Practical Aspects of MR Imaging Safety Test Methods for MR Conditional Active Implantable Medical Devices.

MR imaging of patients with implanted devices has become common, with conditions for safe scanning defined in MR Conditional labeling of the medical device. This resulted from collaboration among medical device manufacturing, MR imaging scanner manufacturing, and regulatory authority communities. These efforts resulted in engineering testing standards and methods that enable evaluation and certification of devices for safe scanning of patients within prescribed MR imaging scanning conditions.

Evidence of Economically Sustainable Village-Scale Microenterprises for Arsenic Remediation in Developing Countries.

Although unknown 25 years ago, natural arsenic contamination of groundwater affects over 50 countries and up to 200 million people. The economic viability was analyzed and modeled of eighty-eight community-based arsenic mitigation systems existing for up to 20 years in India and Bangladesh. The performances of three community-based arsenic mitigation systems that are ethnically different and separated across two different countries were monitored closely for 24 months of self-sustainable, long-term operation at WHO standards through local, paid caretakers.

Lipopolysaccharide appears to activate human endometrial endothelial cells through TLR-4-dependent and TLR-4-independent mechanisms.

Problem: Uterine innate immunity remains poorly characterized, and while endometrial endothelial cells are known to express Toll-like receptors (TLRs), little is known about their function in these cells. The present study evaluated the effect of Gram-negative bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) on human endometrial endothelial cell (HEECs) cytokine secretion and tissue factor expression, and the role of TLR-4 in these responses.

Methods: Human endometrial endothelial cells were treated with or without LPS ± LPS-RS, a TLR-4 antagonist, via the binding of MD-2.