Evaluation of heparin assay for coagulation management in newborns undergoing ECMO.

The objective was to identify the usefulness of heparin level by anti-factor Xa (anti-Xa) assay vs activated partial thromboplastin time (PTT) or activated clotting time (ACT) in neonates undergoing extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). A retrospective record review of 21 patients in the neonatal intensive care unit (mean ECMO initiation age, 2 days; range, 0-4 days; male/female ratio, 1:1) undergoing ECMO from 2006 to 2008 was performed. Linear regression correlations between anti-Xa, PTT, and ACT were determined by extrapolating PTT and ACT therapeutic ranges that corresponded with the ECMO heparin target range of 0.

The role of transforming growth factor-beta-mediated tumor-stroma interactions in prostate cancer progression: an integrative approach.

We have implemented a hybrid cellular automata model based on the structure of human prostate that recapitulates key interactions in nascent tumor foci between tumor cells and adjacent stroma. Model simulations show how stochastic interactions between tumor cells and stroma may lead to a structural suppression of tumor growth, modest proliferation, or unopposed tumor growth. The model incorporates key aspects of prostate tumor progression, including transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta), matrix-degrading enzyme activity, and stromal activation.

[Can preoperative lung function diagnosis detect risk of intraoperative pulmonary gas exchange insufficiency in artificial hip replacement with polymethylmethacrylate cement?].

In a study of 90 patients in whom a hipjoint had been replaced for the first time using polymethylmetacrylate cement, the extent of intraoperative pulmonary gas exchange disorders was established. The effect of a preexisting disorder of lung function was determined. We checked whether an appraisal of the risk patients who are operated on can be assisted by a preoperative analysis of lung function.