Degradation Mechanism of Ag Nanorods for Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy.

This paper reports a degradation mechanism of silver (Ag) nanorods that are used as substrates for surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). The attachment of sulfur and hydrocarbons to the surfaces of Ag nanorods is observed when they are stored in ambient over four months. This attachment is observed to correlate with ~20% decrease in SERS signal.

A phase I-II study of isolated hepatic perfusion using melphalan with or without tumor necrosis factor for patients with ocular melanoma metastatic to liver.

There are no satisfactory treatment options for patients with ocular melanoma metastatic to liver, and after liver metastases are identified, median survival is only between 2 and 7 months. Because liver metastases are the sole or life-limiting component of disease in the vast majority of patients who recur, we reasoned that complete vascular isolation and perfusion of the liver might result in clinically meaningful regression of disease. Between September 1994 and July 1999, 22 patients (13 women and 9 men; mean age, 49 years) with ocular melanoma metastatic to liver were treated with a 60-min hyperthermic isolated hepatic perfusion (IHP) using melphalan alone (1.

Desmopressin acetate in cardiac surgery: a double-blind, randomized study.

Use of desmopressin acetate (DDAVP) for patients having cardiac surgery is controversial. We did a double-blind, randomized study of 83 patients having cardiac operations at Georgetown University Hospital. The effect of DDAVP on bleeding as compared to placebo was evaluated by blood loss, replacement volume, and laboratory tests.

The resting volume and compliance characteristics of the bronchial cuff of left polyvinyl chloride double-lumen endobronchial tubes.

The resting volume of a low-pressure, high-volume cuff is an important factor that determines the cuff compliance, because it is the maximum volume that maintains the low-pressure characteristics of the cuff. Modern polyvinyl chloride (PVC) double-lumen tubes (DLT) are designed with a low-pressure bronchial cuff to minimize the risk of bronchial damage. Maintenance of the low-pressure characteristics of this cuff, however, requires knowledge of how its resting volume and compliance vary between different DLT sizes and brands, and how the compliance changes when the cuff is inflated inside different-sized bronchi.