Isolation and characterization of marine luminous bacteria from shallow coastal waters of Taiwan.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Marine luminous bacteria were isolated and identified from samples in shallow coastal waters of Taiwan during the relatively warm seasons. METHODS: Identification of the luminous isolates was performed based on differences of phenotypic and genotypic characteristics together with data from phylogenetic analysis. RESULTS: Twenty seven strains of marine luminous bacteria were isolated. They were divided into five types based on differences of phenotypic characteristics. However, they could be clustered into only two genotypes according to the analysis of restriction patterns of polymerase chain reaction-amplified 16S rRNA genes digested with various restriction enzymes. The characterization data together with the 16S rRNA gene-based phylogenetic analysis revealed that the isolates included in phenotype I (seven isolates) could be Photobacterium leiognathi, and those included in phenotypes II-V (twenty isolates) might be classified as Vibrio harveyi. However, phylogeny based on gyrB sequences indicated that phenotypes II-V could be classified into two species, V. harveyi and Vibrio campbellii. CONCLUSION: Culturable luminous bacteria in the shallow coastal waters of Taiwan during the sampling period are dominated by V. harveyi/campbellii and P. leiognathi, and the former species appeared to be more prevalent and numerous than the latter species in general.     

Retention of "safe" blood donors. The Retrovirus Epidemiology Donor Study

BACKGROUND: There are obvious advantages to increasing donor retention. However, for reasons of blood safety, certain donors may, in fact, be more desirable to retain than others. “Safe” donors are defined as those who provided a blood donation that was negative on all laboratory screening tests and who subsequently reported no behavioral risks in response to an anonymous survey. This study identifies the most important factors affecting the intention of “safe” donors to provide another donation. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: An anonymous survey asking about donation history, sexual history, injecting drug use, and recent donation experience was mailed to 50,162 randomly selected allogeneic donors (including directed donors) who gave blood from April through July or from October through December 1993 at one of the five United States blood centers participating in the Retrovirus Epidemiology Donor Study. Before mailing, questionnaires were coded to designate donors with nonreactive laboratory screening tests at their most recent donation. RESULTS: A total of 34,726 donors (69%) responded, with substantially higher response among repeat donors. According to reported intentions only, the vast majority of “safe” donors indicated a high likelihood of donating again within the next 12 months. Only 3.4 percent reported a low likelihood of donating again. A comparison of those likely to return and those unlikely to return reveals significant differences in demographics and in ratings of the donation experience. A higher proportion of those unlikely to return were first-time donors, minority-group donors, and donors with less education. The highest projected loss among “safe” donors was seen for those who gave a fair to poor assessment of their treatment by blood center staff or of their physical well-being during or after donating. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that efforts to improve donors' perceptions of their donation experience, as well as attention to the physical effects of blood donation, may aid in the retention of both repeat and first-time donors.     

Liver transplantation in Taiwan: the Chang Gung experience

Between March 1984 and February 1991, six orthotopic liver transplantations were performed at the Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Taiwan. The indications for transplantation were Wilson's disease (5 patients) and biliary atresia (1 patient). Donors and recipients were matched only for size and ABO blood group compatibility, and the recipient operations were performed without the use of a venovenous bypass. Arterial reconstruction was carried out by end-to-end hepatic artery anastomosis (4), thoracic aortic conduit (1), or interposition of an iliac artery graft (1), whereas biliary reconstruction was accomplished by a choledochocholedochostomy using a T-tube stent (4) or a choledochocholedochostomy using an external cholecystostomy without stenting (2). Biliary complications occurred in three patients, and all required additional surgery. The average duration of donor-liver cold ischemia, operating time, and blood loss during surgery were 7 h and 50 min (range, 4.5–9 h), 13.5 h (range, 11.8–17h), and 4,385 ml (range, 750–12,000 ml) respectively. The immunosuppressive regimens included a cyclosporinsteroid combination (n=2) and a triple-drug combination (n=4). All except one of the surviving patients experienced at least one rejection episode that was reversed by a methyl-prednisolone bolus and/or recycle. One patient developed a primary cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection that responded well to Ganciclovir treatment. Two of the patients died, one of injuries sustained in a traffic accident 3 years after transplantation, and the other of massive upper gastrointestinal bleeding. The overall survival value at 3 months was 83%, and the follow-up period ranged from 3 months to 7 years. All of the survivors have achieved complete rehabilitation and currently enjoy an excellent quality of life with normal liver function. Althought the present study involved a small number of cases, our results indicate that liver transplantation can be successfully achieved in a high proportion of patients with acceptable morbidity, mortality, and cost in an Asian setting. The extreme shortage of donor organs is currently the most important obstacle limiting the application of liver transplantation in Taiwan.Presented at The Second International Symposium on Treatment of Liver Cancer. Taipei, 3–4 February 1991     

Rupture of the posterior tibial tendon: CT and surgical findings

Computed tomography (CT) was performed in 42 patients with 49 clinically suspected tears of the posterior tibial tendon. Twenty-eight of the 49 suspected tears were subsequently surgically explored and repaired. Three patterns of tendon abnormalities were recognized on CT scans: type I-intact, hypertrophied, heterogeneous tendon; type II-attenuated tendon; and type III-absence of a portion of a tendon. Types I and II correlated with partial rupture seen during surgery, and type III correlated with complete rupture of the tendon. CT findings were accurate in 96% of the patients who underwent surgery. In four cases (14%), tendon rupture was seen on CT scans, but the extent of the injury was underestimated and the rupture was misclassified. Reactive periostitis of the distal tibia was seen in 71% of diseased tendons and may represent an important factor in the diagnosis of tendon rupture.     

TN10MOVING FROM TISSUE TRANSPLANTATION TO TISSUE ENGINEERING – IMMUNOLOGIC SURVEY OF A PROSPECTIVE SCAFFOLD

Purpose To highlight the design process for tissue engineered mucosa and evaluate the results of an in – vivo immunologic survey done in an animal model. Methods 21 Sprague Dawley rats were divided into three groups to study the systemic immune response to our developed biomaterial, with two other materials used for comparison. Serial subcutaneous implantation was done to serve as antigenic booster .The animals were sacrificed after a 31 day period and their spleens were harvested, digested to make single cell suspensions and used flow cytometry to quantitate CD4+ and CD8+ cells. The CD8+ cells counts are a reflection of the immuno‐toxicity of the material. Results CD 4+ and CD8+ counts were expressed as a percentage of total cells. The mean and standard deviation of CD8+ counts of our potential scaffold material was 19.782 ± 4.021 as compared to Duragen which was 21.574 ± 3.837 and the group with porcine skin 19.598 ± 3.678. Conclusions Striving towards the goal of creating a bioengineered mucosa requires an optimal scaffold with proven immunologic safety. We have attempted to study the systemic immunologic response by comparing our biomaterial with existing materials that are already in clinical use. Though absolute values of CD8+ are comparable and within the same range, larger trials will be needed to establish significant benefits of one over the other.