No abstract available.
Animals ; Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem* ; Guinea Pigs* ; Guinea*

No abstract available.

This study was performed to compare the amount of blood flow from left and right side heart using Doppler echocardiography and Fick method. The pulmonary blood flow (Qp), aortic blood flow (Qs) and Qp/Qs ratio were noninvasively evaluated by two dimensional Doppler echocardiography in 10 patients with ventricular septal defect in children, aged 2 years to 15 years (mean+/-SD=7.1+/-4.9 years). Cardiac catheterization was performed within 2 days after examination of Doppler echocardiography in all patients. Systemic and pulmonary blood flow was calculated by using Fick principle, based on measured oxygen consumption and measured blood oxygen saturation. The Doppler frequency shift was analyzed by computer system combined with Meridian Echocardiography System. Comparison of Qp, Qs and Qp/Qs ratio obtained by invasive methods and by two-dimensional pulsed wave Doppler echocardiography showed a correlation of 0.679 in Qp, 0.710 in Qs and 0.639 in Qp/Qs ratio (p<0.05).
Cardiac Catheterization* ; Cardiac Catheters* ; Child* ; Computer Systems ; Echocardiography ; Echocardiography, Doppler* ; Heart ; Heart Septal Defects, Ventricular* ; Humans ; Oxygen ; Oxygen Consumption

No abstract available.
Immunoglobulin M*

No abstract available.
Child* ; Humans ; Rheumatic Fever* ; Rheumatic Heart Disease*

No abstract available.
Basement Membrane* ; Epithelium*

No abstract available.
Meningitis, Bacterial* ; Stapes*

Biliary stenting via endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography has greatly improved the quality of patient care over the last 30 years. Plastic stent occlusion limits the life span of such stents. Attempts to improve plastic stent patency duration have mostly failed. Metal stents (self-expandable metal stents [SEMSs]) have therefore replaced plastic stents, especially for malignant biliary strictures. SEMS are at least 10 times more expensive than plastic stents. In this focused review, we will discuss basic mechanisms of plastic stent occlusion, along with a systematic summary of previous efforts and related studies to improve stent patency and potential new techniques to overcome existing limitations.
Biliary Tract ; Biofilms ; Cholangiopancreatography, Endoscopic Retrograde ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Patient Care ; Plastics* ; Stents*

No abstract available.
Dilatation*

Biodegradable stents have the highly attractive advantage that they do not need to be removed after insertion into human organs. For this reason, biodegradable stents using various biodegradable materials have been developed and applied to the several human organs for a long time with the possibility of success. In the gastrointestinal tract, benign esophageal stricture was the first indication of biodegradable stents, and several biodegradable stents are currently attempting to overcome several technical limitations and to be inserted benign bile duct and pancreatic strictures by endoscopic procedure. However, in order to maintain a high radial expansion force while properly controlling the degradation time, there are many problems to be solved because the thickness of the raw material must be adequately maintained at a constant thickness. In this review, the issues or previous clinical results related to biodegradable stents were reviewed, and the concepts of the basics and the problems related to the development of biodegradable stents were discussed.