Development of a mobile pulse waveform analyzer for cardiovascular health monitoring

Noninvasive pulse waveforms contain rich pathophysiological information of cardiovascular system. It is hereby a tradition of interest to implement risk stratification by pulse waveform monitoring and analysis. In contrast to conventional computer- or network-based solutions, we attempt to accomplish pulse waveform monitoring and analysis within a self-contained mobile platform. It adopts a compact biosensor for pulse waveform acquisition. The collected signals are then submitted to a core board for pulse waveform processing and analysis. In addition, the core board coordinates user interaction and network communication too. Such compact pulse waveform analyzer is of great help for cardiovascular health monitoring at home. A carefully designed evaluation has been undertaken within our research group. The results confirmed its prospect in home healthcare.     

Dissolution of Human Teeth-Derived Hydroxyapatite

We have been interested in human teeth which consist of hydroxyapatite (HA), but do not degrade for a long time. In order to overcome dissolution and mechanical degradation of man-made HA, biologically derived hydroxyapatite (BHA) ceramics were prepared from human teeth and their dissolving behavior was investigated in distilled water for 3–14 days and compared with an artificial HA made of synthetic HA powder. BHA ceramics were prepared by calcining freshly extracted human teeth at 900 °C and followed by sintering at 1200 °C for 2 h. All detectable peaks in the artificial HA are identical to HA lattice planes, whereas BHA consisted of a mixture of HA and β-tricalcium phosphate (TCP). Although the artificial HA was expected to be stable in water, the surface dissolution initiated at grain boundaries followed by generated many separated grains and their associated pores. On the other hand, BHA showed that definite grains considered as β-TCP were predominantly dissolved and the grains were separated from the matrix leaving pores. In the mean time, the rest region, mainly consisting of HA, did not show any evidence of dissolution. It indicates that BHA showed rather stable grain boundaries and lack of excessive dissolution in liquid environment.     

In vivo imaging of mucosal CD4+ T cells using single photon emission computed tomography in a murine model of colitis

Immune responses that occur in the context of human infectious and inflammatory diseases are usually studied by sampling cells from peripheral blood, from biopsies, or by end-point harvests at necropsy. These approaches are likely to yield information that is incomplete and/or non-representative. Here, we report the development and validation of a non-invasive method to localize and to quantitate the disposition of specific subpopulations of cells in vivo. In a murine model of dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis, CD4+ T cells were visualized in the colon by single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT-CT) after injection of monoclonal, non-depleting, indium-111 (111In) labeled anti-CD4+ antibodies. The SPECT-CT colon uptake ratio (CUR) was found to correlate (p<0.01) with the number of total CD4+ T cells and with standard measures of pathology (colon length, cell counts, and histopathologic evidence of apoptosis, edema, and cellular infiltrates) as assessed by direct examination of diseased colon. Each of these parameters, including the SPECT-CT signal uptake, increased as a function of DSS dose (p<0.05). We conclude that CT-SPECT imaging using an 111In-labeled anti-CD4+ antibody is reflective of traditional parameters of pathology in this experimental model of murine colitis. This approach should be readily applicable to the imaging of discrete cell subpopulations in non-human primates and in humans, thus augmenting our understanding of infectious diseases and inflammation in vivo.     

Immunogenicity of a chicken viral Newcastle disease virus F gene-C3d fusion protein containing a chicken homologue of C3d

The gene fragment coding for Arbor Acres (AA) chicken C3d gene (chC3d) was cloned and expressed as a component of fusion proteins for its potential use as a vaccine for chickens and for in vitro experiments. This fragment of complement protein C3 (C3d) has been shown to strengthen B-cell responses when complexed with antigen. Three potential vaccine constructs were engineered to contain two, four, and six copies of chC3d-P29 coding gene, which was linked to the F gene of Newcastle disease virus (NDV), an economically important pathogen of chicken that is classified as a class A contagious disease of poultry by the Office international des épizooties (OIE). The cloned chC3d protein and different repeats of C3d-P29 proteins contained in the F gene of NDV (C3d-F-P29.n) were generated separately in Escherichia coli and CEF cells with the help of expression vectors. All recombinant proteins were analyzed by SDS-PAGE and Western blotting. The results with different repeats of C3d-F-P29.n revealed that C3d-P29 could enhance immunogenicity. Six or more repeats of C3d-P29 may be necessary for efficient enhancement of antigen-specific immune responses. To date, published research into the adjuvant activities of C3d has been limited to experiments in mice, rabbits, and cattle, and adjuvant properties of C3d have not been assessed in poultry using homologous C3d in association with antigens relevant to the target species. The chicken C3d fusion proteins detailed in this study are the first reports and they provide a basis for immunization trials in chicken, studies of receptor binding and cell activation of chicken lymphocytes, and investigations of new types of vaccines, including genetic recombinant and DNA vaccines for future use against chicken pathogens.     

Repetitive and profound insulin-induced hypoglycemia results in brain damage in newborn rats: an approach to establish an animal model of brain injury induced by neonatal hypoglycemia

The human neonate is at a higher risk for hypoglycemia-induced neuronal injury than other pediatric and adult patients. Repetitive and profound neonatal hypoglycemia can result in severe neurologic sequelae, of which the mechanisms was not elucidated by hitherto. Moreover, no reliable animal model of brain injury induced by neonatal hypoglycemia is available in order to carry out more research. Therefore, we tried to induce neonatal hypoglycemia in newborn rats by fasting and insulin injection, and then examined the neuronal degeneration after repetitive hypoglycemic insults by Fluoro-Jade B (FJB) staining. Experimental animals were randomly divided into four groups: insulin-treated rats with short hypoglycemia, insulin-treated rats with prolonged hypoglycemia, fasted rats, and control rats. Insulin injection and fasting both could induce consistent hypoglycemia in newborn rats. But from FJB staining results, only in insulin-treated rats with prolonged hypoglycemia could extensive neurodegeneration be detected. We can conclude that FJB staining is a useful method of marking neuronal degeneration in neonatal rats following hypoglycemic brain damage. Repetitive and profound neonatal hypoglycemia can result in extensive neurodegeneration, and it seems that neurons of the cortex, dentate gyrus of the hippocampus, the thalamus, and the hypothalamus are more vulnerable to hypoglycemic insult in newborn rats. Repetitive and profound insulin-induced hypoglycemia in newborn rats can establish a reliable animal model of brain injury resulting from neonatal hypoglycemia.     

Chronic hypoxia differentially increases glutathione content and gamma-glutamyl cysteine synthetase expression in fetal guinea pig organs

OBJECTIVE: Glutathione is a natural antioxidant in the fetus and adult. We sought to determine whether maternal hypoxia alters glutathione levels in fetal organs as an adaptive response to the reduced oxygenation. STUDY DESIGN: Timed pregnant guinea pigs were housed in either a Plexiglas chamber containing 10.5% O(2) from 46 to 60 days gestation (HPX, n=6) or in room air, as the normoxic control (NMX, n=5). Pregnant guinea pigs were anesthetized at near term ( approximately 60 days, term=65 days) and liver, lungand kidney were excised from anesthetized fetuses and stored frozen (-80 degrees C) prior to sample processing. Using the hypoxia marker, pimonidazole, we measured a hypoxia-induced increase in stained cells of fetal liver compared to no change in either the lung or kidney. To measure the effect of hypoxia among different organs, total glutathione (GSH) content and protein levels of gamma-glutamyl cysteine synthetase (gamma-GCS) were measured from the same organs. RESULTS: Maternal hypoxia increased (P<0.05) total glutathione levels by 121% in the fetal liver but had no effect in either fetal lung or kidney. Chronic hypoxia increased (P<0.05) gamma-GCS protein levels in all three fetal organs studied. CONCLUSION: These results demonstrate that the fetal response to maternal hypoxia may be organ specific. The increase in fetal liver glutathione via upregulation of gamma-GCS may be an important adaptive response to prolonged hypoxic stress.     

Characterization of Pseudomonas sp. BCNU 171 tolerant to organic solvents

An organic solvent-tolerant bacterium, designated as Pseudomonas sp. BCNU 171, was isolated from industrial wastewater in Korea, on the basis of its ability to survive in the presence of benzene, toluene, propylbenzene and xylenes. Its tolerance limits were 8 mM in phenol, 20 mM in benzene and 60 M in toluene. The log P value of phenol was approximately 1.5, which indicates that Pseudomonas sp. BCNU 171 exhibits the highest tolerance to organic solvents. Pseudomonas sp. BCNU 171, a relative of P. putida, P. mosselii and P. moteillii based on phylogenetic analyses using 16S rRNA sequences, was designated as a new sp. that is tolerant to a wide spectrum of organic solvents, especially xylene isomers. These findings may facilitate the understanding of organic solvent tolerance in bacterial cells.     

Observation and measurements of long thoracic nerve: a cadaver study and clinical consideration

Long thoracic nerve (LTN) is an important nerve originating from cervical nerve roots. It varies a lot in origins and branches, which lead to several clinical problems, such as diagnosis, prophylaxis and treatment of LTN injury. LTN was dissected in 38 cadavers in the present study. Origin, level of union, branches, sites where nerve entered the muscle, length of nerve trunk and branches as well as transverse diameter were documented. Different derivations of LTN were observed, and C4-7, C5-7, C5 and C7, C5-7, C5-8, C6 and C7, and branch from C6 was the most important components of LTN. After evolution, LTN trunk was composed by superior and inferior trunks at scalenus muscle or the three superior slips level. Branches of LTN traveled on the surface of the six superior slips of anterior serratus muscle and then penetrated through the inferior slips without correlation between different branches. Mean length of trunk of LTN is 111.73 (30.08) mm, axis of cross section was 2.27 × 0.96 mm at the union level and 1.91 × 0.68 mm at the end branch. Each slip was innervated by 1–4 branches of LTN. The observation and measurement data described in our study presented some variations and could provide clinicians with important information on diagnosis, prophylaxis and treatment of LTN injury and pursuing more suitable muscle flaps for reconstruction operation.     

The clinical efficacy of GOCA scoring system in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome

To explore the following hypotheses: 1) Gas exchange, Organ failure, Cause, Associated disease (GOCA) score, which reflects both general health and the severity of lung injury, would be a better mortality predictor of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) than acute physiology and chronic health evaluation (APACHE II) or simplified acute physiology score (SAPS II), which are not specific to lung injury, and lung injury score (LIS) that focuses on the lung injury; 2) the performance of APACHE II and SAPS II will be improved when reinforced by LIS, we retrospectively analyzed ARDS patients (N=158) admitted to a medical intensive care unit for five years. The overall mortality of the ARDS patients was 53.2%. Calibrations for all models were good. The area under the curve of (AUC) of LIS (0.622) was significantly less than those of APACHE II (0.743) and SAPS II (0.753). The AUC of GOCA (0.703) was not better than those of APACHE II and SAPS II. The AUCs of APACHE II and SAPS II tended to further increase when reinforced by LIS. In conclusion, GOCA was not superior to APACHE II or SAPS II. The performance of the APACHE II or SAPS II tended to improve when combining a general scoring system with a scoring system that focused on the severity of lung injury.