Aortic corset syndrome

The majority of proximal anastomotic complications of aortofemoral bypass grafts are related to the formation of pseudoaneurysms or true proximal aneurysmal dilation of the residual infrarenal aorta. The late development of occlusive disease at the proximal anastomosis is an extremely rare event. We report two patients in whom symptomatic stenoses developed involving the proximal anastomoses of aortofemoral bypass grafts originally placed for aortoiliac occlusive disease. Surgical exploration demonstrated the presence of a constricting prosthetic corset wrapped around the proximal suture line of each graft. Exuberant neointimal hyperplasia was responsible for both stenoses.     

Immobilization of glucose oxidase on nonwoven fabrics with bombyx mori silk fibroin gel

The enzyme glucose oxidase (GOD) was immobilized on the nonwoven fabrics, which have excellent properties in diffusivity of substrates, mechanical strength, and handling, with Bombyx mori silk fibroin gel. The nonwoven fabrics of silk fibroin, viscose rayon, poly-ethyleneterephthalate, 6-nylon, and polypropylene with activated surface by fluoline treatment were used. The stabilities of GOD to heat or pH changes were much improved by the immobilization as well as the case of the GOD immobilized in the silk fibroin membrane. Among nonwoven fabrics, silk fibroin was the most excellent support material for the immobilization of GOD although all nonwoven fabrics used here are able to be used as the support materials. The increase of the sensitivity was observed when the glucose sensor was made with the GOD immobilized on nonwoven silk fabrics as four times compared with the case of the GOD immobilized in the silk fibroin membrane.     

Eddy current analysis of thin metal container in induction heating by line integral equations

In recent years, induction‐heating cookers have spread rapidly. It is desirable to commercialize flexible and disposable food containers that are suitable for induction heating. In order to develop a good‐quality food container for moderate heating, the eddy currents induced in a thin metal plate must be accurately analyzed. The integral equation method is widely used for solving induction‐heating problems. If the plate thickness approaches zero, the surface integral equations on the upper and lower plate surfaces tend to become the same and the equations become ill‐conditioned. In this paper, we first derive line integral equations from the boundary integral equations under the assumption that the electromagnetic fields in the metal are attenuated more rapidly than those along the metal surface. Next, to test the validity of the line integral equations, we solve for the eddy current induced in a thin metal container in induction heating and obtain the power density imparted to the container and the impedance characteristics of the heating coil. We then compare the computed results with those obtained by the FEM. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 168(2): 20–27, 2009; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20813     

Quantitative determination of domperidone in rat plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection

A sensitive and selective analytical method for the determination of domperidone in rat plasma is described. The procedure involves liquid-liquid extraction followed by reversed-phase high-performance chromatographic analysis with fluorometric detection at 282 nm for excitation and 328 nm for emission. The detection limit was 1 ng ml(-1) using 1 ml of plasma. This assay procedure should be useful for the pharmacokinetic study of domperidone in small animals such as rats.     

Trajectory-based design of robust non-fragile controllers for a class of uncertain linear continuous-time systems

This paper deals with a design problem of robust non-fragile stabilizing controllers for a class of uncertain linear continuous-time systems. The proposed design approach of robust non-fragile controllers is based on computation of the trajectory for the uncertain linear system and differs from the existing methods based on quadratic stabilization via Lyapunov criterion. In this paper, we show that sufficient conditions for asymptotical stability of the linear system with uncertainties and controller gain variations, and a LMI-based design algorithm of a robust non-fragile controller. Furthermore, we extend the result to the design problem of decentralized robust non-fragile controllers for a class of uncertain large-scale interconnected systems. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed design scheme of robust non-fragile controllers is shown through illustrative examples.     

An experimental and numerical study on the forward biased SOA ofIGBTs

Thermal and electrical destructions of n-ch 600 V punchthrough type IGBTs in F.B.SOA are investigated by experiments and simulations, The cause of the thermal destruction is the thermal disappearance of built-in potential of p-n junction between the n⁺ emitter and the p base of the IGBT integral DMOSFET occurring at the critical temperature of ~650 K. Experiment and simulation results for the critical temperature show a good agreement. The cause of the electrical destruction is impact ionization at the n^- drift/n⁺ buffer junction in addition to the n^- drift/p base junctions. That triggers a positive feedback mechanism of increasing IGBT integral pnp transistor current which causes the device to lose gate controllability. The experimentally obtained critical power dissipation is ~2000 kW/cm². This value is ten times greater than BJTs. It was also found that emitter ballast resistance (EBR) plays an important role in describing the F.B.SOA of IGBTs     

Clinical study on antimicrobial prophylaxis following extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy

One hundred and sixty one patients with upper urinary stones were examined for antimicrobial prophylaxis following extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL). They were divided into two groups, the low-risk group (n = 133) and high-risk group (n = 28), according to the risk factors of urinary tract infection. The patients in the low-risk group were further randomized into two groups which were orally given ofloxacin for 7 days after ESWL (Group A, n = 66), no antimicrobial (Group B, n = 67). The patients in the high-risk group were randomly subdivided into three groups which were given flomoxef intravenously for 2 or 3 days and ofloxacin for 4 or 5 days thereafter (Group C, n = 10), flomoxef only for 2 or 3 days and no drugs later (Group D, n = 10), ofloxacin for 7 days (Group E, n = 8). In all of the patients in the low-risk group, during the 7 days after ESWL, fever elevation was observed in only 1.5% of patients, and bacteriuria in 10.0% on the 7th day. There was no difference in frequency of fever elevation and bacteriuria following ESWL between Group A and Group B. These findings indicate that prophylactic antimicrobial after ESWL treatment is not necessary for low risk patients with urinary tract infections. In the high-risk group, the over-all rates of fever elevation and bacteriuria were 21.4% and 24.0% respectively. The difference of effectiveness among the prophylactic regimens of the three groups (Group C, D, E) was not shown.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)