potent thrombolytic activity than rt-PA.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)