Development and Initial Testing of a Permanently Implantable Centrifugal Pump

Abstract: To be able to salvage heart failure patients, the need for an economical permanent ventricular assist device is increasing. To meet this increasing demand, a miniaturized centrifugal blood pump has been developed as a permanently implantable device. The Gyro permanently implantable model (PI-601) incorporates a sealless design with a blood stagnation free structure. The pump impeller is magnetically coupled to the driver magnet in a sealless manner. This pump is atraumatic and antithrombogenic and incorporates a double pivot bearing system. A miniaturized actuator was utilized in this system in collaboration with the University of Vienna. The priming volume of this pump is 20 ml. The overall size of the pump actuator package is 53 mm in height and 65 mm in diameter, 145 ml of displacement volume, and 305 g in weight. Testing to date has included in vitro hydraulic performance and hemolysis. This pump can provide 5 L/min against a 110 mm Hg total pressure head at 2,000 rpm and 8 Limin against 150 mm Hg at 2,500 rpm. The normalized index of hemo-lysis (NIH) value of this pump was 0.0028 g/100 L at 5 Limin against 100 mm Hg. A preliminary anatomical study revealed the possibility of the implantability of 2 such systems in biventricular bypass at a preperitoneal location. This system is feasible for use as a permanently implantable biventricular assist device.     

Pyrroloquinolones and pyrazoloquinolones as potential antibacterial agents. Synthesis and antibacterial activity

Diethyl 1-cyclopropyl-5,7,8-trifluoro-1,4-dihydro-4-oxoquinoline-3,6-dicarboxylate 4 as a key-intermediate was synthesized via the Dieckmann reaction. The reaction of 4 with nucleophiles proceeded regioselectively at C-5. Facile cyclization between the C-5 and C-6 side chains of the resulting products gave novel pyrroloquinolones 10 and 12 and pyrazoloquinolones 15. They were converted into a series of cyclic amino-substituted pyrroloquinolones 17–21 and pyrazoloquinolones 22–24, and their in vitro antibacterial activities were tested. 1H-Pyrrolo[2,3-f]quinolone 17a and 2H-pyrrolo[3,4-f]quinolone 21a exhibited a potent in vitro antibacterial activity.     

Geographic patterns of urban trauma according to mechanism and severity of injury

The purpose of this study was to investigate the distribution of various mechanisms of injury and the relative severity of such injury cases throughout the different geographic zones of a large urban area using a computerized emergency medical services (EMS) dispatch/patient record database. The study city (population, 2 million residents) was divided into 156 geographic grids (each 4.5 by 3 miles) and the incidence and relative severity of various injury mechanisms were determined for each zone. Results: In one year (1988), there were more than 115,000 separate EMS incidents involving more than 150,000 patients, 26,000 of whom were transported for injuries incurred in 10,064 motor vehicle accidents, 4,587 falls, 4,015 lacerations/stabwounds, 1,796 beatings, 1,270 gunshots, and 952 auto-pedestrian accidents. Analysis of the 156 zones showed a disproportionate number of EMS responses in the city center with two centralmost grids accounting for about 25% of all responses. Call volume then progressively diminished toward the periphery of the city. However, with some very minor exceptions, the relative incidence and severity of the various injury mechanisms remained proportionally uniform within each zone, regardless of geographic location. Therefore, contrary to popular notoriety, the incidence and associated severity of any given injury type generally was not necessarily predicted by any particular neighborhood predilection for it, but rather by the overall demand for EMS in that zone of the city.     

Synthesis and antiviral activity of sulfonamidobenzophenone oximes and sulfonamidobenzamides

To find antiviral agents, various sulfonamidobenzophenone oximes (II) were synthesized from the appropriate m-sulfonamidobenzophenones by hydroxylamine reaction. The reaction products were generally obtained as syn/anti mixtures which were separable by fractional crystallization. The anti isomer had more potent antipoliovirus activity than the syn isomer. Various sulfonamidobenzamides (III) which were structurally related to II were synthesized by the reactions of amino-substituted benzamides with sulfuryl chloride or amines with (aminosulfonyl)benzoyl chloride. Antiviral activity was examined by the plaque-inhibition test. Compounds 5, 36, and 69 exhibited strong antipicornavirus activity. The structure-activity relationships are discussed.     

Creatine kinase BB and neuron specific r-enolase as biomarkers for lung cancer

The serum concentrations of both CK-BB and NSE in patients with various lung carcinoma have been determined by the enzyme immunoassay. Serum CK-BB levels were found to be significantly increased (less than 1.0 ng/ml) in patients with a small cell carcinoma (51 cases, 74.5%), adenocarcinoma (77 cases, 36.5%), and a squamous cell carcinoma (68 cases, 39.7%). The serum NSE levels also were increased (less than 6.0 ng/ml) in cases of small cell carcinoma (72.5%), adenocarcinoma (27.3%), and squamous cell carcinoma (26.5%). Since the serum concentrations of bos CK-BB and NSE changed in parallel with the clinical course, they may be useful biomarkers for monitoring the clinical course of patients with lung cancer, especially in cases of small cell carcinoma.     

Stress signaling through Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein phosphatase calcineurin mediates salt adaptation in plants

Calcineurin (CaN) is a Ca²⁺- and calmodulin-dependent protein phosphatase (PP2B) that, in yeast, is an integral intermediate of a salt-stress signal transduction pathway that effects NaCl tolerance through the regulation of Na⁺ influx and efflux. A truncated form of the catalytic subunit and the regulatory subunit of yeast CaN were coexpressed in transgenic tobacco plants to reconstitute a constitutively activated phosphatase in vivo. Several different transgenic lines that expressed activated CaN also exhibited substantial NaCl tolerance, and this trait was linked to the genetic inheritance of the CaN transgenes. Enhanced capacity of plants expressing CaN to survive NaCl shock was similar when evaluation was conducted on seedlings in tissue culture raft vessels or plants in hydroponic culture that were transpiring actively. Root growth was less perturbed than shoot growth by NaCl in plants expressing CaN. Also, NaCl stress survival of control shoots was enhanced substantially when grafted onto roots of plants expressing CaN, further implicating a significant function of the phosphatase in the preservation of root integrity during salt shock. Together, these results indicate that in plants, like in yeast, a Ca²⁺- and calmodulin-dependent CaN signal pathway regulates determinants of salt tolerance required for stress adaptation. Furthermore, modulation of this pathway by expression of an activated regulatory intermediate substantially enhanced salt tolerance.     

Right pneumonectomy syndrome: Report of two cases

We report herein the cases of two infants who developed right pneumonectomy syndrome, both of whom were born with gross C-type esophageal atresia (EA/TEF), and a hypoplastic right lung arising from the lower esophagus, being a bronchopulmonary foregut malformation (BPFM). Appropriate and well-timed treatments for a variety of sequelae primarily caused by the mediastinal shift must be considered after right pneumonectomy in early childhood.