CT examination of the manipulation system in the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)

The manipulation mechanism of the giant panda ( Ailuropida melanoleuca ) was examined by means of CT (computed tomography) and 3-dimensional (3-D) Volume Rendering techniques. In the 3-D images of the giant panda hand, not only the bones but also the muscular system was visualised. Sections of the articulated skeleton were obtained. It was demonstrated that the hand of the panda is equipped with separately moulded manipulation units as follows: (1) the radial sesamoid (RS), the radial carpal, and the first metacarpal (R–R–M) complex; and (2) the accessory carpal (AC) and the ulnar (A–U) complex. When the giant panda grasps anything, the R–R–M complex strongly flexes at the wrist joint, the RS becomes parallel with the AC, and the phalanges bend and hold the object. It is shown that the well-developed opponens pollicis and abductor pollicis brevis muscles envelop and fix the objects between the R–R–M complex and the phalanges during grasping.     

A New Technique for Endoscopic Esophageal Mucosectomy Using a Transparent Overtube with Intraluminal Negative Pressure (np-EEM)

Abstract: We devised a new technique for endoscopic esophageal mucosectomy using a transparent overtube (OT) with intraluminal negative pressure (np-EEM) (Figs. 1,2). Basic studies were performed on six dogs. The following two methods were utilized in the np-EEM technique in line with standard approaches used for mucosal resection: (1) A “snare” method was used in which the esophageal mucosa protruded, similar to a polyp, through the slit of the OT and was resected by an electro-snare passing through the endoscope biopsy channel or the injection channel of the OT. A high-frequency current was used for the resection (Figs. 2-a 2-b, Fig. 3, Color). (2) A “cutter” method was used in which the mucosal protrusion was resected by a recently developed electro-cutter (Figs. 2-a, 2-c, 2-d, Fig. 3, Color). A mucosal protrusion, similar to a polyp, can be caused by intraluminal negative pressure at any point in the esophageal area. Mucosa up to 1.5 cm in diameter can be resected by both methods (Tables 1, 2; Figs. 5, 6, 7). The cutter method showed many advantages in terms of the ease of procedure, predictablility, and the ability to control the width and depth of the resection. Therefore, np-EEM, especially using the cutter method, has significant advantages for application with esophageal mucosal lesions for both diagnosis and treatment.     

Pre-operative time course changes in liver function tests in biliary atresia: Its usefulness in the discrimination of biliary atresia in early infancy

In order to investigate the possibility of early discrimination of extrahepatic biliary atresia from other cholestatic diseases, a series of results of liver function tests in infants with cholestatic diseases were reviewed. The results of routine liver function tests (LFT) recorded in patients' charts were reviewed within 12 weeks after birth in 47 infants with extrahepatic biliary atresia (BA), 10 infants with neonatal hepatitis (NH) and 130 age-matched control infants (CO) without cholestatic diseases. The mean of each test value for each week after birth was derived from the actual data examined in each infant. No differences were observed between BA and CO in the levels of aminotransferases within 2 weeks after birth. Total bilirubin and direct bilirubin levels were significantly different between BA and CO within 1 week after birth (16.1 ± 3.2 mg/dL vs 11.1 ± 4.5 mg/dL, 4.6 ± 2.6 mg/dL vs 0.7 ± 0.3 mg/dL, respectively) The direct bilirubin-total bilirubin ratio exceeded 25% within the first week in BA. The individual values of direct bilirubin (DB) exceeded 2 mg/dL within the first week in all infants with BA, while none of the individual values exceeded 1.6 mg/dL in CO. Gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase levels were significantly different between BA and CO at 4 weeks (432 ± 272 IU/L vs 79 ± 43 IU/L) and thereafter; and were significantly different between BA and NH at 6 weeks (314 ± 232 IU/l vs 69 ± 58 IU/L) and thereafter. These data suggest that the determination of direct bilirubin within 1 week after birth can detect extrahepatic biliary atresia patients from those with physiologic jaundice, and γ-glutamyl transpeptidase levels may discriminate BA from NH at no later than 6 weeks of age.