The Dreaded 3-Minute Wait: Does It Really Prevent Operating Room Fires? The IGNITE Trial.

Introduction: Operating room fires can have devastating consequences and as such must be prevented. There exists a paucity of literature requiring further elucidation regarding manufacturer recommendations of a predefined waiting period prior to patient draping after using alcohol-based surgical antiseptics, in order to reduce the risk of operating room fires.

Methods: This was further investigated by exposing two common alcohol-based surgical antiseptics to electrosurgery and open flames at various power settings and time intervals in an ex vivo porcine model.

Mediational models of maternal stress in neonatal intensive care units.

Background: Maternal stress in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) is well acknowledged. However, there is currently no well-defined support at how to best assist mothers during their infants' hospitalization. Not only must they confront at the same time their infant's fragility, but also their own personal trials.

Direct Visualization of the Binding of Transforming Growth Factor Beta 1 with Cartilage Oligomeric Matrix Protein via High-Resolution Atomic Force Microscopy.

This work reports the first direct observations of binding and complex formation between transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1) and cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) using high-resolution atomic force microscopy (AFM). Each COMP molecule consists of pentamers whose five identical monomeric units bundle at N-termini. From this central point, the five monomers' flexible arms extend outward with C-terminal domains at the distal ends, forming a bouquet-like structure.

Conditioning with slowly digestible starch diets in mice reduces jejunal α-glucosidase activity and glucogenesis from a digestible starch feeding.

Objectives: Maltase-glucoamylase (Mgam) and sucrase-isomaltase (Si) are mucosal α-glucosidases required for the digestion of starch to glucose. We hypothesized that a dietary approach to reduce Mgam and Si activities can reduce glucose generation and absorption, and improve glucose control.

Methods: Rice starch was entrapped in alginate microspheres to moderate in vitro digestion properties.

Comparison of Cesium-137 and X-ray Irradiators by Using Bone Marrow Transplant Reconstitution in C57BL/6J Mice.

Mice are used extensively in transplantation studies involving bone marrow ablation. Due to the increasing security issues and expenses involved with γ irradiators, self-contained X-ray irradiators have been increasing in popularity. We hypothesized that bone marrow ablation by irradiation of mice with a (137)Cs irradiator would be comparable to that from an X-ray source irradiator.