Anesthetic management of hepatectomy for the patient with Fontan circulation: a case series.

Background: Hepatectomy for patients with Fontan circulation consists of high central venous pressure and low pulmonary vascular resistance, and is challenging for physicians.

Case Presentation: We performed anesthetic management for hepatectomy in three patients with Fontan circulation. Massive bleeding and transfusion as well as careful management were needed.

Anesthetic management of cesarean section in a patient with Takayasu's arteritis: a case report.

Background: Takayasu's arteritis (TA) is a chronic, progressive, inflammatory arteritis. We presented the case of cesarean section in a patient with TA.

Case Presentation: A 31-year-old pregnant woman with TA underwent a planned cesarean section at 34 weeks of pregnancy.

Impact of air-conditioner outlet layout on the upward airflow induced by forced air warming in operating rooms.

Background: Previously, we found that an upward air current in the head area, induced by forced air warming (FAW), was completely counteracted by downward laminar airflow. However, this study did not include any consideration of the air-conditioner outlet layout (ACOL); hence, its impact remains unclear.

Methods: This study was performed in 2 operating rooms (ORs)-ISO classes 5 and 6, which are denoted as OR-5 and OR-6, respectively.

Cytoplasm-responsive nanocarriers conjugated with a functional cell-penetrating peptide for systemic siRNA delivery.

To develop a gene carrier for cancer therapy by systemic injection, we synthesized methoxypolyethylene glycol-polycaprolactone (MPEG-PCL) diblock copolymers conjugated with a cytoplasm-responsive cell-penetrating peptide (CPP), CH2R4H2C (C, Cys; H, His; R, Arg). The carrier/small interfering RNA (siRNA) complexes (N/P ratio of 20) had a particle size of approximately 50 nm and stabilized the siRNA against RNase. The cellular uptake ability of the carrier/FAM-siRNA complexes with fetal bovine serum was significantly higher than that of naked FAM-siRNA.

Oxygen consumption of keloids and hypertrophic scars.

The oxygen consumption of keloids and hypertrophic scars has never been quantitatively presented, although abnormal metabolic conditions must be associated with their pathophysiology. We invented an original measurement system equipped with a Clark oxygen electrode for ex vivo samples. The measurement of a mouse wound-healing model revealed immature repairing tissues consumed more oxygen than mature tissues.

cHS4 insulator-mediated alleviation of promoter interference during cell-based expression of tandemly associated transgenes.

Expression of multiple transgenes in cells or whole organisms is a powerful tool for basic research of various biological functions and potentially for clinical applications such as gene therapy. As a model system for this purpose, multi-cDNA expression clones were constructed harboring two tandemly situated fluorescent protein cDNAs as reporter genes on a single plasmid. When 293 cells were transfected transiently, the downstream gene displayed significantly lower expression when compared with the upstream cDNA.