The Inspired Sinewave Technique: A Comparison Study With Body Plethysmography in Healthy Volunteers.

The inspired sinewave technique is a noninvasive method to measure airway dead space, functional residual capacity, pulmonary blood flow, and lung inhomogeneity simultaneously. The purpose of this paper was to assess the repeatability and accuracy of the current device prototype in measuring functional residual capacity, and also participant comfort when using such a device. To assess within-session repeatability, six sinewave measurements were taken over two-hour period in 17 healthy volunteers.

Modelling mixing within the dead space of the lung improves predictions of functional residual capacity.

Routine estimation of functional residual capacity (FRC) in ventilated patients has been a long held goal, with many methods previously proposed, but none have been used in routine clinical practice. This paper proposes three models for determining FRC using the nitrous oxide concentration from the entire expired breath in order to improve the precision of the estimate. Of the three models proposed, a dead space with two mixing compartments provided the best results, reducing the mean limits of agreement with the FRC measured by whole body plethysmography by up to 41%.

Compression therapy in patients with orthostatic hypotension: a systematic review.

Aim: Orthostatic hypotension is common, especially in the elderly, and it is strongly associated with discomfort and falls. Physicians may sometimes prescribe compression therapy, but the beneficial effect of this treatment in orthostatic hypotension is unclear. The aim of this review was to summarise all available evidence on the effect of four different levels of compression therapy in the treatment of orthostatic hypotension: knee-length, thigh-length, full-length and abdominal compression only.

Design-for-Six-Sigma for Development of a Bioprocess Quality-by-Design Framework.

Unlabelled: An initial quality-by-design (QbD) framework was assembled for biopharmaceutical product, process, and analytical development using the design-for-six-sigma (DFSS) methodology. This technique was both streamlined and efficient, which permitted development of a QbD framework with minimized team leader and member resources. DFSS also highly emphasized voice-of-the-customer, information considered crucial to development and implementation of a bioprocess QbD framework appropriate for current development needs of the organization and its regulatory environment.

Effects of shear on proteins in solution.

The effects of "shear" on proteins in solution are described and discussed. Research on this topic covers many decades, beginning with investigations of possible denaturation of enzymes during processing, whilst more recent concerns are how the quality of therapeutic proteins might be affected by shear or shear related effects. The paradigm that emerges from most studies is that shear in the fluid mechanical sense is unlikely by itself to damage most proteins and that interfacial phenomena are critically important.

Tumor cell-specific bioluminescence platform to identify stroma-induced changes to anticancer drug activity.

Conventional anticancer drug screening is typically performed in the absence of accessory cells of the tumor microenvironment, which can profoundly alter antitumor drug activity. To address this limitation, we developed the tumor cell-specific in vitro bioluminescence imaging (CS-BLI) assay. Tumor cells (for example, myeloma, leukemia and solid tumors) stably expressing luciferase are cultured with nonmalignant accessory cells (for example, stromal cells) for selective quantification of tumor cell viability, in presence versus absence of stromal cells or drug treatment.

Acquired cutis laxa in childhood Sweet's syndrome.

In Sweet's syndrome, the essential features are the characteristic morphology of the lesions, their histologic appearance, the dramatic response to corticosteroids and the absence of scarring. We report an 8-month-old infant in whom Sweet's syndrome was diagnosed and who developed acquired cutis laxa in the skin lesions.

Biomimetic approaches to protein and gene delivery for tissue regeneration.

Novel therapeutic strategies that promote wound healing seek to mimic the response of the body to wounding, to regenerate rather than repair injured tissues. Many synthetic or natural biomaterials have been developed for this purpose and are used to deliver wound therapeutics in a controlled manner that prevents unwanted and potentially harmful side-effects. Here, we review the natural and synthetic biomaterials that have been developed for protein and gene delivery to enhance tissue regeneration.

Biomimetic delivery of keratinocyte growth factor upon cellular demand for accelerated wound healing in vitro and in vivo.

Exogenous keratinocyte growth factor (KGF) significantly enhances wound healing, but its use is hampered by a short biological half-life and lack of tissue selectivity. We used a biomimetic approach to achieve cell-controlled delivery of KGF by covalently attaching a fluorescent matrix-binding peptide that contained two domains: one recognized by factor XIII and the other by plasmin. Modified KGF was incorporated into the fibrin matrix at high concentration in a factor XIII-dependent manner.

In vivo model of wound healing based on transplanted tissue-engineered skin.

Advances in understanding the complex process of wound healing and development of novel growth factor and gene therapies would benefit from models that mimic closely the physiology of human wounds. To this end, we developed a hybrid wound-healing model based on human tissue-engineered skin transplanted onto athymic mice. Grafted tissues were infiltrated with mouse mesenchymal cells as native and foreign dermal regions fused together.

A novel role of fibrin in epidermal healing: plasminogen-mediated migration and selective detachment of differentiated keratinocytes.

Recent studies have shown that fibrin promotes epidermal regeneration in vitro and maintains the stem cell population after transplantation of keratinocytes in vivo. As epidermal keratinocytes do not express integrin alpha(v)beta3, the receptor for fibrin and fibrinogen, the mechanism through which fibrin affects epidermal cells remains elusive. To investigate the role of fibrin in epidermal wound healing, we developed an in vitro model in which fibrin was added to the top of wounded keratinocyte monolayers grown on collagen.

Fibrin promotes migration in a three-dimensional in vitro model of wound regeneration.

We developed an in vitro model of wound reepithelialization based on engineered composite skin equivalents of human keratinocytes. Such organotypic cultures are unique in that regulatory mechanisms of cell growth and differentiation can be investigated under conditions mimicking those in vivo. We employed this model system to evaluate fibrin as a substrate for keratinocyte growth and migration after incisional wounding.

Itraconazole in the treatment of tinea corporis and tinea cruris: comparison of two treatment schedules.

The efficacy and safety of two dos-ages of itraconazole in the treatment of tinea corporis or cruris were compared in a multicentre, randomized, double-blind, parallel-group trial. Fifty-four patients received itraconazole 100 mg daily for 2 weeks and 60 received itraconazole 200 mg daily for 1 week. After a 6-week follow-up period, mycological cure was achieved in 70% of patients in the 100 mg/2 weeks group and in 60% of those in the 200 mg/1 week group (not significantly equivalent); in the worst-case and intention-to-treat analyses, mycological cure rates (45-49%) were borderline equivalent at the end of follow-up.

Uveal melanomas contain antigenically specific and non-specific infiltrating lymphocytes.

Purpose: Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) were recovered from a series of human choroidal melanomas and expanded in cultures containing interleukin-2 (IL-2) to determine whether TIL contained cytotoxic cells that could be activated in vitro.

Methods: TIL were recovered from six ocular melanoma patients and expanded in vitro with IL-2. Cytotoxic activity was tested in a standard 4-hr 51Cr release assay.

[Borrelia lymphocytoma ('winter ears') in children].

Two cases of Borrelia lymphocytoma are reported. The skin lesions were located on the ear margin or lobe. They were swollen, red and painful on touching.

Colonic volvulus. The Army Medical Center experience 1983-1987.

Colonic volvulus was first described in 1836 by von Rokitansky. The condition has been a formidable one, fraught with innumerable complications responsible for many deaths. Even with advances in surgical technology, mortalities have remained high.

Risk factors for clinical mastitis in herds with a low bulk milk somatic cell count. 2. Risk factors for Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus.

The incidence rate of clinical mastitis due to Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus was studied in 125 herds with a low annual bulk milk somatic cell count (less than 150,000 cells/ml). Risk factors that were offered to a multivariate Poisson regression model included general management, housing, cleaning procedures, cow and cubicle cleanliness, feeds and feeding, dry cow management, milking procedures, machine milking, disease prevention, and milk production. Some differences in epidemiology between E.

Patient and staff acceptance of robotic technology in occupational therapy: a pilot study.

While the majority of applications of robotics in the field of rehabilitation focus on the development of smart aids for people without upper extremity function, there is also potential for the robot as a therapy "aide." We designed, built, and pilot-tested hardware and software that used a robot to provide muscle reeducation movement patterns after stroke. This is a report on a field trial, in which 11 occupational therapists used the system with 22 patients; each patient averaged 2.

Risk factors for clinical mastitis in herds with a low bulk milk somatic cell count. 1. Data and risk factors for all cases.

The incidence rate of clinical mastitis in 125 herds with a low annual bulk milk SCC (less than 150,000 cells/ml) was modeled using a Poisson regression model. The rate of clinical mastitis was significantly associated with some variables that increased the exposure to environmental microorganisms: poor cubicle cleanliness increased the mastitis rate; rubber mats in cubicles were associated with a higher incidence; and drinking water from sources other than public water also increased the rate of mastitis. Other variables may be associated with host resistance: an increasing percentage of cows leaking milk increased the rate of mastitis; postmilking teat disinfection was associated with a higher incidence of clinical mastitis; and a high frequency of cubicle disinfection was also associated with more mastitis.

UV-B-induced bullous pemphigoid restricted to mycosis fungoides plaques.

We describe a 77-year-old female patient with plaque-stage mycosis fungoides (MF) who developed bullous lesions in lesional skin only, while receiving short-wave ultraviolet radiation (UV-B) therapy. Histopathological and immunohistochemical examination resulted in a diagnosis of bullous pemphigoid (BP). Withdrawal of the UV-B treatment and application of a high-potency topical corticosteroid cream resulted in a rapid regression of the BP.

The influence of mononuclear leukocytes on the chemotactic responsiveness of polymorphonuclear leukocytes of bovines.

Polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) isolated from the blood of bovines which do not react with an influx of cells into the milk upon intramammary administration of low doses of endotoxin (Group II), show a diminished chemotactic activity in vitro as compared to PMN of bovines which do respond to intramammary endotoxin administration (Group I; 8). The purpose of the present study was to determine whether other immune cells affected the chemotactic activity of PMN of Group I and II bovines. Mononuclear leukocyte suspensions of Group I animals had no effect on the migration of PMN of Group I animals.