Safety and effectiveness of low-dose propofol sedation during and after esophagogastroduodenoscopy in child A and B cirrhotic patients.

Background: Effective and safe sedation for patients with liver cirrhosis is problematic.

Aim: To examine the safety and effectiveness of low-dose propofol sedation during and after esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) in cirrhotic patients.

Methods: Study 1 was a prospective study in cirrhotic patients who underwent diagnostic EGD under propofol sedation.

Predicting factors of plural hospitalization with pneumonia in low-birthweight infants.

Background: Children with a history of low birthweight (LBW) are often hospitalized with plural episodes of pneumonia after discharge from the neonatal intensive care unit. The aim of this study was to clarify the multiple factors predisposing them to developing three or more hospitalizations with pneumonia and whether the factors are related to their own prematurity. We also aimed to determine a predictable numerical formula for three or more episodes.

Poly(ethylene glycol) hydrogels cross-linked by hydrolyzable polyrotaxane containing hydroxyapatite particles as scaffolds for bone regeneration.

Poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) hydrogels cross-linked by a hydrolyzable polyrotaxane containing hydroxyapatite particles (PRX-HAp) were developed as scaffolds for bone regeneration. Five scaffolds with various composition of the polyrotaxane, PEG and HAp particles were prepared to examine cell adhesion in vitro using rat primary cultured osteoblast. Cells were observed to attach well on a PRX-HAp that have the same weight ratio of the polyrotaxane and HAp particles at 7 days after seeding.

Effects of autologous serum on osteoblastic differentiation in human bone marrow cells.

Background: Expanding cells ex vivo is an important step in tissue engineering and the culture medium is usually supplemented with bovine serum. When a patient receives bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) grown in a medium containing bovine serum, infection of bovine diseases and/or the patient's unfavorable immune reaction to bovine proteins are of concern. To overcome these problems, we examined whether a patient's autologous serum could support the growth and differentiation of his/her BMSCs.