Effects of mechanical ventilation and portable air cleaner on aerosol removal from dental treatment rooms.

Objectives: To evaluate the mechanical ventilation rates of dental treatment rooms and assess the effectiveness of aerosol removal by mechanical ventilation and a portable air cleaner (PAC) with a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter.

Methods: Volumetric airflow were measured to assess air change rate per hour by ventilation (ACH). Equivalent ventilation provided by the PAC (ACH) was calculated based on its clean air delivery rate.

The effects of high-dose heparin on inflammatory and coagulation parameters following cardiopulmonary bypass.

Systemic inflammation and the activation of the coagulation system following cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) may contribute to postoperative complications. In vitro studies have demonstrated that heparin possesses anti-inflammatory properties. To ascertain the relative benefits of high versus low heparin doses, we studied the impact of varying heparin doses on the inflammatory response and coagulation system during and following CPB.

cis-Urocanic acid does not induce the expression of immunosuppressive cytokines in murine keratinocytes.

trans-Urocanic acid (UCA) acts as a chromophore for UV radiation in the epidermis and isomerizes to cis-UCA which then initiates some of the changes leading to UV-induced immunosuppression. The mechanism of the immunomodulation by cis-UCA is unknown at present, but one possibility is that the interaction between cis-UCA and keratinocytes causes the release of immunosuppressive cytokines locally. To test this hypothesis, PAM-212 cells, a murine keratinocyte cell line, were incubated with 0.

The binding of unfractionated heparin and low molecular weight heparin to thrombin-activated human endothelial cells.

The binding of unfractionated heparin to endothelium is thought to be responsible for the rapid and saturable phase of unfractionated heparin clearance. Thrombin can induce endothelial cells to express and/or secrete a number of heparin binding proteins that have the potential to increase the binding of unfractionated heparin and to a lesser extent the binding of low molecular weight heparin. To explore this possibility, we examined the binding of unfractionated heparin and low molecular weight heparin to thrombin-activated endothelial cells.

The effects of standard and low molecular weight heparin on bone nodule formation in vitro.

Previously, we demonstrated in a rat model of heparin-induced osteoporosis that low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) produces less bone loss than unfractionated heparin, and that only heparin increases osteoclast number and activity. In contrast, both heparin and LMWH were found to decrease osteoblast function to a similar extent, possibly because at the doses tested both agents produced maximal inhibition. To examine the relative effects of heparin and LMWH on osteoblast function more closely we used an in vitro bone nodule assay, together with measurements of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity.