Impact of Temperature on Porcine Liver Machine Perfusion From Donors After Cardiac Death

Normothermic machine perfusion (NMP) has been introduced as a promising technology to preserve and possibly repair marginal liver grafts. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of temperature on the preservation of donation after cardiac death (DCD) liver grafts in an ex vivo perfusion model after NMP (38.5°C) and subnormothermic machine perfusion (SNMP, 21°C) with a control group preserved by cold storage (CS, 4°C). Fifteen porcine livers with 60 min of warm ischemia were preserved for 10 h by NMP, SNMP or CS (n = 5/group). After the preservation phase all livers were reperfused for 24 h in an isolated perfusion system with whole blood at 38.5°C to simulate transplantation. At the end of transplant simulation, the NMP group showed significantly lower hepatocellular enzyme level (AST: 277 ± 69 U/L; ALT: 22 ± 2 U/L; P < 0.03) compared to both SNMP (AST: 3243 ± 1048 U/L; ALT: 127 ± 70 U/L) and CS (AST: 3150 ± 1546 U/L; ALT: 185 ± 97 U/L). There was no significant difference between SNMP and CS. Bile production was significantly higher in the NMP group (219 ± 43 mL; P < 0.01) compared to both SNMP (49 ± 84 mL) and CS (12 ± 16 mL) with no significant difference between the latter two groups. Histologically, the NMP livers showed preserved cellular architecture compared to the SNMP and CS groups. NMP was able to recover DCD livers showing superior hepatocellular integrity, biliary function, and microcirculation compared to SNMP and CS. SNMP showed some significant benefit over CS, yet has not shown any advantage over NMP.     

Good outcome after liver transplantation for ALD without a 6 months abstinence rule prior to transplantation including post‐transplant CDT monitoring for alcohol relapse assessment – a retrospective study

Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is the second most common indication for liver transplantation (LT). The utility of fixed intervals of abstinence prior to listing is still a matter of discussion. Furthermore, post‐LT long‐term observation is challenging, and biomarkers as carbohydrate‐deficient transferrin (CDT) may help to identify alcohol relapse. We retrospectively analyzed data from patients receiving LT for ALD from 1996 to 2012. A defined period of alcohol abstinence prior to listing was not a precondition, and abstinence was evaluated using structured psychological interviews. A total of 382 patients received LT for ALD as main (n = 290) or secondary (n = 92) indication; median follow‐up was 73 months (0–213). One‐ and five‐year patient survival and graft survival rates were 82% and 69%, and 80% and 67%, respectively. A total of 62 patients (16%) experienced alcohol relapse. Alcohol relapse did not have a statistically significant effect on patient survival (P = 0.10). Post‐transplant CDT measurements showed a sensitivity and specificity of 84% and 85%, respectively. In conclusion, this large single‐center analysis showed good post‐transplant long‐term results in patients with ALD when applying structured psychological interviews before listing. Relapse rates were lower than those reported in the literature despite using a strict definition of alcohol relapse. Furthermore, post‐LT CDT measurement proved to be a useful supplementary tool for detecting alcohol relapse.     

Mosquito and tick repellency of two Anthemis essential oils from Saudi Arabia

The essential oils (EOs) of Anthemis melampodina (Am) and Anthemis scrobicularis (As) (Asteraceae) were extracted from the aerial parts of the plants by hydrodistillation, and their chemical compositions were analyzed using GC-FID and GC-MS. Fifty-six components representing 85.5% of the oil composition of Anthemis melampdina were identified, and the major components were α-pinene (17.1%) and β-eudesmol (13.8%). Forty-one components representing 86% of the oil composition of Anthemis scrobicularis were identified, and the major component was β-eudesmol (12.8%). Laboratory bioassays were conducted to determine repellency of Am and As EOs against the yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti L. and the lone star tick Amblyomma americanum L. The minimum effective doses (MEDs) of the Am and As EOs against mosquitoes were 0.187?±?0.000 and 0.312?±?0.063?mg/cm² respectively, which were significantly higher than that of DEET (0.023?±?0.000?mg/cm²) in human-based repellent bioassays. The As EO was more repellent than Am EO against nymphal ticks but was less effective than DEET in vertical paper bioassays.     

Investigation of antioxidant compounds in commercial pomegranate molasses products using matrix-solid phase dispersion extraction coupled with HPLC

Pomegranate is a well known fruit for its unique flavor, taste and health benefits. The medicinal properties of this fruits directly associated with the phenolic content present, with great anti-oxidant potential. The research is intended to develop matrix solid phase dispersion method (MSPD) and HPLC quantification of four major anti-oxidant marker constituents (vitamin C, gallic acid, rutin & ellagic acid) in pomegranate molasses samples. The effects of several important experimental parameters like type of dispersant, sample-dispersant ratio, solvents and its volume, time of extraction were investigated. A C₁₈ column with the specification (5?µm, 250?×?4.0?mm) was used for the separation. A gradient flow of mobile phase was selected after many trials containing 0.1%, v/v solution of orthophosphoric acid and acetonitrile. The flow rate was 1.0?mL/min; and the chromatograms were recorded at 254?nm. The validation parameters, like linearity (r²?=?0.9985, 0.9965, 0.9925 & 0.9986), accuracy (100.3, 99.5, 100.9 & 101.9%), intra-day precision (%RSD?=?1.09, 1.02, 1.26 & 0.97), inter-day precision (%RSD?=?1.32, 0.83, 1.07, & 1.15) LOD (0.07, 4.50, 0.45 & 0.40?µg/mL), LOQ (0.095, 9.50, 0.85 & 9.5?µg/mL) and robustness (% RSD?=?0.92, 0.76, 0.81 & 0.83) respectively for vitamin C, gallic acid, rutin & ellagic acid, were found satisfactory as per ICH guidelines.     

Chinese norms of McNamara's cephalometric analysis

OBJECTIVE: To establish cephalometric norms of McNamara's analysis in young Chinese and compare them to those of a matched young Caucasian sample. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The material comprised lateral cephalometric radiographs of a random sample of 200 male and 205 female 12-year-old southern Chinese children, and an additional sample of 43 male and 43 female 12-year-old British Caucasian children in Hong Kong. The radiographs were digitized twice with the CASSOS program. RESULTS: The results showed that there were statistically significant gender differences for six out of the 11 cephalometric variables in the Chinese, but for only one variable in the Caucasians. The size of the statistically significant gender differences varied from -0.3 to 0.4 on SD scores. There were statistically significant ethnic differences for eight variables in males and seven variables in females. The size of the observed statistically significant ethnic differences varied from -1.8 to 1.6 on SD scores. CONCLUSION: The use of specific standards for Chinese, separate for gender, for McNamara's cephalometric analysis seems to be justified.