Calibrated forceps model of spinal cord compression injury.

Compression injuries of the murine spinal cord are valuable animal models for the study of spinal cord injury (SCI) and spinal regenerative therapy. The calibrated forceps model of compression injury is a convenient, low cost, and very reproducible animal model for SCI. We used a pair of modified forceps in accordance with the method published by Plemel et al. (2008) to laterally compress the spinal cord to a distance of 0.35 mm. In this video, we will demonstrate a dorsal laminectomy to expose the spinal cord, followed by compression of the spinal cord with the modified forceps. In the video, we will also address issues related to the care of paraplegic laboratory animals. This injury model produces mice that exhibit impairment in sensation, as well as impaired hindlimb locomotor function. Furthermore, this method of injury produces consistent aberrations in the pathology of the SCI, as determined by immunohistochemical methods. After watching this video, viewers should be able to determine the necessary supplies and methods for producing SCI of various severities in the mouse for studies on SCI and/or treatments designed to mitigate impairment after injury

White matter changes and confrontation naming in retired aging national football league athletes

Using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), we assessed the relationship of white matter integrity and performance on the Boston Naming Test (BNT) in a group of retired professional football players and a control group. We examined correlations between fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) with BNT T-scores in an unbiased voxelwise analysis processed with tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS). We also analyzed the DTI data by grouping voxels together as white matter tracts and testing each tract's association with BNT T-scores. Significant voxelwise correlations between FA and BNT performance were only seen in the retired football players (p < 0.02). Two tracts had mean FA values that significantly correlated with BNT performance: forceps minor and forceps major. White matter integrity is important for distributed cognitive processes, and disruption correlates with diminished performance in athletes exposed to concussive and subconcussive brain injuries, but not in controls without such exposure

Einfluss der Art der Materialgewinnung auf die Diagnosefindung in der Lungenpathologie

Das Ziel der Arbeit ist die Darstellung der Möglichkeiten der Kryobiopsien für die Diagnostik von Lungenerkrankungen und Pleuraerkrankungen. Es wurde zunächst gezeigt, dass die transbronchialen Kryobiopsien einen deutlichen morphologischen Unterschied gegenüber den konventionellen transbronchialen Biopsien zeigen, indem sie größer sind und häufiger alveoläres Gewebe enthalten. Entnahmebedingte Artefakte des alveolären Gewebes zeigten sich nicht. Untersucht wurden Patientenkollektive mit Krebserkrankungen sowie mit interstitiellen Lungenerkrankungen. In beiden Gruppen zeigt sich eine deutliche Steigerung der diagnostischen Ausbeute. Bei den pleuralen Läsionen konnte mindestens eine Gleichwertigkeit der Methode der Kryobiopsie der Pleura mit einer flexiblen Zangenbiopsie gezeigt werden. Die letzte vorgelegte Arbeit zeigt die erste Beschreibung einer durch Kryobiopsie gesicherten diffusen idiopathischen Hyperplasie der neuroendokrinen Zellen (DIPNECH). Insgesamt zeigt sich eine gute Einsetzbarkeit der Methode bei allen Lungen- und Pleuraerkrankungen.The aim of this work is to present a variety of cryobiopsies for the diagnosis of pulmonary and pleural diseases. The first paper describes a distinct morphologic difference between cryobiopsies and traditional transbronchial biopsies. Cryobiopsies reveal to be larger, contain more common alveolar tissue, which does not show any artefacts. The following analyses included patient groups with cancer and interstitial lung diseases. Both groups show a higher diagnostic yield concerning the specific disease. For the pleural lesions it could be demonstrated that there is at least a diagnostic equivalence between cryobiopsy and flexible thoracosopy. Finally, the last paper is a first case report of a cryobiopsy-diagnosed diffuse idiopathic neuroendocrine cell hyperplasia (DIPNECH). Altogether, the method presents itself suitable for application in all groups of lung and pleural diseases

New postnatal urinary incontinence: obstetric and other risk factors in primparae.

Objective To identify obstetric and other risk factors for urinary incontinence which occurs during pregnancy or after childbirth. Design Questionnaire survey of women. Setting Maternity units in Aberdeen (Scotland), Birmingham (England) and Dunedin (New Zealand). Population 3405 primiparous women with singleton births delivered during one year. Methods Questionnaire responses and obstetric casenote data were analysed using multivariate analysis to identify associations with urinary incontinence. Main outcome measures Urinary incontinence at three months after delivery first starting in pregnancy or after birth. Results The prevalence of urinary incontinence was 29%. New incontinence first beginning after delivery was associated with higher maternal age (oldest versus youngest group, odds ratio, OR 2.02, 95% CI 1.35 to 3.02); and method of delivery (caesarean section versus spontaneous vaginal delivery, OR 0.28, 95% CI 0.19 to 0.41). There were no significant associations with forceps delivery (OR 1.18, 95% CI 0.92 to 1.51) or vacuum delivery (OR 1.16, 95% CI 0.83 to 1.63). Incontinence first occurring during pregnancy and still present at three months was associated with higher maternal body mass index (BMI > 25, OR 1.68, 95% CI 1.16 to 2.43), and heavier babies (birthweight in top quartile, OR 1.56, 95% CI 1.12 to 2.19). In these women, caesarean section was associated with less incontinence (OR 0.39, 95% CI 0.27 to 0.58) but incontinence was not associated with age. Conclusions Women have less urinary incontinence after a first delivery by caesarean section whether or not that first starts during pregnancy. Older maternal age was associated with new postnatal incontinence, and higher body mass index and heavier babies with incontinence first starting during pregnancy. The effect of further deliveries may modify these findings

Los estados adultos de Nanomis y Spiritiops (Ephemeroptera: Baetidae)

The adult stages of Nanomis Lugo-Ortiz & McCafferty and Spiritiops Lugo-Ortiz & McCafferty are described for the first time based on reared material from Argentina and Brazil, respectively. They can be differentiated from the other adults of Baetidae by the following characters: Nanomis, hind wings with three longitudinal veins, second vein bifurcate; costal projection of the hind wings pointed, placed in the basal third of anterior margin; and forceps three-segmented, third segment rounded. Spiritiops, fore wings with paired and long marginal intercalary veins; hind wings with three complete longitudinal veins, and an incomplete small longitudinal vein; costal projection of hind wings pointed, broad at base and placed in the basal third of anterior margin; forceps three-segmented, second segment constricted and third segment elongate and narrowed.Los estados adultos de Nanomis Lugo-Ortiz & McCafferty y Spiritiops Lugo-Ortiz & McCafferty se describen por primera vez sobre la base de material criado de Argentina y Brasil respectivamente. Se distinguen de los restantes adultos de Baetidae por la siguiente combinación de caracteres: Nanomis, alas posteriores con tres venas longitudinales, la segunda bifurcada; proyección costal de las alas posteriores aguda, ubicada basalmente en el margen anterior del ala; fórceps trisegmentados, tercer segmento redondeado. Spiritiops, alas anteriores con venas marginales intercalares pares; alas posteriores con 3 venas longitudinales completas y una vena longitudinal corta e incompleta; proyección costal de las alas posteriores aguda apicalmente y con base ancha, ubicada en el tercio basal del margen anterior; fórceps trisegmentados, segundo segmento con una constricción y tercer segmento alargado y angosto.Fil: Salles, Frederico Falcão. Universidade Federal do Espírito Espírito Santo; BrasilFil: Nieto Peñalver, María Carolina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Instituto de Biodiversidad Neotropical. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo. Instituto de Biodiversidad Neotropical. Instituto de Biodiversidad Neotropical; Argentin

The pathologists’ eyes on foregut: histopathological relations in the experimental and routine diagnostics

SUMMARY I. The study aimed to investigate the incidence of duodeno-gastroesophageal reflux-induced malignoma formation in a series of duodeno-esophageal anastomosis operations in rats. This surgical method provided a model for the reflux-induced esophageal pathologies, without carcinogen administration. 30 weeks of duodeno-gastroesophageal reflux disease significantly increased the risk of the development of BE, and reflux-induced EAC formation was evident in 4 animals. In one of these particular cases, a superficial squamous cell cancer was noted in close vicinity to the adenocarcinoma formation. The results of the applied rat model afford evidence of the simultaneous activation of more than one possible carcinogenetic pathway in experimental GERD. Synchronous neoplasm formation with different growth pattern characteristics is a rarity in humans, and this phenomenon suggests that the presented model is a suitable means of mimicking the whole spectrum of human GERD pathology. II/1. The study aimed to carry out standardized histopathological analysis focusing not only on SIM but also on the presence of additional glands in the metaplastic process at 826 consecutive patients. According to standardized histopathological dataset the cases were classified and recorded by computerized method. The obtained data proved that 1) pure SIM is very rare in the Hungarian population, 2) cardiac and superficial mucous glands are good predictors for SIM, 3) pancreatic acinar and fundic metaplasias carry less severe metaplastic process, and 4) superficial mucous glands can be responsible for creating foregut-derived tissues and thus can be the origin of BE. II/2. The study aimed to assess the value of forceps biopsy sampling in establishing the correct diagnosis revealed by EMR as well as to evaluate the efficacy of this method. Fifty-six subjects with sessile gastric polyps of epithelial origin, at least 0.5 cm in diameter, and not associated with polyposis syndromes, were included. The obtained data showed that forceps biopsy is not fully representative of the entire lesion, and a simple biopsy may therefore lead to a faulty differentiation between the neoplastic and non-neoplastic lesions. EMR proposes diagnostic and staging advantage in assessing patients with EGC as compared to forceps biopsy, because it provides more intact mucosa and submucosa for histological analysis. Sessile gastric polyps should be fully resected by EMR for a final diagnosis and (depending on the lesion size and type) possibly definitive treatment

Measuring neuromuscular junction functionality

Neuromuscular junction (NMJ) functionality plays a pivotal role when studying diseases in which the communication between motor neuron and muscle is impaired, such as aging and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Here we describe an experimental protocol that can be used to measure NMJ functionality by combining two types of electrical stimulation: direct muscle membrane stimulation and the stimulation through the nerve. The comparison of the muscle response to these two different stimulations can help to define, at the functional level, potential alterations in the NMJ that lead to functional decline in muscle. Ex vivo preparations are suited to well-controlled studies. Here we describe an intensive protocol to measure several parameters of muscle and NMJ functionality for the soleus-sciatic nerve preparation and for the diaphragm-phrenic nerve preparation. The protocol lasts approximately 60 min and is conducted uninterruptedly by means of a custom-made software that measures the twitch kinetics properties, the force-frequency relationship for both muscle and nerve stimulations, and two parameters specific to NMJ functionality, i.e. neurotransmission failure and intratetanic fatigue. This methodology was used to detect damages in soleus and diaphragm muscle-nerve preparations by using SOD1G93A transgenic mouse, an experimental model of ALS that ubiquitously overexpresses the mutant antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1)

Assessment of degree of risk from sources of microbial contamination in cleanrooms; 2: surfaces and liquids

The degree of risk from microbial contamination of manufactured products in healthcare cleanrooms has been assessed in a series of three articles. The first article discussed airborne sources, and this second article considers surface contact and liquid sources. A final article will consider all sources and give further information on the application of the risk method. The degree of risk to products from micro-organisms transferred from sources by surface contact, or by liquids, has been assessed by the means of fundamental equations used to calculate the likely number of microbes deposited (NMD) onto, or into, a product. The method calculates the likely product contamination rate from each source and gives a more accurate risk assessment than those presently available. It also allows a direct comparison to be made between microbial transfer by different routes, i.e. surface, liquid and air