Determination of organ tropism of Newcastle disease virus (strain I-2) by virus isolation and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction

The vaccines 1-2 and V4 are avirulent strains of Newcastle disease virus. Organ tropism of strain V4 has been determined and the virus has a predilection for the digestive tract. Tropism of strain 1-2 has not yet been determined. The objective of this study was to determine the distribution of strain 1-2 in various body organs and fluids following vaccination in comparison with V4. Four-week-old chickens were vaccinated by eye drop separately with these two avirulent strains. Virus isolation and the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction technique were employed to detect 1-2 and V4 viruses in various tissues and body fluids for 7 days following vaccination. Tissues from the respiratory tract showed earlier positive signals than tissues from other organs for chickens vaccinated with strain 1-2. Conversely, tissues from mainly digestive tract produced earlier positive signals than from respiratory tract and other organs from chickens vaccinated with strain V4. In early infection, strain 1-2 had preferential predilection for the respiratory tract and strain V4 for the digestive tract. Later after vaccination, other organs showed positive results from chickens vaccinated with both 1-2 and V4 strains. The differences in organ tropism observed in this study suggest that 1-2 may perform better than V4 as a live vaccine strain.

Presumed consent in organ donation: the devil is in the detail

This article follows the recent publication of the Organs for Donation Task Force report, "Organs for Transplants", and considers the debate surrounding a change in the law in favour of presumed consent in organ donation.

Two parallel, pragmatic, UK multicentre, randomised controlled trials comparing surgical options for upper compartment (vault or uterine) pelvic organ prolapse (the VUE Study) : study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

The VUE study is funded by the National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment programme (project number 11/129/183).

Remarks on the state of the art of organ-building, past and present

Translated from the German by David Hamilton.

Evaluation of the Does Reduction Potential Using a Breast Positioning Technique for Organ-based Tube Current Modulated CT Examinations

Purpose: The purpose of this work was to investigate the breast dose saving potential of a breast positioning technique (BP) for thoracic CT examinations with organ-based tube current modulation (OTCM).

Methods: The study included 13 female patient models (XCAT, age range: 27-65 y.o., weight range: 52 to 105.8 kg). Each model was modified to simulate three breast sizes in standard supine geometry. The modeled breasts were further deformed, emulating a BP that would constrain the breasts within 120° anterior tube current (mA) reduction zone. The tube current value of the CT examination was modeled using an attenuation-based program, which reduces the radiation dose to 20% in the anterior region with a corresponding increase to the posterior region. A validated Monte Carlo program was used to estimate organ doses with a typical clinical system (SOMATOM Definition Flash, Siemens Healthcare). The simulated organ doses and organ doses normalized by CTDIvol were compared between attenuation-based tube current modulation (ATCM), OTCM, and OTCM with BP (OTCMBP).

Results: On average, compared to ATCM, OTCM reduced the breast dose by 19.3±4.5%, whereas OTCMBP reduced breast dose by 36.6±6.9% (an additional 21.3±7.3%). The dose saving of OTCMBP was more significant for larger breasts (on average 32, 38, and 44% reduction for 0.5, 1.5, and 2.5 kg breasts, respectively). Compared to ATCM, OTCMBP also reduced thymus and heart dose by 12.1 ± 6.3% and 13.1 ± 5.4%, respectively.

Conclusions: In thoracic CT examinations, OTCM with a breast positioning technique can markedly reduce unnecessary exposure to the radiosensitive organs in the anterior chest wall, specifically breast tissue. The breast dose reduction is more notable for women with larger breasts.

Prospective Estimation of Organ Dose Prior to Examination: Matching Patient to Digital Phantoms

Prospective estimation of patient CT organ dose prior to examination can help technologist adjust CT scan settings to reduce radiation dose to patient while maintaining certain image quality. One possible way to achieve this is matching patient to digital models precisely. In previous work, patient matching was performed manually by matching the trunk height which was defined as the distance from top of clavicle to bottom of pelvis. However, this matching method is time consuming and impractical in scout images where entire trunk is not included. Purpose of this work was to develop an automatic patient matching strategy and verify its accuracy.

Role of patient factors, preferences, and distrust in health care and access to liver transplantation and organ donation.

Despite major improvements in access to liver transplantation (LT), disparities remain. Little is known about how distrust in medical care, patient preferences, and the origins shaping those preferences contribute to differences surrounding access. We performed a single-center, cross-sectional survey of adults with end-stage liver disease and compared responses between LT listed and nonlisted patients as well as by race. Questionnaires were administered to 109 patients (72 nonlisted; 37 listed) to assess demographics, health care system distrust (HCSD), religiosity, and factors influencing LT and organ donation (OD). We found that neither HCSD nor religiosity explained differences in access to LT in our population. Listed patients attained higher education levels and were more likely to be insured privately. This was also the case for white versus black patients. All patients reported wanting LT if recommended. However, nonlisted patients were significantly less likely to have discussed LT with their physician or to be referred to a transplant center. They were also much less likely to understand the process of LT. Fewer blacks were referred (44.4% versus 69.7%; P = 0.03) or went to the transplant center if referred (44.4% versus 71.1%; P = 0.02). Fewer black patients felt that minorities had as equal access to LT as whites (29.6% versus 57.3%; P < 0.001). For OD, there were more significant differences in preferences by race than listing status. More whites indicated OD status on their driver's license, and more blacks were likely to become an organ donor if approached by someone of the same cultural or ethnic background (P < 0.01). In conclusion, our analysis demonstrates persistent barriers to LT and OD. With improved patient and provider education and communication, many of these disparities could be successfully overcome. Liver Transplantation 22 895-905 2016 AASLD.