The hematological and immunological findings and clinical courses of 33 patients (13 male, 20 female; median age at presentation, 60 years) with granular lymphocyte-proliferative disorders (GLPD) are ...presented. Based on the surface phenotypes of peripheral blood granular lymphocytes (GL), the GLPD were divided into CD3+ T cell-lineage GLPD (T-GLPD) and CD3- CD16+ natural killer (NK) cell-lineage GLPD (NK-GLPD). Twenty-one patients had T-GLPD, and 12 had NK-GLPD. One patient with T-GLPD and two patients with NK-GLPD had progressive clinical courses and died of the disease despite receiving combination chemotherapy. Twelve patients with T-GLPD were found to have severe anemia at presentation or during the course of the disease; four of them fulfilled the diagnostic criteria of pure red cell aplasia, and the others had closely related conditions. Six of these 12 patients were treated with cyclophosphamide, and all responded to the treatment. In 16 patients, the clinical course was stable, and spontaneous regression was observed in two patients. Since some of the patients with NK-GLPD had stable clinical courses while some had progressive clinical courses, clinical findings in these two groups were compared. We found, taking into consideration our cases and those reviewed in the literature, that age less than 40 years, fever, lymph node swelling, hepatosplenomegaly, and GL with CD16(Leu-11)-CD56+CD57- phenotype and low or absent antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity seemed to be predictors of a progressive clinical course.
Ovalbumin assumes a highly ordered molten-globule conformation at pH 2.2. To investigate whether or not such structural nature is related to the existence of an intrachain native disulfide bond, the ...structural characteristics of disulfide-reduced ovalbumin at the acidic pH were compared with those of the native disulfide-intact protein by a variety of analytical approaches. The disulfide-reduced protein was found to assume a partially denatured molten globule-like conformation similar to the disulfide-intact counterpart as analyzed by the CD and intrinsic tryptophan fluorescence spectra and by the binding of a hydrophobic probe of anilino-1-naphthalene-8-sulfonate. The results from size-exclusion chromatography also showed that the disulfide-reduced and disulfide-intact proteins have essentially the same compact, native-like hydrodynamic volume. The disulfide-reduced protein was, however, highly sensitive to proteolysis by pepsin at the acidic pH under the proteolytic conditions in which the disulfide-intact protein was almost completely resistant. Furthermore, on a differential scanning calorimeter analysis the disulfide-reduced protein had an endothermic transition at a much lower temperature (T
m
=48.5°C) than the disulfide-intact protein (T
m
=57.2°C). Taken together, we concluded that the intrachain disulfide bond should not be directly related to the highly ordered molten-globule conformation of ovalbumin, but that its conformational stability depends on the presence of the disulfide bond.
Aim: Cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), preserve patient's life by providing adequate oxygen supply and blood flow to vital organs. However, previous studies have suggested that the interaction of blood ...and large artificial surface contributes to inflammatory response during CPB. As a result of a series of chain reactions, the numerous powerful inflammatory mediators are formed and released. We hypothesized that small CPB circuit which reduces priming volume and blood contact surface area attenuates the systemic inflammatory response with a reduction of inflammatory cytokine levels and organ tissue damage during CPB. Methods: Rats were divided into the large surface area CPB (priming volume: 15 ml, surface area: 0.044 m super(2)) group and the small surface area CPB (priming volume: 7 ml, surface area: 0.036 m super(2)) group. CPB pump flow was maintained at 80 ml/kg/min. Blood samples were collected before (baseline), and at 60 min and 120 min after initiation of CPB. We measured the serum cytokine levels (TNF- alpha , IL-6, IL-10) and biochemical markers (LDH, AST, ALT). Results: Pro-inflammatory markers (TNF- alpha , IL-6) and biochemical markers were significantly elevated in the high priming volume CPB group compared with the low priming volume CPB group at 60 min. At 120 min, however, none of the markers was statistically different between the 2 groups. Conclusions: These data suggested that in addition to the blood contact surface area factor, the CPB exposure duration is also an important factor for causing the systemic inflammatory response.
Aim: Using "in-body tissue architecture" technology and a novel method for constructing a stent valve, an autologous heart valve-shaped tissue with a stent was developed as stent-biovalve. In this ...study, we evaluated the hydrodynamic performances of stent-biovalve by changing its leaflet size in in vitro test in order to determine the appropriate stent-biovalve form for pulmonary valve (PV). Methods: A specially designed stent-mounted cylindrical acrylic mold was placed in a dorsal subcutaneous pouch of a goat and the implant was extracted 1 month later. The acrylic mold was removed and a tube structure of connective tissue impregnated with the stent strut was obtained. The tube was folded in half inwards and 3 commissures were fabricated to form 3 leaflets and we obtained the stent-biovalve (25 mm ID). The stent-biovalve was connected to a specially designed pulsatile mock circulation in the PV position. The hydrodynamic performances of stent-biovalves with 6 different axial leaflet lengths (13, 14, 15, 17, 20 and 25 mm) were examined under pulmonary circulation conditions using saline. Results: The leaflet length was found to significantly affect the hydrodynamics of these valves. The stent-biovalve with 15 mm leaflet length demonstrated improved flow characteristics compared to others and the flow rate ranged from 6.2 to 7.6 L/min at a mean PAP of 18 mm Hg as the HR was increased from 70 to 120 bpm. The regurgitation rate was approximately 11%. Conclusions: The developed completely autologous stent-biovalve with appropriate leaflet size may be potentially useful for PV.
The changes in the drying process and the appearance of an okara cake dried with an electrohydrodynamic (EHD) technique were investigated in an oven at 105
°C. During drying, the voltage was kept ...constant, the number of the needles in the point electrodes were 1 and 3 and the electrode gap were 35, 50 and 65
mm. The results showed that the drying time under the high electric field (HEF) condition reduced by 15–40% compared to the control at the final moisture content of 10% wb. Comparing with the drying rate at the same drying time in the different HEF conditions, the initial drying rate were found 1.7–3.2 times higher than that of the control. In addition, the electric field also had an influence on the appearance of the okara cake. The okara cake after drying kept a whole shape and there was no cranny in the surface when the HEF was supplied to, but there were some crannies and cracks in the surface of the control. However, the color of the sample exposed to the HEF became distinctly browner than that of the control, especially the part just under the needle electrode.
A novel integrated heart‐lung assist device has been developed as a simple to use portable cardiopulmonary support system. The device comprises a centrifugal pump and an artificial lung, which is ...located around the pump, in an all in one system. The special membrane employed precludes plasma breakthrough in protracted use and enables preprimed setup. Test lungs consisting of the same membrane preserved gas exchange function well after 3 months of preprimed storage. The entire blood contacting surface is treated with covalent heparin bonding to impart good antithrombogenicity. Heparin bonded test lungs could be continuously perfused without systemic anticoagulation as long as 36 days in a venoarterial bypass chronic animal study using goats. The prototype device (diameter, 126 mm; height, 59 mm; membrane area, 0.85 m2; priming volume, 180 ml) demonstrated 9 L/min pump output at a 400 mm Hg pressure head and 180 ml/min oxygen and 110 ml/min carbon dioxide transfer rates at 5 L/min blood flow. We conclude that this device has potential to be the next generation cardiopulmonary support system.
Douchi is popular in China as a fermented soybean food. The effects of NaCl on the isoflavone contents and composition during processing of douchi, as well as the β-glucosidase activity was ...investigated. The results indicate that 61% of the isoflavones in raw soybeans were lost when NaCl content was 10%, which is mainly attributed to pre-fermentation (43%) and post-fermentation (18%) during douchi processing. While a pre-treatment did not generate major differences in total isoflavone content during douchi processing, isoflavone composition was altered. The levels of aglycones increased, while the corresponding levels of β-glucosides, malonylglucoside and acetylglucoside decreased. Further, isoflavones in the form of aglycones exceeded 90% of total content following post-fermentation. Finally, changes in isoflavone isomer distribution were found to be related to β-glucosidase activity during fermentation, which was affected by NaCl supplementation.
Effects of high-pressure treatment on the modifications of soy protein in soy milk were studied using various analytical techniques. Blue shifts of
λ
max could be observed in the fluorescence ...spectra. Spectrofluorimetry revealed that the soy protein exhibited more hydrophobic regions after high-pressure treatment. Electrophoretic analysis showed the change of soy protein clearly and indicated that soy proteins were dissociated by high pressure into subunits, some of which associated to aggregate and became insoluble. High-pressure denaturation occurred at 300
MPa for β-conglycinin (7S) and at 400
MPa for glycinin (11S) in soy milk. High pressure-induced tofu gels could be formed that had gel strength and a cross-linked network microstructure. This provided a new way to process soy milk for making tofu gels.
Jab1 is a multifunctional protein associated with the signaling pathway, cell-cycle regulation, and development, and acts as a key subunit of COP9 signalosome (CSN). Jab1 promotes degradation of the ...cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27Kip1 by transportation from the nucleus to the cytoplasm. However, there has been no clear evidence for whether and how Jab1 contributes to malignant transformation in human cancers. Here we show that Bcr-Abl tyrosine kinase facilitates the down-regulation of p27 by modulating complex formation of Jab1/CSN through the mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase and phosphatidylinositol 3 (PI3) kinase signaling pathways. Nearly half of the chronic myelogenous leukemia cell lines and the murine hematopoietic precursor cells expressing Bcr-Abl exhibited a marked increase in the small loose Jab1 complex located in the cytoplasm. Inhibition of Bcr-Abl kinase by STI571 induced G1 arrest and caused a recovery of the p27 level with reduction of the small Jab1 complex from the cytoplasm. Either blockade of the MAP kinase and PI3 kinase pathways by specific inhibitors or Jab1 knockdown by small interfering RNA (siRNA) prevented p27 down-regulation as well as formation of the small complex. Thus, regulation of p27 via modulation of the Jab1 subcomplex is a novel mechanism whereby Bcr-Abl oncogenic signals accelerate abnormal cell proliferation.
Objectives: We have developed a Maglev artificial heart for the use in infant patients, which require small size compared to adult devices. The active magnetic bearing offers better biocompatibility ...and longer device lifetime than the artificial heart by eliminating any actual physical contact in this paper, a miniaturized self-bearing motor and centrifugal blood pump for pediatric artificial heart are reported. Methods: The self-bearing motor consists of a top stator, a bottom stator and a levitated impeller set between both stators, which have identical structure. The impeller is suspended axially with a double stator mechanism to enhance a motor torque with smaller device size. The motor regulates an axial position and a rotating speed of the impeller by using vector control algorithm. A target pump performance of the pediatric artificial heart is set as a flow rate of 1 L/min against a head pressure of 100 mmHg. The pump has been designed with the computational fluid dynamics simulation. Results: The diameter and height of the developed motor are 24 mm and 43 mm, respectively. The volume of the artificial heart is 21 mL. The motor can produce an attractive force of 16 N with an air-gap of 1.5 mm, and a rotating torque of 13 mNm with the impeller speed of 4000 rpm. From the simulation results, an impeller speed of 4000 rpm is required to achieve the target head pressure and the flow rate. At this time, an axial thrust force of 0.14 N and a torque of 3.6 mNm act the levitated impeller. Conclusions: The large attractive force and the rotating torque indicate enhanced magnetic suspension and rotation performance for a smaller size and larger air-gap. This developed Maglev motor is suitable for the use in the pediatric artificial heart.
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