AIM To investigate a possible association between the biomechanical load and unload behaviour and the elastin content of the sclera canal ring (SCR) and a superiorly localized sclera ring (SPS) in the porcine eye. METHODS Two sclera rings were trephined from each of 40 porcine eyes, one containing the SCR and the other an SPS. The load and the unload curves were measured in the extension rang...

Triggered arrhythmias due to spontaneous cytoplasmic calcium oscillations occur in a variety of disease conditions; however, their cellular mechanisms in tissue are not clear. We hypothesize that spontaneous calcium oscillations in the whole heart are due to calcium release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum and are facilitated by calcium diffusion through gap junctions. Optical mapping of cytopla...

Software Cost Reduction (SCR) is a set of techniques for designing software systems developed by David Parnas and researchers from the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) beginning in the late 1970s. A major goal of the original SCR research team was to evaluate the utility and scalability of software engineering principles by applying the principles to the reconstruction of software for a pra...

RATIONALE Spontaneous Ca(2+) release (SCR) from the sarcoplasmic reticulum can cause delayed afterdepolarizations and triggered activity, contributing to arrhythmogenesis during β-adrenergic stimulation. Excessive beat-to-beat variability of repolarization duration (BVR) is a proarrhythmic marker. Previous research has shown that BVR is increased during intense β-adrenergic stimulation, leading...

Objective: The present study aimed todetermine the time course of aminoglycoside induced serum creatinine (SCr) elevation and compare that in patients treated with amikacin (AK) and those treated with gentamicin (GM). Methodology: A one-year, non-interventional prospective study of patients with normal baseline renal function and were administered either GM or AK. The study was carried out at t...

Background Early detection of acute kidney dysfunction (AKD) in cirrhotic patients is crucial. Urinary neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (uNGAL) has been identified as an early marker of AKD. The aim of the study was to evaluate serial uNGAL as a marker and predictor of AKD in liver cirrhosis patients. Methods Serial uNGAL and serum creatinine (sCr) levels were measured daily during ...

OBJECTIVE To assess the outcome of 3 different surgical approaches for treatment of acute aortic dissection type A (AADA). METHODS AND RESULTS Between October 1990 and October 2003, we operated on 295 patients (pts) for AADA. Follow-up was complete for 257 pts (87%). Supracommissural replacement (SCR) of the ascending aorta was applied to 145 pts, 64 pts received a composite replacement (comp...

Using a canine critical-size segmental defect model, a two-phased study was undertaken to evaluate the healing efficacy of demineralized bone and cancellous chips (DBM-CC) enriched with osteoprogenitor cells using a Selective Cell Retention (SCR) technology. The goals of this study were: 1) to determine the bone-healing efficacy of SCR-enriched grafts versus autograft, and 2) to assess the valu...

Methods Elective adult cardiac surgical patients between 1997 and 2001 at the Medical University of Vienna were included. The cohort was split into two groups: Patients with an elevated SCr >1.3 mg.dL and ≤1.3 mg.dL. Within 120 minutes after end of surgery, the ΔCrea between the first measured SCr and the baseline SCr value was calculated for each patient. Mortality rates were calculated stepwi...