Graft Neutrophil Sequestration and Concomitant Tissue Plasminogen Activator Release During Reperfusion in Clinical Kidney Transplantation

Background. Inflammation, coagulation, and fibrinolysis are tightly linked together. Reperfusion after transient ischemia activates both neutrophils, coagulation, and fibrinolysis. Experimental data suggest that tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) regulates renal neutrophil influx in kidney ischemia and reperfusion injury. Methods. In 30 patients undergoing kidney transplantation, we measured renal neutrophil sequestration and tPA release from blood samples drawn from the supplying artery and renal vein early after reperfusion. tPA antigen levels were measured using a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit. For each parameter, transrenal difference (Delta) was calculated by subtracting the value of the arterial sample (ingoing blood) from the value of the venous sample (outgoing blood). Results. Positive transrenal gradients of tPA antigen occurred at 1 minute [Delta = 14 (3-46) ng/mL, P <.01] and 5 minutes [Delta = 5 (-3 to 27) ng/mL, P <.01] after reperfusion. At 5 minutes after reperfusion, a negative transrenal gradient of neutrophils was observed [Delta = -0.17 (-1.45 to 0.24) x 10E9 cells/L, P <.001]. At 1 minute after reperfusion, neutrophil sequestration into the kidney (ie, negative transrenal neutrophil count) correlated significantly with tPA release from the kidney (ie, positive transrenal tPA concentration), (R = -0.513 and P = .006). Conclusions. The findings suggest a proinflammatory role for tPA in ischemia and reperfusion injury in human kidney transplantation.Peer reviewe

Novel method for determining when a field-collected donor unit is sufficiently full

Background: Whole blood (WB) collections can occur downrange for immediate administration. An important aspect of these collections is determining when the unit is sufficiently full. This project tested a novel method for determining when a field collection is complete. Methods: The amount of empty space at the top of WB units, destined to become LTOWB or separated into components, that were collected at blood centers or hospitals was measured by holding a WB unit off the ground and placing the top of a piece of string where the donor tubing entered the bag. The string was marked where it intersected the top of the column of blood in the bag and measured from the top. The WB units were also weighed. Results: A total of 15 different bags, two of which were measured in two different filling volumes, from 15 hospitals or blood centers were measured and weighed. The most commonly used blood bag, Terumo Imuflex SP, had a median string length of 9 mm (range: 2–24 mm) and weighed a median of 565.1 g (range: 524.8–636.7 g). Conclusion: Pieces of string can be precut to the appropriate length depending on the type of bag before a mission where field WB collections might be required and a mark placed on the bag before the collection commences to indicate when the unit is full.</p

Oxidation of HMGB1 Causes Attenuation of Its Pro-Inflammatory Activity and Occurs during Liver Ischemia and Reperfusion

High mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) is a nuclear transcription factor. Once HMGB1 is released by damaged cells or activated immune cells, it acts as danger molecule and triggers the inflammatory signaling cascade. Currently, evidence is accumulating that posttranslational modifications such as oxidation may modulate the pro-inflammatory potential of danger signals. We hypothesized that oxidation of HMGB1 may reduce its pro-inflammatory potential and could take place during prolonged ischemia and upon reperfusion

Age, Technology and Labour Costs

Is the process of workforce aging a burden or a blessing for the firm? Our paper seeks to answer this question by providing evidence on the age-productivity and age-earnings profiles for a sample of plants in three manufacturing industries (“forest”, “industrial machinery” and “electronics”) in Finland. Our main result is that exposure to rapid technological and managerial changes does make a difference for plant productivity, less so for wages. In electronics, the Finnish industry undergoing a major technological and managerial shock in the 1990s, the response of productivity to age-related variables is first sizably positive and then becomes sizably negative as one looks at plants with higher average seniority and experience. This declining part of the curve is not there either for the forest industry or for industrial machinery. It is not there either for wages in electronics. These conclusions survive when a host of other plausible productivity determinants (notably, education and plant vintage) are included in the analysis. We conclude that workforce aging may be a burden for firms in high-tech industries and less so in other industries

Evaluation of bottom-up and top-down strategies for aggregated forecasts: state space models and arima applications

Abstract. In this research, we consider monthly series from the M4 competition to study the relative performance of top-down and bottom-up strategies by means of implementing forecast automation of state space and ARIMA models. For the bottomup strategy, the forecast for each series is developed individually and then these are combined to produce a cumulative forecast of the aggregated series. For the top-down strategy, the series or components values are first combined and then a single forecast is determined for the aggregated series. Based on our implementation, state space models showed a higher forecast performance when a top-down strategy is applied. ARIMA models had a higher forecast performance for the bottom-up strategy. For state space models the top-down strategy reduced the overall error significantly. ARIMA models showed to be more accurate when forecasts are first determined individually. As part of the development we also proposed an approach to improve the forecasting procedure of aggregation strategies

Minimum Wages and Youth Employment: Evidence from the Finnish Retail Trade Sector

Following an agreement between the trade unions and the employer organisations, Finnish employers could pay less than the existing minimum wage for young workers between 1993 and 1995. We examine the effects of these minimum wage exceptions by comparing the changes in wages and employment of the groups whose minimum wages were reduced with simultaneous changes among slightly older workers for whom the minimum wage regulation was still binding. Our analysis is based on the payroll record data and minimum wage agreements from the retail trade sector over the period 1990-2005. We discover that average wages in the eligible group declined only modestly despite the fact that the excess supply of labour during high unemployment should make it relatively easy to attract workers even with low wages. The minimum wage exceptions had no positive effects on employment