Transgenic mice were produced by microinjection of a human serum amyloid P component (hSAP) gene or a fusion gene (SS) comprising the promoter for hSAP (nucleotides −600 to −14 from the start codon) ...and the coding region of the hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBsAg). In adult mice, both transgenes were expressed only in the liver, and thus the pattern of expression resembled that of the endogenous mouse SAP gene. Both hSAP mRNA and HBsAg were first detected in liver on the second postnatal day. The level of these products increased rapidly and reached the maximum within the first week. These results suggest that the hSAP gene contains a short, cis-acting, developmental, and liver-specific regulatory sequence at the 5′ or the 3′ end and that this sequence can target expression of the foreign gene.
This study describes a device using pressure-sensitive electro-conductive knitting called PCK. PCK is electric conductive material made from fiber including PE 70% and SUS 30%. And it's resistance ...changes in the fibers according to the modification. So it can be used as a sensor of bending, stretching and pressure. This knitting when used as sensor, is inexpensive, highly flexible . and air permeable. More importantly, a wearable device made of this material have the function as a sensor only by itself. So it is considered that this material can be applied as a sensor in various applications. In this paper, a Data-glove made of PCK and measurements of the device are presented. And a recognizing system using neural network that can recognize the form of human hand from the output of the Data-glove is also presented. This system attained the high rate of recognition of 5 patterns of hand operation.
The Senshu Medical Control Committee has used an audit filter for medical inspections conducted since 1 April 2002. We evaluated whether prehospital emergency care and the outcome for out-of-hospital ...cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients improved through the use of an audit filters and education for Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT). The OHCA outcome was examined in accordance with the Utstein style. The problems identified in prehospital emergency care were “EMT did not carry equipment for prehospital emergency care” and “EMT did not perform ventilation with 100% oxygen”. These problems gradually improved after the medical inspection, resulting in a quality improvement feedback loop and education for EMTs. A total of 1,159 patients experienced OHCA, between 1 April 2000 and 31 March 2004. We divided these patients into two groups: (1) Those that were not subject to inspection from 1 April 2000 to 31 March 2002 and (2) Those that were subject to inspection from 1 April 2002 to 1 March 2004. In cases in which no inspection was conducted out of 510 patients with OHCA, 84 were returned to spontaneous circulation (ROSC), and 22 (9.1%) were alive at 1 month. In cases in which inspection was conducted out of 649 patients with OHCA, 93 were ROSC, and 27 (10.6%) were alive at 1 month. To outcomes for EMT-witnessed OHCA in which inspection was performed was better than for the period when no inspection was conducted. Improvement in EMT-witnessed OHCA outcome was due to the use of an audit filter during medical inspection, a quality improvement feedback loop and education for EMTs using a comprehensive instruction for the automated external defibrillator. In conclusion, a quality of prehospital emergency care and outcome of OHCA may improve through the use of an audit filter and EMT education.
Despite extensive studies on the crucial functions of Ras and c-Myc in cellular proliferation and transformation, their roles in regulating cell adhesion are not yet fully understood. Involvement of ...Ras in modulating integrin activity by inside-out signaling has been recently reported. However, in contrast to R-Ras, H-Ras was found to exhibit a suppressive effect. Here we show that ectopic expression of a constitutively active H-Rasv12, but not c-Myc alone, in a hemopoietic cell line induces activation of very late Ag-4 (VLA-4, alpha4beta1) integrin without changing its surface expression. Intriguingly, coexpression of H-Rasv12 and c-Myc in these cells results in not only the activation of VLA-4, but also the induction of expression of VCAM-1, the counterreceptor for VLA-4, thereby mediating a marked homotypic cell aggregation. In addition, H-Rasv12-induced VLA-4 activation appears to be partly down-regulated by coexpression with c-Myc. Our results represent an unprecedented example demonstrating a novel role for H-Rasv12 in the regulation of cell adhesion via c-Myc-independent and -dependent mechanisms.
Background: Seizures are recognized as an important complication of traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, post–traumatic seizures and –epilepsy, –convulsions are complicated in their terms. We ...analyzed present situation of post–traumatic seizures from the data of the Project 2015 in the Japan Neurotrauma Data Bank (JNTDB2015).Patients and methods: 1,344 patients were included in this study. Seizure was observed in 139 patients (10.3%). Seizure happened within 24 hours after the trauma in 51 patients (3.8%), within a week in 52 patients (3.9%).Results: A risk factor of post–traumatic seizures is the presence of evacuated mass lesion on CT image (p<0.05) in this study. Antiepileptic drugs (AED) are used in 363 patients (27%). AEDs were used in 128 patients (96%) of patients with seizures, and were used in 236 patients (19.5%) of patients without seizures. No relationship was observed between the outcome of patients and the presence of post–traumatic seizures.Discussion and conclusion: We analyzed post–traumatic seizures using JNTDB 2015. Post–traumatic seizure was observed in 10% patients. However, AEDs were rarely used despite of the recommendation by guideline. Furthermore, electroencephalogram examination rate was very low. As the prevention and treatment of seizures are important issues in the management of severe head trauma, we should plan the prospective multicenter studies for the standardization of the treatment strategy in our society. In addition, it will be necessary to review the evaluation items for the future databank projects.
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