Intrinsic Branch Research Articles

Combination of polycarboxybetaine coating and factor XII inhibitor reduces clot formation while preserving normal tissue coagulation during extracorporeal life support

Blood contact with high surface area medical devices, such as dialysis and extracorporeal life support (ECLS), induces rapid surface coagulation. Systemic anticoagulation, such as heparin, is thus necessary to slow clot formation, but some patients suffer from bleeding complications. Both problems might be reduced by 1) replacing heparin anticoagulation with artificial surface inhibition of the protein adsorption that initiates coagulation and 2) selective inhibition of the intrinsic branch of the coagulation cascade. This approach was evaluated by comparing clot formation and bleeding times during short-term ECLS using zwitterionic polycarboxybetaine (PCB) surface coatings combined with either a potent, selective, bicyclic peptide inhibitor of activated Factor XII (FXII900) or standard heparin anticoagulation. Rabbits underwent venovenous ECLS with small sham oxygenators for 60 min using three means of anticoagulation (n = 4 ea): (1) PCB coating + FXII900 infusion, (2) PCB coating + heparin infusion with an activated clotting time of 220–300s, and (3) heparin infusion alone. Sham oxygenator blood clot weights in the PCB + FXII900 and PCB + heparin groups were 4% and 25% of that in the heparin group (p < 10−6 and p < 10−5), respectively. At the same time, the bleeding time remained normal in the PCB + FXII900 group (2.4 ± 0.2 min) but increased to 4.8 ± 0.5 and 5.1 ± 0.7 min in the PCB + heparin and heparin alone groups (p < 10−4 and 0.01). Sham oxygenator blood flow resistance was significantly lower in the PCB + FXII900 and PCB + heparin groups than in the heparin only group (p < 10−6 and 10−5). These results were confirmed by gross and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images and fibrinopeptide A (FPA) concentrations. Thus, the combined use of PCB coating and FXII900 markedly reduced sham oxygenator coagulation and tissue bleeding times versus the clinical standard of heparin anticoagulation and is a promising anticoagulation method for clinical ECLS.

The clinical research of flexor digitorum superiicialis muscle branch of the median nerve to repair the hand intrinsic muscle branch of the ulnar nerve

Objective To investigate the clinical application of flexor digitorum superiicialis muscle branch of the median nerve to repair the hand intrinsic muscle branch of the ulnar nerve. Methods From June, 2006 to June, .2010, 7 volunteers of level ulanr never pure injuries near to the elbow were treated by transferring flexor digitorum superiicialis muscle branch of the median nerve to the hand intrinsic muscle branch of the ulnar nerve.The follow-up period ranged from 3 months to 5.5 years, with an average of 1.5 years..The shape and the musle power of hand intrinsic musle, the sensory fuction of ulnar nerve, and the results of EMG after operation were observed. Results The pinkie finger sensory recovery time was about 1.5 years, .and two-point discrimination test showed that the sensory of the wounded hand recovered effectively, .but was significantly worse than the healthy side. And the other sesory recover well. 7 months later, the motion relevant to ulnar nerve began to recover. The adduction and abduction functions of little finger recovered firstly. The ring, middle and index finger followed. Finally, the function of adductor muscle recovered. 1.5 years later, the intrinsic muscle strength grade was about 2-4, paper clip test experiment (-) , Froment sign (-) . There were no obvious claw hand deformity in 6 cases, and the atrophy with varying degrees of adductor muscle occurred in 3 cases. Conclusion Flexor digitorum superiicialis muscle branch of the median nerve transfer to the hand intrinsic muscle branch of the ulnar nerve combined with functional exercise can effectively treated and slow down the intrinsic muscles atrophy. Key words: Ulnar nerve, hand intrinsic muscle branch; Median nerve, flexor digitorum superiicialis muscle branch; Hand intrinsic muscle; Muscular atrophy

Scaling limit of local time of Sinai’s random walk

We prove that the local times of a sequence of Sinai’s random walks converge to those of Brox’s diffusion by proper scaling. Our proof is based on the intrinsic branching structure of the random walk and the convergence of the branching processes in random environment.

Light-tailed behavior of stationary distribution for state-dependent random walks on a strip

We consider the state-dependent reflecting random walk on a half-strip. We provide explicit criteria for (positive) recurrence, and an explicit expression for the stationary distribution. As a consequence, the light-tailed behavior of the stationary distribution is proved under appropriate conditions. The key idea of the method employed here is the decomposition of the trajectory of the random walk and the main tool is the intrinsic branching structure buried in the random walk on a strip, which is different from the matrix-analytic method.

Explicit stationary distribution of the (L, 1)-reflecting random walk on the half line

In this paper, we consider the (L, 1) state-dependent reflecting random walk (RW) on the half line, which is an RW allowing jumps to the left at a maximal size L. For this model, we provide an explicit criterion for (positive) recurrence and an explicit expression for the stationary distribution. As an application, we prove the geometric tail asymptotic behavior of the stationary distribution under certain conditions. The main tool employed in the paper is the intrinsic branching structure within the (L, 1)-random walk.

Intrinsic Branching Structure within Random Walk on Z

We reveal the branching structure for a nonhomogeneous random walk with bounded jumps. The ladder time $T_1,$ the first hitting time of $[1,\infty)$ by the walk starting from $0,$ could be expressed in terms of a nonhomogeneous multitype branching process. As an application of the branching structure, we prove a law of large numbers of random walk with bounded jumps in random environment and specify the explicit invariant density for the Markov chain of “the environment viewed from the particles.” The invariant density and the limit velocity could be expressed explicitly in terms of the environment.

Renewal Theorem for (L, 1)-Random Walk in Random Environment

We consider a random walk on ℤ in random environment with possible jumps {−L, …, −1, 1}, in the case that the environment {ωi : i ∈ ℤ} are i.i.d.. We establish the renewal theorem for the Markov chain of “the environment viewed from the particle” in both annealed probability and quenched probability, which generalize partially the results of Kesten (1977) and Lalley (1986) for the nearest random walk in random environment on ℤ, respectively. Our method is based on the intrinsic branching structure within the (L, 1)-RWRE formulated in Hong and Wang (2013).

Acute haemodynamic response to cardiac resynchronisation therapy is greater in patients with chronic right ventricular pacing compared to patients with intrinsic bundle branch block

Acute haemodynamic response to cardiac resynchronisation therapy is greater in patients with chronic right ventricular pacing compared to patients with intrinsic bundle branch block

INTRINSIC BRANCHING STRUCTURE WITHIN (L-1) RANDOM WALK IN RANDOM ENVIRONMENT AND ITS APPLICATIONS

We figure out the intrinsic branching structure within (L-1) random walk in random environment. As applications, the branching structure enable us to calculate the expectation of the first hitting time directly, and specify the density of the invariant measure for the Markov chain of "the environment viewed from particles" explicitly.

Intrinsic and extrinsic reliability of a serial connection of capacitors

Abstract The on-wafer serial connection of two capacitors (stacked capacitors) is attractive for two reasons: on one hand the intrinsic reliability and especially the immunity against high voltage pulses increases and on the other hand the early fail risk decreases tremendously. The intrinsic and extrinsic reliability of stacked capacitors are demonstrated using the example of a metal insulator metal capacitor (MIMCAP) with Al2O3 dielectric. The intrinsic reliability of a stacked capacitor, where each of the capacitors uses a dielectric of thickness thk, is equal to the intrinsic reliability of a single capacitor with twice the dielectric thickness 2 * thk. The reduction of early fails for a stacked capacitor is a probability effect: if a single capacitor has the probability p to fail early and an early fail of the stacked capacitor is the combination of two single capacitors each of which contains an early fail, then the stacked capacitor fails early with a probability of p2. This basic idea is checked by voltage ramp experiments on single and stacked MIM capacitors, where the single MIM capacitors show besides the intrinsic branch a prominent extrinsic branch.

Charge-transfer excitons in strongly coupled organic semiconductors

Time-resolved and temperature-dependent photoluminescence measurements on one-dimensional sexithiophene lattices reveal intrinsic branching of photoexcitations to two distinct species: self-trapped excitons and dark charge-transfer excitons (CTX; > 5% yield), with radii spanning 2-3 sites. The significant CTX yield results from the strong charge-transfer character of the Frenkel exciton band due to the large free exciton bandwidth (~400 meV) in these supramolecular nanostructures.

Spectrum of medial medullary infarction: clinical and magnetic resonance imaging findings

Among 4200 consecutive patients admitted to three hospitals with acute ischemic stroke, we found only 11 patients in whom magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) had proved that they had medial medullary infarction (MMI). In our centers, patients with MMI were less than 1% of those with vertebrobasilar stroke. The infarcts documented by MRI were unilateral in 10 patients and bilateral in one. On clinico-topographical analysis there were four clinical patterns: (1) Classical Dejerine's syndrome was the most frequent, consisting of contralateral hemiparesis, lemniscal sensory loss and ipsilateral lingual palsy in 7 of the eleven patients. (2) Pure hemiparesis was present in 2 patients; (3) Sensorimotor stroke was present in 1 patient with contralateral hemiparesis, hypesthesia and mild decrease in pain sensation without lingual palsy; (4) Bilateral MMI syndrome in 1 patient, accompanied by tetraparesis, bilateral loss of deep sensation, dysphagia, dysphonia and anarthria. Presumed causes of MMI were intrinsic branch penetrator artery disease with concomitant vertebral artery stenosis in 6 of the 11 patients, vertebral artery occlusion in 2, dolichoectatic vertebrobasilar arteries in 2, a source of cardiac embolism in 1. Prognosis at 3 months was favorable in 8 patients, but the patient with bilateral MMI syndrome had persisting motor deficit causing limitation of daily activities, and 2 died from systemic causes. The classical triad of acute MMI facilitates the diagnosis, although the recognition of this syndrome in patients with incomplete manifestations can be difficult and occurs more frequently than commonly thought. Moreover, vertebral artery atherosclerosis and branch atheromatous disease of the penetrating arteries are the main causes of medullary infarction.

Quality assessment of thin oxides using constant and ramped stress measurements

Two methods are proposed for obtaining extrinsic oxide lifetime data using fast ramped tests. It is shown that the intersection point between the extrinsic and intrinsic branches of a Weibull plot coincides for ramped and constant stress tests. This is the basis of our fast qualification approach, where intrinsic data are obtained by constant voltage stress and extrinsic data are cumulated with a fast ramped test. The correctness of our approaches is supported by constant voltage and exponentially ramped current measurements.

On the pressure induced structural branching in bccd

Abstract We discuss the results of an elastic neutron scattering study of partially deuterated betaine calcium chloride dihydrate (D-BCCD) under a hydrostatic pressure of 3. 4 kbar. The occurrence of small plateaus, induced by the pressure, in the temperature dependence of the modulation wavenumber, is considered with reference to two possible interpretations: intrinsic branching process specific of an ANNNI-like phase diagram, or pinning of the wavevector related to the nucleation and growth of stripples.

Reflex response of the hypoglossal nerve induced by chemical stimulation of the tongue and electrical stimulation of the glossopharyngeal nerve in the frog.

While applying solutions of 5 mM QHCl, 2 M NaCl and HCl at pH 3.0 to three different ipsilateral portions, root, middle and tip of the tongue surface of the frog, reflex discharges were recorded from three main branches of the hypoglossal nerve. Reflex discharges in the hypoglossal branch were elicited mainly when the caudal two-thirds of the tongue was stimulated with the chemicals, whereas those in the genioglossal branch occurred predominantly when the rostral two-thirds of the tongue was stimulated. The intrinsic branch responded reflexly to stimulation of any portion of the tongue. The hypoglossal branch was also highly sensitive to mechanical stimulation of the tip of the tongue. Action potentials reflexly elicited by electrical stimulation of medial and lateral branches of the glossopharyngeal nerve were recorded from the following two of the three efferent branches simultaneously. Then it was revealed that the activity of the hypoglossal branch was induced by sensory inputs from low threshold fibers in the medial branch, whereas that of the genioglossal branch was mainly by the lateral branch. Latencies between the electrical stimulation of the afferent branches and the potential in the hypoglossal branch produced by stimulation of the medial branch had the shortest latency. This reflex are may functionally play a role in retracting the tongue quickly after capturing a prey at the tip of the frog tongue.

STUDIES IN ASTHMA

As I have recently suggested,1the causes of asthma are manifold and group themselves like the parts of a tree. The main trunk of the tree represents a fundamental basis which may be called the state and explains why some persons have asthma and others do not. The roots of this tree represent the causes of the asthmatic state, but so far only one root—that of inheritance—can be recognized. Upward, the tree divides into two main branches—the extrinsic and the intrinsic. Both of these can be traced through numerous subdivisions. The extrinsic branch divides into pollen, animal danders, domestic and other dusts, foods and other substances, all of which are readily recognized. Twigs on these smaller branches represent, of course, the particular pollens, the different animals, the different dusts, etc. The main intrinsic branch is likewise subdivided into groups of causes, chiefly bacterial and reflex, as outlined in recent