A Machine Learning-Driven Virtual Biopsy System For Kidney Transplant Patients.

In kidney transplantation, day-zero biopsies are used to assess organ quality and discriminate between donor-inherited lesions and those acquired post-transplantation. However, many centers do not perform such biopsies since they are invasive, costly and may delay the transplant procedure. We aim to generate a non-invasive virtual biopsy system using routinely collected donor parameters.

Intracutaneous Transplantation of Islets Within a Biodegradable Temporizing Matrix as an Alternative Site for Islet Transplantation.

Unlabelled: Intrahepatic islet transplantation for type 1 diabetes is limited by the need for multiple infusions and poor islet viability posttransplantation. The development of alternative transplantation sites is necessary to improve islet survival and facilitate monitoring and retrieval. We tested a clinically proven biodegradable temporizing matrix (BTM), a polyurethane-based scaffold, to generate a well-vascularized intracutaneous "neodermis" within the skin for islet transplantation.

Validation of the multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) technique for the determination of HER2 gene amplification in breast cancer.

Background: Multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) is a polymerase chain reaction-based assay that can assess HER2 gene copy number relative to control genes.

Design: Institutional ethics board approval was obtained. Using commercially available kits, 208 consecutive invasive breast cancers undergoing routine in situ hybridization testing (chromogenic in situ hybridization and fluorescence in situ hybridization) were also tested independently by MLPA.

Clinical audit of the use of fresh-frozen plasma and platelets in a tertiary teaching hospital and the impact of a new transfusion request form.

Aim: To carry out an audit of the appropriateness of fresh-frozen plasma (FFP) and platelets (Plt) transfusion with reference to the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council/Australian Society of Blood Transfusion Clinical Practice Guidelines, and to assess the impact of a self-educating transfusion request form.

Methods: A prospective review of the clinical indications and laboratory data in all transfusion episodes of FFP and Plt occurring in a tertiary teaching hospital in South Australia in two 2-month periods of the years 2002 and 2003.

Results: Reversal of warfarin has emerged as the major indication to transfuse FFP (34%).