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Biomedical subjects

W H Hsieh

Publications and source records attributed to W H Hsieh.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

Cryopreservation and biophysical properties of articular cartilage chondrocytes.

In order to successfully cryopreserve articular cartilage chondrocytes, it is important to characterize their osmotic response during the cryopreservation process, as the ice forms and the solutes concentrate. In this study, experimental work was undertaken to determine the osmotic parameters of articular cartilage chondrocytes. The osmotically inactive volume of articular cartilage chondrocytes was determined to be 44% of the isotonic volume. The membrane hydraulic conductivity parameters for water were determined by fitting a theoretical water transport model to the experimentally obtained volumetric shrinkage data; the membrane hydraulic conductivity parameter L(Pg) was found to be 0.0633 microm/min/atm, and the activation energy E, 8.23 kcal/mol. The simulated cooling process, using the osmotic parameters obtained in this study, suggests a cooling rate of 80 degrees C/min for the cryopreservation of the articular cartilage chondrocytes of hogs. The data obtained in this study could serve as a starting point for those interested in cryopreservation of chondrocytes from articular cartilage in other species in which there is clinical interest and there are no parameters for prediction of responses.

Animals↗

Physical heights of children with prolonged low dose-rate gamma-radiation exposure in radiocontaminated buildings.

PURPOSE: To evaluate low dose-rate radiation effects on the physical heights of children staying in apartments with 60Co-contaminated steel construction. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Children who once resided in radiocontaminated apartments since early 1983 were examined for height and body weight status from age 1 month to 18 years and before they moved out of the apartments. The physical heights and body weights of 21 898 age- and sex-matched non-exposed children from a nationwide school surveillance in 1997-98 were taken as controls. The physical height data were shown as height percentiles (HP) compared with reference children and age-specific relative height differences (RHD). RESULTS: HP and RHD in 48 exposed boys and 37 girls were analysed using generalized estimating equations (GEE), which accounted for multiple measurements and correlation between these measurements in the same individuals during this period. After adjusting for effects from parental heights and body mass index (BMI), clear dose-related decreases in HP and RHD were observed in the exposed boys with a cumulative exposure > 60 mSv. CONCLUSIONS: Prolonged low dose-rate y-radiation exposure was associated with adverse effects on the physical heights of growing boys, but were less apparent in the exposed girls.

Adolescent↗

Comparison of the one-and-a-half-year results of closure of patent ductus arteriosus by transcatheter coils placement with surgical ligation.

Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) is a common type of congenital cardiovascular lesion. It usually needs surgical ligation in a full-term baby after 1 year of age. Transcatheter implantation of coils was introduced for the closure of small- to moderate-sized PDA in 1992. From November 1995 to November 1998, the authors closed the PDA in 153 patients by transcatheter implantation of coils and by surgical ligation in 10 patients. One hundred fourteen of them were studied for more than 1(1/2) years. The regular follow-up studies, including physical examination; electrocardiography; and pulsed, continuous-wave, and color Doppler flow mapping, were performed on day one and day 2, and 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year after the procedure. The results of the closure of PDA by surgical ligation or coil placement were compared and analyzed in all the patients.

Adolescent↗

Treatment of pulmonary atresia with intact ventricular septum in early infancy.

BACKGROUND: Early treatment for the neonate with pulmonary atresia and intact ventricular septum (PA-IVS) is important if a high mortality rate is to be avoided. The treatment includes prostaglandin administration, balloon atrial septostomy, pulmonary valvotomy, a shunting procedure and patch repair for the right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT). This study discusses the early treatment and risk factors of this disease that are essential for assessing the risk of surgery and predicting outcome. METHODS: The medical records, echocardiograms, catheterization data and cineangiograms of 29 patients with PA-IVS diagnosed at our institution from 1987 to 1997 were reviewed retrospectively. Clinical manifestations including age, body weight, sex ratio, type of surgery and outcome were analyzed. RESULTS: Three of four patients with a right ventricular volume of less than 1 ml died, and all patients with a right ventricular volume of greater than 2 ml survived. Four of six patients with a tricuspid valvular area of between 0.25 and 0.5 cm2 died, but patients with an area of greater than 0.5 cm2 survived. One case with a monopartite right ventricle died. Patients with a bipartite or tripartite right ventricle had higher survival rates than those with a monopartite right ventricle. Patients with a the right ventricle dependent coronary sinusoid had a higher risk for mortality, even after surgery, than those with normal coronary circulation. CONCLUSIONS: A small right ventricular volume, the presence of a coronary sinusoid involving the right ventricle, a short linear length of the tricuspid valve and a small area of the tricuspid valve were the risk factors associated with a negative outcome in neonates with PA-IVS.

Female↗

Effects of waglerin-I on neuromuscular transmission of mouse nerve-muscle preparations.

The effects of waglerin-I, a toxin from Trimeresurus wagleri, on neuromuscular (NM) transmission were studied on the phrenic nerve-diaphragm preparation and triangularis sterni nerve-muscle preparation of mice. The toxin (1.2-4.0 microM) reversibly inhibited the indirectly elicited twitch tension of the diaphragm and decreased the ACh-elicited muscle contracture of chronically denervated diaphragm, while the directly elicited twitch tension was not affected. The toxin reversibly decreased the amplitude of miniature endplate potential (MEPP) at 0.52 microM and endplate potential (EPP) at 1.2-4 nM. The toxin (120 nM-0.4 microM) also decreased the quantal content of EPP. The perineural waveforms were recorded with an extracellular electrode placed into the perineural sheaths of motor nerves of M. triangularis sterni. The toxin (4 microM) did not alter the amplitudes of waveforms related to sodium and potassium currents of the nerve terminal action potential, while the waveform related to calcium current was decreased. It is concluded that the toxin acts on both presynaptic and postsynaptic sites of the mouse motor endplate, and that the presynaptic effect is apparently more potent than the postsynaptic effect.

Action Potentials↗

The combined prostatectomy.

A modified method of suprapubic-retropubic prostatectomy is described. This technique appears to offer several advantages over other open methods of prostatectomy. Dissection anterior and lateral to the surgical capsule is minimal. Simultaneous access to the lumen of the expanded prostatic urethra, vesical neck and bladder permits inspection of all areas and establishes nearly complete hemostasis. Corrective procedures at the vesical neck are accomplished easily, additional suprapubic transvesical drainage is unnecessary and closure of the prostatic urethra is simplified. Three-fourths of our patients were discharged from the hospital 8 days postoperatively. The amount of blood loss, mortality and morbidity were extremely low.

Drainage↗

Cell-free protein synthesis by kidney from the aging female Fischer F344 rat.

This is the first report to describe and characterize a cell-free protein synthesis system derived from kidney tissue. The optimum conditions for [3H]-valine incorporation into protein by the post-mitochondrial supernatant from whole kidneys were found to be: pH 6.9, 7.5 mM MgCl2, 150 mM KCl, 10 mM ATP, and 2 mM GTP. The cell-free protein-synthetising activities of kidneys isolated from 4.5-, 7.5-, 22-, and 31-month-old female Fischer F344 rats were measured using the post-mitochondrial supernatant. A 73-87% decrease in cell-free protein synthesis was observed between 4.5 and 31 months of age. Both the cell sap and microsomal fractions of the kidney post-mitochondrial supernatant from old rats were less active in protein synthesis than these fractions from the kidneys of young rats. No age-related change in the activity of RNAase in the kidney post-mitochondrial supernatant was observed. Kidney ribosomes stripped of endogenous mRNA were found to be active in poly(uridylic acid)-directed polyphenylalanine synthesis. The effect of aging on the fidelity of translation was determined by measuring poly(uridylic acid)-directed [14C]-phenylalanine and [3H]leucine incorporation by kidney ribosomes isolated from rats of various ages. No age-related change in the fidelity of poly(uridylic acid) translation by kidney ribosomes was observed.

Aging↗