Comparison of Hemodynamic Energy between Expanded Polytetrafluoroethylene and Dacron Artificial Vessels.

Background: Artificial grafts such as polyethylene terephthalate (Dacron) and expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) are used for various cardiovascular surgical procedures. The compliance properties of prosthetic grafts could affect hemodynamic energy, which can be measured using the energy-equivalent pressure (EEP) and surplus hemodynamic energy (SHE). We investigated changes in the hemodynamic energy of prosthetic grafts.

Effects of lipopolysaccharide on changes in red blood cells in a mice endotoxemia model.

The aim of this study was to evaluate changes in RBC aggregation and deformability over 24 hr and suggest specific shear stress values for detecting RBC deformability in a mouse endotoxemia model using lipopolysaccharide (LPS).Six-week-old male BALB/c mice received LPS (20 mg/kg) intraperitoneally. Aggregation indices (AIs) and T1/2 were measured to assess RBC aggregation, and elongation indices (EIs) were used to assess RBC deformability at shear stress values of 0.

Micromachined tethered silicon oscillator for an endomicroscopic Lissajous fiber scanner.

This work reports micromachined tethered silicon oscillators (MTSOs) for endoscopic Lissajous fiber scanners. An MTSO comprises an offset silicon spring for stiffness modulation of a scanning fiber and additional mass for modulation of resonant scanning frequency in one body. MTSOs were assembled with a resonant fiber scanner and enhanced scanning reliability of the scanner by eliminating mechanical cross coupling.

Discovery of a novel fibrous tissue in the spinal pia mater by polarized light microscopy.

Abstract It is very well known that spinal meninges are composed of three layers, dura, arachnoid and pia mater, and that the main components of pia mater are collagen and reticular fibers. However, the distribution of those fibers has not been extensively investigated but just described as a mesh of fibers. In this study, we detected novel structures, which are composed of unidirectionally arranged fibers, in a rat spinal pia mater by using a polarized light microscope.

The characteristics of action potentials in primo vessels and the effects of acetylcholine injection to the action potentials.

In a previous study, we found that Primo vessels generate different action potentials in smooth muscles, but this study compared the pulse shape to distinguish the two tissues. Thus, a more sophisticated extracellular experiment was performed in this study using an acetylcholine injection; we then observed changes in the amplitude, FWHM (full width at half maximum), and period to explore Primo vessel function. A third type of pulse was recorded for Primo vessels.

Primo vascular system in the subarachnoid space of a mouse brain.

Objective. Recently, a novel circulatory system, the primo vascular system (PVS), was found in the brain ventricles and in the central canal of the spinal cord of a rat. The aim of the current work is to detect the PVS along the transverse sinuses between the cerebrum and the cerebellum of a mouse brain.

Primo vascular system accompanying a blood vessel from tumor tissue and a method to distinguish it from the blood or the lymph system.

A primo vessel was observed in the abdominal cavity in the lung cancer mouse model, and its function as an extra metastatic path was observed. In this work, we found a primo vessel accompanying a blood vessel emanating from a tumor in the skin. We also presented simple and efficient criteria to distinguish a primo vessel from a blood or a lymph vessel and from a nerve.

A solid state nanopore device for investigating the magnetic properties of magnetic nanoparticles.

In this study, we explored magnetic nanoparticles translocating through a nanopore in the presence of an inhomogeneous magnetic field. By detecting the ionic current blockade signals with a silicon nitride nanopore, we found that the translocation velocity that is driven by magnetic and hydrodynamic forces on a single magnetic nanoparticle can be accurately determined and is linearly proportional to the magnetization of the magnetic nanoparticle. Thus, we obtained the magneto-susceptibility of an individual nanoparticle and the average susceptibility over one hundred particles within a few minutes.

Differentiating blood, lymph, and primo vessels by residual time characteristic of fluorescent nanoparticles in a tumor model.

Fluorescent nanoparticles (FNPs) which were injected into a tumor tissue flowed out through the blood and lymph vessels. The FNPs in blood vessels remained only in the order for few minutes while those in lymph vessels remained for a long time disappearing completely in 25 hours. We found a primo vessel inside a lymph vessel near a blood vessel, and FNPs remained in the primo vessel for longer than 25 hours.

A primo vascular system underneath the superior sagittal sinus in the brain of a rabbit.

The primo vascular systems (PVS) observed in the central nervous system have been limited to the ones floating in the cerebrospinal fluid. In those experiments, it was difficult to obtain the same results because the PVS was not fixed in a given anatomical position. In the current work, we report a finding of a PVS in a well-defined location, namely, underneath the superior sagittal sinus in the sagittal fissure, so that repetition of the experiments is possible.

Primo vessel inside a lymph vessel emerging from a cancer tissue.

Primo vessels were observed inside the lymph vessels near the caudal vena cava of a rabbit and a rat and in the thoracic lymph duct of a mouse. In the current work we found a primo vessel inside the lymph vessel that came out from the tumor tissue of a mouse. A cancer model of a nude mouse was made with human lung cancer cell line NCI-H460.

Estimating the density of fluorescent nanoparticles in the primo vessels in the fourth ventricle and the spinal cord of a rat.

The primo vascular system is a novel circulatory system forming a network throughout an animal's body. Primo vessels were recently observed in the fourth ventricle of the brain and in the spinal cord of a rat by using fluorescent nanoparticles. In order to quantify the nanoparticles in the primo vessels, we measured the florescence of the nanoparticles and calibrated the measurements by using a reference suspension.

Development of a laparoscopic system for in vivo observation of the Bonghan structure.

Bonghan structures composed of corpuscles and ducts have been observed in numerous animal experiments. The structure has been suggested to be the physical substrate for acupuncture points and meridians used in traditional Chinese medicine. The corpuscle-duct structure on the organ surface has been extensively studied.

Scanning spontaneous photon emission from transplanted ovarian tumor of mice using a photomultiplier tube.

A scanning system for the detection of spontaneous ultraweak photon emission from nude mice with transplanted tumors is presented. A photomultiplier tube (PMT) with an effective area of 15 mm diameter was used for measuring photon emission in a wavelength range from 300 to 650 nm. Tumors were induced in nude mice by transplantation of an ovarian cancer cell line into the back of mice.

Measurements of spontaneous ultraweak photon emission and delayed luminescence from human cancer tissues.

Objective: The aim of this study was to measure spontaneous photon emission (SPE) and delayed luminescence (DL) from various human cancer tissues.

Materials And Methods: A photomultiplier tube attached to a dark chamber was used for the detection of ultraweak photon emission from cancer tissues in the chamber. The samples were illuminated with a 150 W metal halide lamp for the measurement of delayed luminescence.

Effects of extremely low frequency magnetic field on the antioxidant defense system in mouse brain: a chemiluminescence study.

Among the putative mechanisms, by which extremely low frequency (ELF) magnetic field (MF) may affect biological systems is that of increasing free radical life span in organisms. To test this hypothesis, we investigated whether ELF (60 Hz) MF can modulate antioxidant system in mouse brain by detecting chemiluminescence and measuring superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in homogenates of the organ. Compared to sham exposed control group, lucigenin-initiated chemiluminescence in exposed group was not significantly increased.