Intramyocardial angiogenetic stem cells and epicardial erythropoietin save the acute ischemic heart.

Ischemic heart failure is the leading cause of mortality worldwide. An early boost of intracardiac regenerative key mechanisms and angiogenetic niche signaling in cardiac mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) could improve myocardial infarction (MI) healing. Epicardial erythropoietin (EPO; 300 U kg) was compared with intraperitoneal and intramyocardial EPO treatments after acute MI in rats (=156).

Encephalitozoon cuniculi causes focal anterior cataract and uveitis in dogs.

Three mongrel dogs, aged 10 months (case 1), 14 months (case 2) and 7.5 years (case 3), were presented because of ophthalmologic disorders of 4 months, 6 months and 7 years duration, respectively. All three dogs were offspring of stray dogs from Hungary and Serbia and had positive serum antibody titres against Encephalitozoon (E.

Detection of Encephalitozoon cuniculi in the feline cataractous lens.

Purpose: Identification of Encephalitozoon cuniculi (E. cuniculi) as a possible causative agent for cataracts and uveitis in cats.

Methods: Within a 12-month study period, cats that were presented with focal anterior cortical or mature cataract and secondary uveitis underwent a complete ophthalmic examination, complete blood count, serum biochemistry, serologic tests for E.

Age-related changes in seminal polymorphonuclear elastase in men with asymptomatic inflammation of the genital tract.

Aim: To investigate age-related inflammatory events in the male genital tract.

Methods: In a total of 4265 randomly collected patients attending the andrological outpatient clinic of the Center for Dermatology and Andrology, University of Giessen, Germany, ejaculate volume, pH-value, sperm concentration, total and progressive sperm motility, concentration of polymorphonuclear (PMN) elastase, number of peroxidase-positive cells and fructose were measured and correlated with patient's age.

Results: While ejaculate volume, motility and fructose all correlated negatively with age, sperm concentration, PMN elastase and the pH-value showed a positive correlation.

Seasonal changes of neutral alpha-glucosidase activity in human semen.

Although there are contradictory reports, the biochemical evaluation of the seminal activity of neutral alpha-glucosidase (NAG) has repeatedly been described as an important parameter to test epididymal patency and is recommended by the WHO. Because, for a number of diagnostic parameters, seasonal variations have been described even in the human, it was the aim of this study to investigate possible circannual changes of NAG. This is an important aspect of andrological diagnosis, as seasonal changes of specific diagnostic parameters might have an impact on the accuracy and predictive power of these parameters, which in turn might have an effect on the therapeutic concept for the patients.

Molecular aspects of declining sperm motility in older men.

Objective: To investigate the molecular mechanism for declining sperm motility in older men.

Design: Retrospective and prospective study.

Setting: University-based andrology unit.

Sperm function and assisted reproduction technology.

The evaluation of different functional sperm parameters has become a tool in andrological diagnosis. These assays determine the sperm's capability to fertilize an oocyte. It also appears that sperm functions and semen parameters are interrelated and interdependent.

HER2 status in non-small cell lung cancer: results from patient screening for enrollment to a phase II study of herceptin.

Purpose: For the first time a large number (563) of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) samples was used to compare three different technologies for the assessment of HER2 status. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) were used for tumor tissue samples, and ELISA for serum samples. The results were compared with other tumor entities, mainly breast.

Urogenital inflammation: changes of leucocytes and ROS.

The presence of excess leucocytes in the semen has been associated with male infertility. According to the WHO, concentrations of more than 106 leucocytes ml-1 are considered as leucocytospermia, indicating genital tract infections. Up to now, no consensus has been achieved on how leucocytes should be quantified in semen.

Computerizing incident reporting at a community hospital.

Background: A community hospital in Seattle, Northwest Hospital (NWH), reengineered its paper-based incident reporting system into a computerized reporting, notification, and tracking tool. In July 1996 a small interdisciplinary working group was formed to improve the incident reporting system so that it would decrease the time needed to complete an incident report, collect more precise data about the incident, allow department managers instant access to all open memos involving or generated by their departments, allow ad hoc reporting by managers and administration, and allow only involved parties access to memos.

Implementation And Evaluation: After a pilot study was conducted in the Childbirth Center and the pharmacy department began using the computerized incident reporting system, other units began using the system according to a weekly roll-out schedule during the first two quarters of 1998.

The use of recombinant adeno-associated viral vectors for the transduction of epithelial tumor cells.

Using hight-titer recombinant adeno-associated viral vectors (rAAV), we have investigated the feasibility of cancer vaccines from tumor explants. In a first set of experiments, rAAV vectors expressing firefly luciferase reporter genes were used to transduce different human tumor cell lines. At day three post transduction, all of the human tumor cell lines tested showed high levels of luciferase expression.

Recombinant adeno-associated virus for the generation of autologous, gene-modified tumor vaccines: evidence for a high transduction efficiency into primary epithelial cancer cells.

To explore the potential of recombinant vectors based on recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) for cancer vaccination, we investigated the transduction efficiency of rAAV into cancer cells ex vivo. Infection of human epithelial cancer cell lines with rAAV carrying reporter genes encoding beta-galactosidase (rAAV/LacZ) or luciferase (rAAV/Luc) resulted in high levels of reporter gene expression (>90% positive cells). In marked contrast, rAAV poorly transduced all murine tumor cell lines, as well as human hematopoietic cell lines.

Cloning of prokaryotic genomes in yeast artificial chromosomes: application to the population genetics of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Yeast artificial chromosomes (YACs) can accommodate large inserts and hence should be attractive tools for intra- and interspecies comparisons of bacterial genomes. YAC libraries were constructed from size-selected partial digests of human and Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO DNA and SpeI-restricted PAO DNA. Whereas YACs from human DNA had an average size of 350 kilobase pairs (kbp), a P.

Gene transfer of the costimulatory molecules B7-1 and B7-2 into human multiple myeloma cells by recombinant adeno-associated virus enhances the cytolytic T cell response.

Gene transfer of the costimulatory molecules B7-1 and B7-2 induces a potent antitumor immune response in a variety of tumor models. B cell neoplasms including multiple myeloma (MM) often show little or no expression of B7 antigens; they are therefore a potential target for this approach. To increase the expression of human B7 genes in MM cells, both genes and the neomycin phosphotransferase gene were packaged into recombinant adeno-associated virus vectors (rAAV).

Generation of effective cancer vaccines genetically engineered to secrete cytokines using adenovirus-enhanced transferrinfection (AVET).

Cancer vaccines are based on the concept that tumors express novel antigens and thus differ from their normal tissue counterparts. Such putative tumor-specific antigens should be recognizable by the immune system. However, malignant cells are of self origin and only poorly immunogenic, which limits their capability to induce an anticancer immune response.

[Oral vaccines against poliomyelitis and vaccination-related paralytic poliomyelitis in Germany. Do we need a new immunization strategy?].

Oral vaccination against poliomyelitis, which was carried out worldwide, lead to eradication of poliomyelitis in the United States, in South America and parts of Europe; in other parts of the world, paralytic poliomyelitis is still a severe risk of health. In those countries where poliomyelitis has been eradicated, it is presently discussed whether the vaccination schedules should be changed to an inactivated polio vaccine (IPV), as in polio-free countries only cases of paralytic poliomyelitis after vaccinations have been reported. Behringwerke's data from a 30-year period of analysing adverse drug reaction reveal the following: using the trivalent oral polio vaccine (OPV), based on WHO case definition, the risk for vaccine-associated paralytic poliomyelitis with permanent damage is approximately 1 case for 4.