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The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the feasibility of the use of an implantable, high-energy, and compact battery system for an undulation pump total artificial heart (UPTAH). The implantable battery system tested consists of six lithium-ion batteries in series, a charge unit, and a charge/discharge control unit. A lithium-ion battery is currently the best energy-storage device because it has more energy density, a better life cycle, and a smaller temperature rise than those of other secondary batteries. The performance of the implantable battery system was evaluated in an in vitro experiment using an electric load that simulated the UPTAH. Also, sufficiently reliable operation of a system for supplying energy to a UPTAH consisting of a transcutaneous energy transmission system (TETS) and an implantable battery system was confirmed in three experiments using goats. The results of the in vitro and in vivo experiments showed that the implantable battery system supplied sufficient current to the UPTAH for maintenance of physiological conditions in the goat with maximum rise in temperature to less than 43°C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports on the comparison of weights and heights of children in Harlem, New York, with the National Center for Health and Statistics standards, as cited in the `American Journal of Diseases for Children,' volume 147, February 1993. Median values; Weight distribution; `Height-ages' and weight-for-height values; Consistency with early maturation; Shift to the right in weight distribution for overweight children.

A magnetic fluid (MF) seal has excellent durability. The performance of an MF seal, however, has been reported to decrease in liquids (several days). We have developed an MF seal that has a shield mechanism. The seal was perfect for 275 days in water. To investigate the effect of a shield, behaviors of MFs in a seal in water were studied both experimentally and computationally. Two kinds of MF seals, one with a shield and one without a shield, were installed in a centrifugal pump. Behaviors of MFs in the seals in water were observed using a video camera. In the seal without a shield, the surface of the water in the seal waved and the turbulent flow affected behaviors of the MFs. In contrast, MFs rotated stably in the seal with a shield in water even at high rotational speeds. Computational fluid dynamics analysis has revealed a stationary secondary flow pattern in the seal and the small velocity difference between the magnetic fluid and the water at the interface. These MF behaviors prolonged the life of the MF seal in water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An increased risk of testicular cancer in men with infertility and poor semen quality has been reported. In view of the high cure rates for testicular germ cell tumours, increasing clinical importance is being placed on the protection of fertility. High-dose cytostatic therapy may be expected to cause long-term infertility. Thus, the standard procedure for fertility protection is the cryopreservation of ejaculated spermatozoa or testicular tissue before therapy. Four male patients with azoospermia and two patients with very severe oligozoospermia underwent onco-testicular sperm extraction ( TESE). We attempted onco- TESE in patients with azoospermia and very severe oligozoospermia after orchiectomy. Of the patients with testicular germ cell tumours, four had spermatozoa in their testicular tissues. Sertoli cell-only syndrome was found in one patient, and one patient showed maturation arrest without the detection of spermatozoa. Three of six showed seminomatous germ cell tumour, two of six had nonseminomatous germ cell tumour and one patient showed no malignancy. Two patients achieved clinical pregnancy. Fertility challenges in men with cancer are the most straightforward because of the relative ease of obtaining and cryopreserving sperm. Testicular sperm extraction is a useful technique for obtaining spermatozoa before cytotoxic therapy in azoospermic and very severely oligozoospermic cancer patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims at surveying multipliers based on Horner's rule for finite field arithmetic. We present a generic architecture based on five processing elements and introduce a classification of several algorithms based on our model. We provide the readers with a detailed description of each scheme which should allow them to write a VHDL description or a VHDL code generator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little data are available regarding the effects of hepatitis virus serostatus and the severity of coexisting chronic inflammation on intrahepatic recurrence after hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We investigated the extent to which these factors modified the prognosis of hepatectomized patients. A total of 274 patients treated in the period January 1981 to December 1996 were divided into three groups: antihepatitis C-positive (HCV; n = 144), hepatitis B surface antigen-positive and HCV antibody (Ab)-negative (HBsAg; n = 106), and HBsAg-negative and HCV Ab-negative (NBNC; n = 20). Positivity for HBV-related antibody in the HCV group was 76%. Histologic grading of inflammatory activity from coexisting hepatitis was determined according to Knodel's histological activity index (HAI) scoring system. Post-hepatectomy crude survival rates and disease-free survival (DFS) rates were compared, according to tumor characteristics, between the three groups. In the patients overall and also in the patients with a single nodular HCC, the HCV group had significantly higher HAI scores and preoperative serum aspartate aminotransaminase (AST) levels than the other two groups. When the patients were limited to those with a single nodular HCC, the crude survival was similar in the three groups with comparable tumor characteristics; however, the DFS was different (NBNC > HBsAg > HCV). When the patients were further limited to those with a single nodular HCC without microscopic extracapsular spread, in whom removal of the tumor was expected to be microscopically complete, the difference in the DFS became more marked. Irrespective of the viral serostatus, better crude and disease-free survivals were observed in the patients with lower AST levels (< or =50 IU/ 1) than in those with higher AST levels (>50IU/l). In contrast, there were no differences in survivals and HAI scores according to the presence or absence of HBV-related antibody in the HCV group. From our univariate analysis, we can conclude that the severity of virally induced inflammation, which was well correlated with viral serostatus, may be a factor that affects intrahepatic recurrence, which is more likely to originate from metachronous carcinogenesis. Prior co-infection of HBV in HCV patients may not be an adverse risk factor for intrahepatic recurrence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well known that endothelin-1(ET-1) is a factor involved in the pathogenesis of ischemia-reperfusion injury. This study was undertaken to investigate the optimal route (intravenous vs intraportal) for administering mixed endothelin receptor antagonist (TAK-044) in a liver transplantation. First, in a rat isolated liver cold-perfusion model, the pharmacodynamics of TAK-044 and endothelin-1 (ET) in the liver tissue and the systemic circulation after cold perfusion were compared in the different administration routes. Next, in a rat orthotopic transplantation model, we compared the hepatoprotective effect of TAK-044 among different administration routes. In each model, there were three groups: IV group, intravenous injection of TAK-044 (10mg/kg) immediately before cold perfusion or anhepatic phase; IP group, intraportal administration with cold perfusion solution or with reflush solution for the graft; control group, no treatment. In the cold perfusion model, liver tissue ET level increased to a similar extent after reperfusion in the three groups, and the plasma and liver tissue TAK-044 concentrations after reperfusion were highest in the IV group. However, the increase in plasma ET was also greatest, and therefore, the ratio of liver tissue to plasma TAK-044 was lower in the IV group compared with the IP group. In the transplantation model, elevation of plasma ET was significantly higher in the IV group. Leakage of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), sinusoidal narrowing, and cell swelling after grafting were significantly suppressed in the IP group. We conclude that intraportal administration before reperfusion offers more efficient accumulation of TAK-044 in the liver tissue, without harmful systemic elevation of ET, and achieves a hepatoprotective effect on the graft compared with intravenous administration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

P53 protein and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression, and mean intratumoral microvessel density (IMVD) were studied by immunohistochemistry in 31 salivary gland carcinomas, consisting of 11 adenoid cystic carcinomas (AdCCs), 10 mucoepidermoid carcinomas (MECs), 7 acinic cell carcinomas (AcCCs), and 3 squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs). Cases with p53 protein in more than 20% of tumor cells were detected in one AdCC, four MECs, one AcCC, and two SCCs. Both frequency of p53 and VEGF expression, and mean IMVD, were higher in the MECs and SCCs than in the AdCCs and AcCCs. Similarly, both VEGF expression and mean IMVD were significantly higher (P<0.05) in the eight p53-positive tumors than in the 23 negative tumors. Six cases with survival periods less than 5 years showed significantly higher frequency of p53 and VEGF expression and of mean IMVD than those with longer survival periods. These results indicate that p53 expression might partly correlate with VEGF expression and mean IMVD, and be a factor in the survival of patients with salivary gland carcinomas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most viral vectors are highly immunogenic and are of limited use for somatic gene therapy that requires repetitive administrations. We have developed a highly efficient gene transduction procedure useful for repetitive transfections using liposome containing hemagglutinating virus of Japan (HVJ-liposome). The Escherichia coli β-galactosidase (β-gal) gene was embodied in HVJ-liposome, and introduced directly into the caudal lobe of rat liver that was transiently isolated from a systemic circulation. A 116 kDa β-gal protein was detected in transfected rat liver tissues by Western blot analysis and it was expressed in more than two- thirds of the liver by histological staining. It was found that the transfection efficiency was not affected by repetitive transfections. In support of these findings, antibody response to HVJ-liposome detected in the rat sera was weak and transient. Furthermore, cytotoxic T lymphocytes were not elicited against autologous rat hepatocytes that were transfected in vivo using HVJ-liposome. Thus, our results demonstrate that the isolation of a target liver from systemic circulation and the direct administration of foreign genes using HVJ-liposomes are useful for high gene transduction and persistent gene expression in the liver. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]