Kinetic Studies of Lipid Exchanges in Red Cell Membranes in Hereditary High Red Cell Membrane Phosphatidylcholine Hemolytic Anemia : Reference to the Abnormal Accumulation of Phosphatidylcholine in These Membranes

The pathogenesis of the accumulation of phosphatidylcholine (PC) in red cell membranes of the patients with hereditary high red cell membrane phosphatidylcholine hemolytic anemia (HPCHA) was studied utilizing 14C-PC and 14C-lyso-PC. The uptake of 14C-PC was not significantly different in the red cell membranes with HPCHA from that in normal controls and obstructive jaundice in whom red cell membrane PC and free cholesterol (FC) were elevated to the same extent as that in HPCHA. The efflux of 14C-PC with HPCHA was slightly decreased, in comparison with that in the normal controls and obstructive jaundice. The most striking data were obtained in the uptake of 14C-lyso-PC by the red cells of the HPCHA patients, showing more than two fold increase when compared with that in the normal control. The conversion of 14C-lyso-PC to 14C-PC was increased in comparison with that in the normal controls and obstructive jaundice. In summary, the exact cause of the abnormal accumulation of PC through increased uptake of lyso-PC, followed by the increased conversion of lyso-PC to PC is unknown. In obstructive jaundice of an acquired origin, some compensatory mechanism may exist to prevent the further accumulation of lipids in the red cell membranes

Semi-physical nonlinear circuit model with device/physical parameters for HEMTs

A nonlinear circuit model (NCM) with physical parameters is proposed for direct simulation of the RF characteristics of GaN high-electron-mobility transistors (GaN HEMTs) on the basis of device structure. The physical equations are used for the construction of the model in order to connect strongly the model parameters with the device/physical parameters. Hyperbolic tangent functions are used as the model equations to ensure good model convergence and rapid simulation (short simulation time). The usefulness of these equations is confirmed by technology computer aided design (TCAD) simulation. The number of model parameters for the nonlinear components (Ids, Cgs, Cgd) is reduced to 17 by using common physical parameters for modeling the drain current and capacitance. The accuracy of this model is verified by applying to GaN HEMTs. The modeled I–V and capacitance characteristics agree well with the measurement data over a wide voltage range. Furthermore, this model can be used for the accurate evaluation of S-parameters and large-signal RF characteristics

The Usefulness of Bone and Bone-marrow Scintigraphy in the Detection of Bone Involvement in Patients with Multiple Myeloma

We used a combination of bone and bone-marrow scintigraphy to evaluate bone involvement in 15 patients with multiple myeloma (7 in untreated group and 8 in chemotherapy group). Of the 3 cases in untreated group whose 99mTc-methylene diphosphonate (MDP) bone scans showed no abnormality, one had abnormal 99mTc-suffer colloid bone-marrow scintigraphy. In other 4 cases of untreated group whose bone scan showed cold defects, bone-marrow scintigraphy delineated clearly the areas of tumor-cell invasion. On the other hand, in all chemotherapy cases, multiple hot spots were observed on bone scintigram, but on bone-marrow scintigram abnormalities were not recognized. In conclusion, the combination scintigraphy of bone and bone-marrow was a useful method in evaluating bone involvement in patients with multiple myeloma

Profile of infective endocarditis at a tertiary-care hospital in Japan over a 14-year period: characteristics, outcome and predictors for in-hospital mortality

Objectives: The aims of this study were to describe the epidemiological features and clinical characteristics of infective endocarditis (IE) at a tertiary-care hospital in Japan and to identify the factors associated with in-hospital mortality. Methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted at a 925-bed tertiary-care teaching hospital in Japan. All adult patients diagnosed with definite IE between August 2000 and July 2014 according to the modified Duke criteria were included. Results: A total of 180 patients (60.6% men; mean age, 69.1 years) with definite IE were included. The most common pathogen was Staphylococcus aureus (27.2%). Nine patients (5.0%) had culture-negative IE. Transthoracic and transoesophageal echocardiography were performed in 180 (100%) and 132 patients (73.3%), respectively, and vegetations were detected in 128 patients (71.1%). Surgical therapy was performed in 31 patients (17.2%). Overall, the in-hospital mortality rate was 26.1%. The independent predictors of in-hospital mortality were methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), vascular phenomena, health care-associated IE and heart failure. Conclusions: MRSA, vascular phenomena, health care-associated IE and heart failure were independent predictors of in-hospital mortality. The unique characteristics in our cohort were the very high mean age, low rate of culture-negative IE, high rate of definite IE without detected vegetations and predominance of S. aureus