Comparison of in vitro (chicken-skin membrane) versus in vivo (live hamster) blood-feeding methods for maintenance of colonized Phlebotomus papatasi (Diptera: Psychodidae).

An in vitro feeding method using chicken-skin membranes and human blood was compared with an established in vivo method using anesthetized hamsters for blood-feeding mass-reared phlebotomine sand flies. Parameters measured were percentage of sand flies taking blood meals, number of eggs laid per female, and percentage of eggs that hatched. Females from a long established (>20 yr) colony of Phlebotomus papatasi (Scopoli) from Israel landed on and started feeding sooner on the hamster than on the membrane.

Distraction osteogenesis in irradiated rabbit mandibles with adjunctive hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of hyperbaric oxygen therapy on bone regeneration during distraction of irradiated rabbit mandibles.

Materials And Methods: Twenty New Zealand white rabbits were randomly sub-divided into 4 groups. Group 1 served as control, group 2 received preoperative radiation therapy, group 3 received pre- and postoperative hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy, and group 4 received preoperative radiation therapy and pre- and postoperative HBO therapy.