The hemolytic characteristics of monopivot magnetic suspension blood pumps with washout holes

The hemolytic characteristics of monopivot magnetic suspension blood pumps as a function of impeller washout hole configuration and female pivot shape are observed. The pump impellers are designed with three washout hole configurations for blood circulation, and four female pivot shapes to reduce blood stagnation and to enhance antithrombogenicity. The hemolytic characteristics of the monopivot pumps were observed to be better than those of a currently available commercial centrifugal blood pump, BP-80, and changed to be nearly equal when the female pivot shape was changed. This indicates that hemolysis in monopivot pumps is mainly caused by shear stress between the male and female pivots.     

Jaws of amphibians and reptiles

Big jaws of amphibians and reptiles are mainly treated in this article. In amphibians enlarged skulls are for the big jaw in contrast with human's skulls for the brain. For example, famous fossils of Homo diluvii testis are ones of salamanders in fact. In reptiles, mosasaur jaws and teeth and their ecology are introduced for instance.     

Ophthalmology

The Headache Classification Subcommittee of the International Headache Society classifies headaches related to eyes as "Headache attributed to disorder of eyes" in the International Classification of Headache Disorders; 2nd Edition(ICHD-II). It consists of "Headache attributed to acute glaucoma", "Headache attributed to refractive errors", "Headache attributed to heterophoria or heterotropia(latent or manifest squint)", "Headache attributed to ocular inflammatory disorder". But other causes of headache related to eyes exist. For example, dry eye causes the headache. This article mentions to "Headache attributed to disorder of eyes" in ICHD-II, and additionally, describes other causes of headache associated with disease of eye.     

Investigation of the relationship between atherosclerosis and paraoxonase or homocysteine thiolactonase activity in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus using a commercially available assay

BACKGROUND: It is known that serum paraoxonase activity decreases in patients with atherosclerotic diseases such as type 2 diabetes mellitus. Paraoxonase hydrolyzes homocysteine thiolactone, which is thought to be an endogenous substrate. The relationship between the status of atherosclerosis and homocysteine thiolactonase activity in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus was investigated. METHOD: Serum homocysteine thiolactonase activities in 207 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus were measured with a recently developed commercially available assay. RESULTS: The coefficient of variation for the assay was <0.7%. Serum paraoxonase and arylesterase activities were dependent on the PON1 192 polymorphism expressed by the subjects but homocysteine thiolactonase activity was not affected. A tendency for a negative association between homocysteine thiolactonase activity and the thickness of the carotid intima media was observed in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. CONCLUSIONS: The serum homocysteine thiolactonase activity may represent the status of atherosclerosis in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Since the assay can be used with a routine analyzer, the activities of thousands of samples can be measured with excellent precision in a few hours.     

Primary familial amyloidosis with vitreous opacities

Summary A 41-year-old Japanese male with a new type of primary familial amyloidosis was reported. The patient developed vitreous opacities, and later, disturbances in the gastrointestinal and nervous systems. At autopsy, amyloid was observed in the vitreous and the retinal vessels. There were extensive cerebral infarcts and heavy meningo-vascular amyloid deposition. Although the postmortem study revealed slight peripheral nerve degeneration in the lower extremities secondary to amyloid deposition, there was no clinical evidence of polyneuropathy.