The effect of pentoxifylline on the healing of intestinal anastomosis in rats with experimental obstructive jaundice

The aims of this study were (1) to investigate the effect of experimental obstructive jaundice on the healing of intestinal anastomosis, and (2) to investigate the effect of pentoxifylline on the healing of intestinal anastomosis in rats with obstructive jaundice. Obstructive jaundice was induced in rats by the ligation and division of the common bile duct. Four days after this operation, either pentoxifylline or isotonic saline solution was administered intraperitoneally to these jaundiced rats and controls, and then intestinal anastomosis was performed. The concentrations of serum tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) and serum triglyceride of jaundiced and nonjaundiced rats were measured, and the quality of healing was evaluated by measuring the bursting preasure and hydroxyproline content of the anastomoses on the fifth and tenth days of anastomotic healing. Obstructive jaundice resulted in an impaired wound healing of the intestinal anastomosis in the rats. The administration of pentoxifylline to the jaundiced rats resulted in better anastomotic wound healing. The beneficial effects of pentoxifylline on anastomotic healing in rats with obstructive jaundice was attributed to its inhibitor effect on the endotoxin-induced TNF-α release from macrophages and monocytes, and the stabilizing effect on the neutrophils. Received: March 29, 1999 / Accepted: March 24, 2000     

Liver Transplantation Following Life-threatening Abdominal Trauma: A Case Series of 5 Patients at a Single Institution

Managing traumatic liver injury (TLI) is always challenging and demands precise clinical judgment. Currently, treatment of TLI in most circumstances is non-operative; however, surgical therapy might be required for severe TLI, particularly those that result in extensive blood loss. In the current institutional study carried out from June 1995 to April 2017, we describe our experience with 5 patients who received an orthotopic liver transplant for severe TLI. One patient passed away postoperatively from cerebral edema; 1 patient died of renal failure 4 years after the liver transplantation, and 3 patients are still alive. Based on our experience, we conclude that in patients with TLI, especially those with uncontrollable bleeding or those who develop liver failure, liver transplantation should be taken into consideration.     

Ant Colony Optimization Based Feature Selection Method for QEEG Data Classification

Objective

Many applications such as biomedical signals require selecting a subset of the input features in order to represent the whole set of features. A feature selection algorithm has recently been proposed as a new approach for feature subset selection.

Methods

Feature selection process using ant colony optimization (ACO) for 6 channel pre-treatment electroencephalogram (EEG) data from theta and delta frequency bands is combined with back propagation neural network (BPNN) classification method for 147 major depressive disorder (MDD) subjects.

Results

BPNN classified R subjects with 91.83% overall accuracy and 95.55% subjects detection sensitivity. Area under ROC curve (AUC) value after feature selection increased from 0.8531 to 0.911. The features selected by the optimization algorithm were Fp1, Fp2, F7, F8, F3 for theta frequency band and eliminated 7 features from 12 to 5 feature subset.

Conclusion

ACO feature selection algorithm improves the classification accuracy of BPNN. Using other feature selection algorithms or classifiers to compare the performance for each approach is important to underline the validity and versatility of the designed combination.     

The value of alpha-SMA in the evaluation of hepatic fibrosis severity in hepatitis B infection and cirrhosis development: a histopathological and immunohistochemical study

AIMS: To investigate the value of alpha-smooth muscle actin (alpha-SMA), an indicator of stellate cell activation, in predicting fibrosis in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients. METHODS AND RESULTS: The liver biopsy specimens of 30 patients with a clinical diagnosis of CHB were obtained before treatment and scored by Knodell's histological activity index. The specimens were then immunohistochemically stained with alpha-SMA and semiquantitatively evaluated. Fibrosis and the immunoreactivity of alpha-SMA in the periportal, perisinusoidal and pericentral areas were compared. Fibrosis and necroinflammatory activity in CHB patients were significantly correlated (P =0.022). Furthermore, the degree of alpha-SMA expression and the scores of fibrosis (in periportal, perisinusoidal and pericentral areas) were highly correlated (P =0.000, 0.001, 0.000, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: In liver biopsy samples, alpha-SMA may prove to be a valuable marker in the evaluation of stellate cell activation and fibrosis progression and an early indicator of the development of fibrosis.     

Regulation of numbers of macrophages in the endometrium of the sheep by systemic effects of pregnancy, local presence of the conceptus, and progesterone

Many species exhibiting hemochorial placentation experience an accumulation of macrophages in the endometrium during pregnancy. For the present study, it was tested whether macrophages also accumulate in the endometrium of the sheep, which is a species undergoing an epitheliochorial placentation. An additional objective was to determine whether regulation of endometrial macrophage number occurs via systemic or local signals and whether progesterone is one of these signals. The approach was to evaluate presence of macrophages immunohistochemically using antibodies to CD68 and CD14. Tissues examined were from cyclic ewes in the luteal phase of the estrous cycle, unilaterally-pregnant ewes at day 140 of pregnancy in which pregnancy was surgically confined to one uterine horn, ovariectomized ewes, and ovariectomized ewes treated with progesterone for 44 days. Macrophages were localized predominately to the stromal compartment of the stratum compactum region of the endometrium. In non-pregnant ewes, macrophages were not abundant regardless of physiological status. Increased numbers of endometrial macrophages were seen for both the pregnant and non-pregnant uterine horns of unilaterally pregnant ewes. Numbers of macrophages were higher in the endometrium from the pregnant uterine horn than from endometrium from the non-pregnant uterine horn. Results indicate that macrophages accumulate in the endometrium by day 140 of pregnancy in the sheep and that this induction is because of both systemic and local signals. Progesterone appears not to be an important regulator of numbers of endometrial macrophages.     

β-Globin chain abnormalities with coexisting α-thalassemia mutations

Introduction

The frequency of hemoglobinopathies is still high in Adana, the biggest city of the Cukurova Region that is located in the southern part of Turkey. Our aim was to identify the concomitant mutations in α- and β-globin genes which lead to complex hemoglobinopathies and to establish an appropriate plan of action for each subject, particularly when prenatal diagnosis is necessary.

Material and methods

We studied the association between the β-globin gene and α-thalassemia genotypes. The reverse hybridization technique was employed to perform molecular analysis, and the results were confirmed by amplification refractory mutation system (ARMS) or restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) technique.

Results

We evaluated 36 adult subjects (28 female and 8 male; age range: 18-52 years) with concomitant mutations in their α- and β-globin genes. The –α^3.7/αα deletion was the commonest defect in the α-chain as expected, followed by α^3.7/–α^3.7 deletion. Twenty-five of 36 cases were sickle cell trait with coexisting α-thalassemia, while seven Hb S/S patients had concurrent mutations in their α-genes. The coexistence of α^PolyA-2α/αα with Hb A/D and with Hb S/D, which is very uncommon, was also detected. There was a subject with compound heterozygosity for β-globin chain (–α^3.7/αα with IVSI.110/S), and also a case who had –α^3.7/αα deletion with IVSI.110/A.

Conclusions

Although limited, our data suggest that it would be valuable to study coexisting α-globin mutations in subjects with sickle cell disease or β-thalassemia trait during the screening programs for premarital couples, especially in populations with a high frequency of hemoglobinopathies.