Background Hepatosplenic lesion formation is one of the typical clinical symptoms of schistosomiasis japonica. Although it is established that circum-oval granuloma formation mediated by T lymphocytes is the key event triggering the formation of hepatic lesions, the time-course kinetics of disease progression remains to be fully elucidated. Methods The real-time process of the pathophysiology...

OBJECTIVES This study sought to evaluate the accuracy, reproducibility, and predictive value for post-procedural aortic regurgitation (AR) of an automated multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) post-processing imaging software, 3mensio Valves (version 5.1.sp1, 3mensio Medical Imaging BV, the Netherlands), in the assessment of patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI)....

  SUMMARY The testes of five wistar rats 2 months after bilateral vasectomy was compared with those of sham­operated controls. Aims were to determine whether there are any changes in the wistar rat testis after vasectomy. Two testis in the vasectomized group displayed histological changes, which consisted of depletion of germ cells, vacuolation in the epithelium, folding of basement membrane ...

SnO(2) nanotubes with controlled diameter and length were synthesized using an electrochemical method at room temperature. The length and wall thickness of the nanotubes increased monotonically with the deposition time and the diameter of the nanotubes was altered by varying the pore size of the scaffolds. Post-annealing at 400 degrees C in dry air significantly improved the crystallinity while...

Aims: Recently, the final minimum luminal diameter (MLD) has been regarded as one of the most important determinants of restenosis. Our study was to evaluate if IVUS optimized DES implantation in small coronary artery lesions was superior to angiographic guidance alone in achieving a larger final MLD. Methods and Results: 84 non-diabetic coronary heart disease (CHD) patients with a single de no...

Previous studies have demonstrated conflicting results on the effects of acute exercise on FMD. The aim of the study was to examine brachial artery FMD before and after 3 bouts of acute exercise performed at different intensities. 10 healthy males (mean±SD age: 22±1 years) completed 30 min of cycling at 50, 70 and 85% maximal heart rate (HRmax). Brachial artery FMD and the shear rate area-under...

UNLABELLED Objectives. Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) has replaced photodynamic therapy for premalignant and malignant lesions of the esophagus. However, there is limited experience in the bile duct. The objective of this pilot study was to assess the safety and efficacy of RFA in malignant biliary strictures. METHODS Twenty patients with unresectable malignant biliary strictures underwent RFA...

AIMS Multiple factors regulate arteriogenesis. Peripheral nerves play a crucial role in vascular remodeling, but the function of peripheral nerves during arteriogenesis is obscure. Our study investigated the contribution of denervation to arteriogenesis during post-ischemic recovery from hindlimb femoral artery ligation. METHODS AND RESULTS Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly allocated into fou...

We have conducted a prospective study to assess the mid-term clinical results following arthroscopic repair of the rotator cuff. Patients were evaluated using the Constant score, subjective satisfaction levels and post-operative ultrasound scans. Of 115 consecutive patients who underwent arthroscopic repair of the rotator cuff at our institution, 102 were available for follow-up. The mean perio...

The mechanism of actin incorporation into and association with stress fibers of 3T3 and WI38 fibroblasts was examined by fluorescent analog cytochemistry, fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP), image analysis, and immunoelectron microscopy. Microinjected, fluorescein-labeled actin (AF-actin) became associated with stress fibers as early as 5 min post-injection. There was no detectab...