Optimal Temperature of Graft Preservation after ex Vivo Gene Transfer in Lung Isografts

The aim of this study was to determine the optimal temperature of graft preservation after ex vivo gene transfer to rat lung isografts. Left lungs were harvested and infused with cationic lipid/LacZ-DNA complex via the pulmonary artery, and the grafts were stored for 4h. The grafts (n＝7) were allocated into groups IﾝIV according to the storage temperature:4℃, 10℃, 16℃, and 23℃, respectively. Forty-eight h after orthotopic transplantation, the arterial blood gas was analyzed and the peak airway pressure (PAP) and the level of LacZ protein production in the grafts were measured by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. After reperfusion, the grafts were stained with hematoxylin and eosin. The grafts in groups III and IV showed more deterioration as evidenced by decreased arterial oxygen tension, increased PAP, and predominant infiltration of inflammatory cells compared with groups I and II. The level of LacZ production was significantly lower in group I than in groups IIﾝIV. The optimal temperature of lung graft preservation after ex vivo gene transfer was determined to be 10℃, balancing considerations of lung injury and efficiency of transgene expression.</p

Depolarization Ratios Retrieved by AERONET Sun/Sky Radiometer Data and Comparison to Depolarization Ratios Measured With Lidar

© Author(s) 2017. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Noh, Y., Müller, D., Lee, K., Kim, K., Lee, K., Shimizu, A., Kim, S.-W., Sano, I., and Park, C. B.: Depolarization ratios retrieved by AERONET sun–sky radiometer data and comparison to depolarization ratios measured with lidar, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 6271-6290, doi:10.5194/acp-17-6271-2017, 2017.The linear particle depolarization ratios at 440, 675, 870, and 1020 nm were derived using data taken with the AERONET sun–sky radiometer at Seoul (37.45° N, 126.95° E), Kongju (36.47° N, 127.14° E), Gosan (33.29° N, 126.16° E), and Osaka (34.65° N, 135.59° E). The results are compared to the linear particle depolarization ratio measured by lidar at 532 nm. The correlation coefficient R2 between the linear particle depolarization ratio derived by AERONET data at 1020 nm and the linear particle depolarization ratio measured with lidar at 532 nm is 0.90, 0.92, 0.79, and 0.89 at Seoul, Kongju, Gosan, and Osaka, respectively. The correlation coefficients between the lidar-measured depolarization ratio at 532 nm and that retrieved by AERONET at 870 nm are 0.89, 0.92, 0.76, and 0.88 at Seoul, Kongju, Gosan, and Osaka, respectively. The correlation coefficients for the data taken at 675 nm are lower than the correlation coefficients at 870 and 1020 nm, respectively. Values are 0.81, 0.90, 0.64, and 0.81 at Seoul, Kongju, Gosan, and Osaka, respectively. The lowest correlation values are found for the AERONET-derived linear particle depolarization ratio at 440 nm, i.e., 0.38, 0.62, 0.26, and 0.28 at Seoul, Kongju, Gosan, and Osaka, respectively. We should expect a higher correlation between lidar-measured linear particle depolarization ratios at 532 nm and the ones derived from AERONET at 675 and 440 nm as the lidar wavelength is between the two AERONET wavelengths. We cannot currently explain why we find better correlation between lidar and AERONET linear particle depolarization ratios for the case that the AERONET wavelengths (675, 870, and 1020 nm) are significantly larger than the lidar measurement wavelength (532 nm). The linear particle depolarization ratio can be used as a parameter to obtain insight into the variation of optical and microphysical properties of dust when it is mixed with anthropogenic pollution particles. The single-scattering albedo increases with increasing measurement wavelength for low linear particle depolarization ratios, which indicates a high share of fine-mode anthropogenic pollution. In contrast, single-scattering albedo increases with increasing wavelength for high linear particle depolarization ratios, which indicated a high share of coarse-mode mineral dust particles. The retrieved volume particle size distributions are dominated by the fine-mode fraction if linear particle depolarization ratios are less than 0.15 at 532 nm. The fine-mode fraction of the size distributions decreases and the coarse-mode fraction of the size distribution increases for increasing linear particle depolarization ratio at 1020 nm. The dust ratio based on using the linear particle depolarization ratio derived from AERONET data is 0.12 to 0.17. These values are lower than the coarse-mode fraction derived from the volume concentrations of particle size distributions, in which case we can compute the coarse-mode fraction of dust.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Pseudocyst in the Pancreatic Tail Associated with Chronic Pancreatitis Successfully Treated by Transpapillary Cyst Drainage

We report a 50-year-old male with pseudocysts in the pancreatic tail associated with chronic pancreatitis successfully treated by transpapillary cyst drainage. He had previously undergone ultrasonography-guided percutaneous cyst drainage for a pancreatic pseudocyst in our hospital. He was readmitted due to abdominal pain and fever. Computed tomography showed recurrence of a pseudocyst in the pancreatic tail measuring 5 cm in diameter. Since conservative treatment failed, endoscopic retrograde pancreatography was performed. There was communication between the pseudocyst and the main pancreatic duct, and pancreatic duct stenosis proximal to the pseudocyst. First, transpapillary pancreatic duct drainage was performed using a plastic stent, but the pseudocyst did not decrease in size and became infected. After removal of the stent, a pigtail type nasocystic catheter was placed in the pseudocyst via the pancreatic duct. The pseudocyst infection immediately disappeared, and the pseudocyst gradually decreased and disappeared. After removal of the nasocystic catheter, no recurrence was observed. As transpapillary drainage of pancreatic pseudocyst, cyst drainage and pancreatic duct drainage have been reported. In our patient with pseudocyst in the pancreatic tail, duct drainage was ineffective and the pseudocyst was infected, whereas cyst drainage was very effective. We considered that cyst drainage by a nasocystic catheter was the first-line therapy as the transpapillary drainage of the pancreatic pseudocyst

Paraganglioma that caused sinus arrest

Paragangliomas are neural-crest-derived nonepithelial neuroendocrine tumors distributed along the parasympathetic and sympathetic nerves. To our knowledge, no studies were reported regarding sinus arrest on day 4 after paraganglioma resection. A 66-year-old female patient with a history of pulmonary vein isolation visited our department for sigmoid colon cancer treatment. Enhanced computed tomography revealed an enhanced small nodule-like lymph node near the root of the inferior mesenteric artery. The patient underwent laparoscopic colectomy with regional lymph node dissection. Postoperatively, paroxysmal atrial fibrillation attacks developed, and the patient resumed oral medication. Additionally, sinus arrest after tachycardia developed. Changing the oral medication could maintain her circulatory dynamics. Pathological examination revealed that differentiated tubular adenocarcinoma infiltrated the submucosa. Immunohistochemically, the excised nodule as a lymph node was considered a functional paraganglioma. Our case indicates that paraganglioma resection and oral medication resumption may contribute to sinus arrest. When arrhythmias affecting the circulation occur perioperatively, the presence of a catecholamine-producing tumor should be considered in addition to cardiac disease