Effect of water pH and calcium on ion balance in five fish species of the Mekong Delta.

Acidic freshwater habitats disrupt ion-homeostasis in fishes, yet the often acidic waters of the Mekong host the second highest diversity of freshwater fish in the world. To investigate how five Mekong fish species tolerate water acidity, we measured: time to loss of equilibrium (LOE) at sustained (4 days) low pH (3.5) and net ion flux in acute low pH (3.

An enzyme-mediated assay to quantify inoculation volume delivered by suture needlestick injury: two gloves are better than one.

Background: Acquiring a blood-borne disease is a risk of performing operations. Most data about seroconversion are based on hollow-bore needlesticks. Some studies have examined the inoculation volumes of pure blood delivered by suture needles.

Production of a novel fibroblast-populated platelet matrix cocultured with keratinocytes.

We have developed a new method for the production of a dermal matrix equivalent. Human platelets were used to dilute human fibroblasts. The platelet mix was placed in a cell culture well.

Pulse doppler and M-mode to assess viability of cardiac allografts using heterotopic femoral heart transplantation in rats.

Noninvasive assessment of heterotopic heart transplants using Doppler echocardiography was first described in two patients by Allen at Stanford in 1981. Since then, numerous experiments studying heterotopic heart transplantation in humans and large animals have confirmed its utility by employing either an intra-abdominal or cervical model. In rats, however, prior research investigating intra-abdominal heterotopic hearts has showed echocardiography to be ineffective.

Review of vascularized bone marrow transplantation: current status and future clinical applications.

In this review, we examine the applicability of the vascularized bone marrow transplant (VBMT) as an alternative to conventional bone marrow transplantation (BMT). As a new surgical approach, the VBMT is unique by transplantation of the stromal environment that eliminates the need for an engraftment period, provides critical signaling and modulatory functions, and may potentiate tolerance induction. Thus far, VBMT studies have demonstrated an absence of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) and robust engraftment into nonmanipulated as well as irradiated recipients with evidence of immunological tolerance.

A new modified technique for heterotopic femoral heart transplantation in rats.

Background: Abbott developed the first experimental accessory heart transplant rat model in 1964. This intra-abdominal model required a labor-intensive aortic anastomosis. In 1971, Heron modified the operation by using sutureless cervical vessel anastomoses.

From experimental rat hindlimb to clinical face composite tissue allotransplantation: historical background and current status.

The purpose of this article is to review the historical background and clinical status of composite tissue allotransplantation and to discuss the scientific evolution of clinical face transplantation. Composite tissue allotransplantation (CTA) rapidly progressed in the 1980s with the discovery of cyclosporine. Although the most success has been achieved with hand transplantation, others have made progress with allografts of trachea, peripheral nerve, flexor tendon apparatus, vascularized knee, larynx, abdominal wall, and most recently, partial face.

Vascularized lymph node transplantation induces graft-versus-host disease in chimeric hosts.

Background: The role of lymph nodes (LNs) in adaptive immune responses has been the subject of extensive research. In previous studies, the surgical removal of lymph nodes from rat hind limbs prevented the development of lethal graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) after allogeneic hind limb transplantation to chimeric recipient rats. The purpose of this study was to establish the role of the cellular fraction versus the microenvironment of LNs in the development of GVHD in this model.

Dexamethasone suppresses expression of Nuclear Factor-kappaB in the cells of tracheobronchial lavage fluid in premature neonates with respiratory distress.

Nuclear Factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) plays a central role in regulating the key mediators of inflammation involved in acute lung injury. The anti-inflammatory effect of steroids by suppressing pro-inflammatory cytokines may be mediated by inhibition of transcription factor NF-kappaB. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of glucocorticoid therapy on the expression of NF-kappaB in the cells of tracheobronchial lavage fluid (TBLF) in premature neonates with respiratory distress.

Nicotine induces mononuclear leukocyte adhesion and expression of adhesion molecules, VCAM and ICAM, in endothelial cells in vitro.

The pathology of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) has been characterized as an inflammatory response to vessel injury. The initial steps of this response involve mononuclear leukocyte (MNL) attachment and infiltration into the vessel wall. Leukocyte adhesion is potentiated by expression of cellular adhesion molecules.

Lymphadenectomy prior to rat hind limb allotransplantation prevents graft-versus-host disease in chimeric hosts.

In previous rat studies, the use of mixed allogeneic chimerism (MAC) to induce host tolerance to hind limb allografts has resulted in severe graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). The purpose of this study was to determine if immunocompetent cells in bone marrow (BM) and/or lymph nodes (LNs) of transplanted limbs were responsible for inducing GVHD in mixed chimeric hosts. [ACI-->Wistar Furth] chimeric rats received ACI hind limbs that were non-irradiated, irradiated (1050 cGy) or lymphadenectomized.

Absence of graft-versus-host disease in the isolated vascularized bone marrow transplant.

An isolated vascularized bone marrow transplant (iVBMT) model was developed to study the contribution of the bone marrow component in a composite tissue allograft. We hypothesized that the iVBMT would be functional and cause graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) in a fraction of the recipients. Lewis iVBMT grafts were transplanted to Lewis-Brown Norway recipients.

Composite tissue allotransplantation.

Composite tissue allotransplantation (CTA) recently took its first steps in the clinical arena in 1998 with the successful hand transplant performed in Lyons, France. That single operation represented a culmination of many years of laboratory research in multiple fields involving integumentary/musculoskeletal transplantation. Here we review the prerequisite developments in the field of immunology, microsurgery, and pharmacotherapy that helped bring CTA to clinical reality.

An extraperitoneal isolated vascularized bone marrow transplant model in the rat.

An isolated vascularized bone marrow transplant (iVBMT) model was previously developed in the rat to specifically study the role of bone marrow and its environment in a composite tissue allotransplant. An extraperitoneal model was successfully created to avoid laparotomy and cross-clamping of the great vessels. The extraperitoneal iVBMT model consisted of a left donor femur that was harvested with its nutrient vessels, anastomosed to the right femoral vessels in a syngeneic host, and then placed subcutaneously in the abdominal wall.

Mechanisms of alloimmune tolerance associated with mixed chimerism induced by vascularized bone marrow transplants.

Rat limb allograft recipients represent surgically induced, immediately vascularized bone marrow transplant (VBMT) chimeras. The majority of these chimeras undergo tolerance while a minority develop graft versus host disease (GVHD). T-cell chimerism and associated mechanisms of cellular immune nonresponsiveness were investigated in tolerant VBMT chimeras.

Real-time, high-definition, three-dimensional microscopy for evaluating problematic cervical Papanicolaou smears classified as atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance.

Background: The perceived inadequacies of the cervical Papanicolaou (Pap) smear have been attributed to sampling, screening, or interpretive errors. Within this type of cytologic preparation, there are thick cell clusters in which the cells are obscured. It may not possible to evaluate these areas by conventional microscopy.

Engineering a composite neotrachea with surgical adhesives.

Background/purpose: Reconstructive surgery often is limited by the availability of normal tissue. Tissue engineering provides promise in the development of "artificial tissues." The purpose of this study was to test the efficacy and viability of the use of a biologic surgical adhesive TISSEEL in combining engineered bronchial epithelium with engineered cartilage.