Basic Surgical Techniques in the Göttingen Minipig: Intubation, Bladder Catheterization, Femoral Vessel Catheterization, and Transcardial Perfusion

The emergence of the Göttingen minipig in research of topics such as neuroscience, toxicology, diabetes, obesity, and experimental surgery reflects the close resemblance of these animals to human anatomy and physiology 1-6.The size of the Göttingen minipig permits the use of surgical equipment and advanced imaging modalities similar to those used in humans 6-8. The aim of this instructional video is to increase the awareness on the value of minipigs in biomedical research, by demonstrating how to perform tracheal intubation, transurethral bladder catheterization, femoral artery and vein catheterization, as well as transcardial perfusion

Plasmid pP62BP1 isolated from an Arctic Psychrobacter sp. strain carries two highly homologous type II restriction-modification systems and a putative organic sulfate metabolism operon

The complete nucleotide sequence of plasmid pP62BP1 (34,467 bp), isolated from Arctic Psychrobacter sp. DAB_AL62B, was determined and annotated. The conserved plasmid backbone is composed of several genetic modules, including a replication system (REP) with similarities to the REP region of the iteron-containing plasmid pPS10 of Pseudomonas syringae. The additional genetic load of pP62BP1 includes two highly related type II restriction-modification systems and a set of genes (slfRCHSL) encoding enzymes engaged in the metabolism of organic sulfates, plus a putative transcriptional regulator (SlfR) of the AraC family. The pP62BP1 slflocus has a compact and unique structure. It is predicted that the enzymes SlfC, SlfH, SlfS and SlfL carry out a chain of reactions leading to the transformation of alkyl sulfates into acyl-CoA, with dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as a possible starting substrate. Comparative analysis of the nucleotide sequences of pP62BP1 and other Psychrobacter spp. plasmids revealed their structural diversity. However, the presence of a few highly conserved DNA segments in pP62BP1, plasmid 1 of P. cryohalolentis K5 and pRWF-101 of Psychrobacter sp. PRwf-1 is indicative of recombinational shuffling of genetic information, and is evidence of lateral gene transfer in the Arctic environment

The Role of VATS in Lung Cancer Surgery: Current Status and Prospects for Development

Since the introduction of anatomic lung resection by video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) 20 years ago, VATS has experienced major advances in both equipment and technique, introducing a technical challenge in the surgical treatment of both benign and malignant lung disease. The demonstrated safety, decreased morbidity, and equivalent efficacy of this minimally invasive technique have led to the acceptance of VATS as a standard surgical modality for early-stage lung cancer and increasing application to more advanced disease. Formerly there was much debate about the feasibility of the technique in cancer surgery and proper lymph node handling. Although there is a lack of proper randomized studies, it is now generally accepted that the outcome of a VATS procedure is at least not inferior to a resection via a traditional thoracotomy

Endobronchial ultrasound–guided transbronchial needle aspiration in the staging of lung cancer patients

Objective: Mediastinoscopy as diagnostic procedure for evaluation of mediastinum in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer has long been considered the reference standard. However, less invasive method has occurred. Endobronchial ultrasound–guided transbronchial needle aspiration came into widespread use and has resulted in controversy as to whether it is a good replacement for mediastinoscopy. We chose to demonstrate the usefulness of endobronchial ultrasound–guided transbronchial needle aspiration in evaluating the mediastinum in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer. Material and methods: Over a 48-month period, 1841 patients underwent endobronchial ultrasound–guided transbronchial needle aspiration at our healthcare centre. In all patients, 2964 biopsies from the lymph node group N2 and 783 from group N1 were taken. The mean short axis of the lymph nodes biopsied was 2.0 (range: 0.6–2.6). The mean number of lymph node stations biopsied per patient was 2.6. Patients with a negative result of endobronchial ultrasound–guided transbronchial needle aspiration underwent mediastinoscopy. All patients with a negative result in endobronchial ultrasound–guided transbronchial needle aspiration and mediastinoscopy underwent surgical resection with lymph node sampling. Results: The metastases to lymph nodes N2/N3 and N1 were found in 1111 (60.3%) and 199 (9.3%), respectively. Mediastinoscopy was performed in 730 patients with a positive result in 83 (11.4%) patients. In the group of operated patients, metastatic N1 disease was found in 264 (14.1%). In the group of the operated patients, mediastinal involvement of disease (N2) was found in 30 patients (4.5%). The sensitivity, negative predictive value and diagnostic accuracy for hilar lymph node staging for endobronchial ultrasound–guided transbronchial needle aspiration were 57%, 96% and 96%, respectively. The sensitivity, negative predictive value and diagnostic accuracy per patient for mediastinal lymph node staging for endobronchial ultrasound–guided transbronchial needle aspiration and mediastinoscopy were 91%, 85%, 93% and 73%, 95.5%, 97%, respectively. The specificity and positive predictive value of both tests were 100%. Conclusion: The clinical usefulness of endobronchial ultrasound–guided transbronchial needle aspiration is undeniable according to diagnostic performance data. Endobronchial ultrasound–guided transbronchial needle aspiration should be considered complementary to mediastinoscopy in the evaluation of patients with radiographically abnormal mediastinum