Back to the future: re-establishing guinea pig in vivo asthma models.

Research using animal models of asthma is currently dominated by mouse models. This has been driven by the comprehensive knowledge on inflammatory and immune reactions in mice, as well as tools to produce genetically modified mice. Many of the identified therapeutic targets influencing airway hyper-responsiveness and inflammation in mouse models, have however been disappointing when tested clinically in asthma.

Treatment of Streptococcus mutans biofilms with a nonthermal atmospheric plasma.

Aims: A nonthermal atmospheric plasma, designed for biomedical applications, was tested for its antimicrobial activity against biofilm cultures of a key cariogenic bacterium Streptococcus mutans.

Methods And Results: The Strep. mutans biofilms were grown with and without 0.

Image-based extracorporeal tissue engineering of individualized bone constructs.

Purpose: Computer-aided technologies have been recently employed for use in extracorporeal bone tissue engineering strategies. In this pilot animal experimental study, the intention was to test whether autologous osteoblast-like cells cultured in vitro on individualized scaffolds can be used to support bone regeneration in a clinical environment.

Materials And Methods: For this purpose, mandibular bone defects were surgically introduced into the mandibles of minipigs and the scaffold of the defect site was modeled by computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing technique.

Gas plasma treatment: a new approach to surgery?

In this survey we analyse the status quo of gas plasma applications in medical sciences. Plasma is a partly ionized gas, which contains free charge carriers (electrons and ions), active radicals, and excited molecules. So-called nonthermal plasmas are particularly interesting, because they operate at relatively low temperatures and do not inflict thermal damage to nearby objects.

Electric discharge plasmas influence attachment of cultured CHO K1 cells.

Non-thermal plasmas can be generated by electric discharges in gases. These plasmas are reactive media, capable of superficial treatment of various materials. A novel non-thermal atmospheric plasma source (plasma needle) has been developed and tested.