Modification of established rejection of canine kidney and liver homografts with antilymphocyte gamma-G globulin

Heterologous ALG was administered to ten canine recipients of renal homografts and one recipient of an orthotopic liver. Treatment was started after rejection was well established. Death from homograft failure was thereby significantly delayed and in several experiments the rejection was at least partially reversed. © 1969

Rapid growth of an intact human liver transplanted into a recipient larger than the donor

Two individuals undergoing orthotopic hepatic transplantation received livers from donors who were on average 10 kg smaller than themselves based on recipient ideal body weight. As a result, the donor livers in these 2 cases were 29%-59% smaller than would be expected had the donor liver and recipient been matched ideally. The liver grafts in the recipients steadily increased in size, as determined by serial computed tomography scanning, to achieve new volumes consistent with those that would have been expected in a normal individual of the recipient's size, sex, and age. Fasting plasma levels of amino acids, glucagon, insulin, and standard liver injury tests were monitored to determine which measure best reflected the changes observed in the size of the grafts over time. No relationship between the changes observed in any of these parameters and hepatic growth was apparent. In both cases, the liver increased in volume at a rate of ~70 ml/day. These data demonstrate that a small-for-size liver transplanted into a larger recipient increases in size at a rate of ~70 ml/day until it achieves a liver volume consistent with that expected given the recipient's size, age, and sex. © 1987

Ecological values of Hamilton urban streams (North Island, New Zealand): constraints and opportunities for restoration

Urban streams globally are characterised by degraded habitat conditions and low aquatic biodiversity, but are increasingly becoming the focus of restoration activities. We investigated habitat quality, ecological function, and fish and macroinvertebrate community composition of gully streams in Hamilton City, New Zealand, and compared these with a selection of periurban sites surrounded by rural land. A similar complement of fish species was found at urban and periurban sites, including two threatened species, with only one introduced fish widespread (Gambusia affinis). Stream macroinvertebrate community metrics indicated low ecological condition at most urban and periurban sites, but highlighted the presence of one high value urban site with a fauna dominated by sensitive taxa. Light-trapping around seepages in city gullies revealed the presence of several caddisfly species normally associated with native forest, suggesting that seepage habitats can provide important refugia for some aquatic insects in urban environments. Qualitative measures of stream habitat were not significantly different between urban and periurban sites, but urban streams had significantly lower hydraulic function and higher biogeochemical function than periurban streams. These functional differences are thought to reflect, respectively, (1) the combined effects of channel modification and stormwater hydrology, and (2) the influence of riparian vegetation providing shade and enhancing habitat in streams. Significant relationships between some macroinvertebrate community metrics and riparian vegetation buffering and bank protection suggest that riparian enhancement may have beneficial ecological outcomes in some urban streams. Other actions that may contribute to urban stream restoration goals include an integrated catchment approach to resolving fish passage issues, active reintroduction of wood to streams to enhance cover and habitat heterogeneity, and seeding of depauperate streams with native migratory fish to help initiate natural recolonisation

Indigenous knowledge, methodology and mayhem: What is the role of methodology in producing indigenous insights? A discussion from Mātauranga Māori

The emergence of an academic discourse called Indigenous knowledge internationally, and mātauranga Māori in Aotearoa New Zealand, presents some substantive challenges to concepts of knowing and being, of knowledge creation, knowledge work and the making of meaning. These challenges engage us across philosophical, disciplinary, institutional, inter-generational, territorial and community boundaries, presenting an opportunity to imagine this field anew, and the theories and methodologies that inform contemporary Māori or Indigenous Studies. This article raises some discussion about ‘research methodologies’ being used when discussing mātauranga Māori and Indigenous knowledge (hereafter referred to as IK mātauranga). Research methodologies are often associated with specific disciplines of knowledge and viewed as the primary if not singular way in which knowledge is generated. Arguably, IK mātauranga occupies a different knowledge space from traditional academic disciplines, including their transdisciplinary interstices. This article speaks to a gnawing sense that mayhem is at play, as the academic work around IK mātauranga begins to consolidate and become institutionalised away from its indigenous communities and contexts, where it began and where it still informs identities, ways of living and being

Pickup Coil Spacing Effects on Eddy Current Reflection Probe Sensitivity

Differential probes have existed for many years and have been produced in a variety of configurations. The common feature of these diverse probes is that they detect an ac magnetic field gradient, but it is the desired direction of gradient detection that results in the numerous design variations [1,2,3]. The probes commonly used in a production shop for nondestructive testing (NDT) are invariably wound on ferrite cores because of the increased sensitivity that results from the use of high magnetic permeability core materials. However, recent advances in the theory of flawfield interactions have stimulated interest in the use of air core probes [4,5]. The use of air core coils in the detector helps to minimize the complexity of the calculations and leaves the experimenter with very adequate tools for verification studies. This theoretical work has been a critical element in the development of quantitative eddy current measurements

Tacrolimus rescue therapy for renal allograft rejection - Five-year experience

Over the 5 year period from 7/14/1989 until 5/24/1994, we have attempted graft salvage with tacrolimus conversion in a total of 169 patients (median age 33 years, range 2-75 years) with ongoing rejection on baseline CsA immunosuppression after failure of high dose corticosteroids and/or antilymphocyte preparations to reverse rejection. The indications for conversion to tacrolimus were ongoing, biopsy confirmed rejection in all patients. The median interval to tacrolimus conversion was 2 months (range 2 days to 55 months; mean 4.3±2.6 months) after transplantation. All patients had failed high dose corticosteroid therapy and 144 (85%) of the 169 patients had received at least one course of an antilymphocyte preparation plus high dose corticosteroid therapy prior to conversion. Twenty-eight patients (17%) were dialysis-dependent at the time of conversion owing to the severity of rejection. With a mean follow-up of 30.0±2.4 months (median 36.5 months, range 12-62 months), 125 of 169 patients (74%) have been successfully rescued and still have functioning grafts with a mean serum creatinine (SCR) of 2.3±1.1 mg/dl. Of the 144 patients previously treated with antilymphocyte preparations, 117 (81%) were salvaged. Of the 28 patients on dialysis at the time of conversion to tacrolimus, 13 (46%) continue to have functioning grafts (mean SCR 2.15±0.37 mg/dl) at a mean follow-up of 37.3±16.7 months. In the 125 patients salvaged, prednisone doses have been lowered from 28.0±9.0 mg/d (median 32, range 4-60 mg/d) preconversion to 8.5±4.1 mg/d (median 12 mg/d, range 2.5-20 mg/d) postconversion. Twenty-eight patients (22.4%) are currently receiving no steroids. This 5 year experience demonstrates that tacrolimus has sustained efficacy as a rescue agent for ongoing renal allograft rejection. Based on these data, we recommend that tacrolimus be used as an alternative to the conventional drugs used for antirejection therapy in renal transplantation