Modes of biliobiliary anastomosis in relation to the healing process and occurrence of postoperative stricture

The Stanford-Binet, Fourth Edition was normed for children 30 months of age and older, but its usefulness with young children (e.g., 36 months) has received little attention. This study of 121 three-year-old children examined possible administration problems, provided correlations with three environmental measures, and compared scores with those of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test--Revised. Problems of administration did arise on some subtests, correlations with environmental measures were moderate, and scores on the Stanford-Binet IV and PPVT-R were moderately correlated. The Stanford-Binet IV is a useful test in assessment of a broad range of intellectual abilities.     

A dual 4-bit 2-Gs/s full Nyquist analog-to-digital converter usinga 70-ps silicon bipolar technology with borosenic-poly process andcoupling-base implant

A dual 4-b analog-to-digital converter (ADC) with Nyquist operation to 2 gigasamples/second (Gs/s) and -29-dBc distortion at 1 GHz is presented. A novel evaluation method using an integral digital-to-analog converter is introduced. A trench-isolated, self-aligned, double-polysilicon bipolar process is used for the chip fabrication. This ADC has a resolution of 3.73 effective bits at 1-GHz analog input signal, without the use of a preceding sample-and-hold. Low-frequency untrimmed distortion is -48 dBc (not including quantizing error), and is independent of the sample rate of 2 Gs/s     

Very-high-speed Si bipolar static frequency dividers with newT-type flip-flops

This paper presents two circuit techniques for highspeed operation of a master-slave toggle flip-flop circuit (MSTFF). One circuit reduces the gain in latching circuits, and the other uses the transient current of the emitter followers to boost the switching speed. Both the SPICE simulations and the measured results for static 1/8 frequency dividers fabricated using 0.5-μm super self-aligned process technology (SSTIC) show that the maximum operating speed of our MS-TFF's is 10% and 30% faster than that of conventional ones. By applying these technologies, 19.1-GHz and 22.4-GHz Si bipolar static frequency dividers have been fabricated     

Involvement of human interleukin 6 in experimental cachexia induced by a human uterine cervical carcinoma xenograft

A human tumor xenograft model for cancer cachexia was established by growing a uterine cervical carcinoma, Yumoto, in nude mice. The tumor transplanted into the mice induced severe body weight loss (30% of body weight) when the tumor weight was only 1 g. In addition, other indicators for cachexia, such as adipose tissue and muscle wasting and hypoglycemia, were also observed in the tumor-bearing mice, suggesting that this is a proper model for experimental cachexia induced by a human tumor. We then examined the association of this model with various cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukin (IL)-1alpha, IL-1beta, IFN-gamma, IL-6, and leukemia inhibitory factor, and identified human IL-6, which was produced by the tumor cells, as a mediator of cachexia. A neutralizing antibody against hIL-6 administered to the mice after the development of cachexia symptoms significantly improved body weight loss, adipose tissue wasting, hypoglycemia, acute phase reaction, and leukocytosis, although it did not suppress the tumor growth. These results demonstrate that the hIL-6 produced by the tumor cells is an essential mediator of the cachexia induction in this model.     

Iterative method of movement estimation for television signals

An iterative method for accurate movement estimation of television signals is analyzed. The method considered is based on an iterative process applied to the conventional gradient method. It is known that the gradient method has some problems both in its stability and in its accuracy for movements larger than 2 or 3 pel/frame. It is shown that when an iterative process is used, the estimated movement converges to the actual movement rapidly and is exponentially stable. It is also shown that the asymptotic accuracy of the iterative estimate is determined by the smoothness of the gradient and by the amount of the frame-to-frame noise. Some experimental results are given and compared to the theoretical result     

Maximum operating frequency in Si bipolar master-slave toggleflip-flop circuit

This paper presents a propagation-delay equation which is expressed as the influence of the individual device and circuit parameters on the maximum operating frequency of Si bipolar master-slave toggle flip-flop (MS-TFF) circuit with double feedback emitter followers. This equation shows that optimizing the size of individual transistors can enhance the operating speed. Test results show a 10% increase in operating frequency by adopting this design technique. It is also shown that the time constants R_BC_jC, R_B C_D, T_F, R_LCj_C, and R _CCj_C of the upper-level current switch and T_F of the second feedback emitter follower greatly affect the operating speed of circuits using recently developed Si bipolar transistors. The results predicted by the equation are in good agreement with both the experimental ones and SPICE simulations     

Differentiation of Coxiella burnetii by sequence analysis of the gene (com1) encoding a 27-kDa outer membrane protein

Classification of brain infarcts based on the location, size and shape of parenchymal damage alone can be difficult and misleading. This is particularly true in subcortical infarctions and infarcts in so-called watershed areas between neighboring territories of the main hemispheric arteries. Pathogenetic mechanisms, signs and symptoms, lesion patterns in CT and MRI are discussed as well as angiomorphological conditions. Hemodynamically induced low-flow infarcts are rare and show typical, but not pathognomic lesion patterns on CT and MRI. Characteristic subcortical chainlike and confluent lesions are located in the supra- and paraventricular white matter, representing the core of a hemodynamically induced infarction. Definite diagnosis of low-flow infarcts requires information on the underlying complex vascular compromise of the extra- and intracranial arterial circulation. A noncompetent circle of Willis is the main predisposing condition in hemispheric low-flow infarcts even in severe occlusive disease of the internal carotid arteries.     

Activation of cardiac muscarinic receptor and ischemic preconditioning effects in in situ rat heart

Activation of cardiac muscarinic receptors by vagal stimulation decreases cardiac work, which may have a protective effect against ischemic injury. To determine whether cardiac muscarinic receptors contribute to the mechanisms of preconditioning effects, we examined the effect of carbachol on ischemia/reperfusion damage and the effect of vagotomy on cardioprotection induced by ischemic preconditioning. Rats were subjected to 30 min of left coronary artery occlusion followed by 30-min reperfusion in situ. Pre-conditioning was induced by three cycles of 2-min coronary artery occlusion and, subsequently by 5 min of reperfusion. The incidence of ischemic arrhythmias, such as ventricular tachycardia (VT) and ventricular fibrillation (VF), and the development of myocardial infarction were markedly reduced by the preconditioning. Carbachol infusion (4 micrograms/kg per min) delayed the occurrence of VT and VF during ischemia and reduced the infarct size. Compared with non-ischemic left ventricle, the cyclic guanosine monophosphate (GMP) content in the ischemic region of the left ventricle was decreased by ischemia/reperfusion, whereas the cyclic adenosine monophosphate (AMP) content of this region was increased. These changes were reversed by preconditioning. Similar changes in cyclic GMP and AMP content in the ischemic region were seen in rats undergoing carbachol treatment. These results suggest the possible contribution of muscarinic receptor stimulation to preconditioning. Vagotomy prior to preconditioning diminished the antiarrhythmic effects, whereas it did not block the anti-infarct effect afforded by pre-conditioning. Vagotomy abolished the preconditioning effect on the tissue cyclic GMP, but it did not attenuate the decrease in tissue cyclic AMP. The results suggest that muscarinic stimulation exerts preconditioning-mimetic protective effects in ischemic/reperfused hearts, but that a contribution of reflective vagal activity to the mechanism for preconditioning is unlikely.     

Dose-response effects of adrenergic drugs on axial movements of the rat mandibular incisor and on arterial blood pressure

Axial tooth movements and arterial blood pressure were measured following the intravenous injection of 0, 0.01, 0.1, 1, or 10 micrograms/kg of adrenaline, noradrenaline or isoprenaline. Adrenaline caused a dose-dependent, rapid, extrusive tooth movement with a nearly simultaneous increase in blood pressure, followed by a marked intrusive tooth movement and a decrease in blood pressure. Noradrenaline caused a dose-dependent, rapid, extrusive tooth movement and an increase in blood pressure, but a subsequent intrusive tooth movement and decrease in blood pressure were not so marked. Isoprenaline caused a marked intrusive tooth movement and a decrease in blood pressure, without an extrusive tooth movement and increase in blood pressure. The time required to reach the maximum intrusive tooth movement was delayed after that to reach the maximum decrease in blood pressure. The recovery time of the intrusive tooth movement was much more delayed than that of blood pressure. These results suggest that the extrusive movement of the rat incisor was primarily related to the rise of arterial blood pressure due to stimulation of vascular alpha-receptors. It is also suggested that stimulation of beta-receptors would probably cause vasodilatation of arteries that would make the pressure in the small vessels in the microcirculation of the socket fall, so reducing the volume of blood and interstitial fluid in the socket followed by a marked and continuing intrusive tooth movement.     

Experimental characterization of the continuous switching regime in floating-body PD SOI MOSFETs

The floating body configuration in partially depleted (PD) SOI MOSFETs gives rise to the switch-on and switch-off transients of the drain current, that can strongly affect the performance of PD SOI circuits. In this work we present an experimental characterization of the impact of those transients on the current delivered under continuous switching operation. The on state current shows a frequency dependent behavior that changes with the bias region. For voltages below the kink where impact ionization is negligible, the current decreases increasing frequency, while for voltages above the kink, the current increases increasing frequency. Thus, circuit instabilities arise at low frequencies. At high frequencies, the transients vanish and the current capability of these devices, particularly in the kink region, can be fully exploited. However, the off state leakage current must also be taken into account.