Inhibition of nitric oxide synthase in hyperdynamic circulation of rats with early or late cirrhosis secondary to common bile duct ligation.

Background/aims: Preventing internal hemorrhage extends the lifespan of rats with chronic bile duct ligation (CBDL), a common animal model of portal hypertension. We investigated hemodynamics during the early and late stages of cirrhosis caused by CBDL. We also evaluated the hemodynamic influence of NO, which is the chief vasodilator in hyperdynamic syndrome, by administration of an NO synthase inhibitor (N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester: L-NAME; 10 mg/kg).

Spiral pattern in a radial displacement involving a reaction-producing gel.

We have shown experimentally that the pattern created by the displacement of a more viscous fluid by a less viscous one in a radial Hele-Shaw cell develops not radially but spirally when a more viscous sodium polyacrylate solution is displaced by a less viscous trivalent iron ion (Fe3+) solution with a sufficiently high concentration of Fe3+ . Another experiment revealed that an instantaneous chemical reaction takes place between the two fluids, and at high Fe3+ concentrations it produces a film of the gel at the contact plane. The gel film is proposed to be responsible for the spiral pattern.

Miscible viscous fingering with a chemical reaction involving precipitation.

We experimentally investigated the effects of a chemical reaction involving precipitation on the miscible viscous fingering pattern formed in a Hele-Shaw cell. The precipitation concentration, the ratio of the reactant concentrations initially included in the more- and less-viscous liquids, and the Péclet number were varied. For a Péclet number at the stoichiometric ratio the precipitation had significant effects on the fingering pattern when its concentration exceeded a threshold value.

Enhanced anthocyanin production from grape callus in an air-lift type bioreactor using a viscous additive-supplemented medium.

An N-medium containing carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) was applied to an air-lift type bioreactor culture of grape (Vitis vinifera cv. Bailey alicant A.) callus, and anthocyanin production was investigated.

Arterial hypoxemia and intrapulmonary vasodilatation in rat models of portal hypertension.

Background: Rats with chronic bile duct ligation (CBDL) and portal vein ligation (PVL) are used as models of portal hypertension. CBDL rats show hypoxemia with intrapulmonary vasodilatation (IPVD), and are recognized as a model of hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS), while PVL rats are normoxemic. We investigated the differences in arterial oxygenation between these models, and the key factors leading to HPS.

Association of limited scleroderma and pulmonary hypertension in a patient with primary biliary cirrhosis.

We report a male patient with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) who developed limited scleroderma (l-SSc) and pulmonary hypertension (PHT). He had noticed shortness of breath seven months earlier, which slowly progressed before admission. Sclerodactyly and telagiectasia of the fingers and chest wall were found.

Hemodynamic features and impaired arterial oxygenation in patients with portopulmonary hypertension.

Portopulmonary hypertension (P-PHT) is sporadically found in cirrhosis patients who have portal hypertension. We retrospectively investigated the clinical features of six patients with P-PHT and compared their hemodynamics and arterial oxygenation with data from 60 cirrhosis patients without pulmonary hypertension (non-PHT cirrhosis) admitted to our department. The mean pulmonary artery pressure and pulmonary vascular resistance index of P-PHT patients ranged from 25 to 57mmHg and from 399 to 1405dynesscm(-5)m(-2), respectively, and their arterial oxygenation was impaired.

Increased chymase in livers with autoimmune disease: colocalization with fibrosis.

Chymase, one of the proteases contained in human mast cells, promotes myocardial and renal interstitial fibrosis by converting angiotensin I to II (AII). We previously established a method for measuring chymase in liver tissue and examined the relationship between chymase and fibrosis in chronic hepatitis. In the present study, chymase was determined in liver specimens affected by autoimmune hepatitis (AIH, n=10) or primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC, n=12).