Use of activated protein C has no avail in the early phase of acute pancreatitis

AbstractObjectives. Sepsis and acute pancreatitis have similar pathogenetic mechanisms that have been implicated in the progression of multiple organ failure. Drotrecogin alfa, an analogue of endogenous protein C, reduces mortality in clinical sepsis. Our objective was to evaluate the early therapeutic effects of activated protein C (APC) in a rat model of acute necrotizing pancreatitis. Subjects and method. Acute necrotizing pancreatitis was induced by intraductal injection of 5% Na taurocholate. Hourly bolus injections of saline or recombinant human APC (drotrecogin alfa) was commenced via femoral venous catheter four hours after the induction of acute pancreatitis. The experiment was terminated nine hours after pancratitis induction. Animals in group one (n=20) had a sham operation while animals in group two (n=20) received saline and animals in group three (n=20) received drotrecogin alfa boluses after acute pancreatitis induction. Pancreatic tissue for histopathologic scores and myeloperoxidase, glutathione reductase, glutathione peroxidase, and catalase activites were collected, and blood for serum amylase, urea, creatinine, and inleukin-6 measurements was withdrawn. Results. Serum amylase activity was significantly lower in the APC treated group than the untreated group (17,435±432 U/L vs. 27,426±118 U/L, respectively). While the serum interleukin-6 concentration in the APC untreated group was significantly lower than the treated group (970±323 pg/mL vs. 330±368 pg/mL, respectively). Conclusion. In the early phase of acute pancreatitis, drotrecogin alfa treatment did not result in a significant improvement in oxidative and inflammatory parameters or renal functions

Serum procalcitonin and CRP levels in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: a case control study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Both C reactive protein (CRP) and procalcitonin (PCT) are well known acute phase reactant proteins. CRP was reported to increase in metabolic syndrome and type-2 diabetes. Similarly altered level of serum PCT was found in chronic liver diseases and cirrhosis. The liver is considered the main source of CRP and a source of PCT, however, the serum PCT and CRP levels in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) were not compared previously. Therefore we aimed to study the diagnostic and discriminative role of serum PCT and CRP in NAFLD.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Fifty NAFLD cases and 50 healthy controls were included to the study. Liver function tests were measured, body mass index was calculated, and insulin resistance was determined by using a homeostasis model assessment (HOMA-IR). Ultrasound evaluation was performed for each subject. Serum CRP was measured with nephalometric method. Serum PCT was measured with Kryptor based system.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Serum PCT levels were similar in steatohepatitis (n 20) and simple steatosis (n 27) patients, and were not different than the control group (0.06 ± 0.01, 0.04 ± 0.01 versus 0.06 ± 0.01 ng/ml respectively). Serum CRP levels were significantly higher in simple steatosis, and steatohepatitis groups compared to healthy controls (7.5 ± 1.6 and 5.2 ± 2.5 versus 2.9 ± 0.5 mg/dl respectively p < 0.01). CRP could not differentiate steatohepatitis from simple steatosis. Beside, three patients with focal fatty liver disease had normal serum CRP levels.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Serum PCT was within normal ranges in patients with simple steatosis or steatohepatitis and has no diagnostic value. Serum CRP level was increased in NAFLD compared to controls. CRP can be used as an additional marker for diagnosis of NAFLD but it has no value in discrimination of steatohepatitis from simple steatosis.</p

Filter

In this study, a new current follower based voltage-mode first-order all-pass filter is proposed. The proposed all-pass filter consists of a current follower, three resistors and a grounded capacitor. Also, the proposed filter has low power consumption and it can be operated at the high frequencies. However, it has a passive element matching condition. The SPICE simulation results based on 0.13 mu m IBM CMOS parameters are given to demonstrate the performance of the proposed all-pass filter

of Active and Passive Elements

In this paper, a new voltage-mode (VM) multifunctional filter comprising two second-generation current conveyors (CCIIs) is proposed. The proposed filter with one input and three outputs is also composed of three resistors and two grounded capacitors. The proposed filter has high input impedance; thus, it can be easily connected with other VM circuits. The proposed filter can simultaneously provide low-pass (LP), band-pass (BP) and high-pass (HP) responses. A number of time domain and frequency domain simulation results are included to confirm the claimed theory

Followers and a Minimum Number of Passive Elements

A new voltage-mode (VM) multifunctional filter using only two voltage followers (VFs), two resistors and two capacitors is proposed. The proposed filter with two inputs and two outputs can provide low-pass (LP) and high-pass (HP) responses. It does not need any critical passive component matching constraints. Additionally, it has low output impedances, low power dissipation and adequately low THD values. However, it does not have high input impedances; accordingly, it requires an extra VF to obtain high input impedance. A number of time domain and frequency domain simulations and experimental tests are performed to verify the claimed theory

and its quadrature oscillator application

In this paper, a new Voltage-Mode (VM) first-order All-Pass Filter (APF) topology composed of only a grounded capacitor is proposed. The proposed APF uses a single, minus-type, second-generation, current conveyor (CCII-), which can be constructed by only five MOS transistors. It has low power consumption. The resonance frequency of the proposed APF can be adjusted by changing only a resistor value. However, it needs a single matching condition. As an application, a quadrature oscillator example is given. A non-ideality analysis for the proposed APF is also given. A number of time domain and frequency domain simulation results and an experimental test result are included to confirm the theory. (C) 2015 Sharif University of Technology. All rights reserved

Resistor

A new grounded voltage controlled positive resistor (GVCPR) is proposed in this brief. The proposed GVCPR with a single control voltage is composed of only six MOS transistors operated in saturation region. It has the feature of fine tunability from about 770 Omega to about 1370 Omega. It can be operated properly up to a few hundreds of MHz. It has low power consumption and a wide dynamic range. It does not need any bias currents and voltages. However, its control voltage does not have the property of high input impedance and it requires some active element matching conditions. A novel second-order voltage-mode multifunction filter is given as an application example. A lot of simulation results and some experimental tests are achieved in order to verify the theory

and its quadrature oscillator application

In this paper, a new Voltage-Mode (VM) first-order All-Pass Filter (APF) topology composed of only a grounded capacitor is proposed. The proposed APF uses a single, minus-type, second-generation, current conveyor (CCII-), which can be constructed by only five MOS transistors. It has low power consumption. The resonance frequency of the proposed APF can be adjusted by changing only a resistor value. However, it needs a single matching condition. As an application, a quadrature oscillator example is given. A non-ideality analysis for the proposed APF is also given. A number of time domain and frequency domain simulation results and an experimental test result are included to confirm the theory. (C) 2015 Sharif University of Technology. All rights reserved