Metabolic effects of radiation on red blood cells from cold stored whole blood.

Background: The risk of military and civilian radiation exposure is increasing, and determining the effects of exposure is a high priority. Irradiation of the nearby blood supply after a nuclear event may impede mobilization of blood products for resuscitation at a time of great need. RBCs are administered to patients with trauma and hemorrhage to transport and deliver oxygen and avoid tissue hypoxia.

Effects of radiation exposure and storage on the energy metabolome of platelets in whole blood.

Background: Exposure to radiation through battlefield use of nuclear weapons, terrorist attacks or accidents at nuclear power plants is a current concern for the military. Beyond the risk of exposure to personnel is the intentional or accidental irradiation of our blood banking supply system. It is unknown how large doses of ionizing radiation affect storage of blood and blood products, including platelets.

A novel animal model to study delayed resuscitation following traumatic hemorrhage.

A focus of combat casualty care research is to develop treatments for when full resuscitation after hemorrhage is delayed. However, few animal models exist to investigate such treatments. Given the kidney's susceptibility to ischemia, we determined how delayed resuscitation affects renal function in a model of traumatic shock.

High-dose radiation exposure of cold-stored whole blood does not affect hemostatic function.

Background: Whole blood (WB) transfusion is routinely used to resuscitate severely injured military trauma patients. Blood can be stored refrigerated while still maintaining reasonable function but is susceptible to environmental influences, including radiation exposure. Immune-compromised patients are transfused with irradiated blood to inactivate donor lymphocyte function (25 Gy per Association for the Advancement of Blood and Biotherapies [AARB] standard 5.

Inhibition of ATR Reverses a Mitochondrial Respiratory Insufficiency.

Diseases that affect the mitochondrial electron transport chain (ETC) often manifest as threshold effect disorders, meaning patients only become symptomatic once a certain level of ETC dysfunction is reached. Cells can invoke mechanisms to circumvent reaching their critical ETC threshold, but it is an ongoing challenge to identify such processes. In the nematode , severe reduction of mitochondrial ETC activity shortens life, but mild reduction actually extends it, providing an opportunity to identify threshold circumvention mechanisms.

Platelet rich plasma hydrogels promote in vitro and in vivo angiogenic potential of adipose-derived stem cells.

Despite great advances in skin wound care utilizing grafting techniques, the resulting severe scarring, deformity and ineffective vascularization remains a challenge. Alternatively, tissue engineering of new skin using patient-derived stem cells and scaffolding materials promises to greatly increase the functional and aesthetic outcome of skin wound healing. This work focused on the optimization of a polyethylene glycol modified (PEGylated) platelet-rich plasma (PRP) hydrogel for the protracted release of cytokines, growth factors, and signaling molecules and also the delivery of a provisional physical framework for stem cell angiogenesis.

Assessment of Ablative Fractional CO2 Laser and Er:YAG Laser to Treat Hypertrophic Scars in a Red Duroc Pig Model.

Hypertrophic scarring is a fibroproliferative process that occurs following a third-degree dermal burn injury, producing significant morbidity due to persistent pain, itching, cosmetic disfigurement, and loss of function due to contractures. Ablative fractional lasers have emerged clinically as a fundamental or standard therapeutic modality for hypertrophic burn scars. Yet the examination of their histopathological and biochemical mechanisms of tissue remodeling and comparison among different laser types has been lacking.

Delivery of Allogeneic Adipose Stem Cells in Polyethylene Glycol-Fibrin Hydrogels as an Adjunct to Meshed Autografts After Sharp Debridement of Deep Partial Thickness Burns.

Harvesting of autografts results in donor site morbidities and is limited in scenarios such as large total body surface area burns. In these instances, coverage is increased by meshing grafts at the expense of delayed biologic closure. Moreover, graft meshing increases the likelihood of contraction and hypertrophic scarring, limits range of motion, and worsens cosmesis.

In Situ Delivery of Fibrin-Based Hydrogels Prevents Contraction and Reduces Inflammation.

While early excision and grafting has revolutionized burn wound care, autologous split-thickness skin grafts are sometimes unavailable. Tissue-engineered skin substitutes have generated great interest but have proven inadequate. Therefore, the development of novel biomaterials to replace/augment skin grafting could improve burn patient outcomes.

Activity of Norspermidine on Bacterial Biofilms of Multidrug-Resistant Clinical Isolates Associated with Persistent Extremity Wound Infections.

Biofilm formation is a major virulence factor for numerous pathogenic bacteria and is cited as a central event in the pathogenesis of chronic human infections, which is in large part due to excessive extracellular matrix secretion and metabolic changes that occur within the biofilm rendering them highly tolerant to antimicrobial treatments. Polyamines, including norspermidine, play central roles in bacterial biofilm development, but have also recently been shown to inhibit biofilm formation in select strains of various pathogenic bacteria. The aim of this study was to evaluate in vitro the biofilm dispersive and inhibitory activities of norspermidine against multidrug-resistant clinical isolates of Acinetobacter baumannii(n = 4), Klebsiella pneumoniae (n = 3), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (n = 5) and Staphylococcus aureus (n = 4) associated with chronic extremity wound infections using the semi-quantitative 96-well plate method and confocal laser microscopy.

Noninvasive Techniques for the Determination of Burn Severity in Real Time.

Visual diagnosis of second-degree burns has proven inadequate for determining the appropriate treatment regimen. Although multiple noninvasive imaging techniques have shown promise for providing information about burn wound severity, the ideal technology to aid burn wound excision would provide real-time readouts. Herein, the authors examine a high-resolution infrared (IR) camera (thermography) and a multiprobe adapter system (MPAS-6; transepidermal evaporative water loss, colorimetry) to assess their usefulness in predicting burn severity.

An optimized staining technique for the detection of Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria within tissue.

Background: Bacterial infections are a common clinical problem in both acute and chronic wounds. With growing concerns over antibiotic resistance, treatment of bacterial infections should only occur after positive diagnosis. Currently, diagnosis is delayed due to lengthy culturing methods which may also fail to identify the presence of bacteria.

Ciprofloxacin-Loaded Keratin Hydrogels Prevent Infection and Support Healing in a Porcine Full-Thickness Excisional Wound.

Cutaneous wound infection can lead to impaired healing, multiple surgical procedures, and increased hospitalization time. We tested the effectiveness of keratin-based hydrogels (termed "keratose") loaded with ciprofloxacin to inhibit infection and support healing when topically administered to porcine excision wounds infected with . Using a porcine excisional wound model, 10 mm full-thickness wounds were inoculated with 10 colony-forming units of and treated on days 1 and 3 postinoculation with ciprofloxacin-loaded keratose hydrogels.

Utility of spatial frequency domain imaging (SFDI) and laser speckle imaging (LSI) to non-invasively diagnose burn depth in a porcine model.

Surgical intervention of second degree burns is often delayed because of the difficulty in visual diagnosis, which increases the risk of scarring and infection. Non-invasive metrics have shown promise in accurately assessing burn depth. Here, we examine the use of spatial frequency domain imaging (SFDI) and laser speckle imaging (LSI) for predicting burn depth.

Soluble factors from biofilms of wound pathogens modulate human bone marrow-derived stromal cell differentiation, migration, angiogenesis, and cytokine secretion.

Background: Chronic, non-healing wounds are often characterized by the persistence of bacteria within biofilms - aggregations of cells encased within a self-produced polysaccharide matrix. Biofilm bacteria exhibit unique characteristics from planktonic, or culture-grown, bacterial phenotype, including diminished responses to antimicrobial therapy and persistence against host immune responses. Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are host cells characterized by their multifunctional ability to undergo differentiation into multiple cell types and modulation of host-immune responses by secreting factors that promote wound healing.

Enhanced wound vascularization using a dsASCs seeded FPEG scaffold.

The bioengineering of autologous vascular networks is of great importance in wound healing. Adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) are of interest due to their ability to differentiate toward various cell types, including vascular. We hypothesized that adult human ASCs embedded in a three-dimensional PEG-fibrin (FPEG) gel have the ability to modulate vascularization of a healing wound.

Reversibility of replicative senescence in Saccharomyces cerevisiae: effect of homologous recombination and cell cycle checkpoints.

Primary human somatic cells grown in culture divide a finite number of times, exhibiting progressive changes in metabolism and morphology before cessation of cycling. This telomere-initiated cellular senescence occurs because cells have halted production of telomerase, a DNA polymerase required for stabilization of chromosome ends. Telomerase-deficient Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells undergo a similar process, with most cells arresting growth after approximately 60 generations.

Breaking Caenorhabditis elegans the easy way using the Balch homogenizer: an old tool for a new application.

The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is a model organism best known for its powerful genetics. There is an increasing need in the worm community to couple genetics with biochemistry. Isolation of functionally active proteins or nucleic acids without the use of strong oxidizing denaturants or of subcellular compartments from C.