Portable bioluminescent platform for in vivo monitoring of biological processes in non-transgenic animals.

Bioluminescent imaging (BLI) is one of the most powerful and widely used preclinical imaging modalities. However, the current technology relies on the use of transgenic luciferase-expressing cells and animals and therefore can only be applied to a limited number of existing animal models of human disease. Here, we report the development of a "portable bioluminescent" (PBL) technology that overcomes most of the major limitations of traditional BLI.

Nonactivated versus thrombin-activated platelets on wound healing and fibroblast-to-myofibroblast differentiation in vivo and in vitro.

Background: Platelet preparations for tissue healing are usually preactivated before application to deliver concentrated growth factors. In this study, the authors investigated the differences between nonactivated and thrombin-activated platelets in wound healing.

Methods: The healing effects (i.

Early healing of transcolonic and transgastric natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery access sites.

Background: Natural Orifice Transluminal Endoscopic Surgery (NOTES) is a developing, minimally invasive surgical approach whose potential benefits are being investigated. Little is known about secure access site closure and early healing kinetics of transvisceral access.

Study Design: Transvisceral access incisions were created in the colon (C-NOTES, n = 8) and stomach (G-NOTES, n = 8) for peritoneal exploration.

Electrical injuries due to theft of copper.

This study shows that the theft of copper, mainly from electrical wires, is becoming a more frequent crime as the value of this metal rises. We have collected all the data from the Burn Centre of the Hospital of Palermo, Italy, from 1992 to 2007. Over the last two decades, we assisted to a dramatic increase of patients admitted to our hospital, reporting burn injuries while attempting to steal it in dangerous conditions.

Short periodic applications of the vacuum-assisted closure device cause an extended tissue response in the diabetic mouse model.

Background: The vacuum-assisted closure device is a widely used mechanical modulator of wound healing; however, the optimal time kinetics of application have not been determined. The objective of the study was to optimize the kinetics of vacuum-assisted closure application.

Methods: Full-thickness wounds in seven diabetic mice per study group were treated with either an occlusive dressing alone, the vacuum-assisted closure device for 6 or 12 hours, or the vacuum-assisted closure device periodically for 4 hours every other day or continuously for 7 days.

Improved cutaneous healing in diabetic mice exposed to healthy peripheral circulation.

Impaired repair of skin defects is a major complication of diabetes; yet, the pathophysiology of diabetic (db) wound healing remains largely opaque. Here, we investigate the role of humoral factors in modulating db wound repair by generating chimeric animals through parabiotic joining of wild-type (wt) and diabetic (db/db) mice. This strategy allows wounds on healing-deficient db/db mice to be exposed to factors derived from the wt circulation at physiologically appropriate concentrations.

The mechanism of action of the vacuum-assisted closure device.

Background: The vacuum-assisted closure device is widely used clinically, yet its mechanisms of action are incompletely understood. In this study, the authors designed a partially splinted full-thickness murine vacuum-assisted closure model to better understand the mechanism of action of the vacuum-assisted closure device.

Methods: Full-thickness wounds (n = 10 per group) were excised in diabetic mice and treated with the vacuum-assisted closure device or its isolated components: an occlusive dressing, subatmospheric pressure at 125 mmHg (suction), and a polyurethane foam without and with downward compression.

Wound healing kinetics of the genetically diabetic mouse.

The increased number of chronic nonhealing wounds mirrors the epidemic of type 2 diabetes. Diabetic animal models may allow for better understanding of the pathophysiology of wound healing and may lead to the pre-clinical testing of a variety of therapeutic modalities for this patient group. The authors present an overview of the literature on excisional wound mouse models and focus on the authors' experience with the db/db mouse.