Efficiency of non-viral gene delivery systems to rat lungs

Objective: Transient expression of therapeutic genes within lung allografts may modulate the pathological processes following allotransplantation. Whilst efficient gene transfer to lungs has been reported with viral vectors, their usefulness is limited on the grounds of safety. Since non-viral systems overcome many of these safety issues, our studies were designed to evaluate the efficiency of several non-viral gene delivery vectors for in vivo transfer of plasmid DNA to rat lungs via the airways. Methods: Fischer rats (230-260 g) underwent a thoracotomy, right main bronchus occlusion and instillation of 300 µg naked or complexed DNA (pCIluci, luciferase gene/CMV promoter) to the left lung followed by ventilation for 10 min. Rats were divided into five treatment groups (n=5): (1) Glucose, (2) Naked DNA, (3) Linear polyethylenimine (PEI), (4) Branched PEI, (5) Lipid GL-67/DOPE and (6) DOTAP/cholesterol. Animals were sacrificed 24 h after gene delivery for measurement of reporter gene activity and gas exchange of the left lung. Results: Linear PEI was the most efficient gene delivery vector and was significantly better than DOTAP/cholesterol (P=0.00002) and naked DNA (P=0.004). All gene delivery vectors impaired function of the transfected left lung compared with DNA alone. Of all the gene delivery vectors tested, lipid GL-67/DOPE exerted the least effect on lung function whilst DOTAP/cholesterol mediated the most adverse effect. Conclusion: Linear PEI was the most efficient vector for gene delivery to rat lungs in our experimental setting although it mediated a moderate impairment in lung function. Further studies are needed to evaluate whether this effect is transien

Pre and post functional endoscopic sinus surgery nasal cavity volume assessment by acoustic rhinometry

Acoustic rhinometry is an objective method to determine nasal cavity geometry. The technique is based on sound wave reflexion analysis in the nasal cavity, and determines crossectional areas as a function of distance as well as volume. AIM: The purpose of this study is to analyse nasal cavity volume changes caused by functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) in adults with chronic rhinosinusitis by acoustic rhinometry, and to correlate these changes with improvements in the sensation of nasal obstruction. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Forty patients aged from 18 to 73 years were prospectively evaluated between August and October 1999 at the Graz University Hospital, Austria. All patients were diagnosed with chronic rhinosinusitis, and undertook acoustic rhinometry before and after FESS. SCIENTIFIC DESIGN: A clinical prospective study. RESULTS: The nasal cavity total volume increased significantly after surgery. Nasal obstruction was improved in 88% of the patients, 20% with partial improvement and 68% with total improvement. There was no correlation between volume increase and improvement of the sensation of nasal obstruction. CONCLUSION: Total nasal cavity volume significantly increased after surgery; however, there was no correlation between volume increase and improvements of nasal obstruction. No significant pre or postoperative increase in total nasal cavity volume after decongestion were observed.A rinometria acústica é um método objetivo de determinar a geometria da cavidade nasal, pela análise da reflexão de ondas sonoras. Determina a área de secção transversal da cavidade em função da distância da narina e seu volume. OBJETIVO: Analisar a alteração do volume da cavidade nasal causada pela cirurgia endoscópica funcional dos seios paranasais, em adultos com rinossinusite crônica, e correlacionar esta alteração com a melhora da obstrução nasal. MATERIAL E MÉTODO: Foram avaliados 40 pacientes de 18 a 73 anos, entre agosto e outubro de 1999, na Universidade de Graz - Áustria, com rinossinusite crônica, antes e depois de serem submetidos à CEFSP. FORMA DE ESTUDO: Clínico prospectivo. RESULTADOS: O volume total da cavidade nasal aumentou significativamente no pós-operatório. 88% dos pacientes referiram melhora da obstrução nasal, 20% de forma parcial e 68% total. Nenhum paciente piorou deste sintoma. Não houve relação linear entre o aumento do volume da cavidade nasal e melhora subjetiva da obstrução nasal. CONCLUSÃO: O volume total da cavidade nasal aumentou no pós-operatório, mas não houve relação entre aumento do volume e melhora da obstrução nasal. Não houve aumento do volume da cavidade nasal após o uso do vasoconstritor, seja no pré ou no pós-operatório.Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Escola Paulista de Medicina setor de RinologiaUniversidade de Graz Depto. de OtorrinolaringologiaUNIFESP, EPM, setor de RinologiaSciEL

Nichtessen als Körpertechnik: Rezension zu "Hunger spüren. Leib und Sozialität bei Essstörungen" von Isabella Marcinski

Isabella Marcinski: Hunger spüren: Leib und Sozialität bei Essstörungen. Frankfurt am Main / New York: Campus 2020. 978-359351303

Feministisches Maschinendenken: Subjektphilosophische und wissenschaftskritische Perspektiven

Der Beitrag nimmt seinen Ausgang von der medienwissenschaftlichen Prämisse der technischen Verfasstheit des Körperwissens. Mit Fokus auf die Wechselbeziehungen von Maschine und Körper werden an Beispielen aus der Populärkultur unterschiedliche Argumentationslinien feministischer Wissenschaftskritik erörtert. Dabei werde ich eine unhintergehbare Ambivalenz des Maschinenbegriffs herausarbeiten und diese in Bezug auf den Maschinenbegriff bei Lacan weiter entfalten. Mit der Maschine betont Lacan die konstitutive Funktion des Anderen für die Bestimmung und Herausbildung von Subjektivität und kritisiert damit die metaphysische Überhöhung und wissenschaftliche Verdinglichung des Körpers. Indem mit Lacan die historisch kontingenten Wechselbeziehungen der Begriffe von Maschine und Körper in den Blick kommen, wird an der Schnittstelle von Subjektphilosophie und Wissenschaftsgeschichte für eine wissenschaftshistorische Ergänzung des Maschinenbegriffs plädiert.This paper takes as a starting point the media theoretical premise of the technological composition of bodily knowledge. Focusing on some examples from popular culture, two different lines of argument from feminist science studies are discussed. Thereby the irreducible ambiguity of the concept of machine is elaborated and further developed in a discussion of Lacan’s concept of the machine. Lacan used the term in order to emphasize the constitutive function of the Other for the determination and formation of subjectivity and thus criticized the metaphysical exaggeration and scientific reification of the body. Through Lacan I examine the historically contingent reciprocal relationship between machine and body and argue about the importance of amending the concept of machine from a historical perspective at the interface of the philosophy of subject and the history of science

Körperliche Materialität : Zur Kritik des Geschlechterkonstruktivismus

This contribution argues that gender theory is based on constructivist epistemology and thus indebted to a hidden anthropocentrism and predictable schemata. Focusing on feminist materialism, I will show that materiality does not disappear in the sphere of discourse but has achieved a new conceptualization. The debates around this conceptualization are the basis for thinking about a materiality of knowledge whose own logic reveals the points of resistance of feminist criticism. Departing from the posthumanist concept of performativity, I will show that even de/constructivist approaches are based on schemata. With particular attention paid to the history of the sciences, I discuss that the life sciences can be understood au contraire as a reservoir to question gender binaries. An enriched understanding of biological-physical materiality can provide a corrective to current cultural theory and the social sciences. Finally, I will advance perspectives and possibilities of a critical posthumanism. The new materialim of feminist theory is not a fallback to deconstructivist theory approaches but is in serach for the critical potential in current posthumanist theories

Haare als Symptom. Diskurse über Weiblichkeit, Schönheit und Identität

It seems to be a fact of nature that the human body is covered with hair. Not only do the hair of the body and the hair of the head differ with regard to texture and structure, they are also an ideal, benchmark, or threat in terms of gender. The female in particular, has to live up to the ideal of a smooth and hairless body, with numerous procedures and techniques, products and advertising campaigns designed to help her do so. Women are willing to shave, wax, epilate, and undergo laser treatment. Female hairiness is the focus of attention not only in popular scientific discourses, in the media, and in the cosmetic and beauty industries, but also in everyday forms of bodily activities. Medicine considers excessive hairiness a phenomenon worthy of diagnosis and treatment. The implications of female hairiness – in medical, cultural and historical contexts – are connected with historical practices and cultural conceptions of self-attributions and the attributions of the others. Ideas about female hairiness can be found in stories, cultural practices, and manifestations of knowledge and power. They range from freak shows of the nineteenth century and psychiatry textbooks of the early twentieth century, to the beauty and cosmetic industries and subversive body practices. Much more than just a natural fact, female hairiness refers to a complex system of body technologies and knowledge-based practices that interpret it as peculiar and pathologic or uncanny and subversive. The following uses a cultural-historical approach to analyze the different meanings attributed to female hairiness

Ebselen Improves Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury After Rat Lung Transplantation

The heterocyclic organic compound ebselen (2-phenyl-1,2-benizsoselenazol-3(2H)-one) is a glutathione peroxidase mimick with protective properties against oxidative injury. Ebselen also has anti-inflammatory activity, including attenuation of tumor necrosis factor release and increase of interleukin-10, as shown invivo, in inflammatory and ischemia-reperfusion injuries, including those of the lung. This study was designed to assess its effect on severe ischemia-reperfusion injury in a model of left-sided rat lung isotransplantation. Orthotopic single left-sided lung allotransplantation (Wistar to Wistar) was performed in female rats after a total ischemic time of 18h. In nine recipients given 500mg/kg oral ebselen 1h before transplantation, graft PaO2/FiO2 was improved 24h after transplantation, as evidenced with a mean (standard deviation) PaO2 of 139 (61) mmHg vs. eight controls with 65 (33) mmHg (p=0.009). Bronchoalveolar PMN count was reduced to approximately 50% in the ebselen group compared with controls, whereas no difference in the tumor necrosis factor content was found. We conclude that the improvement of lung function in ebselen-treated transplanted rats is mainly the result of the anti-inflammatory activity of the drug during reperfusio

sCR1sLeX reduces lung allograft ischemia-reperfusion injury but does not ameliorate acute rejection

Background: Combined inhibition of complement and leukocyte adhesion by sCR1sLeX reduces lung allograft dysfunction up to 24 h. In the present study its effect on graft function and acute rejection was evaluated up to 5 days after experimental transplantation. Methods: Orthotopic single left lung transplantation was performed in 35 male rats (Brown Norway to Fischer 344) after a total ischemic time of 20 h. Two groups were assessed after 1, 3, and 5 days post-transplant, respectively (n=5 per group and time point): controls vs. recipients which received 10 mg/kg sCR1sLeX 15 min prior to reperfusion. In addition, five animals received 10 mg/kg per day sCR1sLeX for 5 days. For blood gas analysis of the graft, the contralateral lung was occluded for 5 min to assess graft function. Lung grafts were flushed, and histological grading was performed in blinded fashion according to the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation criteria. Results: Graft PaO2 in recipients treated with sCR1sLeX was superior on day 1 (383±118 vs. 56±15 mmHg; P≪0.0001) and day 3 (446±48 vs. 231±108 mmHg; P≪0.0001). Five days after transplantation, no difference in PaO2 was found (61±28 vs. 83±31 mmHg; P=0.59). Repeated treatment with sCR1sLeX for 5 days did not improve PaO2 (64±5 mmHg; P=0.65 vs. control; P=0.93 vs. sCR1sLeX). At any time point, there was no difference in the degree of rejection between groups. Conclusions: In this model sCR1sLeX provided marked improvement of graft function up to 3 days, but inhibition of both complement system and selectin dependent leukocyte adhesion failed to protect against acute rejectio