2,986 research outputs found
Treatment of fibrolamellar hepatoma with partial or total hepatectomy and transplantation of the liver
Fourteen patients with fibrolamellar hepatoma were treated with radical excision. In eight, a subtotal hepatic resection was performed from 16 months to more than 16 years ago. None of the patients have died and recurrences have been seen in only one patient. Six other patients had total hepatectomy and hepatic replacement. Two of these six patients have died of metastases and a third is living with recurrent tumor. This experience has justified the continuing use of quite aggressive extirpative procedures for the treatment of fibrolamellar hepatoma
Pancreaticoduodenal transplantation in humans
Whole cadaveric pancreata were transplanted to the pelvic extraperitoneal location in four patients with diabetes who previously had undergone successful cadaveric renal transplantation. One graft was lost within a few hours from venous thrombosis but with patient survival. The other three are providing normal endocrine function after two and a half, 11 and 12 months. The exocrine pancreatic secretions were drained into the recipient jejunum through enteric anastomoses. Because mucosal slough of the graft and duodenum and jejunum in two patients caused a protein losing enteropathy and necessitated reoperations, we now do the pancreatic transplantation with only a blister of graft duodenum large enough for side-to-side enteroenterostomy. The spleen has been transplanted with the pancreas mainly for technical reasons, and this technique should have further trials in spite of the fact that delayed graft splenectomy became necessary in two recipients to treat graft induced hematologic complications
Recent updates on incubation of drug craving: a mini-review
Cue-induced drug craving progressively increases after prolonged withdrawal from drug self-administration in laboratory animals, a behavioral phenomenon termed 'incubation of drug craving.' Studies over the years have revealed several important neural mechanisms contributing to incubation of drug craving. In this mini-review, we first discuss three excellent Addiction Biology publications on incubation of drug craving in both human and laboratory animals. We then review several key publications from the past year on behavioral and mechanistic findings related to incubation of drug craving
Orthotopic liver transplantation for alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency: An experience in 29 children and ten adults
Rewritable nanoscale oxide photodetector
Nanophotonic devices seek to generate, guide, and/or detect light using
structures whose nanoscale dimensions are closely tied to their functionality.
Semiconducting nanowires, grown with tailored optoelectronic properties, have
been successfully placed into devices for a variety of applications. However,
the integration of photonic nanostructures with electronic circuitry has always
been one of the most challenging aspects of device development. Here we report
the development of rewritable nanoscale photodetectors created at the interface
between LaAlO3 and SrTiO3. Nanowire junctions with characteristic dimensions
2-3 nm are created using a reversible AFM writing technique. These nanoscale
devices exhibit a remarkably high gain for their size, in part because of the
large electric fields produced in the gap region. The photoconductive response
is gate-tunable and spans the visible-to-near-infrared regime. The ability to
integrate rewritable nanoscale photodetectors with nanowires and transistors in
a single materials platform foreshadows new families of integrated
optoelectronic devices and applications.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures. Supplementary Information 7 pages, 9 figure
Magnetic effects at the interface between nonmagnetic oxides
The electronic reconstruction at the interface between two insulating oxides
can give rise to a highly-conductive interface. In analogy to this remarkable
interface-induced conductivity we show how, additionally, magnetism can be
induced at the interface between the otherwise nonmagnetic insulating
perovskites SrTiO3 and LaAlO3. A large negative magnetoresistance of the
interface is found, together with a logarithmic temperature dependence of the
sheet resistance. At low temperatures, the sheet resistance reveals magnetic
hysteresis. Magnetic ordering is a key issue in solid-state science and its
underlying mechanisms are still the subject of intense research. In particular,
the interplay between localized magnetic moments and the spin of itinerant
conduction electrons in a solid gives rise to intriguing many-body effects such
as Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida (RKKY) interactions, the Kondo effect, and
carrier-induced ferromagnetism in diluted magnetic semiconductors. The
conducting oxide interface now provides a versatile system to induce and
manipulate magnetic moments in otherwise nonmagnetic materials.Comment: Nature Materials, July issu
Comparison of an immortalized human corneal epithelial cell line with Vero cells in the isolation of Herpes simplex virus-1 for the laboratory diagnosis of Herpes simplex keratitis
BACKGROUND: Herpes simplex keratitis (HSK) is a sight threatening ocular infection often requiring a specific and prompt laboratory diagnosis. Isolation of Herpes simplex virus (HSV-1) in culture provides the most reliable and specific method and is considered as the "Gold Standard" in the laboratory diagnosis of HSK in spite of its low sensitivity. Using "cell lines of corneal origin" for virus isolation may be beneficial under such circumstances, since these cells have been shown to be excellent substrates for the growth of HSV-1 isolated from the cornea. We report a comparative study of a novel human corneal epithelial cell line (HCE) and the Vero cell line in the isolation of HSV-1 from corneal scrapings employing a shell vial assay. METHODS: Corneal scrapings were obtained from 17 patients with a clinical diagnosis of HSK. All the cases were confirmed by virological investigations (PCR and viral antigen detection positive, n = 15, PCR positive, n = 1, Viral antigen positive, n = 1). Scrapings obtained from 10 patients with infectious keratitis of non-viral origin were included as controls. All the scrapings were simultaneously inoculated into shell vials of HCE and Vero cells. Cultures were terminated at 24 h post-infection. Isolation of HSV-1 was confirmed using an indirect immunofluorescence/ immunoperoxidase assay. RESULTS: Virus could be isolated using both or either of the cell lines in 10/17 (58.82%) patients with HSK. HSV-1 was isolated from 10/ 17 (58.82%) and 4/17(23.52%) specimens in HCE and Vero cells, respectively (P = 0.036). None of the controls yielded HSV-1. While all the 10 (100%) strains were isolated in HCE, Vero yielded only 4/10 (40%) strains in the shell vial culture (P = 0.014). CONCLUSIONS: HCE showed a statistically significant difference in the virus isolation rate with respect to Vero cells. HCE may be an excellent alternative cell line for the isolation of HSV-1, especially from corneal scrapings, for the laboratory diagnosis of HSK
Quantum optical memory protocols in atomic ensembles
We review a series of quantum memory protocols designed to store the quantum
information carried by light into atomic ensembles. In particular, we show how
a simple semiclassical formalism allows to gain insight into various memory
protocols and to highlight strong analogies between them. These analogies
naturally lead to a classification of light storage protocols into two
categories, namely photon echo and slow-light memories. We focus on the storage
and retrieval dynamics as a key step to map the optical information into the
atomic excitation. We finally review various criteria adapted for both
continuous variables and photon-counting measurement techniques to certify the
quantum nature of these memory protocols
Comparison of the sensitivity of a 24 h-shell vial assay, and conventional tube culture, in the isolation of Herpes simplex virus – 1 from corneal scrapings
BACKGROUND: Herpes simplex keratitis is a sight threatening ocular infection. A rapid and specific diagnosis is essential for the institution of specific antiviral therapy and to avoid complications that can arise from misdiagnosis and inappropriate treatment. Though a variety of techniques are available, isolation of Herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) in culture provides the most reliable and specific method, and is considered as the gold standard in laboratory diagnosis of herpes simplex keratitis. We report a comparative study of the sensitivity of a 24 h-shell vial assay and conventional tube culture in the isolation of HSV-1 from corneal scrapings. METHODS: A total of 74 corneal scrapings obtained from 74 patients with a clinical suspicion of herpes simplex keratitis submitted for the isolation of HSV-1, were simultaneously inoculated into shell vial and tube cultures employing the vero cell line. Shell vial and tube cultures were terminated at 24 h and fifth day respectively. Isolation of HSV-1 was confirmed employing an indirect immunofluorescence assay. RESULTS: HSV-1 was isolated from 24/74 (32.4%) specimens employing both the methods. Sensitivity of both the techniques were found to be similar (20/24, 83.3%) (P = 1.0). CONCLUSION: A 24 h-shell vial assay is a rapid alternative technique in comparison to the time consuming conventional tube cultures for the isolation of HSV-1, especially from corneal scrapings for the laboratory diagnosis of herpes simplex keratitis
- …