Keratinocyte growth factor: a new mesothelial targeted therapy to reduce postoperative pericardial adhesions

Background: Several methods have been utilized to prevent pericardial and retrosternal adhesions, but none of them evaluated the mesothelial regenerative hypothesis. There are evidences that the mesothelial trauma reduces pericardial fibrinolytic capability and induces an adhesion process. Keratinocyte growth factor (KGF) has proven to improve mesothelial cells proliferation. This study investigated the influence of keratinocyte growth factor in reducing post-surgical adhesions. Methods: Twelve pigs were operated and an adhesion protocol was employed. Following a stratified randomization, the animals received a topical application of KGF or saline. At 8 weeks, intrapericardial adhesions were evaluated and a severity score was established. The time spent to dissect the adhesions and the amount of sharp dissection used, were recorded. Histological sections were stained with sirius red and morphometric analyses were assessed with a computer-assisted image analysis system. Results: The severity score was lower in the KGF group than in the control group (11.5 vs 17, p = 0.005). The dissection time was lower in the KGF group (9.2 +/- 1.4 min vs 33.9 +/- 9.2 min, p = 0.004) and presented a significant correlation with the severity score (r = 0.83, p = 0.001). A significantly less sharp dissection was also required in the KGF group. Also, adhesion area and adhesion collagen were significantly tower in the KGF group than in the control group. Conclusion: The simulation of pericardial cells with KGF reduced the intensity of postoperative adhesions and facilitated the re-operation. This study suggests that the mesothelial regeneration is the new horizon in anti-adhesion therapies. (C) 2008 European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Shared-decision making in designing new healthcare environments : ready to take off for improved quality

Background Successful implementation of new methods and models of healthcare to achieve better patient outcomes and safe, person-centered care is dependent on the physical environment of the healthcare architecture in which the healthcare is provided. Thus, decisions concerning healthcare architecture are critical because it affects people and work processes for many years and requires a long-term financial commitment from society. In this paper, we describe and suggest several strategies (critical factors) to promote shared-decision making when planning and designing new healthcare environments. Discussion This paper discusses challenges and hindrances observed in the literature and from the authors extensive experiences in the field of planning and designing healthcare environments. An overview is presented of the challenges and new approaches for a process that involves the mutual exchange of knowledge among various stakeholders. Additionally, design approaches that balance the influence of specific and local requirements with general knowledge and evidence that should be encouraged are discussed. Summary We suggest a shared-decision making and collaborative planning and design process between representatives from healthcare, construction sector and architecture based on evidence and end-users’ perspectives. If carefully and systematically applied, this approach will support and develop a framework for creating high quality healthcare environments.

A review of new vibration issues due to non-ideal energy sources

We analyze the dynamical coupling between energy sources and structural response that must not be ignored in real engineering problems, since real motors have limited output power. We present models of certain problems that render descriptions that are closer to real situations encountered in practice.

A New and Fast Technique to Generate Offspring after Germ Cells Transplantation in Adult Fish: The Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) Model

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

A New Birth-Interval Approach to Estimating Demographic Parameters of Humpback Whales

A demographic model is developed based on interbirth intervals and is applied to estimate the population growth rate of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in the Gulf of Maine. Fecundity rates in this model are based on the probabilities of giving birth at time t after a previous birth and on the probabilities of giving birth first at age x. Maximum likelihood methods are used to estimate these probabilities using sighting data collected for individually identified whales. Female survival rates are estimated from these same sighting data using a modified Jolly–Seber method. The youngest age at first parturition is 5 yr, the estimated mean birth interval is 2.38 yr (SE = 0.10 yr), the estimated noncalf survival rate is 0.960 (SE = 0.008), and the estimated calf survival rate is 0.875 (SE = 0.047). The population growth rate (l) is estimated to be 1.065; its standard error is estimated as 0.012 using a Monte Carlo approach, which simulated sampling from a hypothetical population of whales. The simulation is also used to investigate the bias in estimating birth intervals by previous methods. The approach developed here is applicable to studies of other populations for which individual interbirth intervals can be measured.

Mimosine and Cyclophosphamide: a Potential New Combination Therapy Used to Prevent Tumor Development

The effects of mimosine (MI), which is an amino acid that is derived from Leucaena leucocephala, were evaluated on the growth of ascitic Ehrlich tumors, and the effects of the combination treatment of MI and cyclophosphamide (CY) on tumor growth were also assessed. Mice were divided into groups that received the following treatments over the course of 20 days: phosphate buffer solution (CO), MI, Ehrlich cells (E), E plus CY (EC), E plus MI (EM) and E plus MI and CY (EMC). No signs of toxicity were detected in the mice from the MI group. The mice from the EMC group showed reductions in body weights when compared with those from the E group. The animals from the EC, EM and EMC groups showed reductions in ascitic volume compared with those from the E group. The mice from the EMC group showed reductions in total cell numbers of ascitic fluid compared with those from the E, EC and EM groups. The combination of MI and CY was the most effective treatment for Ehrlich tumor ascites.

Evolution in access to fluoridated water in Sao Paulo State, Brazil, from the 1950s to the early 21st century

Access to fluoridated water is a known protective factor against dental caries. In 1974, fluoridation of the public water supply became mandatory by law in Brazil, resulting in improved coverage, especially in more developed regions of the country. Coverage increased across the country as a priority under the national oral health policy. This article systematizes information on the implementation and expansion of fluoridation in Sao Paulo State from 1956 to 2009, using secondary data from technical reports, official documents, and the Information System for Surveillance of Water Quality for Human Consumption (SISAGUA). In 2009, fluoridation covered 546 of 645 counties in Sao Paulo State (84.7%), reaching 85.1% of the total population and 93.5% of the population with access to the public water supply. The results indicate that fluoridation has been consolidated as part of State health policy. However, the challenge remains to implement and maintain fluoridation in 99 counties, benefiting 6.2 million inhabitants that are still excluded from this service.

A new NO donor failed to release NO and to induce relaxation in the rat basilar artery

Nitric oxide (NO)-donors are pharmacologically active substances that in vivo or in vitro release NO. Their most common side effect is headache caused by cerebral vasodilatation. We previously demonstrated that the new NO-donor Ru(terpy)(bdq)NO](3+) (Terpy), synthesized in our laboratory, induces relaxation of rat aorta. This study aimed to verify the effect of Terpy and sodium nitroprusside (SNP) in basilar artery. We conducted vascular reactivity experiments on endothelium-denuded basilar rings. The concentrations of iron (Fe) and ruthenium (Ru) complex were analyzed in basilar artery lysates after incubation with NO donors by mass spectrometry. We also evaluated the NO released from SNP and Terpy by using confocal microscopy. Interestingly, Terpy did not induce relaxation of the basilar artery. SNP induced relaxation in a concentration-dependent way. NO donors cross the membrane of vascular smooth muscle and entered the cell. In spite of its permeability, Terpy did not release NO in the basilar artery. Otherwise, SNP released NO in the basilar artery cells cytoplasm. Taken together, our results demonstrate that the new NO donor (Terpy) failed to release NO and to induce relaxation in the basilar artery. The NO donor SNP induces vascular relaxation due to NO release in the vascular smooth muscle cells. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Mimosine and cyclophosphamide: a potential new combination therapy used to prevent tumor development

The effects of mimosine (MI), which is an amino acid that is derived from Leucaena leucocephala, were evaluated on the growth of ascitic Ehrlich tumors, and the effects of the combination treatment of MI and cyclophosphamide (CY) on tumor growth were also assessed. Mice were divided into groups that received the following treatments over the course of 20 days: phosphate buffer solution (CO), MI, Ehrlich cells (E), E plus CY (EC), E plus MI (EM) and E plus MI and CY (EMC). No signs of toxicity were detected in the mice from the MI group. The mice from the EMC group showed reductions in body weights when compared with those from the E group. The animals from the EC, EM and EMC groups showed reductions in ascitic volume compared with those from the E group. The mice from the EMC group showed reductions in total cell numbers of ascitic fluid compared with those from the E, EC and EM groups. The combination of MI and CY was the most effective treatment for Ehrlich tumor ascites.

Evolution of the structural and fracture design of the ISS payloads due to the new launchers, specifically applied to Biolab IEC-2 projects

The relatively young discipline of astronautics represents one of the scientifically most fascinating and technologically advanced achievements of our time. The human exploration in space does not offer only extraordinary research possibilities but also demands high requirements from man and technology. The space environment provides a lot of attractive experimental tools towards the understanding of fundamental mechanism in natural sciences. It has been shown that especially reduced gravity and elevated radiation, two distinctive factors in space, influence the behavior of biological systems significantly. For this reason one of the key objectives on board of an earth orbiting laboratory is the research in the field of life sciences, covering the broad range from botany, human physiology and crew health up to biotechnology. The Columbus Module is the only European low gravity platform that allows researchers to perform ambitious experiments in a continuous time frame up to several months. Biolab is part of the initial outfitting of the Columbus Laboratory; it is a multi-user facility supporting research in the field of biology, e.g. effect of microgravity and space radiation on cell cultures, micro-organisms, small plants and small invertebrates. The Biolab IEC are projects designed to work in the automatic part of Biolab. In this moment in the TO-53 department of Airbus Defence & Space (formerly Astrium) there are two experiments that are in phase C/D of the development and they are the subject of this thesis: CELLRAD and CYTOSKELETON. They will be launched in soft configuration, that means packed inside a block of foam that has the task to reduce the launch loads on the payload. Until 10 years ago the payloads which were launched in soft configuration were supposed to be structural safe by themselves and a specific structural analysis could be waived on them; with the opening of the launchers market to private companies (that are not under the direct control of the international space agencies), the requirements on the verifications of payloads are changed and they have become much more conservative. In 2012 a new random environment has been introduced due to the new Space-X launch specification that results to be particularly challenging for the soft launched payloads. The last ESA specification requires to perform structural analysis on the payload for combined loads (random vibration, quasi-steady acceleration and pressure). The aim of this thesis is to create FEM models able to reproduce the launch configuration and to verify that all the margins of safety are positive and to show how they change because of the new Space-X random environment. In case the results are negative, improved design solution are implemented. Based on the FEM result a study of the joins has been carried out and, when needed, a crack growth analysis has been performed.

Immunodetection of 3-nitrotyrosine in the liver of zymosan-treated rats with a new monoclonal antibody: comparison to analysis by HPLC

Zymosan-induced peritonitis is associated with an increased production of reactive nitrogen oxides that may contribute to the often-observed failure of multiple organ systems in this model of acute inflammation. Quantitative biochemical evidence is provided for a marked 13-fold increase in protein-bound 3-nitrotyrosine (NTyr), a biomarker of reactive nitrogen oxides, in liver tissue of zymosan-treated rats. In order to investigate the localization of NTyr in this affected tissue, a monoclonal antibody, designated 39B6, was raised against 3-(4-hydroxy-3-nitrophenylacetamido) propionic acid-bovine serum albumin conjugate and its performance characterized. 39B6 was judged by competition ELISA to be approximately 2 orders of magnitude more sensitive than a commercial anti-NTyr monoclonal antibody. Binding characteristics of 39B6 were similar, but not identical, to that of a commercial affinity-purified polyclonal antibody in ELISA and immunohistochemical analyses. Western blot experiments revealed high specificity of 39B6 against NTyr and increased immunoreactivity of specific proteins from liver tissue homogenates of zymosan-treated rats. Immunohistochemical analysis of liver sections indicated a marked zymosan-induced increase in immunofluorescent staining, which was particularly intense in or adjacent to nonparenchymal cells, but not in the parenchymal cells of this tissue. Quantitative analysis of fractions enriched in these cell populations corroborated the immunofluorescent data, although the relative amounts detected in response to zymosan treatment was greatly reduced compared to whole liver tissue. These results demonstrate the high specificity of the newly developed antibody and its usefulness in Western blot and immunohistochemical analysis for NTyr, confirm the presence of NTyr by complementary methods, and suggest the possible involvement of reactive nitrogen oxides in hepatic vascular dysfunction.