224 research outputs found
Airway stenting in a child with spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita: 13-Year survival.
We describe the case of a boy with spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita. At birth, he experienced severe respiratory distress necessitating tracheotomy. Endoscopy done because mechanical ventilation failed to resolve desaturations disclosed severe tracheo-bronchomalacia. A Polyflex silicone stent was placed in the trachea (replaced by Y-Dumon stent) and 2 Palmaz metallic stents in the mainstem bronchi (overlapped with 2 Jomed stents 5 years later). Airway stenting guaranteed a suitable respiratory status and allowed a child who was expected to die at birth, to reach 13.5 years old in good conditions
The biomedical piglet: establishing reference intervals for haematology and clinical chemistry parameters of two age groups with and without iron supplementation
Background:
The similarities between swine and humans in physiological and genomic patterns, and the great
correlation in size and anatomy, make pigs extremely useful in preclinical studies. New-born piglets can represent
a model for congenital and genetic diseases in new-born children. It is known that piglets may have significant
differences in clinicopathological results compared to adult pigs. Therefore, adult laboratory reference intervals
cannot be applied to piglets. The aim of this study was to compare haematological and chemical variables in
piglets of two ages and determinate age-related reference intervals for commercial hybrid young pigs.
Blood samples were collected under general anaesthesia from 130 animals divided into five- (P5) and 30- (P30)
day-old piglets. Only P30 animals were treated with parenteral iron after birth. Samples were analysed using
automated haematology (ADVIA 2120) and chemistry analysers, and age-related reference intervals were calculated.
Results:
Significant higher values of RBC, Hb and HCT were observed in P30 animals when compared to P5, with
an opposite trend for MCV. These results were associated with a reduction of the RBC regeneration process and
the thrombopoietic response. The TSAT and TIBC were significantly higher in P30 compared to P5; however, piglets
remained iron deficient compared to adult reference intervals reported previously.
Conclusions:
In conclusion, this paper emphasises the high variability occurring in clinicopathological variables
between new-born and 30-day-old pigs, and between piglets and adult pigs. This study provides valuable reference
data for piglets at precise ages and could be used in the future as historical control improving the Reduction in
animal experiments, as suggested by the 3Rs principle
Induced sputum is a reproducible method to assess airway inflammation in asthma.
To evaluate the reproducibility of induced sputum analysis, and to estimate the sample size required to obtained reliable results, sputum was induced by hypertonic saline inhalation in 29 asthmatic subjects on two different days. The whole sample method was used for analysis, and inflammatory cells were counted on cytospin slides. Reproducibility, expressed by intra-class correlation coefficients, was good for macrophages (+0.80), neutrophils (+0.85), and eosinophils (+0.87), but not for lymphocytes (+0.15). Detectable differences were 5.5% for macrophages, 0.6% for lymphocytes, 5.2% for neutrophils, and 3.0% for eosinophils. We conclude that analysis of induced sputum is a reproducible method to study airway inflammation in asthma. Sample sizes greater than ours give little improvement in the detectable difference of eosinophil percentages
Inhalation therapy in the next decade : Determinants of adherence to treatment in asthma and COPD
Peer reviewedPublisher PD
A comprehensive map of CNS transduction by eight recombinant adeno-associated virus serotypes upon cerebrospinal fluid administration in pigs
Cerebrospinal fluid administration of recombinant adeno-associated viral (rAAV) vectors has been demonstrated to be effective in delivering therapeutic genes to the central nervous system (CNS) in different disease animal models. However, a quantitative and qualitative analysis of transduction patterns of the most promising rAAV serotypes for brain targeting in large animal models is missing. Here, we characterize distribution, transduction efficiency, and cellular targeting of rAAV serotypes 1, 2, 5, 7, 9, rh.10, rh.39, and rh.43 delivered into the cisterna magna of wild-type pigs. rAAV9 showed the highest transduction efficiency and the widest distribution capability among the vectors tested. Moreover, rAAV9 robustly transduced both glia and neurons, including the motor neurons of the spinal cord. Relevant cell transduction specificity of the glia was observed after rAAV1 and rAAV7 delivery. rAAV7 also displayed a specific tropism to Purkinje cells. Evaluation of biochemical and hematological markers suggested that all rAAV serotypes tested were well tolerated. This study provides a comprehensive CNS transduction map in a useful preclinical large animal model enabling the selection of potentially clinically transferable rAAV serotypes based on disease specificity. Therefore, our data are instrumental for the clinical evaluation of these rAAV vectors in human neurodegenerative diseases
Induced sputum is a reproducible method to assess airway inflammation in asthma
TO evaluate the reproducibility of induced sputum analysis, and to estimate the sample size required to obtained reliable results, sputum was induced by hypertonic saline inhalation in 29 asthmatic subjects on two different days. The whole sample method was used for analysis, and inflammatory cells were counted on cytospin slides. Reproducibility, expressed by intra-class correlation coefficients, was good for macrophages (+0.80), neutrophils (+0.85), and eosinophils (+0.87), but not for lymphocytes (+0.15). Detectable differences were 5.5% for macrophages, 0.6% for lymphocytes, 5.2% for neutrophils, and 3.0% for eosinophils. We conclude that analysis of induced sputum is a reproducible method to study airway inflammation in asthma. Sample sizes greater than ours give little improvement in the detectable difference of eosinophil percentages
Observation of CR Anisotropy with ARGO-YBJ
The measurement of the anisotropies of cosmic ray arrival direction provides
important informations on the propagation mechanisms and on the identification
of their sources. In this paper we report the observation of anisotropy regions
at different angular scales. In particular, the observation of a possible
anisotropy on scales between 10 and 30
suggests the presence of unknown features of the magnetic fields the charged
cosmic rays propagate through, as well as potential contributions of nearby
sources to the total flux of cosmic rays. Evidence of new weaker few-degree
excesses throughout the sky region R.A. is
reported for the first time.Comment: Talk given at 12th TAUP Conference 2011, 5-9 September 2011, Munich,
German
Development and implementation of a stroke rehabilitation integrated care pathway in an Italian no profit institution: an observational study
Prostaglandin F2-alpha receptor (FPr) expression on porcine corpus luteum microvascular endothelial cells (pCL-MVECs)
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The corpus luteum (CL) is a transient endocrine gland and prostaglandin F2-alpha is considered to be the principal luteolysin in pigs. In this species, the in vivo administration of prostaglandin F2-alpha induces apoptosis in large vessels as early as 6 hours after administration. The presence of the prostaglandin F2-alpha receptor (FPr) on the microvascular endothelial cells (pCL-MVECs) of the porcine corpus luteum has not yet been defined. The aim of the study was to assess FPr expression in pCL-MVECs in the early and mid-luteal phases (EL-p, ML-p), and during pregnancy (P-p). Moreover, the effectiveness of prostaglandin F2-alpha treatment in inducing pCL-MVEC apoptosis was tested.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Porcine CLs were collected in the EL and ML phases and during P-p. All CLs from each animal were minced together and the homogenates underwent enzymatic digestion. The pCL-MVECs were then positively selected by an immunomagnetic separation protocol using Dynabeads coated with anti-CD31 monoclonal antibody and seeded in flasks in the presence of EGM 2-MV (Microvascular Endothelial Cell Medium-2). After 4 days of culture, the cells underwent additional immunomagnetic selection and were seeded in flasks until the confluent stage.</p> <p>PCR Real time, western blot and immunodetection assays were utilized to assess the presence of FPr on pCL-MVEC primary cultures. Furthermore, the influence of culture time (freshly isolated, cultured overnight and at confluence) and hormonal treatment (P4 and E2) on FPr expression in pCL-MVECs was also investigated. Apoptosis was detected by TUNEL assay of pCL-MVECs exposed to prostaglandin F2-alpha.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We obtained primary cultures of pCL-MVECs from all animals. FPr mRNA and protein levels showed the highest value (ANOVA) in CL-MVECs derived from the early-luteal phase. Moreover, freshly isolated MVECs showed a higher FPr mRNA value than those cultured overnight and confluent cells (ANOVA). prostaglandin F2-alpha treatment failed to induce an apoptotic response in all the pCL-MVEC cultures.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our data showing the presence of FPr on MVECs and the inability of prostaglandin F2-alpha to evoke an in vitro apoptotic response suggest that other molecules or mechanisms must be considered in order to explain the in vivo direct pro-apoptotic effect of prostaglandin F2-alpha at the endothelial level.</p
- …