133 research outputs found
Pretransplant assessment of human liver grafts by plasma lecithin: cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) activity in multiple organ donors.
In spite of the improved outcome of orthotopic liver transplantation (OLTx), primary graft nonfunction remains one of the life-threatening problems following OLTx. The purpose of this study was to evaluate plasma lecithin: cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) activity in multiple organ donors as a predictor of liver allograft viability prior to OLTx. Thirty-nine donors were studied during a 5-month period between April and August 1988. Allograft hepatectomy was performed using a rapid technique or its minor modification with hilar dissections, and the allografts were stored cold (4 degrees C) in University of Wisconsin (UW) solution. Early post-transplant allograft function was classified as good, fair, or poor, according to the highest SGOT, SGPT, and prothrombin time within 5 days following OLTx. Procurement records were reviewed to identify donor data, which included conventional liver function tests, duration of hospital stay, history of cardiac arrest, and graft ischemic time. Blood samples from the donors were drawn immediately prior to aortic crossclamp, and from these plasma LCAT activity was determined. Plasma LCAT activity of all donors was significantly lower than that of healthy controls (12.4 +/- 8.0 vs 39.2 +/- 13.3 micrograms/ml per hour, P less than 0.01). LCAT activity (16.4 +/- 8.3 micrograms/ml per hour) in donors of grafts with good function was significantly higher than that in those with fair (8.6 +/- 4.5 micrograms/ml per hour, P less than 0.01) or poor (7.3 +/- 2.4 micrograms/ml per hour, P less than 0.01) function.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS
Mechanisms of urethral continence and their clinical application
Controversy about the basic nature of urethral function does not preclude accurate clinical assessment of disorders of function. While the precise method of treatment of urethral continence dysfunction varies from institution to institution, the basic techniques are quite similar. It is the application of a treatment method to a particular case which causes difficulty. It is important, therefore, to have some understanding of the functional elements in the urethral continence mechanism to be able to determine which element does not function. Most cases of intractable incontinence are associated with poor function of the involuntary part of the sphincter. In general, peak urethral closing pressures are unrelated to continence function unless there is no pressure at all.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/47059/1/345_2004_Article_BF00326702.pd
The mediating role of a teacher’s use of semiotic resources in pupils’ early algebraic reasoning
The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11858-012-0421-2.This paper focuses on the semiotic resources
used by an experienced sixth-grade teacher when her pupils
are working on a mathematical task involving written text
and the two inscriptions of figure and diagram. Socio-cultural
analytical constructs such as semiotic bundle, space of
joint action and togethering are applied in order to enable
and frame the collective activity of the teacher and pupils.
Four extracts from different situations in the classroom
illustrate the important role of both teacher gestures and
pupil gestures, interacting with other modalities such as
speech and inscription, in the process of making sense of
pupils’ appropriation of coordinating two dimensions in a
diagram. It is argued that the nature of the mathematical
task is an important entry point into early algebraic reasoning.
The study emphasises the mediating role of the
dynamics of semiotic bundles produced in teacher–pupil
dialogues as a promising way to address the fundamental
relationships between mathematics, pupil and teacher in a
classroom context in order to provoke pupil involvement
and engagement when experiencing mathematics
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