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Takayuki Kunisawa,1 Akio Yamagishi,2 Manabu Suno,3 Susumu Nakade,4 Naoki Honda,4 Atsushi Kurosawa,2 Ami Sugawara,2 Yoshikazu Tasaki,5 Hiroshi Iwasaki2 1Surgical Operation Department, Asahikawa Medical University Hospital, Asahikawa, Japan; 2Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Asahikawa Medical University, Asahikawa, Japan; 3Department of Oncology Pharmaceutical Care and Sciences, Okayama University, Okayama, Japan; 4Pharmacokinetic Research Laboratories, Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Osaka, Japan; 5Department of Hospital Pharmacy and Pharmacology, Asahikawa Medical University, Asahikawa, Japan Purpose: We previously determined the pharmacokinetic (PK) parameters of landiolol in healthy male volunteers and gynecological patients. In this study, we determined the PK parameters of landiolol in patients with peripheral arterial disease. Methods: Eight patients scheduled to undergo peripheral arterial surgery were enrolled in the study. After inducing anesthesia, landiolol hydrochloride was administered at target plasma concentrations of 500 and 1,000 ng/mL for 30 minutes each. A total of 112 data points of plasma concentration were collected from the patients and used for the population PK analysis. A population PK model was developed using a nonlinear mixed-effect modeling software program (NONMEM).Results: The patients had markedly decreased heart rates at 2 minutes after initiation of landiolol hydrochloride administration; however, systolic blood pressures were lower than the baseline values at only five time points. The concentration time course of landiolol was best described by a two-compartment model with lag time. The estimates of PK parameters were as follows: total body clearance, 30.7 mL/min/kg; distribution volume of the central compartment, 65.0 mL/kg; intercompartmental clearance, 48.3 mL/min/kg; distribution volume of the peripheral compartment, 54.4 mL/kg; and lag time, 0.633 minutes. The predictive performance of this model was better than that of the previous model.Conclusion: The PK parameters of landiolol were best described by a two-compartment model with lag time. Distribution volume of the central compartment and total body clearance of landiolol in patients with peripheral arterial disease were approximately 64% and 84% of those in healthy volunteers, respectively. Keywords: landiolol hydrochloride, pharmacokinetics, target-controlled infusion, peripheral arterial disease, TCI, pharmacokinetic parameters, PAD

The electron transport in electrolyte filled nanoporous TiO2 and the influence of circuit condition on the electron transport, by means of photovoltage transient are discussed. Photovoltage transients are measured with electrodes having various thicknesses, showing that the transit time was nearly proportional to the square of the electrode thickness.

A study was conducted to examine the performances of dye-sensitized solar cells prepared from nanoporous TiO2 films with different TiO2 nanoparticle preparation methods and different annealing temperatures with various film thicknesses. The result reveals that the solar cells prepared at higher annealing temperatures have higher energy conversion efficiencies.

The pulsed laser-induced current transients from the same nanoporous TiO2 electrodes both in the presence and in the absence of bias light are measured. Regardless of the methods, the derived electron diffusion coefficients (D) values from the transients are found in the same order and dependency on electron density. This suggests that both methods can be used to compare electron transport properties among different nanoporous films.

The influences of particle size in dye-sensitized solar cells on diffusion coefficient of electrons and electron recombination lifetime were calculated. The implications of particle size to solar cell efficiency are discussed.

The transport of photogenerated electrons in nanoporous TiO2 electrodes is examined in a lithium perchlorate electrolyte solution by laser-induced photocurrent transient measurements. The diffusion coefficients of the photoelectrons are found to depend on the lithium ion concentration in the solution.

Objectives: (123)I-metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) myocardial scintigraphy is clinically used to estimate local myocardial sympathetic nerve damage in some forms of heart disease, autonomic nerve disturbance in diabetic neuropathy, and disturbance of the autonomic nervous system in neurodegenerative disease. In the present study, examinations were performed to clarify (1) the proportion of cardiac sympathetic nerve disturbance in Parkinson's disease, (2) the usefulness of (123)I-MIBG myocardial scintigraphy to detect sympathetic nerve disturbances compared with autonomic function tests, (3) cardiac function in patients who have a decreased MIBG uptake in (123)I-MIBG myocardial scintigraphy, (4) the usefulness of (123)I-MIBG myocardial scintigraphy to differentiate Parkinson's disease from the other neurological diseases mimicking it.Methods: (123)I-MIBG myocardial scintigraphy was performed, together with autonomic function tests and cardiac examinations in 46 patients with Parkinson's disease and 25 patients with vascular parkinsonism, essential tremor, or multiple system atrophy.Results: In an anterior image study, the average count per pixel in heart to mediastinum (H/M) ratio decreased in 80% of the patients with Parkinson's disease in the early phase and 84% in the late phase. The mean H/M ratio in Parkinson's disease was significantly lower than that in controls and the other diseases. The H/M ratio tended to decrease with the disease progression. In almost half of the patients in Hoehn and Yahr stage I, the H/M ratio was already decreased. The sympathetic skin response in upper and lower limbs, head up tilt test, and coefficient of variation of R-R interval were abnormal in 17%, 31%, 30%, and 17% of the patients, respectively. All the patients with abnormal autonomic functions were in Hoehn and Yahr stage III, IV, or V. Echocardiography showed normal left ventricular function. Twenty four hour Holter electrocardiography detected no serious arrhythmias except for one patient with non-sustained ventricular tachycardia.Conclusion: (123)I-MIBG myocardial scintigraphy might detect early disturbances of the sympathetic nervous system in Parkinson's disease and might give useful diagnostic information to differentiate vascular parkinsonism, essential tremor, and multiple system atrophy from Parkinson's disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]