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SUMMARY. A new, totally enzymatic procedure for the determination of creatinine in serum and urine, using creatinine amidohydrolase, creatine amidinohydrolase, sarcosine oxidase and formaldehyde dehydrogenase is described. The assay was adapted to a discontinuous analyser with each analysis requiring only 20 J.lL of serum or 3 J.lL of urine. Analytical recovery of creatinine in serum and urine averaged 100· 61170. Within-run and between-run precision studies gave coefficients of variation of 1·1 % and I· 8%, respectively, for a serum with mean values of 83 J.lmollL (9' 4 mg/L) creatinine.Creatinine concentrations in serum and urine were measured by this procedure, in Japanese children and adults. The reference intervals for serum creatinine concentrations in adults 'were 55-96J.lmol/L (6'2-10'9mg/L) in men and 40-66J.lmollL (4'5-7'5mg/L) in women, and for urine, 9'46-19'0Immollday (1070-2150 mg/day) in men and 6,75-10,61 mmollday (764-1200 mg/day) in women. The reference intervals of creatinine clearance were 88· 0-176' 4 mL/min in men and 75'7-173'OmL/min in women. Additional key phrases: creatine and creatinine amidohydrolases; interference with enzymatic methodUsing our procedure, creatine is produced from creatinine by creatinine amidohydrolase (EC 3.5.2.10) and degraded to sarcosine and urea by creatine amidinohydrolase (BC 3.5.3.3). The sarcosine formed then reacts with sarcosine oxidase (BC 1.5.3.1), in the presence of formaldehyde dehydrogenase (BC 1.2.1.1) and NAD. The NADH + H+ produced is measured at 340 nm.

Splenectomy and TNF-α inhibition both protect the kidney from I/R injury by reducing the accumulation of renal macrophages/monocytes and induction of major inflammatory cytokines.

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Sixteen patients with a pericholecystic abscess were classified into three groups according to the sonographic findings: Nine patients had an abscess in the gallbladder bed, three in an intramural location in the gallbladder, and four in an intraperitoneal cavity. In the gallbladder bed group, six patients with a localized abscess responded well to conservative therapy, followed by an elective operation. Two patients with a complicated abscess were initially treated with ultrasonically (US) guided percutaneous transhepatic gallbladder drainage and then with percutaneous transhepatic aspiration of the liver abscess, followed by an elective operation. A patient with a communicating abscess underwent an elective operation because the abscess completely disappeared after percutaneous transhepatic abscess drainage under US guidance. One of the three patients with an intramural abscess needed an immediate operation, and the other two were treated conservatively, followed by an elective operation. All four patients with an intraperitoneal abscess needed an emergency operation. Because each type of abscess received differing and successful treatments, the authors' method of classification of US findings seemed to provide a useful way to select the specific therapeutic procedure to achieve optimal results.

The precise measurement of microstructures and other micron-sized materials has garnered considerable interest in recent years. However, a limited measurement region and the unavailability of miniaturized probes are the major issues in the realization of such systems. In this study, we have presented a system for microstructures based on a small-diameter optical fiber probe. In the improved measurement system, the prism was installed near the stylus shaft to expand the measurable region and depth. This means that there is no limitation on the width of the measurement object. The standard deviation of the repeatability of the point measurement in the X-, Y- and Z-directions was 31, 38 and 19 nm, respectively. A pin gauge with a diameter of 100 µm was measured ten times for assessing the repeatability of measurements in the X- and Y-directions. The standard deviation of the diameter in these measurements was 25 nm. A step height standard with a calibrated height of 189.6 nm was measured ten times for assessing the repeatability of measurement in the Z-direction. The average height in these measurements was obtained as 200.2 nm with an expanded uncertainty of 49.3 nm (coverage factor k = 2). We confirmed that this system enabled accurate measurement in the X-, Y- and Z-directions.