WorldWideScience

Sample records for short-term graft survival

  1. Factors impacting short and long-term kidney graft survival: modification by single intra-operative -high-dose induction with ATG-Fresenius.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaden, Jürgen; May, Gottfried; Völp, Andreas; Wesslau, Claus

    2011-01-01

    A majority of recipients benefited from the intra-operative single high-dose induction (HDI) with ATG-Fresenius (ATG-F) still leaving a group of recipients who did not profit from this kind of induction. Therefore the aim of this retrospective analysis was 1st to identify the risk factors impacting short and long-term graft survival, and 2nd to assess the efficacy of this type of induction in kidney graft recipients with or without these risk factors. A total of 606 recipients receiving two different immunosuppressive treatment regimens (1st: Triple drug therapy [TDT, n=196] consisting mainly of steroids, azathioprine and cyclosporine; 2nd: TDT + 9 mg/kg ATG-F intra-operatively [HDI, n=410]) were included in this analysis and grouped according to their kidney graft survival time (short GST: ≤1 yr, n=100 and long GST: >5 yrs, n=506). The main risk factors associated with a shortened graft survival were pre-transplant sensitization, re-transplantation, rejections (in particular vascular or mixed ones) and the necessity of a long-term anti-rejection therapy. Adding ATG-F single high dose induction to TDT was more efficient in prolonging kidney graft survival than TDT alone not only in recipients without any risk factors (p<0.005) but also in recipients with at least one risk factor (p<0.021). Only in 4.6% of recipients having two or more risk factors this effect could not be demonstrated. The intra-operative single high-dose induction with ATG-F significantly improves the kidney graft survival in recipients with or without risk factors and can therefore be recommended.

  2. Short-term azithromycin treatment promotes cornea allograft survival in the rat.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wacker, Katrin; Denker, Sophy; Hildebrand, Antonia; Eberwein, Philipp; Reinhard, Thomas; Schwartzkopff, Johannes

    2013-01-01

    Any inflammatory response following corneal transplantation may induce rejection and irreversible graft failure. The purpose of this study is to analyze the anti-inflammatory effect of azithromycin (AZM) following experimental keratoplasty in rats. Corneal transplants were performed between Fisher-donor and Lewis-recipient rats. Recipients were postoperatively treated three times daily with AZM, miglyol, ofloxacin or dexamethasone eye drops. As an additional control, AZM was applied following syngeneic keratoplasty. Furthermore, short-term treatments with AZM for seven days perioperatively or with AZM only three days prior to the transplantation were compared to appropriate controls. All transplants were monitored clinically for opacity, edema, and vascularization. Infiltrating CD45(+), CD4(+), CD8(+), CD25(+), CD161(+) and CD163(+) cells were quantified via immunohistochemistry. AZM significantly promoted corneal graft survival compared with miglyol or ofloxacin treatment. This effect was comparable to topical dexamethasone. No adverse AZM effect was observed. Histology confirmed a significant reduction of infiltrating leukocytes. The short-term application of AZM for three days prior to transplantation or for seven days perioperatively reduced corneal graft rejection significantly compared with the controls. Along with antibiotic properties, topical AZM has a strong anti-inflammatory effect. Following keratoplasty, this effect is comparable to topical dexamethasone without the risk of steroid-induced adverse effects. Short-term treatment with AZM three days prior to the transplantation was sufficient to promote graft survival in the rat keratoplasty model. We therefore suggest further assessing the anti-inflammatory function of topical AZM following keratoplasty in humans.

  3. Short-term azithromycin treatment promotes cornea allograft survival in the rat.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katrin Wacker

    Full Text Available Any inflammatory response following corneal transplantation may induce rejection and irreversible graft failure. The purpose of this study is to analyze the anti-inflammatory effect of azithromycin (AZM following experimental keratoplasty in rats.Corneal transplants were performed between Fisher-donor and Lewis-recipient rats. Recipients were postoperatively treated three times daily with AZM, miglyol, ofloxacin or dexamethasone eye drops. As an additional control, AZM was applied following syngeneic keratoplasty. Furthermore, short-term treatments with AZM for seven days perioperatively or with AZM only three days prior to the transplantation were compared to appropriate controls. All transplants were monitored clinically for opacity, edema, and vascularization. Infiltrating CD45(+, CD4(+, CD8(+, CD25(+, CD161(+ and CD163(+ cells were quantified via immunohistochemistry.AZM significantly promoted corneal graft survival compared with miglyol or ofloxacin treatment. This effect was comparable to topical dexamethasone. No adverse AZM effect was observed. Histology confirmed a significant reduction of infiltrating leukocytes. The short-term application of AZM for three days prior to transplantation or for seven days perioperatively reduced corneal graft rejection significantly compared with the controls.Along with antibiotic properties, topical AZM has a strong anti-inflammatory effect. Following keratoplasty, this effect is comparable to topical dexamethasone without the risk of steroid-induced adverse effects. Short-term treatment with AZM three days prior to the transplantation was sufficient to promote graft survival in the rat keratoplasty model. We therefore suggest further assessing the anti-inflammatory function of topical AZM following keratoplasty in humans.

  4. Predicting long-term graft survival in adult kidney transplant recipients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Brett W Pinsky

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The ability to accurately predict a population′s long-term survival has important implications for quantifying the benefits of transplantation. To identify a model that can accurately predict a kidney transplant population′s long-term graft survival, we retrospectively studied the United Network of Organ Sharing data from 13,111 kidney-only transplants completed in 1988- 1989. Nineteen-year death-censored graft survival (DCGS projections were calculated and com-pared with the population′s actual graft survival. The projection curves were created using a two-part estimation model that (1 fits a Kaplan-Meier survival curve immediately after transplant (Part A and (2 uses truncated observational data to model a survival function for long-term projection (Part B. Projection curves were examined using varying amounts of time to fit both parts of the model. The accuracy of the projection curve was determined by examining whether predicted sur-vival fell within the 95% confidence interval for the 19-year Kaplan-Meier survival, and the sample size needed to detect the difference in projected versus observed survival in a clinical trial. The 19-year DCGS was 40.7% (39.8-41.6%. Excellent predictability (41.3% can be achieved when Part A is fit for three years and Part B is projected using two additional years of data. Using less than five total years of data tended to overestimate the population′s long-term survival, accurate prediction of long-term DCGS is possible, but requires attention to the quantity data used in the projection method.

  5. Long-term graft and patient survival following renal transplantation in diabetic patients

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rømming Sørensen, Vibeke; Schwartz Sørensen, Søren; Feldt-Rasmussen, Bo

    2006-01-01

    . The groups were similar with respect to age and sex. RESULTS: The patient survival rates (diabetic versus non-diabetic patients) were 88% vs 91% (p=NS) at 1 year, 68% vs 73% (p=NS) at 5 years and 31% vs 52% (pnon-diabetic patients) were 72% vs 72...... patients, 55% were smokers. Among the diabetic patients, graft and patient survival were independent of smoking habits, blood pressure, HbA1c and total cholesterol. CONCLUSIONS: Graft survival was similar in diabetic and non-diabetic patients. For the first 5 years following renal transplantation......OBJECTIVE: To study long-term graft and patient survival following renal transplantation in diabetic and non-diabetic patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Over the time period 1985-99, 498 transplantations in 399 non-diabetic patients and 68 transplantations in 62 diabetic patients were performed...

  6. Long-Term Survival Prediction for Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting: Validation of the ASCERT Model Compared With The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Predicted Risk of Mortality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lancaster, Timothy S; Schill, Matthew R; Greenberg, Jason W; Ruaengsri, Chawannuch; Schuessler, Richard B; Lawton, Jennifer S; Maniar, Hersh S; Pasque, Michael K; Moon, Marc R; Damiano, Ralph J; Melby, Spencer J

    2018-05-01

    The recently developed American College of Cardiology Foundation-Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) Collaboration on the Comparative Effectiveness of Revascularization Strategy (ASCERT) Long-Term Survival Probability Calculator is a valuable addition to existing short-term risk-prediction tools for cardiac surgical procedures but has yet to be externally validated. Institutional data of 654 patients aged 65 years or older undergoing isolated coronary artery bypass grafting between 2005 and 2010 were reviewed. Predicted survival probabilities were calculated using the ASCERT model. Survival data were collected using the Social Security Death Index and institutional medical records. Model calibration and discrimination were assessed for the overall sample and for risk-stratified subgroups based on (1) ASCERT 7-year survival probability and (2) the predicted risk of mortality (PROM) from the STS Short-Term Risk Calculator. Logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate additional perioperative variables contributing to death. Overall survival was 92.1% (569 of 597) at 1 year and 50.5% (164 of 325) at 7 years. Calibration assessment found no significant differences between predicted and actual survival curves for the overall sample or for the risk-stratified subgroups, whether stratified by predicted 7-year survival or by PROM. Discriminative performance was comparable between the ASCERT and PROM models for 7-year survival prediction (p validated for prediction of long-term survival after coronary artery bypass grafting in all risk groups. The widely used STS PROM performed comparably as a predictor of long-term survival. Both tools provide important information for preoperative decision making and patient counseling about potential outcomes after coronary artery bypass grafting. Copyright © 2018 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Does Off-Pump Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting Negatively Impact Long-Term Survival and Freedom from Reintervention?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shahzad G. Raja

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Recently published evidence has raised concerns about worse late mortality and increasing need for reintervention after off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting. We undertook this study to assess the impact of off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting on survival and freedom from reintervention at 10 years. From January 2002 to December 2002, 307 consecutive patients who had isolated multivessel off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting at our institution were compared to a control group of 397 patients that underwent multivessel on-pump coronary artery bypass grafting during the same period. In addition, univariate and risk-adjusted comparisons between the two groups were performed at 10 years. Kaplan-Meier survival was similar for the two cohorts. After adjusting for clinical covariates, off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting did not emerge as a significant independent predictor of long-term mortality (Hazard Ratio 0.91; 95% Confidence Interval 0.70–1.12, readmission to hospital for cardiac cause (Hazard Ratio 0.96; 95% Confidence Interval 0.78–1.10, or the need for reintervention (Hazard Ratio 0.93; 95% Confidence Interval 0.87–1.05. Off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting compared with on-pump coronary artery bypass grafting does not adversely impact survival or freedom from reintervention at a 10-year follow-up.

  8. Promoting long-term survival of insulin-producing cell grafts that differentiate from adipose tissue-derived stem cells to cure type 1 diabetes.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shuzi Zhang

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Insulin-producing cell clusters (IPCCs have recently been generated in vitro from adipose tissue-derived stem cells (ASCs to circumvent islet shortage. However, it is unknown how long they can survive upon transplantation, whether they are eventually rejected by recipients, and how their long-term survival can be induced to permanently cure type 1 diabetes. IPCC graft survival is critical for their clinical application and this issue must be systematically addressed prior to their in-depth clinical trials. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here we found that IPCC grafts that differentiated from murine ASCs in vitro, unlike their freshly isolated islet counterparts, did not survive long-term in syngeneic mice, suggesting that ASC-derived IPCCs have intrinsic survival disadvantage over freshly isolated islets. Indeed, β cells retrieved from IPCC syngrafts underwent faster apoptosis than their islet counterparts. However, blocking both Fas and TNF receptor death pathways inhibited their apoptosis and restored their long-term survival in syngeneic recipients. Furthermore, blocking CD40-CD154 costimulation and Fas/TNF signaling induced long-term IPCC allograft survival in overwhelming majority of recipients. Importantly, Fas-deficient IPCC allografts exhibited certain immune privilege and enjoyed long-term survival in diabetic NOD mice in the presence of CD28/CD40 joint blockade while their islet counterparts failed to do so. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Long-term survival of ASC-derived IPCC syngeneic grafts requires blocking Fas and TNF death pathways, whereas blocking both death pathways and CD28/CD40 costimulation is needed for long-term IPCC allograft survival in diabetic NOD mice. Our studies have important clinical implications for treating type 1 diabetes via ASC-derived IPCC transplantation.

  9. Pre- and Posttransplant IgA Anti-Fab Antibodies to Predict Long-term Kidney Graft Survival.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amirzargar, M A; Amirzargar, A; Basiri, A; Hajilooi, M; Roshanaei, G; Rajabi, G; Solgi, G

    2015-05-01

    Immunologic factors are reliable markers for allograft monitoring, because of their seminal role in rejection process. One of these factors is the immunoglobulin (Ig)A anti-Fab of the IgG antibody. This study aimed to evaluate the predictive value of pre- and posttransplant levels of this marker for kidney allograft function and survival. Sera samples of 59 living unrelated donor kidney recipients were collected before and after transplantation (days 7, 14, and 30) and investigated for IgA anti-Fab of IgG antibody levels using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in relation with allograft outcome. Among 59 patients, 15 cases (25%) including 10 with acute rejection and 5 with chronic rejection episodes showed graft failure during a mean of 5 years of follow-up. High posttransplant levels of IgA anti-Fab antibodies were observed more frequently in patients with stable graft function (SGF) compared with patients with graft failure (P = 2 × 10(-6)). None of patients with acute or chronic rejection episodes had high levels of IgA anti-Fab antibodies at day 30 posttransplant compared with the SGF group (P = 10(-6) and P = .01, respectively). In addition, high levels of IgA anti-Fab antibody correlated with lesser concentration of serum creatinine at 1 month posttransplantation (P = .01). Five-year graft survival was associated with high levels of pre- and posttransplant IgA anti-Fab antibodies (P = .02 and P = .003, respectively). Our findings indicate the protective effect of higher levels of IgA anti-Fab antibodies regarding to kidney allograft outcomes and long-term graft survival. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. How the definition of acceptable antigens and epitope analysis can facilitate transplantation of highly sensitized patients with excellent long-term graft survival.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heidt, Sebastiaan; Haasnoot, Geert W; Claas, Frans H J

    2018-05-24

    Highly sensitized patients awaiting a renal transplant have a low chance of receiving an organ offer. Defining acceptable antigens and using this information for allocation purposes can vastly enhance transplantation of this subgroup of patients, which is the essence of the Eurotransplant Acceptable Mismatch program. Acceptable antigens can be determined by extensive laboratory testing, as well as on basis of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) epitope analyses. Within the Acceptable Mismatch program, there is no effect of HLA mismatches on long-term graft survival. Furthermore, patients transplanted through the Acceptable Mismatch program have similar long-term graft survival to nonsensitized patients transplanted through regular allocation. Although HLA epitope analysis is already being used for defining acceptable HLA antigens for highly sensitized patients in the Acceptable Mismatch program, increasing knowledge on HLA antibody - epitope interactions will pave the way toward the definition of acceptable epitopes for highly sensitized patients in the future. Allocation based on acceptable antigens can facilitate transplantation of highly sensitized patients with excellent long-term graft survival.

  11. Differences between colon and rectal cancer in complications, short-term survival and recurrences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van der Sijp, Max P L; Bastiaannet, Esther; Mesker, Wilma E; van der Geest, Lydia G M; Breugom, Anne J; Steup, Willem H; Marinelli, Andreas W K S; Tseng, Larissa N L; Tollenaar, Rob A E M; van de Velde, Cornelis J H; Dekker, J W T

    2016-10-01

    Many apparent differences exist in aetiology, genetics, anatomy and treatment response between colon cancer (CC) and rectal cancer (RC). This study examines the differences in patient characteristics, prevalence of complications and their effect on short-term survival, long-term survival and the rate of recurrence between RC and CC. For all stage II-III CC and RC patients who underwent resection with curative intent (2006-2008) in five hospitals in the Netherlands, occurrence of complications, crude survival, relative survival and recurrence rates were compared. A total of 767 CC and 272 RC patients underwent resection. Significant differences were found for age, gender, emergency surgery, T-stage and grade. CC patients experienced fewer complications compared to RC (p = 0.019), but CC patients had worse short-term mortality rates (1.5 versus 6.7 % for 30-day mortality, p = 0.001 and 5.2 versus 9.5 % for 90-day mortality, p = 0.032). The adjusted HR (overall survival) for CC patients with complications was 1.57 (1.23-2.01; p characteristics and clinical outcomes between CC and RC. CC patients have a significantly higher short-term mortality compared to RC patients due to a more severe effect of complications.

  12. The effect of retraining of nurses on cardiopulmonary resuscitationsuccess rate and short-term and long-term survival in patients revived

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dahi M

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Background and Objective: Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR is performed in order to restore the functioning of two most important body organs the heart and brain. The present study was performed to investigate the effect of retraining of nurses on CPR success rate and short-term and long-term CPR survival. Materials and Method: The study population of the present quasi-experimental study consisted of all nurses of Taleghani Hospital affiliated with Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran, in 2011. The study subjects (n = 400 were selected using convenience and purposive sampling method. The patient survival rate during the first 24 hours (short-term survival and discharge from the hospital (long-term survival after CPR were reported. Then, the study subjects, in groups of 20, participated in CPR training courses. Short-term (24 hours and long-term (discharge from hospital in good mental status survival subsequent to CPR were reevaluated and compared with pre-training results. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 20, and t-test and chi-square test. Results: Retraining promoted CPR success rates. This increase in the short-term success rate was not significant, but the increase in long-term success rate was statistically significant (P = 0.007. Conclusion: Periodic retraining of nurses may improve CPR success rate particularly long-term survival or discharge from hospital. Therefore, further studies on long-term success of CPR considering confounding factors are recommended

  13. Effect of BRCA1/2 mutation on short-term and long-term breast cancer survival: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Eun-Ha; Park, Sue K; Park, Boyoung; Kim, Sung-Won; Lee, Min Hyuk; Ahn, Sei Hyun; Son, Byung Ho; Yoo, Keun-Young; Kang, Daehee

    2010-07-01

    Reports of BRCA genetic mutations and risk of death or recurrence are inconsistent. This study aimed to compare overall and disease-free breast cancer survival rates between BRCA1/2 mutation carriers and non-carriers for short-term and long-term outcomes separately. We searched the PUBMED and EMBASE databases and retrieved 452 articles using keywords that included breast cancer, BRCA mutation, and survival. Seventeen articles were selected for systematic review and among them 11 were included in our meta-analysis. We used the random-effects model to calculate the summary hazard ratio and corresponding 95% confidence interval. BRCA1 mutation carriers had significantly lower short-term and long-term overall survival rates (OSR) relative to non-carriers (HR = 1.92 [95% CI = 1.45-2.53]; 1.33 [1.12-1.58], respectively), while both short-term and long-term OSR of BRCA2 carriers did not differ from non-carriers (HR = 1.30 [95% CI = 0.95-1.76]; 1.12 [95% CI = 0.86-1.45], respectively). For short-term progression-free survival rate (PFSR), BRCA1 mutation carriers had a significantly lower rate than non-carriers (HR = 1.54 [95% CI = 1.12-2.12]), while BRCA2 mutation carriers had a similar PFSR (HR = 1.23 [95% CI = 0.96-1.58]). For long-term PFSRs, we found no significant results. Our results suggest that BRCA1 mutation decreases short-term and long-term OSRs and short-term PFSR, however, BRCA2 mutation does not affect either short-term or long-term survival rate, which is attributed to the different carcinogenic pathways for BRCA1 and BRCA2.

  14. Early post-transplant immune monitoring can predict long-term kidney graft survival: soluble CD30 levels, anti-HLA antibodies and IgA-anti-Fab autoantibodies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amirzargar, Mohammad Ali; Amirzargar, Aliakbar; Basiri, Abbas; Hajilooi, Mehrdad; Roshanaei, Ghodratollah; Rajabi, Gholamreza; Mohammadiazar, Sina; Solgi, Ghasem

    2014-01-01

    This study aimed to investigate the predictive power of anti-HLA antibodies, sCD30 levels and IgA-anti-Fab autoantibody before and early after transplantation in relation to long-term kidney allograft survival. Pre- and post-transplant sera samples of 59 living-unrelated donor kidney recipients were tested for above risk factors by enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay. 15 out of 59 cases experienced rejection episodes (failure group). Pre- and post-transplant high sCD30 levels were significantly associated with graft failure (P=0.02 and P=0.004) and decreased 4 year graft survival (P = 0.009 and P = 0.001). Higher frequency of post-transplant HLA class-II antibody in the absence of class-I antibody was observed in failure group (P=0.007). Patients with post-transplant HLA class-I and class-II antibodies either alone or in combination showed significant lower 4 year graft survival. Recipients with high sCD30 levels in the presence of HLA class-I or class-II antibodies within 2 weeks post-transplant had poor graft survival (P = 0.004 and P = 0.002, respectively). High levels of post-transplant IgA-anti-Fab antibody was more frequent in functioning-graft patients (P = 0.00001), correlated with decreased serum creatinine levels (P = 0.01) and associated with improved graft survival (P = 0.008). Our findings indicate the deleterious effect of early post-transplant HLA antibodies and increased sCD30 levels dependently and protective effect of IgA-anti-Fab antibodies on long-term renal graft outcomes. Copyright © 2013 American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Long- and short-term outcomes in renal allografts with deceased donors: A large recipient and donor genome-wide association study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hernandez-Fuentes, Maria P; Franklin, Christopher; Rebollo-Mesa, Irene; Mollon, Jennifer; Delaney, Florence; Perucha, Esperanza; Stapleton, Caragh; Borrows, Richard; Byrne, Catherine; Cavalleri, Gianpiero; Clarke, Brendan; Clatworthy, Menna; Feehally, John; Fuggle, Susan; Gagliano, Sarah A; Griffin, Sian; Hammad, Abdul; Higgins, Robert; Jardine, Alan; Keogan, Mary; Leach, Timothy; MacPhee, Iain; Mark, Patrick B; Marsh, James; Maxwell, Peter; McKane, William; McLean, Adam; Newstead, Charles; Augustine, Titus; Phelan, Paul; Powis, Steve; Rowe, Peter; Sheerin, Neil; Solomon, Ellen; Stephens, Henry; Thuraisingham, Raj; Trembath, Richard; Topham, Peter; Vaughan, Robert; Sacks, Steven H; Conlon, Peter; Opelz, Gerhard; Soranzo, Nicole; Weale, Michael E; Lord, Graham M

    2018-02-01

    Improvements in immunosuppression have modified short-term survival of deceased-donor allografts, but not their rate of long-term failure. Mismatches between donor and recipient HLA play an important role in the acute and chronic allogeneic immune response against the graft. Perfect matching at clinically relevant HLA loci does not obviate the need for immunosuppression, suggesting that additional genetic variation plays a critical role in both short- and long-term graft outcomes. By combining patient data and samples from supranational cohorts across the United Kingdom and European Union, we performed the first large-scale genome-wide association study analyzing both donor and recipient DNA in 2094 complete renal transplant-pairs with replication in 5866 complete pairs. We studied deceased-donor grafts allocated on the basis of preferential HLA matching, which provided some control for HLA genetic effects. No strong donor or recipient genetic effects contributing to long- or short-term allograft survival were found outside the HLA region. We discuss the implications for future research and clinical application. © 2018 The Authors. American Journal of Transplantation published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of The American Society of Transplantation and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons.

  16. Revisiting double kidney transplantation: two kidneys provide better graft survival than one.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cruzado, J M; Fernandez, L; Riera, L; Bestard, O; Carrera, M; Torras, J; Gil Vernet, S; Melilli, E; Ngango, L; Grinyó, J M

    2011-01-01

    Double kidney transplantation is an accepted strategy to increase the donor pool. Regarding older donor kidneys, protocols for deciding to perform a dual or a single transplantation are mainly based on preimplantation biopsies. The aim of our study was to evaluate the long-term graft and patient survivals of our "Dual Kidney Transplant program." Patients who lost one of their grafts peritransplantation were used as controls. A total of 203 patients underwent kidney transplantation from December 1996 to January 2008 in our "old for old" renal transplantation program. We excluded 21 patients because of a nonfunctioning kidney, hyperacute rejection, or patient death with a functioning graft within the first month. Seventy-nine among 182 kidney transplantation the "old for old" program were dual kidney transplantation (DKT). Fifteen of 79 patients lost one of their kidney grafts (the uninephrectomized (UNX) UNX group). At 1 year, renal function was lower and proteinuria greater among the UNX than the DKT group. Patient survival was similar in both groups. However, death-censored graft survival was lower in UNX than DKT patients. The 5-year graft survival rate was 70% in UNX versus 93% in DKT cohorts (P = .04). In conclusion, taking into account the kidney shortage, our results may question whether the excellent transplant outcomes with DKT counter balance the reduced donor pool obviating acceptable transplant outcomes for more patients with single kidney transplantation. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. The influence of Australian eye banking practices on corneal graft survival.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keane, Miriam C; Lowe, Marie T; Coster, Douglas J; Pollock, Graeme A; Williams, Keryn A

    2013-08-19

    To identify eye banking practices that influence corneal graft survival. Prospective cohort study of records of 19,254 followed corneal grafts in 15160 patients, submitted to the Australian Corneal Graft Registry between May 1985 and July 2012. Influence of corneal preservation method (organ culture, moist pot, Optisol, other); death-to-enucleation, death-to-preservation and enucleation-to-graft times; transportation by air; graft era; and indication for graft on probability of graft survival at most recent follow-up. In multivariate analysis, 919 penetrating grafts performed using corneas transported interstate by air exhibited worse survival than 14,684 grafts performed using corneas retrieved and used locally (hazard ratio [HR], 1.44; 95% CI, 1.21-1.73; P = 0.001). This was also the case for traditional lamellar grafts (64 corneas transported by air and 813 used locally; HR, 1.69; 95% CI, 1.03-2.78; P = 0.038). Indication for graft influenced survival of penetrating grafts (4611 keratoconus, 727 emergency or high-risk, 10,265 other indication; global P < 0.001) and traditional lamellar grafts (65 keratoconus, 212 emergency or high-risk, 600 other indication; global P < 0.001). The preservation medium in which corneas used for traditional lamellar grafts were stored exerted a marginal influence on graft survival (global P = 0.047). Donor corneas transported interstate exhibited poorer survival after transplantation than those retrieved and grafted locally. Higher proportions of emergency procedures involving transported corneas did not account for this difference. Where possible, efforts to avoid transportation of corneal tissue by air freight within Australia may be warranted.

  18. Molecular profiling of short-term and long-term surviving patients identifies CD34 mRNA level as prognostic for glioblastoma survival

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Michaelsen, Signe Regner; Urup, Thomas; Olsen, Lars Rønn

    2018-01-01

    Despite extensive treatment, overall survival (OS) for glioblastoma (GBM) remains poor. A small proportion of patients present long survival over 3 years, but the underlying molecular background separating these long-term survivors (LTS) from short-term survivors (STS) are insufficiently understood....... Accordingly, study aim was to identify independent prognostic biomarkers for survival. Study cohort consisted of 93 primary GBM patients treated with radiation-, chemo- and bevacizumab therapy, among which 14 STS (OS ≤ 12 months) and 6 LTS (OS ≥ 36 months) were identified, all confirmed being IDH wild......-type. RNA expression levels in diagnostic tumor specimen for 792 genes were analyzed by NanoString technology. While no differences were found with regard to GBM subtype between LTS versus STS, comparative analysis of individual genes identified 14 significantly differently expressed candidate genes...

  19. In Vivo Evaluation of Short-Term Performance of New Three-Layer Collagen-Based Vascular Graft Designed for Low-Flow Peripheral Vascular Reconstructions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tomas Grus

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Aim. The aim of this study was to evaluate short-term patency of the new prosthetic graft and its structural changes after explantation. Methods. The study team developed a three-layer conduit composed of a scaffold made from polyester coated with collagen from the inner and outer side with an internal diameter of 6 mm. The conduit was implanted as a bilateral bypass to the carotid artery in 7 sheep and stenosis was created in selected animals. After a period of 161 days, the explants were evaluated as gross and microscopic specimens. Results. The initial flow rate (median ± IQR in grafts with and without artificial stenosis was 120±79 ml/min and 255±255 ml/min, respectively. Graft occlusion occurred after 99 days in one of 13 conduits (patency rate: 92%. Wall-adherent thrombi occurred only in sharp curvatures in two grafts. Microscopic evaluation showed good engraftment and preserved structure in seven conduits; inflammatory changes with foci of bleeding, necrosis, and disintegration in four conduits; and narrowing of the graft due to thickening of the wall with multifocal separation of the outer layer in two conduits. Conclusions. This study demonstrates good short-term patency rates of a newly designed three-layer vascular graft even in low-flow conditions in a sheep model.

  20. The effect of carbon dioxide therapy on composite graft survival.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Durães, Eliana Ferreira Ribeiro; Durães, Leonardo de Castro; Carneiro, Fabiana Pirani; Lino, Ruy de Souza; Sousa, João Batista de

    2013-08-01

    To investigate the effect of carboxytherapy in auricular composite grafts in rabbits. An experimental study was conducted using 20 rabbits randomly assigned to a treatment group of carboxytherapy or a control group of saline solution. In each ear, a circular graft with 1.5 cm or 2 cm of diameter was amputated and reattached. Animals underwent carbon dioxide or saline injection four times during the experiment. We analyzed clinical evolution of the animals, grafts survival, histopathology features and histomorphometry of collagen. The treated group had a significantly lower weight gain (p=0.038). Histopathology was not significantly different between groups. There was an increase in amount of collagen in 2 cm grafts submitted to carbon dioxide therapy (p=0.003). Carboxytherapy didn't influence graft survival rate for 1.5 cm grafts or 2 cm grafts (p=0.567 and p=0.777, respectively). Carbon dioxide therapy increased the amount of collagen in 2 cm grafts. CO2 was not significantly different from saline infusion on composite grafts survival, but this study suggests that there is a mechanical effect caused by distension which favored graft survival.

  1. Does grafting coronary arteries with only moderate stenosis affect long-term mortality?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sabik, Joseph F.; Olivares, Gabriel; Raza, Sajjad; Lytle, Bruce W.; Houghtaling, Penny L.; Blackstone, Eugene H.

    2016-01-01

    Objective Stenting coronary arteries with non–ischemia-producing moderate stenosis leads to worse outcomes than leaving them unstented. We sought to determine whether grafting coronary arteries with angiographically moderate stenosis is associated with worse long-term survival than leaving them ungrafted. Methods From 1972 to 2011, 55,567 patients underwent primary isolated coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG); 8531 had a single coronary artery with moderate (50%-69%) stenosis, bypassed in 6598 (77%) and not bypassed in 1933 (23%). These arteries were grafted with internal thoracic arteries (ITAs) in 1806 patients (27%) and with saphenous veins (SVs) in 4625 (70%). Mean follow-up for all-cause mortality was 13.0 ± 9.7 years. Results Survival was similar for patients with and without a graft to the moderately stenosed coronary artery (P = .3): 97%, 76%, 43%, and 18% at 1, 10, 20, and 30 years among patients receiving no graft; 97%, 74%, 41%, and 18% among those receiving an SV graft; and 98%, 82%, 51%, and 23% among those receiving an ITA graft. After adjusting for patient characteristics, SV grafting versus nongrafting of moderately stenosed coronary arteries was associated with similar long-term mortality (P = .2), whereas ITA grafting was associated with 22% lower long-term mortality (hazard ratio 0.78; 68% confidence interval 0.75–0.82; P<.0001). Conclusions Grafting coronary arteries with angiographically moderate stenosis is not harmful. Instead, ITA grafting of such coronary arteries is associated with lower long-term mortality. Thus, after placing the first ITA to the left anterior descending, the second ITA should be placed to the second most important coronary artery, even if it is moderately stenosed. PMID:26611750

  2. Identification of subgroups by risk of graft failure after paediatric renal transplantation: application of survival tree models on the ESPN/ERA-EDTA Registry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lofaro, Danilo; Jager, Kitty J; Abu-Hanna, Ameen; Groothoff, Jaap W; Arikoski, Pekka; Hoecker, Britta; Roussey-Kesler, Gwenaelle; Spasojević, Brankica; Verrina, Enrico; Schaefer, Franz; van Stralen, Karlijn J

    2016-02-01

    Identification of patient groups by risk of renal graft loss might be helpful for accurate patient counselling and clinical decision-making. Survival tree models are an alternative statistical approach to identify subgroups, offering cut-off points for covariates and an easy-to-interpret representation. Within the European Society of Pediatric Nephrology/European Renal Association-European Dialysis and Transplant Association (ESPN/ERA-EDTA) Registry data we identified paediatric patient groups with specific profiles for 5-year renal graft survival. Two analyses were performed, including (i) parameters known at time of transplantation and (ii) additional clinical measurements obtained early after transplantation. The identified subgroups were added as covariates in two survival models. The prognostic performance of the models was tested and compared with conventional Cox regression analyses. The first analysis included 5275 paediatric renal transplants. The best 5-year graft survival (90.4%) was found among patients who received a renal graft as a pre-emptive transplantation or after short-term dialysis (2.2 years). The Cox model including both pre-transplant factors and tree subgroups had a significantly better predictive performance than conventional Cox regression (P 30 mL/min/1.73 m(2) and dialysis 20 months). Also in this case combining tree findings and clinical factors improved the predictive performance as compared with conventional Cox model models (P tree model to be an accurate and attractive tool to predict graft failure for patients with specific characteristics. This may aid the evaluation of individual graft prognosis and thereby the design of measures to improve graft survival in the poor prognosis groups. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of ERA-EDTA. All rights reserved.

  3. Effects of low or high doses of short wavelength ultraviolet light (UVB) on Langerhans cells and skin allograft survival

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Odling, K.A.; Halliday, G.M.; Muller, H.K.

    1987-01-01

    Donor C57BL mouse shaved dorsal trunk or tail skin was exposed to high (200 mJ/cm 2 ) or low (40 mJ/cm 2 ) doses of short wavelength ultraviolet light (UVB) before grafting on to the thorax of BALB/c mouse recipients of the same sex. Skin grafted 1-14 days following a single high dose of UVB irradiation was ultrastructurally depleted of LC and survived significantly longer than unirradiated skin before being rejected. After a 21-day interval between exposure and grafting when LC were again present in the epidermis there was no significant difference between treated and control graft survival. Exposure to low dose UVB irradiation only significantly increased graft survival for skin transplanted 1-3 days after irradiation; skin grafted 4 days following irradiation survived for a similar period to unirradiated control skin grafts. Electronmicroscopy showed that the low UVB dose did not deplete LC from the epidermis. We conclude that after low dose UVB treatment the class II MHC antigens on the LC Plasma membrane were lost temporarily, thus prolonging graft survival, but when the plasma membrane antigens were re-expressed graft survival returned to normal. In contrast, high-dose UVB irradiation prolonged graft survival by depleting LC from the epidermis, with graft survival only returning to control values as LC repopulated the epidermis

  4. Short-term curative effect of endovascular stent-graft treatment for aortic diseases in China: a systematic review.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Siwen Wang

    Full Text Available INTRODUCTION: We analyzed the short-term efficacy of endovascular treatment for aortic diseases by summarizing all available published data on endovascular stent-graft treatment for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA, thoracic aortic aneurysm (TAA, type A aortic dissection (type A AD and type B aortic dissection (type B AD in China. METHODS: We performed a systematic analysis of 935 published series on retrograde endovascular treatment for aortic diseases in China from January 1996 to November 2010. Based on the inclusion criteria, 159 studies, involving a total of 5531 patients, were included. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in procedural success among the studies (P>0.05. The rates of overall neurologic complications and stroke were significantly different in all two-group comparisons (P0.05. A significant difference was noted between the 30-day mortality rate of the type A AD patients and the AAA or type B AD patients (P<0.05. CONCLUSION: Endovascular stent-graft is a feasible and safe treatment for aortic diseases, with high procedural success and low incidences of post-procedural complications and short-term mortality. Endovascular treatment for AAA and type B AD is more efficient than for type A AD and TAA.

  5. Does a similar procedure result in similar survival for women and men undergoing isolated coronary artery bypass grafting?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Attia, Tamer; Koch, Colleen G; Houghtaling, Penny L; Blackstone, Eugene H; Sabik, Ellen Mayer; Sabik, Joseph F

    2017-03-01

    To (1) identify sex-related differences in risk factors and revascularization strategies for patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), (2) assess whether these differences influenced early and late survival, and (3) determine whether clinical effectiveness of the same revascularization strategy was influenced by sex. From January 1972 to January 2011, 57,943 adults-11,009 (19%) women-underwent primary isolated CABG. Separate models for long-term mortality were developed for men and women, followed by assessing sex-related differences in strength of risk factors (interaction terms). Incomplete revascularization was more common in men than women (26% vs 22%, P  .9) with lower survival in both sexes. Single ITA grafting was associated with equally (P = .3) better survival in women and men. Although bilateral ITA grafting was associated with better survival than single ITA grafting, it was less effective in women-11% lower late mortality (hazard ratio, 0.89 [0.77-1.022]) versus 27% lower in men (hazard ratio, 0.73 [0.69-0.77]; P = .01). Women on average have longer life expectancies than men but not after CABG. Every attempt should be made to use arterial grafting and complete revascularization, but for unexplained reasons, sex-related differences in effectiveness of bilateral arterial grafting were identified. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  6. The effect of platelet-rich plasma on composite graft survival.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeon, Yeo Reum; Kang, Eun Hye; Yang, Chae Eun; Yun, In Sik; Lee, Won Jai; Lew, Dae Hyun

    2014-08-01

    Composite grafts are suitable for facial reconstruction because of good color matching, low donor-site morbidity, acceptable texture, and easy surgical techniques. However, their use is limited to small defects and by unpredictable survival rates. As platelet-rich plasma contains large numbers of growth factors and has been widely used for tissue regeneration, this study aimed to investigate platelet-rich plasma as an adjuvant to enhance composite graft survival. Twenty New Zealand White rabbits were used, and chondrocutaneous composite grafts were applied to their ears. The grafts were then returned to their original positions after rotation to block the original circulation from the base of the graft. Each of the individual ears was assigned randomly into one of two groups: experimental (n=20; platelet-rich plasma group) or control (n=20; control group). The surrounding skin of the composite graft was injected with either 1.0 ml of platelet-rich plasma derived from autologous whole blood in the platelet-rich plasma group or normal saline in the control group. Graft survival, cutaneous blood flow, CD31-stained vessels, and vascular endothelial growth factor protein levels were examined. Twelve days after surgery, graft viability in the platelet-rich plasma group was higher than in the control group. Blood perfusion was also higher in the platelet-rich plasma group. Compared with the control group, the number of CD31 blood vessels and vascular endothelial growth factor expression levels were significantly increased in the platelet-rich plasma group. The authors' results suggest that platelet-rich plasma restores the perfusion of composite grafts by enhancing revascularization and may exert therapeutic effects on the survival of composite grafts.

  7. LONG-TERM OUTCOMES OF DECEASED DONOR LIVER TRANSPLANTATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. V. Gautier

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Aim of the study was to evaluate patient and graft survival after liver transplantation (LT and to determine if primary disease diagnosis, early graft dysfunction or other factors affect it. Furthermore, we analyzed the reasonsof short-term and long-term deaths or retransplantations.Materials and methods. 192 LTs from donors with brain death were performed from December 2004 until June 2014. Recipient age varied from 5 to 71 years. Most frequent diagnosis was liver cirrhosis (mainly due to hepatitis C, then hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC, liver graft dysfunction, etc.Results and discussion. 1-year patient survival is 89.5%, graft survival is 87.7%, 3-year –87% and 84.6%, respectively, and 5-year – 83.5% and 83.0%, respectively. Early mortality (in fi rst 30 days after transplantation was 8%, long-term mortality – 5.9%. Primary non-function graft (PNF was the reason of 66.7% early deaths. In the long term, infections and oncology were the reasons of death with the same frequency – 36.4%. Early graft dysfunction including primary non-function signifi cantly decreases short term survival (p = 0.0002. Nevertheless, in the majority of cases graft function improves and doesn’t affect survival. Donor factors play role in outcomes: early dysfunction is higher (40.6% in extended criteria donor group than in standard donor group (р = 0.0431. PNF has the same trend – 8.5% and 0.0%, respectively, but without signifi cance (р =0.0835. 5-year survival is remarkably lower in HCC group 40.8% (p = 0.003 than in other groups.Conclusion: survival after liver transplantation in our Center is comparable with the results of the world’s centers.

  8. Fibroblasts accelerate islet revascularization and improve long-term graft survival in a mouse model of subcutaneous islet transplantation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcos Perez-Basterrechea

    Full Text Available Pancreatic islet transplantation has been considered for many years a promising therapy for beta-cell replacement in patients with type-1 diabetes despite that long-term clinical results are not as satisfactory. This fact points to the necessity of designing strategies to improve and accelerate islets engraftment, paying special attention to events assuring their revascularization. Fibroblasts constitute a cell population that collaborates on tissue homeostasis, keeping the equilibrium between production and degradation of structural components as well as maintaining the required amount of survival factors. Our group has developed a model for subcutaneous islet transplantation using a plasma-based scaffold containing fibroblasts as accessory cells that allowed achieving glycemic control in diabetic mice. Transplanted tissue engraftment is critical during the first days after transplantation, thus we have gone in depth into the graft-supporting role of fibroblasts during the first ten days after islet transplantation. All mice transplanted with islets embedded in the plasma-based scaffold reversed hyperglycemia, although long-term glycemic control was maintained only in the group transplanted with the fibroblasts-containing scaffold. By gene expression analysis and histology examination during the first days we could conclude that these differences might be explained by overexpression of genes involved in vessel development as well as in β-cell regeneration that were detected when fibroblasts were present in the graft. Furthermore, fibroblasts presence correlated with a faster graft re-vascularization, a higher insulin-positive area and a lower cell death. Therefore, this work underlines the importance of fibroblasts as accessory cells in islet transplantation, and suggests its possible use in other graft-supporting strategies.

  9. Fibroblasts accelerate islet revascularization and improve long-term graft survival in a mouse model of subcutaneous islet transplantation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perez-Basterrechea, Marcos; Esteban, Manuel Martinez; Alvarez-Viejo, Maria; Fontanil, Tania; Cal, Santiago; Sanchez Pitiot, Marta; Otero, Jesus; Obaya, Alvaro Jesus

    2017-01-01

    Pancreatic islet transplantation has been considered for many years a promising therapy for beta-cell replacement in patients with type-1 diabetes despite that long-term clinical results are not as satisfactory. This fact points to the necessity of designing strategies to improve and accelerate islets engraftment, paying special attention to events assuring their revascularization. Fibroblasts constitute a cell population that collaborates on tissue homeostasis, keeping the equilibrium between production and degradation of structural components as well as maintaining the required amount of survival factors. Our group has developed a model for subcutaneous islet transplantation using a plasma-based scaffold containing fibroblasts as accessory cells that allowed achieving glycemic control in diabetic mice. Transplanted tissue engraftment is critical during the first days after transplantation, thus we have gone in depth into the graft-supporting role of fibroblasts during the first ten days after islet transplantation. All mice transplanted with islets embedded in the plasma-based scaffold reversed hyperglycemia, although long-term glycemic control was maintained only in the group transplanted with the fibroblasts-containing scaffold. By gene expression analysis and histology examination during the first days we could conclude that these differences might be explained by overexpression of genes involved in vessel development as well as in β-cell regeneration that were detected when fibroblasts were present in the graft. Furthermore, fibroblasts presence correlated with a faster graft re-vascularization, a higher insulin-positive area and a lower cell death. Therefore, this work underlines the importance of fibroblasts as accessory cells in islet transplantation, and suggests its possible use in other graft-supporting strategies.

  10. Predictors of survival and ability to wean from short-term mechanical circulatory support device following acute myocardial infarction complicated by cardiogenic shock.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garan, A Reshad; Eckhardt, Christina; Takeda, Koji; Topkara, Veli K; Clerkin, Kevin; Fried, Justin; Masoumi, Amirali; Demmer, Ryan T; Trinh, Pauline; Yuzefpolskaya, Melana; Naka, Yoshifumi; Burkhoff, Dan; Kirtane, Ajay; Colombo, Paolo C; Takayama, Hiroo

    2017-11-01

    Cardiogenic shock following acute myocardial infarction (AMI-CS) portends a poor prognosis. Short-term mechanical circulatory support devices (MCSDs) provide hemodynamic support for patients with cardiogenic shock but predictors of survival and the ability to wean from short-term MCSDs remain largely unknown. All patients > 18 years old treated at our institution with extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation or short-term surgical ventricular assist device for AMI-CS were studied. We collected acute myocardial infarction details with demographic and hemodynamic variables. Primary outcomes were survival to discharge and recovery from MCSD (i.e. survival without heart replacement therapy including durable ventricular assist device or heart transplant). One hundred and twenty-four patients received extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation or short-term surgical ventricular assist device following acute myocardial infarction from 2007 to 2016; 89 received extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation and 35 short-term ventricular assist device. Fifty-five (44.4%) died in the hospital and 69 (55.6%) survived to discharge. Twenty-six (37.7%) required heart replacement therapy (four transplant, 22 durable ventricular assist device) and 43 (62.3%) were discharged without heart replacement therapy. Age and cardiac index at MCSD implantation were predictors of survival to discharge; patients over 60 years with cardiac index <1.5 l/min per m 2 had a low likelihood of survival. The angiographic result after revascularization predicted recovery from MCSD (odds ratio 9.00, 95% confidence interval 2.45-32.99, p=0.001), but 50% of those optimally revascularized still required heart replacement therapy. Cardiac index predicted recovery from MCSD among this group (odds ratio 4.06, 95% confidence interval 1.45-11.55, p=0.009). Among AMI-CS patients requiring short-term MCSDs, age and cardiac index predict survival to discharge. Angiographic result and cardiac index predict ventricular recovery but 50

  11. Review of factors affecting the growth and survival of follicular grafts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    William M Parsley

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Great strides have been made in hair restoration over the past 20 years. A better understanding of natural balding and non-balding patterns along with more respect for ageing has helped guide proper hairline design. Additionally, the use of smaller grafts has created a significantly improved natural appearance to the transplanted grafts. Inconsistent growth and survival of follicular grafts, however, has continued to be a problem that has perplexed hair restoration surgeons. This review attempts to explore the stresses affecting grafts during transplantation and some of the complexities involved in graft growth and survival. These authors reviewed the literature to determine the primary scope of aspects influencing growth and survival of follicular grafts. This scope includes patient selection, operating techniques, graft care, storage solutions and additives. The primary focus of the hair restoration surgeons should first be attention to the fundamentals of hair care, hydration, temperature, time out of body and gentle handling. Factors such as advanced storage solutions and additives can be helpful once the fundamentals have been addressed.

  12. Ureteric complications in live related donor renal transplantation - impact on graft and patient survival

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A Srivastava

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available Objective : The study was performed with an aim to determine the incidence of ureteric complications in live related donor renal transplantation, and to study the effect of ureteric complications on long term graft and patient survival. Patients And Methods: Records of 1200 consecutive live related renal transplants done from 1989-2002 were reviewed. Twenty-six ureteric complications were noted to occur and treatment modalities employed were documented. In the non complication group sufficient data for evaluation was available in 867 patients. Survival analysis were performed using Kaplan-Meier techniques. Results: The overall incidence of urological complications is 2.9%. Complications occurred at a mean interval of 31.9 days after renal transplantation. Ureteric complications occurred in 2% patients with stented and 7.7% patients with non stented anastomosis (p=0.001. Mean follow up following renal transplantation was 37.4 months. Survival analysis showed that ureteric complications did not increase the risk of graft fai lu re or patient death. Conclusions: Ureteric complications in live related donor renal transplantation occurred in 2.9 % patients and did not impair graft and patient survival.

  13. Arterial grafts balance survival between incomplete and complete revascularization: a series of 1000 consecutive coronary artery bypass graft patients with 98% arterial grafts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kieser, Teresa M; Curran, Helen J; Rose, M Sarah; Norris, Colleen M; Graham, Michelle M

    2014-01-01

    Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) with incomplete revascularization (ICR) is thought to decrease survival. We studied the survival of patients with ICR undergoing total arterial grafting. In a consecutive series of all-comer 1000 patients with isolated CABG, operative and midterm survival were assessed for patients undergoing complete versus ICR, with odds ratios and hazard ratios, adjusted for European System for Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation category, CABG urgency, age, and comorbidities. In this series of 1000 patients with 98% arterial grafts (2922 arterial, 59 vein grafts), 73% of patients with multivessel disease received bilateral internal mammary artery grafts. ICR occurred in 140 patients (14%). Operative mortality was 3.8% overall, 8.6% for patients with ICR, and 3.2% for patients with complete revascularization (P = .008). For operative mortality using multivariable logistic regression, after controlling for European System for Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation category (P System for Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation category (P reserved.

  14. Endolymphatic Thoracic Duct Stent-Graft Reconstruction for Chylothorax: Approach, Technical Success, Safety, and Short-term Outcomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Srinivasa, Rajiv N; Chick, Jeffrey Forris Beecham; Hage, Anthony N; Gemmete, Joseph J; Murrey, Douglas C; Srinivasa, Ravi N

    2018-04-01

    To report approach, technical success, safety, and short-term outcomes of thoracic duct stent-graft reconstruction for the treatment of chylothorax. Two patients, 1 (50%) male and 1 (50%) female, with mean age of 38 years (range: 16-59 years) underwent endolymphatic thoracic duct stent-graft reconstruction between September 2016 and July 2017. Patients had radiographic left-sided chylothoraces (n = 2) from idiopathic causes (n = 1) and heart transplantation (n = 1). In both (100%) patients, antegrade lymphatic access was used to opacify the thoracic duct after which retrograde access was used for thoracic duct stent-graft placement. Pelvic lymphangiography technical success, antegrade cisterna chyli cannulation technical success, thoracic duct opacification technical success, retrograde thoracic duct access technical success, thoracic duct stent-graft reconstruction technical success, ethiodized oil volume, contrast volume, estimated blood loss, procedure time, fluoroscopy time, radiation dose, clinical success, complications, deaths, and follow-up were recorded. Pelvic lymphangiography, antegrade cisterna chyli cannulation, thoracic duct opacification, retrograde thoracic duct access, and thoracic duct stent-graft reconstruction were technically successful in both (100%) patients. Mean ethiodized oil volume was 8 mL (range: 5-10 mL). Mean contrast volume was 13 mL (range: 5-20 mL). Mean estimated blood loss was 13 mL (range: 10-15 mL). Mean fluoroscopy time was 50.4 min (range: 31.2-69.7 min). Mean dose area product and reference air kerma were 954.4 μGmy 2 (range: 701-1,208 μGmy 2 ) and 83.5 mGy (range: 59-108 mGy), respectively. Chylothorax resolved in both (100%) patients. There were no minor or major complications directly related to the procedure. Thoracic duct stent-graft reconstruction may be a technically successful and safe alternative to thoracic duct embolization, disruption, and surgical ligation for the treatment of chylothorax

  15. Predicting short-term mortality and long-term survival for hospitalized US patients with alcoholic hepatitis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cuthbert, Jennifer A; Arslanlar, Sami; Yepuri, Jay; Montrose, Marc; Ahn, Chul W; Shah, Jessica P

    2014-07-01

    No study has evaluated current scoring systems for their accuracy in predicting short and long-term outcome of alcoholic hepatitis in a US population. We reviewed electronic records for patients with alcoholic liver disease (ALD) admitted to Parkland Memorial Hospital between January 2002 and August 2005. Data and outcomes for 148 of 1,761 admissions meeting pre-defined criteria were collected. The discriminant function (DF) was revised (INRdf) to account for changes in prothrombin time reagents that could potentially affect identification of risk using the previous DF threshold of >32. Admission and theoretical peak scores were calculated by use of the Model for End-stage Liver Disease (MELD). Analysis models compared five different scoring systems. INRdf was closely correlated with the old DF (r (2) = 0.95). Multivariate analysis of the data showed that survival for 28 days was significantly associated with a scoring system using a combination of age, bilirubin, coagulation status, and creatinine (p short-term mortality (p 50 % mortality at four weeks and >80 % mortality at six months without specific treatment.

  16. Enrichment of autologous fat grafts with ex-vivo expanded adipose tissue-derived stem cells for graft survival

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kølle, Stig-Frederik Trojahn; Fischer-Nielsen, Anne; Mathiasen, Anders Bruun

    2013-01-01

    Autologous fat grafting is increasingly used in reconstructive surgery. However, resorption rates ranging from 25% to 80% have been reported. Therefore, methods to increase graft viability are needed. Here, we report the results of a triple-blind, placebo-controlled trial to compare the survival ...... of fat grafts enriched with autologous adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) versus non-enriched fat grafts....

  17. Very short/short-term benefit of inpatient/outpatient cardiac rehabilitation programs after coronary artery bypass grafting surgery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spiroski, Dejan; Andjić, Mojsije; Stojanović, Olivera Ilić; Lazović, Milica; Dikić, Ana Djordjević; Ostojić, Miodrag; Beleslin, Branko; Kostić, Snežana; Zdravković, Marija; Lović, Dragan

    2017-05-01

    Exercise-based rehabilitation is an important part of treatment patients following coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. To evaluate effect of very short/short-term exercise training on cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) parameters. We studied 54 consecutive patients with myocardial infarction (MI) treated with CABG surgery referred for rehabilitation. The study population consisted of 50 men and 4 women (age 57.72 ± 7.61 years, left ventricular ejection fraction 55% ± 5.81%), who participated in a 3-week clinical and 6-month outpatient cardiac rehabilitation program. The Inpatient program consisted of cycling 7 times/week and daily walking for 45 minutes. The outpatient program consisted mainly of walking 5 times/week for 45 minutes and cycling 3 times/week. All patients performed symptom-limited CPET on a bicycle ergometer with a ramp protocol of 10 W/minute at the start, for 3 weeks, and for 6 months. After 3 weeks of an exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation program, exercise tolerance improved as compared to baseline, as well as peak respiratory exchange ratio. Most importantly, peak VO 2 (16.35 ± 3.83 vs 17.88 ± 4.25 mL/kg/min, respectively, P exercise training in patients with MI treated with CABG surgery is safe and improves functional capacity. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  18. Effect of external volume expansion on the survival of fat grafts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raghuveer Reddy

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: External volume expansion (EVE is one method, which has been utilised for increasing the survival of adipose tissue grafts. EVE releases positive pressure from the graft and also induces intense levels of edema that decreases diffusion of metabolites essential for graft survival initially. The ideal timing of external volume expansion in relation to the injection of the fat to facilitate survival is not yet clear. Aims and Objectives: This study was undertaken to evaluate and compare the efficacy of external volume expansion applied at variable time points in relation to the injection of the fat. Materials and Methods: Athymic mouse was the animal model and human lipo-aspirate mixed with PRP was used as graft. An indigenous dome shaped silicone device was fabricated to deliver a negative pressure of -30 mm of Hg. The EVE was applied at variable time intervals. At the end of 4 weeks visual, histological and radiological features of the injected fat were compared. The adipose tissue was stained with human vimentin to ascertain the origin of the retained fat. Results: All the grafts, which had EVE, had significantly better volume retention and vascularity. The groups which underwent a delayed EVE or prior expansion followed by concomitant graft injection and expansion showed the most optimal vascularity and graft retention. Conclusions: A delayed EVE or prior expansion followed by concomitant graft injection and expansion may be the most ideal combinations to optimize graft take. However, on account of the relatively small sample size, there was a limitation in drawing statistically significant conclusions for certain variables.

  19. Descemet Stripping Automated Endothelial Keratoplasty for Failed Penetrating Keratoplasty: Influence of the Graft-Host Junction on the Graft Survival Rate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Omoto, Takashi; Sakisaka, Toshihiro; Toyono, Tetsuya; Yoshida, Junko; Shirakawa, Rika; Miyai, Takashi; Yamagami, Satoru; Usui, Tomohiko

    2018-04-01

    To investigate the clinical results of Descemet stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty (DSAEK) for failed penetrating keratoplasty (PK) and the influence of the graft-host junction (GHJ) on the graft survival rate. Data were retrospectively collected on patient demographics, visual outcomes, complications, and graft survival rate for 17 eyes of 16 patients who underwent DSAEK for failed PK. The graft survival rate was compared between the eyes when divided into a bump group and a well-aligned group according to the shape of the GHJ detected on anterior segment optical coherence tomography. The most common indication for initial PK was bullous keratopathy after glaucoma surgery (35.3%). Seven eyes (41.2%) were classified into the bump group and 10 eyes (58.8%) into the well-aligned group. The mean best-ever documented visual acuity (BDVA) after DSAEK was 0.33 logMAR. Postoperatively, almost 70% of eyes achieved a BDVA that was within 0.2 logMAR of their preoperative BDVA. Graft detachment occurred in 29.4% of eyes and primary graft failure in 17.6%. All primary failures occurred in the bump group. The cumulative graft survival rate was 82.3% at 1 year, 73.2% at 2 years, and 58.6% at 3 years. Graft failure was more likely in eyes in the bump group than in those in the well-aligned group (P = 0.037, Wilcoxon test). DSAEK for failed PK had a favorable outcome in this study. However, the GHJ should be assessed carefully before performing the procedure.

  20. SURVIVAL AND VEGETATIVE VIGOR OF Ilex paraguariensis A. St.- Hil. PLANTS GRAFTED DIRECTLY IN THE FIELD

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Danilo Martin Domingos

    2010-08-01

    Full Text Available The present work aimed to evaluate the survival and the vegetative vigor of adult selected genetic material of Ilex paraguariensis A.St.- Hil. grafted directly in the field. The grafting was accomplished in approximately 3 year-old understocks, and the material collected was close to the base of two selected trees with around 70 years old. The grafting method used was the top cleft, in which 48 plants were grafted with material of each one of the two plus trees. The survival data were obtained at 60 and 90 days after the grafting, and of growth (amount and total length of sprouts at 90 and 120 days after the grafting. It could be concluded that: there was a decrease in the survival of the grafts in function of the number of days after the grafting; the used plus trees presented different behaviors in the survival percentage; the surviving grafts plants demonstrated a good growth vigor. It is presupposed that the low percentile of success (about of 40% is linked to the high physiologic age of the plus trees, besides less favorable environmental conditions when compared with the grafting in the nursery.

  1. [Kidney graft loss as a result of coagulation disorders].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kulik, Agnieszka

    2012-04-01

    Renal transplantation is a method of choice in the treatment of endstage kidney insufficiency resulting in improved survival and better quality of life. Advances in immunosuppresive therapy, diagnosis and treatment of infective complications, studies on ischemic injury of transplanted organ and preservation show constant improvement in terms of short and long-term results. Early kidney graft loss resulting from thrombotic complications is rare and still challenging for transplantologists. Renal vein thrombosis is responsible for 2-7% cases of early graft loss. Selecting a subset of patients threatened with thromboembolic complications will allow for starting adequate prophylaxis, or early treatment preventing from complications including graft loss. In this paper we tried to summarize the current state of knowledge regarding venous and arterial thrombosis after renal transplantation.

  2. Short-term endurance training after coronary artery bypass grafting improves insulin resistance parameters in patients with hypertension.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borowicz-Bieńkowska, Sławomira; Przywarska, Izabela; Dylewicz, Piotr; Pilaczyńska-Szcześniak, Łucja; Rychlewski, Tadeusz; Wilk, Małgorzata; Rózańska, Anna

    2004-05-01

    It has been shown that short-term exercise training improves insulin resistance parameters in patients with ischaemic heart disease. The effects of such a rehabilitation programme in patients with hypertension have not been well established. To assess whether short-term endurance training after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) may improve metabolic parameters and reduce blood pressure in patients with hypertension. The study group consisted of 30 male patients (15 with hypertension and 15 normotensive) aged 55+/-2.1 years who underwent CABG 1 to 6 months before the initiation of a 3-week endurance training. Glucose, insulin and C-peptide blood levels as well as binding and degradation of 125I-insulin by erythrocyte receptors were assessed before and after the training programme. The effects of training on blood pressure values were also evaluated. A significant improvement (phypertension. This was accompanied by a significant (phypertension, both the exercise systolic and diastolic pressures decreased significantly (pendurance training was especially effective in patients with hypertension in whom beneficial changes in some metabolic risk factors of ischaemic heart disease as well as the reduction in the blood pressure values were observed.

  3. Overexpression of thioredoxin in islets transduced by a lentiviral vector prolongs graft survival in autoimmune diabetic NOD mice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sytwu Huey-Kang

    2009-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Pancreatic islet transplantation is considered an appropriate treatment to achieve insulin independence in type I diabetic patients. However, islet isolation and transplantation-induced oxidative stress and autoimmune-mediated destruction are still the major obstacles to the long-term survival of graft islets in this potential therapy. To protect islet grafts from inflammatory damage and prolong their survival, we transduced islets with an antioxidative gene thioredoxin (TRX using a lentiviral vector before transplantation. We hypothesized that the overexpression of TRX in islets would prolong islet graft survival when transplanted into diabetic non-obese diabetic (NOD mice. Methods Islets were isolated from NOD mice and transduced with lentivirus carrying TRX (Lt-TRX or enhanced green fluorescence protein (Lt-eGFP, respectively. Transduced islets were transplanted under the left kidney capsule of female diabetic NOD mice, and blood glucose concentration was monitored daily after transplantation. The histology of the islet graft was assessed at the end of the study. The protective effect of TRX on islets was investigated. Results The lentiviral vector effectively transduced islets without altering the glucose-stimulating insulin-secretory function of islets. Overexpression of TRX in islets reduced hydrogen peroxide-induced cytotoxicity in vitro. After transplantation into diabetic NOD mice, euglycemia was maintained for significantly longer in Lt-TRX-transduced islets than in Lt-eGFP-transduced islets; the mean graft survival was 18 vs. 6.5 days (n = 9 and 10, respectively, p Conclusion We successfully transduced the TRX gene into islets and demonstrated that these genetically modified grafts are resistant to inflammatory insult and survived longer in diabetic recipients. Our results further support the concept that the reactive oxygen species (ROS scavenger and antiapoptotic functions of TRX are critical to islet survival after

  4. Attitudes to Medication after Kidney Transplantation and Their Association with Medication Adherence and Graft Survival: A 2-Year Follow-Up Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mirjam Tielen

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Background. Nonadherence to medication is a common problem after kidney transplantation. The aim of this study was to explore attitudes towards medication, adherence, and the relationship with clinical outcomes. Method. Kidney recipients participated in a Q-methodological study 6 weeks after transplantation. As a measure of medication adherence, respondents completed the Basel Assessment of Adherence to Immunosuppressive Medications Scale (BAASIS©-interview. Moreover, the intrapatient variability in the pharmacokinetics of tacrolimus was calculated, which measures stability of drug intake. Data on graft survival was retrieved from patient records up to 2 years after transplantation. Results. 113 renal transplant recipients (19–75 years old participated in the study. Results revealed three attitudes towards medication adherence—attitude 1: “confident and accurate,” attitude 2: “concerned and vigilant,” and attitude 3: “appearance oriented and assertive.” We found association of attitudes with intrapatient variability in pharmacokinetics of tacrolimus, but not with self-reported nonadherence or graft survival. However, self-reported nonadherence immediately after transplantation was associated with lower two-year graft survival. Conclusion. These preliminary findings suggest that nonadherence shortly after kidney transplantation may be a risk factor for lower graft survival in the years to follow. The attitudes to medication were not a risk factor.

  5. The effect of carbon dioxide therapy on composite graft survival

    OpenAIRE

    Durães, Eliana Ferreira Ribeiro; Durães, Leonardo de Castro; Carneiro, Fabiana Pirani; Lino Júnior, Ruy de Souza; Sousa, João Batista de

    2013-01-01

    PURPOSE: To investigate the effect of carboxytherapy in auricular composite grafts in rabbits. METHODS: An experimental study was conducted using 20 rabbits randomly assigned to a treatment group of carboxytherapy or a control group of saline solution. In each ear, a circular graft with 1.5 cm or 2 cm of diameter was amputated and reattached. Animals underwent carbon dioxide or saline injection four times during the experiment. We analyzed clinical evolution of the animals, grafts survival, h...

  6. Transplantation and microsurgical anastomosis of free omental grafts: experimental animal model of a new operative technique in dogs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pap-Szekeres, Jozsef; Cserni, Gabor; Furka, Istvan; Svebis, Mihaly; Cserni, Tamas; Brath, Endre; Nemeth, Norbert; Miko, Iren

    2003-01-01

    Our objective was the elaboration of a new animal model for the free transplantation of an omental flap and the examination of its viability in dogs. The cooled omental flap from the abdomen was freely transplanted to the lateral cervical region, and its blood supply was established with microsurgical anastomoses. The technique was developed in 5 dogs, and short-term survival examinations were later carried out in 3 cases by means of this method. Postoperative viability was assessed by angiography, methylene blue testing, and histology. Of the 3 transplanted grafts, 2 still survived 1 week after the operation. For technical reasons, 1 flap thrombotized. For determination of the viability of the transplanted graft, histology proved best. Vital reactions, including granulation tissue and angiogenesis, were present on the histological slides. The short-term survival of an omental flap can be ensured with microsurgical transplantation in dogs. Copyright 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  7. Hypothermic machine perfusion reduces delayed graft function and improves one-year graft survival of kidneys from expanded criteria donors: a meta-analysis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Baoping Jiao

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Expanded criteria donors (ECDs are currently accepted as potential sources to increase the donor pool and to provide more chances of kidney transplantation for elderly recipients who would not survive long waiting periods. Hypothermic machine perfusion (HMP is designed to mitigate the deleterious effects of simple cold storage (CS on the quality of preserved organs, particularly when the donor is in a marginal status. METHODS: We compared the transplant outcomes in patients receiving ECD kidneys with either HMP or CS graft preservation. Articles from the MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane Library databases were searched and all studies reporting outcomes from HMP versus CS methods of kidney preservation were included in this meta-analysis. The parameters analyzed included the incidence of delayed graft function (DGF, primary non-function (PNF and one-year graft and patient survival. RESULTS: A total of seven studies qualified for the review, involving 2374 and 8716 kidney grafts with HMP or CS preservation respectively, all from ECD donors. The incidence of delayed graft function (DGF was significantly reduced with an odd ratio(OR of 0.59 (95% CI 0.54-0.66, P<0.001 and one-year graft survival was significantly improved with an OR of 1.12 (95% CI 1.03-1.21, P = 0.005 in HMP preservation compared to CS. However, there was no difference in the incidence of PNF (OR 0.54, 95% CI 0.21-1.40, P = 0.20, and one-year patient survival (OR 0.98, 95% CI 0.94-1.02, P = 0.36 between HMP and CS preservation. CONCLUSIONS: HMP was associated with a reduced incidence of DGF and an with increased one-year graft survival, but it was not associated with the incidence of PNF and one-year patient survival.

  8. [Influence of pre-transplant serum level of soluble CD30 on the long-term survival rates of kidney transplant recipients and grafts].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Jiang-hua; Lü, Rong; Chen, Ying; Wu, Jian-yong; He, Qiang; Huang, Hong-feng; Qu, Li-hui

    2005-06-15

    To investigate the influence of pre-transplant sCD30 level on the long-term survival rates of kidney transplant recipients and grafts among Chinese. A retrospective cohort of 707 patients undergoing cadaver renal transplants between Dec.1998 and Aug 2003, 467 males and 240 females, aged 40 +/- 11, with their blood samples preserved was studied. The plasma levels of sCD30 were determined by ELISA. The 5-year graft survival/functional rates of the high sCD30 group were 77.7% +/- 3.5%/85.0% +/- 3.2%, significantly lower than those of the low and intermediate groups, 84.7% +/- 2.1%/98.9% +/- 1.1% and 88.1% +/- 2.9%/95.1% +/- 1.6% respectively (all P sCD30 group was 92.4% +/- 1.6%, higher than those of the low and high sCD30 groups, 84.7% +/- 3.9% and 87.1% +/- 2.7% respectively with a significant difference between the intermediate and high sCD30 groups (P = 0.032). Pre-transplant serum level of sCD30 reflects the immune status. Recipients with high sCD30 are prone to rejection while those with low sCD30 are prone to infections.

  9. Recipient Related Prognostic Factors for Graft Survival after Kidney Transplantation. A Single Center Experience

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alina Daciana ELEC

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Background and Aim. Advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD severely impairs life expectancy and quality of life in affected patients. Considering its benefits, renal transplantation currently represents the optimal treatment solution for end stage kidney disease patients. Pre-transplant assessment aims to maximize the graft and patient survival by identifying potential factors influencing the post-transplant outcome. The aim of this study has been to analyze recipient related prognostic factors bearing an impact on graft survival. Material and Methods. We analyzed the graft outcomes of 426 renal transplantations performed at the Clinical Institute of Urology and Renal Transplantation of Cluj-Napoca, between January 2004 and December 2008. Variables related to recipient and to potential donor/recipient prognostic factors were studied using univariate and multivariate analysis. Results. Graft survivals at 1, 3, 5 and 7 years were 94.01%, 88.37%, 82.51% and 78.10%, respectively. Chronic rejection (41.11% and death with a functioning graft (18.88% were the main causes of graft loss. In uni and multivariate analysis the recipient related variables found to influence the renal graft outcome were: peritoneal dialysis, pre transplant residual diuresis, grade I hypertension, severe iliac vessel atheromatosis, ischemic heart disease, stroke history, dyslipidemia and denutrition. The worst graft outcomes have been found for recipients on peritoneal dialysis, with anuria, hypotension, severe iliac atheromatosis, ischemic heart disease, stroke history, dyslipidemia and a poor nutritional status. Conclusion. The type of dialysis, the pre transplant residual diuresis, recipient arterial blood pressure, iliac vessel atheromatosis, ischemic heart disease, stroke history, dyslipidemia and denutrition significantly influence graft survival.

  10. Brown Trout removal effects on short-term survival and movement of Myxobolus cerebralis-resistant rainbow trout

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fetherman, Eric R.; Winkelman, Dana L.; Bailey, Larissa L.; Schisler, George J.; Davies, K.

    2015-01-01

    Following establishment of Myxobolus cerebralis (the parasite responsible for salmonid whirling disease) in Colorado, populations of Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykissexperienced significant declines, whereas Brown Trout Salmo trutta densities increased in many locations across the state, potentially influencing the success of M. cerebralis-resistant Rainbow Trout reintroductions. We examined the effects of Brown Trout removal on the short-term (3-month) survival and movement of two crosses of reintroduced, M. cerebralis-resistant Rainbow Trout in the Cache la Poudre River, Colorado. Radio frequency identification passive integrated transponder tags and antennas were used to track movements of wild Brown Trout and stocked Rainbow Trout in reaches where Brown Trout had or had not been removed. Multistate mark–recapture models were used to estimate tagged fish apparent survival and movement in these sections 3 months following Brown Trout removal. A cross between the German Rainbow Trout and Colorado River Rainbow Trout strains exhibited similar survival and movement probabilities in the reaches, suggesting that the presence of Brown Trout did not affect its survival or movement. However, a cross between the German Rainbow Trout and Harrison Lake Rainbow Trout exhibited less movement from the reach in which Brown Trout had been removed. Despite this, the overall short-term benefits of the removal were equivocal, suggesting that Brown Trout removal may not be beneficial for the reintroduction of Rainbow Trout. Additionally, the logistical constraints of conducting removals in large river systems are substantial and may not be a viable management option in many rivers.

  11. Short-term survival and mortality rates in a retrospective study of colic in 1588 Danish horses

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christophersen, Mogens Teken; Dupont, Nana Hee; Berg-Sørensen, Kristina S.

    2014-01-01

    Background: Outcomes of colic treatment are of great interest to clinicians, horse owners and insurers. One commonly used criterion of success is the overall short-term survival rate. This is used as to compare treatments and to measure quality of veterinary care, but may be biased by demographic...... the countries, which may bias the outcomes. This study indicates that qualitative interview studies on owners ’ attitudes towards animal suffering and euthanasia need to be conducted. Our opinion is that survival rates are not valid as sole indicators of quality of care in colic treatment due to selection bias...

  12. Sequential Vein Bypass Grafting is Not Associated with an Increase of Either In-hospital or Mid-term Adverse Events in Off-pump Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fucheng Xiao

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: The impact of sequential vein bypass grafting on clinical outcomes is less known in off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG. We aimed to evaluate the effects of sequential vein bypass grafting on clinical outcomes in off-pump CABG. Methods: From October 2009 to September 2013 at the Fuwai Hospital, 127 patients with at least one sequential venous graft were matched with 127 patients of individual venous grafts only, using propensity score matching method to obtain risk-adjusted outcome comparison. In-hospital measurement was composite outcome of in-hospital death, myocardial infarction (MI, stroke, requirement for intra-aortic ballon pump (IABP assistance and prolonged ventilation. Major adverse cardiac events (MACEs: Death, MI or repeat revascularization and angina recurrence were considered as mid-term endpoints. Results: No significant difference was observed among the groups in baseline characteristics. Intraoperative mean blood flow per vein graft was 40.4 ml in individual venous grafts groups versus 59.5 ml in sequential venous grafts groups (P < 0.001. There were no differences between individual and sequential venous grafts groups with regard to composite outcome of in-hospital mortality, MI, stroke, IABP assistance and prolonged ventilation (11.0% vs. 14.2%, P = 0.45. Individual in-hospital measurement also did not differ significantly between the two groups. At about four years follow-up, the survival estimates free from MACEs (92.5% vs. 97.3%, P = 0.36 and survival rates free of angina recurrence (80.9% vs. 85.5%, P = 0.48 were similar among individual and sequential venous grafts groups with a mean follow-up of 22.5 months. In the Cox regression analysis, sequential vein bypass grafting was not identified as an independent predictor of both MACEs and angina recurrence. Conclusions: Compared to individual vein bypass grafting, sequential vein bypass grafting was not associated with an increase of either in

  13. Hybrid Repair of Complex Thoracic Aortic Arch Pathology: Long-Term Outcomes of Extra-anatomic Bypass Grafting of the Supra-aortic Trunk

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lotfi, S., E-mail: shamim.lotfi@kcl.ac.uk; Clough, R. E.; Ali, T. [Guy' s and St. Thomas' NHS Trust, Vascular Surgery (United Kingdom); Salter, R. [Guy' s and St. Thomas' NHS Trust, Interventional Radiology (United Kingdom); Young, C. P. [Guy' s and St. Thomas' NHS Trust, Cardiac Surgery (United Kingdom); Bell, R.; Modarai, B.; Taylor, P., E-mail: peter.taylor@gstt.nhs.uk [Guy' s and St. Thomas' NHS Trust, Vascular Surgery (United Kingdom)

    2013-02-15

    Hybrid repair constitutes supra-aortic debranching before thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR). It offers improved short-term outcome compared with open surgery; however, longer-term studies are required to assess patient outcomes and patency of the extra-anatomic bypass grafts. A prospectively maintained database of 380 elective and urgent patients who had undergone TEVAR (1997-2011) was analyzed retrospectively. Fifty-one patients (34 males; 17 females) underwent hybrid repair. Median age was 71 (range, 18-90) years with mean follow-up of 15 (range, 0-61) months. Perioperative complications included death: 10 % (5/51), stroke: 12 % (6/51), paraplegia: 6 % (3/51), endoleak: 16 % (8/51), rupture: 4 % (2/51), upper-limb ischemia: 2 % (1/51), bypass graft occlusion: 4 % (2/51), and cardiopulmonary complications in 14 % (7/51). Three patients (6 %) required emergency intervention for retrograde dissection: (2 aortic root repairs; 2 innominate stents). Early reintervention was performed for type 1 endoleak in two patients (2 proximal cuff extensions). One patient underwent innominate stenting and revision of their bypass for symptomatic restenosis. At 48 months, survival was 73 %. Endoleak was detected in three (6 %) patients (type 1 = 2; type 2 = 1) requiring debranching with proximal stent graft (n = 2) and proximal extension cuff (n = 1). One patient had a fatal rupture of a mycotic aneurysm and two arch aneurysms expanded. No bypass graft occluded after the perioperative period. Hybrid operations to treat aortic arch disease can be performed with results comparable to open surgery. The longer-term outcomes demonstrate low rates of reintervention and high rates of graft patency.

  14. Hybrid Repair of Complex Thoracic Aortic Arch Pathology: Long-Term Outcomes of Extra-anatomic Bypass Grafting of the Supra-aortic Trunk

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lotfi, S.; Clough, R. E.; Ali, T.; Salter, R.; Young, C. P.; Bell, R.; Modarai, B.; Taylor, P.

    2013-01-01

    Hybrid repair constitutes supra-aortic debranching before thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR). It offers improved short-term outcome compared with open surgery; however, longer-term studies are required to assess patient outcomes and patency of the extra-anatomic bypass grafts. A prospectively maintained database of 380 elective and urgent patients who had undergone TEVAR (1997–2011) was analyzed retrospectively. Fifty-one patients (34 males; 17 females) underwent hybrid repair. Median age was 71 (range, 18–90) years with mean follow-up of 15 (range, 0–61) months. Perioperative complications included death: 10 % (5/51), stroke: 12 % (6/51), paraplegia: 6 % (3/51), endoleak: 16 % (8/51), rupture: 4 % (2/51), upper-limb ischemia: 2 % (1/51), bypass graft occlusion: 4 % (2/51), and cardiopulmonary complications in 14 % (7/51). Three patients (6 %) required emergency intervention for retrograde dissection: (2 aortic root repairs; 2 innominate stents). Early reintervention was performed for type 1 endoleak in two patients (2 proximal cuff extensions). One patient underwent innominate stenting and revision of their bypass for symptomatic restenosis. At 48 months, survival was 73 %. Endoleak was detected in three (6 %) patients (type 1 = 2; type 2 = 1) requiring debranching with proximal stent graft (n = 2) and proximal extension cuff (n = 1). One patient had a fatal rupture of a mycotic aneurysm and two arch aneurysms expanded. No bypass graft occluded after the perioperative period. Hybrid operations to treat aortic arch disease can be performed with results comparable to open surgery. The longer-term outcomes demonstrate low rates of reintervention and high rates of graft patency.

  15. EASEPort NPWT System to Enhance Skin Graft Survival--A Simple Assembly.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prasetyono, Theddeus O H; Rini, Irena Sakura; Wibisono, Cindy

    2015-03-01

    Skin graft has been known to be prone to failure. This study was aimed to make a simplification of the negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT), which follows EASEPort (effective, affordable, safe, easily handled, and portable) concept to support the take of skin graft. The design of the EASEPort-NPWT was then made and technically verified. Thereafter, an animal experimental study comparing the EASEPort-NPWT to the classic tie-over technique on skin graft over exudative wound was conducted. The EASEPort-NPWT was verified to be able to yield and sustain the subatmospheric pressure needed. In the animal study, the treatment group showed better skin graft survival rate (97.55 ± 11.18% take) than the control group (54.88 ± 19.73%) on day-7. Histopathology examination showed good quality of the skin structures taken from the treatment group, which was better than the structures of the skin in the control group. In summary, this study has been able to fulfill its objective to create a device following EASEPort concept. Subsequently, the EASEPort-NPWT was able to enhance skin graft survival rate in exudative wound.

  16. Impact of age, gender and race on patient and graft survival ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    age, race and gender, on the outcome of renal transplantation. Most reports ... Gender does not influence graft survival, but females do have a higher overall mortality rate following renal transplantation at our centre. S Afr Med 2003; 93: 689-695. have a suitable living ..... analysis of its role in graft outcome. Transplantation ...

  17. Methodology to predict long-term cancer survival from short-term data using Tobacco Cancer Risk and Absolute Cancer Cure models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mould, R F; Lederman, M; Tai, P; Wong, J K M

    2002-01-01

    Three parametric statistical models have been fully validated for cancer of the larynx for the prediction of long-term 15, 20 and 25 year cancer-specific survival fractions when short-term follow-up data was available for just 1-2 years after the end of treatment of the last patient. In all groups of cases the treatment period was only 5 years. Three disease stage groups were studied, T1N0, T2N0 and T3N0. The models are the Standard Lognormal (SLN) first proposed by Boag (1949 J. R. Stat. Soc. Series B 11 15-53) but only ever fully validated for cancer of the cervix, Mould and Boag (1975 Br. J. Cancer 32 529-50), and two new models which have been termed Tobacco Cancer Risk (TCR) and Absolute Cancer Cure (ACC). In each, the frequency distribution of survival times of defined groups of cancer deaths is lognormally distributed: larynx only (SLN), larynx and lung (TCR) and all cancers (ACC). All models each have three unknown parameters but it was possible to estimate a value for the lognormal parameter S a priori. By reduction to two unknown parameters the model stability has been improved. The material used to validate the methodology consisted of case histories of 965 patients, all treated during the period 1944-1968 by Dr Manuel Lederman of the Royal Marsden Hospital, London, with follow-up to 1988. This provided a follow-up range of 20- 44 years and enabled predicted long-term survival fractions to be compared with the actual survival fractions, calculated by the Kaplan and Meier (1958 J. Am. Stat. Assoc. 53 457-82) method. The TCR and ACC models are better than the SLN model and for a maximum short-term follow-up of 6 years, the 20 and 25 year survival fractions could be predicted. Therefore the numbers of follow-up years saved are respectively 14 years and 19 years. Clinical trial results using the TCR and ACC models can thus be analysed much earlier than currently possible. Absolute cure from cancer was also studied, using not only the prediction models which

  18. Intrastriatal Grafting of Chromospheres: Survival and Functional Effects in the 6-OHDA Rat Model of Parkinson's Disease.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alejandra Boronat-García

    Full Text Available Cell replacement therapy in Parkinson's disease (PD aims at re-establishing dopamine neurotransmission in the striatum by grafting dopamine-releasing cells. Chromaffin cell (CC grafts produce some transitory improvements of functional motor deficits in PD animal models, and have the advantage of allowing autologous transplantation. However, CC grafts have exhibited low survival, poor functional effects and dopamine release compared to other cell types. Recently, chromaffin progenitor-like cells were isolated from bovine and human adult adrenal medulla. Under low-attachment conditions, these cells aggregate and grow as spheres, named chromospheres. Here, we found that bovine-derived chromosphere-cell cultures exhibit a greater fraction of cells with a dopaminergic phenotype and higher dopamine release than CC. Chromospheres grafted in a rat model of PD survived in 57% of the total grafted animals. Behavioral tests showed that surviving chromosphere cells induce a reduction in motor alterations for at least 3 months after grafting. Finally, we found that compared with CC, chromosphere grafts survive more and produce more robust and consistent motor improvements. However, further experiments would be necessary to determine whether the functional benefits induced by chromosphere grafts can be improved, and also to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the functional effects of the grafts.

  19. Short-Term and Long-Term Survival and Virulence of Legionella pneumophila in the Defined Freshwater Medium Fraquil.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nilmini Mendis

    Full Text Available Legionella pneumophila (Lp is the etiological agent responsible for Legionnaires' disease, a potentially fatal pulmonary infection. Lp lives and multiplies inside protozoa in a variety of natural and man-made water systems prior to human infection. Fraquil, a defined freshwater medium, was used as a highly reproducible medium to study the behaviour of Lp in water. Adopting a reductionist approach, Fraquil was used to study the impact of temperature, pH and trace metal levels on the survival and subsequent intracellular multiplication of Lp in Acanthamoeba castellanii, a freshwater protozoan and a natural host of Legionella. We show that temperature has a significant impact on the short- and long-term survival of Lp, but that the bacterium retains intracellular multiplication potential for over six months in Fraquil. Moreover, incubation in Fraquil at pH 4.0 resulted in a rapid decline in colony forming units, but was not detrimental to intracellular multiplication. In contrast, variations in trace metal concentrations had no impact on either survival or intracellular multiplication in amoeba. Our data show that Lp is a resilient bacterium in the water environment, remaining infectious to host cells after six months under the nutrient-deprived conditions of Fraquil.

  20. Survival of dental implants in native and grafted bone in irradiated head and neck cancer patients: a retrospective analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buddula, Aravind; Assad, Daniel A; Salinas, Thomas J; Garces, Yolanda I

    2011-01-01

    To study the long-term survival of dental implants placed in native or grafted bone in irradiated bone in subjects who had received radiation for head and neck cancer. A retrospective chart review was conducted for all patients who received dental implants following radiation treatment for head and neck cancer between May 1, 1987 and July 1, 2008. Only patients irradiated with a radiation dose of 50 Gy or greater and those who received dental implants in the irradiated field after head and neck radiation were included in the study. The associations between implant survival and patient/implant characteristics were estimated by fitting univariate marginal Cox proportional hazards models. A total of 48 patients who had prior head and neck radiation had 271 dental implants placed during May 1987-July 2008. There was no statistically significant difference between implant failure in native and grafted bone (P=0.76). Survival of implants in grafted bone was 82.3% and 98.1% in maxilla and mandible, respectively, after 3 years. Survival of implants in native bone in maxilla and mandible was 79.8% and 100%, respectively, after 3 years. For implants placed in the native bone, there was a higher likelihood of failure in the maxilla compared to the mandible and there was also a tendency for implants placed in the posterior region to fail compared to those placed in the anterior region. There was no significant difference in survival when implants were placed in native or grafted bone in irradiated head and neck cancer patients. For implants placed in native bone, survival was significantly influenced by the location of the implant (maxilla or mandible, anterior or posterior).

  1. Radiomic features from the peritumoral brain parenchyma on treatment-naive multi-parametric MR imaging predict long versus short-term survival in glioblastoma multiforme: Preliminary findings

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Prasanna, Prateek; Patel, Jay; Madabhushi, Anant; Tiwari, Pallavi [Case Western Reserve University, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Cleveland, OH (United States); Partovi, Sasan [University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Case Western Reserve School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH (United States)

    2017-10-15

    Despite 90 % of glioblastoma (GBM) recurrences occurring in the peritumoral brain zone (PBZ), its contribution in patient survival is poorly understood. The current study leverages computerized texture (i.e. radiomic) analysis to evaluate the efficacy of PBZ features from pre-operative MRI in predicting long- (>18 months) versus short-term (<7 months) survival in GBM. Sixty-five patient examinations (29 short-term, 36 long-term) with gadolinium-contrast T{sub 1w}, FLAIR and T{sub 2w} sequences from the Cancer Imaging Archive were employed. An expert manually segmented each study as: enhancing lesion, PBZ and tumour necrosis. 402 radiomic features (capturing co-occurrence, grey-level dependence and directional gradients) were obtained for each region. Evaluation was performed using threefold cross-validation, such that a subset of studies was used to select the most predictive features, and the remaining subset was used to evaluate their efficacy in predicting survival. A subset of ten radiomic 'peritumoral' MRI features, suggestive of intensity heterogeneity and textural patterns, was found to be predictive of survival (p = 1.47 x 10{sup -5}) as compared to features from enhancing tumour, necrotic regions and known clinical factors. Our preliminary analysis suggests that radiomic features from the PBZ on routine pre-operative MRI may be predictive of long- versus short-term survival in GBM. (orig.)

  2. Prolonged Delayed Graft Function Is Associated with Inferior Patient and Kidney Allograft Survivals.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tainá Veras de Sandes-Freitas

    Full Text Available It is unclear if there is an association between the duration of delayed graft function (DGF and kidney transplant (KT outcomes. This study investigated the impact of prolonged DGF on patient and graft survivals, and renal function one year after KT. This single center retrospective analysis included all deceased donor KT performed between Jan/1998 and Dec/2008 (n = 1412. Patients were grouped in quartiles according to duration of DGF (1-5, 6-10, 11-15, and >15 days, designated as prolonged DGF. The overall incidence of DGF was 54.2%. Prolonged DGF was associated with retransplantation (OR 2.110, CI95% 1.064-4.184,p = 0.033 and more than 3 HLA mismatches (OR 1.819, CI95% 1.117-2.962,p = 0.016. The incidence of acute rejection was higher in patients with DGF compared with those without DGF (36.2% vs. 12.2%, p<0.001. Compared to patients without DGF, DGF(1-5, DGF(6-10, and DGF(11-15, patients with prolonged DGF showed inferior one year patient survival (95.2% vs. 95.4% vs. 95.5% vs. 93.4% vs. 88.86%, p = 0.003, graft survival (91% vs. 91.4% vs. 92% vs. 88.7% vs. 70.5%, p<0.001, death-censored graft survival (95.7% vs. 95.4% vs. 96.4% vs. 94% vs. 79.3%, p<0.001, and creatinine clearance (58.0±24.6 vs. 55.8±22.2 vs. 53.8±24.1 vs. 53.0±27.2 vs. 36.8±27.0 mL/min, p<0.001, respectively. Multivariable analysis showed that prolonged DGF was an independent risk factor for graft loss (OR 3.876, CI95% 2.270-6.618, p<0.001, death censored graft loss (OR 4.103, CI95% 2.055-8.193, p<0.001, and death (OR 3.065, CI95% 1.536-6.117, p = 0.001. Prolonged DGF, determined by retransplantation and higher HLA mismatches, was associated with inferior renal function, and patient and graft survivals at one year.

  3. Fluorescence spectroscopy for assessment of liver transplantation grafts concerning graft viability and patient survival

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vollet Filho, José D.; da Silveira, Marina R.; Castro-e-Silva, Orlando; Bagnato, Vanderlei S.; Kurachi, Cristina

    2015-06-01

    Evaluating transplantation grafts at harvest is essential for its success. Laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy (LIFS) can help monitoring changes in metabolic/structural conditions of tissue during transplantation. The aim of the present study is to correlate LIFSobtained spectra of human hepatic grafts during liver transplantation with post-operative patients' mortality rate and biochemical parameters, establishing a method to exclude nonviable grafts before implantation. Orthotopic liver transplantation, piggyback technique was performed in 15 patients. LIFS was performed under 408nm excitation. Collection was performed immediately after opening donor's abdominal cavity, after cold perfusion, end of back-table period, and 5 min and 1 h after warm perfusion at recipient. Fluorescence information was compared to lactate, creatinine, bilirubin and INR levels and to survival status. LIFS was sensitive to liver changes during transplantation stages. Study-in-progress; initial results indicate correlation between fluorescence and life/death status of patients.

  4. The Effect of Platelet-Rich Plasma on Survival of the Composite Graft and the Proper Time of Injection in a Rabbit Ear Composite Graft Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hyun Nam Choi

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available BackgroundAdministration of growth factors has been associated with increased viability of composite grafts greater than 1-cm in diameter. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP contains many of the growth factors studied. In this study, we evaluate the effect of PRP injection on composite graft viability and the proper time for injection.MethodsA total of 24 New Zealand White rabbits were divided into four groups. Autologous PRP was injected into the recipient sites three days before grafting in group 1, on the day of grafting in group 2, and three days after grafting in group 3. Group 4 served as control without PRP administration. Auricular composite grafts of 3-cm diameter were harvested and grafted back into place after being rotated 180 degrees. Median graft viability and microvessel density were evaluated at day 21 of graft via macroscopic photographs and immunofluorescent staining, respectively.ResultsThe median graft survival rate was 97.8% in group 1, 69.2% in group 2, 55.7% in group 3, and 40.8% in the control group. The median vessel counts were 34 (per ×200 HPF in group 1, 24.5 in group 2, 19.5 in group 3, and 10.5 in the control group.ConclusionsThis study demonstrates that PRP administration is associated with increased composite graft viability. All experimental groups showed a significantly higher survival rate and microvessel density, compared with the control group. Pre-administration of PRP was followed by the highest graft survival rate and revascularization. PRP treatments are minimally invasive, fast, easily applicable, and inexpensive, and offer a potential clinical pathway to larger composite grafts.

  5. Effects of Human Adipose-Derived Stem Cells on the Survival of Rabbit Ear Composite Grafts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chae Min Kim

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Background Composite grafts are frequently used for facial reconstruction. However, the unpredictability of the results and difficulties with large defects are disadvantages. Adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs express several cytokines, and increase the survival of random flaps and fat grafts owing to their angiogenic potential. Methods This study investigated composite graft survival after ADSC injection. Circular chondrocutaneous composite tissues, 2 cm in diameter, from 15 New Zealand white rabbits were used. Thirty ears were randomly divided into 3 groups. In the experimental groups (1 and 2, ADSCs were subcutaneously injected 7 days and immediately before the operation, respectively. Similarly, phosphate-buffered saline was injected in the control group just before surgery in the same manner as in group 2. In all groups, chondrocutaneous composite tissue was elevated, rotated 90 degrees, and repaired in its original position. Skin flow was assessed using laser Doppler 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 days after surgery. At 1 and 12 days after surgery, the viable area was assessed using digital photography; the rabbits were euthanized, and immunohistochemical staining for CD31 was performed to assess neovascularization. Results The survival of composite grafts increased significantly with the injection of ADSCs (P<0.05. ADSC injection significantly improved neovascularization based on anti-CD31 immunohistochemical analysis and vascular endothelial growth factor expression (P<0.05 in both group 1 and group 2 compared to the control group. No statistically significant differences in graft survival, anti-CD31 neovascularization, or microcirculation were found between groups 1 and 2. Conclusions Treatment with ADSCs improved the composite graft survival, as confirmed by the survival area and histological evaluation. The differences according to the injection timing were not significant.

  6. Short-term cessation of sex work and injection drug use: evidence from a recurrent event survival analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gaines, Tommi L; Urada, Lianne A; Martinez, Gustavo; Goldenberg, Shira M; Rangel, Gudelia; Reed, Elizabeth; Patterson, Thomas L; Strathdee, Steffanie A

    2015-06-01

    This study quantitatively examined the prevalence and correlates of short-term sex work cessation among female sex workers who inject drugs (FSW-IDUs) and determined whether injection drug use was independently associated with cessation. We used data from FSW-IDUs (n=467) enrolled into an intervention designed to increase condom use and decrease sharing of injection equipment but was not designed to promote sex work cessation. We applied a survival analysis that accounted for quit-re-entry patterns of sex work over 1-year stratified by city, Tijuana and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Overall, 55% of participants stopped sex work at least once during follow-up. Controlling for other characteristics and intervention assignment, injection drug use was inversely associated with short-term sex work cessation in both cities. In Ciudad Juarez, women receiving drug treatment during follow-up had a 2-fold increase in the hazard of stopping sex work. In both cities, income from sources other than sex work, police interactions and healthcare access were independently and significantly associated with shorter-term cessation. Short-term sex work cessation was significantly affected by injection drug use. Expanded drug treatment and counseling coupled with supportive services such as relapse prevention, job training, and provision of alternate employment opportunities may promote longer-term cessation among women motivated to leave the sex industry. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Survival of dental implants in native and grafted bone in irradiated head and neck cancer patients: A retrospective analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aravind Buddula

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Aim: To study the long-term survival of dental implants placed in native or grafted bone in irradiated bone in subjects who had received radiation for head and neck cancer. Materials and Methods: A retrospective chart review was conducted for all patients who received dental implants following radiation treatment for head and neck cancer between May 1, 1987 and July 1, 2008. Only patients irradiated with a radiation dose of 50 Gy or greater and those who received dental implants in the irradiated field after head and neck radiation were included in the study. The associations between implant survival and patient/implant characteristics were estimated by fitting univariate marginal Cox proportional hazards models. Results: A total of 48 patients who had prior head and neck radiation had 271 dental implants placed during May 1987-July 2008. There was no statistically significant difference between implant failure in native and grafted bone (P=0.76. Survival of implants in grafted bone was 82.3% and 98.1% in maxilla and mandible, respectively, after 3 years. Survival of implants in native bone in maxilla and mandible was 79.8% and 100%, respectively, after 3 years. For implants placed in the native bone, there was a higher likelihood of failure in the maxilla compared to the mandible and there was also a tendency for implants placed in the posterior region to fail compared to those placed in the anterior region. Conclusion: There was no significant difference in survival when implants were placed in native or grafted bone in irradiated head and neck cancer patients. For implants placed in native bone, survival was significantly influenced by the location of the implant (maxilla or mandible, anterior or posterior.

  8. Effect of initial lactate level on short-term survival in patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tuba Sarıaydın, MD

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: This study evaluated whether serum lactate levels (SLL at admission in patients with cardiac arrest (CA can predict successful return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC or short-term survival, especially within the first 24 h. Materials and methods: This prospective, observational study was conducted in the emergency department (ED of a training and research hospital from April 2015 through February 2016. It included all patients older than 18 years who presented to the ED during the study period with non-traumatic out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA. The study measured two outcomes: whether ROSC was achieved and whether short-term survival was achieved. ROSC was defined as the presence of spontaneous circulation for the first hour after cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR. Survival was defined as having survived for a minimum of 24 h after ROSC. Results: The study included 140 patients who were admitted to the ED with OHCA. ROSC was achieved in 55 patients (39.3%, and survival for 24 h following CA was achieved in 42 patients (30%. The mean SLL in the ROSC (+ and ROSC (- groups were 9.1 ± 3.2 mmol/L and 9.8 ± 2.9 mmol/L, respectively. The mean SLL in the survivor and non-survivor groups were 8.6 ± 2.9 mmol/L and 10 ± 3.1 mmol/L, respectively. These differences were not statistically significant (p = 0.1. A multivariate regression model assessing the factors that predicted both ROSC and 24-h survival showed the odds ratio (OR of initial SLL was 1.3 (95% CI: 1.05–1.6 and 1.1 (95% CI: 0.9–1.3, respectively. Conclusions: This study showed that in OHCA patients, SLL on admission was not associated with increased ROSC achievement or 24-h survival. Keywords: Cardiac arrest, Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA, Return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC, Serum lactate, Emergency department

  9. Survival of Dental Implants Placed in Grafted and Nongrafted Bone: A Retrospective Study in a University Setting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tran, Duong T; Gay, Isabel C; Diaz-Rodriguez, Janice; Parthasarathy, Kavitha; Weltman, Robin; Friedman, Lawrence

    2016-01-01

    To compare dental implant survival rates when placed in native bone and grafted sites. Additionally, risk factors associated with dental implant loss were identified. This study was based on the hypothesis that bone grafting has no effect on implant survival rates. A retrospective chart review was conducted for patients receiving dental implants at the University of Texas, School of Dentistry from 1985 to 2012. Exclusion criteria included patients with genetic diseases, radiation and chemotherapy, or an age less than 18 years. To avoid misclassification bias, implants were excluded if bone grafts were only done at the same time of placement. Data on age, sex, tobacco use, diabetes, osteoporosis, anatomical location of the implant, implant length and width, bone graft, and professional maintenance were collected for analysis. A total of 1,222 patients with 2,729 implants were included. The cumulative survival rates at 5 and 10 years were 92% and 87% for implants placed in native bone and 90% and 79% for implants placed in grafted bone, respectively. The results from multivariate analysis (Cox regression) indicated no significant difference in survival between the two groups; having maintenance therapy after implant placement reduced the failure rate by 80% (P dental implant survival rate when implants were placed in native bone or bone-grafted sites. Smoking and lack of professional maintenance were significantly related to increased implant loss.

  10. Mid-term Outcome of 100 Consecutive Ross Procedures: Excellent Survival, But Yet to Be a Cure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zimmermann, Corina; Attenhofer Jost, Christine; Prêtre, René; Mueller, Christoph; Greutmann, Matthias; Seifert, Burkhardt; Valsangiacomo Büchel, Emanuela; Kretschmar, Oliver; Dave, Hitendu Hasmukhlal; Weber, Roland

    2018-03-01

    The Ross procedure offers excellent short-term outcome but the long-term durability is under debate. Reinterventions and follow-up of 100 consecutive patients undergoing Ross Procedure at our centre (1993-2011) were analysed. Follow-up was available for 96 patients (97%) with a median duration of 5.3 (0.1-17.1) years. Median age of the patient cohort was 15.2 (0.04-58.4) years with 76 males. 93% had underlying congenital aortic stenosis. Root replacement technique was applied in all. The most common valved conduits used for reconstruction of the right ventricular outflow tract were homografts (66 patients) and bovine jugular vein (Contegra R ) graft (31 patients). Additional procedures included Ross-Konno procedure (14%), resection of subaortic stenosis/myectomy (11%) and reduction plasty of the ascending aorta (25%). One patient died within the first 30 days (1%). Late deaths occurred in 4 patients (4%) 0.5-4.5 years postoperatively: causes included pulmonary hypertension due to endocardial fibroelastosis (2), subarachnoid haemorrhage (1) and sudden cardiac death (1). Five-year survival was 93.6 (95% CI 88.1-99.1)%. Moderate or severe aortic (autograft) regurgitation needing reoperation occurred in 8 patients with a 5-year freedom from autograft reoperation of 98.5 (95.6-100)%. Five-year freedom from reintervention (surgery or catheter based) on the right ventricular outflow tract conduit was 91.5 (85.5-96.5)%. Univariate predictors of this reinterventions were smaller graft size (p = 0.03) and use of a Contegra R graft (p = 0.04). Ross procedure can be performed with low mortality and good survival in the long term. Most of the reinterventions are related to the neo-right ventricular outflow tract and may be partly attributed to the lack of growth. While the Ross Procedure remains an invaluable option for aortic valve disease in children, new solutions for the neo-pulmonary valve as well as for the less often occurring problems on the autograft are

  11. Hepatocyte growth factor promotes long-term survival and axonal regeneration of retinal ganglion cells after optic nerve injury: comparison with CNTF and BDNF.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wong, Wai-Kai; Cheung, Anny Wan-Suen; Yu, Sau-Wai; Sha, Ou; Cho, Eric Yu Pang

    2014-10-01

    Different trophic factors are known to promote retinal ganglion cell survival and regeneration, but each had their own limitations. We report that hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) confers distinct advantages in supporting ganglion cell survival and axonal regeneration, when compared to two well-established trophic factors ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Ganglion cells in adult hamster were injured by cutting the optic nerve. HGF, CNTF, or BDNF was injected at different dosages intravitreally after injury. Ganglion cell survival was quantified at 7, 14, or 28 days postinjury. Peripheral nerve (PN) grafting to the cut optic nerve of the growth factor-injected eye was performed either immediately after injury or delayed until 7 days post-injury. Expression of heat-shock protein 27 and changes in microglia numbers were quantified in different growth factor groups. The cellular distribution of c-Met in the retina was examined by anti-c-Met immunostaining. Hepatocyte Growth Factor (HGF) was equally potent as BDNF in promoting short-term survival (up to 14 days post-injury) and also supported survival at 28 days post-injury when ganglion cells treated by CNTF or BDNF failed to be sustained. When grafting was performed without delay, HGF stimulated twice the number of axons to regenerate compared with control but was less potent than CNTF. However, in PN grafting delayed for 7 days after optic nerve injury, HGF maintained a better propensity of ganglion cells to regenerate than CNTF. Unlike CNTF, HGF application did not increase HSP27 expression in ganglion cells. Microglia proliferation was prolonged in HGF-treated retinas compared with CNTF or BDNF. C-Met was localized to both ganglion cells and Muller cells, suggesting HGF could be neuroprotective via interacting with both neurons and glia. Compared with CNTF or BDNF, HGF is advantageous in sustaining long-term ganglion cell survival and their propensity to respond to

  12. Short-term supervised inpatient physiotherapy exercise protocol improves cardiac autonomic function after coronary artery bypass graft surgery--a randomised controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mendes, Renata Gonçalves; Simões, Rodrigo Polaquini; De Souza Melo Costa, Fernando; Pantoni, Camila Bianca Falasco; Di Thommazo, Luciana; Luzzi, Sérgio; Catai, Aparecida Maria; Arena, Ross; Borghi-Silva, Audrey

    2010-01-01

    Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is accompanied by severe impairment of cardiac autonomous regulation (CAR). This study aimed to determine whether a short-term physiotherapy exercise protocol post-CABG, during inpatient cardiac rehabilitation (CR), might improve CAR. Seventy-four patients eligible for CABG were recruited and randomised into physiotherapy exercise group (EG) or physiotherapy usual care group (UCG). EG patients underwent a short-term supervised inpatient physiotherapy exercise protocol consisting of an early mobilisation with progressive exercises plus usual care (respiratory exercises). UCG only received respiratory exercises. Forty-seven patients (24 EG and 23 UGC) completed the study. Outcome measures of CAR included linear and non-linear measures of heart rate variability (HRV) assessed before discharge. By hospital discharge, EG presented significantly higher parasympathetic HRV values [rMSSD, high frequency (HF), SD1)], global power (STD RR, SD2), non-linear HRV indexes [detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA)alpha1, DFAalpha2, approximate entropy (ApEn)] and mean RR compared to UCG (pexercise protocol during inpatient CR improves CAR at the time of discharge. Thus, exercise-based inpatient CR might be an effective non-pharmacological tool to improve autonomic cardiac tone in patient's post-CABG.

  13. The impact of hemoglobin levels on patient and graft survival in renal transplant recipients.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Moore, Jason

    2008-08-27

    It remains unclear whether low hemoglobin levels are associated with increased mortality or graft loss after renal transplantation. This study assessed the relationship of hemoglobin levels with patient and graft survival in 3859 patients with functioning renal transplants more than 6-months posttransplantation.

  14. Effects of combined radiation-burn injury on survival rate of allogeneic skin grafts and immune reaction in rats

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ran Xinze; Yan Yongtang; Cheng Tianmin; Li Yuan; Wei Shuqing

    1996-01-01

    The effects of combined radiation-burn injury on survival rate of allogeneic skin grafts and immune reaction were studied in rats with combined injury of 3-8 Gy 60 Co γ-ray irradiation plus 15% total body surface area full thickness burn induced by exposure to a 5 kw bromotungsten lamp. The allogeneic skin was transplanted 24 hours after injury. It was found that all the skin grafts failed to survive in 10 days and the immune reaction significantly increased in the early stage of burn injury. But the immune reaction was obviously suppressed by the combined radiation-burn injury. The survival rates of skin grafts were 20% and 30% in the combined injury of burn plus 3 and 4 Gy irradiation respectively. When the radiation doses increased to 5,6 and 8 Gy, the survival rates elevated to 69%, 88% and 100% respectively (in the group of 8 Gy, bone marrow transplantation was conducted before receiving skin graft). At day 30 post-transplantation the survival rates were still 36%, 42% and 100% respectively. Compared with burn group, there was a significant difference in survival rate when the radiation doses were higher than 5 Gy. These results indicate that the survival rate of the allogeneic skin graft increases concurrently with the increase in radiation dose and decreases with the elapse of the post-transplantation time

  15. Effect of Grafting Method, Graft Cover and Foliar Spray of some Mineral Elements on Persian Walnut Graft-take and Winter Survival Rate

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Reza Rezaee

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Persian walnut (Juglans regia L. is an important nut crop in Iran and many parts of the world. One of the major challenges of growing walnut is planting of non-grafted walnut trees in orchards, which leads to the reduction of yield, quality and productivity of walnut orchards. Compared to the other fruit trees, walnut grafting is difficult and even newly grafted walnut seedlings are vulnerable to fall or winter frost chilling, so that most of the seedlings are lost after subjecting to the cold winter. There are a few studies reporting successful grafting in outdoor conditions, however, final grafting take after winter has been usually ignored. Hence, increased walnut grafting success and improved tree growth after grafting through foliar nutrient application may lead to increased tolerance of chilling. Therefore, main goals of this research were to investigate the effect of some graft covers and role of foliar spray of calcium, boron and zinc on the reduction of frost damage in newly grafted seedlings under outdoor conditions. Materials and methods: This research was conducted at agricultural research station, Khoy city, west Azerbaijan province, during 2012-2014. In the first experiment, three methods of grafting including cleft, bark and V-shaped, and two kinds of graft covers including moist sawdust and superabsorbent plus cotton wool were investigated in terms of grafting success and quality of seedlings. In the second experiment, effect of the three above-mentioned grafting methods and two levels of foliar spray including sequential spray of Ca (4 ppm, B and Zn (2% (3 times during growth season and control (no spray were studied in terms of frost damage. The experiments conducted in factorial based on randomized complete block design with 10 trees in each plot. Data were collected 45 days after grafting take, final grafting take after one winter, subsequent scion growth length and diameter and concentration of Ca, B and Zn in

  16. Anti-inflammatory thalidomide improves islet grafts survival and functions in a xenogenic environment.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chunguang Chen

    Full Text Available Thalidomide possesses both anti-inflammatory and anti-angiogenic properties. This study investigates its potential application in islet transplantation with a xenogenic transplantation model. Transplantation was performed using C57Bl/6 mice and NMRI nu/nu mice as recipients of porcine islets. Moreover, islet graft vasculature and inflammation were investigated to identify the mechanisms of thalidomide action. In the immunocompetent environment of C57Bl/6 mice, a fast graft rejection was observed. The group treated with thalidomide 200 mg/kg BW per day achieved and maintained euglycemia in the complete observation period for 42 days. The treated mice had more functional islet graft mass with less leukocyte infiltration. The pro-inflammatory TNF-alpha and VEGF content in islet grafted kidneys was significantly lowered by the treatment. By comparison, thalidomide was not effective in improving graft survival in immunocompromised nude mice. It strongly inhibited the VEGF and TNF-alpha-induced endothelial proliferation of isolated pig islets in a dose dependent manner. The magnitude of thalidomide's inhibitory effect was nearly identical to the effect of VEGF- receptor 2 inhibitor SU416 and anti-TNF-receptor 1 neutralizing antibody, and was reversed by sphingosine-1-phosphate. In conclusion, the anti-inflammatory effect of thalidomide improved islet graft survival and function in a transplantation model with a maximum immune barrier.

  17. Survival results of postoperative coronary angiogram for treatment of perioperative myocardial ischaemia following coronary artery bypass grafting: a single-centre experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Preußer, Maximilian J; Landwehrt, Jan; Mastrobuoni, Stefano; Biancari, Fausto; Dakkak, Abdul R; Alshakaki, Mosab; Martens, Sven; Dell'Aquila, Angelo M

    2018-02-01

    Although perioperative myocardial ischaemia (PMI) is a well-known complication following coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), standard strategies for its diagnosis and treatment are so far not defined. In this study, we sought to evaluate the impact on survival of postoperative coronary angiogram for management of patients with PMI after CABG. Overall, 4028 patients underwent isolated CABG in a single-centre institution between January 2006 and September 2013. A total of 168 (4.2%) patients received postoperative coronary angiogram because of diagnosis of PMI. These patients were matched on the basis of gender, age at surgery and date of surgery, with 336 (1:2 ratio) CABG patients without PMI to determine the impact of the PMI management. A total of 476 grafts were examined (263 venous grafts, 196 internal mammary artery grafts and 17 radial artery grafts). Almost three-quarters of the 168 PMI (74.4%) patients underwent postoperative coronary angiogram within 24 h of surgery. Normal postoperative coronary angiogram, graft failure and new native vessels occlusion were observed in 23.2%, 52.4% and 24.4% of patients, respectively. A total of 30 (17.9%) patients underwent surgical revision of grafts, whereas 60 (35.7%) patients were treated with percutaneous coronary intervention. Eighteen (10.7%) PMI patients died during the hospital stay compared with 6 (1.8%) patients in the non-PMI group. Survival rates at 7 years were 62.5% in the PMI group and 81.1% in non-PMI group (P PMI (P 24 h after surgery) was an independent predictor of poorer mid-term survival (P = 0.008; hazard ratio 3.62, 95% confidence interval 1.41-9.33). PMI after CABG is associated with a significantly poorer survival. A prompt postoperative management must always be considered. Further prospective studies are required to confirm our results. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. All rights

  18. Low-dose ultraviolet-B irradiation of donor corneal endothelium and graft survival

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dana, M.R.; Olkowski, S.T.; Ahmadian, H.; Stark, W.J.; Young, E.M.

    1990-01-01

    Donor rabbit corneal endothelium was pretreated with different doses of ultraviolet (UV-B) irradiation (302 nm) before grafting to test whether allograft survival could be favorably affected in comparison with untreated corneas grafted into the same recipients. Endothelial rejection was observed in 19 of 32 (59%) eyes that received no treatment compared with five of 32 (16%) eyes that received UV-B (P less than 0.001), and increasing doses of UV-B were associated with lower rejection rates (P less than 0.05). Although exposure of donor endothelium significantly reduced endothelial rejection at all doses tested, it resulted in primary graft failure in a substantial proportion of corneas treated at high doses. Class II (Ia) antigen staining of corneal tissue was present in conjunction with clinical evidence of rejection, and the magnitude of staining correlated with the histologic extent of inflammation. Scanning electron microscopy revealed various endothelial cell surface irregularities and membrane defects in high-dose UV-treated corneas. Endothelial cell cultures exposed in vitro to UV-B light showed a dose-dependent loss in cell viability. These data suggest that UV-B pretreatment of donor corneal endothelium prolongs graft survival but that toxic side effects must be carefully controlled

  19. Comparison of graft survival following penetrating keratoplasty and Descemet's stripping endothelial keratoplasty in eyes with a glaucoma drainage device.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iverson, Shawn M; Spierer, Oriel; Papachristou, George C; Feuer, William J; Shi, Wei; Greenfield, David S; O'Brien, Terrence P

    2018-02-01

    To compare corneal graft survival rates after penetrating keratoplasty (PK) and Descemet's stripping endothelial keratoplasty (DSEK) in patients with a glaucoma drainage device (GDD) or medically managed glaucoma. A retrospective chart review was conducted on consecutive patients who underwent primary PK or primary DSEK. Inclusion criteria consisted of eyes with a diagnosis of glaucoma prior to corneal transplantation and a minimum of 6 months of follow-up. Graft failure was defined as an edematous cornea with failure to maintain deturgescence lasting beyond a period of 1 month of intense steroid therapy or vascularization and scarring resulting in irreversible loss of central graft clarity. Corneal graft survival was calculated using Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. Patients were divided into four groups: GDD-PK, GDD-DSEK, medical-PK and medical-DSEK. Fifty-six eyes of 56 patients were identified as meeting inclusion criteria. Among eyes with a GDD, there was no difference in the proportion of failures between PK grafts (48%) and DSEK grafts (50%) (p = 0.90). Failure occurred earlier in DSEK recipients compared to PK recipients, 5.82 ± 6.77 months versus 14.40 ± 7.70 months, respectively (p = 0.04). A Kaplan-Meier analysis did not identify a difference between the four groups with respect to graft failure (p = 0.52). There is no significant difference in graft survival rates between medically and surgically treated glaucoma patients for either PK or DSEK grafts. In patients with GDD, graft failure occurs earlier in DSEK compared to PK.

  20. Pancreas Transplant Venous Thrombosis: Role of Endovascular Interventions for Graft Salvage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stockland, Andrew H.; Willingham, Darrin L.; Paz-Fumagalli, Ricardo; Grewal, Hani P.; McKinney, J. Mark; Hughes, Christopher B.; Walser, Eric M.

    2009-01-01

    Venous thrombosis of pancreas transplant allografts often leads to graft loss. We evaluated the efficacy of emergent endovascular techniques to salvage thrombosed pancreatic allografts in a series of six patients. Of the 76 pancreas transplants performed between 2002 and 2006, six patients were diagnosed with venous thrombosis on MRI between 2 and 28 days posttransplant (mean, 9 days). Five patients were systemic-enteric (donor portal vein anastomosis to recipient iliac vein) and one patient was portal-enteric (donor portal vein anastomosis to recipient superior mesenteric vein). Conventional venography confirmed the diagnosis of venous thrombosis in all patients. One patient was treated with catheter-directed venous thrombolysis and balloon thrombectomy. Another patient was treated with rheolytic thrombectomy alone. The remaining four patients were treated with a combination of these mechanical and thrombolytic techniques. Completion venography revealed >50% clot reduction and resumption of venous drainage in all patients. One patient required additional intervention 16 days later for recurrent thrombosis. Two patients required metal stent placement for anastomotic stenoses or kinks. One patient required pancreatectomy 36 h after attempted salvage secondary to a major hemorrhage and graft necrosis. Two patients recovered pancreatic function initially but lost graft function at 8 and 14 months, respectively, from severe chronic rejection. Patient survival was 100%, long-term graft survival was 50%, rethrombosis rate was 16.6%, and graft loss from rejection was 33%. In conclusion, early recognition and treatment of venous thrombosis after pancreas transplantation has acceptable morbidity and no mortality using short-term endovascular pharmacomechanical therapy.

  1. FBLN4 as candidate gene associated with long-term and short-term survival with primary glioblastoma

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Li F

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Fubin Li,1,* Yiping Li,1,* Kewei Zhang,1,* Ye Li,1,* Ping He,1,* Yujia Liu,1,* Hongyan Yuan,2,* Honghua Lu,1,* Jinxiang Liu,1,* Songtian Che,3,* Zhenju Li,4,* Li Bie1,5 1Department of Neurosurgery of the First Clinical Hospital, 2Department of Immunology, Norman Bethune College of Medicine, 3Department of Neurosurgery of the Second Clinical Hospital, 4Department of Neurosurgery of the Fourth Clinical Hospital, Jilin University, Changchun, People’s Republic of China; 5Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California – Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA *These authors contributed equally to this work Background: Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM is the most common malignant and lethal type of primary central nervous system tumor in humans. In spite of its high lethality, a small percentage of patients have a relatively good prognosis, with median survival times of 36 months or longer. The identification of clinical subsets of GBM associated with distinct molecular genetic profiles has made it possible to design therapies tailored to treat individual patients. Methods: We compared microarray data sets from long-term survivors (LTSs and short-term survivors (STSs to screen for prognostic biomarkers in GBM patients using the WebArrayDB platform. We focused on FBLN4, IGFBP-2, and CHI3L1, all members of a group of 10 of the most promising, differentially regulated gene candidates. Using formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded GBM samples, we corroborated the relationship between these genes and patient outcomes using methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR for MGMT methylation status and quantitative reverse transcription PCR for expression of these genes. Results: Expression levels of the mRNAs of these 3 genes were higher in the GBM samples than in normal brain samples and these 3 genes were significantly upregulated in STSs compared to the levels in LTS samples (P<0.01. Furthermore, Kaplan–Meier analysis

  2. The use of short spreader grafts in rhinoplasty for patients with thick nasal skin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grigoryants, Vladimir; Baroni, Arpa

    2013-06-01

    Thick nasal skin presents a challenge in rhinoplasty. Conventional spreader grafts in patients with thick nasal skin may result in an undesirable widening of the lower half of the nose where the nasal skin is thick. The use of short spreader grafts was evaluated in patients with thick nasal skin. For this study, 32 patients underwent closed rhinoplasty in which short spreader grafts were used. The spreader graft was 1 to 2 cm long and extended only to the transition of thin and thick nasal skin. The patients were followed for more than 1 year postoperatively. Aesthetic improvement was observed in all the patients. Nasal airway patency was improved or maintained in 94 % of the patients. Short spreader grafts effectively restore or maintain the internal nasal valve area after dorsal hump reduction while allowing for more aggressive narrowing of the lower part of the nose where nasal skin is thick. This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .

  3. Neuro-peptide treatment with Cerebrolysin improves the survival of neural stem cell grafts in an APP transgenic model of Alzheimer disease

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Edward Rockenstein

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Neural stem cells (NSCs have been considered as potential therapy in Alzheimer's disease (AD but their use is hampered by the poor survival of grafted cells. Supply of neurotrophic factors to the grafted cells has been proposed as a way to augment survival of the stem cells. In this context, we investigated the utility of Cerebrolysin (CBL, a peptidergic mixture with neurotrophic-like properties, as an adjunct to stem cell therapy in an APP transgenic (tg model of AD. We grafted murine NSCs into the hippocampus of non-tg and APP tg that were treated systemically with CBL and analyzed after 1, 3, 6 and 9 months post grafting. Compared to vehicle-treated non-tg mice, in the vehicle-treated APP tg mice there was considerable reduction in the survival of the grafted NSCs. Whereas, CBL treatment enhanced the survival of NSCs in both non-tg and APP tg with the majority of the surviving NSCs remaining as neuroblasts. The NSCs of the CBL treated mice displayed reduced numbers of caspase-3 and TUNEL positive cells and increased brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF and furin immunoreactivity. These results suggest that CBL might protect grafted NSCs and as such be a potential adjuvant therapy when combined with grafting.

  4. HLA-A, -B, and -DR zero-mismatched kidneys shipped to the University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1993-2006: superior graft survival despite longer preservation time.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burlingham, William J; Muñoz del Rio, Alejandro; Lorentzen, David; Sollinger, Hans W; Pirsch, John D; Jankowska-Gan, Ewa; D'Alessandro, Anthony

    2010-08-15

    To determine the impact at a single center of the United Network for Organ Sharing-mandated sharing program for human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-A/-B/-DR 0-mismatched (0MM) kidneys, we analyzed the results of 264 kidney transplants from 0MM distant donors between 1993 and 2006, with a follow-up through January 31, 2007. We compared these results with that of concurrent kidneys transplanted from HLA more than 0MM local donors and with shipped more than 0MM kidneys from "payback" donors. Despite a significantly longer preservation time, we found an 11% increase in 8-year graft survival (63% vs. 52%; P0MM donor kidneys. Graft survival of 0MM shipped kidneys at 8 years was significantly better in nonsensitized (or=20% panel reactive antibodies) recipients, who showed an early (2 years) but short-lived benefit. The benefit of receiving a HLA-A, -B, and -DR 0MM shipped kidney remained strong and statistically significant (0.71 relative risk of graft loss vs. local; POrgan Sharing policy restricting mandated sharing of 0MM kidneys to sensitized and pediatric recipients will give greater flexibility to the local organ procurement organization in allocating organs. However, the survival benefit to nonsensitized patients is real and long lasting and will be lost.

  5. Renal graft survival according to Banff 2013 classification in indication biopsies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlos Arias-Cabrales

    2016-11-01

    Conclusions: The Banff 2013 classification facilitates a histological diagnosis in 95% of indication biopsies. While diagnostic category 6 is the most common, a change in the predominant histopathology was observed according to time elapsed since transplantation. Antibody-mediated changes are associated with worse graft survival.

  6. Graft survival rate of renal transplantation during a period of 10 years in Iran

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fatemeh Shahbazi

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Kidney transplantation is a preferred treatment for many patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD and is far more profitable than hemodialysis. Analyzing renal transplantation data can help to evaluate the effectiveness of transplantation interventions. The aim of this study was to determine the organ survival rate after kidney transplantation during a period of 10 years (March 2001-March 2011 among transplanted patients in Arak, Markazi Province, Iran. Materials and Methods: In this historical cohort study, all recipients of kidney transplantation from Arak, Markazi Province, Iran who had medical records in Valiasr Hospital and "charity for kidney patients" of Arak, Markazi Province, Iran during a period of 10 years from March 2001 to March 2011 were included. Data collected by using checklists were completed from patients′ hospital records. Kaplan-Meier method was used to determine the graft cumulative survival rate, log-rank test to compare survival curves in subgroups, and Cox regression model to define the hazard ratio and for ruling out the intervening factors. Statistical analysis was conducted by Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS 20 and Stata 11. Results: Mean duration of follow-up was 55.43 ± 42.02 months. By using the Kaplan-Meier method, the cumulative probability of graft survival at 1, 3, 5, 7, and 10 years was 99.1, 97.7, 94.3, 85.7, and 62.1%, respectively. The number of dialysis by controlling the effect of other variables had a significant association with the risk of graft failure [hazard ratios and 95% confidence interval (CI: 1.47 (1.02-2.13]. Conclusion: This study showed that the graft survival rate was satisfactory in this community and was similar to the results of single-center studies in the world. Dialysis time after transplantation was a significant predictor of survival in the recipients of kidney transplantation that should be considered.

  7. Low mannose-binding lectin serum levels are associated with reduced kidney graft survival

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bay, Jakob Thaning; Sørensen, Søren S; Hansen, Jesper M

    2013-01-01

    Activation of the complement system is initiated by the alternative, the classical, or the lectin pathway. As the complement system is involved in the pathophysiology of graft rejection after kidney transplantation, we investigated the possible role of mannose-binding lectin in kidney transplanta...... immunity in maintaining kidney graft survival, but these are probably overruled by HLA immunization.Kidney International advance online publication, 21 November 2012; doi:10.1038/ki.2012.373....

  8. The epidemiology of long- and short-term cancer survivors

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jarlbæk, Lene; Christensen, Linda; Bruera, Eduardo

    2014-01-01

    Introduction. In this study, we present data from a population-based cohort of incident cancer patients separated in long- and short-term survivors. Our aim was to procure denominators for use in the planning of rehabilitation and palliative care programs. Material and methods. A registry......-linkage cohort study. All cancer patients, diagnosed from 1993 to 2003 from a 470 000 large population, were followed individually from diagnosis to death or until 31 December 2008. Long-term survivors lived five years or more after the time of the cancer diagnosis (TOCD). Short-term survivors died less than...... and sex. Two-year crude cancer survival seems as a clinically relevant cut point for characterizing potential "denominators" for rehabilitation or palliative care programs. From this cohort of incident cancer patients, and using two-year survival as a cut point, it could be estimated that 54% would...

  9. Histopathological analysis of pre-implantation donor kidney biopsies: association with graft survival and function in one year post-transplantation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karla Lais Pêgas

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Pre-implantation kidney biopsy is a decision-making tool when considering the use of grafts from deceased donors with expanded criteria, implanting one or two kidneys and comparing this to post-transplantation biopsies. The role of histopathological alterations in kidney compartments as a prognostic factor in graft survival and function has had conflicting results. Objective: This study evaluated the prevalence of chronic alterations in pre-implant biopsies of kidney grafts and the association of findings with graft function and survival in one year post-transplant. Methods: 110 biopsies were analyzed between 2006 and 2009 at Santa Casa de Porto Alegre, including live donors, ideal deceased donors and those with expanded criteria. The score was computed according to criteria suggested by Remuzzi. The glomerular filtration rate (GFR was calculated using the abbreviated MDRD formula. Results: No statistical difference was found in the survival of donors stratified according to Remuzzi criteria. The GFR was significantly associated with the total scores in the groups with mild and moderate alterations, and in the kidney compartments alone, by univariate analysis. The multivariate model found an association with the presence of arteriosclerosis, glomerulosclerosis, acute rejection and delayed graft function. Conclusion: Pre-transplant chronic kidney alterations did not influence the post-transplantation one-year graft survival, but arteriosclerosis and glomerulosclerosis is predictive of a worse GFR. Delayed graft function and acute rejection are independent prognostic factors.

  10. [Long term effect of hepatitis B and C virus infection on the survival of kidney transplant patients].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Corrêa, José Roberto Missel; Rocha, Fabrício Domingos; Peres, Alessandro Afonso; Gonçalves, Luiz Felipe; Manfro, Roberto Ceratti

    2003-01-01

    To evaluate the impact of HCV (hepatitis C virus) and HBV (hepatitis B virus) infection on long-term graft and patient survival in renal transplantation. One hundred and nine kidney allograft recipients were evaluated regarding the presence of antibodies against HCV and hepatitis B surface antigen. Patients were divided into four groups according to their serologic status and followed for ten years for survival analysis. Age, gender, renal failure etiology, length of previous dialysis and post transplantation periods were evaluated. Length on dialysis time was significantly longer in the anti-HCV positive group. There was also a higher number of patients with re-transplants in the HBV and HCV groups. There were no significant differences in 10-year patient survival in the anti-HCV positive group (71.0%; relative risk: 1.13; CI: 0.86-1.47) and in the HBV infected group (77.8%; relative risk: 1.03; CI: 0.7-1.5) compared to the not infected group (80%). However, the group of patients infected with both viruses presented a significantly lower 10-year patient survival (37.5%; relative risk: 2.13; CI: 0.86-5.28) compared to the index group. There were no significant differences on graft survival among the groups. In the present study renal transplant patients infected concomitantly with HBV and HCV present a significantly lower long-term patient survival.

  11. The Impact of Timing and Graft Dysfunction on Survival and Cardiac Allograft Vasculopathy in Antibody Mediated Rejection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clerkin, Kevin J.; Restaino, Susan W.; Zorn, Emmanuel; Vasilescu, Elena R.; Marboe, Charles C.; Mancini, Donna M.

    2017-01-01

    Background Antibody mediated rejection (AMR) has been associated with increased mortality and cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV). Early studies suggested that late AMR was rarely associated with graft dysfunction while recent reports have demonstrated an association with increased mortality. We sought to investigate the timing of AMR and its association with graft dysfunction, mortality, and CAV. Methods This retrospective cohort study identified all adult heart transplant recipients at Columbia University Medical Center from 2004–2013 (689 patients). There were 68 primary cases of AMR, which were stratified by early (1-year post-OHT) AMR. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and modeling was performed with multivariable logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards regression. Results From January 1, 2004 through October 1, 2015 43 patients had early AMR (median 23 days post-OHT) and 25 had late AMR (median 1084 days post-OHT). Graft dysfunction was less common with early compared with late AMR (25.6% vs. 56%, p=0.01). Patients with late AMR had decreased post-AMR survival compared with early AMR (1-year 80% vs. 93%, 5-year 51% vs. 73%, p<0.05). When stratified by graft dysfunction, only those with late AMR and graft dysfunction had worse survival (30-day 79%, 1-year 64%, and 5-year 36%, p<0.006). The association remained irrespective of age, sex, DSA, LVAD use, reason for OHT, and recovery of graft function. Similarly, those with late AMR and graft dysfunction had accelerated development of de-novo CAV (50% at 1 year, HR 5.42, p=0.009), while all other groups were all similar to the general transplant population. Conclusion Late AMR is frequently associated with graft dysfunction. When graft dysfunction is present in late AMR there is an early and sustained increased risk of mortality and rapid development of de-novo CAV despite aggressive treatment. PMID:27423693

  12. Treatment with mPEG-SPA improves the survival of corneal grafts in rats by immune camouflage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Shuangyong; Li, Liangliang; Liu, Ying; Li, Chaoyang; Zhang, Min; Wang, Bowen; Huang, Zheqian; Gao, Xinbo; Wang, Zhichong

    2015-03-01

    We investigated the immune camouflage effects of methoxy polyethylene glycol succinimidyl propionate (mPEG-SPA) on corneal antigens and explored a novel approach for reducing corneal antigenicity, thereby decreasing corneal graft rejection. Importantly, this approach did not alter normal local immunity. Corneal grafts were treated with mPEG-SPA 5KD or 20KD (3% W/V), which could shield major histocompatibility antigen class I molecules (RT1-A) of corneal grafts. Skin grafts of Wistar rats were transplanted to SD rats. Then the splenic lymphocytes were isolated from SD rats. Subsequently, the lymphocytes were co-cultured with autologous corneal grafts or untreated corneal grafts and PEGylated grafts treated with mPEG-SPA 5KD or 20KD obtained from the counterpart skin donors, which were used as autologous control, allogeneic control, mPEG-SPA 5KD group and mPEG-SPA 20KD group, respectively. Lymphocyte proliferation was lower in mPEG-SPA 5KD group and mPEG-SPA 20KD group than in the allogeneic control. SD rats with corneal neovascularisation were used as recipients for high-risk corneal transplantation and were randomly divided into four groups: autologous control, allogeneic control, mPEG-SPA 5KD group and mPEG-SPA 20KD group. The recipients received corneal grafts from Wistar rats. Corneal graft survival was prolonged and graft rejection was reduced in the mPEG-SPA 5KD group and the mPEG-SPA 20KD group compared to the allogeneic control. Thus, we think that mPEG-SPA could immunologically camouflage corneal antigens to prolong corneal grafts survival in high-risk transplantation. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Prognostic Factors and Decision Tree for Long-term Survival in Metastatic Uveal Melanoma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lorenzo, Daniel; Ochoa, María; Piulats, Josep Maria; Gutiérrez, Cristina; Arias, Luis; Català, Jaum; Grau, María; Peñafiel, Judith; Cobos, Estefanía; Garcia-Bru, Pere; Rubio, Marcos Javier; Padrón-Pérez, Noel; Dias, Bruno; Pera, Joan; Caminal, Josep Maria

    2017-12-04

    The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the existence of a bimodal survival pattern in metastatic uveal melanoma. Secondary aims were to identify the characteristics and prognostic factors associated with long-term survival and to develop a clinical decision tree. The medical records of 99 metastatic uveal melanoma patients were retrospectively reviewed. Patients were classified as either short (≤ 12 months) or long-term survivors (> 12 months) based on a graphical interpretation of the survival curve after diagnosis of the first metastatic lesion. Ophthalmic and oncological characteristics were assessed in both groups. Of the 99 patients, 62 (62.6%) were classified as short-term survivors, and 37 (37.4%) as long-term survivors. The multivariate analysis identified the following predictors of long-term survival: age ≤ 65 years (p=0.012) and unaltered serum lactate dehydrogenase levels (p=0.018); additionally, the size (smaller vs. larger) of the largest liver metastasis showed a trend towards significance (p=0.063). Based on the variables significantly associated with long-term survival, we developed a decision tree to facilitate clinical decision-making. The findings of this study demonstrate the existence of a bimodal survival pattern in patients with metastatic uveal melanoma. The presence of certain clinical characteristics at diagnosis of distant disease is associated with long-term survival. A decision tree was developed to facilitate clinical decision-making and to counsel patients about the expected course of disease.

  14. Racial/ethnic and socioeconomic differences in short-term breast cancer survival among women in an integrated health system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keegan, Theresa H M; Kurian, Allison W; Gali, Kathleen; Tao, Li; Lichtensztajn, Daphne Y; Hershman, Dawn L; Habel, Laurel A; Caan, Bette J; Gomez, Scarlett L

    2015-05-01

    We examined the combined influence of race/ethnicity and neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES) on short-term survival among women with uniform access to health care and treatment. Using electronic medical records data from Kaiser Permanente Northern California linked to data from the California Cancer Registry, we included 6262 women newly diagnosed with invasive breast cancer. We analyzed survival using multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression with follow-up through 2010. After consideration of tumor stage, subtype, comorbidity, and type of treatment received, non-Hispanic White women living in low-SES neighborhoods (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.28; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.07, 1.52) and African Americans regardless of neighborhood SES (high SES: HR = 1.44; 95% CI = 1.01, 2.07; low SES: HR = 1.88; 95% CI = 1.42, 2.50) had worse overall survival than did non-Hispanic White women living in high-SES neighborhoods. Results were similar for breast cancer-specific survival, except that African Americans and non-Hispanic Whites living in high-SES neighborhoods had similar survival. Strategies to address the underlying factors that may influence treatment intensity and adherence, such as comorbidities and logistical barriers, should be targeted at low-SES non-Hispanic White and all African American patients.

  15. The evaluation of the bone graft survival status in titanium cervical ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    To find a better way to evaluate the bone graft survival status in cervical cages, forty-one patients suffering from one-level cervical spondylosis were enrolled in this study. All underwent anterior cervical decompression and fusion with titanium cage and plate. When followed up, another 21 patients were confirmed as ...

  16. ALK5 inhibition maintains islet endothelial cell survival but does not enhance islet graft revascularisation or function.

    Science.gov (United States)

    King, A J F; Clarkin, C E; Austin, A L F; Ajram, L; Dhunna, J K; Jamil, M O; Ditta, S I; Ibrahim, S; Raza, Z; Jones, P M

    2015-01-01

    Islet transplantation is a potential treatment for Type 1 diabetes but long term graft function is suboptimal. The rich supply of intraislet endothelial cells diminishes rapidly after islet isolation and culture, which affects the revascularisation rate of islets after transplantation. The ALK5 pathway inhibits endothelial cell proliferation and thus inhibiting ALK5 is a potential target for improving endothelial cell survival. The aim of the study was to establish whether ALK5 inhibition prevents the loss of intraislet endothelial cells during islet culture and thus improves the functional survival of transplanted islets by enhancing their subsequent revascularisation after implantation. Islets were cultured for 48 h in the absence or presence of 2 different ALK inhibitors: SB-431542 or A-83-01. Their vascular density after culture was analysed using immunohistochemistry. Islets pre-cultured with the ALK5 inhibitors were implanted into streptozotocin-diabetic mice for either 3 or 7 days and blood glucose concentrations were monitored and vascular densities of the grafts were analysed. Islets cultured with ALK5 inhibitors had higher vascular densities than control-cultured islets. Three days after implantation, endothelial cell numbers in islet grafts were minimal, irrespective of treatment during culture. Seven days after implantation, endothelial cells were evident within the islet grafts but there was no difference between control-cultured islets and islets pre-treated with an ALK5 inhibitor. Blood glucose concentrations were no different between the treatment groups. In conclusion, inhibition of ALK5 improved intraislet endothelial cell numbers after islet culture, but this effect was lost in the early post-transplantation period. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  17. Autologous fat graft as treatment of post short stature surgical correction scars.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maione, Luca; Memeo, Antonio; Pedretti, Leopoldo; Verdoni, Fabio; Lisa, Andrea; Bandi, Valeria; Giannasi, Silvia; Vinci, Valeriano; Mambretti, Andrea; Klinger, Marco

    2014-12-01

    Surgical limb lengthening is undertaken to correct pathological short stature. Among the possible complications related to this procedure, painful and retractile scars are a cause for both functional and cosmetic concern. Our team has already shown the efficacy of autologous fat grafting in the treatment of scars with varying aetiology, so we decided to apply this technique to scars related to surgical correction of dwarfism. A prospective study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of autologous fat grafting in the treatment of post-surgical scars in patients with short-limb dwarfism using durometer measurements and a modified patient and observer scar assessment scale (POSAS), to which was added a parameter to evaluate movement impairment. Between January 2009 and September 2012, 36 children (28 female and 8 male) who presented retractile and painful post-surgical scars came to our unit and were treated with autologous fat grafting. Preoperative and postoperative mean durometer measurements were analysed using the analysis of variance (ANOVA) test and POSAS parameters were studied using the Wilcoxon rank sum test. There was a statistically significant reduction in all durometer measurements (p-value treatment with autologous fat grafting. Surgical procedures to camouflage scars on lower limbs are not often used as a first approach and non-surgical treatments often lead to unsatisfactory results. In contrast, our autologous fat grafting technique in the treatment of post-surgical scars has been shown to be a valuable option in patients with short-limb dwarfism. There was a reduction of skin hardness and a clinical improvement of all POSAS parameters in all patients treated. Moreover, the newly introduced POSAS parameter appears to be reliable and we recommend that it is included to give a more complete evaluation of patient perception. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Barriers to the universal adoption of bilateral internal mammary artery grafting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Umakanthan, Jeremiah; Jeyakumar, Panch; Umakanthan, Branavan; Jeyakumar, Nikeshan; Senthilkumar, Nadarajah; Saraswathy, Mathioli R; Umakanthan, Padminidevi; Umakanthan, Janani; Sial, Tamoor; Abrina, Sofia; Buendia, Frances M; Pan, Irene; Kamath, Ramadas K; Pathmarajah, Canagaratnam; Sivalingam, Kanagaratnam; Nathan, Shan A; Sunder, Shun K; Mahendra, Tom; Umakanthan, Ramanan

    2015-04-01

    The left internal mammary artery (LIMA) graft is considered the "gold standard" of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). This conduit provides increased survival, symptomatic relief, increased freedom from myocardial infarction, and increased freedom from re-intervention when compared to saphenous venous grafting. It has a remarkable long term patency rate with clinical and angiographic outcomes that are unmatched by other conduits. Given the fact that patients often require more than one graft during a coronary revascularization procedure, the prospect of bilateral internal mammary artery (BIMA) grafting has been very appealing to some surgeons. BIMA grafting has been extensively studied via multiple retrospective and prospective cohort studies and findings have indicated that BIMA grafting can have an increased survival benefit when compared to LIMA grafting alone. As a result, this technique has accrued increasing popularity over the course of the last decade. Yet, questions still remain on whether BIMA grafting is the optimal treatment modality for patients in terms of long-term prognosis. There is limited data at the present time from randomized controlled trials and only 4-12% of CABGs performed today utilize BIMA grafting. Concerns regarding perioperative complications, which patient subsets are at higher risks for complications from the technique, and the technical challenges involved in utilizing and teaching the technique have limited its widespread use. Copyright © 2015 IJS Publishing Group Limited. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. The effect of timing and graft dysfunction on survival and cardiac allograft vasculopathy in antibody-mediated rejection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clerkin, Kevin J; Restaino, Susan W; Zorn, Emmanuel; Vasilescu, Elena R; Marboe, Charles C; Mancini, Donna M

    2016-09-01

    Antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) has been associated with increased death and cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV). Early studies suggested that late AMR was rarely associated with graft dysfunction, whereas recent reports have demonstrated an association with increased mortality. We investigated the timing of AMR and its association with graft dysfunction, death, and CAV. This retrospective cohort study identified all adult orthotopic heart transplant (OHT) recipients (N = 689) at Columbia University Medical Center from 2004 to 2013. There were 68 primary cases of AMR, which were stratified by early ( 1 year post-OHT) AMR. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and modeling was performed with multivariable logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards regression. From January 1, 2004, through October 1, 2015, early AMR (median 23 days post-OHT) occurred in 43 patients and late AMR (median 1,084 days post-OHT) occurred in 25. Graft dysfunction was less common with early compared with late AMR (25.6% vs 56%, p = 0.01). Patients with late AMR had decreased post-AMR survival compared with early AMR (1 year: 80% vs 93%, 5 years: 51% vs 73%, p < 0.05). When stratified by graft dysfunction, only those with late AMR and graft dysfunction had worse survival (30 days: 79%, 1 year: 64%, 5 years: 36%; p < 0.006). The association remained irrespective of age, sex, donor-specific antibodies, left ventricular assist device use, reason for OHT, and recovery of graft function. Similarly, those with late AMR and graft dysfunction had accelerated development of de novo CAV (50% at 1 year; hazard ratio, 5.42; p = 0.009), whereas all other groups were all similar to the general transplant population. Late AMR is frequently associated with graft dysfunction. When graft dysfunction is present in late AMR, there is an early and sustained increased risk of death and rapid development of de novo CAV despite aggressive treatment. Copyright © 2016 International Society for Heart and Lung

  20. Prevention of graft-versus-host-disease with preserved graft-versus-leukemia-effect by ex vivo and in vivo modulation of CD4(+) T-cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fricke, Stephan; Hilger, Nadja; Fricke, Christian; Schönfelder, Uta; Behre, Gerhard; Ruschpler, Peter; Boldt, Andreas; Oelkrug, Christopher; Sack, Ulrich; Emmrich, Frank

    2014-06-01

    This is the first report showing that an epitope-specific ex vivo modulation of an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell graft by the anti-human CD4 antibody MAX.16H5 IgG1 simultaneously facilitates the anti-tumor capacity of the graft (Graft-versus-leukemia effect, GvL) and the long-term suppression of the deleterious side effect Graft-versus-host-disease (GvHD). To distinguish and consolidate GvL from GvHD, the anti-human CD4 antibody MAX16.H5 IgG1 was tested in murine GvHD and tumor models. The survival rate was significantly increased in recipients receiving a MAX.16H5 IgG1 short-term (2 h) pre-incubated graft even when tumor cells were co-transplanted or when recipient mice were treated by MAX.16H5 IgG1 before transplantation. After engraftment, regulatory T-cells are generated only supporting the GvL effect. It was also possible to transfer the immune tolerance from GvHD-free recipient chimeras into third party recipient mice without the need of reapplication of MAX.16H5 IgG1 anti-human CD4 antibodies. These findings are also benefical for patients with leukemia when no matched related or unrelated donor is available and provides a safer allogeneic HSCT, which is more effective against leukemia. It also facilitates allogeneic (stem) cell transplantations for other indications (e.g., autoimmune-disorders).

  1. Direct-acting Antivirals in Kidney Transplant Patients: Successful Hepatitis C Treatment and Short Term Reduction in Urinary Protein/Creatinine Ratios

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael R. Goetsch

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: The role of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV clearance in long-term kidney graft survival is unknown. In this study, we examined short-term trends of urinary protein/creatinine (P/C ratios in a cohort of HCV-infected kidney transplant recipients with stable graft function and treated with direct-acting antivirals (DAAs. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of 19 kidney transplant patients with chronic HCV infection treated with DAAs at the University of Alabama at Birmingham 1917 Viral Hepatitis Clinic between January 2013 and June 2016. Markers of glomerular damage were assessed using average protein/creatinine (P/C ratios measured pre- and post-treatment. We also described treatment efficacy using sustained virologic response at 12 weeks post-HCV treatment (SVR12. Results: The median age of the 19 patients included was 59 years (Q1=58, Q3=64 at completion of treatment. Of these patients, 68% were African American, 32% were White and 63% were male. The median time between kidney transplant and initiation of DAA therapy was 2.25 years (Q1=0.79, Q3=3.79. Post-treatment P/C ratios (median=0.127, Q1=0.090, Q3=0.220 were significantly lower (p=0.01 than pre-treatment ratios (median=0.168, Q1=0.118, Q3=0.385. P/C ratios decreased in 14 of 19 patients (74% with median change of -0.072 (median percent change= -40%. Post-treatment eGFRs (median=58.9, Q1=48.9, Q3=72.3 were not significantly different (p=0.82 than the pre-treatment values (median=57.0, Q1=48.8, Q3=67.8. Conclusions: In this preliminary study, there was a statistically significant decrease in P/C ratios associated with HCV clearance, suggesting a potential role for DAAs in improving kidney graft survival. Larger cohort studies will be needed to assess the clinical and long-term benefits of DAAs in this special population of HCV infected patients.

  2. Short-term fasting protects mice against γ ray radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhu Shengnan; Gu Xiuling; Song Lian; Tong Jian; Li Jianxiang

    2012-01-01

    Objective: To investigate the antagonistic effects of short-term fasting against 60 Co γ ray radiation. Methods: After fasting ICR mice were irradiated for 3 min at a dose rate of 2.5 Gy/min and then returned to normal diet. General situation, body weight changes, food consumption and toxic status were observed. WBC, organ index and anti-oxidative ability (ROS, SOD, MDA, T-AOC) were analyzed. Results: After 60 Co γ ray radiation, the mice exhibited severe toxic symptoms before death. The survival rates were 0 for control and 12 h group, 12.5% for 48 h group and 50% for 72 h group respectively. ROS production of 72 h group was reduced compared with 0 h group (P<0.05). Conclusion: Short-term fasting may attenuate radiation induced injuries, evidenced by a significant increase in mice survival rate. (authors)

  3. A Systemic Review of Autologous Fat Grafting Survival Rate and Related Severe Complications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nan-Ze Yu

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Objective: Clinical application of autologous fat grafting (AFG is quickly expanding. Despite the widely acceptance, long-term survival rate (SR of AFG remains a question not yet solved. Meanwhile, although rare, severe complications related to AFG including vision loss, stroke even death could be seen in the literature. Data Sources: A comprehensive research of PubMed database to June 2013 was performed according to guidelines of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons Fat Graft Task Force Assessment Methodology. Articles were screened using predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Study Selection: Data collected included patient characteristics, surgical technique, donor site, recipient site, graft amount, and quantified measurement methods. Patient cohorts were pooled, and SR was calculated. All the severe complications were also summarized according to the different clinical characteristics. Results: Of 550 articles, 16 clinical articles and 10 animal studies met the inclusion criteria and provided quantified measurement methods. Totally, 596 patients were included. SR varied from 34% to 82% in breast and 30-83% in the facial area. Nude mice were applied to investigate human fat grafting SR (38.3-52.5% after 15 weeks. Rabbits were commonly used to study animal AFG SR (14.00-14.56% after 1-year. Totally, 21 severe complications were reported, including death (2, stroke (10, vision loss (11, 8 of which accompanied with stroke, sepsis (3, multiple abscess (1 and giant fat necrotic cyst (2. Ten of these complications happened within 10 years. Conclusions: There is no unified measurement method to evaluate fat graft SR until now and no clinical evidence to show better SR according to different donor and recipient cite. Body mass index change between pre- and postoperation may be the bias factor in evaluating fat SR. Fat embolisms of the ophthalmic artery and the middle cerebral artery are the most severe complication of AFG and still lack

  4. Enriched enteral nutrition may improve short-term survival in stage IV gastric cancer patients: A randomized, controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klek, Stanislaw; Scislo, Lucyna; Walewska, Elzbieta; Choruz, Ryszard; Galas, Aleksander

    2017-04-01

    The aim of the study was to determine whether the postoperative use of enteral nutrition enriched with arginine, glutamine, and omega-3 fatty acids influences survival in patients diagnosed with stomach cancer. For the purpose of the study, the second wave of the trial performed in 2003 to 2009 was done. Ninety-nine patients who underwent surgery for gastric cancer (27 F, 72 M, mean age: 62.9 y) met the inclusion criteria. Of those, 54 were randomized to standard and 45 to enriched enteral nutrition (EEN). In all patients, short- and long-term (5 y) survival was analyzed. Analysis of the overall survival time did not reveal differences between groups (P = 0.663). Until the end of the third month, however, there were nine deaths in the standard enteral nutrition group and no deaths in the EEN group (16.7% versus 0.0%, P = 0.004). The univariate analyses suggested that the EEN group may have lower risk, especially during the first year after intervention. A significant reduction in the risk of death was seen during the early period after surgery (first 6 mo) in the EEN group in stage IV patients (hazard ratio = 0.25, P = 0.049). The use of enriched enteral diet did not influence, however, the risk of dying when patients were analyzed together. The study does not support the beneficial effect of enriched enteral nutrition in long-term survival; however, the positive impact on the stage IV patients suggests the need for further, more detailed studies. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Whole-Body Exposure to 28Si-Radiation Dose-Dependently Disrupts Dentate Gyrus Neurogenesis and Proliferation in the Short Term and New Neuron Survival and Contextual Fear Conditioning in the Long Term.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whoolery, Cody W; Walker, Angela K; Richardson, Devon R; Lucero, Melanie J; Reynolds, Ryan P; Beddow, David H; Clark, K Lyles; Shih, Hung-Ying; LeBlanc, Junie A; Cole, Mara G; Amaral, Wellington Z; Mukherjee, Shibani; Zhang, Shichuan; Ahn, Francisca; Bulin, Sarah E; DeCarolis, Nathan A; Rivera, Phillip D; Chen, Benjamin P C; Yun, Sanghee; Eisch, Amelia J

    2017-11-01

    Astronauts traveling to Mars will be exposed to chronic low doses of galactic cosmic space radiation, which contains highly charged, high-energy (HZE) particles. 56 Fe-HZE-particle exposure decreases hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG) neurogenesis and disrupts hippocampal function in young adult rodents, raising the possibility of impaired astronaut cognition and risk of mission failure. However, far less is known about how exposure to other HZE particles, such as 28 Si, influences hippocampal neurogenesis and function. To compare the influence of 28 Si exposure on indices of neurogenesis and hippocampal function with previous studies on 56 Fe exposure, 9-week-old C57BL/6J and Nestin-GFP mice (NGFP; made and maintained for 10 or more generations on a C57BL/6J background) received whole-body 28 Si-particle-radiation exposure (0, 0.2 and 1 Gy, 300 MeV/n, LET 67 KeV/μ, dose rate 1 Gy/min). For neurogenesis assessment, the NGFP mice were injected with the mitotic marker BrdU at 22 h postirradiation and brains were examined for indices of hippocampal proliferation and neurogenesis, including Ki67 + , BrdU + , BrdU + NeuN + and DCX + cell numbers at short- and long-term time points (24 h and 3 months postirradiation, respectively). In the short-term group, stereology revealed fewer Ki67 + , BrdU + and DCX + cells in 1-Gy-irradiated group relative to nonirradiated control mice, fewer Ki67 + and DCX + cells in 0.2 Gy group relative to control group and fewer BrdU + and DCX + cells in 1 Gy group relative to 0.2 Gy group. In contrast to the clearly observed radiation-induced, dose-dependent reductions in the short-term group across all markers, only a few neurogenesis indices were changed in the long-term irradiated groups. Notably, there were fewer surviving BrdU + cells in the 1 Gy group relative to 0- and 0.2-Gy-irradiated mice in the long-term group. When the short- and long-term groups were analyzed by sex, exposure to radiation had a similar effect on neurogenesis indices

  6. Vein grafting in fingertip replantations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yan, Hede; Jackson, William D; Songcharoen, Somjade; Akdemir, Ovunc; Li, Zhijie; Chen, Xinglong; Jiang, Liangfu; Gao, Weiyang

    2009-01-01

    In this retrospective study, the survival rates of fingertip replantation with and without vein grafting were evaluated along with their postoperative functional and cosmetic results. One hundred twenty-one-fingertip amputations were performed in 103 patients between September 2002 and July 2007. Thirty-four amputated fingertips were replanted without vein grafting, while 87 amputated fingertips were replanted with vein grafting for arterial and/or venous repairs. The overall survival rates of the replantations with and without vein grafting were 90% (78/87) and 85% (29/34), respectively. The survival rates were 88% (36/41) with venous repair, 93% (25/27) with arterial repair, and 89% (17/19) with both. Nineteen patients without vein grafting and 48 patients with vein grafting had a follow-up period of more than one year. Good cosmetic and functional outcomes were observed in both groups of patients. The results show that vein grafting is a reliable technique in fingertip replantations, showing no significant difference (P > 0.05) in survival between those with and without vein grafting. Furthermore, no significant difference (P > 0.05) in survival was found between cases with vein grafts for arterial and/or venous repairs. In fingertip replantations with vein grafting, favorable functional and esthetic results can be achieved without sacrificing replantation survival. (c) 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  7. Incremental Value of Increasing Number of Arterial Grafts: The Effect of Diabetes Mellitus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schwann, Thomas A; El Hage Sleiman, Abdul Karim M; Yammine, Maroun B; Tranbaugh, Robert F; Engoren, Milo; Bonnell, Mark R; Habib, Robert H

    2018-06-01

    Multiarterial coronary grafting with two arterial grafts leads to improved survival compared with conventional single artery based on left internal thoracic artery to left anterior descending artery and saphenous vein grafts. We investigated whether extending arterial grafting to three or more arterial grafts further improves survival, and whether such a benefit is modified by diabetes mellitus. We analyzed 15-year coronary artery bypass graft surgery mortality data in 11,931 patients (age 64.3 ± 10.5 years; 3,484 women [29.2%]; 4,377 [36.7%] with diabetes mellitus) derived from three US institutions (1994 to 2011). All underwent primary isolated left internal thoracic artery to left anterior descending artery grafting with at least two grafts: one artery (n = 6,782; 56.9%); two arteries (n = 3,678; 30.8%); or three or more arteries (n = 1,471; 12.3%). Long-term survival was estimated by Kaplan-Meier methods. Propensity score matching and comprehensive covariate adjustment (Cox regression) were used to derive long-term risk-adjusted hazard ratio (HR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) for increasing number of arterial grafts in the overall cohort and for diabetes and no-diabetes cohorts. Radial artery (94%) and right internal thoracic artery (6%) were used as additional arterial grafts. Multivariate analysis in all patients showed that diabetes was associated with decreased survival (HR 1.43, 95% CI: 1.34 to 53), whereas increasing number of arterial grafts was associated with decreased mortality (one artery HR 1.0 [reference]; two arteries HR 0.87, 95% CI: 0.80 to 0.95; and three arteries HR 0.83, 95% CI: 0.72 to 0.95). Pairwise comparisons also showed an incremental benefit of additional arterial grafts: two arteries versus one artery, HR 0.89 (95% CI: 0.80 to 0.98); and three arteries versus one artery, HR 0.80 (95% CI: 0.68 to 0.94). A three-artery versus two-artery survival advantage trend was also noted, but was not significant in either the overall study

  8. Treating fat grafts with human endothelial progenitor cells promotes their vascularization and improves their survival in diabetes mellitus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamed, Saher; Ben-Nun, Ohad; Egozi, Dana; Keren, Aviad; Malyarova, Nastya; Kruchevsky, Danny; Gilhar, Amos; Ullmann, Yehuda

    2012-10-01

    Bone marrow-derived endothelial progenitor cells are required for vascularization of a fat graft to form a functional microvasculature within the graft and to facilitate its integration into the surrounding tissues. Organ transplantation carries a high risk of graft loss and rejection in patients with diabetes mellitus because endothelial progenitor cell function is impaired. The authors investigated the influence of endothelial progenitor cell treatment on the phenotype and survival of human fat grafts in immunocompromised mice with experimentally induced diabetes mellitus. The authors injected 1 ml of human fat tissue into the scalps of 14 nondiabetic and 28 diabetic immunocompromised mice, and then treated some of the grafts with endothelial progenitor cells that was isolated from the blood of a human donor. The phenotype of the endothelial progenitor cell-treated fat grafts from the 14 diabetic mice was compared with that of the untreated fat grafts from 14 nondiabetic and 14 diabetic mice, 18 days and 15 weeks after fat transplantation. Determination of graft phenotype included measurements of weight and volume, vascular endothelial growth factor levels, vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2, endothelial nitric oxide synthase, and caspase 3 expression levels, and histologic analysis of the extent of vascularization. The untreated grafts from the diabetic mice were fully resorbed 15 weeks after fat transplantation. The phenotype of endothelial progenitor cell-treated fat grafts from the diabetic mice was similar to that of the untreated fat grafts from the nondiabetic mice. Endothelial progenitor cell treatment of transplanted fat can increase the survival of a fat graft by inducing its vascularization and decreasing the extent of apoptosis.

  9. Seasonal variation in short-term mortality after surgery for colorectal cancer?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Iversen, L H; Nielsen, H; Pedersen, L

    2010-01-01

    Comorbidity has a major impact on short-term and long-term survival of colorectal cancer (CRC) and many CRC patients suffer from comorbidities. Mortality rates for comorbidities like cardio-respiratory diseases exhibit distinct seasonal variations with highest rates in the winter. Therefore, we...

  10. Influence of Diabetes on Long-Term Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Patency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raza, Sajjad; Blackstone, Eugene H; Houghtaling, Penny L; Rajeswaran, Jeevanantham; Riaz, Haris; Bakaeen, Faisal G; Lincoff, A Michael; Sabik, Joseph F

    2017-08-01

    Nearly 50% of patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting have diabetes. However, little is known about the influence of diabetes on long-term patency of bypass grafts. Because patients with diabetes have more severe coronary artery stenosis, we hypothesized that graft patency is worse in patients with than without diabetes. This study sought to examine the influence of diabetes on long-term patency of bypass grafts. From 1972 to 2011, 57,961 patients underwent primary isolated coronary artery bypass grafting. Of these, 1,372 pharmacologically treated patients with diabetes and 10,147 patients without diabetes had 15,887 postoperative angiograms; stenosis was quantified for 7,903 internal thoracic artery (ITA) grafts and 20,066 saphenous vein grafts. Status of graft patency across time was analyzed by longitudinal nonlinear mixed-effects modeling. ITA graft patency was stable over time and similar in patients with and without diabetes: at 1, 5, 10, and 20 years, 97%, 97%, 96%, and 96% in patients with diabetes, and 96%, 96%, 95%, and 93% in patients without diabetes, respectively (early p = 0.20; late p = 0.30). In contrast, saphenous vein graft patency declined over time and similarly in patients with and without diabetes: at 1, 5, 10, and 20 years, 78%, 70%, 57%, and 42% in patients with diabetes, and 82%, 72%, 58%, and 41% in patients without diabetes, respectively (early p < 0.002; late p = 0.60). After adjusting for patient characteristics, diabetes was associated with higher early patency of ITA grafts (odds ratio: 0.63; 95% confidence limits: 0.43 to 0.91; p = 0.013), but late patency of ITA grafts was similar in patients with and without diabetes (p = 0.80). Early and late patency of saphenous vein grafts were similar in patients with and without diabetes (early p = 0.90; late p = 0.80). Contrary to our hypothesis, diabetes did not influence long-term patency of bypass grafts. Use of ITA grafts should be maximized in patients

  11. Similar Outcomes in Diabetes Patients After Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting With Single Internal Thoracic Artery Plus Radial Artery Grafting and Bilateral Internal Thoracic Artery Grafting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raza, Sajjad; Blackstone, Eugene H; Houghtaling, Penny L; Koprivanac, Marijan; Ravichandren, Kirthi; Javadikasgari, Hoda; Bakaeen, Faisal G; Svensson, Lars G; Sabik, Joseph F

    2017-12-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine in patients with diabetes mellitus whether single internal thoracic artery (SITA) plus radial artery (RA) grafting yields outcomes similar to those of bilateral internal thoracic artery (BITA) grafting. From January 1994 to January 2011, 1,325 diabetic patients underwent primary isolated coronary artery bypass graft surgery with either (1) SITA plus RA with or without saphenous vein (SV) grafts (n = 965) or (2) BITA with or without SV grafts (n = 360); an internal thoracic artery was used in all patients to graft the left anterior descending coronary artery. Endpoints were in-hospital outcomes and time-related mortality. Median follow-up was 7.4 years, with a total follow-up of 9,162 patient-years. Propensity score matching was performed to identify 282 well-matched pairs for adjusted comparisons. Unadjusted in-hospital mortality was 0.52% for SITA plus RA with or without SV grafts and 0.28% for BITA with or without SV grafts, and prevalence of deep sternal wound infection was 3.2% and 1.7%, respectively. Unadjusted survival at 1, 5, 10, and 14 years was 97%, 88%, 68%, and 51% for SITA plus RA with or without SV grafts, and 97%, 95%, 80%, and 66% for BITA with or without SV grafts, respectively. Among propensity-matched patients, in-hospital mortality (0.35% versus 0.35%) and prevalence of deep sternal wound infection (1.4% versus 1.4%) were similar (p > 0.9) in the two groups, as was 1-, 5-, 10-, and 14-year survival: 97%, 90%, 70%, and 58% for SITA plus RA with or without SV grafting versus 97%, 93%, 79%, and 64% for BITA with or without SV grafting, respectively (early p = 0.8, late p = 0.2). For diabetic patients, SITA plus RA with or without SV grafting and BITA with or without SV grafting yield similar in-hospital outcomes and long-term survival after coronary artery bypass graft surgery. Therefore, both SITA plus RA and BITA plus SV grafting should be considered for these patients. Copyright © 2017 The Society

  12. Islet graft survival and function: concomitant culture and transplantation with vascular endothelial cells in diabetic rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pan, Xiaoming; Xue, Wujun; Li, Yang; Feng, Xinshun; Tian, Xiaohui; Ding, Chenguang

    2011-12-15

    Human islet transplantation is a great potential therapy for type I diabetes. To investigate islet graft survival and function, we recently showed the improved effects after co-culture and co-transplantation with vascular endothelial cells (ECs) in diabetic rats. ECs were isolated, and the viability of isolated islets was assessed in two groups (standard culture group and co-culture group with ECs). Then streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats were divided into four groups before islet transplantation as follows: group A with infusion of islet grafts; group B with combined vascular ECs and islet grafts; groups C and D as controls with single ECs infusion and phosphate-buffered saline injection, respectively. Blood glucose and insulin concentrations were measured daily. Expression of vascular endothelial growth factor was investigated by immunohistochemical staining. The mean microvascular density was also calculated. More than 90% of acridine orange-propidium iodide staining positive islets demonstrated normal morphology while co-cultured with ECs for 7 days. Compared with standard control, insulin release assays showed a significantly higher simulation index in co-culture group except for the first day (Ptransplantation, there was a significant difference in concentrations of blood glucose and insulin among these groups after 3 days (Pislet group (P=0.04). Co-culture with ECs in vitro could improve the survival and function of isolated rat islet, and co-transplantation of islets with ECs could effectively prolong the islet graft survival in diabetic rats.

  13. Consequences of cold-ischemia time on primary nonfunction and patient and graft survival in liver transplantation: a meta-analysis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    James E Stahl

    2008-06-01

    Full Text Available The ability to preserve organs prior to transplant is essential to the organ allocation process.The purpose of this study is to describe the functional relationship between cold-ischemia time (CIT and primary nonfunction (PNF, patient and graft survival in liver transplant.To identify relevant articles Medline, EMBASE and the Cochrane database, including the non-English literature identified in these databases, was searched from 1966 to April 2008. Two independent reviewers screened and extracted the data. CIT was analyzed both as a continuous variable and stratified by clinically relevant intervals. Nondichotomous variables were weighted by sample size. Percent variables were weighted by the inverse of the binomial variance.Twenty-six studies met criteria. Functionally, PNF% = -6.678281+0.9134701*CIT Mean+0.1250879*(CIT Mean-9.895352-0.0067663*(CIT Mean-9.895353, r2 = .625, , p<.0001. Mean patient survival: 93% (1 month, 88% (3 months, 83% (6 months and 83% (12 months. Mean graft survival: 85.9% (1 month, 80.5% (3 months, 78.1% (6 months and 76.8% (12 months. Maximum patient and graft survival occurred with CITs between 7.5-12.5 hrs at each survival interval. PNF was also significantly correlated with ICU time, % first time grafts and % immunologic mismatches.The results of this work imply that CIT may be the most important pre-transplant information needed in the decision to accept an organ.

  14. CABG Versus PCI: Greater Benefit in Long-Term Outcomes With Multiple Arterial Bypass Grafting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Habib, Robert H; Dimitrova, Kamellia R; Badour, Sanaa A; Yammine, Maroun B; El-Hage-Sleiman, Abdul-Karim M; Hoffman, Darryl M; Geller, Charles M; Schwann, Thomas A; Tranbaugh, Robert F

    2015-09-29

    Treatment of multivessel coronary artery disease with traditional single-arterial coronary artery bypass graft (SA-CABG) has been associated with superior intermediate-term survival and reintervention compared with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) using either bare-metal stents (BMS) or drug-eluting stents (DES). This study sought to investigate longer-term outcomes including the potential added advantage of multiarterial coronary artery bypass graft (MA-CABG). We studied 8,402 single-institution, primary revascularization, multivessel coronary artery disease patients: 2,207 BMS-PCI (age 66.6 ± 11.9 years); 2,381 DES-PCI (age 65.9 ± 11.7 years); 2,289 SA-CABG (age 69.3 ± 9.0 years); and 1,525 MA-CABG (age 58.3 ± 8.7 years). Patients with myocardial infarction within 24 h, shock, or left main stents were excluded. Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox regression were used to separately compare 9-year all-cause mortality and unplanned reintervention for BMS-PCI and DES-PCI to respective propensity-matched SA-CABG and MA-CABG cohorts. BMS-PCI was associated with worse survival than SA-CABG, especially from 0 to 7 years (p = 0.015) and to a greater extent than MA-CABG was (9-year follow-up: 76.3% vs. 86.9%; p PCI hazard ratios (HR) were as follows: versus SA-CABG, HR: 0.87; and versus MA-CABG, HR: 0.38. DES-PCI showed similar survival to SA-CABG except for a modest 0 to 3 years surgery advantage (HR: 1.06; p = 0.615). Compared with MA-CABG, DES-PCI exhibited worse survival at 5 (86.3% vs. 95.6%) and 9 (82.8% vs. 89.8%) years (HR: 0.45; p PCI for all comparisons (all p PCI or DES-PCI, resulted in substantially enhanced death and reintervention-free survival. Accordingly, MA-CABG represents the optimal therapy for multivessel coronary artery disease and should be enthusiastically adopted by multidisciplinary heart teams as the best evidence-based therapy. Copyright © 2015 American College of Cardiology Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Effect of human leukocyte antigen-C and -DQ matching on pediatric heart transplant graft survival.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Butts, Ryan J; Savage, Andrew J; Nietert, Paul J; Kavarana, Minoo; Moussa, Omar; Burnette, Ali L; Atz, Andrew M

    2014-12-01

    A higher degree of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) matching at the A, B, and DR loci has been associated with improved long-term survival after pediatric heart transplantation in multiple International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation registry reports. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of HLA matching at the C and DQ loci with pediatric graft survival. The United Network of Organ Sharing database was queried for isolated heart transplants that occurred from 1988 to 2012 with a recipient age of 17 or younger and at least 1 postoperative follow-up encounter. When HLA matching at the C or DQ loci were analyzed, only transplants with complete typing of donor and recipient at the respective loci were included. Transplants were divided into patients with at least 1 match at the C locus (C-match) vs no match (C-no), and at least 1 match at the DQ (DQ-match) locus vs no match (DQ-no). Primary outcome was graft loss. Univariate analysis was performed with the log-rank test. Cox regression analysis was performed with the following patient factors included in the model: recipient age, ischemic time; recipient on ventilator, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, ventricular assist device, or inotropes at transplant; recipient serum bilirubin and creatinine closest to transplant, ratio of donor weight to recipient weight, underlying cardiac diagnosis, crossmatch results, transplant year, and HLA matching at the A, B, and DR loci. Complete typing at the C locus occurred in 2,429 of 4,731 transplants (51%), and complete typing at the DQ locus occurred in 3,498 of 4,731 transplants (74%). Patient factors were similar in C-match and C-no, except for year of transplant (median year, 2007 [interquartile range, 1997-2010] vs year 2005 [interquartile range, 1996-2009], respectively; p = 0.03) and the degree of HLA matching at the A, B, and DR loci (high level of HLA matching in 11.9% vs 3%, respectively; p HLA matching at the C locus or the DQ locus

  16. Survival benefit of TIPS versus serial paracentesis in patients with refractory ascites: a single institution case-control propensity score analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gaba, R.C.; Parvinian, A.; Casadaban, L.C.; Couture, P.M.; Zivin, S.P.; Lakhoo, J.; Minocha, J.; Ray, C.E.; Knuttinen, M.G.; Bui, J.T.

    2015-01-01

    Aim: To compare the impact of covered stent-graft transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) versus serial paracentesis on survival of patients with medically refractory ascites. Materials and methods: In this retrospective study, cirrhotic patients who underwent covered stent-graft TIPS for refractory ascites from 2003–2013 were compared with similar patients who underwent serial paracentesis during 2009–2013. Demographic and liver disease data, Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) scores, and survival outcomes were obtained from hospital electronic medical records and the social security death index. After propensity score weighting to match study group characteristics, survival outcomes were compared using Kaplan–Meier statistics with log-rank analysis. Results: Seventy TIPS (70% men, mean age 55.7 years, mean MELD 15.1) and 80 paracentesis (58% men, mean age 53.5 years, mean MELD 22.5) patients were compared. The TIPS haemodynamic success rate was 100% (mean portosystemic pressure gradient reduction 13 mmHg). Paracentesis patients underwent a mean of 7.9 procedures. After propensity score weighting to balance group features, TIPS patients showed a trend toward enhanced survival compared with paracentesis patients (median survival 1037 versus 262 days, p = 0.074). TIPS conferred a significant increase or trend toward improved survival compared with paracentesis at 1 (66% versus 44%, p = 0.018), 2 (56% versus 38%, p = 0.057), and 3 year (49% versus 32%, p = 0.077) time points. Thirty and 90 day mortality rates were not statistically increased by TIPS. Conclusion: Covered stent-graft TIPS improves intermediate- to long-term survival without significantly increasing short-term mortality of ascites patients, and suggests a greater potential role for TIPS in properly selected ascitic patients when medical management fails. - Highlights: • The survival benefit of TIPS for patients with refractory ascites remains unproven. • A case

  17. Lateral ridge augmentation with Bio-Oss alone or Bio-Oss mixed with particulate autogenous bone graft: a systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aludden, H C; Mordenfeld, A; Hallman, M; Dahlin, C; Jensen, T

    2017-08-01

    The objective of this systematic review was to test the hypothesis of no difference in implant treatment outcomes when using Bio-Oss alone or Bio-Oss mixed with particulate autogenous bone grafts for lateral ridge augmentation. A search of the MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, and Embase databases in combination with a hand-search of relevant journals was conducted. Human studies published in English from 1 January 1990 to 1 May 2016 were included. The search provided 337 titles and six studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Considerable variation prevented a meta-analysis from being performed. The two treatment modalities have never been compared within the same study. Non-comparative studies demonstrated a 3-year implant survival of 96% with 50% Bio-Oss mixed with 50% autogenous bone graft. Moreover, Bio-Oss alone or Bio-Oss mixed with autogenous bone graft seems to increase the amount of newly formed bone as well as the width of the alveolar process. Within the limitations of this systematic review, lateral ridge augmentation with Bio-Oss alone or in combination with autogenous bone graft seems to induce newly formed bone and increase the width of the alveolar process, with high short-term implant survival. However, long-term studies comparing the two treatment modalities are needed before final conclusions can be drawn. Copyright © 2017 International Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Short-term Automated Quantification of Radiologic Changes in the Characterization of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis Versus Nonspecific Interstitial Pneumonia and Prediction of Long-term Survival.

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Giacomi, Federica; Raghunath, Sushravya; Karwoski, Ronald; Bartholmai, Brian J; Moua, Teng

    2018-03-01

    Fibrotic interstitial lung diseases presenting with nonspecific and overlapping radiologic findings may be difficult to diagnose without surgical biopsy. We hypothesized that baseline quantifiable radiologic features and their short-term interval change may be predictive of underlying histologic diagnosis as well as long-term survival in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) presenting without honeycombing versus nonspecific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP). Forty biopsy-confirmed IPF and 20 biopsy-confirmed NSIP patients with available high-resolution chest computed tomography 4 to 24 months apart were studied. CALIPER software was used for the automated characterization and quantification of radiologic findings. IPF subjects were older (66 vs. 48; P<0.0001) with lower diffusion capacity for carbon monoxide and higher volumes of baseline reticulation (193 vs. 83 mL; P<0.0001). Over the interval period, compared with NSIP, IPF patients experienced greater functional decline (forced vital capacity, -6.3% vs. -1.7%; P=0.02) and radiologic progression, as noted by greater increase in reticulation volume (24 vs. 1.74 mL; P=0.048), and decrease in normal (-220 vs. -37.7 mL; P=0.045) and total lung volumes (-198 vs. 58.1 mL; P=0.03). Older age, male gender, higher reticulation volumes at baseline, and greater interval decrease in normal lung volumes were predictive of IPF. Both baseline and short-term changes in quantitative radiologic findings were predictive of mortality. Baseline quantitative radiologic findings and assessment of short-term disease progression may help characterize underlying IPF versus NSIP in those with difficult to differentiate clinicoradiologic presentations. Our study supports the possible utility of assessing serial quantifiable high-resolution chest computed tomographic findings for disease differentiation in these 2 entities.

  19. Single-Center Experience Using Marginal Liver Grafts in Korea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, P-J; Yu, Y-D; Yoon, Y-I; Kim, S-R; Kim, D-S

    2018-05-01

    Liver transplantation (LT) is an established therapeutic modality for patients with end-stage liver disease. The use of marginal donors has become more common worldwide due to the sharp increase in recipients, with a consequent shortage of suitable organs. We analyzed our single-center experience over the last 8 years in LT to evaluate the outcomes of using so-called "marginal donors." We retrospectively analyzed the database of all LTs performed at our institution from 2009 to 2017. Only patients undergoing deceased-donor LTs were analyzed. Marginal grafts were defined as livers from donors >60 years of age, livers from donors with serum sodium levels >155 mEq, graft steatosis >30%, livers with cold ischemia time ≥12 hours, livers from donors who were hepatitis B or C virus positive, livers recovered from donation after cardiac death, and livers split between 2 recipients. Patients receiving marginal grafts (marginal group) were compared with patients receiving standard grafts (standard group). A total of 106 patients underwent deceased-donor LT. There were 55 patients in the standard group and 51 patients in the marginal group. There were no significant differences in terms of age, sex, Model for End-Stage Liver Disease score, underlying liver disease, presence of hepatocellular carcinoma, and hospital stay between the 2 groups. Although the incidence of acute cellular rejection, cytomegalovirus infection, and postoperative complications was similar between the 2 groups, the incidence of early allograft dysfunction was higher in the marginal group. With a median follow-up of 26 months, the 1-, 3-, and 5-year overall and graft (death-censored) survivals in the marginal group were 85.5%, 75%, and 69.2% and 85.9%, 83.6%, and 77.2%, respectively. Patient overall survival and graft survival (death-censored) were significantly lower in the marginal group (P = .023 and P = .048, respectively). On multivariate analysis, receiving a marginal graft (hazard ratio [HR

  20. Potential Long-Term Complications of Endovascular Stent Grafting for Blunt Thoracic Aortic Injury

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Larry E. Miller

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Blunt thoracic aortic injury (BTAI is a rare, but lethal, consequence of rapid deceleration events. Most victims of BTAI die at the scene of the accident. Of those who arrive to the hospital alive, expedient aortic intervention significantly improves survival. Thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR has been accepted as the standard of care for BTAI at many centers, primarily due to the convincing evidence of lower mortality and morbidity in comparison to open surgery. However, less attention has been given to potential long-term complications of TEVAR for BTAI. This paper focuses on these complications, which include progressive aortic expansion with aging, inadequate stent graft characteristics, device durability concerns, long-term radiation exposure concerns from follow-up computed tomography scans, and the potential for (Victims of Modern Imaging Technology VOMIT.

  1. Graft intolerance syndrome requiring graft nephrectomy after late kidney graft failure: can it be predicted? A retrospective cohort study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bunthof, Kim L W; Verhoeks, Carmen M; van den Brand, Jan A J G; Hilbrands, Luuk B

    2018-02-01

    Graft nephrectomy is recommended in case of early graft failure. When the graft fails more than 3-6 months after transplantation, it is current practice to follow a wait-and-see policy. A common indication for graft removal is the graft intolerance syndrome. We aimed to create a risk prediction model for the occurrence of graft intolerance resulting in graft nephrectomy. We collected data of kidney transplantations performed in our center between 1980 and 2010 that failed at least 6 months after transplantation. We evaluated the association between baseline characteristics and the occurrence of graft nephrectomy because of graft intolerance using a competing risk regression model. Prognostic factors were included in a multivariate prediction model. In- and exclusion criteria were met in 288 cases. In 48 patients, the graft was removed because of graft intolerance. Donor age, the number of rejections, and shorter graft survival were predictive factors for graft nephrectomy because of the graft intolerance syndrome. These factors were included in a prediction rule. Using donor age, graft survival, and the number of rejections, clinicians can predict the need for graft nephrectomy with a reasonable accuracy. © 2017 Steunstichting ESOT.

  2. Preoperative atrial fibrillation and long-term survival after open heart surgery in a rural tertiary heart institute.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Neal, Wesley T; Efird, Jimmy T; Davies, Stephen W; Choi, Yuk Ming; Anderson, Curtis A; Kindell, Linda C; O'Neal, Jason B; Ferguson, T Bruce; Chitwood, W Randolph; Kypson, Alan P

    2013-01-01

    Preoperative atrial fibrillation (AF) is associated with increased morbidity and mortality after open heart surgery. However, the impact of preoperative AF on long-term survival after open heart surgery has not been widely examined in rural populations. Patients from rural regions are less likely to receive treatment for cardiac conditions and to have adequate medical insurance coverage. To examine the influence of preoperative AF on long-term survival following open heart surgery in rural eastern North Carolina. Long-term survival was compared in patients with and without preoperative AF after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and CABG plus valve (CABG + V) surgery between 2002 and 2011. Hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were computed using a Cox regression model. The study population consisted of 5438 patients. A total of 263 (5%) patients had preoperative AF. Preoperative AF was an independent predictor of long-term survival (open heart surgery: adjusted HR = 1.6, 95% CI = 1.3-2.0; CABG: adjusted HR = 1.6, 95% CI = 1.3-2.1; CABG + V: adjusted HR = 1.6, 95% CI = 1.1-2.3). Preoperative AF is an important predictor of long-term survival after open heart surgery in this rural population. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Acute and long-term survival in chronically critically ill surgical patients: a retrospective observational study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hartl, Wolfgang H; Wolf, Hilde; Schneider, Christian P; Küchenhoff, Helmut; Jauch, Karl-Walter

    2007-01-01

    Various cohort studies have shown that acute (short-term) mortality rates in unselected critically ill patients may have improved during the past 15 years. Whether these benefits also affect acute and long-term prognosis in chronically critically ill patients is unclear, as are determinants relevant to prognosis. We conducted a retrospective analysis of data collected from March 1993 to February 2005. A cohort of 390 consecutive surgical patients requiring intensive care therapy for more than 28 days was analyzed. The intensive care unit (ICU) survival rate was 53.6%. Survival rates at one, three and five years were 61.8%, 44.7% and 37.0% among ICU survivors. After adjustment for relevant covariates, acute and long-term survival rates did not differ significantly between 1993 to 1999 and 1999 to 2005 intervals. Acute prognosis was determined by disease severity during ICU stay and by primary diagnosis. However, only the latter was independently associated with long-term prognosis. Advanced age was an independent prognostic determinant of poor short-term and long-term survival. Acute and long-term prognosis in chronically critically ill surgical patients has remained unchanged throughout the past 12 years. After successful surgical intervention and intensive care, long-term outcome is reasonably good and is mainly determined by age and underlying disease.

  4. [Short-term outcomes of lung transplant recipients using organs from brain death donors].

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, W X; Jiang, C; Liu, X G; Huang, W; Chen, C; Jiang, L; Yang, B; Wu, K; Chen, Q K; Yang, Y; Yu, Y M; Jiang, G N

    2016-12-01

    Objective: To assess short-term outcomes after lung transplantation with organs procured following brain death. Methods: Between April 2015 and July 2016, all 17 recipients after lung transplantation using organs from brain death donors (DBD) at Department of Thoracic Surgery, Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine were enrolled in this study. All patients were male, aging (60±7) years, including 11 chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, 5 idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, 1 silicosis. Seventeen donors were 16 males and 1 female, with 10 traumatic brain injury, 5 cerebrovascular accident and 2 sudden cardiac death. Of 17 recipients receiving DBD lung transplant, 16 were single lung transplant. Data were collected including intubation duration of mechanical ventilation, hospital length of stay, incidence of pulmonary infection bronchus anastomosis complications, primary graft dysfunction (PGD), and acute rejection, bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS) as well as mortality of 90-day after lung transplantation. Results: Median duration of intubation were 2 (2) days ( M ( Q R )) in recipients after lung transplantation. The incidence of pulmonary infection and bronchus anastomosis complications were 15/17 and 5/17, respectively. Median length of stay in hospital were 56 (19) days. The ratio of readmission 1 month after discharge were 10/17. Mortality of 90-day post-transplant were 2/17. The incidence of PGD and BOS were 1/17 and 2/17, respectively. Conclusion: Recipients with DBD lung transplantation have an acceptable survival during short-term follow-up, but with higher incidences of complications related to infection post-transplantation.

  5. Effect of perioperative blood transfusions on long term graft outcomes in renal transplant patients.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    O'Brien, Frank J

    2012-06-01

    It is established that blood transfusions will promote sensitization to human leucocyte antigen (HLA) antigens, increase time spent waiting for transplantation and may lead to higher rates of rejection. Less is known about how perioperative blood transfusion influence patient and graft outcome. This study aims to establish if there is an association between perioperative blood transfusion and graft or patient survival.

  6. The uranium industry: long-term planning for short-term competition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vottero, X.; Georges Capus, G.

    2001-01-01

    Long term planning for short term competition Today, uranium producers face new challenges in terms of both production (new regulatory, environmental and social constraints) and market conditions (new sources of uranium supply, very low prices and tough competition). In such a context, long-term planning is not just a prerequisite to survive in the nuclear fuel cycle industry. In fact, it also contributes to sustaining nuclear electricity generation facing fierce competition from other energy sources in increasingly deregulated markets. Firstly, the risk of investing in new mining projects in western countries is growing because, on the one hand, of very erratic market conditions and, on the other hand, of increasingly lengthy, complex and unpredictable regulatory conditions. Secondly, the supply of other sources of uranium (uranium derived from nuclear weapons, uranium produced in CIS countries, ...) involve other risks, mainly related to politics and commercial restrictions. Consequently, competitive uranium supply requires not only technical competence but also financial strength and good marketing capabilities in order to anticipate long-term market trends, in terms of both demand and supply. It also requires taking into account new parameters such as politics, environment, regulations, etc. Today, a supplier dedicated to the sustainable production of nuclear electricity must manage a broad range of long-term risks inherent to the procurement of uranium. Taking into account all these parameters in a context of short-term, fast-changing market is a great challenge for the future generation. World Uranium Civilian Supply and Demand. (authors)

  7. Decreased graft survival in liver transplant recipients of donors with positive blood cultures: a review of the United Network for Organ Sharing dataset.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huaman, Moises A; Vilchez, Valery; Mei, Xiaonan; Shah, Malay B; Daily, Michael F; Berger, Jonathan; Gedaly, Roberto

    2017-06-01

    Liver transplantation using blood culture positive donors (BCPD) has allowed a significant expansion of the donor pool. We aimed to characterize BCPD and assess the outcomes of BCPD liver transplant recipients. We retrieved data from the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) registry on all adults who underwent primary, single-organ deceased-donor liver transplantation in the USA between 2008 and 2013. Patients were classified into two cohorts: the BCPD cohort and the non-BCPD cohort. One-year graft and patient survival were compared between cohorts using Kaplan-Meier estimates and Cox models. A total of 28 961 patients were included. There were 2316 (8.0%) recipients of BCPD. BCPD were more likely to be older, female, black, diabetic, hypertensive, and obese compared to non-BCPD. Graft survival was significantly lower in BCPD recipients compared to non-BCPD recipients (Kaplan-Meier, 0.85 vs. 0.87; P = 0.009). Results remained significant in propensity-matched analysis (P = 0.038). BCPD was independently associated with decreased graft survival (adjusted HR; 1.10, 95% CI 1.01-1.20; P = 0.04). There were no significant differences in patient survival between study groups. BCPD was associated with decreased graft survival in liver transplant recipients. Studies are needed to identify subgroups of BCPD with the highest risk of graft failure and characterize the underlying pathogenic mechanisms. © 2016 Steunstichting ESOT.

  8. Long-term survival despite early loss of graft function after single lung transplantation for pulmonary fibrosis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ouwens, JP; van den Berg, JWK; van der Bij, W; Koeter, GH

    We report a patient who received a single, left lung transplantation for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. The effect of the graft on pulmonary improvement was only temporary, because the patient developed obliterative bronchiolitis (OB), resulting in complete destruction of the graft. The patient,

  9. Sodium nitroprusside enhanced cardiopulmonary resuscitation improves short term survival in a porcine model of ischemic refractory ventricular fibrillation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yannopoulos, Demetris; Bartos, Jason A; George, Stephen A; Sideris, George; Voicu, Sebastian; Oestreich, Brett; Matsuura, Timothy; Shekar, Kadambari; Rees, Jennifer; Aufderheide, Tom P

    2017-01-01

    Sodium nitroprusside (SNP) enhanced CPR (SNPeCPR) demonstrates increased vital organ blood flow and survival in multiple porcine models. We developed a new, coronary occlusion/ischemia model of prolonged resuscitation, mimicking the majority of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests presenting with shockable rhythms. SNPeCPR will increase short term (4-h) survival compared to standard 2015 Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) guidelines in an ischemic refractory ventricular fibrillation (VF), prolonged CPR model. Sixteen anesthetized pigs had the ostial left anterior descending artery occluded leading to ischemic VF arrest. VF was untreated for 5min. Basic life support was performed for 10min. At minute 10 (EMS arrival), animals received either SNPeCPR (n=8) or standard ACLS (n=8). Defibrillation (200J) occurred every 3min. CPR continued for a total of 45min, then the balloon was deflated simulating revascularization. CPR continued until return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) or a total of 60min, if unsuccessful. SNPeCPR animals received 2mg of SNP at minute 10 followed by 1mg every 5min until ROSC. Standard ACLS animals received 0.5mg epinephrine every 5min until ROSC. Primary endpoints were ROSC and 4-h survival. All SNPeCPR animals (8/8) achieved sustained ROSC versus 2/8 standard ACLS animals within one hour of resuscitation (p=0.04). The 4-h survival was significantly improved with SNPeCPR compared to standard ACLS, 7/8 versus 1/8 respectively, p=0.0019. SNPeCPR significantly improved ROSC and 4-h survival compared with standard ACLS CPR in a porcine model of prolonged ischemic, refractory VF cardiac arrest. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Readiness for change and short-term outcomes of female adolescents in residential treatment for anorexia nervosa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McHugh, Matthew D

    2007-11-01

    To determine if readiness for change (RFC) at admission predicted length of stay (LOS) and short-term outcomes among female adolescents in residential treatment for anorexia nervosa (AN). Using a prospective cohort design to collect data from participants (N = 65) at admission and discharge, Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and Cox regression tested whether RFC on admission predicted time in LOS to a favorable short-term outcome--a composite endpoint based on minimum criteria for weight gain, drive for thinness, depression, anxiety, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Participants with low RFC had a mean survival time to a favorable short-term outcome of 59.4 days compared to 34.1 days for those with high RFC (log rank = 8.44, df = 1, p = .003). The probability of a favorable short-term outcome was 5.30 times greater for participants with high RFC. Readiness for change is a useful predictor of a favorable short-term outcome and should be considered in the assessment profile of patients with AN. (c) 2007 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  11. Short-term outcomes following laparoscopic resection for colon cancer.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Kavanagh, Dara O

    2011-03-01

    Laparoscopic resection for colon cancer has been proven to have a similar oncological efficacy compared to open resection. Despite this, it is performed by a minority of colorectal surgeons. The aim of our study was to evaluate the short-term clinical, oncological and survival outcomes in all patients undergoing laparoscopic resection for colon cancer.

  12. Pre-transplant levels of ficolin-3 are associated with kidney graft survival

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bay, Jakob T; Hein, Estrid; Sørensen, Søren S

    2013-01-01

    . 97 blood donors served as controls. Ficolin-3, C4 and C3 were measured in pre-transplant as well as in control serum samples. In controls, deposition of ficolin-3, C4, C3 and the terminal complement complex (TCC) was measured in an assay based on acetylated albumin as matrix. The ficolin-3 levels...... correlated with the serum levels of C4 and C3. The serum levels of ficolin-3 correlated with the deposition of ficolin-3, C4, C3 and TCC. Survival analyses showed that high pre-transplant serum levels of ficolin-3 were associated with decreased graft survival. These results suggest an important role...

  13. Short-term toxicity of polystryrene microplastics on mysid shrimps Neomysis japonica

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Mingxin; Wang, Xiao; Luo, Xianxiang; Zheng, Hao

    2017-04-01

    Plastic debris especially microplastics (MPs) have become a global concern for the aggravating pollution in the oceans. In this study, the physico-chemical properties of fluorescently labeled polystyrene (PS) beads and the effects of PS-MPs on the survival of mysid shrimps (Neomysis japonica) were investigated. PS-MPs were identified to have spherical shape, uniform size and stable green fluorescence. The results showed that PS beads had little effects on the mortality of shrimps under a short-term (72 h) exposure with concentrations of 50 μg L-1 and 500 μg L-1. However, PS-MPs had severe short-term toxicity on the survival of mysid shrimps, resulting in 30% mortality especially in a 72 h exposure with the higher concentration of 1000 μg L-1. These findings provide new insights into the toxic effects of MPs on marine invertebrates.

  14. Short-term and long-term risk factors in gastric cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verlato, Giuseppe; Marrelli, Daniele; Accordini, Simone; Bencivenga, Maria; Di Leo, Alberto; Marchet, Alberto; Petrioli, Roberto; Zoppini, Giacomo; Muggeo, Michele; Roviello, Franco; de Manzoni, Giovanni

    2015-06-07

    curative gastrectomy with D2/D3 lymphadenectomy. Survival curves in the two different histotypes (intestinal and mixed/diffuse) were superimposed in the first three years of follow-up and diverged thereafter. Likewise, survival curves as a function of site (fundus vs body/antrum) started to diverge after the first year. On the contrary, survival curves differed among age classes from the very beginning, due to different post-operative mortality, which increased from 0.5% in patients aged 65-74 years to 9.9% in patients aged 75-91 years; this discrepancy later disappeared. Accordingly, the proportional hazards assumption of the Cox model was violated, as regards age, site and histology. To cope with this problem, multivariable survival analysis was performed by separately considering either the first two years of follow-up or subsequent years. Histology and site were significant predictors only after two years, while T and N, although significant both in the short-term and in the long-term, became less important in the second part of follow-up. Increasing age was associated with higher mortality in the first two years, but not thereafter. Splitting survival time when performing survival analysis allows to distinguish between short-term and long-term risk factors. Alternative statistical solutions could be to exclude post-operative mortality, to introduce in the model time-dependent covariates or to stratify on variables violating proportionality assumption.

  15. Persistent hyperparathyroidism as a risk factor for long-term graft failure: the need to discuss indication for parathyroidectomy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Araujo, Maria Júlia Correia Lima Nepomuceno; Ramalho, Janaina Almeida Mota; Elias, Rosilene Motta; Jorgetti, Vanda; Nahas, William; Custodio, Melani; Moysés, Rosa M A; David-Neto, Elias

    2018-01-10

    Although a successful kidney transplant (KTx) improves most of the mineral and bone disorders (MBD) produced by chronic kidney disease (CKD), hyperparathyroidism may persist (pHPT). Current guidelines recommend parathyroidectomy if serum parathormone is persistently elevated 1 year after KTx, because pHPT has been recently associated with poor graft outcomes. However, whether patients with pHPT and adequate renal function are at risk for long-term graft failure is unknown. Longitudinal follow-up of 911 adults submitted to KTx between January 2005 and December 2014, with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) ≥ 30 mL/min 1 year after surgery. Clinical and laboratory data were collected from electronic database. Graft failure was defined as return to dialysis. Overall, 62% of the patients were classified as having pHPT 1 year after KTx. After a mean follow-up time of 47 months, there were 59 graft failures (49 in pHPT and 10 in non-pHPT group, P = .003). At last follow-up, death-censored graft survival was lower in the pHPT group (P = .009), even after adjustment for age at KTx, donor age, donor type, acute rejection, parathyroidectomy, and eGFR at 1 year after transplantation (odds ratio [OR] 1.99; 1.004-3.971; P = .049). A PTH of 150 pg/mL at 6 months was the best cutoff to predict pHPT at 1 year (specificity = 92.1%). Having pHPT after a successful KTx increases the long-term risk of death-censored graft failure. This result highlights the need for better recognition and management of CKD-MBD before and during the first year after KTx, and opens a discussion on the more appropriate timing to perform parathyroidectomy. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Audit of long-term and short-term liabilities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Korinko M.D.

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available The article determines the importance of long-term and short-term liabilities for the management of financial and material resources of an enterprise. It reviews the aim, objects and information generators for realization of audit of short-term and long-term obligations. The organizing and methodical providing of audit of long-term and short-term liabilities of an enterprise are generalized. The authors distinguish the stages of realization of audit of long-term and short-term liabilities, the aim of audit on each of the presented stages, and recommend methodical techniques. It is fixed that it is necessary to conduct the estimation of the systems of internal control and record-keeping of an enterprise by implementation of public accountant procedures for determination of volume and maintenance of selection realization. After estimating the indicated systems, a public accountant determines the methodology for realization of public accountant verification of long-term and short-term liabilities. The analytical procedures that public accountants are expedient to use for realization of audit of short-term and long-term obligations are determined. The authors suggest the classification of the educed defects on the results of the conducted public accountant verification of short-term and long-term obligations.

  17. Graft Patency in Long-term Survivors after Renovisceral Debranching with VORTEC

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Winklehner, Anna, E-mail: anna.winklehner@usz.ch; Nguyen-Kim, Thi Dan Linh, E-mail: thidanlinh.nguyen@usz.ch; Pfammatter, Thomas, E-mail: thomas.pfammatter@usz.ch [University Hospital Zurich, Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology (Switzerland); Rancic, Zoran, E-mail: zoran.rancic@usz.ch; Mayer, Dieter, E-mail: dieter.mayer@usz.ch; Lachat, Mario, E-mail: mario.lachat@usz.ch [University Hospital Zurich, Clinic for Cardiovascular Surgery (Switzerland); Frauenfelder, Thomas, E-mail: Thomas.Frauenfelder@usz.ch [University Hospital Zurich, Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology (Switzerland)

    2015-06-15

    PurposeThis study was designed to evaluate retrospectively the long-term stent-graft patency after renovisceral revascularization with Viabahn Open Revascularization Technique (VORTEC) using computed tomography angiography (CTA) and magnetic resonance angiography (MRA).MethodsIn 34 patients (seven women; mean age 72 ± 8 years) with aortic aneurysm, 63 renovisceral vessels (i.e., 54 renal, nine visceral arteries) were revascularized with VORTEC between 2004 and 2009. All patients obtained a pre- and postinterventional CTA and at least one follow-up CTA or MRA after 6 or more months following intervention (median follow up: 43 months). Detection of bypass occlusion, bypass stenosis, infolding, stent-graft fractures and dislocations, and kidney shrinkage were noted by two readers in consensus. Furthermore, mortality during follow-up was assessed using the medical report.ResultsDuring follow-up, 12.6 % of stent-grafts occluded. Cumulative patency rate was 95.2 ± 2.7 % at 12 months, 87.7 ± 4.4 % at 24 and 36 months, and 84.7 ± 5.2 % at 48, 60, 72, 84, and 89 months, respectively. Overall, 19 % of stent-grafts (12/63) developed bypass stenosis (<50 %, 10 stent-grafts; > 50 %, 2 stent-grafts), in one case stenosis (>70 %) was suspected to be hemodynamically significant. No secondary dislocation, no infolding of renovisceral stent-grafts, and no stent-graft fracture occurred. Kidney shrinkage occurred in nine patients, primarily in patients with an occluded Viabahn (n = 7). Eleven patients (32.3 %) died within the follow-up time period.ConclusionsIn long-term survivors after VORTEC cumulative patency rate remained high, and no stent-graft fractures or secondary dislocations occurred.

  18. The impact of pretransplant donor-specific antibodies on graft outcome in renal transplantation: a six-year follow-up study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elias David-Neto

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: The significance of pretransplant, donor-specific antibodies on long-term patient outcomes is a subject of debate. This study evaluated the impact and the presence or absence of donor-specific antibodies after kidney transplantation on short- and long-term graft outcomes. METHODS: We analyzed the frequency and dynamics of pretransplant donor-specific antibodies following renal transplantation from a randomized trial that was conducted from 2002 to 2004 and correlated these findings with patient outcomes through 2009. Transplants were performed against a complement-dependent T- and B-negative crossmatch. Pre- and posttransplant sera were available from 94 of the 118 patients (80%. Antibodies were detected using a solid-phase (LuminexH, single-bead assay, and all tests were performed simultaneously. RESULTS: Sixteen patients exhibited pretransplant donor-specific antibodies, but only 3 of these patients (19% developed antibody-mediated rejection and 2 of them experienced early graft losses. Excluding these 2 losses, 6 of 14 patients exhibited donor-specific antibodies at the final follow-up exam, whereas 8 of these patients (57% exhibited complete clearance of the donor-specific antibodies. Five other patients developed ''de novo'' posttransplant donor-specific antibodies. Death-censored graft survival was similar in patients with pretransplant donor-specific and non-donor-specific antibodies after a mean follow-up period of 70 months. CONCLUSION: Pretransplant donor-specific antibodies with a negative complement-dependent cytotoxicity crossmatch are associated with a risk for the development of antibody-mediated rejection, although survival rates are similar when patients transpose the first months after receiving the graft. Our data also suggest that early posttransplant donor-specific antibody monitoring should increase knowledge of antibody dynamics and their impact on long-term graft outcome.

  19. In vivo studies of the long-term 51Cr red cell survival of serologically incompatible red cell units

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baldwin, M.L.; Ness, P.M.; Barrasso, C.; Kickler, T.S.; Drew, H.; Tsan, M.F.; Shirey, R.S.

    1985-01-01

    The long-term survival of serologically incompatible red cell units was measured in five patients with antibodies to high-frequency antigens. Initially, the survival of 1 ml of 51 Cr-labeled incompatible red cells was measured over 1 hour. After demonstrating that the 1-hour survival times were successful (greater than 70%), each patient then received 5 ml of the same 51 Cr-labeled red cells followed by the transfusion of the remainder of the red cell unit. The long-term T 1/2Cr survival for each case was patient 1 (anti-McCa), 15 days; patient 2 (anti-JMH), 12 days; patient 3 (anti-Kna), 31 days; patient 4 (anti-McCa), 12 days; and patient 5 (anti-Hya), 14 days. Each antibody tested in an in vitro homologous macrophage assay showed less than 5 percent phagocytosis. Anti-JMH was the only antibody to react with IgG subclass antisera and was determined to be IgG4. The macrophage assay, IgG subclass testing, and short-term (1 hour, 1 ml) 51 Cr survival studies all indicated that the short-term survival was good. However, only the measurement of long-term survival with transfused units of serologically incompatible red cells was able to determine the actual survival, and clinical significance of the alloantibodies. Determining the actual long-term survival by the method described here can be of importance for patients requiring chronic red cell transfusion

  20. Impact of patient-prosthesis mismatch following aortic valve replacement on short-term survival: a retrospective single center analysis of 632 consecutive patients with isolated stented biological aortic valve replacement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoffmann, Grischa; Ogbamicael, Selam Abraham; Jochens, Arne; Frank, Derk; Lutter, Georg; Cremer, Jochen; Petzina, Rainer

    2014-09-01

    The impact of patient-prosthesis mismatch (PPM) after aortic valve replacement (AVR) on short-term and long-term mortality remains controversial. The objective of this study was to evaluate the incidence and severity of PPM and its impact on short-term survival in a large cohort of patients treated with isolated stented biological AVR in a single institution. We analyzed retrospectively data of 632 consecutive patients with aortic stenosis undergoing isolated stented biological AVR between January 2007 and February 2012 at our institution. PPM was defined as an indexed effective orifice area ≤ 0.85 cm(2)/m(2). Statistical analyses were performed to identify influencing variables on valve size implanted. Of the 632 patients investigated, 46% were females and mean age was 71.9 ± 10.4 years. PPM was observed in 93.8% (593 of 632 patients). In 71% of the patients, moderate (0.65-0.85 cm(2)/m(2)) PPM was present and in 22.8% severe (body mass index, and body surface area as simultaneous predictors of the valve size implanted (R(2)= 0.39). PPM had no discernable impact on short-term survival, although it was present in 93.8% of our patients following isolated stented biological AVR. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  1. Association of vascular access flow with short-term and long-term mortality in chronic haemodialysis patients: a retrospective cohort study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Chung-Kuan; Wu, Chia-Lin; Lin, Chia-Hsun; Leu, Jyh-Gang; Kor, Chew-Teng; Tarng, Der-Cherng

    2017-09-24

    To investigate the impact of vascular access flow (Qa) on vascular and all-cause mortality in chronic haemodialysis (HD) patients. Observational cohort study. Single centre. Adult chronic HD patients at the HD unit of Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital between 1 January 2003 and 31 December 2003 were recruited. Patients were excluded if they had arteriovenous fistula or arteriovenous graft failure within 3 months before the date of Qa measurement, were aged Short-term and long-term vascular (cardiovascular or cerebrovascular) and all-cause mortality. Qa was positively correlated with CI ( r =0.48, plong-term all-cause mortality (adjusted HR, 1.62; 95% CI 1.11 to 2.37; p=0.013); however, the risk of vascular mortality did not significantly increase after adjustment for confounders. Qa is moderately correlated with cardiac function, and a Qa level of short-term and long-term all-cause mortality in chronic HD patients. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

  2. Proximal tubular dysfunction as an indicator of chronic graft dysfunction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N.O.S. Câmara

    2009-03-01

    Full Text Available New strategies are being devised to limit the impact of renal sclerosis on graft function. Individualization of immunosuppression, specifically the interruption of calcineurin-inhibitors has been tried in order to promote better graft survival once chronic graft dysfunction has been established. However, the long-term impact of these approaches is still not totally clear. Nevertheless, patients at higher risk for tubular atrophy and interstitial fibrosis (TA/IF development should be carefully monitored for tubular function as well as glomerular performance. Since tubular-interstitial impairment is an early event in TA/IF pathogenesis and associated with graft function, it seems reasonable that strategies directed at assessing tubular structural integrity and function would yield important functional and prognostic data. The measurement of small proteins in urine such as α-1-microglobulin, N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase, alpha/pi S-glutathione transferases, β-2 microglobulin, and retinol binding protein is associated with proximal tubular cell dysfunction. Therefore, its straightforward assessment could provide a powerful tool in patient monitoring and ongoing clinical assessment of graft function, ultimately helping to facilitate longer patient and graft survival associated with good graft function.

  3. LATE RENAL GRAFT REJECTION: PATHOLOGY AND PROGNOSIS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E.S. Stolyarevich

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Rejection has always been one of the most important cause of late renal graft dysfunction. Aim of the study was to analyze the prevalence of different clinico-pathological variants of rejection that cause late graft dysfunction, and evaluate their impact on long-term outcome. Materials and methods. This is a retrospective study that analyzed 294 needle core biopsy specimens from 265 renal transplant recipients with late (48,8 ± 46,1 months after transplantation allograft dysfunction caused by late acute rejection (LAR, n = 193 or chronic rejection (CR, n = 78 or both (n = 23. C4d staining was performed by immunofl uorescence (IF on frozen sections using a standard protocol. Results. Peritubular capillary C4d deposition was identifi ed in 36% samples with acute rejection and in 62% cases of chronic rejection (including 67% cases of transplant glomerulopathy, and 50% – of isolated chronic vasculopathy. 5-year graft survival for LAR vs CR vs their combination was 47, 13 and 25%, respectively. The outcome of C4d– LAR was (p < 0,01 better than of C4d+ acute rejection: at 60 months graft survival for diffuse C4d+ vs C4d− was 33% vs 53%, respectively. In cases of chronic rejection C4d+ vs C4d– it was not statistically signifi cant (34% vs 36%. Conclusion. In long-term allograft biopsy C4d positivity is more haracteristic for chronic rejection than for acute rejection. Only diffuse C4d staining affects the outcome. C4d– positivity is associated with worse allograft survival in cases of late acute rejection, but not in cases of chronic rejection. 

  4. Mesenchymal stem cells increase skin graft survival time and up-regulate PD-L1 expression in splenocytes of mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moravej, Ali; Geramizadeh, Bita; Azarpira, Negar; Zarnani, Amir-Hassan; Yaghobi, Ramin; Kalani, Mehdi; Khosravi, Maryam; Kouhpayeh, Amin; Karimi, Mohammad-Hossein

    2017-02-01

    Recently, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have gained considerable interests as hopeful therapeutic cells in transplantation due to their immunoregulatory functions. But exact mechanisms underlying MSCs immunoregulatory function is not fully understood. Herein, in addition to investigate the ability of MSCs to prolong graft survival time, the effects of them on the expression of PD-L1 and IDO immunomodulatory molecules in splenocytes of skin graft recipient mice was clarified. To achieve this goal, full-thickness skins were transplanted from C57BL/6 to BALB/c mice. MSCs were isolated from bone marrow of BALB/c mice and injected to the recipient mice. Skin graft survival was monitored daily to determine graft rejection time. On days 2, 5 and 10 post skin transplantation, serum cytokine levels and expression of PD-L1 and IDO mRNA and protein in the splenocytes of recipient mice were evaluated. The results showed that administration of MSCs prolonged skin graft survival time from 11 to 14 days. On days 2 and 5 post transplantation, splenocytes PD-L1 expression and IL-10 serum level in MSCs treated mice were higher than those in the controls, while IL-2 and IFN-γ levels were lower. Rejection in MSCs treated mice was accompanied by an increase in IL-2 and IFN-γ, and decrease in PD-L1 expression and IL-10 level. No difference in the expression of IDO between MSCs treated mice and controls was observed. In conclusion, we found that one of the mechanisms underlying MSCs immunomodulatory function could be up-regulating PD-L1 expression. Copyright © 2017 European Federation of Immunological Societies. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Long-term Results of Endovascular Stent Graft Placement of Ureteroarterial Fistula

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Okada, Takuya, E-mail: okabone@gmail.com; Yamaguchi, Masato, E-mail: masato03310402@yahoo.co.jp [Kobe University Hospital, Department of Radiology (Japan); Muradi, Akhmadu, E-mail: muradiakhmadu@gmail.com; Nomura, Yoshikatsu, E-mail: y_katsu1027@yahoo.co.jp [Kobe University Hospital, Center for Endovascular Therapy (Japan); Uotani, Kensuke, E-mail: uotani@tenriyorozu.jp [Tenri Hospital, Department of Radiology (Japan); Idoguchi, Koji, E-mail: idoguchi@ares.eonet.ne.jp [Kobe University Hospital, Center for Endovascular Therapy (Japan); Miyamoto, Naokazu, E-mail: naoka_zu@yahoo.co.jp; Kawasaki, Ryota, E-mail: kawaryo1999@yahoo.co.jp [Hyogo Brain and Heart Center at Himeji, Department of Radiology (Japan); Taniguchi, Takanori, E-mail: tan9523929@yahoo.co.jp [Tenri Hospital, Department of Radiology (Japan); Okita, Yutaka, E-mail: yokita@med.kobe-u.ac.jp [Kobe University Hospital, Department of Cardiovascular Surgery (Japan); Sugimoto, Koji, E-mail: kojirad@med.kobe-u.ac.jp [Kobe University Hospital, Department of Radiology (Japan)

    2013-08-01

    PurposeTo evaluate the safety, efficacy, and long-term results of endovascular stent graft placement for ureteroarterial fistula (UAF).MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed stent graft placement for UAF performed at our institution from 2004 to 2012. Fistula location was assessed by contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) and angiography, and freedom from hematuria recurrence and mortality rates were estimated.ResultsStent graft placement for 11 UAFs was performed (4 men, mean age 72.8 {+-} 11.6 years). Some risk factors were present, including long-term ureteral stenting in 10 (91 %), pelvic surgery in 8 (73 %), and pelvic radiation in 5 (45 %). Contrast-enhanced CT and/or angiography revealed fistula or encasement of the artery in 6 cases (55 %). In the remaining 5 (45 %), angiography revealed no abnormality, and the suspected fistula site was at the crossing area between urinary tract and artery. All procedures were successful. However, one patient died of urosepsis 37 days after the procedure. At a mean follow-up of 548 (range 35-1,386) days, 4 patients (36 %) had recurrent hematuria, and two of them underwent additional treatment with secondary stent graft placement and surgical reconstruction. The hematuria recurrence-free rates at 1 and 2 years were 76.2 and 40.6 %, respectively. The freedom from UAF-related and overall mortality rates at 2 years were 85.7 and 54.9 %, respectively.ConclusionEndovascular stent graft placement for UAF is a safe and effective method to manage acute events. However, the hematuria recurrence rate remains high. A further study of long-term results in larger number of patients is necessary.

  6. Long-term survival and function after suspected gram-negative sepsis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perl, T M; Dvorak, L; Hwang, T; Wenzel, R P

    1995-07-26

    was not normal. At the onset of suspected gram-negative sepsis, severity of underlying illness and in-hospital use of vasopressors are strong and consistent predictors of short- and long-term survival. Our data validate the McCabe and Jackson severity of illness scoring system for predicting long-term survival after sepsis. Physical dysfunction and more poorly perceived general health occur commonly after sepsis.

  7. Refractory Graft-Versus-Host Disease-Free, Relapse-Free Survival as an Accurate and Easy-to-Calculate Endpoint to Assess the Long-Term Transplant Success.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kawamura, Koji; Nakasone, Hideki; Kurosawa, Saiko; Yoshimura, Kazuki; Misaki, Yukiko; Gomyo, Ayumi; Hayakawa, Jin; Tamaki, Masaharu; Akahoshi, Yu; Kusuda, Machiko; Kameda, Kazuaki; Wada, Hidenori; Ishihara, Yuko; Sato, Miki; Terasako-Saito, Kiriko; Kikuchi, Misato; Kimura, Shun-Ichi; Tanihara, Aki; Kako, Shinichi; Kanamori, Heiwa; Mori, Takehiko; Takahashi, Satoshi; Taniguchi, Shuichi; Atsuta, Yoshiko; Kanda, Yoshinobu

    2018-02-21

    The aim of this study was to develop a new composite endpoint that accurately reflects the long-term success of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT), as the conventional graft-versus-host disease (GVHD)-free, relapse-free survival (GRFS) overestimates the impact of GVHD. First, we validated current GRFS (cGRFS), which recently was proposed as a more accurate endpoint of long-term transplant success. cGRFS was defined as survival without disease relapse/progression or active chronic GVHD at a given time after allo-HSCT, calculated using 2 distinct methods: a linear combination of a Kaplan-Meier estimates approach and a multistate modelling approach. Next, we developed a new composite endpoint, refractory GRFS (rGRFS). rGRFS was calculated similarly to conventional GRFS treating grade III to IV acute GVHD, chronic GVHD requiring systemic treatment, and disease relapse/progression as events, except that GVHD that resolved and did not require systemic treatment at the last evaluation was excluded as an event in rGRFS. The 2 cGRFS curves obtained using 2 different approaches were superimposed and both were superior to that of conventional GRFS, reflecting the proportion of patients with resolved chronic GVHD. Finally, the curves of cGRFS and rGRFS overlapped after the first 2 years of post-transplant follow-up. These results suggest that cGRFS and rGRFS more accurately reflect transplant success than conventional GRFS. Especially, rGRFS can be more easily calculated than cGRFS and analyzed with widely used statistical approaches, whereas cGRFS more accurately represents the burden of GVHD-related morbidity in the first 2 years after transplantation. Copyright © 2018 The American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Neuropeptide Treatment with Cerebrolysin Enhances the Survival of Grafted Neural Stem Cell in an α-Synuclein Transgenic Model of Parkinson's Disease

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Edward Rockenstein

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Neuronal stem cell (NSC grafts have been investigated as a potential neuro-restorative therapy in Parkinson's disease (PD but their use is compromised by the death of grafted cells. We investigated the use of Cerebrolysin (CBL, a neurotrophic peptide mixture, as an adjunct to NSC therapy in the α-synuclein (α-syn transgenic (tg model of PD. In vehicle-treated α-syn tg mice, there was decreased survival of NSCs. In contrast, CBL treatment enhanced the survival of NSCs in α-syn tg groups and ameliorated behavioral deficits. The grafted NSCs showed lower levels of terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling positive cells in the CBL-treated mice when compared with vehicle-treated α-syn tg mice. No evidence of tumor growth was detected. Levels of α-syn were similar in the vehicle in CBL-treated tg mice. In conclusion, CBL treatment might be a potential adjuvant for therapeutic NSC grafting in PD.

  9. Long-term outcome in patients with short bowel syndrome after longitudinal intestinal lengthening and tailoring.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reinshagen, K; Kabs, C; Wirth, H; Hable, N; Brade, J; Zahn, K; Hagl, C; Jester, I; Waag, K L

    2008-11-01

    Longitudinal intestinal lengthening and tailoring (LILT) is a well-established surgical treatment for short bowel syndrome. It has been shown to enhance peristalsis, decrease bacterial overgrowth, and extend mucosal contact time for nutrients. We present the results of a long-term follow-up of patients who underwent LILT and define prognostic parameters for the survival of these patients. Between 1987 and 2006, 53 patients underwent LILT in our institution. The main diagnoses were gastroschisis, intestinal volvulus, intestinal atresias, and necrotizing enterocolitis. LILT was performed at a mean age of 24 months (range 4144 months). The follow-up time was 79.76 months (range 6234 months). After LILT, 41 of 53 patients survived, and 36 of 41 surviving patients were successfully weaned from parenteral nutrition (PN). In long-term follow-up 79% stayed free of PN. The overall survival rate was 77.36%. Weight gain occurred in 58% of the patients after LILT. The quality of life after LILT is on a high level, with most patients having normal physical strength and participating in normal social life and education. Prognostic factors for survival after LILT in short bowel syndrome are length of small intestine (0.06582 + 0.0131 x bowel cm), length of large bowel (P = 0.039), preoperative liver function, and successful weaning from PN within 18 months postoperatively (P = 0.0032). Patients undergoing LILT in short bowel syndrome have a high survival rate, weight gain, and a high quality of life. Autologous gastrointestinal reconstruction remains therefore the first choice in the treatment of patients with short bowel syndrome.

  10. Short dental implants in patients with oral lichen planus: a long-term follow-up.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anitua, E; Piñas, L; Escuer-Artero, V; Fernández, R S; Alkhraisat, M H

    2018-04-01

    Oral lichen planus is associated with the Koebner phenomenon, and trauma may exacerbate oral lesions. Short dental implants, as alternatives to bony augmentation, would reduce the number of interventions and their morbidity. However, we know of no studies that have analysed the long-term outcomes of short implants in patients with oral lichen planus. We have therefore designed a retrospective study of such patients treated with short implants (≤8.5mm long), with survival of implants as the main outcome. The secondary outcomes were marginal bone loss and the development of complications. We calculated the implants' survival and compared the outcomes statistically between erosive and reticular oral lichen planus. Sixty-six short implants were placed in 23 patients with a mean (SD) age of 58 (7) years. The mean (SD) peri-implant bone loss was 0.96 (0.89) mm mesially and 0.99 (1.1) mm distally. Sixty-five of the 66 implants survived with a mean (SD) follow-up of 68 (32) months, and there were no significant differences between erosive and reticular disease. Stable long-term outcomes can be expected for short implants placed in patients with oral lichen planus, and graftless rehabilitation of missing teeth could be possible in these patients if short implants were used. Copyright © 2018 The British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Successful term pregnancy in an intestine-pancreas transplant recipient with chronic graft dysfunction and parenteral nutrition dependence: a case report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marcus, E A; Wozniak, L J; Venick, R S; Ponthieux, S M; Cheng, E Y; Farmer, D G

    2015-04-01

    Pregnancy after solid organ transplantation is becoming more common, with the largest recorded numbers in renal and liver transplant recipients. Intestinal transplantation is relatively new compared to other solid organs, and reports of successful pregnancy are far less frequent. All pregnancies reported to date in intestinal transplant recipients have been in women with stable graft function. The case reported here involves the first reported successful term pregnancy in an intestine-pancreas transplant recipient with chronic graft dysfunction and dependence on both transplant immunosuppression and parenteral nutrition (PN) at the time of conception. Pregnancy was unplanned and unexpected in the setting of chronic illness and menstrual irregularities, discovered incidentally on abdominal ultrasound at approximately 18 weeks' gestation. Rapamune was held, tacrolimus continued, and PN adjusted to maintain consistent weight gain. A healthy female infant was delivered vaginally at term. Medical complications during pregnancy included anemia and need for tunneled catheter replacements. Ascites and edema were improved from baseline, with recurrence of large volume ascites shortly after delivery. Successful pregnancy is possible in the setting of transplant immunosuppression, chronic intestinal graft dysfunction, and long-term PN requirement, but close monitoring is required to ensure the health of mother and child. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Short-term salinity tolerance of northern pike, Esox lucius , fry, related to temperature and size

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jacobsen, Lene; Skov, Christian; Koed, Anders

    2007-01-01

    The short-term tolerances of northern pike, Esox lucius L., fry reared in a freshwater hatchery, to salinity were examined in the laboratory. Survival of two size groups of pike fry (mean length 21 +/- 2 mm SD and 37 +/- 4 mm SD) was examined over 72- to 96-h periods at 9-14 ppt salinity in combi......The short-term tolerances of northern pike, Esox lucius L., fry reared in a freshwater hatchery, to salinity were examined in the laboratory. Survival of two size groups of pike fry (mean length 21 +/- 2 mm SD and 37 +/- 4 mm SD) was examined over 72- to 96-h periods at 9-14 ppt salinity...... in combination with temperatures of 10, 14 and 18 degrees C. A parametric survival model found a significant correlation between survival of pike fry and temperature and salinity, respectively. L(C)50 values after 72 h were between 11.2 and 12.2 ppt, being lowest at 10 degrees C. Pike fry did not survive more...

  13. When palliative treatment achieves more than palliation: Instances of long-term survival after palliative radiotherapy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Madhup Rastogi

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Context: Palliative radiotherapy aims at symptom alleviation and improvement of quality of life. It may be effective in conferring a reasonable quantum of local control, as well as possibly prolonging survival on the short term. However, there can be rare instances where long-term survival, or even cure, results from palliative radiotherapy, which mostly uses sub-therapeutic doses. Aim: To categorize and characterize the patients with long-term survival and/or cure after palliative radiotherapy. Materials and Methods: This study is a retrospective analysis of hospital records of patients treated with palliative radiotherapy from 2001 to 2006 at the Regional Cancer Centre, Shimla. Results: Of the analyzed 963 patients who received palliative radiotherapy, 2.4% (n = 23 survived at least 5 years, with a large majority of these surviving patients (73.9%, n = 17 being free of disease. Conclusions: In addition to providing valuable symptom relief, palliative radiotherapy utilizing sub-therapeutic doses may, in a small proportion of patients, bestow long-term survival, and possibly cure. Rationally, such a favorable, but rare outcome cannot be expected with supportive care alone.

  14. Erythropoietin improves the survival of fat tissue after its transplantation in nude mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamed, Saher; Egozi, Dana; Kruchevsky, Danny; Teot, Luc; Gilhar, Amos; Ullmann, Yehuda

    2010-11-15

    Autologous transplanted fat has a high resorption rate, providing a clinical challenge for the means to reduce it. Erythropoietin (EPO) has non-hematopoietic targets, and we hypothesized that EPO may improve long-term fat graft survival because it has both pro-angiogenic and anti-apoptotic properties. We aimed to determine the effect of EPO on the survival of human fat tissue after its transplantation in nude mice. Human fat tissue was injected subcutaneously into immunologically-compromised nude mice, and the grafts were then treated with either 20 IU or 100 IU EPO. At the end of the 15-week study period, the extent of angiogenesis, apoptosis, and histology were assessed in the fat grafts. The results were compared to vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-treated and phosphate-buffered saline (PBS)-treated fat grafts. The weight and volume of the EPO-treated grafts were higher than those of the PBS-treated grafts, whose weights and volumes were not different from those of the VEGF-treated grafts. EPO treatment also increased the expression of angiogenic factors and microvascular density, and reduced inflammation and apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner in the fat grafts. Our data suggest that stimulation of angiogenesis by a cluster of angiogenic factors and decreased fat cell apoptosis account for potential mechanisms that underlie the improved long-term survival of fat transplants following EPO treatment.

  15. Graft survival and cytokine production profile after limbal transplantation in the experimental mouse model

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Lenčová, Anna; Pokorná, Kateřina; Zajícová, Alena; Krulová, Magdalena; Filipec, M.; Holáň, Vladimír

    2011-01-01

    Roč. 24, č. 3 (2011), s. 189-194 ISSN 0966-3274 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR KAN200520804; GA MŠk 1M0506; GA ČR GD310/08/H077 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z50520514 Keywords : limbal transplantation * graft survival * cytokine response Subject RIV: EC - Immunology Impact factor: 1.459, year: 2011

  16. Long-term outcome of secondary alveolar bone grafting in cleft lip and palate patients

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Meyer, Steffen; Pedersen, Kirsten Mølsted

    2013-01-01

    The objective was to assess the long-term outcome of secondary alveolar bone grafting (SABG) in cleft lip and palate patients and to examine relationships between preoperative and postoperative factors and overall long-term bone graft success. The records of 97 patients with cleft lip and palate......, who had secondary alveolar bone grafting of 123 alveolar clefts, were examined. Interalveolar bone height was assessed radiographically a minimum of 10 years after grafting using a 4-point scale (I-IV), where types I and II were considered a success. After an average follow-up of 16 years after SABG...... to the cleft. No significant differences were found with regard to the other parameters investigated. The timing of secondary alveolar bone grafting is critical with regard to the age of the patient and the stage of eruption of the tooth distal to the cleft....

  17. Development and validation of technique for in-vivo 3D analysis of cranial bone graft survival

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bernstein, Mark P.; Caldwell, Curtis B.; Antonyshyn, Oleh M.; Ma, Karen; Cooper, Perry W.; Ehrlich, Lisa E.

    1997-05-01

    Bone autografts are routinely employed in the reconstruction of facial deformities resulting from trauma, tumor ablation or congenital malformations. The combined use of post- operative 3D CT and SPECT imaging provides a means for quantitative in vivo evaluation of bone graft volume and osteoblastic activity. The specific objectives of this study were: (1) Determine the reliability and accuracy of interactive computer-assisted analysis of bone graft volumes based on 3D CT scans; (2) Determine the error in CT/SPECT multimodality image registration; (3) Determine the error in SPECT/SPECT image registration; and (4) Determine the reliability and accuracy of CT-guided SPECT uptake measurements in cranial bone grafts. Five human cadaver heads served as anthropomorphic models for all experiments. Four cranial defects were created in each specimen with inlay and onlay split skull bone grafts and reconstructed to skull and malar recipient sites. To acquire all images, each specimen was CT scanned and coated with Technetium doped paint. For purposes of validation, skulls were landmarked with 1/16-inch ball-bearings and Indium. This study provides a new technique relating anatomy and physiology for the analysis of cranial bone graft survival.

  18. Superior long term outcome associated with native vessel versus graft vessel PCI following secondary PCI in patients with prior CABG.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mavroudis, Chrysostomos A; Kotecha, Tushar; Chehab, Omar; Hudson, Jonathan; Rakhit, Roby D

    2017-02-01

    Secondary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with prior coronary artery bypass graft surgery is increasingly common. Graft vessel PCI has higher rates of adverse events compared with native coronary vessel PCI. To investigate the clinical outcomes of patients with prior CABG who underwent secondary PCI of either a graft vessel (GV), a native coronary vessel (NV) or both graft and native (NG) vessels. 220 patients (84% male) who underwent PCI in our institution to either GV (n=89), NV (n=103) or both GV and NV (NG group) (n=28) were studied. The study population underwent 378 procedures (GV group; n=126, NV group; n=164 and NG group; n=88). Median follow up was for 36months [range 2-75months]. Target vessel revascularisation (TVR) occurred in 12.5% of the GV group and 3.6% in the NV group [p=0.0004], and was predominantly due to in-stent restenosis. Patients who had PCI due to TVR were more likely to suffer from diabetes and peripheral vascular disease. History of chronic renal failure was associated with higher risk (HR 2.21, p=0.005) whereas preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) with lower risk (HR 0.17, p=0.0007) of death. The median survival (interval between CABG and end of follow-up period) was lower in the GV compared with the NV group (315 vs 372months p=0.005). This registry demonstrates inferior long term outcome for patients undergoing secondary PCI of GV versus NV. Where possible, a strategy of NV rather than GV target PCI should be considered in patients with prior CABG. Secondary PCI in patients with prior CABG surgery is increasingly common. Graft vessel PCI has inferior outcomes with high rates of restenosis and occlusion compared with native coronary vessel PCI. We studied the clinical outcomes of 220 patients with prior CABG who underwent secondary PCI to either a graft vessel (GV), a native coronary vessel (NV) or both graft and native (NG) vessels. Target vessel revascularisation was 5 times higher in the GV

  19. Recipient bone marrow-derived stromal cells prolong graft survival in a rat hind limb allotransplantation model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ikeguchi, Ryosuke; Kakinoki, Ryosuke; Ohta, Souichi; Oda, Hiroki; Yurie, Hirofumi; Kaizawa, Yukitoshi; Mitsui, Hiroto; Aoyama, Tomoki; Toguchida, Junya; Matsuda, Shuichi

    2017-09-01

    Recent studies have indicated that bone marrow-derived stromal cells (BMSCs) have immunomodulatory properties that suppress the T cell responses that cause graft rejection. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of recipient BMSCs intravenous infusion for immunomodulation in a rat vascularized composite allotransplantation model. A total of nine Wistar (WIS) rats and thirty Lewis (LEW) rats were used. BMSCs were harvested from three LEW rats. Twenty-four LEW rats were used as recipients and divided randomly into four groups: BMSC group, FK group, UT group, and Iso group. In the BMSC group, orthotopic rat hind limb transplantation was performed between WIS donor and LEW recipient rats. Recipient rats were injected intravenously with 2 × 10 6 recipient BMSCs on day 6, and with 0.2 mg/kg/day tacrolimus administered over 7 days (n = 6). In the FK group, recipient rats were treated with tacrolimus alone (n = 6). Rats in the UT group received no immunosuppressive treatment (n = 6). In the Iso group, transplantation was performed from three LEW donor rats to six LEW recipient rats without any immunosuppressive treatment (n = 6). Graft survival was assessed by daily inspection and histology. The immunological reactions of recipients were also evaluated. The graft survival of recipient rats in the BMSC group (24.5 days) was significantly prolonged in comparison with that of the FK group (18 days) (P Recipient rats in the BMSC group had significantly reduced serum IFN-γ cytokine levels (1.571 ± 0.779 pg/ml) in comparison with that of the FK group (7.059 ± 1.522 pg/ml) (P = .001). In in vitro study, BMSCs induce T cell hyporesponsiveness in a mixed lymphocyte reaction. BMSCs induce T cell hyporesponsiveness and prolong graft survival in the rat vascularized composite allotransplantation model. BMSCs exhibit immunomodulatory properties against acute rejection that can be realized without the need for significant recipient

  20. DIFFERENTIAL IMPACT OF HLA-A, HLA-B AND HLA-DR COMPATIBILITY ON THE RENAL ALLOGRAFT SURVIVAL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. Y. Abramov

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available We studied the long-term results of 532 deceased donor kidney transplantations to investigate the impact of HLA match on the survival of renal allograft. All transplants were performed in our center in 1996–2009 and moni- tored prospectively for 1–14 years. We found, the survival of 58 kidneys grafted with 0–2 mismatch for HLA- ABDR to be significantly better (Plogrank = 0,016 than the survival of the kidneys grafted with 3–6 HLA-ABDR mismatch. The full compatibility for HLA-A (n = 75 did not influence the long-term survival (Plogrank = 0,48. The absence of HLA-DR mismatch had a beneficial effect for survival of 68 kidneys (Plogrank = 0,07. Eighteen cases with the full HLA-B compatibility between graft and recipient demonstrated excellent long-term survival (Plogrank = 0,007. HLA-B compatibility influenced significantly (P = 0,042 the survival of transplanted kidney in the Cox regression model adjusted for donor and recipient age, panel-reactive antibody level, re-transplant, and immunosuppression protocol. The data obtained support the conclusion, that HLA compatibility should be one of the criteria of deceased donor kidney allocation. 

  1. Effect of bidispersity in grafted chain length on grafted chain conformations and potential of mean force between polymer grafted nanoparticles in a homopolymer matrix.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nair, Nitish; Wentzel, Nathaniel; Jayaraman, Arthi

    2011-05-21

    with an equal number of short and long grafts at low to medium grafting density, the short grafts are in a more coiled up conformation (lower radius of gyration) than their monodisperse counterparts to provide a larger free volume to the longer grafts so they can gain conformational entropy. The longer grafts do not show much difference in conformation from their monodisperse counterparts at low grafting density, but at medium grafting density the longer grafts exhibit less stretched conformations (lower radius of gyration) as compared to their monodisperse counterparts. In the presence of an explicit homopolymer matrix, the longer grafts are more compressed by the matrix homopolymer chains than the short grafts. We observe that the potential of mean force between bidisperse grafted particles has features of the PMF of monodisperse grafted particles with short grafts and monodisperse grafted particles with long grafts. The value of the PMF at contact is governed by the short grafts and values at large inter-particle distances are governed by the longer grafts. Further comparison of the PMF for bidisperse and monodisperse polymer grafted particles in a homopolymer matrix at varying parameters shows that the effects of matrix chain length, matrix packing fraction, grafting density, and particle curvature on the PMF between bidisperse polymer grafted particles are similar to those seen between monodisperse polymer grafted particles. © 2011 American Institute of Physics.

  2. Practical Recommendations for Long-term Management of Modifiable Risks in Kidney and Liver Transplant Recipients: A Guidance Report and Clinical Checklist by the Consensus on Managing Modifiable Risk in Transplantation (COMMIT) Group.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neuberger, James M; Bechstein, Wolf O; Kuypers, Dirk R J; Burra, Patrizia; Citterio, Franco; De Geest, Sabina; Duvoux, Christophe; Jardine, Alan G; Kamar, Nassim; Krämer, Bernhard K; Metselaar, Herold J; Nevens, Frederik; Pirenne, Jacques; Rodríguez-Perálvarez, Manuel L; Samuel, Didier; Schneeberger, Stefan; Serón, Daniel; Trunečka, Pavel; Tisone, Giuseppe; van Gelder, Teun

    2017-04-01

    Short-term patient and graft outcomes continue to improve after kidney and liver transplantation, with 1-year survival rates over 80%; however, improving longer-term outcomes remains a challenge. Improving the function of grafts and health of recipients would not only enhance quality and length of life, but would also reduce the need for retransplantation, and thus increase the number of organs available for transplant. The clinical transplant community needs to identify and manage those patient modifiable factors, to decrease the risk of graft failure, and improve longer-term outcomes.COMMIT was formed in 2015 and is composed of 20 leading kidney and liver transplant specialists from 9 countries across Europe. The group's remit is to provide expert guidance for the long-term management of kidney and liver transplant patients, with the aim of improving outcomes by minimizing modifiable risks associated with poor graft and patient survival posttransplant.The objective of this supplement is to provide specific, practical recommendations, through the discussion of current evidence and best practice, for the management of modifiable risks in those kidney and liver transplant patients who have survived the first postoperative year. In addition, the provision of a checklist increases the clinical utility and accessibility of these recommendations, by offering a systematic and efficient way to implement screening and monitoring of modifiable risks in the clinical setting.

  3. The short- and long-term outcomes of percutaneous intervention with drug-eluting stent vs bare-metal stent in saphenous vein graft disease: An updated meta-analysis of all randomized clinical trials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kheiri, Babikir; Osman, Mohammed; Abdalla, Ahmed; Ahmed, Sahar; Bachuwa, Ghassan; Hassan, Mustafa

    2018-05-11

    The use of drug-eluting stents (DES) vs bare-metal stents (BMS) in saphenous vein graft (SVG) lesions remains controversial. We conducted a meta-analysis of all randomized clinical trials comparing the outcomes of DES with BMS in SVG percutaneous coronary interventions. A search of PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Register of Controlled Trials, and Clinicaltrials.gov was performed for all randomized clinical trials. We evaluated the short- and long-term clinical outcomes of the following: all-cause mortality, major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), definite/probable stent thrombosis, target lesion revascularization (TLR), and target-vessel revascularization (TVR). From a total of 1582 patients in 6 randomized clinical trials, 797 had DES and 785 had BMS. Patients with DES had lower short-term MACE, TLR, and TVR in comparison with BMS (odds ratio [OR]: 0.56, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.35-0.91, P = 0.02; OR: 0.43, 95% CI: 0.19-0.99, P = 0.05; and OR: 0.45, 95% CI: 0.22-0.95, P = 0.04, respectively). However, there were no different outcomes for all-cause mortality (P = 0.63) or stent thrombosis (P = 0.21). With long-term follow-up, there were no significant reductions of MACE (P = 0.20), TLR (P = 0.57), TVR (P = 0.07), all-cause mortality (P = 0.29), and stent thrombosis (P = 0.76). The use of DES in SVG lesions was associated with lower short-term MACE, TLR, and TVR in comparison with BMS. However, there were no significant differences with long-term follow-up. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  4. Pediatric polytrauma : Short-term and long-term outcomes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    vanderSluis, CK; Kingma, J; Eisma, WH; tenDuis, HJ

    Objective: To assess the short-term and long-term outcomes of pediatric polytrauma patients and to analyze the extent to which short-term outcomes can predict long-term outcomes. Materials and Methods: Ail pediatric polytrauma patients (Injury Severity Score of greater than or equal to 16, less than

  5. Right retroperitoneoscopic living donor nephrectomy does not increase surgical complications in the recipient and leads to excellent long-term outcome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schaumeier, Maria Johanna; Nagy, Alexandra; Dell-Kuster, Salome; Rosenthal, Rachel; Schaub, Stefan; Dickenmann, Michael; Gurke, Lorenz; Wolff, Thomas

    2017-09-05

    Right-sided retroperitoneoscopic living donor nephrectomy (LDN) has been shown to be safe for the donor but it is unknown whether the short renal vein is associated with complications or an impaired long-term outcome in the recipient. In this retrospective cohort study, consecutive transplant recipients after retroperitoneoscopic LDN were enrolled. Complications occurring within 1 year were classified according to the Clavien-Dindo Classification for Surgical Complications and analysed using multivariable logistic regression. Predictors of 1-year creatinine clearance were analysed with multivariable linear regression. Cox proportional hazard models were used to analyse graft survival. Of the 251 recipients, 193 (77%) received a left kidney and 58 (23%) a right kidney. Surgical complications of Clavien-Dindo grade 3 or higher were comparable in recipients of right and left kidneys (33% vs 29%, odds ratio 0.98, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.50, 1.94). The occurrence of a surgical complication had a significant impact on creatinine clearance at 1 year (decrease of 6 ml/min/m2, p = 0.016). Vascular complications in right kidneys were more common but were all corrected without impact on graft survival. One-year graft-survival was similar in recipients of right (98.3%) and left (96.9%) kidneys, as was creatinine clearance one year after transplantation (mean difference 3.3 ml/min/m2, 95% CI -1.5, 8.1; p = 0.175). After a median follow-up of 5 years, neither the side (hazard ratio 1.56, 95% CI 0.67, 3.63) nor surgical complications (hazard ratio 1.44, 95% CI 0.65, 3.19) were associated with graft failure. Right retroperitoneoscopic LDN does not compromise the outcome of transplantation. Surgical complications, long-term graft function and graft survival were comparable in right and left kidneys.

  6. Impact of Short Hepatic Vein Reconstruction in Living Donor Adult Liver Transplantation Using a Left Liver Plus Caudate Lobe Graft

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Koji Mikami

    2010-01-01

    Conclusion: Although no definite advantage from the V1 reconstruction was demonstrated, hepatic vein reconstruction with a significantly-sized short hepatic vein might provide an additional margin of safety for marginally-sized liver grafts during the early phase of graft regeneration.

  7. Delayed grafting for banked skin graft in lymph node flap transfer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ciudad, Pedro; Date, Shivprasad; Orfaniotis, Georgios; Dower, Rory; Nicoli, Fabio; Maruccia, Michele; Lin, Shu-Ping; Chuang, Chu-Yi; Chuang, Tsan-Yu; Wang, Gou-Jen; Chen, Hung-Chi

    2017-02-01

    Over the last decade, lymph node flap (LNF) transfer has turned out to be an effective method in the management of lymphoedema of extremities. Most of the time, the pockets created for LNF cannot be closed primarily and need to be resurfaced with split thickness skin grafts. Partial graft loss was frequently noted in these cases. The need to prevent graft loss on these iatrogenic wounds made us explore the possibility of attempting delayed skin grafting. We have herein reported our experience with delayed grafting with autologous banked split skin grafts in cases of LNF transfer for lymphoedema of the extremities. Ten patients with International Society of Lymphology stage II-III lymphoedema of upper or lower extremity were included in this study over an 8-month period. All patients were thoroughly evaluated and subjected to lymph node flap transfer. The split skin graft was harvested and banked at the donor site, avoiding immediate resurfacing over the flap. The same was carried out in an aseptic manner as a bedside procedure after confirming flap viability and allowing flap swelling to subside. Patients were followed up to evaluate long-term outcomes. Flap survival was 100%. Successful delayed skin grafting was done between the 4th and 6th post-operative day as a bedside procedure under local anaesthesia. The split thickness skin grafts (STSG) takes more than 97%. One patient needed additional medications during the bedside procedure. All patients had minimal post-operative pain and skin graft requirement. The patients were also reported to be satisfied with the final aesthetic results. There were no complications related to either the skin grafts or donor sites during the entire period of follow-up. Delayed split skin grafting is a reliable method of resurfacing lymph node flaps and has been shown to reduce the possibility of flap complications as well as the operative time and costs. © 2016 Medicalhelplines.com Inc and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  8. Erythropoietin improves the survival of fat tissue after its transplantation in nude mice.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Saher Hamed

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Autologous transplanted fat has a high resorption rate, providing a clinical challenge for the means to reduce it. Erythropoietin (EPO has non-hematopoietic targets, and we hypothesized that EPO may improve long-term fat graft survival because it has both pro-angiogenic and anti-apoptotic properties. We aimed to determine the effect of EPO on the survival of human fat tissue after its transplantation in nude mice. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Human fat tissue was injected subcutaneously into immunologically-compromised nude mice, and the grafts were then treated with either 20 IU or 100 IU EPO. At the end of the 15-week study period, the extent of angiogenesis, apoptosis, and histology were assessed in the fat grafts. The results were compared to vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF-treated and phosphate-buffered saline (PBS-treated fat grafts. The weight and volume of the EPO-treated grafts were higher than those of the PBS-treated grafts, whose weights and volumes were not different from those of the VEGF-treated grafts. EPO treatment also increased the expression of angiogenic factors and microvascular density, and reduced inflammation and apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner in the fat grafts. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our data suggest that stimulation of angiogenesis by a cluster of angiogenic factors and decreased fat cell apoptosis account for potential mechanisms that underlie the improved long-term survival of fat transplants following EPO treatment.

  9. Flower formation in the short-day plant Kalanchoe by grafting with a long-day and a short-long-day Echeveria

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zeevaart, J.A.D.

    1978-01-01

    Flower formation was induced in the short-day plant Kalanchoe blossfeldiana Poellnitz under long-day conditions by grafting with flowering shoots of the short-long-day plant Echeveria harmsii (Rose) MacBr. and of the long-day plant Echeveria ''pulvoliver'' (E. pulvinata Rose x E. harmsii). Vegetative shoots from induced Echeveria plants failed to cause a flowering response in Kalanchoe. The presence of flowering and vegetative shoots side by side on induced Echeveria plants provides evidence for physiological chimeras in this genus.

  10. Low C4 gene copy numbers are associated with superior graft survival in patients transplanted with a deceased donor kidney

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bay, Jakob T; Schejbel, Lone; Madsen, Hans O

    2013-01-01

    rejection, but a relationship between graft survival and serum C4 concentration as well as C4 genetic variation has not been established. We evaluated this using a prospective study design of 676 kidney transplant patients and 211 healthy individuals as controls. Increasing C4 gene copy numbers......Complement C4 is a central component of the classical and the lectin pathways of the complement system. The C4 protein exists as two isotypes C4A and C4B encoded by the C4A and C4B genes, both of which are found with varying copy numbers. Deposition of C4 has been implicated in kidney graft...... significantly correlated with the C4 serum concentration in both patients and controls. Patients with less than four total copies of C4 genes transplanted with a deceased donor kidney experienced a superior 5-year graft survival (hazard ratio 0.46, 95% confidence interval: 0.25-0.84). No significant association...

  11. CREB binding protein is required for both short-term and long-term memory formation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Guiquan; Zou, Xiaoyan; Watanabe, Hirotaka; van Deursen, Jan M; Shen, Jie

    2010-09-29

    CREB binding protein (CBP) is a transcriptional coactivator with histone acetyltransferase activity. Our prior study suggested that CBP might be a key target of presenilins in the regulation of memory formation and neuronal survival. To elucidate the role of CBP in the adult brain, we generated conditional knock-out (cKO) mice in which CBP is completely inactivated in excitatory neurons of the postnatal forebrain. Histological analysis revealed normal neuronal morphology and absence of age-dependent neuronal degeneration in the CBP cKO cerebral cortex. CBP cKO mice exhibited robust impairment in the formation of spatial, associative, and object-recognition memory. In addition to impaired long-term memory, CBP cKO mice also displayed deficits in short-term associative and object-recognition memory. Administration of a histone deacetylase inhibitor, trichostatin A, rescued the reduction of acetylated histones in the CBP cKO cortex but failed to rescue either short- or long-term memory deficits, suggesting that the memory impairment may not be caused by general reduction of histone acetyltransferase activity in CBP cKO mice. Further microarray and Western analysis showed decreased expression of calcium-calmodulin-dependent kinase isoforms and NMDA and AMPA receptor subunits in the cerebral cortex of CBP cKO mice. Collectively, these findings suggest a crucial role for CBP in the formation of both short- and long-term memory.

  12. Examining the effects of platelet-rich plasma and platelet-rich fibrin on autologous full thickness skin graft survival in rats

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Noorahmad Latifi

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Background: Graft survival has been considered the major problem in reconstructive surgery. Clinical studies have helped us to understand the role of PRP in increasing skin survival. Our goal in this study was to examine the treatment effects of platelet-rich plasma (PRP and platelet-rich fibrin (PRF on autologous full thickness skin graft survival in male rats. Methods: This experimental study was performed on 36 rats of Sprague-Dawley race with weighing approximately 250 to 300 gr on May 2015 in animal laboratory of Hazrat Fatima Hospital. After anesthesia, rats were divided into 3 groups. We injected platelet-rich plasma (PRP in the first group, platelet-rich fibrin (PRF in the second and saline in the third group after removing the skin. Microscopic analysis was performed with camera (Canon powershot SX200, Tokyo, Japan on days 7, 14, 21 and 28 after surgery. We used image analysis system (ImageJ, ver. 1.45 to examine necrosis and survival rate. Samples were studied with H&E staining on day 28 microscopically for histological analysis of vascular density and angiogenesis. Results: Our findings showed the area of necrosis in animals injected with PRP on days 7 and 14, was meaningfully less than control group (P= 0.0001. There was no meaningful difference between control and PRP groups (P> 0.05. The area of necrosis in animals injected with PRF did not have any significant difference with control group from beginning to 21st day (P< 0.0001. there was no meaningful difference in vascular density between control and PRP group, whereas in animals injected with PRF the vascular density was significantly less than control group (P= 0.002. Conclusion: According to our results in this study, we can conclude that using autologous PRP can enhance the process of healing soft tissue injury and be affective at increasing graft survival. This method is suggested to be conducted for patients highly at risk of graft loss and also for those who are in need of

  13. Effect of donor fasting on survival of pancreas and heart grafts after warm ischemia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nishihara, M; Sumimoto, R; Asahara, T; Fukuda, Y; Southard, J H; Dohi, K

    1996-09-01

    Livers from fasted animals are believed to be more vulnerable to ischemic injury than those from fed donors. However, we have recently shown the opposite: livers from fasted rats were more tolerant to ischemic injury. Indeed, the survival rate of 60 min warm ischemic damaged livers increased from 0 to 90% if donor rats were fasted for three days. In this study, we examined how donor fasting affects the outcome of pancreas and heart preservation. BN rats were used as both donors and recipients, and recipients of pancreatic grafts were rendered diabetic prior to transplantation. Pancreatic or heart grafts were subjected to 90 min or 25 min of warm ischemia and were transplanted into the right side of the necks of recipients rats. The viability rate of hearts transplanted from fed donors into fed recipients was only about 11% (1/9) after transplantation. However, the viability rate with fasted donors was 75% (6/8). The rate of successful pancreatic grafting from fed donors into fed recipients was 28.6% (2/7), and that from fasted donors to fed recipients was 41.7% (5/12). These results confirm that the nutritional status of the donor is an important factor in the outcome of not only liver, but also pancreas and heart preservation during transplantation, although the effect of fasting on pancreatic graft is marginal.

  14. Long-term associative learning predicts verbal short-term memory performance

    OpenAIRE

    Jones, Gary; Macken, Bill

    2017-01-01

    Studies using tests such as digit span and nonword repetition have implicated short-term memory across a range of developmental domains. Such tests ostensibly assess specialized processes for the short-term manipulation and maintenance of information that are often argued to enable long-term learning. However, there is considerable evidence for an influence of long-term linguistic learning on performance in short-term memory tasks that brings into question the role of a specialized short-term...

  15. Long-term associative learning predicts verbal short-term memory performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Gary; Macken, Bill

    2018-02-01

    Studies using tests such as digit span and nonword repetition have implicated short-term memory across a range of developmental domains. Such tests ostensibly assess specialized processes for the short-term manipulation and maintenance of information that are often argued to enable long-term learning. However, there is considerable evidence for an influence of long-term linguistic learning on performance in short-term memory tasks that brings into question the role of a specialized short-term memory system separate from long-term knowledge. Using natural language corpora, we show experimentally and computationally that performance on three widely used measures of short-term memory (digit span, nonword repetition, and sentence recall) can be predicted from simple associative learning operating on the linguistic environment to which a typical child may have been exposed. The findings support the broad view that short-term verbal memory performance reflects the application of long-term language knowledge to the experimental setting.

  16. Graft shrinkage and survival rate of implants after sinus floor elevation using a nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite embedded in silica gel matrix: a 1-year prospective study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    El Hage, Marc; Abi Najm, Semaan; Bischof, Mvark; Nedir, Rabah; Carrel, Jean-Pierre; Bernard, Jean-Pierre

    2012-06-01

    The aims of this study were (1) to evaluate the vertical shrinkage percentage of nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite embedded in silica gel used for maxillary sinus floor elevation (SFE) and (2) to determine the survival rate of the implants 1 year after placement in the healed grafted sinuses. Eleven maxillary sinuses were augmented in eight patients with NanoBone. After a healing period averaging 14.42 months, 19 implants were placed and followed up with clinical and radiographic evaluation. Panoramic radiographs were taken immediately after SFE and at 12 months after grafting. Measurements of changes in height were made by a computerized measuring technique using an image editing software. The mean graft height shrinkage percentage at 12 months after surgery was 8.84% (±5.32). One implant was lost before loading. All the 18 remaining osseointegrated implants received the prosthetic rehabilitation and were controlled after 3 months of functional loading. The implant survival rate at the 1-year interval was 94.74%. A 100% NanoBone alloplastic graft used in lateral SFE procedures presented limited height shrinkage. Implants placed in these grafted sinuses showed survival rates similar to those found in published data. These results should be interpreted cautiously considering the study's reduced sample size.

  17. Size does matter-donor-to-recipient body mass index difference may affect renal graft outcome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, H-H; Lin, K-J; Liu, K-L; Chu, S-H; Hsieh, C-Y; Chiang, Y-J

    2012-01-01

    Obesity, in the either kidney donor or the recipient, has been related to worse graft function. The aim of this study was to compare long-term graft outcomes of living-related kidney recipients regarding the donor-to-recipient body mass index (BMI) ratio. From November 2002 to November 2010, 62 consecutive living-related kidney transplantations were performed at our center. Donor and recipient BMIs were categorized by Taiwan's national standard using dividing values of 18.5, 24, and 27 kg/m(2) to divide subjects into donor-to-recipient BMI categories. These with the same BMI category as their donors were defined as the same-BMI group (group 0); recipients with a lower BMI category than their donors were defined as the large-to-small group (group 1); and those with a higher BMI category than their donors were defined as the small-to-large group (group 2). Baseline parameters and posttransplantation follow-up data were analyzed according to this grouping. Of the 57 recipients followed regularly at our hospital (mean follow-up 48.9 months), 21 (36.8.1%) were in group 0; 26 (45.6%) in group 1, and 10 (17.6%) in group 2. The baseline parameters were similar among these groups. The overall graft survival rates were 81.0% in group 0, 76.9% in group 1, and 90.0% in group 2. The rejection-free graft survival rates were 81.0%, 65.4%, and 90.0%, respectively. By Kaplan-Meier analysis, group 1 showed worse rejection-free graft survival than group 0 or group 2 (log-rank P = .046). Living-related recipients of kidneys from donors with a higher BMI showed lower long-term graft survival, which might suggest that petite recipients may need time to compensate adequate blood flow for the relative large graft, thus carrying a higher chance of rejection and worse graft outcomes. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Comparison of mesencephalic free-floating tissue culture grafts and cell suspension grafts in the 6-hydroxydopamine-lesioned rat

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Meyer, Morten; Widmer, H R; Wagner, B

    1998-01-01

    days in culture or directly as dissociated cell suspensions, and compared with regard to neuronal survival and ability to normalize rotational behavior in adult rats with unilateral 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) lesions. Other lesioned rats received injections of cell-free medium and served as controls...... of grafted dopaminergic neurons and to correlate that with the behavioral effects. Additional cultures and acutely prepared explants were also fixed and stored for histological investigation in order to estimate the loss of dopaminergic neurons in culture and after transplantation. Similar behavioral...... improvements in terms of significant reductions in amphetamine-induced rotations were observed in rats grafted with FFRT cultures (127%) and rats grafted with cell suspensions (122%), while control animals showed no normalization of rotational behavior. At 84 days after transplantation, there were similar...

  19. Comparison of long-term outcomes between spousal transplants and other living unrelated donor transplants: single-center experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoon, Hye Eun; Song, Joon Chang; Hyoung, Bok Jin; Hwang, Hyeon Seok; Lee, So Young; Jeon, Youn Joo; Park, Sun Cheol; Choi, Bum Soon; Kim, Yong Soo; Moon, In Sung; Yang, Chul Woo

    2009-01-01

    The greater use of living unrelated donors (LUDs) as kidney donors is a worldwide trend in the current era of organ shortage, and spouses are an important source of LUDs. This study was to compare the long-term outcomes of spousal donor grafts with other LUD grafts. Among 445 LUD grafts, 77 were spouses and 368 were other LUDs. The clinical characteristics and long-term survival rates for spousal transplants were compared with those for other LUD transplants, and risk factors affecting graft survival were assessed. Spousal donors had a significantly higher average number of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) mismatches (4.2 vs. 3.4, p HLA mismatching, the spousal donor type or donor age did not affect the graft survival. Renal transplants from spousal donors show similar long-term outcomes to those from better HLA-matched and younger LUDs. (c) 2009 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  20. Kidney graft recipients with pretransplantation HLA CLASS I antibodies and high soluble CD30 are at high risk for graft loss.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodríguez, Libia M; París, Sara C; Arbeláez, Mario; Cotes, José M; Süsal, Caner; Torres, Yolanda; García, Luís F

    2007-08-01

    In the present study, we investigated whether pretransplantation HLA class I and class II antibodies and pretransplantation levels of soluble CD30 (sCD30) and IgA anti-Fab autoantibodies are predictive of kidney allograft survival. Pretransplantation sera of 504 deceased-donor kidney recipients were tested for IgG HLA class I and class II antibodies, sCD30, and IgA anti-Fab levels using the CTS 4 ELISA kit. Kidney graft survival was estimated by Kaplan-Meier method and multivariate Cox regression. Regardless of the presence of HLA class II antibodies, recipients with high HLA class I reactivity had lower 1-year graft survival than recipients with low reactivity (p sCD30 had lower 5-year graft survival rate than those with low sCD30 (p sCD30 effect was observed in presensitized and nonsensitized recipients, demonstrated a synergistic effect with HLA class I antibodies (p kidney graft survival. Our results indicate that high pretransplantation sCD30 levels and HLA class I positivity increase the risk of kidney graft loss regardless of other factors. Consequently, such determinations should be routinely performed to estimate recipients' risks of graft rejection before transplantation.

  1. Prolonged bone marrow and skin allograft survival after pretransplant conditioning with cyclophosphamide and total lymphoid irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kersey, J.H.; Kruger, J.; Song, C.; Kloster, B.

    1980-01-01

    Current studies were designed to provide long-term survival of allogeneic skin and bone marrow in mice preconditioned with various combinations of cyclophosphamide (CY) and/or total lymphoid irradiation (TLI). Long-term skin graft and bone marrow survival was obtained across the major histocompatibility barrier (BALB/c into C57BL/6) using pregrafting conditioning with either fractionated TLI or the combination of CY with a single dose of TLI. CY alone and a single dose of TLI alone were relatively ineffective as regrafting immunosuppressive combinations. Allogeneic bone marrow was required for long-term skin graft survival with either conditioning regimen. Allogeneic marrow transplantation resulted in somewhat more deaths than syngeneic transplantation with both CY + TLI and fractionated TLI

  2. Intestinal transplantation for children with short bowel syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reyes, J

    2001-05-01

    Intestinal transplantation has emerged as a feasible alternative in the treatment of children with short gut syndrome. The challenges in the management of these patients include maintaining a tight balance between the degree of immunosuppression necessary to prevent graft-versus-host disease and rejection. At the same time, this amount of immunosuppression is associated with a high risk for lymphoproliferative disorders and intestinal-derived sepsis. Current 3-year patient and graft survival rates are 55% and 50%, respectively. The indications, morbidity, and timing for referral are discussed.

  3. Strategies to improve macroencapsulated islet graft survival

    OpenAIRE

    Sörenby, Anne

    2007-01-01

    Chronic immunosuppressive therapy may have severe side-effects. In cell transplantation, the graft can be encapsulated within a membrane chamber, providing a physical barrier against the immune system. The cell graft then becomes dependent on the diffusion of nutrients and oxygen from the surrounding microcirculation. A major drawback has been the formation of avascular fibrotic tissue around the chamber. The immunoprotective device studied (TheraCyte ) has an outer membrane...

  4. Influence of HLA-DRB1* incompatibility on the occurrence of rejection episodes and graft survival in serologically HLA-DR-matched renal transplant combinations

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lardy, N. M.; van der Horst, A. R.; ten Berge, I. J.; Surachno, S.; Wilmink, J. M.; de Waal, L. P.

    1997-01-01

    BACKGROUND: The aim of the present study was to analyze the effect of HLA-DRB1* mismatches on graft function and graft survival in 92 patients who received serologically HLA-DR split antigen-matched cadaveric renal transplants. METHODS: The polymorphic second exon of the HLA-DRB1 alleles was typed

  5. Use of pulmonary artery catheter in coronary artery bypass graft. Costs and long-term outcomes.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fei Xu

    Full Text Available Pulmonary artery catheters (PAC are used widely to monitor hemodynamics in patients undergoing coronary bypass graft (CABG surgery. However, recent studies have raised concerns regarding both the effectiveness and safety of PAC. Therefore, our aim was to determine the effects of the use of PAC on the short- and long-term health and economic outcomes of patients undergoing CABG.1361 Chinese patients who consecutively underwent isolated, primary CABG at the Cardiovascular Institute of Fuwai Hospital from June 1, 2012 to December 31, 2012 were included in this study. Of all the patients, 453 received PAC during operation (PAC group and 908 received no PAC therapy (control group. Short-term and long-term mortality and major complications were analyzed with multivariate regression analysis and propensity score matched-pair analysis was used to yield two well-matched groups for further comparison.The patients who were managed with PAC more often received intraoperative vasoactive drugs dopamine (70.9% vs. 45.5%; P<0.001 and epinephrine (7.7% vs. 2.6%; P<0.001. In addition, costs for initial hospitalization were higher for PAC patients ($14,535 vs. $13,873, respectively, p = 0.004. PAC use was neither associated with the perioperative mortality or major complications, nor was it associated with long-term mortality and major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events. In addition, comparison between two well-matched groups showed no significant differences either in baseline characteristics or in short-term and long-term outcomes.There is no clear indication of any benefit or harm in managing CABG patients with PAC. However, use of PAC in CABG is more expensive. That is, PAC use increased costs without benefit and thus appears unjustified for routine use in CABG surgery.

  6. Postoperative Insulin-Like Growth Factor 1 Levels Reflect the Graft's Function and Predict Survival after Liver Transplantation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniele Nicolini

    Full Text Available The reduction of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1 plasma levels is associated with the degree of liver dysfunction and mortality in cirrhotic patients. However, little research is available on the recovery of the IGF-1 level and its prognostic role after liver transplantation (LT.From April 2010 to May 2011, 31 patients were prospectively enrolled (25/6 M/F; mean age±SEM: 55.2±1.4 years, and IGF-1 serum levels were assessed preoperatively and at 15, 30, 90, 180 and 365 days after transplantation. The influence of the donor and recipient characteristics (age, use of extended criteria donor grafts, D-MELD and incidence of early allograft dysfunction on hormonal concentration was analyzed. The prognostic role of IGF-1 level on patient survival and its correlation with routine liver function tests were also investigated.All patients showed low preoperative IGF-1 levels (mean±SEM: 29.5±2.1, and on postoperative day 15, a significant increase in the IGF-1 plasma level was observed (102.7±11.7 ng/ml; p65 years or extended criteria donor grafts. An inverse correlation between IGF-1 and bilirubin serum levels at day 15 (r = -0.3924, p = 0.0320 and 30 (r = -0.3894, p = 0.0368 was found. After multivariate analysis, early (within 15 days IGF-1 normalization [Exp(b = 3.913; p = 0.0484] was the only prognostic factor associated with an increased 3-year survival rate.IGF-1 postoperative levels are correlated with the graft's quality and reflect liver function. Early IGF-1 recovery is associated with a higher 3-year survival rate after LT.

  7. The Safety and Efficacy of Cell-Assisted Fat Grafting to Traditional Fat Grafting in the Anterior Mid-Face: An Indirect Assessment by 3D Imaging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sasaki, Gordon H

    2015-12-01

    Numerous methodologies and algorithms have been suggested to enhance fat graft survival, including the usage of stromal vascular fraction (SVF) and platelet-rich plasma (PRP), but no long-term studies are available. This single-center prospective, case-controlled study investigated the safety and efficacy of combining a modified Baker-designed lateral SMASectomy or plication face lift with simultaneous anterior mid-face grafting into site-specific compartments by (1) conventional Coleman's technique or (2) Yoshimura's cell-assisted lipografting technique. On the voluntary principle, candidates selected one of four techniques for volumization of their mid-face: conventional fat grafting; PRP-assisted fat grafting; SVF-assisted fat grafting; and PRP/SVF- assisted fat grafting. For comparison data, comparable fat volumes, SVF volumes and nucleated cells, and PRP volumes and platelet concentrations were injected into each designated group. Indirect volume retentions were determined by standardized Vectra 3D analyses up to 1 year. PRP, SVF, and PRP/SVF cell supplementation of processed fat resulted in statistically significant percent mean graft retention over their baseline control at 12 months (p facial aesthetic surgery. With refinements in the entire grafting process and the potential benefits of autologous cell approaches with SVF and PRP, future evidence-based controlled studies under regulatory approval may improve graft survival in a safe and effective manner. This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266.

  8. The Effect of Liquid Nitrogen on Bone Graft Survival.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sirinoglu, Hakan; Çilingir, Özlem Tuğçe; Çelebiler, Ozhan; Ercan, Feriha; Numanoglu, Ayhan

    2015-08-01

    Liquid nitrogen is used in medicine for cancer treatment and tissue preservation; however, bone viability after its application is controversial. This study aims to evaluate both the tissue viability and the clinical and histopathologic findings following liquid nitrogen application with different thawing techniques in rats. Mandibular bone grafts were taken from 45 Wistar rats and freezed in liquid nitrogen for 20 minutes. In the rapid-thawing technique (Rapid Thawing-1, Rapid Thawing-2), the grafts were held for 20 minutes in room temperature; in the slow-thawing technique (Slow Thawing-1, Slow Thawing-2), 20 minutes in -20°C, 20 minutes in +4°C, and 20 minutes in room temperature, respectively. In Rapid Thawing-2 and Slow Thawing-2 groups, autografts were implanted to their origin for 3 weeks and bone staining with India ink was performed and samples taken for histologic examination. The amount of cells and blood vessels and the density of bone canaliculi were significantly reduced in Rapid Thawing-1 and Slow Thawing-1 groups comparing to the Control group. However, the reduction rate was more significant in the Slow Thawing-1 group. Histomorphometric evaluation of the healing autografts after 3 weeks revealed that the decreased amounts of canaliculi were not changed in Slow Thawing-2 group. The study results demonstrated that bone tissue survives after liquid nitrogen treatment regardless of the performed thawing technique; however, slow thawing causes more tissue damage and metabolism impairment. Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

  9. Accordion complication grading predicts short-term outcome after right colectomy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klos, Coen L; Safar, Bashar; Hunt, Steven R; Wise, Paul E; Birnbaum, Elisa H; Mutch, Matthew G; Fleshman, James W; Dharmarajan, Sekhar

    2014-08-01

    The Accordion severity grading system is a novel system to score the severity of postoperative complications in a standardized fashion. This study aims to demonstrate the validity of the Accordion system in colorectal surgery by correlating severity grades with short-term outcomes after right colectomy for colon cancer. This is a retrospective cohort review of patients who underwent right colectomy for cancer between January 1, 2002, and January 31, 2007, at a single tertiary care referral center. Complications were categorized according to the Accordion severity grading system: grades 1 (mild), 2 (moderate), 3-5 (severe), and 6 (death). Outcome measures were hospital stay, 30-d readmission rate and 1-y survival. Correlation between Accordion grades and outcome measures is reflected by Spearman rho (ρ). One-year survival was obtained per Kaplan-Meier method and compared by logrank test for trend. Significance was set at P ≤ 0.05. Overall, 235 patients underwent right colectomy for cancer of which 122 (51.9%) had complications. In total, 52 (43%) had an Accordion grade 1 complication; 44 (36%) grade 2; four (3%) grade 3; 11 (9%) grade 4; seven (6%) grade 5; and four (3%) grade 6. There was significant correlation between Accordion grades and hospital stay (ρ = 0.495, P trend in 1-y survival as complication severity by Accordion grade increased (P = 0.02). The Accordion grading system is a useful tool to estimate short-term outcomes after right colectomy for cancer. High-grade Accordion complications are associated with longer hospital stay and increased risk of readmission and mortality. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  10. [Effect of native aortic valve sparing aortic root reconstruction surgery on short- and long-term prognosis in Marfan syndrome patients:a meta-analysis].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Rui; Wang, Zhiwei; Hu, Xiaoping; Wu, Hongbing; Zhou, Zhen

    2014-05-01

    This meta-analysis was performed to analyze the effect of preserving the native aortic valve on short- and long-term prognosis post aortic root reconstruction surgery for patients with Marfan syndrome. Database including Pubmed,Embase, Cochrane library, CNKI, Wanfang,VIP and CBM were searched to collect studies comparing clinical results of valve sparing surgery with composite valve graft surgery for patients with Marfan syndrome. Study quality was assessed by Newcastle-Ottawa Scale and publication bias was assessed by visual inspection of the funnel plot together with Egger test. Clinical outcomes data was extracted from the manuscripts and analyzed with Revman 5.0 supplied by Cochrane collaboration. Seven clinical trials with 690 patients were included. Meta- analysis demonstrated that valve sparing surgery was associated with a lower incidence of re-exploration (RR = 0.51, 95%CI:0.29- 0.90, P 0.05). Valve sparing aortic root reconstruction surgery is a superior procedure to composite valve graft surgery in term of improving the short- and long-term prognosis for patients with Marfan syndrome.

  11. Infantile Short Bowel Syndrome: short and long term evaluation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    J.F. Olieman (Joanne)

    2009-01-01

    textabstractInfantile short bowel syndrome is a condition which is characterized by malabsorption of nutrients, as a result of congenital intestinal shortening or massive small bowel resection. Survival rates have improved over the years, but morbidity remains high and clinical management of these

  12. Lethal graft-versus-host disease: modification with allogeneic cultured donor cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mauch, P.; Lipton, J.M.; Hamilton, B.; Obbagy, J.; Kudisch, M.; Nathan, D.; Hellman, S.

    1984-01-01

    The use of the bone marrow culture technique was studied as a means to prepare donor marrow for bone marrow transplantation to avoid lethal graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). Preliminary experiments demonstrated the rapid loss of theta-positive cells in such cultures, so that theta-positive cells were not detected after 6 days. Initial experiments in C3H/HeJ (H-2k, Hbbd) recipients prepared with 900 rad demonstrated improved survival when 3-day cultured C57BL/6 (H-2b, Hbbs) donor cells were used in place of hind limb marrow for transplantation. However, hemoglobin typing of recipient animals revealed only short-term donor engraftment, with competitive repopulation of recipient marrow occurring. Subsequent experiments were done in 1,200-rad prepared recipients, with long-term donor engraftment demonstrated. The majority of 1,200-rad prepared animals receiving cultured allogeneic cells died of GVHD, but animals receiving 28-day cultured cells had an improved 90-day survival and a delay in GVHD development over animals receiving hind limb marrow or marrow from shorter times in culture. In addition, animals receiving anti-theta-treated, 3-day nonadherent cells had an improved survival (44%) over animals receiving anti-theta-treated hind limb marrow (20%). These experiments demonstrate modest benefit for the use of cultured cells in bone marrow transplantation across major H-2 histocompatibility complex differences

  13. Avoiding steroids in pediatric renal transplantation: long-term experience from a single centre

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Erik Bo; El-Faramawi, Mohamad; Foged, Nils

    2007-01-01

    We report our experience in pediatric renal transplantation avoiding steroids whenever possible. Immunosuppression consisted of an initial induction with antithymocyte globulin followed by maintenance therapy with a calcineurin inhibitor and MMF. Steroids were only given to selected patients......). Unfortunately PTLD occurred in three patients, but all survived with functioning grafts. Accordingly, our findings indicate that steroid avoidance in pediatric renal transplantation is possible with good results with respect to acute graft rejection as well as long-term graft survival....... because of the primary disease, recurrence, rejection, or PTLD. Thirty-four transplants grafted into 32 recipients between 1995 and 2005 were followed for a median of 3.5 yr (range 1-9.8). All patients survived. Graft rejection occurred in 10 cases during the first year post-transplantation and graft...

  14. Implantable cardioverter-defibrillators improve survival after coronary artery bypass grafting in patients with severely impaired left ventricular function

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pasque Michael K

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Objective Patients with severe left ventricular (LV dysfunction have a poor long term survival despite complete surgical revascularization. Recent data suggests that the use of Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator (ICD improves survival in patients with severe LV dysfunction. We compared the survival impact of ICD implantation in patients with severe LV dysfunction who underwent CABG. Methods Between January 1996 and August 2004, 305 patients with LV ejection fraction (EF ≤25% had CABG surgery at our institution. Demographics of patients who had received an ICD (ICD+ in the post -operative period was compared to those without ICD (ICD-. Survival was evaluated by the Kaplan-Meier method. Results Of the entire group, 35 (11.5% patients received an ICD with a median of 2 (+/-2 years after CABG. Indication for ICD implantation was clinical evidence of non sustained ventricular tachycardia (NSVT. There were no differences between the 2 groups with respect to age, gender, NYHA classification, number of bypasses, or other co-morbidities. Survival at 1, 3 and 5 years was 88%, 79%, and 67% for the ICD- group compared to 94%, 89% and 83% for the ICD+ group, respectively (figure, p Conclusion Implantation of ICD after CABG confers improved short and long term survival benefit to patients with severe LV dysfunction. Prophylactic ICD implantation in the setting of severe LV dysfunction and CABG surgery should be considered.

  15. Long-term results of PTFE grafts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hedin, Ulf

    2015-01-01

    Vascular surgeons are essential in "lifeline" creation for hemodialysis patients and should be the central player in any multidisciplinary access service together with nephrologists, dialysis staff and interventional radiology. In this position, access surgeons are involved in complicated clinical decision making regarding primary and secondary access selection, which throughout the last decade has been largely aided, and influenced, by national and international guidelines as well as other initiatives. These recommendations, unanimously and appropriately, advocate the placement of native fistulas over synthetic grafts (the majority grafts from expanded polytetrafluoroethylene, ePTFE, herein referred to as PTFE) based on the superiority of fistulas with respect to complications such as infections and thrombosis. Nevertheless, the use of PTFE grafts for hemodialysis access is an accepted and firmly established alternative to native fistulas where data today reveal unwanted consequences to overinterpretation of established guidelines such as increased catheter use. This information highlights a need for an adjustment of access selection strategies based on patient-centered algorithms. Here, available results on PTFE graft performance in hemodialysis access is recapitulated, with respect to both conventional grafts and technical modifications, and conclude with a modified approach to primary access selection.

  16. Gender differences in success at quitting smoking: Short- and long-term outcomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marqueta, Adriana; Nerín, Isabel; Gargallo, Pilar; Beamonte, Asunción

    2016-06-14

    Smoking cessation treatments are effective in men and women. However, possible sex-related differences in the outcome of these treatments remain a controversial topic. This study evaluated whether there were differences between men and women in the success of smoking cessation treatment, including gender-tailored components, in the short and long term (> 1 year). A telephone survey was carried out between September 2008 and June 2009 in smokers attended in a Smoking Cessation Clinic. All patients who have successfully completed treatment (3 months) were surveyed by telephone to determine their long-term abstinence. Those who remained abstinent were requested to attend the Smoking Cessation Clinic for biochemical validation (expired CO ≤10 ppm). The probability of remaining abstinent in the long-term was calculated using a Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. The treatment success rate at 3-months was 41.3% (538/1302) with no differences by sex 89% (479/538) among those located in the telephonic follow-up study and 47.6% (256/479) were abstinent without differences by sex (p = .519); abstinence was validated with CO less than 10 ppm in 191 of the 256 (53.9% men and 46.1% women). In the survival analysis, the probability of men and women remaining abstinent in the long-term was not significant. There are no differences by sex in the outcome of smoking cessation treatment that included gender-tailored components in the short and long term (> 1 year).

  17. Haptoglobin 2-2 Genotype, Patient, and Graft Survival in Renal Transplant Recipients

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dupont, Laust; Eide, Ivar Anders; Hartmann, Anders

    2017-01-01

    Background: Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in renal transplant recipients. An association between haptoglobin genotype 2-2 and cardiovascular disease has been found in patients with diabetes mellitus and liver transplant recipients. To date, the role of haptoglobin genotype...... after renal transplantation has not been studied. Methods: In this single-center retrospective cohort study of 1975 adult Norwegian transplant recipients, who underwent transplantation between 1999 and 2011, we estimated the risk of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality and overall and death...... transplant recipients, we could not demonstrate any association between haptoglobin 2-2 genotype and patient or graft survival after renal transplantation....

  18. Warfarin improves the outcome of infrainguinal vein bypass grafting at high risk for failure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sarac, T P; Huber, T S; Back, M R; Ozaki, C K; Carlton, L M; Flynn, T C; Seeger, J M

    1998-09-01

    Patients with marginal venous conduit, poor arterial runoff, and prior failed bypass grafts are at high risk for infrainguinal graft occlusion and limb loss. We sought to evaluate the effects of anticoagulation therapy after autogenous vein infrainguinal revascularization on duration of patency, limb salvage rates, and complication rates in this subset of patients. This randomized prospective trial was performed in a university tertiary care hospital and in a Veterans Affairs Hospital. Fifty-six patients who were at high risk for graft failure were randomized to receive aspirin (24 patients, 27 bypass grafts) or aspirin and warfarin (WAR; 32 patients, 37 bypass grafts). All patients received 325 mg of aspirin each day, and the patients who were randomized to warfarin underwent anticoagulation therapy with heparin immediately after surgery and then were started on warfarin therapy to maintain an international normalized ratio between 2 and 3. Perioperative blood transfusions and complications were compared with the Student t test or with the chi2 test. Graft patency rates, limb salvage rates, and survival rates were compared with the Kaplan-Meier method and the log-rank test. Sixty-one of the 64 bypass grafts were performed for rest pain or tissue loss, and 3 were performed for short-distance claudication. There were no differences between the groups in ages, indications, bypass graft types, risk classifications (ie, conduit, runoff, or graft failure), or comorbid conditions (except diabetes mellitus). The cumulative 5-year survival rate was similar between the groups. The incidence rate of postoperative hematoma (32% vs 3.7%; P = .004) was greater in the WAR group, but no differences were seen between the WAR group and the aspirin group in the number of packed red blood cells transfused, in the incidence rate of overall nonhemorrhagic wound complications, or in the overall complication rate (62% vs 52%). The immediate postoperative primary graft patency rates (97

  19. Laparoscopic colectomy for transverse colon cancer: comparative analysis of short- and long-term outcomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sheng, Weizheng; Zhang, Bo; Chen, Weifeng; Gu, Dayong; Gao, Weidong

    2015-01-01

    This study evaluated the short- and long-term outcomes of laparoscopic colectomy compared with open colectomy for patients with transverse colon cancer by matched-pair analysis. This study enrolled 59 patients who underwent laparoscopic colectomy and compared them with 59 matched patients who underwent open colectomy for transverse colon cancer. The following parameters were matched: clinical stage and type of resection. Both short- and long-term outcomes of laparoscopic colectomy were compared with those of open colectomy. No difference was observed between the two groups in terms of age, gender, ASA score, comorbidity, clinical stage and operative procedures. Regarding short-term outcomes, blood loss, time to first flatus, time to liquid diet and postoperative stay were significantly shorter in the laparoscopy group than in the open group, while operation time was significantly longer in the laparoscopy group than in the open group. Postoperative complication was similar between the two groups. With respect to long-term outcomes, the two groups did not differ significantly in terms of 5-year overall and disease-free survival. In summary, laparoscopic colectomy is a safe and feasible option for selected patients with transverse colon cancer. The short- and long-term outcomes of laparoscopic colectomy are considered to be acceptable.

  20. Reduction of indium-111 platelet deposition on Dacron vascular grafts in humans by aspirin plus dipyridamole

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stratton, J.R.; Ritchie, J.L.

    1986-01-01

    Aspirin plus dipyridamole reduces platelet accumulation on short-term Dacron vascular grafts in man. To determine whether drug inhibition of platelet deposition is sustained on older grafts, we studied 18 men aged 41 to 87 years who had Dacron aortic bifurcation grafts in place a mean of 43.4 months (range 9.8 to 121.0) before and during short-term therapy with aspirin (325 mg tid) plus dipyridamole (75 mg tid). During both the baseline and drug studies, indium-111 ( 111 In) platelet deposition was quantitated by two techniques, standard planar imaging performed at 24, 48, and 72 hr after injection of platelets and single photon emission computed tomographic imaging performed at 24 and 72 hr after injection. All analyses were performed in a blinded fashion. On both the planar and tomographic images, platelet accumulation on the graft was quantitated by a graft/blood ratio that compared activity in the graft to simultaneously collected whole blood 111 In platelet activity. Aspirin plus dipyridamole reduced the tomographic graft/blood ratio at 24 hr (20.6 +/- 3.5 vs 17.3 +/- 2.5) (+/-SEM) and at 72 hr (29.0 +/- 4.8 vs 25.0 +/- 4.1) after injection of platelets (p = .02). Dacron vascular grafts. Similarly, the planar graft/blood ratio was reduced at 24 hr (2.7 +/- 0.5 vs 2.4 +/- 0.5), 48 hr (3.7 +/- 0.9 vs 3.1 +/- 0.7), and 72 hr (4.0 +/- 0.9 vs 3.6 +/- 0.8) (p = .04). We conclude that aspirin (325 mg tid) plus dipyridamole (75 mg tid) reduces platelet accumulation on long-term Dacron vascular grafts

  1. Acute heart failure with and without concomitant acute coronary syndromes: patient characteristics, management, and survival.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tarvasmäki, Tuukka; Harjola, Veli-Pekka; Nieminen, Markku S; Siirilä-Waris, Krista; Tolonen, Jukka; Tolppanen, Heli; Lassus, Johan

    2014-10-01

    Acute coronary syndromes (ACS) may precipitate up to a third of acute heart failure (AHF) cases. We assessed the characteristics, initial management, and survival of AHF patients with (ACS-AHF) and without (nACS-AHF) concomitant ACS. Data from 620 AHF patients were analyzed in a prospective multicenter study. The ACS-AHF patients (32%) more often presented with de novo AHF (61% vs. 43%; P coronary procedures (angiography, percutaneous coronary intervention, coronary artery bypass graft surgery), were more frequent in ACS-AHF (P < .001 for all). Although 30-day mortality was significantly higher for ACS-AHF (13% vs. 8%; P = .03), survival in the 2 groups at 5 years was similar. Overall, ACS was an independent predictor of 30-day mortality (adjusted odds ratio 2.0, 95% confidence interval 1.07-3.79; P = .03). Whereas medical history and the manifestation and initial treatment of AHF between ACS-AHF and nACS-AHF patients differ, long-term survival is similar. ACS is, however, independently associated with increased short-term mortality. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Effect of milrinone on short term outcome of patients with myocardial dysfunction undergoing off-pump coronary artery bypass graft: a randomized clinical trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hadadzadeh, Mehdi; Hosseini, Seyed Habib; Mostafavi Pour Manshadi, Seyed Mohammad Yousof; Naderi, Nafiseh; Emami Meybodi, Mahmood

    2013-01-01

    Myocardial dysfunction is a major complication in cardiac surgery that needs inotropic support. This study evaluates the effect of milrinone on patients with low ventricular ejection fraction undergoing off- pump coronary artery bypass graft (OPCAB). The present study is designed to evaluate the effect of milrinone on myocardial dysfunction. Eighty patients with low ventricular ejection fraction (milrinone (50 μg/kg) intravenously and another group received a saline as placebo followed by 24 hours infusion of each agent (0.5 μg/kg/min). Short outcome of patients such as hemodynamic parameters and left ventricular ejection fraction were variables evaluated. Serum levels of creatine phosphokinase, the MB isoenzyme of creatine kinase, occurrence of arrhythmias and mean duration of mechanical ventilation were significantly lower in milrinone group (P<0.05). The mean post operative left ventricular ejection fraction was significantly higher in milrinone group (P=0.031). There were no statistical significant differences between the two groups in terms of intra-aortic balloon pump, inotropic support requirement, myocardial ischemia, myocardial infarction, duration of inotropic support, duration of intensive care unit stay, mortality and morbidity rate. Administration of milrinone in patients undergoing OPCAB with low ventricular ejection fraction is useful and effective.

  3. Supervivencia a largo plazo de los injertos grasos Long-term survival with fat grafting

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Planas

    2006-03-01

    Full Text Available Presentamos varios casos de pérdida de volumen de diferentes etiologías y en distintas regiones corporales y faciales tratadas mediante injertos de tejido graso autólogo según la técnica de lipoestructura. En ningún caso se realizó sobrecorrección del defecto en ningún caso. La evolución con un seguimiento máximo de 7 años y mínimo de 1 año no mostró disminución del volumen obtenido en el acto quirúrgico en la gran mayoría de los casos. Debido a los resultados obtenidos creemos que el injerto de grasa autólogo es el método de elección para restaurar volúmenes con fines estéticos o reconstructivos.Volume loss in several facial and body areas was treated by means of autologous fatty tissue grafts with lipostructure technique. There were no cases of overcorrection. The patients’ course, with a maximum follow-up of 7 years and a minimum of 1 year did not evidence any loss of the surgically restored tissue volume in the majority of cases. The above results suggest that autologous fat grafts are the method of choice to restore volume for both cosmetic and reconstructive purposes.

  4. Permanent vascular access survival in children on long-term chronic hemodialysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Briones, Liliana; Diaz Moreno, Alexia; Sierre, Sergio; Lopez, Laura; Lipsich, José; Adragna, Marta

    2010-09-01

    The aim of this study is to report a single-center experience regarding the management and outcome of permanent vascular accesses (VA) in children on chronic hemodialysis (HD). We analyzed the survival of permanent VA in 79 pediatric patients with end-stage renal disease patients on chronic HD between January 2000 and December 2008. One hundred and thirty-seven VA [89 native fistulas (AVFs) and 48 grafts (AVGs)] were created in 79 children. The creation of AVFs was significantly more frequent in children weighing >25 kg and AVGs in children weighing <25 kg (p = 0.003). The 1-year primary patency rate was 50% for AVF and 30% for AVG. The secondary patency rates at 1, 2, and 3 years for AVFs were 73, 50, and 20% and for AVGs were 64, 36, and 20%, respectively. The total number of surgical and endovascular interventions was significantly higher in AVGs (p term HD access in pediatrics. Surveillance and radiologic procedures are necessary for early detection and treatment of access complications in order to extend access survival.

  5. Early and long-term outcomes of coronary artery bypass grafting in patients with acute coronary syndrome versus stable angina pectoris.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fukui, Toshihiro; Tabata, Minoru; Morita, Satoshi; Takanashi, Shuichiro

    2013-06-01

    The aim of the present study was to determine the early and long-term outcomes of coronary artery bypass grafting in patients with acute coronary syndrome and stable angina pectoris. From September 2004 to September 2011, 382 patients with acute coronary syndrome (unstable angina pectoris and non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction) and 851 patients with stable angina pectoris underwent first-time isolated coronary artery bypass grafting at our institute. The early and long-term outcomes were compared between the 2 groups. Patients with acute coronary syndrome were older, were more likely to be women, had a smaller body surface area, and were more likely to have left main coronary artery disease. In both groups, bilateral internal thoracic artery grafts were used in approximately 89% of the patients, and off-pump techniques in approximately 97% of the patients. The acute coronary syndrome group had a greater operative death rate (2.6% vs 0.1%) and a greater incidence of low output syndrome (3.1% vs 1.2%) and hemodialysis requirement (2.9% vs 1.1%). Multivariate regression analysis demonstrated that age, acute coronary syndrome, lower ejection fraction, and higher creatinine level before surgery were independent predictors of operative death. However, among the hospital survivors, no differences were seen in freedom from all death (85.4% ± 2.5% vs 87.7% ± 2.0%), cardiac death (97.4% ± 0.9% vs 96.5% ± 0.9%), or major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (78.0% ± 2.9% vs 78.1% ± 2.3%) at 7 years between the patients with acute coronary syndrome and stable angina pectoris. Although acute coronary syndrome is an independent predictor of early mortality in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting, the long-term outcomes after surgery were similar between patients with acute coronary syndrome and stable angina pectoris who survived the early postoperative period. Copyright © 2013 The American Association for Thoracic Surgery. Published by

  6. Long-term outcomes of internal carotid artery disease treated using radial artery graft

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Murai, Yasuo; Teramoto, Akira; Mizunari, Takayuki; Kobayashi, Shiro; Umeoka, Katsuya; Tateyama, Kojiro

    2009-01-01

    Complex internal carotid artery disease presents a surgical challenge because limitations and difficulty are encountered with either clipping or endovascular treatment. Our review of previous reports suggests that no current vascular assessment can accurately predict occurrence of ischemic complications after internal carotid artery ligation. The present study concerns long-term clinical outcome of radial artery grafting followed by parent artery trapping or proximal occlusion for management of these difficult lesions. Between September 1997 and October 2007, we performed radial artery grafting followed immediately by parent artery occlusion in 20 sides of 19 patients with complex internal carotid arteries disease with follow-up for more than 36 months (5 men, 14 women; mean follow-up duration, 62 months). All patients underwent postoperative MRI and MR angiography (MRA) every year to assess graft patency, ischemic complications, and de novo aneurysm. Another 20 carotid aneurysms with visual disturbance were assessed concerning outcome. Among 13 patients with cranial nerve (III and VI) disturbances, all dysfunctions were improved in cases treated within 8 months of onset to operation. On the other hand, patients with second cranial nerve disturbances were not improved in cases treated after 4 months of onset. No long-term complications were discovered with MRI and MRA. With appropriate attention to surgical technique, radial artery grafting followed by acute parent artery occlusion is a safe treatment for complex internal carotid artery aneurysms. Long-term safety is satisfactory, with no delayed complications such as graft stenosis, ischemic complications or de novo aneurysm formations in follow-up periods of more than 3 years. Good clinical outcome of cranial nerve palsy was achieved in patients treated within 8 months of onset for cranial nerve (CN) III and VI, and 4 of CN II palsy. (author)

  7. Outcomes and long-term survival of coronary artery surgery: The controversial role of opium as risk marker

    Science.gov (United States)

    Najafi, Mahdi; Jahangiry, Leila; Mortazavi, Seyedeh Hamideh; Jalali, Arash; Karimi, Abbasali; Bozorgi, Ali

    2016-01-01

    AIM To study survival in isolated coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) patients and to evaluate the impact of preoperative chronic opium consumption on long-term outcome. METHODS Cohort of 566 isolated CABG patients as Tehran Heart Center cardiac output measurement was conducted. Daily evaluation until discharge as well as 4- and 12-mo and 6.5-year follow-up information for survival status were fulfilled for all patients. Long-term 6.5-year overall and opium-stratified survival, adjusted survival curves based on opium consumption as well as possible predictors of all-cause mortality using multiple cox regression were determined by statistical analysis. RESULTS Six point five-year overall survival was 91.8%; 86.6% in opium consumers and 92.7% in non-opium consumers (P = 0.035). Patients with positive history of opium consumption significantly tended to have lower ejection fraction (EF), higher creatinine level and higher prevalence of myocardial infarction. Multiple predictors of all-cause mortality included age, body mass index, EF, diabetes mellitus and cerebrovascular accident. The hazard ratio (HR) of 2.09 for the risk of mortality in opium addicted patients with a borderline P value (P = 0.052) was calculated in this model. Further adjustment with stratification based on smoking and opium addiction reduced the HR to 1.20 (P = 0.355). CONCLUSION Simultaneous impact of smoking as a confounding variable in most of the patients prevents from definitive judgment on the role of opium as an independent contributing factor in worse long-term survival of CABG patients in addition to advanced age, low EF, diabetes mellitus and cerebrovascular accident. Meanwhile, our findings do not confirm any cardio protective role for opium to improve outcome in coronary patients with the history of smoking. Further studies are needed to clarify pure effect of opium and warrant the aforementioned findings. PMID:27957254

  8. Short-term dietary restriction and fasting precondition against ischemia reperfusion injury in mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitchell, James R; Verweij, Mariëlle; Brand, Karl; van de Ven, Marieke; Goemaere, Natascha; van den Engel, Sandra; Chu, Timothy; Forrer, Flavio; Müller, Cristina; de Jong, Marion; van IJcken, Wilfred; IJzermans, Jan N M; Hoeijmakers, Jan H J; de Bruin, Ron W F

    2010-02-01

    Dietary restriction (DR) extends lifespan and increases resistance to multiple forms of stress, including ischemia reperfusion injury to the brain and heart in rodents. While maximal effects on lifespan require long-term restriction, the kinetics of onset of benefits against acute stress is not known. Here, we show that 2-4 weeks of 30% DR improved survival and kidney function following renal ischemia reperfusion injury in mice. Brief periods of water-only fasting were similarly effective at protecting against ischemic damage. Significant protection occurred within 1 day, persisted for several days beyond the fasting period and extended to another organ, the liver. Protection by both short-term DR and fasting correlated with improved insulin sensitivity, increased expression of markers of antioxidant defense and reduced expression of markers of inflammation and insulin/insulin-like growth factor-1 signaling. Unbiased transcriptional profiling of kidneys from mice subject to short-term DR or fasting revealed a significant enrichment of signature genes of long-term DR. These data demonstrate that brief periods of reduced food intake, including short-term daily restriction and fasting, can increase resistance to ischemia reperfusion injury in rodents and suggest a rapid onset of benefits of DR in mammals.

  9. [Repair of fingertip amputations using composite grafts: nine clinical cases].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al Saflan, A; May, P; Revol, M; Servant, J-M

    2010-08-01

    Even if a digital replantation is not possible, we present a series of nine cases of fingertip amputations treated with clinical efficacy by using a composite graft from the amputated finger part. All of our eight patients (four children and four adults) were traumatically amputated. The level of amputation passed by the bunch of P3 and carried partially or completely the ungula. The reposition was always performed under local anaesthesia. Our evaluation related on the survival of the composite grafts, the functional and the aesthetic result. The composite grafts were revascularised in eight amputations out of nine, with a satisfactory remote result on the function as well as aesthetic level. After a short recall of the alternative surgical methods of the treatment of the fingertip amputations, we will insist on the simplicity and the reliability of the repositioning of a composite graft, recommended for us from the start and depending on the traumatic level. In the event of a failure, surgeons still have the possibility of realising the other alternative surgical methods. 2009. Published by Elsevier SAS.

  10. What are the differences between long-term, short-term, and working memory?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cowan, Nelson

    2008-01-01

    In the recent literature there has been considerable confusion about the three types of memory: long-term, short-term, and working memory. This chapter strives to reduce that confusion and makes up-to-date assessments of these types of memory. Long- and short-term memory could differ in two fundamental ways, with only short-term memory demonstrating (1) temporal decay and (2) chunk capacity limits. Both properties of short-term memory are still controversial but the current literature is rather encouraging regarding the existence of both decay and capacity limits. Working memory has been conceived and defined in three different, slightly discrepant ways: as short-term memory applied to cognitive tasks, as a multi-component system that holds and manipulates information in short-term memory, and as the use of attention to manage short-term memory. Regardless of the definition, there are some measures of memory in the short term that seem routine and do not correlate well with cognitive aptitudes and other measures (those usually identified with the term "working memory") that seem more attention demanding and do correlate well with these aptitudes. The evidence is evaluated and placed within a theoretical framework depicted in Fig. 1.

  11. Gene expression profiling of canine osteosarcoma reveals genes associated with short and long survival times

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rao Nagesha AS

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Gene expression profiling of spontaneous tumors in the dog offers a unique translational opportunity to identify prognostic biomarkers and signaling pathways that are common to both canine and human. Osteosarcoma (OS accounts for approximately 80% of all malignant bone tumors in the dog. Canine OS are highly comparable with their human counterpart with respect to histology, high metastatic rate and poor long-term survival. This study investigates the prognostic gene profile among thirty-two primary canine OS using canine specific cDNA microarrays representing 20,313 genes to identify genes and cellular signaling pathways associated with survival. This, the first report of its kind in dogs with OS, also demonstrates the advantages of cross-species comparison with human OS. Results The 32 tumors were classified into two prognostic groups based on survival time (ST. They were defined as short survivors (dogs with poor prognosis: surviving fewer than 6 months and long survivors (dogs with better prognosis: surviving 6 months or longer. Fifty-one transcripts were found to be differentially expressed, with common upregulation of these genes in the short survivors. The overexpressed genes in short survivors are associated with possible roles in proliferation, drug resistance or metastasis. Several deregulated pathways identified in the present study, including Wnt signaling, Integrin signaling and Chemokine/cytokine signaling are comparable to the pathway analysis conducted on human OS gene profiles, emphasizing the value of the dog as an excellent model for humans. Conclusion A molecular-based method for discrimination of outcome for short and long survivors is useful for future prognostic stratification at initial diagnosis, where genes and pathways associated with cell cycle/proliferation, drug resistance and metastasis could be potential targets for diagnosis and therapy. The similarities between human and canine OS makes the

  12. Micro-Computed Tomography Evaluation of Human Fat Grafts in Nude Mice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chung, Michael T.; Hyun, Jeong S.; Lo, David D.; Montoro, Daniel T.; Hasegawa, Masakazu; Levi, Benjamin; Januszyk, Michael; Longaker, Michael T.

    2013-01-01

    Background Although autologous fat grafting has revolutionized the field of soft tissue reconstruction and augmentation, long-term maintenance of fat grafts is unpredictable. Recent studies have reported survival rates of fat grafts to vary anywhere between 10% and 80% over time. The present study evaluated the long-term viability of human fat grafts in a murine model using a novel imaging technique allowing for in vivo volumetric analysis. Methods Human fat grafts were prepared from lipoaspirate samples using the Coleman technique. Fat was injected subcutaneously into the scalp of 10 adult Crl:NU-Foxn1nu CD-1 male mice. Micro-computed tomography (CT) was performed immediately following injection and then weekly thereafter. Fat volume was rendered by reconstructing a three-dimensional (3D) surface through cubic-spline interpolation. Specimens were also harvested at various time points and sections were prepared and stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E), for macrophages using CD68 and for the cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1). Finally, samples were explanted at 8- and 12-week time points to validate calculated micro-CT volumes. Results Weekly CT scanning demonstrated progressive volume loss over the time course. However, volumetric analysis at the 8- and 12-week time points stabilized, showing an average of 62.2% and 60.9% survival, respectively. Gross analysis showed the fat graft to be healthy and vascularized. H&E analysis and staining for CD68 showed minimal inflammatory reaction with viable adipocytes. Immunohistochemical staining with anti-human CB1 antibodies confirmed human origin of the adipocytes. Conclusions Studies assessing the fate of autologous fat grafts in animals have focused on nonimaging modalities, including histological and biochemical analyses, which require euthanasia of the animals. In this study, we have demonstrated the ability to employ micro-CT for 3D reconstruction and volumetric analysis of human fat grafts in a mouse model. Importantly

  13. A Kidney Graft Survival Calculator that Accounts for Mismatches in Age, Sex, HLA, and Body Size.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ashby, Valarie B; Leichtman, Alan B; Rees, Michael A; Song, Peter X-K; Bray, Mathieu; Wang, Wen; Kalbfleisch, John D

    2017-07-07

    Outcomes for transplants from living unrelated donors are of particular interest in kidney paired donation (KPD) programs where exchanges can be arranged between incompatible donor-recipient pairs or chains created from nondirected/altruistic donors. Using Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients data, we analyzed 232,705 recipients of kidney-alone transplants from 1998 to 2012. Graft failure rates were estimated using Cox models for recipients of kidney transplants from living unrelated, living related, and deceased donors. Models were adjusted for year of transplant and donor and recipient characteristics, with particular attention to mismatches in age, sex, human leukocyte antigens (HLA), body size, and weight. The dependence of graft failure on increasing donor age was less pronounced for living-donor than for deceased-donor transplants. Male donor-to-male recipient transplants had lower graft failure, particularly better than female to male (5%-13% lower risk). HLA mismatch was important in all donor types. Obesity of both the recipient (8%-18% higher risk) and donor (5%-11% higher risk) was associated with higher graft loss, as were donor-recipient weight ratios of transplants where both parties were of similar weight (9%-12% higher risk). These models are used to create a calculator of estimated graft survival for living donors. This calculator provides useful information to donors, candidates, and physicians of estimated outcomes and potentially in allowing candidates to choose among several living donors. It may also help inform candidates with compatible donors on the advisability of joining a KPD program. Copyright © 2017 by the American Society of Nephrology.

  14. The versatile subepithelial connective tissue graft: a literature update.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karthikeyan, B V; Khanna, Divya; Chowdhary, Kamedh Yashawant; Prabhuji, M Lv

    2016-01-01

    Harmony between hard and soft tissue morphologies is essential for form, function, and a good esthetic outlook. Replacement grafts for correction of soft tissue defects around the teeth have become important to periodontal plastic and implant surgical procedures. Among a multitude of surgical techniques and graft materials reported in literature, the subepithelial connective tissue graft (SCTG) has gained wide popularity and acceptance. The purpose of this article is to acquaint clinicians with the current understanding of the versatile SCTG. Key factors associated with graft harvesting as well as applications, limitations, and complications of SCTGs are discussed. This connective tissue has shown excellent short- and long-term stability, is easily available, and is economical to use. The SCTG should be considered as an alternative in all periodontal reconstruction surgeries.

  15. [Skin graft, smoking and diabetes mellitus type 2].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pérez-Guisado, Joaquín; Fidalgo-Rodríguez, Félix T; Gaston, Kate L; Rioja, Luis F; Thomas, Steven J

    2012-01-01

    Smoking and hyperglycemia decrease the success of skin graft survival in specific circumstances. It is well known that smoking and diabetes mellitus (DM) type 2 increase the oxidative and impair the endothelial function. The objective of this retrospective study was to determine if smoking and DM type 2 are factors associated with lower skin graft survival, in different etiologies of the injury associated to the skin loss. It was a bicentric, retrospective, cross sectional case control study, carried out on 2457 medical patients who met the inclusion criteria. It was carried out over a 10 years period between January 2000-December 2009, at Reina Sofía University Hospital (Córdoba, Spain) and UAB Hospital at Birmingham (Alabama, USA). The percentage of successful graft for each group and its control were analyzed by Chi-square test. The confidence interval chosen for statistical differences was 95%. Smoking and DM type 2 decreased the percentage of skin graft survival when compared with their control groups. DM type 2 was associated with greater negative success on skin graft survival than smoking when compared with their control groups. There was a statistically significant drop in skin graft of 18% in smoking group (range: 68-86%) and 25% in DM type 2 group (53-78%). The OR showed a clear association between the risk factors studied and the lower skin graft success, being stronger for DM type 2. In conclusion, DM type 2 and smoking are factors associated to lower skin graft take.

  16. PRFM enhance wound healing process in skin graft.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reksodiputro, Mirta; Widodo, Dini; Bashiruddin, Jenny; Siregar, Nurjati; Malik, Safarina

    2014-12-01

    Facial plastic and reconstructive surgery often used skin graft on defects that cannot be covered primarily by a local flap. However, wound healing using skin graft is slow, most of the time the graft is contractured and the take of graft is not optimal. Platelet rich fibrin matrix (PRFM) is a new generation of concentrated platelets that produce natural fibrin and reported to speed up the healing process. Application of PRFM in the skin graft implants is expected to increase the survival of the graft. We used porcine as animal models to elucidate the effect of autologous PRFM on wound healing in full-thickness (FTSG) and split-thickness (STSG) skin grafts. Survival level of the skin graft was determined by using ImageJ software based on the formation of collagen type 1 and graft take. We observed that the use of PRFM in FTSG and STSG increased type 1 collagen formation. We also found that PRFM addition in STSG gave the best skin graft take. Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

  17. The Demonstration of Short-Term Consolidation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jolicoeur, Pierre; Dell'Acqua, Roberto

    1998-01-01

    Results of seven experiments involving 112 college students or staff using a dual-task approach provide evidence that encoding information into short-term memory involves a distinct process termed short-term consolidation (STC). Results suggest that STC has limited capacity and that it requires central processing mechanisms. (SLD)

  18. Short-Term Prospective Clinical Evaluation of Monolithic and Partially Veneered Zirconia Single Crowns.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bömicke, Wolfgang; Rammelsberg, Peter; Stober, Thomas; Schmitter, Marc

    2017-02-01

    The purpose of this study was to prospectively evaluate the short-term clinical performance and esthetics of monolithic and partially (i.e., facially) veneered zirconia single crowns (MZC and PZC, respectively). Between September 2011 and June 2013, 68 participants received 90 MZCs and 72 PZCs. Clinical study documentation was performed at crown cementation (baseline), at the 6-month follow-up, and then yearly thereafter using standardized report forms. Eight participants with 14 single crowns (eight MZCs and six PZCs) dropped out during clinical follow-up. Thus, 60 participants (28 male, mean age 62.5 ± 13.1 years) fitted with 82 MZCs and 66 PZCs were analyzed in February 2016 (Kaplan-Meier survival; mean observation time for the restorations 35.1 ± 6.3 months). Descriptive statistics were calculated for participants' and dentists' esthetic ratings on a numerical rating scale from 0 to 10 (0 = unacceptable color and shape; 10 = excellent color and shape). Complications were predominantly biological in nature. One PZC was affected by minor chipping. Cumulative 3-year failure-free survival was 98.5% (standard error (SE), 1.5%) for both MZCs and PZCs. Three-year cumulative complication-free survival (success) was 93.6% (SE 2.8%) for MZCs and 95.5% (SE 2.6%) for PZCs. Three-year cumulative fracture-free survival was 100% for MZCs and 98.5% (SE 1.5%) for PZCs. Crowns of both types were awarded high esthetic scores by participants and dentists. Monolithic and partially veneered zirconia crowns can be used clinically with excellent short-term survival and success and without compromising esthetic appearance. Longer-term follow-up is, however, desirable. During the observation time, both monolithic and partially veneered zirconia crowns showed an outstanding low technical complication rate: only one minor chipping and three losses of retention were observed. Additionally, esthetics was excellent. Based on these results the clinical use of this kind of

  19. Comparison of hemihypoglossal nerve versus masseteric nerve transpositions in the rehabilitation of short-term facial paralysis using the Facial Clima evaluating system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hontanilla, Bernardo; Marré, Diego

    2012-11-01

    Masseteric and hypoglossal nerve transfers are reliable alternatives for reanimating short-term facial paralysis. To date, few studies exist in the literature comparing these techniques. This work presents a quantitative comparison of masseter-facial transposition versus hemihypoglossal facial transposition with a nerve graft using the Facial Clima system. Forty-six patients with complete unilateral facial paralysis underwent reanimation with either hemihypoglossal transposition with a nerve graft (group I, n = 25) or direct masseteric-facial coaptation (group II, n = 21). Commissural displacement and commissural contraction velocity were measured using the Facial Clima system. Postoperative intragroup commissural displacement and commissural contraction velocity means of the reanimated versus the normal side were first compared using a paired sample t test. Then, mean percentages of recovery of both parameters were compared between the groups using an independent sample t test. Onset of movement was also compared between the groups. Significant differences of mean commissural displacement and commissural contraction velocity between the reanimated side and the normal side were observed in group I but not in group II. Mean percentage of recovery of both parameters did not differ between the groups. Patients in group II showed a significantly faster onset of movement compared with those in group I (62 ± 4.6 days versus 136 ± 7.4 days, p = 0.013). Reanimation of short-term facial paralysis can be satisfactorily addressed by means of either hemihypoglossal transposition with a nerve graft or direct masseteric-facial coaptation. However, with the latter, better symmetry and a faster onset of movement are observed. In addition, masseteric nerve transfer avoids morbidity from nerve graft harvesting. Therapeutic, III.

  20. Quantifying Long-term Retention of Excised Fat Grafts

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Herly, Mikkel; Ørholt, Mathias; Glovinski, Peter V.

    2017-01-01

    Background: Predicting the degree of fat graft retention is essential whenplanning reconstruction or augmentation with free fat grafting. Most surgeonsobserve volume loss over time after fat grafting; however, the portion lost toresorption after surgery is still poorly defined, and the time to re...

  1. What are the differences between long-term, short-term, and working memory?

    OpenAIRE

    Cowan, Nelson

    2008-01-01

    In the recent literature there has been considerable confusion about the three types of memory: long-term, short-term, and working memory. This chapter strives to reduce that confusion and makes up-to-date assessments of these types of memory. Long- and short-term memory could differ in two fundamental ways, with only short-term memory demonstrating (1) temporal decay and (2) chunk capacity limits. Both properties of short-term memory are still controversial but the current literature is rath...

  2. [Autologous fat grafting in children].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baptista, C; Bertrand, B; Philandrianos, C; Degardin, N; Casanova, D

    2016-10-01

    Lipofilling or fat grafting transfer is defined as a technique of filling soft tissue by autologous fat grafting. The basic principle of lipofilling is based on a harvest of adipose tissue, followed by a reinjection after treatment. Lipofilling main objective is a volume defect filling, but also improving cutaneous trophicity. Lipofilling specificities among children is mainly based on these indications. Complications of autologous fat grafting among children are the same as those in adults: we distinguish short-term complications (intraoperative and perioperative) and the medium and long-term complications. The harvesting of fat tissue is the main limiting factor of the technique, due to low percentage of body fat of children. Indications of lipofilling among children may be specific or similar to those in adults. There are two types of indications: cosmetic, in which the aim of lipofilling is correcting a defect density, acquired (iatrogenic, post-traumatic scar) or malformation (otomandibular dysplasia, craniosynostosis, Parry Romberg syndrom, Poland syndrom, pectus excavatum…). The aim of functional indications is correcting a velar insufficiency or lagophthalmos. In the paediatric sector, lipofilling has become an alternative to the conventional techniques, by its reliability, safety, reproducibility, and good results. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  3. C. elegans positive butanone learning, short-term, and long-term associative memory assays.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kauffman, Amanda; Parsons, Lance; Stein, Geneva; Wills, Airon; Kaletsky, Rachel; Murphy, Coleen

    2011-03-11

    The memory of experiences and learned information is critical for organisms to make choices that aid their survival. C. elegans navigates its environment through neuron-specific detection of food and chemical odors, and can associate nutritive states with chemical odors, temperature, and the pathogenicity of a food source. Here, we describe assays of C. elegans associative learning and short- and long-term associative memory. We modified an aversive olfactory learning paradigm to instead produce a positive response; the assay involves starving ~400 worms, then feeding the worms in the presence of the AWC neuron-sensed volatile chemoattractant butanone at a concentration that elicits a low chemotactic index (similar to Toroyama et al.). A standard population chemotaxis assay1 tests the worms' attraction to the odorant immediately or minutes to hours after conditioning. After conditioning, wild-type animals' chemotaxis to butanone increases ~0.6 Chemotaxis Index units, its "Learning Index". Associative learning is dependent on the presence of both food and butanone during training. Pairing food and butanone for a single conditioning period ("massed training") produces short-term associative memory that lasts ~2 hours. Multiple conditioning periods with rest periods between ("spaced training") yields long-term associative memory (long-term memory across species. Our protocol also includes image analysis methods for quick and accurate determination of chemotaxis indices. High-contrast images of animals on chemotaxis assay plates are captured and analyzed by worm counting software in MatLab. The software corrects for uneven background using a morphological tophat transformation. Otsu's method is then used to determine a threshold to separate worms from the background. Very small particles are removed automatically and larger non-worm regions (plate edges or agar punches) are removed by manual selection. The software then estimates the size of single worm by ignoring

  4. Induced Neural Stem Cells Achieve Long-Term Survival and Functional Integration in the Adult Mouse Brain

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kathrin Hemmer

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Differentiated cells can be converted directly into multipotent neural stem cells (i.e., induced neural stem cells [iNSCs]. iNSCs offer an attractive alternative to induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC technology with regard to regenerative therapies. Here, we show an in vivo long-term analysis of transplanted iNSCs in the adult mouse brain. iNSCs showed sound in vivo long-term survival rates without graft overgrowths. The cells displayed a neural multilineage potential with a clear bias toward astrocytes and a permanent downregulation of progenitor and cell-cycle markers, indicating that iNSCs are not predisposed to tumor formation. Furthermore, the formation of synaptic connections as well as neuronal and glial electrophysiological properties demonstrated that differentiated iNSCs migrated, functionally integrated, and interacted with the existing neuronal circuitry. We conclude that iNSC long-term transplantation is a safe procedure; moreover, it might represent an interesting tool for future personalized regenerative applications.

  5. Short-term memory across eye blinks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Irwin, David E

    2014-01-01

    The effect of eye blinks on short-term memory was examined in two experiments. On each trial, participants viewed an initial display of coloured, oriented lines, then after a retention interval they viewed a test display that was either identical or different by one feature. Participants kept their eyes open throughout the retention interval on some blocks of trials, whereas on others they made a single eye blink. Accuracy was measured as a function of the number of items in the display to determine the capacity of short-term memory on blink and no-blink trials. In separate blocks of trials participants were instructed to remember colour only, orientation only, or both colour and orientation. Eye blinks reduced short-term memory capacity by approximately 0.6-0.8 items for both feature and conjunction stimuli. A third, control, experiment showed that a button press during the retention interval had no effect on short-term memory capacity, indicating that the effect of an eye blink was not due to general motoric dual-task interference. Eye blinks might instead reduce short-term memory capacity by interfering with attention-based rehearsal processes.

  6. Short-term memory and dual task performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Regan, J. E.

    1982-01-01

    Two hypotheses concerning the way in which short-term memory interacts with another task in a dual task situation are considered. It is noted that when two tasks are combined, the activity of controlling and organizing performance on both tasks simultaneously may compete with either task for a resource; this resource may be space in a central mechanism or general processing capacity or it may be some task-specific resource. If a special relationship exists between short-term memory and control, especially if there is an identity relationship between short-term and a central controlling mechanism, then short-term memory performance should show a decrement in a dual task situation. Even if short-term memory does not have any particular identity with a controlling mechanism, but both tasks draw on some common resource or resources, then a tradeoff between the two tasks in allocating resources is possible and could be reflected in performance. The persistent concurrence cost in memory performance in these experiments suggests that short-term memory may have a unique status in the information processing system.

  7. Effect of milrinone on short term outcome of patients with myocardial dysfunction undergoing off-pump coronary artery bypass graft: a randomized clinical trial.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mehdi Hadadzadeh

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available Myocardial dysfunction is a major complication in cardiac surgery that needs inotropic support. This study evaluates the effect of milrinone on patients with low ventricular ejection fraction undergoing off- pump coronary artery bypass graft (OPCAB. The present study is designed to evaluate the effect of milrinone on myocardial dysfunction. Eighty patients with low ventricular ejection fraction (<35%, candidate for elective OPCAB, were enrolled in this study. They were randomly assigned to two groups. One group received milrinone (50 μg/kg intravenously and another group received a saline as placebo followed by 24 hours infusion of each agent (0.5 μg/kg/min. Short outcome of patients such as hemodynamic parameters and left ventricular ejection fraction were variables evaluated. Serum levels of creatine phosphokinase, the MB isoenzyme of creatine kinase, occurrence of arrhythmias and mean duration of mechanical ventilation were significantly lower in milrinone group (P<0.05. The mean post operative left ventricular ejection fraction was significantly higher in milrinone group (P=0.031. There were no statistical significant differences between the two groups in terms of intra-aortic balloon pump, inotropic support requirement, myocardial ischemia, myocardial infarction, duration of inotropic support, duration of intensive care unit stay, mortality and morbidity rate. Administration of milrinone in patients undergoing OPCAB with low ventricular ejection fraction is useful and effective.

  8. A multilayered polyurethane foam technique for skin graft immobilization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nakamura, Motoki; Ito, Erika; Kato, Hiroshi; Watanabe, Shoichi; Morita, Akimichi

    2012-02-01

    Several techniques are applicable for skin graft immobilization. Although the sponge dressing is a popular technique, pressure failure near the center of the graft is a weakness of the technique that can result in engraftment failure. To evaluate the efficacy of a new skin graft immobilization technique using multilayered polyurethane foam in vivo and in vitro. Twenty-six patients underwent a full-thickness skin graft. Multiple layers of a hydrocellular polyurethane foam dressing were used for skin graft immobilization. In addition, we created an in vitro skin graft model that allowed us to estimate immobilization pressure at the center and edges of skin grafts of various sizes. Overall mean graft survival was 88.9%. In the head and neck region (19 patients), mean graft survival was 93.6%. Based on the in vitro outcomes, this technique supplies effective pressure (skin graft. This multilayered polyurethane foam dressing is simple, safe, and effective for skin graft immobilization. © 2011 by the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, Inc. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  9. Short-term LNG-markets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eldegard, Tom; Lund, Arne-Christian; Miltersen, Kristian; Rud, Linda

    2005-01-01

    The global Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) industry has experienced substantial growth in the past decades. In the traditional trade patterns of LNG the product has typically been handled within a dedicated chain of plants and vessels fully committed by long term contracts or common ownership, providing risk sharing of large investments in a non-liquid market. Increasing gas prices and substantial cost reductions in all parts of the LNG chain have made LNG projects viable even if only part of the capacity is secured by long-term contracts, opening for more flexible trade of the remainder. Increasing gas demand, especially in power generation, combined with cost reductions in the cost of LNG terminals, open new markets for LNG. For the LNG supplier, the flexibility of shifting volumes between regions represents an additional value. International trade in LNG has been increasing, now accounting for more than one fifth of the world's cross-border gas trade. Despite traditional vertical chain bonds, increased flexibility has contributed in fact to an increasing LNG spot trade, representing 8% of global trade in 2002. The focus of this paper is on the development of global short-term LNG markets, and their role with respect to efficiency and security of supply in European gas markets. Arbitrage opportunities arising from price differences between regional markets (such as North America versus Europe) are important impetuses for flexible short-term trade. However, the short-term LNG trade may suffer from problems related to market access, e.g. limited access to terminals and regulatory issues, as well as rigidities connected to vertical binding within the LNG chain. Important issues related to the role of short-term LNG-trade in the European gas market are: Competition, flexibility in meeting peak demand, security of supply and consequences of differences in pricing policies (oil-linked prices in Europe and spot market prices in North America). (Author)

  10. Hsp70 expression and metabolite composition in response to short-term thermal changes in Folsomia candida (Collembola)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Waagner, Dorthe; Heckmann, Lars-Henrik; Malmendal, Anders

    2010-01-01

    In the present study the joint transcriptomic and metabolomic responses in Folsomia candida (Collembola) to temperature changes on a short-term scale were studied. Change in heat tolerance was examined as survival after a 35 degrees C heat shock (2h) in the course of either a fluctuating temperat......In the present study the joint transcriptomic and metabolomic responses in Folsomia candida (Collembola) to temperature changes on a short-term scale were studied. Change in heat tolerance was examined as survival after a 35 degrees C heat shock (2h) in the course of either a fluctuating...... analysed in F. candida using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((1)H NMR). A significant metabolomic divergence between pre-treated and control collembolans was evident; partly due to a significantly reduced relative concentration of five free amino acids (arginine, leucine, lysine, phenylalanine...

  11. Increased short- and long-term mortality in 8146 hospitalised peptic ulcer patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malmi, H; Kautiainen, H; Virta, L J; Färkkilä, M A

    2016-08-01

    Incidence and complications of peptic ulcer disease (PUD) have declined, but mortality from peptic ulcer bleeding has remained unchanged. The few recent studies on mortality associated with both uncomplicated and complicated patients with peptic ulcer disease provide contradictory results. To evaluate short- and long-term mortality, and the main causes of death in peptic ulcer disease. In this retrospective epidemiologic cohort study, register data on 8146 adult patients hospitalised with peptic ulcer disease during 2000-2008 were collected in the capital region of Finland. All were followed in the National Cause of Death Register until the end of 2009. The data were linked with the nationwide Drug Purchase Register of the Finnish Social Insurance Institution. Mean follow-up time was 4.9 years. Overall mortality was substantially increased, standardised mortality ratio 2.53 (95% CI: 2.44-2.63); 3.7% died within 30 days, and 11.8% within 1 year. At 6 months, the survival of patients with perforated or bleeding ulcer was lower compared to those with uncomplicated ulcer; hazard ratios were 2.06 (1.68-2.04) and 1.32 (1.11-1.58), respectively. For perforated duodenal ulcers, both the short- and long-term survival was significantly impaired in women. The main causes of mortality at 1 year were malignancies and cardiovascular diseases. Previous use of statins was associated with significant reduction in all-cause mortality. One-year mortality in patients hospitalised with peptic ulcer disease remained high with no change. This peptic ulcer disease cohort had a clearly decreased survival rate up to 10 years, especially among women with a perforated duodenal ulcer, most likely explained by poorer survival due to underlying comorbidity. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  12. Short-term incentive schemes for hospital managers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lucas Malambe

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available Orientation: Short-term incentives, considered to be an extrinsic motivation, are commonly used to motivate performance. This study explored hospital managers’ perceptions of short term incentives in maximising performance and retention. Research purpose: The study explored the experiences, views and perceptions of private hospital managers in South Africa regarding the use of short-term incentives to maximise performance and retention, as well as the applicability of the findings to public hospitals. Motivation for the study: Whilst there is an established link between performance reward schemes and organisational performance, there is little understanding of the effects of short term incentives on the performance and retention of hospital managers within the South African context. Research design, approach, and method: The study used a qualitative research design: interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 19 hospital managers, and a thematic content analysis was performed. Main findings: Short-term incentives may not be the primary motivator for hospital managers, but they do play a critical role in sustaining motivation. Participants indicated that these schemes could also be applicable to public hospitals. Practical/managerial implications: Hospital managers are inclined to be more motivated by intrinsic than extrinsic factors. However, hospital managers (as middle managers also seem to be motivated by short-term incentives. A combination of intrinsic and extrinsic motivators should thus be used to maximise performance and retention. Contribution/value-add: Whilst the study sought to explore hospital managers’ perceptions of short-term incentives, it also found that an adequate balance between internal and external motivators is key to implementing an effective short-term incentive scheme.

  13. Short-Term Intercultural Psychotherapy: Ethnographic Inquiry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seeley, Karen M.

    2004-01-01

    This article examines the challenges specific to short-term intercultural treatments and recently developed approaches to intercultural treatments based on notions of cultural knowledge and cultural competence. The article introduces alternative approaches to short-term intercultural treatments based on ethnographic inquiry adapted for clinical…

  14. Why do short term workers have high mortality?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kolstad, Henrik; Olsen, Jørn

    1999-01-01

    or violence, the rate ratios for short term employment were 2.30 (95% Cl 1.74-3.06) and 1.86 (95% Cl 1.35-2.56), respectively. An unhealthy lifestyle may also be a determinant of short term employment. While it is possible in principle to adjust for lifestyle factors if proper data are collected, the health......Increased mortality is often reported among workers in short term employment. This may indicate either a health-related selection process or the presence of different lifestyle or social conditions among short term workers. The authors studied these two aspects of short term employment among 16...

  15. PTFE grafts versus tunneled cuffed catheters for hemodialysis: which is the second choice when arteriovenous fistula is not feasible?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Donati, Gabriele; Cianciolo, Giuseppe; Mauro, Raffaella; Rucci, Paola; Scrivo, Anna; Marchetti, Antonio; Giampalma, Emanuela; Golfieri, Rita; Panicali, Laura; Iorio, Mario; Stella, Andrea; La Manna, Gaetano; Stefoni, Sergio

    2015-02-01

    Vascular access-related complications are still one of the leading causes of morbidity in hemodialysis patients. The aim of this study was to compare polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) grafts versus tunneled cuffed permanent catheters (TCCs) in terms of vascular access and patients' survival. An observational study was carried out with a 2-year follow-up. Eighty-seven chronic hemodialysis patients were enrolled: 31 with a PTFE graft as vascular access for hemodialysis versus 56 with a TCC. Patients' mean age was 63.8 ± 14.6 (grafts) versus 73.5 ± 11.3 years (TCCs), P = 0.001. Significantly more patients with TCC had atrial fibrillation than patients with grafts (30.3% versus 6.5%, P = 0.01). In an unadjusted Kaplan-Meier analysis, median TCC survival at 24 months was 5.4 months longer than that of PTFE grafts but not significantly (log-rank test = 1.3, P = ns). In a Cox regression analysis adjusted for age, gender, number of previous vascular accesses, diabetes, atrial fibrillation, smoking, and any complication, this lack of significant difference in survival of the vascular access between TCC and PTFE groups was confirmed and diabetes proved to be an independent risk factor for the survival of both vascular accesses considered (P = 0.02). In an unadjusted Kaplan-Meier analysis, a higher mortality was found in the TCC group than in the PTFE group at 24 months (log-rank test = 10.07, P PTFE grafts. When an arteriovenous fistula (AVF) is not possible, PTFE grafts can be considered the vascular access of second choice, whereas TCCs can be used when an AVF or PTFE graft are not feasible or as a bridge to AVF or PTFE graft creation. Copyright © 2014 International Center for Artificial Organs and Transplantation and Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  16. [Is there an age limit for cadaveric kidney donors currently?].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cofán Pujol, F; Oppenheimer Salinas, F; Talbot-Wright, R; Carretero González, P

    1996-12-01

    The insufficient number of kidney transplants has gradually raised the age limit to the cadaver kidney donor. The use of grafts harvested from older donors has been debated due to the existing structural and functional changes that might influence renal function and long-term graft survival. The foregoing aspects are discussed herein. The anatomical, histological and functional changes in the kidney associated with ageing are analyzed. The clinical experience with renal grafts from older donors before and after cyclosporine became available are reviewed. The ethical issues on whether grafts from very old donors should be used and who should receive these grafts are discussed. The use of grafts from donors over 60 years old had no significant short and medium term differences in comparison with younger donors in terms of graft survival, although a higher incidence of acute tubular necrosis and poor renal function have been observed. There are no conclusive studies on the long-term effects on graft survival when kidneys from donors aged over 65 are utilized. In our experience, the results achieved with grafts from donors over 70 has been unsatisfactory. The guidelines utilized in the selection of grafts derived from older donors are presented. Grafts from donors aged 60 to 70 may be utilized in renal transplantation following precise selection criteria. Graft survival has been satisfactory, although a higher incidence of acute tubular necrosis and higher creatinine levels have been observed. We do not advocate the use of grafts from donors over 70, except in very exceptional cases. Long-term multicenter studies on grafts from very old donors and trials using alternative immunosuppressor modalities that might permit optimal use of these grafts are warranted.

  17. Renal vessel reconstruction in kidney transplantation using a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) vascular graft.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kamel, Mohamed H; Thomas, Anil A; Mohan, Ponnusamy; Hickey, David P

    2007-04-01

    We report a rare experience in reconstructing short renal vessels in kidney transplantation using polytetrafluroethylene (PTFE) vascular grafts. The short renal vessels in three kidney grafts were managed by the interposition of PTFE vascular grafts. Two grafts were from deceased donors and the third was a renal auto-transplant graft. PTFE grafts were used to lengthen short renal veins in two kidney grafts and a short renal artery in one. The warm ischaemia time was under 1 h and all kidneys functioned well post-operatively. Excellent blood perfusion in the three renal grafts was present on postoperative MAG 3 renal scan. No intra-operative or post-operative complications were encountered. In the three described patients, the use of PTFE vascular graft presented no additional morbidity to the kidney transplant operation and no post-oerative complication was related to its use. However, more data are necessary to conclude that PTFE graft can be used safely in kidney transplantation.

  18. PIRCHE-II Is Related to Graft Failure after Kidney Transplantation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geneugelijk, Kirsten; Niemann, Matthias; Drylewicz, Julia; van Zuilen, Arjan D.; Joosten, Irma; Allebes, Wil A.; van der Meer, Arnold; Hilbrands, Luuk B.; Baas, Marije C.; Hack, C. Erik; van Reekum, Franka E.; Verhaar, Marianne C.; Kamburova, Elena G.; Bots, Michiel L.; Seelen, Marc A. J.; Sanders, Jan Stephan; Hepkema, Bouke G.; Lambeck, Annechien J.; Bungener, Laura B.; Roozendaal, Caroline; Tilanus, Marcel G. J.; Vanderlocht, Joris; Voorter, Christien E.; Wieten, Lotte; van Duijnhoven, Elly M.; Gelens, Mariëlle; Christiaans, Maarten H. L.; van Ittersum, Frans J.; Nurmohamed, Azam; Lardy, Junior N. M.; Swelsen, Wendy; van der Pant, Karlijn A.; van der Weerd, Neelke C.; ten Berge, Ineke J. M.; Bemelman, Fréderike J.; Hoitsma, Andries; van der Boog, Paul J. M.; de Fijter, Johan W.; Betjes, Michiel G. H.; Heidt, Sebastiaan; Roelen, Dave L.; Claas, Frans H.; Otten, Henny G.; Spierings, Eric

    2018-01-01

    Individual HLA mismatches may differentially impact graft survival after kidney transplantation. Therefore, there is a need for a reliable tool to define permissible HLA mismatches in kidney transplantation. We previously demonstrated that donor-derived Predicted Indirectly ReCognizable HLA Epitopes presented by recipient HLA class II (PIRCHE-II) play a role in de novo donor-specific HLA antibodies formation after kidney transplantation. In the present Dutch multi-center study, we evaluated the possible association between PIRCHE-II and kidney graft failure in 2,918 donor–recipient couples that were transplanted between 1995 and 2005. For these donors–recipients couples, PIRCHE-II numbers were related to graft survival in univariate and multivariable analyses. Adjusted for confounders, the natural logarithm of PIRCHE-II was associated with a higher risk for graft failure [hazard ratio (HR): 1.13, 95% CI: 1.04–1.23, p = 0.003]. When analyzing a subgroup of patients who had their first transplantation, the HR of graft failure for ln(PIRCHE-II) was higher compared with the overall cohort (HR: 1.22, 95% CI: 1.10–1.34, p < 0.001). PIRCHE-II demonstrated both early and late effects on graft failure in this subgroup. These data suggest that the PIRCHE-II may impact graft survival after kidney transplantation. Inclusion of PIRCHE-II in donor-selection criteria may eventually lead to an improved kidney graft survival. PMID:29556227

  19. Severity of acidosis affects long-term survival in COPD patients with hypoxemia after intensive care unit discharge.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gungor, Sinem; Kargin, Feyza; Irmak, Ilim; Ciyiltepe, Fulya; Acartürk Tunçay, Eylem; Atagun Guney, Pinar; Aksoy, Emine; Ocakli, Birsen; Adiguzel, Nalan; Karakurt, Zuhal

    2018-01-01

    Patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) with acute respiratory failure (ARF) due to COPD have high mortality and morbidity. Acidosis has several harmful effects on hemodynamics and metabolism, and the current knowledge regarding the relationship between respiratory acidosis severity on the short- and long-term survival of COPD patients is limited. We hypothesized that COPD patients with severe acidosis would have a poorer short- and long-term prognosis compared with COPD patients with mild-to-moderate acidosis. This retrospective observational cohort study was conducted in a level III respiratory ICU of a tertiary teaching hospital for chest diseases between December 1, 2013, and December 30, 2014. Subject characteristics, comorbidities, ICU parameters, duration of mechanical ventilation, length of ICU stay, ICU mortality, use of domiciliary noninvasive mechanical ventilation (NIMV) and long-term oxygen therapy (LTOT), and short- and long-term mortality were recorded. Patients were grouped according to their arterial blood gas (ABG) values during ICU admission: severe acidotic (pH≤7.20) and mild-to-moderate acidotic (pH 7.21-7.35). These groups were compared with the recorded data. The mortality predictors were analyzed by logistic regression test in the ICU and the Cox regression test for long-term mortality predictors. During the study period, a total of 312 COPD patients admitted to the ICU with ARF, 69 (72.5% male) in the severe acidosis group and 243 (79% male) in the mild-to-moderate acidosis group, were enrolled. Group demographics, comorbidities, duration of mechanical ventilation, and length of ICU stay were similar in the two groups. The severe acidosis group had a significantly higher rate of NIMV failure (60.7% vs 40%) in the ICU. Mild-to-moderate acidotic COPD patients using LTOT had longer survival after ICU discharge than those without LTOT. On the other hand, severely acidotic COPD patients without LTOT showed shorter survival than

  20. Short-term mechanisms influencing volumetric brain dynamics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nikki Dieleman

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available With the use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI and brain analysis tools, it has become possible to measure brain volume changes up to around 0.5%. Besides long-term brain changes caused by atrophy in aging or neurodegenerative disease, short-term mechanisms that influence brain volume may exist. When we focus on short-term changes of the brain, changes may be either physiological or pathological. As such determining the cause of volumetric dynamics of the brain is essential. Additionally for an accurate interpretation of longitudinal brain volume measures by means of neurodegeneration, knowledge about the short-term changes is needed. Therefore, in this review, we discuss the possible mechanisms influencing brain volumes on a short-term basis and set-out a framework of MRI techniques to be used for volumetric changes as well as the used analysis tools. 3D T1-weighted images are the images of choice when it comes to MRI of brain volume. These images are excellent to determine brain volume and can be used together with an analysis tool to determine the degree of volume change. Mechanisms that decrease global brain volume are: fluid restriction, evening MRI measurements, corticosteroids, antipsychotics and short-term effects of pathological processes like Alzheimer's disease, hypertension and Diabetes mellitus type II. Mechanisms increasing the brain volume include fluid intake, morning MRI measurements, surgical revascularization and probably medications like anti-inflammatory drugs and anti-hypertensive medication. Exercise was found to have no effect on brain volume on a short-term basis, which may imply that dehydration caused by exercise differs from dehydration by fluid restriction. In the upcoming years, attention should be directed towards studies investigating physiological short-term changes within the light of long-term pathological changes. Ultimately this may lead to a better understanding of the physiological short-term effects of

  1. Graft irradiation abrogates graft-versus-host disease in combined pancreas-spleen transplantation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schulak, J.A.; Sharp, W.J.

    1986-01-01

    A model of combined pancreas-spleen transplantation (PST) was studied in LBN F1 recipients of Lewis grafts in order to evaluate the efficacy of pretransplant graft irradiation in preventing lethal graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). Recipients of unmodified PST uniformly developed severe GVHD and died (MST = 16.7 +/- 3.8 days). Whole body donor irradiation with either 500 or 250 rad prevented lethal GVHD. Similarly, ex vivo graft irradiation with either 1000 or 500 rad also resulted in normal weight gain, graft function, and host survival for the 6-week study period. Conversely, delay of graft irradiation until 3 days after transplantation failed to prevent this complication (MST = 15.8 +/- 3.7 days). Recipients of irradiated grafts displayed glucose tolerance tests that were identical to those in the control group indicating that the doses of radiation employed in these experiments were not deleterious to islet function. Irradiated spleen grafts appeared histologically normal at 6 weeks after transplantation. Cells derived from these grafts failed to stimulate lymph node enlargement in a popliteal lymph node assay for GVHD, suggesting that these spleens may have become repopulated with host cells. These experiments confirm that PST has the potential to cause lethal GVHD and suggest that pretransplant graft irradiation may be used to prevent its occurrence

  2. Verbal Short-Term Memory Span in Speech-Disordered Children: Implications for Articulatory Coding in Short-Term Memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raine, Adrian; And Others

    1991-01-01

    Children with speech disorders had lower short-term memory capacity and smaller word length effect than control children. Children with speech disorders also had reduced speech-motor activity during rehearsal. Results suggest that speech rate may be a causal determinant of verbal short-term memory capacity. (BC)

  3. Real-time energy resources scheduling considering short-term and very short-term wind forecast

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Silva, Marco; Sousa, Tiago; Morais, Hugo; Vale, Zita [Polytechnic of Porto (Portugal). GECAD - Knowledge Engineering and Decision Support Research Center

    2012-07-01

    This paper proposes an energy resources management methodology based on three distinct time horizons: day-ahead scheduling, hour-ahead scheduling, and real-time scheduling. In each scheduling process the update of generation and consumption operation and of the storage and electric vehicles storage status are used. Besides the new operation conditions, the most accurate forecast values of wind generation and of consumption using results of short-term and very short-term methods are used. A case study considering a distribution network with intensive use of distributed generation and electric vehicles is presented. (orig.)

  4. The Mind and Brain of Short-Term Memory

    OpenAIRE

    Jonides, John; Lewis, Richard L.; Nee, Derek Evan; Lustig, Cindy A.; Berman, Marc G.; Moore, Katherine Sledge

    2008-01-01

    The past 10 years have brought near-revolutionary changes in psychological theories about short-term memory, with similarly great advances in the neurosciences. Here, we critically examine the major psychological theories (the “mind”) of short-term memory and how they relate to evidence about underlying brain mechanisms. We focus on three features that must be addressed by any satisfactory theory of short-term memory. First, we examine the evidence for the architecture of short-term memory, w...

  5. Very-long-term and short-term chromatic adaptation: are their influences cumulative?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Belmore, Suzanne C; Shevell, Steven K

    2011-02-09

    Very-long-term (VLT) chromatic adaptation results from exposure to an altered chromatic environment for days or weeks. Color shifts from VLT adaptation are observed hours or days after leaving the altered environment. Short-term chromatic adaptation, on the other hand, results from exposure for a few minutes or less, with color shifts measured within seconds or a few minutes after the adapting light is extinguished; recovery to the pre-adapted state is complete in less than an hour. Here, both types of adaptation were combined. All adaptation was to reddish-appearing long-wavelength light. Shifts in unique yellow were measured following adaptation. Previous studies demonstrate shifts in unique yellow due to VLT chromatic adaptation, but shifts from short-term chromatic adaptation to comparable adapting light can be far greater than from VLT adaptation. The question considered here is whether the color shifts from VLT adaptation are cumulative with large shifts from short-term adaptation or, alternatively, does simultaneous short-term adaptation eliminate color shifts caused by VLT adaptation. The results show the color shifts from VLT and short-term adaptation together are cumulative, which indicates that both short-term and very-long-term chromatic adaptation affect color perception during natural viewing. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Effect of blood transfusions on canine renal allograft survival

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Van Der Linden, C.J.; Buurman, W.A.; Vegt, P.A.; Greep, J.M.; Jeekel, J.

    1982-01-01

    In this study significantly prolonged canine renal allograft survival has been demonstrated after transfusion of 100 ml of third-party whole blood given peroperatively. Peroperative transfusions of third-party leukocyte-free blood or pure lymphocyte cell suspensions did not influence graft survival. Futhermore, no improvement in graft survival has been found after a peroperative transfuson of irradiated whole blood (2500 rad). These data suggest that delayed graft rejection after blood transfusions can only be expected after the administration of whole blood. The role of competent lymphocytes in whole blood is questionable, since a transfusion of irradiated whole blood in combination with nonirradiated lymphocytes did not lead to prolonged graft survival. Immunosuppression of the recipient directly after transfusion seems to be essential to induce the beneficial effect of blood transfusions. This has been demonstrated for a transfusion of whole blood 14 days before transplantation. A single transfusion of 100 ml of whole blood 14 days before transplantation could effectively prolong graft survival if immunosuppression with azathioprine and prednisone was started on the day of transfusion. No improvement in graft survival has been found with such a transfusion if preoperative immunosuppression has been omitted

  7. Effect of blood transfusions on canine renal allograft survival

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    van der Linden, C.J.; Buurman, W.A.; Vegt, P.A.; Greep, J.M.; Jeekel, J.

    1982-01-01

    In this study significantly prolonged canine renal allograft survival has been demonstrated after transfusion of 100 ml of third-party whole blood given peroperatively. Peroperative transfusions of third-party leukocyte-free blood or pure lymphocyte cell suspensions did not influence graft survival. Furthermore, no improvement in graft survival has been found after a peroperative transfusion of irradiated whole blood (2500 rad). These data suggest that delayed graft rejection after blood transfusions can only be expected after the administration of whole blood. The role of competent lymphocytes in whole blood is questionable, since a transfusion or irradiated whole blood in combination with nonirradiated lymphocytes did not lead to prolonged graft survival. Immunosuppression of the recipient directly after transfusion seems to be essential to induce the beneficial effect of blood transfusions. This has been demonstrated for a transfusion of whole blood 14 days before transplantation. A single transfusion of 100 ml of whole blood 14 days before transplantation could effectively prolong graft survival if immunosuppression with azathioprine and prednisone was started on the day of transfusion. No improvement in graft survival has been found with such a transfusion if preoperative immunosuppression has been omitted

  8. Long-term results of 2-mm punch grafting in patients with vitiligo vulgaris and segmental vitiligo: effect of disease activity

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Fongers, A.; Wolkerstorfer, A.; Nieuweboer-Krobotova, L.; Krawczyk, P.; Tóth, G. G.; van der Veen, J. P. W.

    2009-01-01

    Background Punch grafting is a simple and frequently used technique for the treatment of stable vitiligo, resistant to medical therapy. However, studies reporting long-term results are exceptional. Objectives To evaluate the long-term results of 2-mm punch grafting in patients with vitiligo vulgaris

  9. Long-term results of 2-mm punch grafting in patients with vitiligo vulgaris and segmental vitiligo : effect of disease activity

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Fongers, A.; Wolkerstorfer, A.; Nieuweboer-Krobotova, L.; Krawczyk, P.; Toth, G. G.; van der Veen, J. P. W.

    Background Punch grafting is a simple and frequently used technique for the treatment of stable vitiligo, resistant to medical therapy. However, studies reporting long-term results are exceptional. Objectives To evaluate the long-term results of 2-mm punch grafting in patients with vitiligo vulgaris

  10. Long-term results of 2-mm punch grafting in patients with vitiligo vulgaris and segmental vitiligo : effect of disease activity

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Fongers, A.; Wolkerstorfer, A.; Nieuweboer-Krobotova, L.; Krawczyk, P.; Toth, G. G.; van der Veen, J. P. W.

    2009-01-01

    Background Punch grafting is a simple and frequently used technique for the treatment of stable vitiligo, resistant to medical therapy. However, studies reporting long-term results are exceptional. Objectives To evaluate the long-term results of 2-mm punch grafting in patients with vitiligo vulgaris

  11. Steroid-free immunosuppression after renal transplantation-long-term experience from a single centre

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    El-Faramawi, Mohamad; Rohr, Nils; Jespersen, Bente

    2006-01-01

    BACKGROUND: A steroid-free immunosuppressive protocol may improve the general well-being of patients, but long-term renal graft survival has been a concern. METHODS: In a retrospective clinical study, 329 consecutive transplantations with renal grafts at our centre during the period 1995-2004, were......, for instance because of primary kidney disease or when calcineurin inhibitor toxicity was suspected. RESULTS: About 71% of the patients did not take steroids at all. Nevertheless, graft survival rates at 1, 5 and 7 years were 95, 77 and 72% for all grafts, including 27% living donor transplants and 27% second...... or subsequent grafts. Ten patients (3.2%) died with functioning grafts. Within the first year of transplantation there were 69 acute rejections in 63 patients (19%). Four cases (1.3%) of post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD) occurred with one graft loss and no deaths. Owing to a high PTLD rate...

  12. Primary Graft Dysfunction and Long-Term Outcomes Following Lung Transplantation

    OpenAIRE

    DerHovanessian, Ariss

    2012-01-01

    Background: Primary graft dysfunction (PGD) is an early complication of lung transplantation associated with poor early outcomes, however less is known about its prolonged effects on morbidity and mortality. We hypothesized that PGD is associated with long-term mortality and chronic rejection in the form of bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome. Methods: A retrospective study of 279 adult lung transplant recipients between 2000 and 2007 was performed. PGD grade was determined both immediately ...

  13. Effects of Acute Cytomegalovirus Infection on Rat Islet Allograft Survival

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Smelt, M. J.; Faas, M. M.; Melgert, B. N.; de Vos, P.; de Haan, Bart; de Haan, Aalzen

    2011-01-01

    Transplantation of pancreatic islets is a promising therapy for the treatment of type 1 diabetes mellitus. However, long-term islet graft survival rates are still unsatisfactory low. In this study we investigated the role of cytomegalovirus (CMV) in islet allograft failure. STZ-diabetic rats

  14. Long-term results of biopsy-guided selection and allocation of kidneys from older donors in older recipients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernández-Lorente, L; Riera, L; Bestard, O; Carrera, M; Gomà, M; Porta, N; Torras, J; Melilli, E; Gil-Vernet, S; Grinyó, J M; Cruzado, J M

    2012-10-01

    In our old-for-old program, we discard or allocate older extended criteria donor kidneys to single (SKT) or dual kidney transplantation (DKT) depending on histological Remuzzi's score in recipients older than 60 years. Here, we analyze the long-term results of this program and try to identify independent predictors of patient and graft survival. Between December 1996 and January 2008, we performed 115 SKT and 88 DKT. Discard rate was 15%. Acute rejection incidence was higher in SKT than in DKT (22.6% vs. 11.4%, p = 0.04). Renal function was better in DKT than in SKT up to 5 years after transplantation. Surgical complications were frequent in DKT. Ten-year cumulative graft survival was significantly lower in the SKT group (31% vs. 53%, p = 0.03). In SKT, histological score 4 provided similar graft survival than 3 or less, whereas in DKT score 4, 5 or 6 displayed similar outcome. Finally, independent predictors of graft survival were history of major adverse cardiac event and 1-year serum creatinine, rather than SKT or DKT. In conclusion, this biopsy-guided old-for-old strategy resulted in acceptable long-term graft survival. Our results suggest that DKT should be considered for scores of 5 or 6 only. © Copyright 2012 The American Society of Transplantation and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons.

  15. Factors Predicting Risk for Antibody-mediated Rejection and Graft Loss in Highly Human Leukocyte Antigen Sensitized Patients Transplanted After Desensitization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vo, Ashley A; Sinha, Aditi; Haas, Mark; Choi, Jua; Mirocha, James; Kahwaji, Joseph; Peng, Alice; Villicana, Rafael; Jordan, Stanley C

    2015-07-01

    Desensitization with intravenous immunoglobulin and rituximab (I+R) significantly improves transplant rates in highly sensitized patients, but antibody-mediated rejection (ABMR) remains a concern. Between July 2006 and December 2012, 226 highly sensitized patients received transplants after desensitization. Most received alemtuzumab induction and standard immunosuppression. Two groups were examined: ABMR (n = 181) and ABMR (n = 45, 20%). Risk factors for ABMR, pathology, and outcomes were assessed. Significant risks for ABMR included previous transplants and pregnancies as sensitizing events, donor-specific antibody (DSA) relative intensity scores greater than 17, presence of both class I and II DSAs at transplant and time on waitlist. The ABMR showed a significant benefit for graft survival and glomerular filtration rate at 5 years (P desensitized with I+R who remain ABMR have long-term graft and patient survival. The ABMR patients have significantly reduced graft survival and glomerular filtration rate at 5 years, especially TMA. Severe ABMR episodes benefit from treatment with PLEX + Eculizumab. The DSA-relative intensity scores at transplant was a strong predictor of ABMR. Donor-specific antibody avoidance and reduction strategies before transplantation are critical to avoiding ABMR and improving long-term outcomes.

  16. Short term memory in echo state networks

    OpenAIRE

    Jaeger, H.

    2001-01-01

    The report investigates the short-term memory capacity of echo state recurrent neural networks. A quantitative measure MC of short-term memory capacity is introduced. The main result is that MC 5 N for networks with linear Output units and i.i.d. input, where N is network size. Conditions under which these maximal memory capacities are realized are described. Several theoretical and practical examples demonstrate how the short-term memory capacities of echo state networks can be exploited for...

  17. Long-Term Outcomes of Renal Transplant in Recipients With Lower Urinary Tract Dysfunction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson, Rebekah S; Courtney, Aisling E; Ko, Dicken S C; Maxwell, Alexander P; McDaid, James

    2018-01-02

    Lower urinary tract dysfunction can lead to chronic kidney disease, which, despite surgical intervention, will progress to end-stage renal disease, requiring dialysis. Urologic pathology may damage a transplanted kidney, limiting patient and graft survival. Although smaller studies have suggested that urinary tract dysfunction does not affect graft or patient survival, this is not universally accepted. Northern Ireland has historically had the highest incidence of neural tube defects in Europe, giving rich local experience in caring for patients with lower urinary tract dysfunction. Here, we analyzed outcomes of renal transplant recipients with lower urinary tract dysfunction versus control recipients. We identified 3 groups of kidney transplant recipients treated between 2001 and 2010; those in group 1 had end-stage renal disease due to lower urinary tract dysfunction with prior intervention (urologic surgery, long-term catheter, or intermittent self-catheterization), group 2 had end-stage renal disease secondary to lower urinary tract dysfunction without intervention, and group 3 had end-stage renal disease due to polycystic kidney disease (chosen as a relatively healthy control cohort without comorbid burden of other causes of end-stage renal disease such as diabetes). The primary outcome measured, graft survival, was death censored, with graft loss defined as requirement for renal replacement therapy or retransplant. Secondary outcomes included patient survival and graft function. In 150 study patients (16 patients in group 1, 64 in group 2, and 70 in group 3), 5-year death-censored graft survival was 93.75%, 90.6%, and 92.9%, respectively, with no significant differences in graft failure among groups (Cox proportional hazards model). Five-year patient survival was 100%, 100%, and 94.3%, respectively. Individuals with a history of lower urinary tract dysfunction had graft and patient survival rates similar to the control group. When appropriately treated, lower

  18. Laparoscopic versus open resection for transverse and descending colon cancer: Short-term and long-term outcomes of a multicenter retrospective study of 1830 patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamaguchi, Shigeki; Tashiro, Jo; Araki, Ryuichiro; Okuda, Junji; Hanai, Tsunekazu; Otsuka, Koki; Saito, Shuji; Watanabe, Masahiko; Sugihara, Kenichi

    2017-08-01

    Previous randomized controlled trials demonstrated similar oncological outcomes between laparoscopic and open colectomies, except for cases involving transverse colon and splenic flexure colon cancer. The objective of this study was to confirm the oncological safety and advantages of the short-term results of laparoscopic surgery for transverse and descending colon cancer in comparison with open surgery. The study data were retrospectively collected from the databases of 45 hospitals. Patients with transverse or descending colon cancer who underwent laparoscopic or open R0 resection were registered. The primary end-points were the 3-year overall survival and relapse-free survival rates according to pathological stage. The secondary end-points were the short-term results, including blood loss, operative time, diet intake, hospital stay, and postoperative complications. Of the 1830 eligible patients, 872 underwent open colectomy and 958 underwent laparoscopic colectomy. The median follow-up period was 38.4 months. The conversion rate to open resection was 4.5%. The 3-year overall survival rate of the laparoscopic group was significantly higher than that of the open group for stage I patients (96.2% vs 99.2%; P = 0.04); it was also higher for stage II (94.0% vs 95.5%) and stage III (87.4% vs 90.2%) patients, but there were no significant differences. The 3-year relapse-free survival rate of the laparoscopic group was significantly higher than that of the open group for stage I patients; there were no differences between the open and laparoscopic groups among the stage II and III patients. In the multivariate analyses, laparoscopic resection was a significant factor in relapse-free survival. Laparoscopic patients had significantly lower blood loss and a significantly longer operative time than the open groups. Also, postoperative hospital stay was significantly shorter and postoperative morbidity was significantly lower in the laparoscopic group. Although this

  19. The effect of donor gender on renal allograft survival.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neugarten, J; Srinivas, T; Tellis, V; Silbiger, S; Greenstein, S

    1996-02-01

    Donor gender plays a role in the outcome of renal transplantation, but the mechanisms responsible for this effect are unclear. In this study, actuarial graft survival in 1049 recipients transplanted at Montefiore Medical Center between 1979 and 1994 was examined. It was found that donor gender had no influence on graft survival in recipients treated with precyclosporine immunosuppressive agents. In contrast, graft survival time was greater in cyclosporine-treated recipients of male donor kidneys compared with female kidneys (p demand results in hyperfiltration-mediated glomerular injury and that this is responsible for reduced survival time of female allografts. Any hypothesis purporting to explain gender-related differences in graft survival time must take into account this study's observations that the donor-gender effect was observed only in cyclosporine-treated recipients, was not seen in African-American donors, appeared soon after renal transplantation, and did not increase progressively with time. These observations are most consistent with the hypothesis that gender-related differences in graft survival time may reflect differences in susceptibility to cyclosporine nephrotoxicity or differences in the therapeutic response to cyclosporine.

  20. Short term and medium term power distribution load forecasting by neural networks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yalcinoz, T.; Eminoglu, U.

    2005-01-01

    Load forecasting is an important subject for power distribution systems and has been studied from different points of view. In general, load forecasts should be performed over a broad spectrum of time intervals, which could be classified into short term, medium term and long term forecasts. Several research groups have proposed various techniques for either short term load forecasting or medium term load forecasting or long term load forecasting. This paper presents a neural network (NN) model for short term peak load forecasting, short term total load forecasting and medium term monthly load forecasting in power distribution systems. The NN is used to learn the relationships among past, current and future temperatures and loads. The neural network was trained to recognize the peak load of the day, total load of the day and monthly electricity consumption. The suitability of the proposed approach is illustrated through an application to real load shapes from the Turkish Electricity Distribution Corporation (TEDAS) in Nigde. The data represents the daily and monthly electricity consumption in Nigde, Turkey

  1. Induced neural stem cells achieve long-term survival and functional integration in the adult mouse brain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hemmer, Kathrin; Zhang, Mingyue; van Wüllen, Thea; Sakalem, Marna; Tapia, Natalia; Baumuratov, Aidos; Kaltschmidt, Christian; Kaltschmidt, Barbara; Schöler, Hans R; Zhang, Weiqi; Schwamborn, Jens C

    2014-09-09

    Differentiated cells can be converted directly into multipotent neural stem cells (i.e., induced neural stem cells [iNSCs]). iNSCs offer an attractive alternative to induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology with regard to regenerative therapies. Here, we show an in vivo long-term analysis of transplanted iNSCs in the adult mouse brain. iNSCs showed sound in vivo long-term survival rates without graft overgrowths. The cells displayed a neural multilineage potential with a clear bias toward astrocytes and a permanent downregulation of progenitor and cell-cycle markers, indicating that iNSCs are not predisposed to tumor formation. Furthermore, the formation of synaptic connections as well as neuronal and glial electrophysiological properties demonstrated that differentiated iNSCs migrated, functionally integrated, and interacted with the existing neuronal circuitry. We conclude that iNSC long-term transplantation is a safe procedure; moreover, it might represent an interesting tool for future personalized regenerative applications. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Platlet Rich Plasma (PRP) Improves Fat Grafting Outcomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Modarressi, Ali

    2013-01-01

    Autologous fat transfer offers many qualities of a ideal soft tissue filler. Main advantages of fat grafting ensue from the fact that the lipoaspirate tissue is an abundant source of regenerative pluripotential cells. However, the reported rates of fat cell survival vary greatly in the medical literature (10-90%). Different techniques of harvesting, processing, and reinjecting the fat cells are so claimed to be responsible for these differences, without any agreement concerning the best way to process. To address this important disadvantage, we propose the addition of autologous platelet rich plasma (PRP) which is known as a natural reservoir of growth factors stimulating tissue repair and regeneration. This approach is completely autologous and immediately employed without any type of preconditioning. Platelets rich plasma (PRP) preparation included bleeding of 8 ml of blood from patient's peripheral vein in Regen Lab© tubes containing sodium citrate anticoagulant. The whole blood was centrifugated at 1500 g during 3 min. As Regen-tubes contained a special gel separator, 99 % of red blood cells were discarded from the plasma at the bottom of the gel, and >90% of platelets were harvested in 4 ml of plasma on the top of the gel, called the platelet-rich plasma (PRP). The purified fat prepared by Coleman technique was mixed with different amount of PRP for in vitro, in vivo (mice) and clinical experiments: >50% of PRP for skin rejuvenation, superficial scars correction, infraorbital region, ..., and for 20% of PRP with 80% of purified fat for deep filler indication (nasolabial folds, lips, or soft tissue defect). In vitro studies demonstrated that PRP increased fat cells survival rate and stem cells differentiation. Animal models showed that fat graft survival rate was significantly increased by addition of PRP. Several clinical cases confirmed the improvement of wound healing and fat grafting survival in facial reconstruction and aesthetic cases by association of

  3. Improved long-term survival after intra-operative single high-dose ATG-Fresenius induction in renal transplantation: a single centre experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaden, Jürgen; May, Gottfried; Völp, Andreas; Wesslau, Claus

    2009-01-01

    In organ grafts donor-specific sensitization is initiated immediately after revascularization. Therefore, in 1990 we introduced the intra-operative single high-dose ATG-Fresenius (ATG-F) induction in addition to standard triple drug therapy (TDT) consisting of steroids, azathioprine and cyclosporin. A total of 778 first renal transplantations from deceased donors, performed between 1987 and 1998, were included in this evaluation. This retrospective analysis of clinic records and electronic databases presents data of all recipients of first kidney grafts who received two different ATG-F inductions (1(st) group: 9 mg/kg body weight as single high-dose intra-operatively, n=484; 2(nd) group: 3 mg/kg body weight on 7 or 8 consecutive days as multiple-dose starting also intra-operatively, n=78) and standard TDT alone (3(rd) group: TDT alone, n=216). The 10-year patient survival rates were 72.6+/-2.6% (TDT + ATG-F single high-dose), 79.5+/-5.1% (TDT + ATG-F multiple-dose) and 67.2+/-3.7%% (TDT alone; Kaplan-Meier estimates with standard errors; ATG-F vs TDT alone, p=0.001). The 10-year graft survival rates with censoring of patients that died with a functioning graft were 73.8+/-2.4%, 57.7+/-5.8% and 58.4+/-3.6% (Kaplan-Meier estimates with standard errors; 1(st) vs 2(nd )and 3(rd) group, respectively, p<0.001) and the 10-year graft survival rates with patient death counted as graft failure were 58.3+/-2.7%, 55.7+/-5.8% and 48.2+/-3.5% (Kaplan-Meier estimates with standard errors; ATG-F single high-dose vs TDT, p=0.023). In pre-sensitized recipients there were also significant differences in favour of ATG-F, more notably in the single high-dose ATG-F induction. A total of 69% of the patients in the two cohorts receiving ATG-F did not experience any transplant rejections compared to 56% in patients undergoing TDT alone (p=0.018). The incidence of infectious complications was comparable across all groups. According to evidence obtained from the routine documentation of 778

  4. A retrospective 15-year review: survival advantage after switching to sirolimus in hepatitis C virus infected liver graft recipients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shah, M; Shankar, A; Gee, I; Nash, K; Hoare, M; Gibbs, P; Davies, S; Alexander, G J M

    2015-02-01

    The use of sirolimus-based immune suppression in liver transplantation, particularly in hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected recipients, remains contentious. There is some evidence that sirolimus retards hepatic fibrosis, is renal sparing and may be of benefit in preventing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) recurrence. Sirolimus has not been adopted by many transplant centres because of persistent concerns regarding an increased risk of hepatic artery thrombosis, graft loss and death with de novo sirolimus. To review the impact of switching to sirolimus monotherapy in HCV-infected liver recipients with respect to survival, graft loss and hepatic fibrosis. A retrospective review of 190 patients from a single centre undergoing first liver transplantation for HCV over 15 years. 113 patients were switched from calcineurin inhibitor (CNI)-based therapy to low-dose sirolimus monotherapy at a median of 15 months after transplantation for HCV-related fibrosis (72%), renal impairment (14%) or high-risk HCC (5%). Patients switched to sirolimus had improved survival (P diabetes (P = 0.03). These data suggest selective switching to low-dose sirolimus monotherapy in HCV-positive liver recipients improves clinical outcome. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  5. Long-term patient survival in ANCA-associated vasculitis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Flossmann, Oliver; Berden, Annelies; de Groot, Kirsten

    2011-01-01

    Wegener's granulomatosis and microscopic polyangiitis are antineutrophil cytoplasm antibodies (ANCA)-associated vasculitides with significant morbidity and mortality. The long-term survival of patients with ANCA associated vasculitis treated with current regimens is uncertain.......Wegener's granulomatosis and microscopic polyangiitis are antineutrophil cytoplasm antibodies (ANCA)-associated vasculitides with significant morbidity and mortality. The long-term survival of patients with ANCA associated vasculitis treated with current regimens is uncertain....

  6. Endoscopic submucosal dissection of early colorectal neoplasms with a monopolar scissor-type knife: short- to long-term outcomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuwai, Toshio; Yamaguchi, Toshiki; Imagawa, Hiroki; Sumida, Yuki; Takasago, Takeshi; Miyasako, Yuki; Nishimura, Tomoyuki; Iio, Sumio; Yamaguchi, Atsushi; Kouno, Hirotaka; Kohno, Hiroshi; Ishaq, Sauid

    2017-09-01

    Background and study aims  Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) for colorectal neoplasms remains challenging because of technical issues imposed by the complex anatomical features of the large intestine. We evaluated the feasibility, and the short- and long-term clinical outcomes of ESD for early colorectal neoplasms performed using the Stag-beetle Knife Jr. (SB Knife Jr.) Patients and methods  We retrospectively assessed 228 patients who underwent ESD for 247 colorectal lesions with the SB Knife Jr. Clinicopathological characteristics of the neoplasms, complications, and various short- and long-term outcomes were evaluated. Results  Mean tumor size was 34.3 mm and median procedure time was 76 minutes. The SB Knife Jr. achieved 98.4 % en bloc resection, 93.9 % complete resection, and 85.4 % curative resection. No perforations occurred during the procedure, and a delayed bleeding rate of 2.4 % was observed. Long-term outcomes were favorable with no distant recurrence, 1.1 % local recurrence, a 5-year overall survival rate of 94.1 % and 5-year tumor-specific survival rate of 98.6 % in patients with cancer. Conclusions  ESD using the SB Knife Jr. is technically efficient and safe in treating early colorectal neoplasms and is associated with favorable short- and long-term outcomes. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  7. Effect of BCNU combined with total body irradiation or cyclophosphamide on survival of dogs after autologous marrow grafts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Paterson, A.H.G.; English, D.

    1979-01-01

    Dogs were treated with either: (1) 750 rad total body irradiation; (2) BCNU 2 or 4 mg/kg IV 48 hours prior to 750 rad total body irradiation; or (3) BCNU 4 mg/kg IV plus cyclophosphamide 30 mg/kg IV. Results showed that of 11 dogs who received 750 rad total body irradiation and did not receive cryopreserved autologous bone marrow cells, none survived, compared to an 88% survival (31 of 35 dogs) after 750 rad total body irradiation if the dogs received stored autologous bone marrow cells. However, when the dogs were treated with BCNU 2 or 4 mg/kg prior to 750 rad total body irradiation the survival rate, despite infusion of autologous bone marrow cells, dropped to 25% (3 of 12 dogs) for BCNU 2 mg/kg, and 17% (2 of 12 dogs) for BCNU 4 mg/kg. This effect did not seem to be due to direct serum inhibition of hemopoietic cell proliferation since serum obtained at various intervals after BCNU administrations failed to inhibit CFU growth in vitro. The dogs died from hemorrhage and infection; at autopsy there was hemorrhagic pneumonitis and intestinal ulcerations with petechial hemorrhages, suggesting that the combination of BCNU and total body irradiation may have synergistic toxicity on the canine gastro-intestinal tract. When BCNU was combined with cyclophosphamide, reversal of marrow toxicity occurred in 54% (6 of 11 dogs) with stored autologous bone marrow cells compared to no survival (0 of 8 dogs) with stored autologous bone marrow cells. Thus while autologous bone marrow grafts are useful for reversal of marrow toxicity due to many therapeutic protocols, such grafts alone may not provide protection against toxicity due to the combination of high dosage BCNU and total body irradiation

  8. Short-Term Prognostic Index for Breast Cancer: NPI or Lpi

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. Van Belle

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Axillary lymph node involvement is an important prognostic factor for breast cancer survival but is confounded by the number of nodes examined. We compare the performance of the log odds prognostic index (Lpi, using a ratio of the positive versus negative lymph nodes, with the Nottingham Prognostic Index (NPI for short-term breast cancer specific disease free survival. A total of 1818 operable breast cancer patients treated in the University Hospital of Leuven between 2000 and 2005 were included. The performance of the NPI and Lpi were compared on two levels: calibration and discrimination. The latter was evaluated using the concordance index (cindex, the number of patients in the extreme groups, and difference in event rates between these. The NPI had a significant higher cindex, but a significant lower percentage of patients in the extreme risk groups. After updating both indices, no significant differences between NPI and Lpi were noted.

  9. Live related kidney transplant: a rare case report of graft survival 22 ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Kidney transplant is the most appropriate renal replacement therapy in terms of survival, quality of life and long term cost. We report 81 years old Nigerian whose kidney transplant lasted for 22 years. He encountered various challenges including complications relating to the long term impact of immunosuppression and ...

  10. Successful linking of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons database to social security data to examine survival after cardiac operations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jacobs, Jeffrey Phillip; Edwards, Fred H; Shahian, David M; Prager, Richard L; Wright, Cameron D; Puskas, John D; Morales, David L S; Gammie, James S; Sanchez, Juan A; Haan, Constance K; Badhwar, Vinay; George, Kristopher M; O'Brien, Sean M; Dokholyan, Rachel S; Sheng, Shubin; Peterson, Eric D; Shewan, Cynthia M; Feehan, Kelly M; Han, Jane M; Jacobs, Marshall Lewis; Williams, William G; Mayer, John E; Chitwood, W Randolph; Murray, Gordon F; Grover, Frederick L

    2011-07-01

    Long-term evaluation of cardiothoracic surgical outcomes is a major goal of The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS). Linking the STS Database to the Social Security Death Master File (SSDMF) allows for the verification of "life status." This study demonstrates the feasibility of linking the STS Database to the SSDMF and examines longitudinal survival after cardiac operations. For all operations in the STS Adult Cardiac Surgery Database performed in 2008 in patients with an available Social Security Number, the SSDMF was searched for a matching Social Security Number. Survival probabilities at 30 days and 1 year were estimated for nine common operations. A Social Security Number was available for 101,188 patients undergoing isolated coronary artery bypass grafting, 12,336 patients undergoing isolated aortic valve replacement, and 6,085 patients undergoing isolated mitral valve operations. One-year survival for isolated coronary artery bypass grafting was 88.9% (6,529 of 7,344) with all vein grafts, 95.2% (84,696 of 88,966) with a single mammary artery graft, 97.4% (4,422 of 4,540) with bilateral mammary artery grafts, and 95.6% (7,543 of 7,890) with all arterial grafts. One-year survival was 92.4% (11,398 of 12,336) for isolated aortic valve replacement (95.6% [2,109 of 2,206] with mechanical prosthesis and 91.7% [9,289 of 10,130] with biologic prosthesis), 86.5% (2,312 of 2,674) for isolated mitral valve replacement (91.7% [923 of 1,006] with mechanical prosthesis and 83.3% [1,389 of 1,668] with biologic prosthesis), and 96.0% (3,275 of 3,411) for isolated mitral valve repair. Successful linkage to the SSDMF has substantially increased the power of the STS Database. These longitudinal survival data from this large multi-institutional study provide reassurance about the durability and long-term benefits of cardiac operations and constitute a contemporary benchmark for survival after cardiac operations. Copyright © 2011 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Published by

  11. Short-Term Memory and Aphasia: From Theory to Treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Minkina, Irene; Rosenberg, Samantha; Kalinyak-Fliszar, Michelene; Martin, Nadine

    2017-02-01

    This article reviews existing research on the interactions between verbal short-term memory and language processing impairments in aphasia. Theoretical models of short-term memory are reviewed, starting with a model assuming a separation between short-term memory and language, and progressing to models that view verbal short-term memory as a cognitive requirement of language processing. The review highlights a verbal short-term memory model derived from an interactive activation model of word retrieval. This model holds that verbal short-term memory encompasses the temporary activation of linguistic knowledge (e.g., semantic, lexical, and phonological features) during language production and comprehension tasks. Empirical evidence supporting this model, which views short-term memory in the context of the processes it subserves, is outlined. Studies that use a classic measure of verbal short-term memory (i.e., number of words/digits correctly recalled in immediate serial recall) as well as those that use more intricate measures (e.g., serial position effects in immediate serial recall) are discussed. Treatment research that uses verbal short-term memory tasks in an attempt to improve language processing is then summarized, with a particular focus on word retrieval. A discussion of the limitations of current research and possible future directions concludes the review. Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

  12. Improved survival after transplantation of more donor plasmacytoid dendritic or naïve T cells from unrelated-donor marrow grafts: results from BMTCTN 0201.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waller, Edmund K; Logan, Brent R; Harris, Wayne A C; Devine, Steven M; Porter, David L; Mineishi, Shin; McCarty, John M; Gonzalez, Corina E; Spitzer, Thomas R; Krijanovski, Oleg I; Linenberger, Michael L; Woolfrey, Ann; Howard, Alan; Wu, Juan; Confer, Dennis L; Anasetti, Claudio

    2014-08-01

    To characterize relationships between specific immune cell subsets in bone marrow (BM) or granulocyte colony-stimulating factor-mobilized peripheral blood (PB) stem cells collected from unrelated donors and clinical outcomes of patients undergoing transplantation in BMTCTN 0201. Fresh aliquots of 161 BM and 147 PB stem-cell allografts from North American donors randomly assigned to donate BM or PB stem cells and numbers of transplanted cells were correlated with overall survival (OS), relapse, and graft-versus-host disease (GvHD). Patients with evaluable grafts were similar to all BMTCTN 0201 patients. The numbers of plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) and naïve T cells (Tns) in BM allografts were independently associated with OS in multivariable analyses including recipient and donor characteristics, such as human leukocyte antigen mismatch, age, and use of antithymocyte globulin. BM recipients of > median number of pDCs, naïve CD8(+) T cells (CD8Tns), or naïve CD4(+) T cells (CD4Tns) had better 3-year OS (pDCs, 56% v 35%; P = .025; CD8Tns, 56% v 37%; P = .012; CD4Tns, 55% v 37%; P = .009). Transplantation of more BM Tns was associated with less grade 3 to 4 acute GvHD but similar rates of relapse. Transplantation of more BM pDCs was associated with fewer deaths resulting from GvHD or from graft rejection. Analysis of PB grafts did not identify a donor cell subset significantly associated with OS, relapse, or GvHD. Donor immune cells in BM but not PB stem-cell grafts were associated with survival after unrelated-donor allogeneic hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation. The biologic activity of donor immune cells in allogeneic transplantation varied between graft sources. Donor grafts with more BM-derived Tns and pDCs favorably regulated post-transplantation immunity in allogeneic hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation. © 2014 by American Society of Clinical Oncology.

  13. Long-term survival in small-cell lung cancer

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lassen, U; Osterlind, K; Hansen, M

    1995-01-01

    PURPOSE: To describe in patients with small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) the characteristics of those who survive for > or = 5 years, to identify long-term prognostic factors, to analyze survival data of 5-year survivors, and to study 10-year survival in patients entered before 1981. PATIENTS......, especially tobacco-related cancers and other tobacco-related diseases....

  14. Identification of subgroups by risk of graft failure after paediatric renal transplantation: application of survival tree models on the ESPN/ERA-EDTA Registry

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lofaro, Danilo; Jager, Kitty J.; Abu-Hanna, Ameen; Groothoff, Jaap W.; Arikoski, Pekka; Hoecker, Britta; Roussey-Kesler, Gwenaelle; Spasojević, Brankica; Verrina, Enrico; Schaefer, Franz; van Stralen, Karlijn J.; Coppo, R.; Haffner, D.; Harambat, J.; Stefanidis, C.; Shitza, D.; Kramar, R.; Oberbauer, R.; Baiko, S.; Sukalo, A.; van Hoeck, K.; Collart, F.; des Grottes, J. M.; Pokrajac, D.; Resić, H.; Prnjavorac, B.; Roussinov, D.; Batinić, D.; Lemac, M.; Slavicek, J.; Seeman, T.; Vondrak, K.; Heaf, J. G.; Toots, U.; Finne, P.; Grönhagen-Riska, C.; Couchoud, C.; Lasalle, M.; Sahpazova, E.; Gersdorf, G.; Barth, C.; Scholz, C.; Tönshoff, B.; Ioannidis, G.; Kapogiannis, A.; Papachristou, F.; Reusz, G.; Túri, S.; Szabó, L.; Szabó, T.

    2016-01-01

    Identification of patient groups by risk of renal graft loss might be helpful for accurate patient counselling and clinical decision-making. Survival tree models are an alternative statistical approach to identify subgroups, offering cut-off points for covariates and an easy-to-interpret

  15. Allogenic bone graft viability after hip revision arthroplasty assessed by dynamic [18F]fluoride ion positron emission tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Piert, M.; Becker, H.D.; Winter, E.; Becker, G.A.; Bilger, K.; Machulla, H.J.; Mueller-Schauenburg, W.; Bares, R.

    1999-01-01

    The biological fate of allogenic bone grafts in the acetabular cavity and their metabolic activity after acetabular augmentation is uncertain but is most important for the stability of hip implants after hip revision arthroplasty. The aim of this study was to quantify regional bone metabolism after hip replacement operations. Dynamic [ 18 F]fluoride ion positron emission tomography (PET) was used to investigate the metabolic activity of acetabular allogenic bone grafts and genuine bone, either 3-6 weeks (short-term group, n = 9) or 5 months to 9 years (long-term group, n = 10) after hip revision arthroplasty. Applying a three-compartment model, the fluoride influx constant was calculated from individually fitted rate constants (K nlf ) and by Patlak graphical analysis (K pat ). The results were compared with genuine cancellous and cortical acetabular bone of contralateral hips without surgical trauma (n = 7). In genuine cortical bone, K nlf was significantly increased in short- (+140.9%) and long-term (+100.0%) groups compared with contralateral hips. Allogenic bone grafts were characterised by a significantly increased K nlf in the short-term group (+190.9%) compared with contralateral hips, but decreased almost to the baseline levels of contralateral hips (+45.5%) in the long-term. Values of K nlf cor-related with the rate constant K 1 in genuine (r = 0.89, P pat values were highly correlated with K nlf measurements in all regions. (orig.)

  16. Short-term memories with a stochastic perturbation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pontes, Jose C.A. de; Batista, Antonio M.; Viana, Ricardo L.; Lopes, Sergio R.

    2005-01-01

    We investigate short-term memories in linear and weakly nonlinear coupled map lattices with a periodic external input. We use locally coupled maps to present numerical results about short-term memory formation adding a stochastic perturbation in the maps and in the external input

  17. Short-term memory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Toulouse, G.

    This is a rather bold attempt to bridge the gap between neuron structure and psychological data. We try to answer the question: Is there a relation between the neuronal connectivity in the human cortex (around 5,000) and the short-term memory capacity (7±2)? Our starting point is the Hopfield model (Hopfield 1982), presented in this volume by D.J. Amit.

  18. Competitive short-term and long-term memory processes in spatial habituation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanderson, David J; Bannerman, David M

    2011-04-01

    Exposure to a spatial location leads to habituation of exploration such that, in a novelty preference test, rodents subsequently prefer exploring a novel location to the familiar location. According to Wagner's (1981) theory of memory, short-term and long-term habituation are caused by separate and sometimes opponent processes. In the present study, this dual-process account of memory was tested. Mice received a series of exposure training trials to a location before receiving a novelty preference test. The novelty preference was greater when tested after a short, rather than a long, interval. In contrast, the novelty preference was weaker when exposure training trials were separated by a short, rather than a long interval. Furthermore, it was found that long-term habituation was determined by the independent effects of the amount of exposure training and the number of exposure training trials when factors such as the intertrial interval and the cumulative intertrial interval were controlled. A final experiment demonstrated that a long-term reduction of exploration could be caused by a negative priming effect due to associations formed during exploration. These results provide evidence against a single-process account of habituation and suggest that spatial habituation is determined by both short-term, recency-based memory and long-term, incrementally strengthened memory.

  19. Retrieval-Induced Inhibition in Short-Term Memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kang, Min-Suk; Choi, Joongrul

    2015-07-01

    We used a visual illusion called motion repulsion as a model system for investigating competition between two mental representations. Subjects were asked to remember two random-dot-motion displays presented in sequence and then to report the motion directions for each. Remembered motion directions were shifted away from the actual motion directions, an effect similar to the motion repulsion observed during perception. More important, the item retrieved second showed greater repulsion than the item retrieved first. This suggests that earlier retrieval exerted greater inhibition on the other item being held in short-term memory. This retrieval-induced motion repulsion could be explained neither by reduced cognitive resources for maintaining short-term memory nor by continued inhibition between short-term memory representations. These results indicate that retrieval of memory representations inhibits other representations in short-term memory. We discuss mechanisms of retrieval-induced inhibition and their implications for the structure of memory. © The Author(s) 2015.

  20. Long-term survival of skin allografts in mice treated with fractionated total lymphoid irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Slavin, S.; Strober, S.; Fuks, Z.; Kaplan, H.S.

    1976-01-01

    Treatment of recipient Balb/c mice with fractionated, high-dose total lymphoid irradiation, a procedure commonly used in the therapy of human malignant lymphomas, resulted in fivefold prolongation of the survival of C57BL/Ka skin allografts despite major histocompatibility differences between the strains (H-2/sup d/ and H-2/sup b/, respectively). Infusion of 10 7 (C57BL/Ka x Balb/c)F 1 bone marrow cells after total lymphoid irradiation further prolonged C57BL/Ka skin graft survival to more than 120 days. Total lymphoid irradiation may eventually prove useful in clinical organ transplantation

  1. Evaluation of Short Term Memory Span Function In Children

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Barış ERGÜL

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Although details of the information encoded in the short-term memory where it is stored temporarily be recorded in the working memory in the next stage. Repeating the information mentally makes it remain in memory for a long time. Studies investigating the relationship between short-term memory and reading skills that are carried out to examine the relationship between short-term memory processes and reading comprehension. In this study information coming to short-term memory and the factors affecting operation of short term memory are investigated with regression model. The aim of the research is to examine the factors (age, IQ and reading skills that are expected the have an effect on short-term memory in children through regression analysis. One of the assumptions of regression analysis is to examine which has constant variance and normal distribution of the error term. In this study, because the error term is not normally distributed, robust regression techniques were applied. Also, for each technique; coefficient of determination is determined. According to the findings, the increase in age, IQ and reading skills caused the increase in short term memory in children. After applying robust regression techniques, the Winsorized Least Squares (WLS technique gives the highest coefficient of determination.

  2. Short- and long-term mortality due to sepsis in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barrett, Orit; Abramovich, Ella; Dreiher, Jacob; Novack, Victor; Abu-Shakra, Mahmoud

    2017-06-01

    Severe infections and sepsis are common among patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and are associated with increased morbidity and mortality risks. To determine whether RA is an independent risk factor for short- and long-term mortality in patients admitted to an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) with sepsis. A retrospective age- and sex-matched cohort study, based on data of the SEPSIS-ISR Registry, an ongoing study that collects data on all patients admitted with the diagnosis of sepsis to the ICUs of 7 large hospitals during the period 2002-2012. The primary outcomes of the study were the 30-day and 3-years survival rates. A total of 124 RA patients and 248 non-RA patients (mean age 71 years; 64.5% female) were included. Primary site of infection as well as pathogens distributions were similar between the two groups. Severe sepsis and septic shock were diagnosed in 92% vs. 84% (p = 0.03) and 50% versus 39% (p = 0.06) of the RA patients and non-RA, respectively. 30-day survival rates were similar between groups, whereas 3-year survival rate in 30-day survivors was significantly lower among RA patients (34.9%) compared to non-RA patients (55.7%) (p = 0.01). In multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression, RA was found to be a significant independent risk factor for 3-year mortality in 30-day survivors (hazard ratio 1.63 95% confidence interval 1.03-1.63; p = 0.04). RA is an independent risk factor for 3-year mortality, but not short-term mortality following ICU admission with sepsis.

  3. Impact of Procedure-Related Complications on Long-term Islet Transplantation Outcome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caiazzo, Robert; Vantyghem, Marie-Christine; Raverdi, Violeta; Bonner, Caroline; Gmyr, Valery; Defrance, Frederique; Leroy, Clara; Sergent, Geraldine; Hubert, Thomas; Ernst, Oliver; Noel, Christian; Kerr-Conte, Julie; Pattou, François

    2015-05-01

    Pancreatic islet transplantation offers a promising biotherapy for the treatment of type 1 diabetes, but this procedure has met significant challenges over the years. One such challenge is to address why primary graft function still remains inconsistent after islet transplantation. Several variables have been shown to affect graft function, but the impact of procedure-related complications on primary and long-term graft functions has not yet been explored. Twenty-six patients with established type 1 diabetes were included in this study. Each patient had two to three intraportal islet infusions to obtain 10,000 islet equivalent (IEQ)/kg in body weight, equaling a total of 68 islet infusions. Islet transplantation consisted of three sequential fresh islet infusions within 3 months. Islet infusions were performed surgically or under ultrasound guidance, depending on patient morphology, availability of the radiology suite, and patient medical history. Prospective assessment of adverse events was recorded and graded using "Common Terminology Criteria for adverse events in Trials of Adult Pancreatic Islet Transplantation." There were no deaths or patients dropouts. Early complications occurred in nine of 68 procedures. β score 1 month after the last graft and optimal graft function (β score ≥7) rate were significantly lower in cases of procedure-related complications (P = 0.02, P = 0.03). Procedure-related complications negatively impacted graft function (P = 0.009) and was an independent predictive factor of long-term graft survival (P = 0.033) in multivariate analysis. Complications occurring during radiologic or surgical intraportal islet transplantation significantly impair primary graft function and graft survival regardless of their severity.

  4. Evaluation of Short Term Memory Span Function In Children

    OpenAIRE

    Barış ERGÜL; Arzu ALTIN YAVUZ; Ebru GÜNDOĞAN AŞIK

    2016-01-01

    Although details of the information encoded in the short-term memory where it is stored temporarily be recorded in the working memory in the next stage. Repeating the information mentally makes it remain in memory for a long time. Studies investigating the relationship between short-term memory and reading skills that are carried out to examine the relationship between short-term memory processes and reading comprehension. In this study information coming to short-term memory and the factors ...

  5. Short-term Memory as a Processing Shift

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lewis-Smith, Marion Quinn

    1975-01-01

    The series of experiments described here examined the predictions for free recall from sequential models and the shift formulation, focusing on the roles of short- and long-term memory in the primacy/recency shift and on the effects of expectancies on short- and long-term memory. (Author/RK)

  6. The association of donor and recipient age with graft survival in paediatric renal transplant recipients in a European Society for Paediatric Nephrology/European Renal Association-European Dialysis and Transplantation Association Registry study

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Chesnaye, Nicholas C.; Van Stralen, Karlijn J.; Bonthuis, Marjolein

    2017-01-01

    from the ESPN/ERA-EDTA Registry. The effect of donor and recipient age combinations on 5-year graft-failure risk, stratified by donor source, was estimated using Kaplan-Meier survival curves and Cox regression, while adjusting for sex, primary renal diseases with a high risk of recurrence, pre......Background The impact of donor age in paediatric kidney transplantation is unclear. We therefore examined the association of donor-recipient age combinations with graft survival in children. Methods Data for 4686 first kidney transplantations performed in 13 countries in 1990-2013 were extracted......-emptive transplantation, year of transplantation and country. Results The risk of graft failure in older living donors (50-75 years old) was similar to that of younger living donors {adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 0.74 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.38-1.47]}. Deceased donor (DD) age was non-linearly associated with graft...

  7. Bone scintigraphy in evaluating the viability of composite bone grafts revascularized by microvascular anastomoses, conventional autogenous bone grafts, and free non-revascularized periosteal grafts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Berggren, A.; Weiland, A.J.; Ostrup, L.T.

    1982-01-01

    Researchers studied the value of bone scintigraphy in the assessment of anastomotic patency and bone-cell viability in free bone grafts revascularized by microvascular anastomoses in twenty-seven dogs. The dogs were divided into three different groups, and scintigraphy was carried out using technetium-labeled methylene diphosphonate in composite bone grafts revascularized by microvascular anastomoses, conventional autogenous bone grafts, and periosteal grafts placed in different recipient beds. The viability of the grafts were evaluated by histological examination and fluorescence microscopy after triple labeling with oxytetracycline on the first postoperative day, alizarin complexone on the fourth postoperative day, and DCAF on the eleventh postoperative day. A positive scintiscan within the first week following surgery indicated patent microvascular anastomoses, and histological study and fluorescence microscopy confirmed that bone throughout the graft was viable. A positive scintiscan one week after surgery or later does not necessarily indicate microvascular patency or bone-cell survival, because new bone formed by creeping substitution on the surface of a dead bone graft can result in this finding

  8. Short-Term Exposure to Lambda-Cyhalothrin Negatively Affects the Survival and Memory-Related Characteristics of Worker Bees Apis mellifera.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liao, Chun-Hua; He, Xu-Jiang; Wang, Zi-Long; Barron, Andrew B; Zhang, Bo; Zeng, Zhi-Jiang; Wu, Xiao-Bo

    2018-07-01

    Pesticides are considered one of the major contemporary stressors of honey bee health. In this study, the effects of short-term exposure to lambda-cyhalothrin on lifespan, learning, and memory-related characteristics of Apis mellifera were systematically examined. Short-term exposure to lambda-cyhalothrin in worker bees reduced lifespan, affected learning and memory performance, reduced the homing ability, and influenced the expression levels of two learning and memory-related genes of A. mellifera. This research identifies the nature of the sublethal effects of lambda-cyhalothrin on bees and the level of exposure that can be harmful to bee health. This new information will assist in establishing guidelines for the safe use of lambda-cyhalothrin in the field.

  9. Retrospective analysis of survival rates and marginal bone loss on short implants in the mandible.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Draenert, Florian G; Sagheb, Keyvan; Baumgardt, Katharina; Kämmerer, Peer W

    2012-09-01

    Short implants have become an interesting alternative to bone augmentation in dental implantology. Design of shorter implants and longer surveillance times are a current research issue. The goal of this study was to show the survival rates of short implants below 9 mm in the partly edentulous mandibular premolar and molar regions with fixed prosthetics. Marginal vertical and 2D bone loss was evaluated additionally. Different implant designs are orientationally evaluated. A total of 247 dental implants with fixed prosthetics (crowns and bridges) in the premolar and molar region of the mandible were evaluated; 47 implants were 9 mm or shorter. Patient data were evaluated to acquire implant survival rates, implant diameter, gender and age. Panoramic X-rays were analysed for marginal bone loss. Average surveillance time was 1327 days. Cumulative survival rate (CSR) of short implants was 98% (1 implants lost) compared to 94% in the longer implants group without significance. Thirty-five of the short implants were Astratech (0 losses) and 12 were Camlog Screw Line Promote Plus (1 loss). Early vertical and two-dimensional marginal bone loss was not significantly different in short and regular length implant group with an average of 0.6 mm and 0.7 mm(2) in short implants over the observation period. Within the limitations of this study, we conclude that short implants with a length of 9 mm or less have equal survival rates compared with longer implants over the observation period of 1-3 years. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

  10. On the relationship between short- and long-term memory

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Thomas Alrik

    James (1890) divided memory into separate stores; primary and secondary – or short-term and long-term memory. The interaction between the two stores often assumes that information initially is represented in volatile short-term store before entering and consolidating in the more durable long-term......, accepted). Counter to popular beliefs this suggest that long-term memory precedes short-term memory and not vice versa....... memory system (e.g. Atkinson & Shiffrin, 1968). Short-term memory seems to provide a surprising processing bottleneck where only a very limited amount of information can be represented at any given moment (Miller, 1956; Cowan, 2001). A number of studies have investigated the nature of this processing...

  11. Short-term memory and long-term memory are still different.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Norris, Dennis

    2017-09-01

    A commonly expressed view is that short-term memory (STM) is nothing more than activated long-term memory. If true, this would overturn a central tenet of cognitive psychology-the idea that there are functionally and neurobiologically distinct short- and long-term stores. Here I present an updated case for a separation between short- and long-term stores, focusing on the computational demands placed on any STM system. STM must support memory for previously unencountered information, the storage of multiple tokens of the same type, and variable binding. None of these can be achieved simply by activating long-term memory. For example, even a simple sequence of digits such as "1, 3, 1" where there are 2 tokens of the digit "1" cannot be stored in the correct order simply by activating the representations of the digits "1" and "3" in LTM. I also review recent neuroimaging data that has been presented as evidence that STM is activated LTM and show that these data are exactly what one would expect to see based on a conventional 2-store view. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  12. Determinant Factors in Graft Rejection Using Cox Regression, among the Recipients of Second Renal Transplant in Imam Khomeini Hospital in Urmia, 1988-2000

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rahim Tahmasebi

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available Background: The objective of this study was to evaluate graft survival among the recipients of second renal transplant in Imam Khomeini centre hospital in Urmia. Methods: The study population consisted of 50 patients receiving renal grafts for the second time between 1988 and 2008 in Imam Khomeini centre hospital in Urmia. Two survival outcomes, first and second graft survival, were analyzed. Graft survival was defined from date of transplant until its rejection. For the purpose of graft survival analysis, graft failure was defined as return to dialysis, and death due to the functioning graft. Data were collected through individual patient questionnaires. Demographic and clinical factors, transfusion history, type of immunosuppressive drugs, levels of serum creatinine, triglyceride, cholesterol, and LDL at 3 and 6 months after transplantation were collected. Cox-proportional hazard model and Kaplan-Meier were used to data analysis. Results: First graft survival at 1, 2, 3, and 5 years was 74%, 66%, 53%, and 41%, respectively. Second graft survival at 1, 2, 3, and 5 years was 81%, 74%, 70%, and 61%, respectively. Causes of graft loss in first renal transplantation were 6% sever acute graft rejection, 12% acute graft rejection and 82% chronic graft rejection. In the multivariate analysis, only serum creatinine, blood pressure, and immunosuppressive drugs predicted first graft loss and serum creatinine, immunosuppressive drugs, and related donor family predicted second graft rejection. Conclusion: The serum creatinine and immunosuppressive drugs including cyclosporine, cellcept, and prednisolone are the most influential factors on graft survival.

  13. Fast Weight Long Short-Term Memory

    OpenAIRE

    Keller, T. Anderson; Sridhar, Sharath Nittur; Wang, Xin

    2018-01-01

    Associative memory using fast weights is a short-term memory mechanism that substantially improves the memory capacity and time scale of recurrent neural networks (RNNs). As recent studies introduced fast weights only to regular RNNs, it is unknown whether fast weight memory is beneficial to gated RNNs. In this work, we report a significant synergy between long short-term memory (LSTM) networks and fast weight associative memories. We show that this combination, in learning associative retrie...

  14. Mid-term results of off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting assessed by multi-slice computed tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yoshida, Seijiro; Nitta, Yoshio; Oda, Katsuhiko

    2004-01-01

    Off-pump coronary artery bypass (OPCAB) has recently increased in popularity, but the long-term results are still unknown. We evaluated the mid-term results of OPCAB surgery using multi-slice computed tomography (MSCT), which is a non-invasive postoperative evaluation method. Thirty-one consecutive patients who underwent OPCAB surgery at least 2 years prior to the study were selected. The age was 50 to 79 years (66.9±6.5) and the ratio of men to women was 26:5. Coronary angiography was performed in all patients at 2 weeks postoperatively. The follow-up was complete, and mean follow-up was 30.9 months. There were no hospital deaths and 1 non-cardiac late death. The graft patency rate in coronary angiography was left internal thoracic artery (LITA) 30/30 (100%), right internal thoracic artery (RITA) 2/2 (100%), radial artery (RA) 14/15 (93%), saphenous vein graft (SVG) 15/17 (88%). No graft became occluded on MSCT study and all patients have been angina-free during the follow-up period. We suggest that OPCAB is feasible in most patients with good patency and low mortality. MSCT is an effective follow up method for the morphological findings and noninvasive quantitative evaluation of the bypass grafts. (author)

  15. A comparison of the recording of comorbidity in primary and secondary care by using the Charlson Index to predict short-term and long-term survival in a routine linked data cohort.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crooks, C J; West, J; Card, T R

    2015-06-05

    Hospital admission records provide snapshots of clinical histories for a subset of the population admitted to hospital. In contrast, primary care records provide continuous clinical histories for complete populations, but might lack detail about inpatient stays. Therefore, combining primary and secondary care records should improve the ability of comorbidity scores to predict survival in population-based studies, and provide better adjustment for case-mix differences when assessing mortality outcomes. Cohort study. English primary and secondary care 1 January 2005 to 1 January 2010. All patients 20 years and older registered to a primary care practice contributing to the linked Clinical Practice Research Datalink from England. The performance of the Charlson index with mortality was compared when derived from either primary or secondary care data or both. This was assessed in relation to short-term and long-term survival, age, consultation rate, and specific acute and chronic diseases. 657,264 people were followed up from 1 January 2005. Although primary care recorded more comorbidity than secondary care, the resulting C statistics for the Charlson index remained similar: 0.86 and 0.87, respectively. Higher consultation rates and restricted age bands reduced the performance of the Charlson index, but the index's excellent performance persisted over longer follow-up; the C statistic was 0.87 over 1 year, and 0.85 over all 5 years of follow-up. The Charlson index derived from secondary care comorbidity had a greater effect than primary care comorbidity in reducing the association of upper gastrointestinal bleeding with mortality. However, they had a similar effect in reducing the association of diabetes with mortality. These findings support the use of the Charlson index from linked data and show that secondary care comorbidity coding performed at least as well as that derived from primary care in predicting survival. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited

  16. Comparison of mesencephalic free-floating tissue culture grafts and cell suspension grafts in the 6-hydroxydopamine-lesioned rat

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Meyer, Morten; Widmer, H R; Wagner, B

    1998-01-01

    of grafted dopaminergic neurons and to correlate that with the behavioral effects. Additional cultures and acutely prepared explants were also fixed and stored for histological investigation in order to estimate the loss of dopaminergic neurons in culture and after transplantation. Similar behavioral...... numbers of TH-immunoreactive (TH-ir) neurons in grafts of cultured tissue (775 +/- 98, mean +/- SEM) and grafts of fresh, dissociated cell suspension (806 +/- 105, mean +/- SEM). Cell counts in fresh explants, 7-day-old cultures, and grafted cultures revealed a 68.2% loss of TH-ir cells 7 days after......Ventral mesencephalon (VM) of fetal rat and human origin grown as free-floating roller-tube (FFRT) cultures can survive subsequent grafting to the adult rat striatum. To further explore the functional efficacy of such grafts, embryonic day 13 ventral mesencephalic tissue was grafted either after 7...

  17. Short-term power plant operation scheduling in thermal systems with long-term boundary conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wolter, H.

    1990-01-01

    For the first time, the modeling of long-term quantitative conditions within the short-term planning of the application of power stations is made via their shadow prices. It corresponds to a decomposition of the quantitative conditions by means of the method of the Langrange relaxation. The shadow prices determined by the planning for energy application regarding long- term quantitative conditions pass into the short-term planning for power station application and subsidize or rather punish the application of limited amounts as for as they are not claimed for sufficiently or excessively. The clear advantage of this modeling is that the short-term planning of power station application can deviate from the envisioned energy application regarding the total optimum, because the shadow prices contain all information about the cost effect of the energy shifts in the residual total period, which become necessary due to the deviations in the short-term period to be planned in the current short-term period. (orig./DG) [de

  18. Short- and long-term results of laparoscopic surgery for transverse colon cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hirasaki, Yoshinori; Fukunaga, Masaki; Sugano, Masahiko; Nagakari, Kunihiko; Yoshikawa, Seiitirou; Ouchi, Masakazu

    2014-07-01

    We investigated the feasibility of laparoscopic surgery for transverse colon cancer (TCC) by examining the results of this procedure, and comparing the short- and long-term outcomes with those for right-sided and sigmoid colon cancer (OSCC). The subjects consisted of 117 patients with TCC. Their complications, forms of recurrence and disease-free and 5-year survival rates were compared to those of 564 patients with OSCC. There were no significant between-group differences in the patient background. The average length of the operation in the TCC group was 215 min and that in the OSCC group was 184 min (p < 0.05). There were also no significant between-group differences in the average blood loss, which was 83.9 and 70.5 g, respectively. No significant difference was observed between groups by stage in terms of the disease-free survival rates, which were 94.4 and 79.1 % for stage II and III in the TCC group, and 92.4 and 78.8 % for stage II and III in the OSCC group. The incidence of intraoperative and postoperative complications was low, and the five-year survival rate was favorable. As favorable results of laparoscopic colectomy (LAC) for TCC were also obtained at other sites in a multicenter randomized controlled trial, LAC is expected to become a standard therapy for TCC.

  19. Improving creativity performance by short-term meditation

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-01-01

    Background One form of meditation intervention, the integrative body-mind training (IBMT) has been shown to improve attention, reduce stress and change self-reports of mood. In this paper we examine whether short-term IBMT can improve performance related to creativity and determine the role that mood may play in such improvement. Methods Forty Chinese undergraduates were randomly assigned to short-term IBMT group or a relaxation training (RT) control group. Mood and creativity performance were assessed by the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) and Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT) questionnaire respectively. Results As predicted, the results indicated that short-term (30 min per day for 7 days) IBMT improved creativity performance on the divergent thinking task, and yielded better emotional regulation than RT. In addition, cross-lagged analysis indicated that both positive and negative affect may influence creativity in IBMT group (not RT group). Conclusions Our results suggested that emotion-related creativity-promoting mechanism may be attributed to short-term meditation. PMID:24645871

  20. The PER (Preoperative Esophagectomy Risk) Score: A Simple Risk Score to Predict Short-Term and Long-Term Outcome in Patients with Surgically Treated Esophageal Cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reeh, Matthias; Metze, Johannes; Uzunoglu, Faik G; Nentwich, Michael; Ghadban, Tarik; Wellner, Ullrich; Bockhorn, Maximilian; Kluge, Stefan; Izbicki, Jakob R; Vashist, Yogesh K

    2016-02-01

    Esophageal resection in patients with esophageal cancer (EC) is still associated with high mortality and morbidity rates. We aimed to develop a simple preoperative risk score for the prediction of short-term and long-term outcomes for patients with EC treated by esophageal resection. In total, 498 patients suffering from esophageal carcinoma, who underwent esophageal resection, were included in this retrospective cohort study. Three preoperative esophagectomy risk (PER) groups were defined based on preoperative functional evaluation of different organ systems by validated tools (revised cardiac risk index, model for end-stage liver disease score, and pulmonary function test). Clinicopathological parameters, morbidity, and mortality as well as disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) were correlated to the PER score. The PER score significantly predicted the short-term outcome of patients with EC who underwent esophageal resection. PER 2 and PER 3 patients had at least double the risk of morbidity and mortality compared to PER 1 patients. Furthermore, a higher PER score was associated with shorter DFS (P PER score was identified as an independent predictor of tumor recurrence (hazard ratio [HR] 2.1; P PER score allows preoperative objective allocation of patients with EC into different risk categories for morbidity, mortality, and long-term outcomes. Thus, multicenter studies are needed for independent validation of the PER score.

  1. Graft Transit Time Has No Effect on Outcome of Unrelated Donor Hematopoietic Cell Transplants Performed in Australia and New Zealand: A Study from the Australasian Bone Marrow Transplant Recipient Registry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patton, William Nigel; Nivison-Smith, Ian; Bardy, Peter; Dodds, Anthony; Ma, David; Shaw, Peter John; Kwan, John; Wilcox, Leonie; Butler, Andrew; Carter, John M; Blacklock, Hilary; Szer, Jeffrey

    2017-01-01

    A previous study found that platelet recovery and mortality were worse in recipients of myeloablative bone marrow transplants where graft transit times were longer than 20 hours. This retrospective study of unrelated myeloablative allogeneic transplantation performed within Australia and New Zealand analyzed transplant outcomes according to graft transit times. Of 233 assessable cases, 76 grafts (33%) were sourced from bone marrow (BM) and 157 (67%) from peripheral blood. Grafts sourced from Australia and New Zealand (47% of total) were associated with a median transit time of 6 hours versus 32 hours for overseas sourced grafts (53% of total). Graft transit temperature was refrigerated in 85%, ambient in 6%, and unknown in 9% of cases, respectively. Graft transit times had no significant effect on neutrophil or platelet engraftment, treatment-related mortality, overall survival, and incidence of acute or chronic graft-versus-host disease. Separate analysis of BM grafts, although of reduced power, also showed no significant difference in either neutrophil or platelet engraftment or survival between short and longer transport times. This study gives reassurance that both peripheral blood stem cell and especially BM grafts subjected to long transit times and transported at refrigerated temperatures may not be associated with adverse recipient outcomes. Copyright © 2017 The American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Effect of blood transfusion and skin grafting on rats with combined radiation-burn injury

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yan Yongtang; Ran Xinze; Wei Shuqing

    1990-01-01

    The therapeutic effect of escharectomy and skin grafting at different times on rats with combined radiation-burn injuries (5 Gy total body irradiation plus flash radiation from a 5 kW bromotungstenic lamp to induce a 15% TBSA full thickness burn on back) treated with blood transfusion (BT) were studied. The treatment with BT and escharectomy plus skin grafting at 24, 48, and 72 h after injury showed significant therapeutic effects. In these treated groups, early recovery of WBC counts, the granulocytes and total lymphocytes, T, B-cells, bone marrow cells or CFU-F counts were evident within 30 days after injury. The 30-day survival rates of the skin grafts in the group treated with BT and skin grafting at 24 h after injury was 80%, in the group with skin grafting alone was 50%, while all the skin grafts sloughted within 30 days when the grafting was performed 48 and 72 h after injury. The 30-day survival rate of the recipients treated with skin grafting plus BT was higher than that of the animals with skin grafting alone. The results showed that satisfactory results were achieved with BT plus escharectomy and skin grafting within 24 h after injury, while skin grafting performed at 48 or 72 h after injury was ineffective for the survival of skin grafts

  3. Platelet-Rich Fibrin Improves the Viability of Diced Cartilage Grafts in a Rabbit Model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Göral, Ali; Aslan, Cem; Bolat Küçükzeybek, Betül; Işık, Dağhan; Hoşnuter, Mübin; Durgun, Mustafa

    2016-04-01

    Diced cartilage may be wrapped with synthetic or biological materials before grafting to a recipient site. These materials have unique advantages and disadvantages, and a gold standard is not available. The authors investigated the effects of platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) on the survival of cartilage grafts in a rabbit model. In this experimental study, diced cartilage pieces from the ears of 9 male rabbits were left unwrapped or were wrapped with PRF, oxidized regenerated cellulose, or fascia. Specimens then were placed into subcutaneous pockets prepared on the backs of the rabbits. The animals were sacrificed 2 months after the procedure, and the grafts were excised for macroscopic and histopathologic examination. The cartilage graft wrapped with PRF showed superior viability compared with the cartilage graft wrapped with oxidized regenerated cellulose. No significant differences were found among the other groups. The groups were not significantly different in terms of rates of inflammation, fibrosis, or vascularization. PRF enhances the viability of diced cartilage grafts and should be considered an appropriate biological wrapping material for cartilage grafting. © 2016 The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, Inc. Reprints and permission: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  4. The Structure and Content of Long-Term and Short-Term Mate Preferences

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peter K. Jonason

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available This study addresses two limitations in the mate preferences literature. First, research all-too-often relies on single-item assessments of mate preferences precluding more advanced statistical techniques like factor analysis. Second, when factor analysis could be done, it exclusively has done for long-term mate preferences, at the exclusion of short-term mate preferences. In this study (N = 401, we subjected 20 items designed to measure short- and long-term mate preferences to both principle components (n = 200 and confirmatory factor analysis (n = 201. In the long-term context, we replicated previous findings that there are three different categories of preferences: physical attractiveness, interpersonal warmth, and social status. In the short-term context, physical attractiveness occupied two parts of the structure, social status dropped out, and interpersonal warmth remained. Across short- and long-term contexts, there were slight changes in what defined the shared dimensions (i.e., physical attractiveness and interpersonal warmth, suggesting prior work that applies the same inventory to each context might be flawed. We also replicated sex differences and similarities in mate preferences and correlates with sociosexuality and mate value. We adopt an evolutionary paradigm to understand our results.

  5. Short-term energy outlook, annual supplement 1994

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1994-08-01

    The Short-Term Energy Outlook Annual Supplement (Supplement) is published once a year as a complement to the Short-Term Energy Outlook (Outlook), Quarterly Projections. The purpose of the Supplement is to review the accuracy of the forecasts published in the Outlook, make comparisons with other independent energy forecasts, and examine current energy topics that affect the forecasts

  6. Short-term energy outlook annual supplement, 1993

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1993-08-06

    The Short-Term Energy Outlook Annual Supplement (supplement) is published once a year as a complement to the Short-Term Energy Outlook (Outlook), Quarterly Projections. The purpose of the Supplement is to review the accuracy of the forecasts published in the Outlook, make comparisons with other independent energy forecasts, and examine current energy topics that affect the forecasts.

  7. Rich Medium Composition Affects Escherichia coli Survival, Glycation, and Mutation Frequency during Long-Term Batch Culture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kram, Karin E; Finkel, Steven E

    2015-07-01

    Bacteria such as Escherichia coli are frequently grown to high density to produce biomolecules for study in the laboratory. To achieve this, cells can be incubated in extremely rich media that increase overall cell yield. In these various media, bacteria may have different metabolic profiles, leading to changes in the amounts of toxic metabolites produced. We have previously shown that stresses experienced during short-term growth can affect the survival of cells during the long-term stationary phase (LTSP). Here, we incubated cells in LB, 2× yeast extract-tryptone (YT), Terrific Broth, or Super Broth medium and monitored survival during the LTSP, as well as other reporters of genetic and physiological change. We observe differential cell yield and survival in all media studied. We propose that differences in long-term survival are the result of changes in the metabolism of components of the media that may lead to increased levels of protein and/or DNA damage. We also show that culture pH and levels of protein glycation, a covalent modification that causes protein damage, affect long-term survival. Further, we measured mutation frequency after overnight incubation and observed a correlation between high mutation frequencies at the end of the log phase and loss of viability after 4 days of LTSP incubation, indicating that mutation frequency is potentially predictive of long-term survival. Since glycation and mutation can be caused by oxidative stress, we measured expression of the oxyR oxidative stress regulator during log-phase growth and found that higher levels of oxyR expression during the log phase are consistent with high mutation frequency and lower cell density during the LTSP. Since these complex rich media are often used when producing large quantities of biomolecules in the laboratory, the observed increase in damage resulting in glycation or mutation may lead to production of a heterogeneous population of plasmids or proteins, which could affect the

  8. The short-term stress response - Mother nature's mechanism for enhancing protection and performance under conditions of threat, challenge, and opportunity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dhabhar, Firdaus S

    2018-03-26

    Our group has proposed that in contrast to chronic stress that can have harmful effects, the short-term (fight-or-flight) stress response (lasting for minutes to hours) is nature's fundamental survival mechanism that enhances protection and performance under conditions involving threat/challenge/opportunity. Short-term stress enhances innate/primary, adaptive/secondary, vaccine-induced, and anti-tumor immune responses, and post-surgical recovery. Mechanisms and mediators include stress hormones, dendritic cell, neutrophil, macrophage, and lymphocyte trafficking/function and local/systemic chemokine and cytokine production. Short-term stress may also enhance mental/cognitive and physical performance through effects on brain, musculo-skeletal, and cardiovascular function, reappraisal of threat/anxiety, and training-induced stress-optimization. Therefore, short-term stress psychology/physiology could be harnessed to enhance immuno-protection, as well as mental and physical performance. This review aims to provide a conceptual framework and targets for further investigation of mechanisms and conditions under which the protective/adaptive aspects of short-term stress/exercise can be optimized/harnessed, and for developing pharmacological/biobehavioral interventions to enhance health/healing, and mental/cognitive/physical performance. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Reduced intensity haplo plus single cord transplant compared to double cord transplant: improved engraftment and graft-versus-host disease-free, relapse-free survival

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Besien, Koen; Hari, Parameswaran; Zhang, Mei-Jie; Liu, Hong-Tao; Stock, Wendy; Godley, Lucy; Odenike, Olatoyosi; Larson, Richard; Bishop, Michael; Wickrema, Amittha; Gergis, Usama; Mayer, Sebastian; Shore, Tsiporah; Tsai, Stephanie; Rhodes, Joanna; Cushing, Melissa M.; Korman, Sandra; Artz, Andrew

    2016-01-01

    Umbilical cord blood stem cell transplants are commonly used in adults lacking HLA-identical donors. Delays in hematopoietic recovery contribute to mortality and morbidity. To hasten recovery, we used co-infusion of progenitor cells from a partially matched related donor and from an umbilical cord blood graft (haplo-cord transplant). Here we compared the outcomes of haplo-cord and double-cord transplants. A total of 97 adults underwent reduced intensity conditioning followed by haplo-cord transplant and 193 patients received reduced intensity conditioning followed by double umbilical cord blood transplantation. Patients in the haplo-cord group were more often from minority groups and had more advanced malignancy. Haplo-cord recipients received fludarabine-melphalan-anti-thymocyte globulin. Double umbilical cord blood recipients received fludarabine-cyclophosphamide and low-dose total body irradiation. In a multivariate analysis, haplo-cord had faster neutrophil (HR=1.42, P=0.007) and platelet (HR=2.54, Pdisease (HR=0.26, Pdisease (HR=0.06, Pdisease-free, relapse-free survival was superior with haplo-cord (HR 0.63, P=0.002) but not overall survival (HR=0.97, P=0.85). Haplo-cord transplantation using fludarabine-melphalan-thymoglobulin conditioning hastens hematopoietic recovery with a lower risk of relapse relative to double umbilical cord blood transplantation using the commonly used fludarabine-cyclophosphamide-low-dose total body irradiation conditioning. Graft-versus-host disease-free and relapse-free survival is significantly improved. Haplo-cord is a readily available graft source that improves outcomes and access to transplant for those lacking HLA-matched donors. Trials registered at clinicaltrials.gov identifiers 00943800 and 01810588. PMID:26869630

  10. Pre-operative stroke and neurological disability do not independently affect short- and long-term mortality in infective endocarditis patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diab, Mahmoud; Guenther, Albrecht; Sponholz, Christoph; Lehmann, Thomas; Faerber, Gloria; Matz, Anna; Franz, Marcus; Witte, Otto W; Pletz, Mathias W; Doenst, Torsten

    2016-10-01

    Infective endocarditis (IE) is still associated with high morbidity and mortality. The impact of pre-operative stroke on mortality and long-term survival is controversial. In addition, data on the severity of neurological disability due to pre-operative stroke are scarce. We analysed the impact of pre-operative stroke and the severity of its related neurological disability on short- and long-term outcome. We retrospectively reviewed our data from patients operated for left-sided IE between 01/2007 and 04/2013. We performed univariate (Chi-Square and independent samples t test) and multivariate analyses. Among 308 consecutive patients who underwent cardiac surgery for left-sided IE, pre-operative stroke was present in 87 (28.2 %) patients. Patients with pre-operative stroke had a higher pre-operative risk profile than patient without it: higher Charlson comorbidity index (8.1 ± 2.6 vs. 6.6 ± 3.3) and higher incidence of Staphylococcus aureus infection (43 vs. 17 %) and septic shock (37 vs. 19 %). In-hospital mortality was equal but 5-year survival was significantly worse with pre-operative stroke (33.1 % vs. 45 %, p = 0.006). 5-year survival was worst in patients with severe neurological disability compared to mild disability (19.0 vs. 0.58 %, p = 0.002). However, neither pre-operative stroke nor the degree of neurological disability appeared as an independent risk factor for short or long-term mortality by multivariate analysis. Pre-operative stroke and the severity of neurological disability do not independently affect short- and long-term mortality in patients with infective endocarditis. It appears that patients with pre-operative stroke present with a generally higher risk profile. This information may substantially affect decision-making.

  11. In Search of Decay in Verbal Short-Term Memory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berman, Marc G.; Jonides, John; Lewis, Richard L.

    2009-01-01

    Is forgetting in the short term due to decay with the mere passage of time, interference from other memoranda, or both? Past research on short-term memory has revealed some evidence for decay and a plethora of evidence showing that short-term memory is worsened by interference. However, none of these studies has directly contrasted decay and…

  12. Attention Problems, Phonological Short-Term Memory, and Visuospatial Short-Term Memory: Differential Effects on Near- and Long-Term Scholastic Achievement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sarver, Dustin E.; Rapport, Mark D.; Kofler, Michael J.; Scanlan, Sean W.; Raiker, Joseph S.; Altro, Thomas A.; Bolden, Jennifer

    2012-01-01

    The current study examined individual differences in children's phonological and visuospatial short-term memory as potential mediators of the relationship among attention problems and near- and long-term scholastic achievement. Nested structural equation models revealed that teacher-reported attention problems were associated negatively with…

  13. Association Between Pretransplant Cancer and Survival in Kidney Transplant Recipients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dahle, Dag Olav; Grotmol, Tom; Leivestad, Torbjørn; Hartmann, Anders; Midtvedt, Karsten; Reisæter, Anna V; Mjøen, Geir; Pihlstrøm, Hege K; Næss, Hege; Holdaas, Hallvard

    2017-10-01

    Kidney transplantation in recipients with a previous malignancy is often deferred 2 to 5 years after cancer treatment due to fear of cancer recurrence. In Norway, the required waiting period has been 1 year. We compared patient and graft survival of recipients with pretransplant cancer to the outcomes of matched recipients without such cancer (comparators) using Cox regression. From 1963 to 2010, 377 (6.4%) of 5867 recipients had a pretransplant cancer. During a median follow-up of 6.8 years, 256 recipients died, 35 (13.7%) from recurrent cancer and 27 (10.5%) from de novo cancer. Uncensored and death-censored graft loss occurred in 263 and 46 recipients, respectively. All-cause mortality was similar as in comparators (hazard ratio [HR], 1.06; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.93-1.20]; P = 0.40), death-censored graft loss was lower (HR, 0.63; 95% CI, 0.47-0.84; P = 0.002), and uncensored graft loss was similar (HR, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.87-1.12; P = 0.87). Cancer mortality was higher than in comparators (HR, 1.97; 95% CI, 1.51-2.56; P cancer mortality or all-cause mortality (both P > 0.45). Results were similar within cancer subgroups, with most data in patients with a history of kidney cancer, prostate cancer, urothelial cancer, and skin squamous cell carcinoma. Kidney transplant recipients with a pretransplant cancer had a similar overall patient and graft survival as recipients without such cancer. Cancer mortality was increased, particularly during the first 5 years after transplantation. A short waiting period was not associated with mortality.

  14. Long-term outcomes of kidney transplantation across a positive complement-dependent cytotoxicity crossmatch.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riella, Leonardo V; Safa, Kassem; Yagan, Jude; Lee, Belinda; Azzi, Jamil; Najafian, Nader; Abdi, Reza; Milford, Edgar; Mah, Helen; Gabardi, Steven; Malek, Sayeed; Tullius, Stefan G; Magee, Colm; Chandraker, Anil

    2014-06-27

    More than 30% of potential kidney transplant recipients have pre-existing anti-human leukocyte antigen antibodies. This subgroup has significantly lower transplant rates and increased mortality. Desensitization has become an important tool to overcome this immunological barrier. However, limited data is available regarding long-term outcomes, in particular for the highest risk group with a positive complement-dependent cytotoxicity crossmatch (CDC XM) before desensitization. Between 2002 and 2010, 39 patients underwent living-kidney transplantation across a positive CDC XM against their donors at our center. The desensitization protocol involved pretransplant immunosuppression, plasmapheresis, and low-dose intravenous immunoglobulin±rituximab. Measured outcomes included patient survival, graft survival, renal function, rates of rejection, infection, and malignancy. The mean and median follow-up was 5.2 years. Patient survival was 95% at 1 year, 95% at 3 years, and 86% at 5 years. Death-censored graft survival was 94% at 1 year, 88% at 3 years, and 84% at 5 years. Uncensored graft survival was 87% at 1 year, 79% at 3 years, and 72% at 5 years. Twenty-four subjects (61%) developed acute antibody-mediated rejection of the allograft and one patient lost her graft because of hyperacute rejection. Infectious complications included pneumonia (17%), BK nephropathy (10%), and CMV disease (5%). Skin cancer was the most prevalent malignancy in 10% of patients. There were no cases of lymphoproliferative disorder. Mean serum creatinine was 1.7±1 mg/dL in functioning grafts at 5 years after transplantation. Despite high rates of early rejection, desensitization in living-kidney transplantation results in acceptable 5-year patient and graft survival rates.

  15. Allogeneic marrow grafting for acute leukemia: A follow-up of long-term survivors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stewart, P.S.; Buckner, C.D.; Clift, R.A.; Sanders, J.E.; Storb, R.; Leonard, J.M.; Thomas, E.D.

    1979-01-01

    We have reported 100 consecutive patients with refractory acute leukemia treated with chemotherapy, total body irradiation (TBI) and marrow from an HLA identical sibling. At the time of the report 17 patients were alive after 11-53 months. All patients have now been followed more than 3 years. At the time of the last report 4 of the 17 patients had relapsed: two in the narrow, one in the central nervous system and one in the testicle. Three of these four patients have died of their disease 27, 34 and 50 months following tranplant. The patient with a solitary testicular relapse remains in complete remission 49 months after local irradiation without concomitant systemic therapy. One other patient died 26 months following transplantation from cardiopulmonary complications following multiple respiratory infections. Of the 13 surviving patients, three suffer from chronic graft-versus-host disease. Summaries of the problems encountered in these patients after the first 100 days are presented. Ten of the original 100 patients are living productive lives 36-80 months after transplantation. The data clearly demonstrate that long-term unmaintained remissions are possible in a small fraction of patients with terminal leukemia treated with various chemotherapy regimens and TBO followed by marrow transplantation. (author)

  16. Allogeneic marrow grafting for acute leukemia: A follow-up of long-term survivors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stewart, P S; Buckner, C D; Clift, R A; Sanders, J E; Storb, R; Leonard, J M; Thomas, E D [Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Division of Oncology, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, and U.S. Public Health Service Hospital, Seattle, Washington, USA

    1979-01-01

    We have reported 100 consecutive patients with refractory acute leukemia treated with chemotherapy, total body irradiation (TBI) and marrow from an HLA identical sibling. At the time of the report 17 patients were alive after 11-53 months. All patients have now been followed more than 3 years. At the time of the last report 4 of the 17 patients had relapsed: two in the narrow, one in the central nervous system and one in the testicle. Three of these four patients have died of their disease 27, 34 and 50 months following tranplant. The patient with a solitary testicular relapse remains in complete remission 49 months after local irradiation without concomitant systemic therapy. One other patient died 26 months following transplantation from cardiopulmonary complications following multiple respiratory infections. Of the 13 surviving patients, three suffer from chronic graft-versus-host disease. Summaries of the problems encountered in these patients after the first 100 days are presented. Ten of the original 100 patients are living productive lives 36-80 months after transplantation. The data clearly demonstrate that long-term unmaintained remissions are possible in a small fraction of patients with terminal leukemia treated with various chemotherapy regimens and TBO followed by marrow transplantation.

  17. Short-Term Reciprocity in Late Parent-Child Relationships

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leopold, Thomas; Raab, Marcel

    2011-01-01

    Long-term concepts of parent-child reciprocity assume that the amount of support given and received is only balanced in a generalized fashion over the life course. We argue that reciprocity in parent-child relationships also operates in the short term. Our analysis of short-term reciprocity focuses on concurrent exchange in its main upward and…

  18. Implementing a short-term loyalty program : case: Bosch Lawn & Garden and the Ventum short-term loyalty program

    OpenAIRE

    Logvinova, Veronika

    2015-01-01

    In 2015, one of the Bosch Home and Garden divisions, Bosch Lawn and Garden, has made a strategic decision to adopt a points-based short-term loyalty program called Ventum LG in the German supermarkets and petrol stations. It was decided that the base of this program will be completed Ventum PT short-term loyalty program which was managed by another division, Bosch Power Tools, and proved to be successful. This thesis aims to evaluate the worthiness of the Ventum LG loyalty program for Bosch L...

  19. Living donor risk model for predicting kidney allograft and patient survival in an emerging economy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zafar, Mirza Naqi; Wong, Germaine; Aziz, Tahir; Abbas, Khawar; Adibul Hasan Rizvi, S

    2018-03-01

    Living donor kidney is the main source of donor organs in low to middle income countries. We aimed to develop a living donor risk model that predicts graft and patient survival in an emerging economy. We used data from the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT) database (n = 2283 recipients and n = 2283 living kidney donors, transplanted between 1993 and 2009) and conducted Cox proportional hazard analyses to develop a composite score that predicts graft and patient survivals. Donor factors age, creatinine clearance, nephron dose (estimated by donor/recipient body weight ratio) and human leukocyte antigen (HLA) match were included in the living donor risk model. The adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) for graft failures among those who received a kidney with living donor scores (reference to donor score of zero) of 1, 2, 3 and 4 were 1.14 (95%CI: 0.94-1.39), 1.24 (95%CI:1.03-1.49), 1.25 (95%CI:1.03-1.51) and 1.36 (95%CI:1.08-1.72) (P-value for trend =0.05). Similar findings were observed for patient survival. Similar to findings in high income countries, our study suggests that donor characteristics such as age, nephron dose, creatinine clearance and HLA match are important factors that determine the long-term patient and graft survival in low income countries. However, other crucial but undefined factors may play a role in determining the overall risk of graft failure and mortality in living kidney donor transplant recipients. © 2016 Asian Pacific Society of Nephrology.

  20. Single-center mid-term experience with chimney-graft technique for the preservation of flow to the supra-aortic branches.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shahverdyan, Robert; Mylonas, Spyridon; Gawenda, Michael; Brunkwall, Jan

    2018-04-01

    Objectives To investigate the feasibility and the mid-term outcomes of the chimney-graft technique for the revascularization of supra-aortic branches in patients with thoracic aortic pathologies involving the aortic arch. Methods A retrospective analysis of a prospectively maintained database between January 2010 and July 2016 was performed. Primary endpoints were 30-day and overall mortality. Secondary endpoints were technical success, target vessel patency, stroke/transitory ischemic attack and type I/III endoleak rate. Results A total of 30 patients (80% male, median age 70.0 years) were treated using the chimney-graft technique for the supra-aortic branches. The indication was a degenerative aneurysm in nine patients (32%) and a type B Stanford aortic dissection and a penetrating aortic ulcer in the descending aorta in seven patients (23%), respectively. In six patients (20.0%), the indication was an type Ia endoleak after previous endovascular thoracic repair, whereas a pseudoaneurysm after previous open repair of the descending aorta was the indication in one patient (3%). Twenty-three patients (77%) were treated electively, five (17%) emergently and two (7%) urgently because of free rupture. Technical success was achieved in 90% of patients. The 30-day/in-hospital mortality was 17% (5/30). A retrograde dissection was presented in five patients. Four patients experienced a cerebrovascular event. Eight patients had type Ia endoleak and 10 had type II. During the median follow-up of 16 months (range: 0-56), four further patients died: one in respiratory insufficiency, one due to a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm, one in meningitis and the last one for unknown reason. The chimney-graft patency was 100%. According to the Kaplan-Meier curve, the estimated survival at one year was 66 ± 9%. Conclusions The chimney-graft technique, despite a technically demanding strategy, is a useful tool as bailout procedure in our armamentarium for high-risk patients

  1. An Untargeted Metabolomics Approach to Characterize Short-Term and Long-Term Metabolic Changes after Bariatric Surgery.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sophie H Narath

    Full Text Available Bariatric surgery is currently one of the most effective treatments for obesity and leads to significant weight reduction, improved cardiovascular risk factors and overall survival in treated patients. To date, most studies focused on short-term effects of bariatric surgery on the metabolic profile and found high variation in the individual responses to surgery. The aim of this study was to identify relevant metabolic changes not only shortly after bariatric surgery (Roux-en-Y gastric bypass but also up to one year after the intervention by using untargeted metabolomics. 132 serum samples taken from 44 patients before surgery, after hospital discharge (1-3 weeks after surgery and at a 1-year follow-up during a prospective study (NCT01271062 performed at two study centers (Austria and Switzerland. The samples included 24 patients with type 2 diabetes at baseline, thereof 9 with diabetes remission after one year. The samples were analyzed by using liquid chromatography coupled to high resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS, HILIC-QExactive. Raw data was processed with XCMS and drift-corrected through quantile regression based on quality controls. 177 relevant metabolic features were selected through Random Forests and univariate testing and 36 metabolites were identified. Identified metabolites included trimethylamine-N-oxide, alanine, phenylalanine and indoxyl-sulfate which are known markers for cardiovascular risk. In addition we found a significant decrease in alanine after one year in the group of patients with diabetes remission relative to non-remission. Our analysis highlights the importance of assessing multiple points in time in subjects undergoing bariatric surgery to enable the identification of biomarkers for treatment response, cardiovascular benefit and diabetes remission. Key-findings include different trend pattern over time for various metabolites and demonstrated that short term changes should not necessarily be used to identify

  2. Decay uncovered in nonverbal short-term memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mercer, Tom; McKeown, Denis

    2014-02-01

    Decay theory posits that memory traces gradually fade away over the passage of time unless they are actively rehearsed. Much recent work exploring verbal short-term memory has challenged this theory, but there does appear to be evidence for trace decay in nonverbal auditory short-term memory. Numerous discrimination studies have reported a performance decline as the interval separating two tones is increased, consistent with a decay process. However, most of this tone comparison research can be explained in other ways, without reference to decay, and these alternative accounts were tested in the present study. In Experiment 1, signals were employed toward the end of extended retention intervals to ensure that listeners were alert to the presence and frequency content of the memoranda. In Experiment 2, a mask stimulus was employed in an attempt to distinguish between a highly detailed sensory trace and a longer-lasting short-term memory, and the distinctiveness of the stimuli was varied. Despite these precautions, slow-acting trace decay was observed. It therefore appears that the mere passage of time can lead to forgetting in some forms of short-term memory.

  3. Short-term energy outlook annual supplement, 1993

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1993-01-01

    The Energy Information Administration (EIA) prepares quarterly, short-term energy supply, demand, and price projections for publication in February, May, August, and November in the Short-Term Energy Outlook (Outlook). An annual supplement analyzes the performance of previous forecasts, compares recent cases with those of other forecasting services, and discusses current topics related to the short-term energy markets. (See Short-Term Energy Outlook Annual Supplement, DOE/EIA-0202.) The forecast period for this issue of the Outlook extends from the third quarter of 1993 through the fourth quarter of 1994. Values for the second quarter of 1993, however, are preliminary EIA estimates (for example, some monthly values for petroleum supply and disposition are derived in part from weekly data reported in the Weekly Petroleum Status Report) or are calculated from model simulations using the latest exogenous information available (for example, electricity sales and generation are simulated using actual weather data). The historical energy data are EIA data published in the Monthly Energy Review, Petroleum Supply Monthly, and other EIA publications. Minor discrepancies between the data in these publications and the historical data in this Outlook are due to independent rounding

  4. The influence of blood supply pattern of hepatic metastases on the short-term effect of TACE

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Guowen; Liang Zhaoyu; Yu Xiaoping; Gu Shanzhi; Zhang Tiegang; He Qing; Xiong Zhengping; Huang Manping

    2010-01-01

    Objective: To discuss the influence of blood supply pattern of hepatic metastases on the short-term effect of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE). Methods: A total of 58 cases of liver metastases who had been treated with TACE were selected, the clinical data and short-term effects were retrospectively analyzed. Results: Based on the DSA findings, 58 cases of liver metastases were divided into the hypervascular pattern (n=14), the isovascular pattern (n=12) and the hypovascular pattern group (n=32). After TACE the clinical effective rate (CR + PR) of hypervascular, isovascular and hypo vascular pattern group was 92.9% (13 /14), 83.3% (10/12) and 9.4% (3/32) respectively, with a significant difference existing between hyper vascular and hypo vascular group as well as between iso vascular and hypo vascular group (P 0.05). The survival rate at half and one year after Tace treatment for all cases was 67.2% and 42.3%, respectively. The survival rate at half and one year for hyper vascular, iso vascular and hypo vascular group was 100% and 78.6%, 100% and 58.3%, 40.6% and 7.6%, respectively. A significant difference in the survival rate existed between hypervascular and hypovascular group as well as between isovascular and hypovascular group (P 0.05). Conclusion: TACE shows much better effectiveness for the hypervascular hepatic metastases, and it is very useful for making an appropriate therapeutic plan to distinguish the blood supply pattern of hepatic metastases. (authors)

  5. Long-term results after repair of ruptured and non-ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kuzmanović Ilija B.

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available INTRODUCTION Abdominal aortic aneurysm can be repaired by elective procedure while asymptomatic, or immediately when it is complicated - mostly due to rupture. Treating abdominal aneurysm electively, before it becomes urgent, has medical and economical reason. Today, the first month mortality after elective operations of the abdominal aorta aneurysm is less than 3%; on the other hand, significant mortality (25%-70% has been recorded in patients operated immediately because of rupture of the abdominal aneurysm. In addition, the costs of elective surgical treatment are significantly lower. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study is to compare long-term survival of patients that underwent elective or immediate repair of abdominal aortic aneurysm (due to rupture, and to find out the factors influencing the long-term survival of these patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS Through retrospective review of prospectively collected data of the Institute for Cardiovascular Diseases of Clinical Center of Serbia, Belgrade, 56 patients that had elective surgery and 35 patients that underwent urgent operation due to rupture of abdominal aneurysm were followed up. Only the patients that survived 30 postoperative days were included in this review, and were followed up (ranging from 2 to 126 months. Electively operated patients were followed during 58.82 months on the average (range 7 to 122, and urgently operated were followed over 52.26 months (range 2 to 126. There was no significant difference of the length of postoperative follow-up between these two groups. RESULTS During this period, out of electively operated and immediately operated patients, 27 and 22 cases died, respectively. There was no significant difference (p>0,05a of long-term survival between these two groups. Obesity and early postoperative complications significantly decreased long-term survival of both electively and immediately operated patients. Graft infection, ventral hernia, aneurysm of

  6. Selective retransplant after graft loss to nonadherence: success with a second chance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dunn, T B; Browne, B J; Gillingham, K J; Kandaswamy, R; Humar, A; Payne, W D; Sutherland, D E R; Matas, A J

    2009-06-01

    Nonadherence (NA) is a difficult posttransplant problem that can lead to graft loss. A retransplant is controversial because of a fear of recurrent NA. We reviewed our center's data base and identified 114 kidney recipients who lost their graft to overt NA; of this group, 35 (31%) underwent a retransplant after a thorough reevaluation. We compared this NA retransplant group to a control group of second transplant recipients who did not lose their first graft to overt NA (non-NA) (n = 552). After 8 years of follow-up, we found no significant differences between the groups in actuarial graft or patient survival rates, renal function, or the incidence of biopsy-proven chronic rejection. However, 5 of 35 (14%) NA recipients versus 10 of 552 (2%) non-NA recipients lost their retransplant to NA (p = 0.0001). Twenty of 35 (57%) of the NA group exhibited repeat NA behavior after retransplant. We conclude that prior graft loss to NA is associated with increased graft loss to NA after retransplant. However, the majority of NA retransplant recipients did well-with overall long-term outcomes similar to those of the non-NA group. With careful patient selection and aggressive intervention, prior overt NA should not be an absolute contraindication to retransplantation.

  7. Managment of frontal sinus fracture: obliteration sinus with cancellous bone graft.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muminagic, Sahib; Masic, Tarik; Babajic, Emina; Asotic, Mithat

    2011-01-01

    Frontal sinus fractures make up about 2-15% of all facial fractures.This is relatively low frequency of occurrence, but it has a large potential of complication and may involve not only the frontal sinuse but more importantly the brain and the eyes. The management depends of the complexity. If anterior wall is fractured with grossly involved nasofrontal duct (NFD) in the injury it is paramount to occlude NFD. Very often, sinus obliteration is done at the same time. In our expirience autogenous cancellous bone graft is considered to be the best grafting material. It has the less short - or long-term complications and the donor site morbidity is insignificant.

  8. Parent-Offspring Conflict over Short-Term Mating Strategies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Spyroulla Georgiou

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available Individuals engage in short-term mating strategies that enable them to obtain fitness benefits from casual relationships. These benefits, however, count for less and cost more to their parents. On this basis three hypotheses are tested. First, parents and offspring are likely to disagree over short-term mating strategies, with the former considering these as less acceptable than the latter. Second, parents are more likely to disapprove of the short-term mating strategies of their daughters than of their sons. Finally, mothers and fathers are expected to agree on how much they disagree over the short-term mating strategies of their children. Evidence from a sample of 148 Greek-Cypriot families (140 mothers, 105 fathers, 119 daughters, 77 sons provides support for the first two hypotheses and partial support for the third hypothesis. The implications of these findings for understanding family dynamics are further discussed.

  9. Mesenchymal stem cells improve mouse non-heart-beating liver graft survival by inhibiting Kupffer cell apoptosis via TLR4-ERK1/2-Fas/FasL-caspase3 pathway regulation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yang Tian

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Liver transplantation is the optimal treatment option for end-stage liver disease, but organ shortages dramatically restrict its application. Donation after cardiac death (DCD is an alternative approach that may expand the donor pool, but it faces challenges such as graft dysfunction, early graft loss, and cholangiopathy. Moreover, DCD liver grafts are no longer eligible for transplantation after their warm ischaemic time exceeds 30 min. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs have been proposed as a promising therapy for treatment of certain liver diseases, but the role of MSCs in DCD liver graft function remains elusive. Methods In this study, we established an arterialized mouse non-heart-beating (NHB liver transplantation model, and compared survival rates, cytokine and chemokine expression, histology, and the results of in vitro co-culture experiments in animals with or without MSC infusion. Results MSCs markedly ameliorated NHB liver graft injury and improved survival post-transplantation. Additionally, MSCs suppressed Kupffer cell apoptosis, Th1/Th17 immune responses, chemokine expression, and inflammatory cell infiltration. In vitro, PGE2 secreted by MSCs inhibited Kupffer cell apoptosis via TLR4-ERK1/2-caspase3 pathway regulation. Conclusion Our study uncovers a protective role for MSCs and elucidates the underlying immunomodulatory mechanism in an NHB liver transplantation model. Our results suggest that MSCs are uniquely positioned for use in future clinical studies owing to their ability to protect DCD liver grafts, particularly in patients for whom DCD organs are not an option according to current criteria.

  10. Significant prolongation of segmental pancreatic allograft survival in two species

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Du Toit, D.F.; Heydenrych, J.J.

    1988-06-01

    A study was conducted to assess the suppression of segmental pancreatic allograft rejection by cyclosporine (CSA) alone in baboons and dogs, and subtotal marrow irradiation (TL1) alone and TL 1 in combination with CSA in baboons. Total pancreatectomy in the dog and primate provided a reliable diabetic model, induced an absolute deficiency of insulin and was uniformly lethal if not treated. Continuous administration of CSA in baboons resulted in modest allograft survival. As in baboons, dogs receiving CSA 25 mg/kg/d rendered moderate graft prolongation but a dose of 40 mg/kg/d resulted in significant graft survival (greater than 100 days) in 5 of 8 allograft recipients. Irradiation alone resulted in minimal baboon pancreatic allograft survival of 20 baboons receiving TL1 1,000 rad and CSA, 3 had graft survival greater than of 100 days. Of 15 baboons receiving TL1 800 rad and CSA, 6 had graft survival of greater than 100 days. In conclusion, CSA administration in dogs and TL1 in combination with CSA in baboons resulted in highly significant segmental pancreatic allograft survival.

  11. Significant prolongation of segmental pancreatic allograft survival in two species

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Du Toit, D.F.; Heydenrych, J.J.

    1988-01-01

    A study was conducted to assess the suppression of segmental pancreatic allograft rejection by cyclosporine (CSA) alone in baboons and dogs, and subtotal marrow irradiation (TL1) alone and TL 1 in combination with CSA in baboons. Total pancreatectomy in the dog and primate provided a reliable diabetic model, induced an absolute deficiency of insulin and was uniformly lethal if not treated. Continuous administration of CSA in baboons resulted in modest allograft survival. As in baboons, dogs receiving CSA 25 mg/kg/d rendered moderate graft prolongation but a dose of 40 mg/kg/d resulted in significant graft survival (greater than 100 days) in 5 of 8 allograft recipients. Irradiation alone resulted in minimal baboon pancreatic allograft survival of 20 baboons receiving TL1 1,000 rad and CSA, 3 had graft survival greater than of 100 days. Of 15 baboons receiving TL1 800 rad and CSA, 6 had graft survival of greater than 100 days. In conclusion, CSA administration in dogs and TL1 in combination with CSA in baboons resulted in highly significant segmental pancreatic allograft survival

  12. Striatal grafts in a rat model of Huntington's disease

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Guzman, R; Meyer, M; Lövblad, K O

    1999-01-01

    Survival and integration into the host brain of grafted tissue are crucial factors in neurotransplantation approaches. The present study explored the feasibility of using a clinical MR scanner to study striatal graft development in a rat model of Huntington's disease. Rat fetal lateral ganglionic...... time-points graft location could not be further verified. Measures for graft size and ventricle size obtained from MR images highly correlated with measures obtained from histologically processed sections (R = 0.8, P fetal rat lateral ganglionic...

  13. Circadian modulation of short-term memory in Drosophila.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lyons, Lisa C; Roman, Gregg

    2009-01-01

    Endogenous biological clocks are widespread regulators of behavior and physiology, allowing for a more efficient allocation of efforts and resources over the course of a day. The extent that different processes are regulated by circadian oscillators, however, is not fully understood. We investigated the role of the circadian clock on short-term associative memory formation using a negatively reinforced olfactory-learning paradigm in Drosophila melanogaster. We found that memory formation was regulated in a circadian manner. The peak performance in short-term memory (STM) occurred during the early subjective night with a twofold performance amplitude after a single pairing of conditioned and unconditioned stimuli. This rhythm in memory is eliminated in both timeless and period mutants and is absent during constant light conditions. Circadian gating of sensory perception does not appear to underlie the rhythm in short-term memory as evidenced by the nonrhythmic shock avoidance and olfactory avoidance behaviors. Moreover, central brain oscillators appear to be responsible for the modulation as cryptochrome mutants, in which the antennal circadian oscillators are nonfunctional, demonstrate robust circadian rhythms in short-term memory. Together these data suggest that central, rather than peripheral, circadian oscillators modulate the formation of short-term associative memory and not the perception of the stimuli.

  14. The Role of Short-term Consolidation in Memory Persistence

    OpenAIRE

    Timothy J. Ricker

    2015-01-01

    Short-term memory, often described as working memory, is one of the most fundamental information processing systems of the human brain. Short-term memory function is necessary for language, spatial navigation, problem solving, and many other daily activities. Given its importance to cognitive function, understanding the architecture of short-term memory is of crucial importance to understanding human behavior. Recent work from several laboratories investigating the entry of information into s...

  15. The interaction of short-term and long-term memory in phonetic category formation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harnsberger, James D.

    2002-05-01

    This study examined the role that short-term memory capacity plays in the relationship between novel stimuli (e.g., non-native speech sounds, native nonsense words) and phonetic categories in long-term memory. Thirty native speakers of American English were administered five tests: categorial AXB discrimination using nasal consonants from Malayalam; categorial identification, also using Malayalam nasals, which measured the influence of phonetic categories in long-term memory; digit span; nonword span, a short-term memory measure mediated by phonetic categories in long-term memory; and paired-associate word learning (word-word and word-nonword pairs). The results showed that almost all measures were significantly correlated with one another. The strongest predictor for the discrimination and word-nonword learning results was nonword (r=+0.62) and digit span (r=+0.51), respectively. When the identification test results were partialed out, only nonword span significantly correlated with discrimination. The results show a strong influence of short-term memory capacity on the encoding of phonetic detail within phonetic categories and suggest that long-term memory representations regulate the capacity of short-term memory to preserve information for subsequent encoding. The results of this study will also be discussed with regards to resolving the tension between episodic and abstract models of phonetic category structure.

  16. Semantic and phonological contributions to short-term repetition and long-term cued sentence recall.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meltzer, Jed A; Rose, Nathan S; Deschamps, Tiffany; Leigh, Rosie C; Panamsky, Lilia; Silberberg, Alexandra; Madani, Noushin; Links, Kira A

    2016-02-01

    The function of verbal short-term memory is supported not only by the phonological loop, but also by semantic resources that may operate on both short and long time scales. Elucidation of the neural underpinnings of these mechanisms requires effective behavioral manipulations that can selectively engage them. We developed a novel cued sentence recall paradigm to assess the effects of two factors on sentence recall accuracy at short-term and long-term stages. Participants initially repeated auditory sentences immediately following a 14-s retention period. After this task was complete, long-term memory for each sentence was probed by a two-word recall cue. The sentences were either concrete (high imageability) or abstract (low imageability), and the initial 14-s retention period was filled with either an undemanding finger-tapping task or a more engaging articulatory suppression task (Exp. 1, counting backward by threes; Exp. 2, repeating a four-syllable nonword). Recall was always better for the concrete sentences. Articulatory suppression reduced accuracy in short-term recall, especially for abstract sentences, but the sentences initially recalled following articulatory suppression were retained better at the subsequent cued-recall test, suggesting that the engagement of semantic mechanisms for short-term retention promoted encoding of the sentence meaning into long-term memory. These results provide a basis for using sentence imageability and subsequent memory performance as probes of semantic engagement in short-term memory for sentences.

  17. IFNy+ and IFNy- Treg subsets with stable and unstable Foxp3 expression in kidney transplant recipients with good long-term graft function.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trojan, Karina; Unterrainer, Christian; Aly, Mostafa; Zhu, Li; Weimer, Rolf; Bulut, Nuray; Morath, Christian; Opelz, Gerhard; Daniel, Volker

    2016-10-29

    Treg are a heterogenous cell population. In the present study we attempted to identify Treg subsets that might contribute to stable and good long-term graft function. Lymphocyte and Treg subsets were studied in 136 kidney transplant recipients with good long-term graft function and in 52 healthy control individuals using eight-color-fluorescence flow cytometry. Foxp3 TSDR methylation status was investigated in enriched IFNy+ and IFNy- Treg preparations using high resolution melt analysis. Compared with healthy controls, patients showed strong associations of IFNy secreting Helios+ and Helios- Treg with Treg that co-expressed perforin and/or CTLA4 (CD152; pterm graft function possess IFNy+ and IFNy- Treg with stable and unstable Foxp3 expression in the blood. They co-express CD28, HLADR, CTLA4, CXCR3, Lselectin, TGFβ, perforin and FasL and might contribute to the establishment and maintenance of good long-term graft function. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  18. Short-term and long-term sick-leave in Sweden

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Blank, N; Diderichsen, Finn

    1995-01-01

    The primary aim of the study was to analyse similarities and differences between repeated spells of short-term sick-leave (more than 3 spells of less than 7 days' duration in a 12-month period) and long-term absence through sickness (at least 1 spell of more than 59 days' duration in a 12-month p...

  19. Leukemia prevention and long-term survival of AKR mice transplanted with MHC-matched or MHC-mismatched bone marrow

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Longley, R.E.; Good, R.A.

    1986-01-01

    The current studies were designed to evaluate the effectiveness of marrow transplantation within and outside the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) on the long-term survival and occurrence of spontaneous leukemia in AKR mice. AKR mice, which were lethally irradiated and received MHC-matched marrow from CBA/J mice (CBA----AKR), never developed leukemia and were alive and remained healthy for up to 280 days post-transplant. These long-term surviving chimeras possessed substantial immune vigor when both cell-mediated and humoral responses were tested. Lethally irradiated AKR mice, which had received MHC-mismatched marrow (anti-Thy-1.2 treated or nontreated) from C57BL/6J mice (B6----AKR), never developed leukemia and survived up to 170 days post-transplant. However, both groups of these chimeras began dying 180 to 270 days post-transplant due to a disease process which could not be readily identified. Histological analysis of B6----AKR chimeras revealed severe lymphoid cell depletion in thymus and spleen; however, none of these chimeras exhibited classical features of acute graft versus host disease. Concanavalin A mitogenesis, primary antibody responses to sheep red blood cells and the production of interleukin 2 (IL-2) were suppressed in B6----AKR chimeras. IL-2 treatment of B6----AKR chimeras was shown to partially correct these deficiencies without stimulating mixed lymphocyte responsiveness to donor or host lymphocytes. These studies indicate that the use of MHC-mismatched marrow for the prevention of spontaneous AKR leukemia may rely on augmentative IL-2 therapy for complete immune reconstitution of leukemia-free chimeras

  20. Long-term outcome of intensive initial immunosuppression protocol in pediatric deceased donor renal transplantation.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Olaitan, Oyedolamu K

    2010-02-01

    To report the long-term outcome of deceased donor kidney transplantation in children with emphasis on the use of an intensive initial immunosuppression protocol using R-ATG as antibody induction. Between January 1991 and December 1997, 82 deceased donor kidney transplantations were performed in 75 pediatric recipients. Mean recipient age at transplantation was 12.9 yr and the mean follow-up period was 12.6 yr. All patients received quadruple immunosuppression with steroid, cyclosporine, azathioprine, and antibody induction using R-ATG-Fresenius. Actual one, five, and 10 yr patient survival rates were 99%, 97%, and 94%, respectively; only one patient (1.2%) developed PTLD. Actual one, five, and 10 yr overall graft survival rates were 84%, 71%, and 50%, respectively; there were five cases (6%) of graft thrombosis and the actual immunological graft survival rates were 91%, 78%, and 63% at one, five, and 10 yr, respectively. The use of an intensive initial immunosuppression protocol with R-ATG as antibody induction is safe and effective in pediatric recipients of deceased donor kidneys with excellent immunological graft survival without an increase in PTLD or other neoplasms over a minimum 10-yr follow up.

  1. Initial Resuscitation at Delivery and Short Term Neonatal Outcomes in Very-Low-Birth-Weight Infants

    OpenAIRE

    Cho, Su Jin; Shin, Jeonghee; Namgung, Ran

    2015-01-01

    Survival of very-low-birth-weight infants (VLBWI) depends on professional perinatal management that begins at delivery. Korean Neonatal Network data on neonatal resuscitation management and initial care of VLBWI of less than 33 weeks gestation born from January 2013 to June 2014 were reviewed to investigate the current practice of neonatal resuscitation in Korea. Antenatal data, perinatal data, and short-term morbidities were analyzed. Out of 2,132 neonates, 91.7% needed resuscitation at birt...

  2. Radiobiological effects of tritiated water short-term exposure on V79 clonogenic cell survival

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Siragusa, Mattia; Fredericia, Nina Pil Møntegaard; Jensen, Mikael

    2018-01-01

    We set out to improve the accuracy of absorbed dose calculations for in-vitro measurements of the Relative Biological Effectiveness (RBE) of tritiated water (HTO) for the clonogenic cell survival assay, also considering the influence of the end-of-track Linear Energy Transfer (LET) of low-energy...... in suspension are usually comparable to those for adherent cells. RBEs calculated at the 10% survival fraction through the use of the average energy are almost similar to those obtained with the beta-spectrum. For adherent cells, an RBE of 1.6 was found when HTO cell survival curves were compared to acute γ...

  3. Short-term Consumer Benefits of Dynamic Pricing

    OpenAIRE

    Dupont, Benjamin; De Jonghe, Cedric; Kessels, Kris; Belmans, Ronnie

    2011-01-01

    Consumer benefits of dynamic pricing depend on a variety of factors. Consumer characteristics and climatic circumstances widely differ, which forces a regional comparison. This paper presents a general overview of demand response programs and focuses on the short-term benefits of dynamic pricing for an average Flemish residential consumer. It reaches a methodology to develop a cost reflective dynamic pricing program and to estimate short-term bill savings. Participating in a dynamic pricing p...

  4. Skin graft fixation in severe burns: use of topical negative pressure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kamolz, L P; Lumenta, D B; Parvizi, D; Wiedner, M; Justich, I; Keck, M; Pfurtscheller, K; Schintler, M

    2014-09-30

    Over the last 50 years, the evolution of burn care has led to a significant decrease in mortality. The biggest impact on survival has been the change in the approach to burn surgery. Early excision and grafting has become a standard of care for the majority of patients with deep burns; the survival of a given patient suffering from major burns is invariably linked to the take rate and survival of skin grafts. The application of topical negative pressure (TNP) therapy devices has demonstrated improved graft take in comparison to conventional dressing methods alone. The aim of this study was to analyze the impact of TNP therapy on skin graft fixation in large burns. In all patients, we applied TNP dressings covering a %TBSA of >25. The following parameters were recorded and documented using BurnCase 3D: age, gender, %TBSA, burn depth, hospital length-of-stay, Baux score, survival, as well as duration and incidence of TNP dressings. After a burn depth adapted wound debridement, coverage was simultaneously performed using split-thickness skin grafts, which were fixed with staples and covered with fatty gauzes and TNP foam. The TNP foam was again fixed with staples to prevent displacement and finally covered with the supplied transparent adhesive film. A continuous subatmospheric pressure between 75-120 mm Hg was applied (VAC®, KCI, Vienna, Austria). The first dressing change was performed on day 4. Thirty-six out of 37 patients, suffering from full thickness burns, were discharged with complete wound closure; only one patient succumbed to their injuries. The overall skin graft take rate was over 95%. In conclusion, we consider that split thickness skin graft fixation by TNP is an efficient method in major burns, notably in areas with irregular wound surfaces or subject to movement (e.g. joint proximity), and is worth considering for the treatment of aged patients.

  5. Acceptability of short term neo-adjuvant androgen deprivation in patients with locally advanced prostate cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lamb, David S.; Denham, James W.; Mameghan, Hedy; Joseph, David; Turner, Sandra; Matthews, John; Franklin, Ian; Atkinson, Chris; North, John; Poulsen, Michael; Kovacev, Olga; Robertson, Randall; Francis, Lynne; Christie, David; Spry, Nigel A.; Tai, K.-H.; Wynne, Chris; Duchesne, Gillian

    2003-01-01

    -adjuvant MAD was not perceived by patients to be a major inconvenience. If neo-adjuvant MAD in the way tested can be demonstrated to lead to improved biochemical control and/or survival, then patients would view these therapeutic gains as worthwhile. Compliance with short-term goserelin was excellent, confirming that LH-RH analogues have a potential role in more long-term adjuvant treatment. However, for more protracted androgen deprivation, survival advantages and deleterious effects need to be assessed in parallel, in order to determine the optimal duration of treatment

  6. Musical and Verbal Memory in Alzheimer's Disease: A Study of Long-Term and Short-Term Memory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Menard, Marie-Claude; Belleville, Sylvie

    2009-01-01

    Musical memory was tested in Alzheimer patients and in healthy older adults using long-term and short-term memory tasks. Long-term memory (LTM) was tested with a recognition procedure using unfamiliar melodies. Short-term memory (STM) was evaluated with same/different judgment tasks on short series of notes. Musical memory was compared to verbal…

  7. Renal transplant immunology in the last 20 years: A revolution towards graft and patient survival improvement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sá, Helena; Leal, Rita; Rosa, Manuel Santos

    2017-05-04

    To deride the hope of progress is the ultimate fatuity, the last word in poverty of spirit and meanness of mind. There is no need to be dismayed by the fact that we cannot yet envisage a definitive solution of our problems, a resting-place beyond which we need not try to go. -P.B. Medawar, 1969 * Thomas E. Starlz, also known as the Father of Clinical Transplantation, once said that organ transplantation was the supreme exception to the rule that most major advances in medicine spring from discoveries in basic science [Starzl T. The mystique of organ transplantation. J Am Coll Surg 2005 Aug;201(2):160-170]. In fact, the first successful identical-twin kidney transplantation performed by Murray's team in December 1954 (Murray J et al. Renal homotransplantations in identical twins. Surg Forum 1955;6:432-436) was the example of an upside down translation medicine: Human clinical transplantation began and researchers tried to understand the underlying immune response and how to control the powerful rejection pathways through experimental models. In the last 20 years, we have witnessed an amazing progress in the knowledge of immunological mechanisms regarding alloimmune response and an outstanding evolution on the identification and characterization of major and minor histocompatibility antigens. This review presents an historical and clinical perspective of those important advances in kidney transplantation immunology in the last 20 years, which contributed to the improvement in patients' quality of life and the survival of end-stage renal patients. In spite of these significant progresses, some areas still need substantial progress, such as the definition of non-invasive biomarkers for acute rejection; the continuous reduction of immunosuppression; the extension of graft survival, and finally the achievement of real graft tolerance extended to HLA mismatch donor: recipient pairs.

  8. A least squares approach for efficient and reliable short-term versus long-term optimization

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christiansen, Lasse Hjuler; Capolei, Andrea; Jørgensen, John Bagterp

    2017-01-01

    The uncertainties related to long-term forecasts of oil prices impose significant financial risk on ventures of oil production. To minimize risk, oil companies are inclined to maximize profit over short-term horizons ranging from months to a few years. In contrast, conventional production...... optimization maximizes long-term profits over horizons that span more than a decade. To address this challenge, the oil literature has introduced short-term versus long-term optimization. Ideally, this problem is solved by a posteriori multi-objective optimization methods that generate an approximation...... the balance between the objectives, leaving an unfulfilled potential to increase profits. To promote efficient and reliable short-term versus long-term optimization, this paper introduces a natural way to characterize desirable Pareto points and proposes a novel least squares (LS) method. Unlike hierarchical...

  9. Dynamics of solvent-free grafted nanoparticles

    KAUST Repository

    Chremos, Alexandros

    2012-01-01

    The diffusivity and structural relaxation characteristics of oligomer-grafted nanoparticles have been investigated with simulations of a previously proposed coarse-grained model at atmospheric pressure. Solvent-free, polymer-grafted nanoparticles as well as grafted nanoparticles in a melt were compared to a reference system of bare (ungrafted) particles in a melt. Whereas longer chains lead to a larger hydrodynamic radius and lower relative diffusivity for grafted particles in a melt, bulk solvent-free nanoparticles with longer chains have higher relative diffusivities than their short chain counterparts. Solvent-free nanoparticles with short chains undergo a glass transition as indicated by a vanishing diffusivity, diverging structural relaxation time and the formation of body-centered-cubic-like order. Nanoparticles with longer chains exhibit a more gradual increase in the structural relaxation time with decreasing temperature and concomitantly increasing particle volume fraction. The diffusivity of the long chain nanoparticles exhibits a minimum at an intermediate temperature and volume fraction where the polymer brushes of neighboring particles overlap, but must stretch to fill the interparticle space. © 2012 American Institute of Physics.

  10. Do Short-Term Managerial Objectives Lead to Under- or Over-Investment in Long-Term Projects

    OpenAIRE

    Lucian Arye Bebchuk; Lars A. Stole

    1994-01-01

    This paper studies managerial decisions about investment in long-run projects in the presence of imperfect information (the market knows less about such investments than the firm's managers) and short-term managerial objectives (the managers are concerned about the short-term stock price as well as the long-term stock price). Prior work has suggested that imperfect information and short-term managerial objectives induce managers to underinvest in long-run projects. We show that either underin...

  11. Reproduction of superior sagittal sinus animal model by bypass transplantation of biomaterial graft

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qing-yong LUO

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available Objective To establish the beagles model of superior sagittal sinus bypass graft,and explore the feasibility of reconstruction of superior sagittal sinus with biomaterials using this model.Methods Eight adult male beagles(weight: 12.5-22.0kg were involved in the present study.The superior sagittal sinus was exposed and blocked via bone window,and then anastomosed side-to-end to the biomaterial graft under the dedicated microscope of neurosurgery surgery,expectant treatment such as anti-inflammatory was given for the animals.The digital subtraction venography(DSV and color Doppler flow imaging(CDFI of superior sagittal sinus were performed in 1,2,4 and 8 weeks after the operation.Eight weeks after the operation,all the animals were sacrificed and the material graft was examined histologically.Results The DSV and CDFI of superior sagittal sinus showed that the stomas of 2 beagles were with slight stenosis and high flow velocity,of 1 beagle with small leakage and low flow velocity,while of other 5 beagles were normal.The histological examination showed endothelial cells were growing on the graft and superior sagittal sinus,and crawling toward the lumen of graft 8 weeks after the operation.Conclusion The beagles model of superior sagittal sinus bypass graft was established successfully.The short-term effect of the model was satisfactory,while further work should be performed to determine the long-term effects.

  12. Sleep Quality, Short-Term and Long-Term CPAP Adherence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Somiah, Manya; Taxin, Zachary; Keating, Joseph; Mooney, Anne M.; Norman, Robert G.; Rapoport, David M.; Ayappa, Indu

    2012-01-01

    Study Objectives: Adherence to CPAP therapy is low in patients with obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS). The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the utility of measures of sleep architecture and sleep continuity on the CPAP titration study as predictors of both short- and long-term CPAP adherence. Methods: 93 patients with OSAHS (RDI 42.8 ± 34.3/h) underwent in-laboratory diagnostic polysomnography, CPAP titration, and follow-up polysomnography (NPSG) on CPAP. Adherence to CPAP was objectively monitored. Short-term (ST) CPAP adherence was averaged over 14 days immediately following the titration study. Long-term (LT) CPAP adherence was obtained in 56/93 patients after approximately 2 months of CPAP use. Patients were grouped into CPAP adherence groups for ST ( 4 h) and LT adherence ( 4 h). Sleep architecture, sleep disordered breathing (SDB) indices, and daytime outcome variables from the diagnostic and titration NPSGs were compared between CPAP adherence groups. Results: There was a significant relationship between ST and LT CPAP adherence (r = 0.81, p CPAP adherence groups had significantly lower %N2 and greater %REM on the titration NPSG. A model combining change in sleep efficiency and change in sleep continuity between the diagnostic and titration NPSGs predicted 17% of the variance in LT adherence (p = 0.006). Conclusions: These findings demonstrate that characteristics of sleep architecture, even on the titration NPSG, may predict some of the variance in CPAP adherence. Better sleep quality on the titration night was related to better CPAP adherence, suggesting that interventions to improve sleep on/prior to the CPAP titration study might be used as a therapeutic intervention to improve CPAP adherence. Citation: Somiah M; Taxin Z; Keating J; Mooney AM; Norman RG; Rapoport DM; Ayappa I. Sleep quality, short-term and long-term CPAP adherence. J Clin Sleep Med 2012;8(5):489-500. PMID:23066359

  13. Assessing the associative deficit of older adults in long-term and short-term/working memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Tina; Naveh-Benjamin, Moshe

    2012-09-01

    Older adults exhibit a deficit in associative long-term memory relative to younger adults. However, the literature is inconclusive regarding whether this deficit is attenuated in short-term/working memory. To elucidate the issue, three experiments assessed younger and older adults' item and interitem associative memory and the effects of several variables that might potentially contribute to the inconsistent pattern of results in previous studies. In Experiment 1, participants were tested on item and associative recognition memory with both long-term and short-term retention intervals in a single, continuous recognition paradigm. There was an associative deficit for older adults in the short-term and long-term intervals. Using only short-term intervals, Experiment 2 utilized mixed and blocked test designs to examine the effect of test event salience. Blocking the test did not attenuate the age-related associative deficit seen in the mixed test blocks. Finally, an age-related associative deficit was found in Experiment 3, under both sequential and simultaneous presentation conditions. Even while accounting for some methodological issues, the associative deficit of older adults is evident in short-term/working memory.

  14. Comparison between the radiosensitivity of human, mouse and chicken fibroblast-like cells using short-term endpoints

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Diatloff-Zito, C.; Loria, E.; Maciera-Coelho, A.; Deschavanne, P.J.; Malaise, E.P.

    1981-01-01

    A comparative study has been made of the radiosensitivity of fibroblastic cell lines from three different animal species: human, mouse and chicken. Endpoints reflecting short term responses were utilized: colony forming ability (CFA), DNA single strand break (SSB) repair and repair of potentially lethal damage (PLD). Regardless of the criterion employed, the response to radiation varies from one species to another. According to survival curves, chicken cells appear to be more radioresistant than those of human and mouse. SSB repair is apparently absent in murine cells, partial in chicken cells and complete in human cells. This lack of correlation between survival curves and SSB repair demonstrates that survival of irradiated cells does not depend only (or at all) on the repair of SSB. The repair of PLD is much more efficient in human and chicken cells than in murine cells. (author)

  15. The pedagogy of Short-Term Study-Abroad Programs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jude Gonsalvez

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available This paper focuses on establishing guidelines on the pedagogy of short term study abroad programs. This study follows 33 students who participated in a short-term study-abroad program to India with the researcher from 2006 through 2011. The study relies heavily on the student reflections and expressions as they experienced them. It is qualitative in nature. Focus groups were the main method of data collection, where participants were invited to reflect, express, and share their experiences with one another. This provided an opportunity for the participants to come together, relive their experiences, and help provide information as to how and what type of an influence this short-term study-abroad program provided.

  16. Cell-assisted lipotransfer: Friend or foe in fat grafting? Systematic review and meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laloze, J; Varin, A; Gilhodes, J; Bertheuil, N; Grolleau, J L; Brie, J; Usseglio, J; Sensebe, L; Filleron, T; Chaput, B

    2018-02-01

    Autologous fat grafting is a common procedure for soft-tissue reconstruction but is associated with a graft resorption rate ranging from 20% to 80%. To improve the fat graft survival rate, a new technique, called cell-assisted lipotransfer (CAL), was developed. With CAL, fat is injected along with adipose-derived stromal cells that are assumed to improve fat survival rate. We conducted an evidence-based meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy and safety of CAL as compared with conventional autologous fat grafting (non-CAL). The databases MEDLINE (via PubMed), Cochrane Library, EBSCO, Web of Science, and EMBASE were searched for reports of clinical trials, case series, and cohorts available from 2008 to 2016. We conducted a meta-analysis of the efficacy of CAL with data analysis concerning fat survival rate. The incidence of complications and the need for multiple procedures were evaluated to determine the safety of CAL. We identified 25 studies (696 patients) that were included in the systematic review; 16 studies were included in the meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy of CAL. The fat survival rate was significantly higher with CAL than non-CAL (64% vs. 44%, p < .0001) independent of injection site (breast and face). This benefit of CAL was significant for only injection volumes <100 ml (p = .03). The two groups did not differ in frequency of multiple procedures after fat grafting, but the incidence of complications was greater with CAL than non-CAL (8.4% vs. 1.5%, p = .0019). The CAL method is associated with better fat survival rate than with conventional fat grafting but only for small volumes of fat grafting (<100 ml). Nonetheless, the new technique is associated with more complications and did not reduce the number of surgical procedures needed after the first fat grafting. More prospective studies are required to draw clinical conclusions and to demonstrate the real benefit of CAL as compared with common autologous fat grafting. Copyright © 2017

  17. The uranium industry: long term planning for short term competition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vottero, X.

    2000-01-01

    Today, uranium producers face new challenges in terms of both production (new regulatory, environmental and social constraints) and market conditions (new sources of uranium supply, very low prices and tough competition). In such a context, long-term planning is not just a prerequisite to survive in the nuclear fuel cycle industry. In fact, it also contributes to sustaining nuclear electricity generation facing fierce competition from other energy sources in increasingly deregulated markets. (authors)

  18. Graft-versus-host reaction in small bowel transplantation and possibilities for its circumvention

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Deltz, E.; Ulrichs, K.; Schack, T.; Friedrichs, B.; Mueller-Ruchholtz, W.M.; Mueller-Hermelink, H.K.T.; Thiede, A.

    1986-01-01

    To describe GVHR in small bowel transplantation and its underlying mechanisms and to find methods for circumventing that response, accessory small bowel transplantation was carried out in the rat model. Animals not treated with cyclosporine, irradiation, or removal of the mesenteric lymph nodes of the graft died within 22 days postoperatively due to graft versus host disease. Mesenteric lymph nodes of the graft and recipient spleen and peripheral lymph nodes showed strong immunologic stimulation histologically and high antihost T-cell-mediated cytotoxic antihost reactivity. Seventy-one percent of the animals that had received 15 mg of cyclosporine per kilogram body weight orally survived 150 days after transplantation. After donor irradiation with 50 rads, 77 percent of the recipients survived 120 days. After microsurgical removal of the mesenteric lymph nodes of the graft, 89 percent survived 120 days. We conclude that GVHR plays an important role in small bowel transplantation and that the experimental regimens of donor, graft, and recipient treatment described herein have proved their efficacy for circumventing GVHR

  19. Endovascular stent-graft placement for the treatment of acute onset and chronic aortic dissections of the descending aorta (Short-term follow-up)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Petrov, I; Jorgova, J.; Trendafilova, D.

    2004-01-01

    The leading cause of death for patients with surgically untreated thoracic aortic aneurysms is the rupture of the aneurysm. Almost one half of these patients are left to medical treatment assuming the risk of late rupture and aneurysm sac enlargement - the late surgical treatment of these patients is too risky and with poor results. On the other hand the emergent surgical treatment of these cases is related with relatively high mortality rate. Recently, thoracic aortic stent-grafting has emerged as a less traumatic alternative therapeutic modality for patients with thoracic aortic aneurysms and aortic dissections. The first case of stent implantation in a dissected descending aorta was performed in Bulgaria at 09.04.2003. Since then we implanted in 8 patients thoracic stent grafts, The mean age of the patients was 67.5 years. The primary success was 100%. One died on the second postoperative day by abdominal aorta rupture. No other complications were registered. The mean follow-up of 5 months proved to be uneventful and the control CT revealed efficacious sealing of the entry and false lumen thrombosis in all except one cases. We report our initial clinical experience of endovascular stent-graft repair for dissection of the descending aorta that is encouraging. These preliminary data suggest that endovascular stent-grafting is a viable treatment for acute onset and chronic aortic dissection type B

  20. Genetic deletion of melanin-concentrating hormone neurons impairs hippocampal short-term synaptic plasticity and hippocampal-dependent forms of short-term memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Le Barillier, Léa; Léger, Lucienne; Luppi, Pierre-Hervé; Fort, Patrice; Malleret, Gaël; Salin, Paul-Antoine

    2015-11-01

    The cognitive role of melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) neurons, a neuronal population located in the mammalian postero-lateral hypothalamus sending projections to all cortical areas, remains poorly understood. Mainly activated during paradoxical sleep (PS), MCH neurons have been implicated in sleep regulation. The genetic deletion of the only known MCH receptor in rodent leads to an impairment of hippocampal dependent forms of memory and to an alteration of hippocampal long-term synaptic plasticity. By using MCH/ataxin3 mice, a genetic model characterized by a selective deletion of MCH neurons in the adult, we investigated the role of MCH neurons in hippocampal synaptic plasticity and hippocampal-dependent forms of memory. MCH/ataxin3 mice exhibited a deficit in the early part of both long-term potentiation and depression in the CA1 area of the hippocampus. Post-tetanic potentiation (PTP) was diminished while synaptic depression induced by repetitive stimulation was enhanced suggesting an alteration of pre-synaptic forms of short-term plasticity in these mice. Behaviorally, MCH/ataxin3 mice spent more time and showed a higher level of hesitation as compared to their controls in performing a short-term memory T-maze task, displayed retardation in acquiring a reference memory task in a Morris water maze, and showed a habituation deficit in an open field task. Deletion of MCH neurons could thus alter spatial short-term memory by impairing short-term plasticity in the hippocampus. Altogether, these findings could provide a cellular mechanism by which PS may facilitate memory encoding. Via MCH neuron activation, PS could prepare the day's learning by increasing and modulating short-term synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  1. Recurrence and graft loss after renal transplantation in adults with IgA vasculitis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kawabe, Mayuko; Yamamoto, Izumi; Komatsuzaki, Yo; Yamakawa, Takafumi; Katsumata, Haruki; Katsuma, Ai; Mafune, Aki; Nakada, Yasuyuki; Kobayashi, Akimitsu; Tanno, Yudo; Ohkido, Ichiro; Tsuboi, Nobuo; Yokoyama, Keitaro; Horita, Shigeru; Okumi, Masayoshi; Ishida, Hideki; Yamamoto, Hiroyasu; Yokoo, Takashi; Tanabe, Kazunari

    2017-08-01

    IgA vasculitis, a rare condition resulting in end-stage renal disease, is a small-vessel vasculitis that affects the kidney in 49-83 % of adults. The reported recurrence rate of IgA vasculitis in renal transplant recipients is 11.5-60 %, leading to graft loss in 0-50 % of these patients. However, limited data are available on recurrence and graft loss after renal transplantation. We evaluated renal transplant recipients seen from 1987 to 2015 at the Jikei University School of Medicine and the Department of Urology, Tokyo Women's Medical University. Using a 1:2 match, 21 patients with IgA vasculitis and 42 controls were selected. The mean post-transplant follow-up was 121 ± 69 months for IgA vasculitis and 147 ± 66 months for the controls. The 15-year patient survival was 100 % in IgA vasculitis and 97.6 % in the controls (p = 0.22). The 5-, 10-, and 15-year graft survival rates were 95.2, 90.5, and 81 % in IgA vasculitis and 100, 90.5, and 88.1 % in the controls, respectively (p = 0.63). The recurrence rate was 28.6 % (6 of 21 cases) and half of them (3 of 6 cases) showed histological activity (ISKDC III). We treated them with methylprednisolone pulse therapy and/or tonsillectomy. None of the recurrence cases lost the allograft. The long-term patient and graft survival of IgA vasculitis in renal transplantation were comparable with the previous reports. The recurrence rate was 28.6 %, but none of the recurrent cases showed allograft loss in this study. We speculate that methylprednisolone pulse therapy and/or tonsillectomy prevent the progression of recurrent IgA vasculitis.

  2. Relationship between short and long term radon measurements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martinez, T.; Ramirez, D.; Navarrete, M.; Cabrera, L.; Ramirez, A.; Gonzalez, P.

    2000-01-01

    In this work the radon group of the Faculty of Chemistry at the National University of Mexico presents the results obtained in the establishment of a relation between the short and long term radon measures made with passive electret detectors E-PERM type LLT and HST. The measures were carried out inside single family dwellings (open house condition) located in the southeast of Mexico City (in Xochimilco) during the four seasons of the year 1997. A correlation was established between the short term measures (five days) and those of a long term for every season as well as an annual average, with an equation that relates them. The objective and advantage of this correlation are that with a short term measure it is possible to predict the annual mean radon concentration, that represents a saving of human and economic resources. (author)

  3. Impact of short-term severe accident management actions in a long-term perspective. Final Report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2000-03-01

    The present systems for severe accident management are focused on mitigating the consequences of special severe accident phenomena and to reach a safe plant state. However, in the development of strategies and procedures for severe accident management, it is also important to consider the long-term perspective of accident management and especially to secure the safe state of the plant. The main reason for this is that certain short-term actions have an impact on the long-term scenario. Both positive and negative effects from short-term actions on the accident management in the long-term perspective have been included in this paper. Short-term actions are accident management measures taken within about 24 hours after the initiating event. The purpose of short-term actions is to reach a stable status of the plant. The main goal in the long-term perspective is to maintain the reactor in a stable state and prevent uncontrolled releases of activity. The purpose of this short Technical Note, deliberately limited in scope, is to draw attention to potential long-term problems, important to utilities and regulatory authorities, arising from the way a severe accident would be managed during the first hours. Its objective is to encourage discussions on the safest - and maybe also most economical - way to manage a severe accident in the long term by not making the situation worse through inappropriate short-term actions, and on the identification of short-term actions likely to make long-term management easier and safer. The Note is intended as a contribution to the knowledge base put at the disposal of Member countries through international collaboration. The scope of the work has been limited to a literature search. Useful further activities have been identified. However, there is no proposal, at this stage, for more detailed work to be undertaken under the auspices of the CSNI. Plant-specific applications would need to be developed by utilities

  4. Platelet-rich plasma-enriched autologous fat graft in regenerative and aesthetic facial surgery: Technical note.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Picard, F; Hersant, B; La Padula, S; Meningaud, J-P

    2017-09-01

    The goal of adding platelet-rich plasma (PRP) to autologous fat graft is to increase the survival rate of the graft. After their activation, platelets release some important growth factors. As a result, PRP may increase the proliferation and differentiation of Adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) into adipocytes, improve fat graft vascularisation, and may block the apoptosis of grafted adipocytes. The other benefit expected from the addition of PRP to fat graft is the improvement of cutaneous trophicity above the grafted areas. An exhaustive review of the literature retrieved 11 clinical studies on humans and 7 on animals. A statistically significant increase of the survival rate of fat grafts has been found in 9 comparative studies. Our synthesis allowed us to set up the following protocol: addition of 20% of PRP activated with calcium hydrochloride to fat grafts. It may enhance the results of autologous facial fat graft in regenerative and aesthetic facial surgery. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  5. Ordered short-term memory differs in signers and speakers: Implications for models of short-term memory

    OpenAIRE

    Bavelier, Daphne; Newport, Elissa L.; Hall, Matt; Supalla, Ted; Boutla, Mrim

    2008-01-01

    Capacity limits in linguistic short-term memory (STM) are typically measured with forward span tasks in which participants are asked to recall lists of words in the order presented. Using such tasks, native signers of American Sign Language (ASL) exhibit smaller spans than native speakers (Boutla, Supalla, Newport, & Bavelier, 2004). Here, we test the hypothesis that this population difference reflects differences in the way speakers and signers maintain temporal order information in short-te...

  6. Prolonged heart xenograft survival using combined total lymphoid irradiation and cyclosporine

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Knechtle, S.J.; Halperin, E.C.; Saad, T.; Bollinger, R.R.

    1986-01-01

    Total lymphoid irradiation and cyclosporine have profound immunosuppressive properties and permit successful heart allotransplantation. Cyclosporine used alone has not permitted consistently successful transplantation between species in all cases. Total lymphoid irradiation has not been applied to xenotransplantation. The efficacy of total lymphoid irradiation alone and in combination with cyclosporine was examined using an animal model of heart xenotransplantation. Heterotopic heart transplants were performed using inbred Syrian hamsters as donors and Lewis rats as recipients. Total lymphoid irradiation was administered preoperatively over 3 weeks for a total dose of 15 gray. Cyclosporine was started on the day of surgery and was given as a daily intramuscular injection of 2.5, 5, or 10 mg/kg/day until rejection was complete. Neither total lymphoid irradiation nor cyclosporine alone markedly prolonged graft survival. However, combined total lymphoid irradiation and cyclosporine, 5 or 10 mg/kg/day, dramatically prolonged graft survival to greater than 100 days in most recipients. There were no treatment-related deaths. In conclusion, combined total lymphoid irradiation and cyclosporine permit successful long-term survival of heart xenotransplants in this hamster-to-rat model

  7. Satisfactory short-term outcomes of the STABILISE technique for type B aortic dissection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Melissano, Germano; Bertoglio, Luca; Rinaldi, Enrico; Mascia, Daniele; Kahlberg, Andrea; Loschi, Diletta; De Luca, Monica; Monaco, Fabrizio; Chiesa, Roberto

    2018-03-29

    The aim of this study was to evaluate the perioperative and short-term results in a cohort of patients treated during the last year at our institution with the stent-assisted balloon-induced intimal disruption and relamination in aortic dissection repair (STABILISE) technique for acute complicated aortic dissection. Between June 2016 and June 2017, 10 patients (all male; mean age, 62.6 ± 7.4 years) received treatment for acute complicated aortic dissection with the STABILISE technique. After a standard provisional extension to induce complete attachment procedure using the commercially available endovascular dissection system (Cook Medical, Bloomington, Ind), the distal stent graft area and the bare stent area were ballooned to completely exclude the thoracic false lumen (FL) and to obtain a single-channeled abdominal aorta. Computed tomography was routinely performed within the first postoperative week before discharge and then at 3 months, at 6 months, and yearly thereafter. The technical and clinical success rates were analyzed. The 30-day technical and clinical success rates were 100%, with complete thrombosis of the thoracic FL and no type I endoleak. Malperfusion was resolved in all cases. No aortic ruptures were recorded, and no open conversion was required. One case of delayed spinal cord ischemia fully resolved within the discharge period. Predischarge computed tomography showed complete thrombosis of the thoracic FL in all cases. In two cases, some degree of patency of the abdominal FL was observed. At short-term follow-up, the overall aortic diameters remained stable with no further dilation. The STABILISE technique was safe and feasible in this cohort of patients, with complete thrombosis of the thoracic FL and creation of a single-channeled aorta in most cases. Further studies are needed to ascertain the long-term behavior of the treated aorta. Copyright © 2018 Society for Vascular Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Short-term and long-term deflection of reinforced hollow core ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This paper presents a study on different methods of analysis that are currently used by design codes to predict the short-term and long-term deflection of reinforced concrete slab systems and compares the predicted deflections with measured deflections. The experimental work to measure deflections involved the testing of ...

  9. Robust short-term memory without synaptic learning.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Samuel Johnson

    Full Text Available Short-term memory in the brain cannot in general be explained the way long-term memory can--as a gradual modification of synaptic weights--since it takes place too quickly. Theories based on some form of cellular bistability, however, do not seem able to account for the fact that noisy neurons can collectively store information in a robust manner. We show how a sufficiently clustered network of simple model neurons can be instantly induced into metastable states capable of retaining information for a short time (a few seconds. The mechanism is robust to different network topologies and kinds of neural model. This could constitute a viable means available to the brain for sensory and/or short-term memory with no need of synaptic learning. Relevant phenomena described by neurobiology and psychology, such as local synchronization of synaptic inputs and power-law statistics of forgetting avalanches, emerge naturally from this mechanism, and we suggest possible experiments to test its viability in more biological settings.

  10. Robust short-term memory without synaptic learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Samuel; Marro, J; Torres, Joaquín J

    2013-01-01

    Short-term memory in the brain cannot in general be explained the way long-term memory can--as a gradual modification of synaptic weights--since it takes place too quickly. Theories based on some form of cellular bistability, however, do not seem able to account for the fact that noisy neurons can collectively store information in a robust manner. We show how a sufficiently clustered network of simple model neurons can be instantly induced into metastable states capable of retaining information for a short time (a few seconds). The mechanism is robust to different network topologies and kinds of neural model. This could constitute a viable means available to the brain for sensory and/or short-term memory with no need of synaptic learning. Relevant phenomena described by neurobiology and psychology, such as local synchronization of synaptic inputs and power-law statistics of forgetting avalanches, emerge naturally from this mechanism, and we suggest possible experiments to test its viability in more biological settings.

  11. Robust Short-Term Memory without Synaptic Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Samuel; Marro, J.; Torres, Joaquín J.

    2013-01-01

    Short-term memory in the brain cannot in general be explained the way long-term memory can – as a gradual modification of synaptic weights – since it takes place too quickly. Theories based on some form of cellular bistability, however, do not seem able to account for the fact that noisy neurons can collectively store information in a robust manner. We show how a sufficiently clustered network of simple model neurons can be instantly induced into metastable states capable of retaining information for a short time (a few seconds). The mechanism is robust to different network topologies and kinds of neural model. This could constitute a viable means available to the brain for sensory and/or short-term memory with no need of synaptic learning. Relevant phenomena described by neurobiology and psychology, such as local synchronization of synaptic inputs and power-law statistics of forgetting avalanches, emerge naturally from this mechanism, and we suggest possible experiments to test its viability in more biological settings. PMID:23349664

  12. Treatment of pseudoaneurysms with stent-graft: preliminary experience in 12 cases

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liao Denghui; Ye Caisheng; Li Songqi; Ye Runyi; Chang Guangqi; Chen Wei; Li Xiaoxi; Wang Shenming

    2012-01-01

    Objective: To asses the clinical effect of stent-graft in the treatment of pseudoaneurysms. Methods: During the period from March 2008 to June 2011, 86 patients with pseudoaneurysms were admitted to the hospital, of whom stent-graft implantation was carried out in 12. The pseudoaneurysms were located at the thoracic aorta (n=4), abdominal aorta (n=3), common carotid artery (n=3), internal carotid artery (n=1) and right subclavian artery (n=1). All the patient were followed up for 5-43 months. The clinical results were analyzed. Results: The technical success rate for stent delivery was 100%. The pseudoaneurysms was immediately isolated after the procedure in all 12 cases. After endovascular exclusion with stent-graft, no leakage occurred and the blood flow distal to the parent artery was normal. All patients were followed up for a mean period of 23.5 months except one who lost in touch with the authors. One patient with coexisting Behcet's disease died of massive bleeding due to abdominal aortic rupture four months after operation. The other patients were in good clinical condition, and no complications such as stent stenosis, displacement, internal leakage etc. were observed in the follow-up period. Conclusion: The implantation of stent-graft has satisfactory short-term effect in treating pseudoaneurysms, although its long-term efficacy needs to be further observed. (authors)

  13. Bone graft materials in fixation of orthopaedic implants in sheep

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Babiker, Hassan

    2013-01-01

    Bone graft is widely used within orthopaedic surgery especially in revision joint arthroplasty and spine fusion. The early implant fixation in the revision situation of loose joint prostheses is important for the long-term survival. Bone autograft has been considered as gold standard in many...... orthopaedic procedures, whereas allograft is the gold standard by replacement of extensive bone loss. However, the use of autograft is associated with donor site morbidity, especially chronic pain. In addition, the limited supply is a significant clinical challenge. Limitations in the use of allograft include...... the risk of bacterial contamination and disease transmission as well as non-union and poor bone quality. Other bone graft and substitutes have been considered as alternative in order to improve implant fixation. Hydroxyapatite and collagen type I composite (HA/Collagen) have the potential in mimicking...

  14. Iliac Crest Donor Site for Children With Cleft Lip and Palate Undergoing Alveolar Bone Grafting: A Long-term Assessment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wheeler, Jonathan; Sanders, Megan; Loo, Stanley; Moaveni, Zac; Bartlett, Glenn; Keall, Heather; Pinkerton, Mark

    2016-05-01

    The authors aimed to accurately assess the donor site morbidity from iliac crest bone grafts for secondary bone grafting in patients with cleft lip and palate alveolar defects. Fifty patients between 3 months and 10 years following alveolar bone grafting for cleft lip and palate were entered into the study. Two-thirds of patients had no significant concerns about the donor site. The remaining third had some concerns about the appearance of their hips and less than 10% of patients expressing strong agreement with statements about concerns with shape, appearance, and self-consciousness about the iliac crest donor site. Examination findings showed the average length of scar being 5.4 cm and a third of patients having some minor palpable boney irregularities of the iliac crest. The authors found that the alveolar crest donor site is well tolerated by patients long term but has a measurable morbidity long term.

  15. Short-term memory binding deficits in Alzheimer's disease

    OpenAIRE

    Parra, Mario; Abrahams, S.; Fabi, K.; Logie, R.; Luzzi, S.; Della Sala, Sergio

    2009-01-01

    Alzheimer's disease impairs long term memories for related events (e.g. faces with names) more than for single events (e.g. list of faces or names). Whether or not this associative or ‘binding’ deficit is also found in short-term memory has not yet been explored. In two experiments we investigated binding deficits in verbal short-term memory in Alzheimer's disease. Experiment 1 : 23 patients with Alzheimer's disease and 23 age and education matched healthy elderly were recruited. Participants...

  16. Relationship between short-term sexual strategies and sexual jealousy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mathes, Eugene W

    2005-02-01

    In a classic study, Buss, Larson, Westen, and Semmelroth reported that men were more distressed by the thought of a partner's sexual infidelity (sexual jealousy) and women were more distressed by the thought of a partner's emotional infidelity (emotional jealousy). Initially, Buss and his associates explained these results by suggesting that men are concerned about uncertainty of paternity, that is, the possibility of raising another man's child while believing the child is their own. However, later they explained the results in terms of men's preference for short-term sexual strategies. The purpose of this research was to test the explanation of short-term sexual strategies. Men and women subjects were instructed to imagine themselves in a relationship which was either short-term (primarily sexual) or long-term (involving commitment) and then respond to Buss's jealousy items. It was hypothesized that, when both men and women imagined a short-term relationship, they would be more threatened by a partner's sexual infidelity, and, when they imagined a long-term relationship, they would be more threatened by a partner's emotional infidelity. Support was found for this hypothesis.

  17. Impact of long-term and short-term therapies on seminal parameters

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jlenia Elia

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available Aim: The aim of this work was: i to evaluate the prevalence of male partners of subfertile couples being treated with long/short term therapies for non andrological diseases; ii to study their seminal profile for the possible effects of their treatments on spermatogenesis and/or epididymal maturation. Methods: The study group was made up of 723 subjects, aged between 25 and 47 years. Semen analysis was performed according to World Health Organization (WHO guidelines (1999. The Superimposed Image Analysis System (SIAS, which is based on the computerized superimposition of spermatozoa images, was used to assess sperm motility parameters. Results: The prevalence of subjects taking pharmacological treatments was 22.7% (164/723. The prevalence was 3.7% (27/723 for the Short-Term Group and 18.9% (137/723 for the Long-Term Group. The subjects of each group were also subdivided into subgroups according to the treatments being received. Regarding the seminal profile, we did not observe a significant difference between the Long-Term, Short-Term or the Control Group. However, regarding the subgroups, we found a significant decrease in sperm number and progressive motility percentage in the subjects receiving treatment with antihypertensive drugs compared with the other subgroups and the Control Group. Conclusions: In the management of infertile couples, the potential negative impact on seminal parameters of any drugs being taken as Long-Term Therapy should be considered. The pathogenic mechanism needs to be clarified.

  18. H-Y Antigen Incompatibility Not Associated with Adverse Immunologic Graft Outcomes: Deceased Donor Pair Analysis of the OPTN Database

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Douglas Scott Keith

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Background. H-Y antigen incompatibility adversely impacts bone marrow transplants however, the relevance of these antigens in kidney transplantation is uncertain. Three previous retrospective studies of kidney transplant databases have produced conflicting results. Methods. This study analyzed the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network database between 1997 and 2009 using male deceased donor kidney transplant pairs in which the recipient genders were discordant. Death censored graft survival at six months, five, and ten years, treated acute rejection at six months and one year, and rates of graft failure by cause were the primary endpoints analyzed. Results. Death censored graft survival at six months was significantly worse for female recipients. Analysis of the causes of graft failure at six months revealed that the difference in death censored graft survival was due primarily to nonimmunologic graft failures. The adjusted and unadjusted death censored graft survivals at five and ten years were similar between the two genders as were the rates of immunologic graft failure. No difference in the rates of treated acute rejection at six months and one year was seen between the two genders. Conclusions. Male donor to female recipient discordance had no discernable effect on immunologically mediated kidney graft outcomes in the era of modern immunosuppression.

  19. Model documentation report: Short-Term Hydroelectric Generation Model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1993-08-01

    The purpose of this report is to define the objectives of the Short- Term Hydroelectric Generation Model (STHGM), describe its basic approach, and to provide details on the model structure. This report is intended as a reference document for model analysts, users, and the general public. Documentation of the model is in accordance with the Energy Information Administration's (AYE) legal obligation to provide adequate documentation in support of its models (Public Law 94-385, Section 57.b.2). The STHGM performs a short-term (18 to 27- month) forecast of hydroelectric generation in the United States using an autoregressive integrated moving average (UREMIA) time series model with precipitation as an explanatory variable. The model results are used as input for the short-term Energy Outlook

  20. Use of Short-term Circulatory Support as a Bridge in Pediatric Heart Transplantation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luiz Fernando Canêo

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Heart transplantation is considered the gold standard therapy for the advanced heart failure, but donor shortage, especially in pediatric patients, is the main limitation for this procedure, so most sick patients die while waiting for the procedure. Objective: To evaluate the use of short-term circulatory support as a bridge to transplantation in end-stage cardiomyopathy. Methods: Retrospective clinical study. Between January 2011 and December 2013, 40 patients with cardiomyopathy were admitted in our Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, with a mean age of 4.5 years. Twenty patients evolved during hospitalization with clinical deterioration and were classified as Intermacs 1 and 2. One patient died within 24 hours and 19 could be stabilized and were listed. They were divided into 2 groups: A, clinical support alone and B, implantation of short-term circulatory support as bridge to transplantation additionally to clinical therapy. Results: We used short-term mechanical circulatory support as a bridge to transplantation in 9. In group A (n=10, eight died waiting and 2 patients (20% were transplanted, but none was discharged. In group B (n=9, 6 patients (66.7% were transplanted and three were discharged.The mean support time was 21,8 days (6 to 984h. The mean transplant waiting list time was 33,8 days. Renal failure and sepsis were the main complication and causeof death in group A while neurologic complications were more prevalent en group B. Conclusion: Mechanical circulatory support increases survival on the pediatric heart transplantation waiting list in patients classified as Intermacs 1 and 2.

  1. Kidney transplant survival in pediatric and young adults

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Acott Phil

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background There is a perception that kidney transplant recipients transferred from pediatric centers to adult care have an increased risk of graft loss. It is not clear whether young adults transplanted in adult centers also suffer from high graft loss rates. Methods We examined death censored graft survival in 3 cohorts of young patients transplanted at a single center. Pediatric (PED patients transplanted at the pediatric center were compared to a cohort of young adults (YAD; age 18- Results In a multivariate Cox model for death-censored graft survival, PED survival was statistically similar to the YAD (HR 0.86, 95% CI 0.44, 1.7, p = 0.66, however the ADL cohort (HR 0.45, 95% CI 0.25, 0.82, p = 0.009 demonstrated better survival. Admitted non-adherence rates were not different among cohorts. Patients were transferred within a narrow age window (18.6 ± 1.0 age in years but at a wide range of times from the date of transplantation (5.1 ± 3.5 years and with a wide range of graft function (serum creatinine 182 ± 81 μmol/L. Conclusions The perception that pediatric transfers do poorly reflects advanced graft dysfunction in some at the time of transfer. The evidence also suggests that it is not the transfer of care that is the critical issue but rather recipients, somewhere between the ages of 11-14 and 25, are a unique and vulnerable cohort. Effective strategies to improve outcomes across this age group need to be identified and applied consistently.

  2. CABG and Preoperative use of Beta-Blockers in Patients with Stable Angina are Associated with Better Cardiovascular Survival

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Victor Dayan

    Full Text Available Abstract Objective: In contrast to unstable angina, optimal therapy in patients with stable angina is debated. Our aim was to evaluate the outcomes of patients with stable angina scheduled for isolated coronary artery bypass grafts and the effect of preoperative use of beta-blockers. Overall and cardiovascular survivals were our primary outcome. Operative mortality and postoperative complications along with subgroup analysis of diabetic patients were our secondary outcomes. Methods: Retrospective evaluation of patients with stable angina scheduled for isolated coronary artery bypass grafts was included. Pre- and postoperative variables were extracted from the institution database. Survival was obtained from the National Registry. Results: We included 282 patients with stable angina, with a mean age of 65.6±9.5 years. 26.6% were female and 38.7% had diabetes. Three-vessel disease was present in 76.6% of patients. Previous beta-blocker treatment was evident in 69.9% of patients. 10-year overall survival in the whole population was 60.5% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 50.3-70.7%. Operative mortality during the study period was 3.5%. Patients with preoperative use of beta-blocker therapy had better overall survival (9.0 years, 95%CI: 8.6-9.5 than those without treatment (7.9 years, 95%CI: 7.1-8.8 years; P=0.048. Predictors for overall survival were: hypertension, diabetes, and age. Predictors for cardiovascular survival in diabetic patients were: beta-blocker use, gender, and age. Conclusion: Coronary artery bypass grafts surgery in patients with stable angina carries low operative mortality, postoperative complications, and excellent long-term cardiovascular survival. The preoperative use of beta-blockers in diabetic patients is associated with better cardiovascular survival after coronary artery bypass grafts.

  3. Short-term flow induced crystallization in isotactic polypropylene : how short is short?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ma, Z.; Balzano, L.; Portale, G.; Peters, G.W.M.

    2013-01-01

    The so-called "short-term flow" protocol is widely applied in experimental flow-induced crystallization studies on polymers in order to separate the nucleation and subsequent growth processes [Liedauer et al. Int. Polym. Proc. 1993, 8, 236–244]. The basis of this protocol is the assumption that

  4. Comparison of Short Term with Long Term Catheterization after Anterior Colporrhaphy Surgery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F. Movahed

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available Introduction & Objective: This belief that overfilling the bladder after anterior colporrhaphy might have a negative influence on surgical outcome, causes routine catheterization after operation. This study was done to compare short term (24h with long term (72h catheterization after anterior colporrhaphy.Materials & Methods: This randomized clinical trial was carried out at Kosar Hospital , Qazvin (Iran in 2005-2006. One hundred cases candidating for anterior colporrhaphy , were divided in two equal groups . In the first group foley catheter was removed 24 hours and in the second group 72 hours after the operation. Before removing catheter, urine sample was obtained for culture . After removal and urination, residual volume was determinded. If the volume exceeded 200 ml or retention occured, the catheter would be fixed for more 72 hours. Need for recatheterization, urinary retention, positive urine culture,and hospital stay were surveyed. The data was analyzed using T and Fisher tests.Results: Residual volume exceeding 200 ml and the need for recatheterization occurred in one case (2% in the short term group but in the long term group none of the subjects needed recatheterization (P=1. Retention was not seen. In the both groups, one case (2% had positive urine culture with no statistically significant difference (P=1. Mean hospital stay was short in the first group (P=0.00.Conclusion: Short term catheterization after anterior colporrhaphy does not cause urinary retention and decreases hospital stay.

  5. Short-term versus long-term market opportunities and financial constraints

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ferrari, Angelo

    1999-01-01

    This presentation discusses gas developments in Europe, the European Gas Directive, short term vs. long term, and Snam's new challenges. The European gas market is characterized by (1) The role of gas in meeting the demand for energy, which varies greatly from one country to another, (2) A growing market, (3) Decreasing role of domestic production, and (4) Increasing imports. Within the European Union, the Gas Directive aims to transform single national markets into one integrated European market by introducing third party access to the network for eligible clients as a means of increasing the competition between operators. The Gas Directive would appear to modify the form of the market rather than its size, and in particular the sharing of responsibility and risk among operators. The market in the future will offer operators the possibility to exploit opportunities deriving mainly from demands for increased flexibility. Opportunities linked to entrepreneurial initiatives require long-term investments characteristic of the gas business. Risks and opportunities must be balanced evenly between different operators. If everyone takes on their own risks and responsibilities, this means a wider distribution of the risks of long-term vs. short-term, currently borne by the gas companies that are integrated, into a market that tends to favour the short-term. A gradual liberalization process should allow incumbent operators to gradually diversify their activities in new gas market areas or enter new business activities. They could move beyond their local and European boundaries in pursuit of an international dimension. The market will have to make the transition from the national to the European dimension: as an example, Snam covers 90% of the Italian market, but its share of an integrated European market will be about 15%

  6. Factors influencing the short-term prognosis of interventional therapy for malignant obstructive jaundice: a multivariate analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Xueqiang; Zhai Renyou

    2009-01-01

    Objective: To discuss the correlative factors affecting the short-term prognosis in treating malignant obstructive jaundice with percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage (PTBD) and/or percutaneous transhepatic biliary stenting (PTBS). Methods: During the period of December 2008-June 2009, PTBD and/or PTBS were performed in 67 patients. The clinical date were reviewed and analyzed. According to the reduction degree of serum bilirubin and survival condition in 30 days, the patients were divided into effective group (54 cases) and ineffective group (13 cases). Single factor affecting the short-term prognosis was analyzed by using χ 2 test and multi-factors were analyzed by using non-conditional logistic regression mode. Results: Single variable analysis showed that time of obstruction, way of drainage, preoperative biliary infection, Child-Pugh grade, TBIL, HGB and Cr level were of statistical significance. The logistic regression analysis showed that there were obvious correlation among preoperative biliary infection, Child-grade ≥11 and Cr >115 μmol/L. Conclusion: The infection of the bile duct before operation, Child-grade ≥11 and Cr >115μmol/L carry a close relationship with the short-term prognosis of PTBD and PTBS. Therefore, an overall preoperative evaluation for malignant obstructive jaundice is of great importance. (authors)

  7. Short-Term Group Treatment for Adult Children of Alcoholics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cooper, Alvin; McCormack, WIlliam A.

    1992-01-01

    Adult children of alcoholics (n=24) were tested on measures of loneliness, anxiety, hostility, depression, and interpersonal dependency before and after participation in short-term group therapy. Highly significant test score changes supported effectiveness of individual therapy in short-term groups. (Author/NB)

  8. Frequency-specific insight into short-term memory capacity

    OpenAIRE

    Feurra, Matteo; Galli, Giulia; Pavone, Enea Francesco; Rossi, Alessandro; Rossi, Simone

    2016-01-01

    We provided novel evidence of a frequency-specific effect by transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) of the left posterior parietal cortex on short-term memory, during a digit span task. the effect was prominent with stimulation at beta frequency for young and not for middle-aged adults and correlated with age. Our findings highlighted a short-term memory capacity improvement by tACS application.

  9. Long term results of polytetrafluoroethylene in above knee femoropopliteal bypass for critical ischaemia.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Kavanagh, E G

    2012-02-03

    Ninety-six consecutive above-knee femoropopliteal bypasses, using polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) preferentially, were performed for limb-threatening ischaemia. Cumulative primary graft patency was 68 per cent, 49 per cent and 36 per cent and limb salvage 93 per cent, 85 per cent and 75 per cent at 1, 3 and 5 yr respectively. As a result of poor long term survival (51 per cent at 5 yr), and the healing of remedial lesions before graft occlusion, 68 patients (72 per cent) required no further intervention. Eighteen secondary bypasses were undertaken, 12 using ipsilateral saphenous vein. In this group of elderly patients with poor life expectancy, where a limited operation is desirable, the use of PTFE provided excellent limb salvage with low morbidity. Although we can no longer justify our continued use of PTFE in every case of critical ischaemia because of its inferior patency to autogenous vein, we continue to use it preferentially in patients whose lifespan is likely to be short and in cases where a remedial lesion is present.

  10. Reconciling long-term cultural diversity and short-term collective social behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Valori, Luca; Picciolo, Francesco; Allansdottir, Agnes; Garlaschelli, Diego

    2012-01-24

    An outstanding open problem is whether collective social phenomena occurring over short timescales can systematically reduce cultural heterogeneity in the long run, and whether offline and online human interactions contribute differently to the process. Theoretical models suggest that short-term collective behavior and long-term cultural diversity are mutually excluding, since they require very different levels of social influence. The latter jointly depends on two factors: the topology of the underlying social network and the overlap between individuals in multidimensional cultural space. However, while the empirical properties of social networks are intensively studied, little is known about the large-scale organization of real societies in cultural space, so that random input specifications are necessarily used in models. Here we use a large dataset to perform a high-dimensional analysis of the scientific beliefs of thousands of Europeans. We find that interopinion correlations determine a nontrivial ultrametric hierarchy of individuals in cultural space. When empirical data are used as inputs in models, ultrametricity has strong and counterintuitive effects. On short timescales, it facilitates a symmetry-breaking phase transition triggering coordinated social behavior. On long timescales, it suppresses cultural convergence by restricting it within disjoint groups. Moreover, ultrametricity implies that these results are surprisingly robust to modifications of the dynamical rules considered. Thus the empirical distribution of individuals in cultural space appears to systematically optimize the coexistence of short-term collective behavior and long-term cultural diversity, which can be realized simultaneously for the same moderate level of mutual influence in a diverse range of online and offline settings.

  11. Short-Term Robustness of Production Management Systems : New Methodology

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kleijnen, J.P.C.; Gaury, E.G.A.

    2000-01-01

    This paper investigates the short-term robustness of production planning and control systems. This robustness is defined here as the systems ability to maintain short-term service probabilities (i.e., the probability that the fill rate remains within a prespecified range), in a variety of

  12. Endo-luminal grafting for treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fu Weiguo; Wang Yuqi; Chen Fuzhen; Ye Jianrong; Wang Jianhua; Yan Zhiping; Cheng Jiemin

    2000-01-01

    Objective: To evaluate the preliminary clinical results of endovascular procedures for abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) in a prospective study. Methods: Six patients (average age 70 years, range 56 to 78) with infrarenal AAA were enrolled in Shanghai Zhongshan hospital from February 1998 to February 1999. Computed tomography and angiography were done in every patient for measurement of the length, diameter, and angulation of the proximal and distal AAA necks, aneurysm sac, and common and external iliac arteries. The average diameter of the aneurysm was 6.3 cm (range 4.6 cm to 8.0 cm). The mean proximal neck diameter was 2.0 cm (range 1.8 cm to 2.2 cm) and proximal neck length was 3.0 cm (range 2.5 cm to 3.5 cm). All patients were treated with the endo-luminal grafting for exclusion of AAA. Results: Two tubular and 4 bifurcated endo-grafts were used. All endo-graft procedures were completed successfully. One patient died of renal failure 72 hours after the procedure because of the prolonged operative time and excessive contrast medium. Aortography after the procedure showed the AAA were excluded by endo-graft and no endo-leak in the proximal or distal connections was detected. The patients could take meal and were ambulatory on the first and second postoperative day, respectively. Clinical success (aneurysm exclusion with no death or endo-leak) at 30 days was 83.3%. In the 24 months follow-up in 5 cases, no migration, endo-leak, and increasing aneurysm size were detected with spiral CT or color Duplex ultrasound. Conclusion: Based on initial results and a short term mean follow-up period of 24 months, the endovascular treatment of AAA with stent-graft system is feasible and safe. Further study will be required to observe the long term result in the exclusion of AAA

  13. Understanding cancer survivors' information needs and information-seeking behaviors for complementary and alternative medicine from short- to long-term survival: a mixed-methods study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scarton, Lou Ann; Del Fiol, Guilherme; Oakley-Girvan, Ingrid; Gibson, Bryan; Logan, Robert; Workman, T Elizabeth

    2018-01-01

    The research examined complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) information-seeking behaviors and preferences from short- to long-term cancer survival, including goals, motivations, and information sources. A mixed-methods approach was used with cancer survivors from the "Assessment of Patients' Experience with Cancer Care" 2004 cohort. Data collection included a mail survey and phone interviews using the critical incident technique (CIT). Seventy survivors from the 2004 study responded to the survey, and eight participated in the CIT interviews. Quantitative results showed that CAM usage did not change significantly between 2004 and 2015. The following themes emerged from the CIT: families' and friends' provision of the initial introduction to a CAM, use of CAM to manage the emotional and psychological impact of cancer, utilization of trained CAM practitioners, and online resources as a prominent source for CAM information. The majority of participants expressed an interest in an online information-sharing portal for CAM. Patients continue to use CAM well into long-term cancer survivorship. Finding trustworthy sources for information on CAM presents many challenges such as reliability of source, conflicting information on efficacy, and unknown interactions with conventional medications. Study participants expressed interest in an online portal to meet these needs through patient testimonials and linkage of claims to the scientific literature. Such a portal could also aid medical librarians and clinicians in locating and evaluating CAM information on behalf of patients.

  14. Differences in health status between long-term and short-term benzodiazepine users.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zandstra, S.M.; Furer, J.W.; Lisdonk, E.H. van de; Bor, J.H.J.; Zitman, F.G.; Weel, C. van

    2002-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Despite generally accepted advice to keep treatment short, benzodiazepines are often prescibed for more than six months. Prevention of long-term benzodiazepine use could be facilitated by the utilisation of risk indicators for long-term use. However, the characteristics of long-term

  15. The roles of long-term phonotactic and lexical prosodic knowledge in phonological short-term memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tanida, Yuki; Ueno, Taiji; Lambon Ralph, Matthew A; Saito, Satoru

    2015-04-01

    Many previous studies have explored and confirmed the influence of long-term phonological representations on phonological short-term memory. In most investigations, phonological effects have been explored with respect to phonotactic constraints or frequency. If interaction between long-term memory and phonological short-term memory is a generalized principle, then other phonological characteristics-that is, suprasegmental aspects of phonology-should also exert similar effects on phonological short-term memory. We explored this hypothesis through three immediate serial-recall experiments that manipulated Japanese nonwords with respect to lexical prosody (pitch-accent type, reflecting suprasegmental characteristics) as well as phonotactic frequency (reflecting segmental characteristics). The results showed that phonotactic frequency affected the retention not only of the phonemic sequences, but also of pitch-accent patterns, when participants were instructed to recall both the phoneme sequence and accent pattern of nonwords. In addition, accent pattern typicality influenced the retention of the accent pattern: Typical accent patterns were recalled more accurately than atypical ones. These results indicate that both long-term phonotactic and lexical prosodic knowledge contribute to phonological short-term memory performance.

  16. Visual Short-Term Memory Complexity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Thomas Alrik

    Several recent studies have explored the nature and limits of visual short-term memory (VSTM) (e.g. Luck & Vogel, 1997). A general VSTM capacity limit of about 3 to 4 letters has been found, thus confirming results from earlier studies (e.g. Cattell, 1885; Sperling, 1960). However, Alvarez...

  17. Brain oscillatory substrates of visual short-term memory capacity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sauseng, Paul; Klimesch, Wolfgang; Heise, Kirstin F; Gruber, Walter R; Holz, Elisa; Karim, Ahmed A; Glennon, Mark; Gerloff, Christian; Birbaumer, Niels; Hummel, Friedhelm C

    2009-11-17

    The amount of information that can be stored in visual short-term memory is strictly limited to about four items. Therefore, memory capacity relies not only on the successful retention of relevant information but also on efficient suppression of distracting information, visual attention, and executive functions. However, completely separable neural signatures for these memory capacity-limiting factors remain to be identified. Because of its functional diversity, oscillatory brain activity may offer a utile solution. In the present study, we show that capacity-determining mechanisms, namely retention of relevant information and suppression of distracting information, are based on neural substrates independent of each other: the successful maintenance of relevant material in short-term memory is associated with cross-frequency phase synchronization between theta (rhythmical neural activity around 5 Hz) and gamma (> 50 Hz) oscillations at posterior parietal recording sites. On the other hand, electroencephalographic alpha activity (around 10 Hz) predicts memory capacity based on efficient suppression of irrelevant information in short-term memory. Moreover, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation at alpha frequency can modulate short-term memory capacity by influencing the ability to suppress distracting information. Taken together, the current study provides evidence for a double dissociation of brain oscillatory correlates of visual short-term memory capacity.

  18. SHORT-TERM MEMORY IS INDEPENDENT OF BRAIN PROTEIN SYNTHESIS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Davis, Hasker P.; Rosenzweig, Mark R.; Jones, Oliver W.

    1980-09-01

    Male Swiss albino CD-1 mice given a single injection of a cerebral protein synthesis inhibitor, anisomycin (ANI) (1 mg/animal), 20 min prior to single trial passive avoidance training demonstrated impaired retention at tests given 3 hr, 6 hr, 1 day, and 7 days after training. Retention was not significantly different from saline controls when tests were given 0.5 or 1.5 hr after training. Prolonging inhibition of brain protein synthesis by giving either 1 or 2 additional injections of ANI 2 or 2 and 4 hr after training did not prolong short-term retention performance. The temporal development of impaired retention in ANI treated mice could not be accounted for by drug dosage, duration of protein synthesis inhibition, or nonspecific sickness at test. In contrast to the suggestion that protein synthesis inhibition prolongs short-term memory (Quinton, 1978), the results of this experiment indicate that short-term memory is not prolonged by antibiotic drugs that inhibit cerebral protein synthesis. All evidence seems consistent with the hypothesis that short-term memory is protein synthesis independent and that the establishment of long-term memory depends upon protein synthesis during or shortly after training. Evidence for a role of protein synthesis in memory maintenance is discussed.

  19. Impaired short-term memory for pitch in congenital amusia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tillmann, Barbara; Lévêque, Yohana; Fornoni, Lesly; Albouy, Philippe; Caclin, Anne

    2016-06-01

    Congenital amusia is a neuro-developmental disorder of music perception and production. The hypothesis is that the musical deficits arise from altered pitch processing, with impairments in pitch discrimination (i.e., pitch change detection, pitch direction discrimination and identification) and short-term memory. The present review article focuses on the deficit of short-term memory for pitch. Overall, the data discussed here suggest impairments at each level of processing in short-term memory tasks; starting with the encoding of the pitch information and the creation of the adequate memory trace, the retention of the pitch traces over time as well as the recollection and comparison of the stored information with newly incoming information. These impairments have been related to altered brain responses in a distributed fronto-temporal network, associated with decreased connectivity between these structures, as well as in abnormalities in the connectivity between the two auditory cortices. In contrast, amusic participants׳ short-term memory abilities for verbal material are preserved. These findings show that short-term memory deficits in congenital amusia are specific to pitch, suggesting a pitch-memory system that is, at least partly, separated from verbal memory. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled SI: Auditory working memory. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Gamma irradiation of isolated rat islets pretransplantation produces indefinite allograft survival in cyclosporine-treated recipients

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    James, R.F.; Lake, S.P.; Chamberlain, J.; Thirdborough, S.; Bassett, P.D.; Mistry, N.; Bell, P.R.

    1989-01-01

    In this study we have examined the use of low-dose gamma-irradiation for the reduction of islet immunogenicity in the strong allogeneic combination of WAG rat islets transplanted into diabetic AUG recipients. First, we determined that gamma-irradiation reduced immunogenicity in vitro by use of a modified MLR with WAG islets as stimulators and AUG splenocytes as responders. We then determined the maximum dose of gamma-irradiation that could be used (250 rads) before islet function was affected. As 250 rads islet pretreatment alone was ineffective in prolonging allograft survival, we combined the pretreatment with a short course (days 0, 1, 2; 30 mg/kg) of cyclosporine. We found that CsA was only effective in significantly prolonging allograft survival when given subcutaneously in olive oil. The CsA treatment alone gave a significantly prolonged survival time for the islet allografts (median, 37 days vs. 6 days for controls), but when combined with the 250 rads islet pretreatment a synergistic effect was seen with 100% becoming long-term survivors (greater than 100 days). The long-term surviving AUG rats from both the CsA alone group and the CsA plus 250 rads pretreated islets group were challenged with WAG dendritic cells (DC). The islets from the 250 rads pretreated group were subsequently rejected (day 6) while the CsA alone group were not affected. The role of low dose gamma-irradiation when combined with CsA treatment of islet graft recipients in inducing specific unresponsiveness will be discussed

  1. Gamma irradiation of isolated rat islets pretransplantation produces indefinite allograft survival in cyclosporine-treated recipients

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    James, R.F.; Lake, S.P.; Chamberlain, J.; Thirdborough, S.; Bassett, P.D.; Mistry, N.; Bell, P.R.

    1989-06-01

    In this study we have examined the use of low-dose gamma-irradiation for the reduction of islet immunogenicity in the strong allogeneic combination of WAG rat islets transplanted into diabetic AUG recipients. First, we determined that gamma-irradiation reduced immunogenicity in vitro by use of a modified MLR with WAG islets as stimulators and AUG splenocytes as responders. We then determined the maximum dose of gamma-irradiation that could be used (250 rads) before islet function was affected. As 250 rads islet pretreatment alone was ineffective in prolonging allograft survival, we combined the pretreatment with a short course (days 0, 1, 2; 30 mg/kg) of cyclosporine. We found that CsA was only effective in significantly prolonging allograft survival when given subcutaneously in olive oil. The CsA treatment alone gave a significantly prolonged survival time for the islet allografts (median, 37 days vs. 6 days for controls), but when combined with the 250 rads islet pretreatment a synergistic effect was seen with 100% becoming long-term survivors (greater than 100 days). The long-term surviving AUG rats from both the CsA alone group and the CsA plus 250 rads pretreated islets group were challenged with WAG dendritic cells (DC). The islets from the 250 rads pretreated group were subsequently rejected (day 6) while the CsA alone group were not affected. The role of low dose gamma-irradiation when combined with CsA treatment of islet graft recipients in inducing specific unresponsiveness will be discussed.

  2. Latitudinal Patterns in European Seagrass Carbon Reserves: Influence of Seasonal Fluctuations versus Short-Term Stress and Disturbance Events

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laura M. Soissons

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Seagrass meadows form highly productive and valuable ecosystems in the marine environment. Throughout the year, seagrass meadows are exposed to abiotic and biotic variations linked to (i seasonal fluctuations, (ii short-term stress events such as, e.g., local nutrient enrichment, and (iii small-scale disturbances such as, e.g., biomass removal by grazing. We hypothesized that short-term stress events and small-scale disturbances may affect seagrass chance for survival in temperate latitudes. To test this hypothesis we focused on seagrass carbon reserves in the form of starch stored seasonally in rhizomes, as these have been defined as a good indicator for winter survival. Twelve Zostera noltei meadows were monitored along a latitudinal gradient in Western Europe to firstly assess the seasonal change of their rhizomal starch content. Secondly, we tested the effects of nutrient enrichment and/or biomass removal on the corresponding starch content by using a short-term manipulative field experiment at a single latitude in the Netherlands. At the end of the growing season, we observed a weak but significant linear increase of starch content along the latitudinal gradient from south to north. This agrees with the contention that such reserves are essential for regrowth after winter, which is more severe in the north. In addition, we also observed a weak but significant positive relationship between starch content at the beginning of the growing season and past winter temperatures. This implies a lower regrowth potential after severe winters, due to diminished starch content at the beginning of the growing season. Short-term stress and disturbances may intensify these patterns, because our manipulative experiments show that when nutrient enrichment and biomass loss co-occurred at the end of the growing season, Z. noltei starch content declined. In temperate zones, the capacity of seagrasses to accumulate carbon reserves is expected to determine carbon

  3. Latitudinal Patterns in European Seagrass Carbon Reserves: Influence of Seasonal Fluctuations versus Short-Term Stress and Disturbance Events

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soissons, Laura M.; Haanstra, Eeke P.; van Katwijk, Marieke M.; Asmus, Ragnhild; Auby, Isabelle; Barillé, Laurent; Brun, Fernando G.; Cardoso, Patricia G.; Desroy, Nicolas; Fournier, Jerome; Ganthy, Florian; Garmendia, Joxe-Mikel; Godet, Laurent; Grilo, Tiago F.; Kadel, Petra; Ondiviela, Barbara; Peralta, Gloria; Puente, Araceli; Recio, Maria; Rigouin, Loic; Valle, Mireia; Herman, Peter M. J.; Bouma, Tjeerd J.

    2018-01-01

    Seagrass meadows form highly productive and valuable ecosystems in the marine environment. Throughout the year, seagrass meadows are exposed to abiotic and biotic variations linked to (i) seasonal fluctuations, (ii) short-term stress events such as, e.g., local nutrient enrichment, and (iii) small-scale disturbances such as, e.g., biomass removal by grazing. We hypothesized that short-term stress events and small-scale disturbances may affect seagrass chance for survival in temperate latitudes. To test this hypothesis we focused on seagrass carbon reserves in the form of starch stored seasonally in rhizomes, as these have been defined as a good indicator for winter survival. Twelve Zostera noltei meadows were monitored along a latitudinal gradient in Western Europe to firstly assess the seasonal change of their rhizomal starch content. Secondly, we tested the effects of nutrient enrichment and/or biomass removal on the corresponding starch content by using a short-term manipulative field experiment at a single latitude in the Netherlands. At the end of the growing season, we observed a weak but significant linear increase of starch content along the latitudinal gradient from south to north. This agrees with the contention that such reserves are essential for regrowth after winter, which is more severe in the north. In addition, we also observed a weak but significant positive relationship between starch content at the beginning of the growing season and past winter temperatures. This implies a lower regrowth potential after severe winters, due to diminished starch content at the beginning of the growing season. Short-term stress and disturbances may intensify these patterns, because our manipulative experiments show that when nutrient enrichment and biomass loss co-occurred at the end of the growing season, Z. noltei starch content declined. In temperate zones, the capacity of seagrasses to accumulate carbon reserves is expected to determine carbon-based regrowth

  4. Seguimento a longo prazo de pacientes submetidos à revascularização do miocárdio com uso exclusivo de enxertos arteriais Long-term follow-up of patients undergone coronary artery bypass grafting with exclusive use of arterial grafts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ahmad Ali Abdouni

    2008-12-01

    grafting between January 1995 and December 1997. 353 grafts were used for revascularization of 449 arteries (mean: 3.30 per patient. Grafts used were left internal thoracic artery (99.2%, right internal thoracic artery (56.6%, radial artery (87.5%, right gastroepiploic artery (20.5% and one inferior epigastric artery. 76 (55.8% patients received composite grafts ("Y" shape and 66 (48.5% patients received sequential anastomoses. RESULTS: Hospital mortality was 4.4%. In the long-term follow-up (9.5 to 12.8 years, 82.1% of the patients were free of cardiac events. 20 (17.9% patients had hospital readmission due to cardiac events: 15 presented angina and five presented acute myocardial infarction, and three of them presented associated heart failure. Eigth (7.1% patients needed coronary reintervention: one of them underwent coronary bypass reoperation and the others underwent coronary angioplasty with stent. Estimated probability of cardiac event-free was 98.2%, 95.4% e 84.2% at 1, 5 and 10 years follow-up respectively. There were 16 (14.2% late deaths and four of them (3.6% were cardiac-related. Actuarial 12.8-year-survival of all deaths was 85% in this group. CONCLUSION: Coronary artery bypass grafting with exclusive use of arterial grafts is a safe procedure for patients with triple vessel coronary disease with good long-term results.

  5. A Meta-Analysis of the Short- and Long-Term Results of Randomized Controlled Trials That Compared Laparoscopy-Assisted and Conventional Open Surgery for Colorectal Cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hiroshi Ohtani, Yutaka Tamamori, Yuichi Arimoto, Yukio Nishiguchi, Kiyoshi Maeda, Kosei Hirakawa

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: We conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate and compare the short- and long-term results of laparoscopic colorectal surgery (LCRS and conventional open surgery (OCRS for colorectal cancer (CRC.Methods: We searched relevant papers published between January 1990 and May 2011. We analyzed the outcomes of each type of surgery over the short- and long-term periods.Results: In the short-term period, we found no significant differences in overall perioperative complications and anastomotic leakage between LCRS and OCRS groups. We found no significant differences in overall, distant, local and wound-site recurrence, overall mortality, 3 and 5 year disease-free survival rate, and cancer-related mortality between the 2 groups.Conclusions: LCRS has the benefits of reducing intraoperative blood loss, earlier resumption of oral intake, and shorter duration of hospital stay in the short-term. The long-term outcomes of LCRS seem to be similar to those of OCRS.

  6. Insensitivity of visual short-term memory to irrelevant visual information.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andrade, Jackie; Kemps, Eva; Werniers, Yves; May, Jon; Szmalec, Arnaud

    2002-07-01

    Several authors have hypothesized that visuo-spatial working memory is functionally analogous to verbal working memory. Irrelevant background speech impairs verbal short-term memory. We investigated whether irrelevant visual information has an analogous effect on visual short-term memory, using a dynamic visual noise (DVN) technique known to disrupt visual imagery (Quinn & McConnell, 1996b). Experiment I replicated the effect of DVN on pegword imagery. Experiments 2 and 3 showed no effect of DVN on recall of static matrix patterns, despite a significant effect of a concurrent spatial tapping task. Experiment 4 showed no effect of DVN on encoding or maintenance of arrays of matrix patterns, despite testing memory by a recognition procedure to encourage visual rather than spatial processing. Serial position curves showed a one-item recency effect typical of visual short-term memory. Experiment 5 showed no effect of DVN on short-term recognition of Chinese characters, despite effects of visual similarity and a concurrent colour memory task that confirmed visual processing of the characters. We conclude that irrelevant visual noise does not impair visual short-term memory. Visual working memory may not be functionally analogous to verbal working memory, and different cognitive processes may underlie visual short-term memory and visual imagery.

  7. Preoperative Hba1c level in prediction of short-term morbidity and mortality outcomes following coronary artery bypass grafting surgery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ümit Arslan

    2015-05-01

    Conclusion ― We concluded that in those diabetic patients that elective coronart artery bypass graft is applied, highly reactive HbA1c levels (HbA1c ≥7, may indicate morbitity in the early stages of post operation.

  8. Remembering over the short-term: the case against the standard model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nairne, James S

    2002-01-01

    Psychologists often assume that short-term storage is synonymous with activation, a mnemonic property that keeps information in an immediately accessible form. Permanent knowledge is activated, as a result of on-line cognitive processing, and an activity trace is established "in" short-term (or working) memory. Activation is assumed to decay spontaneously with the passage of time, so a refreshing process-rehearsal-is needed to maintain availability. Most of the phenomena of immediate retention, such as capacity limitations and word length effects, are assumed to arise from trade-offs between rehearsal and decay. This "standard model" of how we remember over the short-term still enjoys considerable popularity, although recent research questions most of its main assumptions. In this chapter I review the recent research and identify the empirical and conceptual problems that plague traditional conceptions of short-term memory. Increasingly, researchers are recognizing that short-term retention is cue driven, much like long-term memory, and that neither rehearsal nor decay is likely to explain the particulars of short-term forgetting.

  9. Gummed-up memory: chewing gum impairs short-term recall.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kozlov, Michail D; Hughes, Robert W; Jones, Dylan M

    2012-01-01

    Several studies have suggested that short-term memory is generally improved by chewing gum. However, we report the first studies to show that chewing gum impairs short-term memory for both item order and item identity. Experiment 1 showed that chewing gum reduces serial recall of letter lists. Experiment 2 indicated that chewing does not simply disrupt vocal-articulatory planning required for order retention: Chewing equally impairs a matched task that required retention of list item identity. Experiment 3 demonstrated that manual tapping produces a similar pattern of impairment to that of chewing gum. These results clearly qualify the assertion that chewing gum improves short-term memory. They also pose a problem for short-term memory theories asserting that forgetting is based on domain-specific interference given that chewing does not interfere with verbal memory any more than tapping. It is suggested that tapping and chewing reduce the general capacity to process sequences.

  10. Polyhydroxybutyrate/valerate/polycaprolactone small-diameter vascular graft: Experimental study of integration into organism

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Antonova, L. V., E-mail: antonova.la@mail.ru; Burago, A. Yu.; Matveeva, V. G.; Velikanova, E. A.; Mukhamadiyarov, R. A.; Glushkova, T. V.; Kudryavtseva, Y. A.; Barbarash, O. L.; Barbarash, L. S. [Research Institute for Complex Issues of Cardiovascular Diseases, Kemerovo (Russian Federation); Mironov, A. V. [Kemerovo Cardiology Dispensary, Kemerovo (Russian Federation)

    2015-10-27

    We prepared polyhydroxybutyrate/valerate (PHBV)/polylcaprolactone (PCL) small-diameter vascular grafts using electrospinning. Surface structure was assessed by scanning electron microscopy whilst physicomechanical properties were investigated by longitudinal uniaxial tension testing. Patency of grafts implanted into the rat abdominal aorta was evaluated using a Doppler ultrasonography at 2 week, 1 month and 12 month postimplantation. In addition, we assessed local histological features, along with IL-1β, IL-2, IL-4, IL-10, TNFa, TGF-β1, and VEGF serum levels. We revealed that only 2 (25%) grafts were not thrombosed at 2 week and 1 month postimplantation. However, at 12 month postimplantation a satisfactory histological pattern was observed in 50% of all cases, and we detected a monolayer of endothelial cells on the inner graft surface in half the cases. Regarding other grafts, we revealed minor connective tissue hyperplasia in 41.7% of the grafts and an inflammatory infiltrate in the part of the arterial wall in 8.3% of the grafts. We found that the IL-1β serum level was 3.5-fold higher in the group of experimental rats at 12 month postimplantation (p < 0.01). In addition, the IL-2 and IL-4 serum levels at 12 month postimplantation were 2- and 2.8-fold higher as compared to short-term implantation (2 weeks and 1 month) and control rats (p < 0.05) whilst the IL-10 serum level at 1 and 12 month postimplantation was more than 100-fold higher in comparison with 2 week postimplantation and control rats (p < 0.001). Serum VEGF was detected only at 12 month postimplantation. All in all, we created a biocompatible PHBV/PCL small-diameter vascular graft with a high surface area to volume ratio. A long-term patency of biodegradable vascular grafts after implantation into the rat abdominal aorta and the absence of a considerable immune response confirmed a high biocompatibility of such construct and the possibility of its use as a vascular graft.

  11. Short term change in relative humidity during the festival of Diwali in India

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ganguly, Nandita D.

    2015-07-01

    The changes in humidity levels during the Diwali festivities have been examined over a period of 13 years at three Indian metro cities: Ahmedabad, New Delhi and Kolkata. A small short term increase in relative humidity even in the absence of transport of humid air from Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal has been observed. The relative humidity levels were found to be exceeding the ambient levels during night and lying below the ambient levels during morning hours, indicating an increase in the survival rates of viruses responsible for the transmission of viral infections, as well as triggering immune-mediated illnesses such as asthma during Diwali.

  12. Endovascular implantation of stent-grafts in the thoracic aorta - mid-term results of a prospective controlled study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Duda, S.H.; Pusich, B.; Tepe, G.; Pereira, P.; Feuls, R.; Claussen, C.D.; Raygrotzki, S.; Aebert, H.; Ziemer, G.; Uckmann, F.P.

    2002-01-01

    Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of endovascular treatment of various descending thoracic aortic pathologies with covered stent-grafts as an alternative to open surgery. Methods: Among 16 patients (5 type B dissections, 5 contained ruptures, 3 aneurysms of the descending aorta, 1 thoraco-abdominal aneurysm, 1 mural thrombosis, 1 patch aneurysm) treated between November 1997 and November 2000, eight patients received Talent TM stent-grafts and another 8 patients underwent a Gore-TAG TM stent-graft implantation. A clinical follow-up and control CT scans were obtained after the procedure and then at six-month intervals. Results: Deployment of the stent-grafts was technically successful in all cases. Sufficient aortic reconstruction was achieved in all but one patient who needed surgical treatment. One patient died two days after the procedure from aortic rupture due to retrograde type A dissection. Another patient died 19 months after the procedure from an unknown cause. There was no occurrence of distal embolization, paralysis or infection. During follow-up, all patients remained free from recurrence or late complications of their disease. Conclusion: Endoluminal treatment of thoracic aortic pathologies with covered stent-grafts appears to be a safe and feasible method with at least mid-term efficacy. (orig.) [de

  13. A Short Term Analogue Memory

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Shah, Peter Jivan

    1992-01-01

    A short term analogue memory is described. It is based on a well-known sample-hold topology in which leakage currents have been minimized partly by circuit design and partly by layout techniques. Measurements on a test chip implemented in a standard 2.4 micron analogue CMOS process show a droop...

  14. Comparative study of short-term cardiovascular autonomic control in cardiac surgery patients who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting or correction of valvular heart disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shvartz, Vladimir A; Kiselev, Anton R; Karavaev, Anatoly S; Vulf, Kristina A; Borovkova, Ekaterina I; Prokhorov, Mikhail D; Petrosyan, Andrey D; Bockeria, Olga L

    2018-01-01

    Introduction: Our aim was to perform a comparative study of short-term cardiovascular autonomic control in cardiac surgery patients who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) or surgical correction of valvular heart disease (SCVHD ). Methods: The synchronous 15 minutes records of heart rate variability (HRV) and finger's photoplethysmographic waveform variability (PPGV) were performed in 42 cardiac surgery patients (12 women) aged 61.8 ± 8.6 years (mean ± standard deviation), who underwent CABG, and 36 patients (16 women) aged 54.2 ± 14.9 years, who underwent SCVHD , before surgery and in 5-7 days after surgery. Conventional time and frequency domain measures of HRV and index S of synchronization between the slow oscillations in PPGV and HRV were analyzed. We also calculated personal dynamics of these indices after surgery. Results: We found no differences ( Р > 0.05) in all studied autonomic indices (preoperative and post-surgery) between studied patients' groups, except for the preoperative heart rate, which was higher in patients who underwent SCVHD ( P = 0.013). We have shown a pronounced preoperative and post-surgery variability (magnitude of inter-quartile ranges) of all autonomic indices in studied patients. In the cluster analysis based on cardiovascular autonomic indices (preoperative and post-surgery), we divided all patients into two clusters (38 and 40 subjects) which did not differ in all clinical characteristics (except for the preoperative hematocrit, P = 0.038), index S, and all post-surgery HRV indices. First cluster (38 patients) had higher preoperative values of the HR, TP, HF, and HF%, and lower preoperative values of the LF% and LF/HF. Conclusion: The variability of cardiovascular autonomic indices in on-pump cardiac surgery patients (two characteristic clusters were identified based on preoperative indices) was not associated with their clinical characteristics and features of surgical procedure (including cardioplegia).

  15. Adolescent External Iliac Artery Trauma: Recurrent Aneurysmal Dilatation of an Iliofemoral Saphenous Vein Graft Treated by Stent-Grafting

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lenton, James; Davies, John; Homer-Vanniasinkam, S.; McPherson, Simon

    2008-01-01

    An adolescent male sustained a severe penetrating injury to the external iliac artery. Emergency surgical revascularization was with a reversed long saphenous vein interposition graft. The primary graft and the subsequent revision graft both became aneurysmal. The second graft aneurysm was successfully excluded by endovascular stent-grafts with medium-term primary patency. A venous graft was used initially rather than a synthetic graft to reduce the risk of infection and the potential problems from future growth. Aneurysmal dilatation of venous grafts in children and adolescents is a rare but recognized complication. To the best of our knowledge, exclusion of these aneurysms with stent-grafts has not been previously reported in the adolescent population.

  16. Retention interval affects visual short-term memory encoding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bankó, Eva M; Vidnyánszky, Zoltán

    2010-03-01

    Humans can efficiently store fine-detailed facial emotional information in visual short-term memory for several seconds. However, an unresolved question is whether the same neural mechanisms underlie high-fidelity short-term memory for emotional expressions at different retention intervals. Here we show that retention interval affects the neural processes of short-term memory encoding using a delayed facial emotion discrimination task. The early sensory P100 component of the event-related potentials (ERP) was larger in the 1-s interstimulus interval (ISI) condition than in the 6-s ISI condition, whereas the face-specific N170 component was larger in the longer ISI condition. Furthermore, the memory-related late P3b component of the ERP responses was also modulated by retention interval: it was reduced in the 1-s ISI as compared with the 6-s condition. The present findings cannot be explained based on differences in sensory processing demands or overall task difficulty because there was no difference in the stimulus information and subjects' performance between the two different ISI conditions. These results reveal that encoding processes underlying high-precision short-term memory for facial emotional expressions are modulated depending on whether information has to be stored for one or for several seconds.

  17. Predictors of Shunt Dysfunction and Overall Survival in Patients with Variceal Bleeding Treated with Transjugular Portosystemic Shunt Creation Using the Fluency Stent Graft.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wan, Yue-Meng; Li, Yu-Hua; Xu, Ying; Wu, Hua-Mei; Li, Ying-Chun; Wu, Xi-Nan; Yang, Jin-Hui

    2018-01-16

    Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) is an established method for portal hypertension. This study was to investigate the long-term safety, technical success, and patency of TIPS, and to determine the risk factors and clinical impacts of shunt dysfunction. A total of 154 consecutive patients undergoing embolotherapy of gastric coronary vein and/or short gastric vein and TIPS creation were prospectively studied. Follow-up data included technical success, patency and revision of TIPS, and overall survival of patients. During the study, the primary and secondary technical success rates were 98.7% and 100%, respectively. Sixty-three patients developed shunt dysfunction, 30 with shunt stenosis and 33 with shunt occlusion. The cumulative 60-month primary, primary assisted, and secondary patency rates were 19.6%, 43.0%, and 93.4%, respectively. The cumulative 60-month overall survival rates were similar between the TIPS dysfunction group and the TIPS non-dysfunction group (68.6% vs. 58.6%, P = .096). Baseline portal vein thrombosis (P value of 8.5 had 77.8% sensitivity and 64.8% specificity. The long-term safety, technical success, and patency of TIPS were good; baseline portal vein thrombosis, use of bare stents, and PPG were significantly associated with shunt dysfunction; shunt dysfunction has little impact on patients' long-term survival because of high secondary patency rates. Copyright © 2017 The Association of University Radiologists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Comparison of Sugammadex and Neostigmine in Short Term Surgery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fatih Koc

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Aim: This study compared the efficacy and cost effectivines of sugammadex and neostigmine for reversal of neuromuscular blockade induced by rocuronium for short term elective surgery. Material and Method: After written informed consent, 33 patients aged 18%u201365, ASA I-III, who were undergoing short term surgery (

  19. Short-term memory for scenes with affective content

    OpenAIRE

    Maljkovic, Vera; Martini, Paolo

    2005-01-01

    The emotional content of visual images can be parameterized along two dimensions: valence (pleasantness) and arousal (intensity of emotion). In this study we ask how these distinct emotional dimensions affect the short-term memory of human observers viewing a rapid stream of images and trying to remember their content. We show that valence and arousal modulate short-term memory as independent factors. Arousal influences dramatically the average speed of data accumulation in memory: Higher aro...

  20. Donor Diabetes and Prolonged Cold Ischemia Time Synergistically Increase the Risk of Graft Failure After Liver Transplantation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Brüggenwirth, Isabel M A; Dolgin, Natasha H; Porte, Robert J; Bozorgzadeh, Adel; Martins, Paulo N A

    BACKGROUND: Both prolonged cold ischemia time (CIT) and donor history of diabetes mellitus (DM) are associated with reduced graft survival after liver transplantation. However, it is unknown whether the adverse effect of prolonged CIT on posttransplant graft survival is more pronounced after

  1. LANGUAGE REPETITION AND SHORT-TERM MEMORY: AN INTEGRATIVE FRAMEWORK

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Steve eMajerus

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available Short-term maintenance of verbal information is a core factor of language repetition, especially when reproducing multiple or unfamiliar stimuli. Many models of language processing locate the verbal short-term maintenance function in the left posterior superior temporo-parietal area and its connections with the inferior frontal gyrus. However, research in the field of short-term memory has implicated bilateral fronto-parietal networks, involved in attention and serial order processing, as being critical for the maintenance and reproduction of verbal sequences. We present here an integrative framework aimed at bridging research in the language processing and short-term memory fields. This framework considers verbal short-term maintenance as an emergent function resulting from synchronized and integrated activation in dorsal and ventral language processing networks as well as fronto-parietal attention and serial order processing networks. To-be-maintained item representations are temporarily activated in the dorsal and ventral language processing networks, novel phoneme and word serial order information is proposed to be maintained via a right fronto-parietal serial order processing network, and activation in these different networks is proposed to be coordinated and maintained via a left fronto-parietal attention processing network. This framework provides new perspectives for our understanding of information maintenance at the nonword-, word- and sentence-level as well as of verbal maintenance deficits in case of brain injury.

  2. Language repetition and short-term memory: an integrative framework.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Majerus, Steve

    2013-01-01

    Short-term maintenance of verbal information is a core factor of language repetition, especially when reproducing multiple or unfamiliar stimuli. Many models of language processing locate the verbal short-term maintenance function in the left posterior superior temporo-parietal area and its connections with the inferior frontal gyrus. However, research in the field of short-term memory has implicated bilateral fronto-parietal networks, involved in attention and serial order processing, as being critical for the maintenance and reproduction of verbal sequences. We present here an integrative framework aimed at bridging research in the language processing and short-term memory fields. This framework considers verbal short-term maintenance as an emergent function resulting from synchronized and integrated activation in dorsal and ventral language processing networks as well as fronto-parietal attention and serial order processing networks. To-be-maintained item representations are temporarily activated in the dorsal and ventral language processing networks, novel phoneme and word serial order information is proposed to be maintained via a right fronto-parietal serial order processing network, and activation in these different networks is proposed to be coordinated and maintained via a left fronto-parietal attention processing network. This framework provides new perspectives for our understanding of information maintenance at the non-word-, word- and sentence-level as well as of verbal maintenance deficits in case of brain injury.

  3. Short-horizon regulation for long-term investors

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Shi, Z.; Werker, B.J.M.

    2012-01-01

    We study the effects of imposing repeated short-horizon regulatory constraints on long-term investors. We show that Value-at-Risk and Expected Shortfall constraints, when imposed dynamically, lead to similar optimal portfolios and wealth distributions. We also show that, in utility terms, the costs

  4. The impact of glucocorticosteroids administered for systemic diseases on the osseointegration and survival of dental implants placed without bone grafting-A retrospective study in 31 patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petsinis, Vassilis; Kamperos, Georgios; Alexandridi, Foteini; Alexandridis, Konstantinos

    2017-08-01

    To evaluate the impact of glucocorticosteroids, administered for the treatment of systemic diseases, on the osseointegration and survival of dental implants placed without bone grafting. A retrospective study was conducted in search of patients treated with dental implants while receiving glucocorticosteroid therapy for various systemic diseases. In these cases, a conventional two-stage surgical protocol was used, without bone regeneration procedures. The osseointegration was clinically and radiographically tested at the uncovering of the implants. The follow-up after loading was set at a minimum of 3 years. A total of 31 patients were included in the study. Of the 105 dental implants placed, 104 were osseointegrated (99%). No bone absorption was radiographically noted at the uncovering of the osseointegrated implants. All of the osseointegrated implants were successfully loaded for the prosthetic restoration. The mean follow-up period after loading was 71 months, with an implant survival rate of 99%. Glucocorticosteroid intake for systemic diseases does not have a significant impact on the osseointegration and the 3-year survival of dental implants placed with a conventional two-stage surgical protocol and without bone grafting. Therefore, it should not be considered a contraindication for dental implant placement. Copyright © 2017 European Association for Cranio-Maxillo-Facial Surgery. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Verbal short-term memory and vocabulary learning in polyglots.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Papagno, C; Vallar, G

    1995-02-01

    Polyglot and non-polyglot Italian subjects were given tests assessing verbal (phonological) and visuo-spatial short-term and long-term memory, general intelligence, and vocabulary knowledge in their native language. Polyglots had a superior level of performance in verbal short-term memory tasks (auditory digit span and nonword repetition) and in a paired-associate learning test, which assessed the subjects' ability to acquire new (Russian) words. By contrast, the two groups had comparable performance levels in tasks assessing general intelligence, visuo-spatial short-term memory and learning, and paired-associate learning of Italian words. These findings, which are in line with neuropsychological and developmental evidence, as well as with data from normal subjects, suggest a close relationship between the capacity of phonological memory and the acquisition of foreign languages.

  6. The stimulation of hematosis on short-term and prolong irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tukhtaev, T.M.

    1978-01-01

    This book studies the stimulation of hematosis on short-term and prolong irradiation, pathogenetic mechanisms of lesion and reconstruction of hematosis at critical radiation sickness, action hematosis stimulators in short-term irradiation conditions

  7. Successful percutaneous stenting of a right gastroepiploic coronary bypass graft using monorail delivery system: a case report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alam, M; Safi, A M; Mandawat, M K; Anderson, J E; Kwan, T; Feit, A; Clark, L T

    2000-02-01

    The right gastroepiploic artery (RGEA) is being successfully used as an arterial conduit in a selected group of patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery. However, myocardial ischemia may result due to spasm, occlusion, and stenosis of this graft. The anastamosis site at distal right coronary artery (RCA) or posterior descending artery (PDA) is the most common location for stenosis of an in situ gastroepiploic coronary bypass graft. Balloon angioplasty of such stenoses has been reported with optimal short-term results. Stent deployment would decrease the restenosis rate, so that repeat procedures could be minimized for these technically challenging lesions. We describe a case of successful deployment of a stent with monorail delivery system at the anastamotic site stenosis of an in situ gastroepiploic right coronary artery bypass graft. This percutaneous coronary intervention could prevent redo coronary artery bypass graft surgery. Cathet. Cardiovasc. Intervent. 49:197-199, 2000. Copyright 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  8. Rapid effects of estrogens on short-term memory: Possible mechanisms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paletta, Pietro; Sheppard, Paul A S; Matta, Richard; Ervin, Kelsy S J; Choleris, Elena

    2018-06-01

    Estrogens affect learning and memory through rapid and delayed mechanisms. Here we review studies on rapid effects on short-term memory. Estradiol rapidly improves social and object recognition memory, spatial memory, and social learning when administered systemically. The dorsal hippocampus mediates estrogen rapid facilitation of object, social and spatial short-term memory. The medial amygdala mediates rapid facilitation of social recognition. The three estrogen receptors, α (ERα), β (ERβ) and the G-protein coupled estrogen receptor (GPER) appear to play different roles depending on the task and brain region. Both ERα and GPER agonists rapidly facilitate short-term social and object recognition and spatial memory when administered systemically or into the dorsal hippocampus and facilitate social recognition in the medial amygdala. Conversely, only GPER can facilitate social learning after systemic treatment and an ERβ agonist only rapidly improved short-term spatial memory when given systemically or into the hippocampus, but also facilitates social recognition in the medial amygdala. Investigations into the mechanisms behind estrogens' rapid effects on short term memory showed an involvement of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) kinase pathways. Recent evidence also showed that estrogens interact with the neuropeptide oxytocin in rapidly facilitating social recognition. Estrogens can increase the production and/or release of oxytocin and other neurotransmitters, such as dopamine and acetylcholine. Therefore, it is possible that estrogens' rapid effects on short-term memory may occur through the regulation of various neurotransmitters, although more research is need on these interactions as well as the mechanisms of estrogens' actions on short-term memory. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Delayed allogeneic skin graft rejection in CD26-deficient mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Xiangli; Zhang, Kai; Daniel, Peter; Wisbrun, Natali; Fuchs, Hendrik; Fan, Hua

    2018-03-23

    Organ transplantation is an effective therapeutic tool for treating many terminal diseases. However, one of the biggest challenges of transplantation is determining how to achieve the long-term survival of the allogeneic or xenogeneic transplant by, for example, preventing transplant rejection. In the current study, CD26 gene-knockout mice were used to investigate the potential role of CD26/dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPPIV) in allogeneic skin graft rejection by tail-skin transplantation. Compared with wild-type (CD26 +/+ ) counterparts, CD26 -/- mice showed reduced necrosis of grafts and delayed graft rejection after skin transplantation. Concentrations of serum IgG, including its subclasses IgG1 and IgG2a, were significantly reduced in CD26 -/- mice during graft rejection. Moreover, after allogeneic skin transplantation, the secretion levels of the cytokines IFN-γ, IL-2, IL-6, IL-4, and IL-13 were significantly reduced, whereas the level of the cytokine IL-10 was increased in the serum of CD26 -/- mice compared with that in the serum of CD26 +/+ mice. Additionally, the concentration of IL-17 in serum and the percentage of cells secreting IL-17 in mouse peripheral blood lymphocytes (MPBLs) were both significantly lower, while the percentage of regulatory T cells (Tregs) was significantly higher in MPBLs of CD26 -/- mice than in those of CD26 +/+ mice. Furthermore, a lower percentage of CD8 + T cells in MPBLs and fewer infiltrated macrophages and T cells in graft tissues of CD26 -/- mice were detected during graft rejection. These results indicate that CD26 is involved in allogeneic skin graft rejection and provides another hint that CD26 deficiency leads to less rejection due to lower activation and proliferation of host immune cells.

  10. MEMANTINE ATTENUATES THE OKADAIC ACID INDUCED SHORT-TERM SPATIAL MEMORY IMPAIRMENT AND HIPPOCAMPAL CELL LOSS IN RATS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dashniani, M; Chighladze, M; Burjanadze, M; Beselia, G; Kruashvili, L

    2016-03-01

    In the present study, the possible beneficial effect of memantine on the Okadaic Acid (OA) induced spatial short-term memory impairment was examined in spatial alternation task, and the neuroprotective potential of memantine on OA-induced structural changes in the hippocampus was evaluated by Nissl staining. OA was dissolved in artificial cerebrospinal fluid (aCSF) and injected intracerebroventriculary (ICV) 200 ng in a volume of 10 μl bilaterally. Vehicle control received aCSF ICV bilaterally. Control and OA injected rats were divided into 2 subgroups injected i.p. with saline or memantine (5 mg/kg). Memantine or saline were given daily for 13 days starting from the day of OA injection. Behavioral study showed that bilateral ICV microinjection of OA induced impairment in spatial short-term memory. Nissl staining in the present study showed that the ICV microinjection of OA significantly decreased the number of surviving pyramidal neurons in the CA1 region of the hippocampus. Chronic administration of memantine effectively attenuated OA induced spatial short-term memory impairment and the OA-induced neuropathological changes in the hippocampus. Therefore, ICV injection of OA can be used as an experimental model to study mechanisms of neurodegeneration and define novel therapeutics targets for AD pathology.

  11. Short-Term Energy Outlook: Quarterly projections. Fourth quarter 1993

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1993-11-05

    The Energy Information Administration (EIA) prepares quarterly, short-term energy supply, demand, and price projections for publication in February, May, August, and November in the Short-Term Energy Outlook (Outlook). An annual supplement analyzes the performance of previous forecasts, compares recent cases with those of other forecasting services, and discusses current topics related to the short-term energy markets. (See Short-Term Energy Outlook Annual Supplement, DOE/EIA-0202.) The forecast period for this issue of the Outlook extends from the fourth quarter of 1993 through the fourth quarter of 1994. Values for the third quarter of 1993, however, are preliminary EIA estimates (for example, some monthly values for petroleum supply and disposition are derived in part from weekly data reported in the Weekly Petroleum Status Report) or are calculated from model simulations using the latest exogenous information available (for example, electricity sales and generation are simulated using actual weather data). The historical energy data are EIA data published in the Monthly Energy Review, Petroleum Supply Monthly, and other EIA publications.

  12. Short-term and long-term earthquake occurrence models for Italy: ETES, ERS and LTST

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maura Murru

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available This study describes three earthquake occurrence models as applied to the whole Italian territory, to assess the occurrence probabilities of future (M ≥5.0 earthquakes: two as short-term (24 hour models, and one as long-term (5 and 10 years. The first model for short-term forecasts is a purely stochastic epidemic type earthquake sequence (ETES model. The second short-term model is an epidemic rate-state (ERS forecast based on a model that is physically constrained by the application to the earthquake clustering of the Dieterich rate-state constitutive law. The third forecast is based on a long-term stress transfer (LTST model that considers the perturbations of earthquake probability for interacting faults by static Coulomb stress changes. These models have been submitted to the Collaboratory for the Study of Earthquake Predictability (CSEP for forecast testing for Italy (ETH-Zurich, and they were locked down to test their validity on real data in a future setting starting from August 1, 2009.

  13. Category Specific Knowledge Modulate Capacity Limitations of Visual Short-Term Memory

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dall, Jonas Olsen; Watanabe, Katsumi; Sørensen, Thomas Alrik

    2016-01-01

    We explore whether expertise can modulate the capacity of visual short-term memory, as some seem to argue that training affects capacity of short-term memory [13] while others are not able to find this modulation [12]. We extend on a previous study [3] demonstrating expertise effects by investiga...... are in line with the theoretical interpretation that visual short-term memory reflects the sum of the reverberating feedback loops to representations in long-term memory.......We explore whether expertise can modulate the capacity of visual short-term memory, as some seem to argue that training affects capacity of short-term memory [13] while others are not able to find this modulation [12]. We extend on a previous study [3] demonstrating expertise effects......), and expert observers (Japanese university students). For both the picture and the letter condition we find no performance difference in memory capacity, however, in the critical hiragana condition we demonstrate a systematic difference relating expertise differences between the groups. These results...

  14. Does Surgical Repair of Moderate Ischemic Mitral Regurgitation Improve Survival? A Systematic Review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chatterjee, Saurav; Tripathi, Byomesh; Virk, Hafeez Ul Hassan; Ahmed, Mohammed; Bavishi, Chirag; Krishnamoorthy, Parasuram; Sardar, Partha; Giri, Jay; Omidvari, Karan; Chikwe, Joanna

    2016-03-01

    Mitral regurgitation (MR) is one of the common complications in myocardial infarction (MI) patients. Almost half of the post MI patients have MR (ischemic MR)(17) which is moderate to severe (grade II-IV). Whether there is a mortality benefit of performing mitral valve repair (MVR) along with coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in patients with post MI moderate MR remains inconclusive. Literature search was done from PubMed, Google scholar, Ovid, and Medline databases. Studies which included post MI patients with moderate ischemic MR and reported mortality outcomes of performing CABG and MVR were chosen for the systematic review. Our preliminary literature search identified 194 studies, of which 11 studies met our inclusion criteria. Nine studies showed no survival benefit of performing simultaneous MVR and CABG. One study demonstrated survival benefit of performing CABG plus MVR only in the New York Heart Association (NYHA) class III-IV, and one study suggested survival benefit of performing CABG plus MVR as compared to CABG alone in patient with ischemic MR irrespective of preoperative NYHA functional class. Review of current literature showed mixed results in terms of improvement in functional status but failed to show any survival benefit of performing MVR along with CABG. Limitations of studies include small sample size, difference in baseline demographic variables, and short follow-up period which might influence the outcome of the study. Prospective randomized studies are required to establish clear benefit of performing MVR simultaneously with CABG.

  15. Short-term mechanisms influencing volumetric brain dynamics

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dieleman, Nikki; Koek, Huiberdina L.; Hendrikse, Jeroen

    2017-01-01

    With the use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and brain analysis tools, it has become possible to measure brain volume changes up to around 0.5%. Besides long-term brain changes caused by atrophy in aging or neurodegenerative disease, short-term mechanisms that influence brain volume may exist.

  16. Short-term robustness of production management systems

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kleijnen, J.P.C.; Gaury, E.G.A.

    1998-01-01

    Short-term performance of a production management system for make-to-stock factories may be quantified through the service rate per shift; long-term performance through the average monthly work in process (WIP). This may yield, for example, that WIP is minimized, while the probability of the service

  17. Potentials of short term and long term cryopreserved sperm of the ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    To service the growing demand for male African giant catfish (Clarias gariepinus) broodstock for aquaculture in Nigeria, and to conserve valuable genetic resources, we improved both short-term (in deep freezer at -35°C) and long-term cryopreservation (in liquid nitrogen at -296°C) of catfish sperm. Catfish sperm ...

  18. Yogurt Feeding Induced the Prolongation of Fully Major Histocompatibility Complex-Mismatched Murine Cardiac Graft Survival by Induction of CD4+Foxp3+ Cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uchiyama, M; Yin, E; Yanagisawa, T; Jin, X; Hara, M; Matsuyama, S; Imazuru, T; Uchida, K; Kawamura, M; Niimi, M

    Yogurt is a nutrient-rich food and the beneficial effects of yogurt on both health and immunomodulatory effects are well documented. In this pilot study, we investigated the effects of commercially produced yogurt R-1 on alloimmune responses in a murine cardiac transplantation model. The R-1 is produced by Meiji Co., Ltd., and contains live and active lactic acid bacteria (lactobacillus bulgaricus OLL1073R-1) mainly. CBA (H2 k ) mice underwent transplantation of a C57BL/6 (H2 b ; B6) heart and received oral administration of 1 mL, 0.1 mL, and 0.01 mL of R-1 from the day of transplantation until 7 days afterward. Additionally, we prepared one group of CBA recipients given 1 mL of R-1 sterilized by microwave for 7 days. Histological and immunohistochemical studies were performed. Naïve CBA mice rejected B6 cardiac graft acutely (median survival time [MST]: 7 days). CBA recipients given of 1 mL of R-1 had significantly prolonged B6 allograft survival (MST, 27 days). However, other doses of 0.1 mL and 0.01 mL of R-1 did not prolonged allograft survival (MSTs, 9 days and 8.5 days, respectively). Also, CBA recipients administered microwaved R-1 had no prolongation of B6 allograft (MST, 9 days). Histological and immunohistochemical studies showed the cardiac allograft from R-1-exposed CBA recipients had preserved graft and vessel structure and the number of infiltrated CD4 + , CD8 + , and Foxp3 + cells in R-1-exposed CBA recipients increased, respectively. In conclusion, our findings imply that yogurt containing active lactic acid bacteria could change alloimmune responses partially and induce the prolongation of cardiac allograft survival via CD4 + Foxp3 + regulatory cells. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Differential immune response of congenic mice to ultraviolet-treated major histocompatibility complex class II-incompatible skin grafts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vermeer, B.J.; Santerse, B.; Van De Kerckhove, B.A.; Schothorst, A.A.; Claas, F.H.

    1988-01-01

    The influence of ultraviolet (UVB) irradiation on the survival of H-2 class II-disparate skin grafts was studied in congenic mouse strains. Isolated skin was UVB irradiated in vitro at a dose of 40 mJ/cm 2 from both sides to remove Ia immunogenicity. Immediately after irradiation the skin was transplanted onto the flank of allogeneic mice. When B10.AQR grafts were transplanted onto B10.T(6R) recipients, a significant prolongation of the survival time was observed, while 50% of the UVB-treated grafts were not rejected at all. However, in the opposite direction--i.e., B10.T(6R) grafts onto B10.AQR recipients, no significant prolongation of the survival was observed. To test whether this effect was due to a difference in susceptibility of the donor skin to UVB irradiation or to a different immune response in the recipients, (B10.T(6R) x B10.AQR) grafts were transplanted onto the parent strains. Similar results were obtained, in that UVB-treated grafts did not show a prolonged survival in B10.AQR recipients, whereas a significant prolongation (50% of the grafts survived more than 100 days) was observed in B10.T(6R) recipients. UVB-treated (B10.T(6R) x B10.AQR)F1 grafts were also transplanted onto (B10.T(6R) x C57B1/10)F1, (B10.AQR x C57B1/10)F1, (B10.T(6R) x Balb/c)F1 and (B10.AQR x Balb/c)F1 recipients--but in none of these combinations was a prolonged survival time observed. These data suggest that, in contrast to all in vitro experiments, the abrogation of the immune response by UVB treatment of the stimulator cells is, in vivo, not a general phenomenon. The genetic constitution of the responder mice seems to play an important role in determining whether or not an immune response takes place

  20. Bone grafting: An overview

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. O. Joshi

    2010-08-01

    Full Text Available Bone grafting is the process by which bone is transferred from a source (donor to site (recipient. Due to trauma from accidents by speedy vehicles, falling down from height or gunshot injury particularly in human being, acquired or developmental diseases like rickets, congenital defects like abnormal bone development, wearing out because of age and overuse; lead to bone loss and to replace the loss we need the bone grafting. Osteogenesis, osteoinduction, osteoconduction, mechanical supports are the four basic mechanisms of bone graft. Bone graft can be harvested from the iliac crest, proximal tibia, proximal humerus, proximal femur, ribs and sternum. An ideal bone graft material is biologically inert, source of osteogenic, act as a mechanical support, readily available, easily adaptable in terms of size, shape, length and replaced by the host bone. Except blood, bone is grafted with greater frequency. Bone graft indicated for variety of orthopedic abnormalities, comminuted fractures, delayed unions, non-unions, arthrodesis and osteomyelitis. Bone graft can be harvested from the iliac crest, proximal tibia, proximal humerus, proximal femur, ribs and sternum. By adopting different procedure of graft preservation its antigenicity can be minimized. The concept of bone banking for obtaining bone grafts and implants is very useful for clinical application. Absolute stability require for successful incorporation. Ideal bone graft must possess osteogenic, osteoinductive and osteocon-ductive properties. Cancellous bone graft is superior to cortical bone graft. Usually autologous cancellous bone graft are used as fresh grafts where as allografts are employed as an alloimplant. None of the available type of bone grafts possesses all these properties therefore, a single type of graft cannot be recomm-ended for all types of orthopedic abnormalities. Bone grafts and implants can be selected as per clinical problems, the equipments available and preference of

  1. Forecasting stock return volatility: A comparison between the roles of short-term and long-term leverage effects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pan, Zhiyuan; Liu, Li

    2018-02-01

    In this paper, we extend the GARCH-MIDAS model proposed by Engle et al. (2013) to account for the leverage effect in short-term and long-term volatility components. Our in-sample evidence suggests that both short-term and long-term negative returns can cause higher future volatility than positive returns. Out-of-sample results show that the predictive ability of GARCH-MIDAS is significantly improved after taking the leverage effect into account. The leverage effect for short-term volatility component plays more important role than the leverage effect for long-term volatility component in affecting out-of-sample forecasting performance.

  2. Urethroplasty with dorsal buccal mucosa graft. Is it still the method of choice in long term urethral stenosis?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlo Pavone

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available The aim of our work was to evaluate the long-term changes in symptoms (median 42 months and to analyze data for any negative predictive factors for the application of the procedure, in patients who underwent to urethroplasty with dorsal buccal mucosa graft. During the period from 2010 to 2015 27 patients were examined. Than they underwent urethroplasty using dorsal buccal mucosa graft (graft of 4 x 2.5 cm. The evaluation of symptoms has been addressed through the application of the IPSS Quality of Life Questionnaire (International Prostatic Symptoms Score and the evaluation of urinary flow has been carried out by a comparative analysis between the pre- and post-operative uroflowmetry. As our study has shown, data obtained by the screening tests in the post-operative follow-up indicate that there is an increase in the maximum flow of urine until 1 month after surgery. The results in the long-term follow-up are different because they show a partial reduction of the maximum flow although it is maintained around an average value of 23 ml/s being still higher than the maximum flow in the pre-operative period. According to our results it follows that there is a low failure rate of the procedure after a median of 42 months. Only in patients with urethral stenosis longer than 2 cm, a lower long term success is achieved. From what we could observe, this length of the stenosis seems to be the only negative predictive factor for long-term maintenance of a good Quality of Life in patients undergoing the procedure. The results obtained from our study confirm literature data according to which, the gold standard for 2-cm long bulbar urethral stricture whose lumen is well preserved with circumferential spongiofibrosis limited to 1-2 mm is the dorsal graft urethroplasty with buccal mucosa that in our study showed success rates higher of 80% after a median follow up of 42 months and a percentage of relapse-free patients of 82.1% ( median 3.5 years.

  3. Current Thoughts on Fat Grafting: Using the Evidence to Determine Fact or Fiction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sinno, Sammy; Wilson, Stelios; Brownstone, Nicholas; Levine, Steven M

    2016-03-01

    Autologous fat grafting is an increasingly popular procedure used for facial rejuvenation and body contouring. The purpose of this article is to perform an evidence-based review to determine fact from fiction for the hot topics in autologous fat grafting. A comprehensive literature search was performed. The following key words were then searched: "fat grafting," "autologous fat grafting," "autologous fat transfer," "lipotransfer," "liposculping," and "lipofilling." The authors then assessed each modality individually for the level of evidence that exists and whether the majority of evidence supports or refutes it. A review of the literature demonstrated that there is no standard test for determining fat viability or volume augmentation after grafting. Furthermore, there is no difference in cell viability seen between syringe aspiration and liposuction pump aspiration harvest techniques (Level II). The decision to wash or centrifuge the fat plays very little role in fat graft survival (Level III). There is no difference between cell viability as a function of harvest location (Level IV). Nearly all studies show no significant effect of local anesthesia on adipocyte cells (Level IV). There are excellent data that support the fact that low-shear devices maintain fat structural integrity (Level IV). There is quality evidence that supports longevity of fat grafted to the breast (Level III). Two studies support large-volume fat grafting longevity but fail to prove their results using objective measures or with sufficiently large sample sizes (Level IV). External preexpansion devices improve total graft survival rate (Level IV). There is quality evidence to support that fat should be injected soon after harvesting, as properties of fat begin to change after processing (Level IV). Microneedling (preconditioning) before fat grafting has been demonstrated to improve fat survival (Level III). Currently, the highest levels of evidence derive from human studies of clinical

  4. Survival of Skin Graft between Transgenic Cloned Dogs and Non-Transgenic Cloned Dogs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Geon A; Oh, Hyun Ju; Kim, Min Jung; Jo, Young Kwang; Choi, Jin; Park, Jung Eun; Park, Eun Jung; Lim, Sang Hyun; Yoon, Byung Il; Kang, Sung Keun; Jang, Goo; Lee, Byeong Chun

    2014-01-01

    Whereas it has been assumed that genetically modified tissues or cells derived from somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) should be accepted by a host of the same species, their immune compatibility has not been extensively explored. To identify acceptance of SCNT-derived cells or tissues, skin grafts were performed between cloned dogs that were identical except for their mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplotypes and foreign gene. We showed here that differences in mtDNA haplotypes and genetic modification did not elicit immune responses in these dogs: 1) skin tissues from genetically-modified cloned dogs were successfully transplanted into genetically-modified cloned dogs with different mtDNA haplotype under three successive grafts over 63 days; and 2) non-transgenic cloned tissues were accepted into transgenic cloned syngeneic recipients with different mtDNA haplotypes and vice versa under two successive grafts over 63 days. In addition, expression of the inserted gene was maintained, being functional without eliciting graft rejection. In conclusion, these results show that transplanting genetically-modified tissues into normal, syngeneic or genetically-modified recipient dogs with different mtDNA haplotypes do not elicit skin graft rejection or affect expression of the inserted gene. Therefore, therapeutically valuable tissue derived from SCNT with genetic modification might be used safely in clinical applications for patients with diseased tissues. PMID:25372489

  5. Survival in Malnourished Older Patients Receiving Post-Discharge Nutritional Support; Long-Term Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neelemaat, F; van Keeken, S; Langius, J A E; de van der Schueren, M A E; Thijs, A; Bosmans, J E

    2017-01-01

    Previous analyses have shown that a post-discharge individualized nutritional intervention had positive effects on body weight, lean body mass, functional limitations and fall incidents in malnourished older patients. However, the impact of this intervention on survival has not yet been studied. The objective of this randomized controlled study was to examine the effect of a post-discharge individualized nutritional intervention on survival in malnourished older patients. Malnourished older patients, aged ≥ 60 years, were randomized during hospitalization to a three-months post-discharge nutritional intervention group (protein and energy enriched diet, oral nutritional supplements, vitamin D3/calcium supplement and telephone counseling by a dietitian) or to a usual care regimen (control group). Survival data were collected 4 years after enrollment. Survival analyses were performed using intention-to-treat analysis by Log-rank tests and Cox regression adjusted for confounders. The study population consisted of 94 men (45%) and 116 women with a mean age of 74.5 (SD 9.5) years. There were no statistically significant differences in baseline characteristics. Survival data was available in 208 out of 210 patients. After 1 and 4 years of follow-up, survival rates were respectively 66% and 29% in the intervention group (n=104) and 73% and 30% in the control group (n=104). There were no statistically significant differences in survival between the two groups 1 year (HR= 0.933, 95% CI=0.675-1.289) and 4 years after enrollment (HR=0.928, 95% CI=0.671-1.283). The current study failed to show an effect of a three-months post-discharge multi-component nutritional intervention in malnourished older patients on long-term survival, despite the positive effects on short-term outcome such as functional limitations and falls.

  6. Importance of mesenchymal stem cells in autologous fat grafting

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Trojahn Kølle, Stig-Frederik; Oliveri, Roberto S; Glovinski, Peter Viktor

    2012-01-01

    the fat graft with adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ASC) before transplantation. We have reviewed original studies published on fat transplantation enriched with ASC. We found four murine and three human studies that investigated the subject after a sensitive search of publications....... In the human studies, so-called cell assisted lipotransfer (CAL) increased the ASC concentration 2-5 times compared with non-manipulated fat grafts, which caused a questionable improvement in survival of fat grafts, compared with that of traditional lipofilling. In contrast, in two of the murine studies ASC...

  7. An External Wire Frame Fixation Method of Skin Grafting for Burn Reconstruction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoshino, Yukiko; Ueda, Hyakuzoh; Ono, Simpei; Ogawa, Rei

    2017-06-28

    The skin graft is a prevalent reconstructive method for burn injuries. We have been applying external wire frame fixation methods in combination with skin grafts since 1986 and have experienced better outcomes in percentage of successful graft take. The overall purpose of this method was to further secure skin graft adherence to wound beds in hard to stabilize areas. There are also location-specific benefits to this technique such as eliminating the need of tarsorrhaphy in periorbital area, allowing immediate food intake after surgery in perioral area, and performing less invasive fixing methods in digits, and so on. The purpose of this study was to clarify its benefits and applicable locations. We reviewed 22 postburn patients with skin graft reconstructions using the external wire frame method at our institution from December 2012 through September 2016. Details of the surgical technique and individual reports are also discussed. Of the 22 cases, 15 (68%) were split-thickness skin grafts and 7 (32%) were full-thickness skin grafts. Five cases (23%) involved periorbital reconstruction, 5 (23%) involved perioral reconstruction, 2 (9%) involved lower limb reconstruction, and 10 (45%) involved digital reconstruction. Complete (100%) survival of the skin graft was attained in all cases. No signs of complication were observed. With 30 years of experiences all combined, we have summarized fail-proof recommendations to a successful graft survival with an emphasis on the locations of its application.

  8. Auditory short-term memory activation during score reading.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simoens, Veerle L; Tervaniemi, Mari

    2013-01-01

    Performing music on the basis of reading a score requires reading ahead of what is being played in order to anticipate the necessary actions to produce the notes. Score reading thus not only involves the decoding of a visual score and the comparison to the auditory feedback, but also short-term storage of the musical information due to the delay of the auditory feedback during reading ahead. This study investigates the mechanisms of encoding of musical information in short-term memory during such a complicated procedure. There were three parts in this study. First, professional musicians participated in an electroencephalographic (EEG) experiment to study the slow wave potentials during a time interval of short-term memory storage in a situation that requires cross-modal translation and short-term storage of visual material to be compared with delayed auditory material, as it is the case in music score reading. This delayed visual-to-auditory matching task was compared with delayed visual-visual and auditory-auditory matching tasks in terms of EEG topography and voltage amplitudes. Second, an additional behavioural experiment was performed to determine which type of distractor would be the most interfering with the score reading-like task. Third, the self-reported strategies of the participants were also analyzed. All three parts of this study point towards the same conclusion according to which during music score reading, the musician most likely first translates the visual score into an auditory cue, probably starting around 700 or 1300 ms, ready for storage and delayed comparison with the auditory feedback.

  9. Immunological challenges associated with artificial skin grafts: available solutions and stem cells in future design of synthetic skin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dixit, Saurabh; Baganizi, Dieudonné R; Sahu, Rajnish; Dosunmu, Ejowke; Chaudhari, Atul; Vig, Komal; Pillai, Shreekumar R; Singh, Shree R; Dennis, Vida A

    2017-01-01

    The repair or replacement of damaged skins is still an important, challenging public health problem. Immune acceptance and long-term survival of skin grafts represent the major problem to overcome in grafting given that in most situations autografts cannot be used. The emergence of artificial skin substitutes provides alternative treatment with the capacity to reduce the dependency on the increasing demand of cadaver skin grafts. Over the years, considerable research efforts have focused on strategies for skin repair or permanent skin graft transplantations. Available skin substitutes include pre- or post-transplantation treatments of donor cells, stem cell-based therapies, and skin equivalents composed of bio-engineered acellular or cellular skin substitutes. However, skin substitutes are still prone to immunological rejection, and as such, there is currently no skin substitute available to overcome this phenomenon. This review focuses on the mechanisms of skin rejection and tolerance induction and outlines in detail current available strategies and alternatives that may allow achieving full-thickness skin replacement and repair.

  10. Analysis of influencing factors for short-term outcome in patients with hepatitis B virus-related acute-on-chronic liver failure

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    ZHANG Xin

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available ObjectiveTo investigate the effects of antiviral drugs, lamivudine (LAM and entecavir (ETV, on the short-term outcome in patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV-related acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF. MethodsThe demographic and clinical data of 445 patients with HBV-related ACLF (LAM∶ETV, 333∶112 who were hospitalized in the First Clinical Medical College of Fujian Medical University from January 2004 to December 2010 were collected, including age, sex, complications, clinical biochemical parameters, coagulation parameters, the use of antiviral drug, artificial liver treatment, and the survival at 24 weeks. The independent risk factors for the outcome at 24 weeks were determined by univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses. ResultsThe univariate analysis indicated that the LAM group had significantly higher globulin, total bilirubin (TBil, alanine aminotransferase, international normalized ratio (INR, serum creatinine, and model for end-stage liver disease (MELD score than the ETV group (P<0.05, but had significantly lower cholinesterase and prothrombin time activity (PTA than the ETV group (P<0.05. The death group had significantly older age, higher incidence rates of liver cirrhosis, hepatic encephalopathy, spontaneous bacterial peritonitis, pulmonary infection, mycotic infection, electrolyte disturbance, hepatorenal syndrome, and upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage, and higher TBil, INR, white blood count, and MELD score than the survival group (P<0.05, but had significantly lower albumin, gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase, cholesterol, cholinesterase, serum sodium, PTA, alpha-fetoprotein, hemoglobin, platelet, and positive rate of HBeAg than the survival group (P<0.05. And there was no significant difference in the use of antiviral drugs (LAM∶ETV between the death group and the survival group (P=0.21. The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that older age, hepatic encephalopathy, hepatorenal syndrome

  11. Transalveolar sinus floor lift without bone grafting in atrophic maxilla: A meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yan, Mingdong; Liu, Ruimin; Bai, Shuting; Wang, Min; Xia, Haibin; Chen, Jiang

    2018-01-23

    We performed a meta-analysis aimed to assess the clinical results after transalveolar sinus floor lift without bone grafting in the atrophic maxilla. A systematic electronic literature search was conducted in PubMed, Embase and The Cochrane Library, followed by a manual search. Two reviewers independently extracted study data and conducted quality assessments. Ten non-controlled studies including 1484 implants and eight controlled studies (5 RCTs and 3 prospective studies) including 817 implants (451 implants in the non-graft group) were enrolled in this study. The survival rate of implants via the graft-free method was 98% (95%CI 96% to 100%). There was no significant difference in the survival rate between the non-graft group and the graft group (RR: 1.02; p = 0.18). No statistically significant difference in marginal bone loss was detected between the groups at 12 months (0.57, p = 0.07) or 36 months (0.05, p = 0.61). The endo-sinus bone gain in the non-graft group was significantly lower than in the graft group at 12 months (-1.10, p = 0.0001) and 36 months (-0.74, p = 0.02). Hence, the available evidence suggests that predictable results could be acquired through transalveolar sinus floor lift without bone grafting, while there may be a trend toward more endo-sinus bone gain with bone grafts.

  12. Short-term and working memory impairments in aphasia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Potagas, Constantin; Kasselimis, Dimitrios; Evdokimidis, Ioannis

    2011-08-01

    The aim of the present study is to investigate short-term memory and working memory deficits in aphasics in relation to the severity of their language impairment. Fifty-eight aphasic patients participated in this study. Based on language assessment, an aphasia score was calculated for each patient. Memory was assessed in two modalities, verbal and spatial. Mean scores for all memory tasks were lower than normal. Aphasia score was significantly correlated with performance on all memory tasks. Correlation coefficients for short-term memory and working memory were approximately of the same magnitude. According to our findings, severity of aphasia is related with both verbal and spatial memory deficits. Moreover, while aphasia score correlated with lower scores in both short-term memory and working memory tasks, the lack of substantial difference between corresponding correlation coefficients suggests a possible primary deficit in information retention rather than impairment in working memory. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Short-Term Contract Work in Adult Education (I) and (II).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hall, Dorothea; McMath, Patricia

    1986-01-01

    This two-part article discusses short-term project contracts for adult education staff. Part one covers implications of this trend for the service and for the staff involved. Part two looks at short-term contracts from the management viewpoint. (CH)

  14. Short-term Memory of Deep RNN

    OpenAIRE

    Gallicchio, Claudio

    2018-01-01

    The extension of deep learning towards temporal data processing is gaining an increasing research interest. In this paper we investigate the properties of state dynamics developed in successive levels of deep recurrent neural networks (RNNs) in terms of short-term memory abilities. Our results reveal interesting insights that shed light on the nature of layering as a factor of RNN design. Noticeably, higher layers in a hierarchically organized RNN architecture results to be inherently biased ...

  15. Long-term Survival after Metastatic Childhood Melanoma

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Anne Kristine; Bybjerg Jensen, Mette; Krag, Christen

    2014-01-01

    SUMMARY: Malignant melanoma in children is very rare and accounts for only 1-3% of all melanomas. A congenital melanocytic nevus depending on the size of the lesion is one of the risk factors for developing childhood melanoma because of the possible malignant transformation. Childhood malignant...... of malign melanoma must be in mind when evaluating a pigmented lesion in a pediatric patient. We present a case of a patient born with a congenital nevus diagnosed with metastatic childhood malignant scalp melanoma at the age of 6 years. The patient underwent surgical ablation and reconstruction and has...... survived 26 years without recurrence, thus representing an uplifting case of long-term survival of childhood melanoma....

  16. Long-term survival of hydrated resting eggs from Brachionus plicatilis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clark, Melody S; Denekamp, Nadav Y; Thorne, Michael A S; Reinhardt, Richard; Drungowski, Mario; Albrecht, Marcus W; Klages, Sven; Beck, Alfred; Kube, Michael; Lubzens, Esther

    2012-01-01

    Several organisms display dormancy and developmental arrest at embryonic stages. Long-term survival in the dormant form is usually associated with desiccation, orthodox plant seeds and Artemia cysts being well documented examples. Several aquatic invertebrates display dormancy during embryonic development and survive for tens or even hundreds of years in a hydrated form, raising the question of whether survival in the non-desiccated form of embryonic development depends on pathways similar to those occurring in desiccation tolerant forms. To address this question, Illumina short read sequencing was used to generate transcription profiles from the resting and amictic eggs of an aquatic invertebrate, the rotifer, Brachionus plicatilis. These two types of egg have very different life histories, with the dormant or diapausing resting eggs, the result of the sexual cycle and amictic eggs, the non-dormant products of the asexual cycle. Significant transcriptional differences were found between the two types of egg, with amictic eggs rich in genes involved in the morphological development into a juvenile rotifer. In contrast, representatives of classical "stress" proteins: a small heat shock protein, ferritin and Late Embryogenesis Abundant (LEA) proteins were identified in resting eggs. More importantly however, was the identification of transcripts for messenger ribonucleoprotein particles which stabilise RNA. These inhibit translation and provide a valuable source of useful RNAs which can be rapidly activated on the exit from dormancy. Apoptotic genes were also present. Although apoptosis is inconsistent with maintenance of prolonged dormancy, an altered apoptotic pathway has been proposed for Artemia, and this may be the case with the rotifer. These data represent the first transcriptional profiling of molecular processes associated with dormancy in a non-desiccated form and indicate important similarities in the molecular pathways activated in resting eggs compared

  17. Long-term survival of hydrated resting eggs from Brachionus plicatilis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Melody S Clark

    Full Text Available Several organisms display dormancy and developmental arrest at embryonic stages. Long-term survival in the dormant form is usually associated with desiccation, orthodox plant seeds and Artemia cysts being well documented examples. Several aquatic invertebrates display dormancy during embryonic development and survive for tens or even hundreds of years in a hydrated form, raising the question of whether survival in the non-desiccated form of embryonic development depends on pathways similar to those occurring in desiccation tolerant forms.To address this question, Illumina short read sequencing was used to generate transcription profiles from the resting and amictic eggs of an aquatic invertebrate, the rotifer, Brachionus plicatilis. These two types of egg have very different life histories, with the dormant or diapausing resting eggs, the result of the sexual cycle and amictic eggs, the non-dormant products of the asexual cycle. Significant transcriptional differences were found between the two types of egg, with amictic eggs rich in genes involved in the morphological development into a juvenile rotifer. In contrast, representatives of classical "stress" proteins: a small heat shock protein, ferritin and Late Embryogenesis Abundant (LEA proteins were identified in resting eggs. More importantly however, was the identification of transcripts for messenger ribonucleoprotein particles which stabilise RNA. These inhibit translation and provide a valuable source of useful RNAs which can be rapidly activated on the exit from dormancy. Apoptotic genes were also present. Although apoptosis is inconsistent with maintenance of prolonged dormancy, an altered apoptotic pathway has been proposed for Artemia, and this may be the case with the rotifer.These data represent the first transcriptional profiling of molecular processes associated with dormancy in a non-desiccated form and indicate important similarities in the molecular pathways activated in

  18. Maxillary sinus augmentation using sinus membrane elevation without grafts - A Systematic Review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rakshith Hegde

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Implants have a predictable outcome and are the foremost treatment modality for prosthetic rehabilitation of edentulous patients. Due to loss of bone after extraction and pneumatization of maxillary sinus, there is insufficient bone volume for implant placement. The direct maxillary sinus lift procedure has been performed with different grafting materials (autogenous bone grafts, alloplasts, allografts, and xenografts and without grafting material, having new bone formation around the implant. There is no evidence to prove the need for grafting material in all direct sinus lift procedures, hence the need for this review. Previous meta-analysis showed that survival rates of implants placed in grafted maxillary sinuses had similar survival rates whether autogenous, allogenous, or alloplastic grafts were used. This paper aims to review scientific data on the direct sinus elevation technique without use of any grafting material, volume of new bone formed, and also mechanism behind this technique. Articles were searched from 1997 to October 2014 in PubMed, Google Scholar, and Cochrane CENTRAL. The study eligibility criteria were (1 direct sinus lift procedure without any graft material during implant placement and (2 human or animal studies with a minimum follow-up of 6 months or more. Two authors independently scrutinized the literature and if any controversy was raised, third author's opinion was sought to arrive at a mutual consensus for including the study in the review. Due to the heterogeneity across all studies in all study designs, the data were not pooled and a meta-analysis was not performed. Taking into consideration all factors reviewed in this regard along with the outcomes, the direct sinus lift technique without grafting can be suggested as a viable treatment option keeping in mind the limitations involved. The average bone gain was seen across all studies ranging from 2.37 to 10 mm and with an implant survival rate ranging from 79

  19. Cardioprotective Signature of Short-Term Caloric Restriction.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hossein Noyan

    Full Text Available To understand the molecular pathways underlying the cardiac preconditioning effect of short-term caloric restriction (CR.Lifelong CR has been suggested to reduce the incidence of cardiovascular disease through a variety of mechanisms. However, prolonged adherence to a CR life-style is difficult. Here we reveal the pathways that are modulated by short-term CR, which are associated with protection of the mouse heart from ischemia.Male 10-12 wk old C57bl/6 mice were randomly assigned to an ad libitum (AL diet with free access to regular chow, or CR, receiving 30% less food for 7 days (d, prior to myocardial infarction (MI via permanent coronary ligation. At d8, the left ventricles (LV of AL and CR mice were collected for Western blot, mRNA and microRNA (miR analyses to identify cardioprotective gene expression signatures. In separate groups, infarct size, cardiac hemodynamics and protein abundance of caspase 3 was measured at d2 post-MI.This short-term model of CR was associated with cardio-protection, as evidenced by decreased infarct size (18.5±2.4% vs. 26.6±1.7%, N=10/group; P=0.01. mRNA and miR profiles pre-MI (N=5/group identified genes modulated by short-term CR to be associated with circadian clock, oxidative stress, immune function, apoptosis, metabolism, angiogenesis, cytoskeleton and extracellular matrix (ECM. Western blots pre-MI revealed CR-associated increases in phosphorylated Akt and GSK3ß, reduced levels of phosphorylated AMPK and mitochondrial related proteins PGC-1α, cytochrome C and cyclooxygenase (COX IV, with no differences in the levels of phosphorylated eNOS or MAPK (ERK1/2; p38. CR regimen was also associated with reduced protein abundance of cleaved caspase 3 in the infarcted heart and improved cardiac function.

  20. The stability of the international oil trade network from short-term and long-term perspectives

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Qingru; Gao, Xiangyun; Zhong, Weiqiong; Liu, Nairong

    2017-09-01

    To examine the stability of the international oil trade network and explore the influence of countries and trade relationships on the trade stability, we construct weighted and unweighted international oil trade networks based on complex network theory using oil trading data between countries from 1996 to 2014. We analyze the stability of international oil trade network (IOTN) from short-term and long-term aspects. From the short-term perspective, we find that the trade volumes play an important role on the stability. Moreover, the weighted IOTN is stable; however, the unweighted networks can better reflect the actual evolution of IOTN. From the long-term perspective, we identify trade relationships that are maintained during the whole sample period to reveal the situation of the whole international oil trade. We provide a way to quantitatively measure the stability of complex network from short-term and long-term perspectives, which can be applied to measure and analyze trade stability of other goods or services.

  1. Promotion of Survival and Engraftment of Transplanted Adipose Tissue-Derived Stromal and Vascular Cells by Overexpression of Manganese Superoxide Dismutase

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Silvia Baldari

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Short-term persistence of transplanted cells during early post-implant period limits clinical efficacy of cell therapy. Poor cell survival is mainly due to the harsh hypoxic microenvironment transplanted cells face at the site of implantation and to anoikis, driven by cell adhesion loss. We evaluated the hypothesis that viral-mediated expression of a gene conferring hypoxia resistance to cells before transplant could enhance survival of grafted cells in early stages after implant. We used adipose tissue as cell source because it consistently provides high yields of adipose-tissue-derived stromal and vascular cells (ASCs, suitable for regenerative purposes. Luciferase positive cells were transduced with lentiviral vectors expressing either green fluorescent protein as control or human manganese superoxide dismutase (SOD2. Cells were then exposed in vitro to hypoxic conditions, mimicking cell transplantation into an ischemic site. Cells overexpressing SOD2 displayed survival rates significantly greater compared to mock transduced cells. Similar results were also obtained in vivo after implantation into syngeneic mice and assessment of cell engraftment by in vivo bioluminescent imaging. Taken together, these findings suggest that ex vivo gene transfer of SOD2 into ASCs before implantation confers a cytoprotective effect leading to improved survival and engraftment rates, therefore enhancing cell therapy regenerative potential.

  2. Dissociating Measures of Consciousness from Measures of Short-Term Memory

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Thomas Alrik; Ásgeirsson, Árni Gunnar; Staugaard, Camilla Funch

    Often, the contents of consciousness are equated with the contents of short-term memory (or working memory), sometimes to a point where they are treated as identical entities. In the present study we aimed to investigate whether they may be modulated independently and thus dissociated from each...... if conscious content simply can be reduced to a cognitive process like short-term memory. In two experiments, we combined two different measures of short-term memory capacity to investigate how manipulations of set-size affect performance in observers with the Perceptual Awareness Scale (PAS) to measure...... conscious experience of the stimulus in every trial (Ramsøy & Overgaard, 2004; Overgaard & Sørensen, 2004). We trained observers to report their experience of a visual target stimulus on the four-point PAS scale; ranging from “no experience” to “clear experience”. To measure short-term memory we used...

  3. Living unrelated donors in kidney transplants: better long-term results than with non-HLA-identical living related donors?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Humar, A; Durand, B; Gillingham, K; Payne, W D; Sutherland, D E; Matas, A J

    2000-05-15

    Given the severe organ shortage and the documented superior results obtained with living (vs. cadaver) donor kidney transplants, we have adopted a very aggressive policy for the use of living donors. Currently, we make thorough attempts to locate a living related donor (LRD) or a living unrelated donor (LURD) before proceeding with a cadaver transplant. We compared the results of our LURD versus LRD transplants to determine any significant difference in outcome. Between 1/1/84 and 6/30/98, we performed 711 adult kidney transplants with non-HLA-identical living donors. Of these, 595 procedures used LRDs and 116 used LURDs. Immunosuppression for both groups was cyclosporine-based, although LURD recipients received 5-7 days of induction therapy (antilymphocyte globulin or antithymocyte globulin), whereas LRD recipients did not. LURD recipients tended to be older, to have inferior HLA matching, and to have older donors than did the LRD recipients (all factors potentially associated with decreased graft survival). Short-term results, including initial graft function and incidence of acute rejection, were similar in the two groups. LURD recipients had a slightly higher incidence of cytomegalovirus disease (P=NS). We found no difference in patient and graft survival rates. However, the incidence of biopsy-proven chronic rejection was significantly lower among LURD recipients (16.7% for LRD recipients and 10.0% for LURD recipients at 5 years posttransplant; P=0.05). LRD recipients also had a greater incidence of late (>6 months posttransplant) acute rejection episodes than did the LURD recipients (8.6% vs. 2.6%, P=0.04). The exact reason for these findings is unknown. Although LURD recipients have poorer HLA matching and older donors, their patient and graft survival rates are equivalent to those of non-HLA-identical LRD recipients. The incidence of biopsy-proven chronic rejection is lower in LURD transplants. Given this finding and the superior results of living donor (vs

  4. Applicability of short-term accelerated biofouling studies to predict long-term biofouling accumulation in reverse osmosis membrane systems

    KAUST Repository

    Sanawar, Huma

    2018-02-02

    Biofouling studies addressing biofouling control are mostly executed in short-term studies. It is unclear whether data collected from these experiments are representative for long-term biofouling as occurring in full-scale membrane systems. This study investigated whether short-term biofouling studies accelerated by biodegradable nutrient dosage to feed water were predictive for long-term biofouling development without nutrient dosage. Since the presence of a feed spacer has an strong effect on the degree of biofouling, this study employed six geometrically different feed spacers. Membrane fouling simulators (MFSs) were operated with the same (i) membrane, (ii) feed flow and (iii) feed water, but with feed spacers varying in geometry. For the short-term experiment, biofilm formation was enhanced by nutrient dosage to the MFS feed water, whereas no nutrient dosage was applied in the long-term experiment. Pressure drop development was monitored to characterize the extent of biofouling, while the accumulated viable biomass content at the end of the experimental run was quantified by adenosine triphosphate (ATP) measurements. Impact of feed spacer geometry on biofouling was compared for the short-term and long-term biofouling study. The results of the study revealed that the feed spacers exhibited the same biofouling behavior for (i) the short-term (9-d) study with nutrient dosage and (ii) the long-term (96-d) study without nutrient dosage. For the six different feed spacers, the accumulated viable biomass content (pg ATP.cm) was roughly the same, but the biofouling impact in terms of pressure drop increase in time was significantly different. The biofouling impact ranking of the six feed spacers was the same for the short-term and long-term biofouling studies. Therefore, it can be concluded that short-term accelerated biofouling studies in MFSs are a representative and suitable approach for the prediction of biofouling in membrane filtration systems after long-term

  5. Short-term fasting alters cytochrome P450-mediated drug metabolism in humans

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lammers, Laureen A.; Achterbergh, Roos; de Vries, Emmely M.; van Nierop, F. Samuel; Klümpen, Heinz-Josef; Soeters, Maarten R.; Boelen, Anita; Romijn, Johannes A.; Mathôt, Ron A. A.

    2015-01-01

    Experimental studies indicate that short-term fasting alters drug metabolism. However, the effects of short-term fasting on drug metabolism in humans need further investigation. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of short-term fasting (36 h) on P450-mediated drug

  6. Impact of bone graft harvesting techniques on bone formation and graft resorption

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Saulacic, Nikola; Bosshardt, Dieter D; Jensen, Simon S

    2015-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Harvesting techniques can affect cellular parameters of autogenous bone grafts in vitro. Whether these differences translate to in vivo bone formation, however, remains unknown. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of different harvesting techniques on bone fo......: Transplantation of autogenous bone particles harvested with four techniques in the present model resulted in moderate differences in terms of bone formation and graft resorption.......BACKGROUND: Harvesting techniques can affect cellular parameters of autogenous bone grafts in vitro. Whether these differences translate to in vivo bone formation, however, remains unknown. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of different harvesting techniques on bone...... formation and graft resorption in vivo. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Four harvesting techniques were used: (i) corticocancellous blocks particulated by a bone mill; (ii) bone scraper; (iii) piezosurgery; and (iv) bone slurry collected from a filter device upon drilling. The grafts were placed into bone defects...

  7. Long-term outcomes of clinical transplantation of pancreatic islets with uncontrolled donors after cardiac death: a multicenter experience in Japan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anazawa, T; Saito, T; Goto, M; Kenmochi, T; Uemoto, S; Itoh, T; Yasunami, Y; Kenjo, A; Kimura, T; Ise, K; Tsuchiya, T; Gotoh, M

    2014-01-01

    Pancreatic islet transplantation has emerged as an effective treatment for type 1 diabetes mellitus, but its use is limited due to an insufficient supply of cadaveric pancreata. In Japan, uncontrolled donors after cardiac death (DCD) are not deemed to be suitable for whole-organ pancreatic transplantation, and can provide a source of pancreas for islet transplantation. However, the long-term outcomes and utility of uncontrolled DCD in the clinical setting remain controversial. Here, we summarize the long-term outcomes of islet transplantation employing uncontrolled DCD as reported to the Japan Islet Transplantation Registry. Sixty-four isolations and 34 transplantations of pancreatic islets were conducted in 18 subjects with type 1 diabetes mellitus under the cover of immunosuppression with basiliximab, sirolimus, and tacrolimus. All donors were uncontrolled DCD at the time of harvesting. The mean follow-up time was 76 months. Of the 18 recipients, 8, 4, and 6 recipients received 1, 2, and 3 islet infusions, respectively. Overall graft survivals (defined as a C-peptide level ≥0.3 ng/mL) were 72.2%, 44.4%, and 22.2% at 1, 2, and 5 years, respectively, whereas the corresponding graft survivals after multiple infusions were 90.0%, 70.0%, and 30.0%, respectively. Three of these recipients achieved insulin independence in 14, 79, and 215 days. HbA1c levels and the requirement of exogenous insulin were improved before loss of graft function. All recipients became free of severe hypoglycemia unawareness, however, at least 5 of 14 patients who had graft failure experienced recurrence of severe hypoglycemia after the loss of graft function. Islet transplantation from DCD can relieve glucose instability and problems with hypoglycemia when the graft is functioning. However, islets from uncontrolled DCD may be associated with reduced long-term graft survival. Further improvements in the clinical outcome by modification of islet isolation/transplantation protocols are

  8. Dissociating Contents of Consciousness from Contents of Short-Term Memory

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Thomas Alrik; Ásgeirsson, Árni Gunnar; Staugaard, Camilla Funch

    2014-01-01

    The contents of consciousness and of short-term memory are hard to disentangle. As it seems intuitive that we represent attended objects in short-term memory and in experience, to many, it also seems intuitive to equate this content. Here we investigated memory resolution for orientation......” to a “clear experience” of a probed target. To assess memory resolution we used a Landolt-variation on the visual short-term memory (VSTM) resolution paradigm (e.g. Wilken & Ma, 2004). Set-sizes in the memory display were varied between 1, 2, or 4 elements. With increasing set-size we found that both...

  9. Some risks related to the short-term trading of natural gas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ahmed El Hachemi Mazighi

    2004-01-01

    Traditionally guided by long-term contracts, the international natural gas trade is experiencing new methods of operating, based on the short term and more flexibility. Today, indeed, the existence of uncommitted quantities of natural gas, combined with gas price discrepancies among different regions of the world, gives room for the expansion of the spot-trading of gas. The main objective of this paper is to discuss three fundamental risks related to the short-term trading of natural gas: volume risk, price risk and infrastructure risk. The defenders Of globalisation argue that the transition from the long-term to the short-term trading of natural gas is mainly a question of access to gas reserves, decreasing costs of gas liquefaction, the building of liquefied natural gas (LNG) fleets and regasification facilities and third-party access to the infrastructure. This process needs to be as short as possible, so that the risks related to the transition process will disappear rapidly. On the other hand, the detractors of globalisation put the emphasis on the complexity of the gas value chain and on the fact that eliminating long- term contracts increases the risks inherent to the international natural gas business. In this paper, we try to untangle and assess the risks related to the short-term trading of natural gas. Our main conclusions are: the short-term trading of gas is far from riskless; volume risk requires stock-building in both consuming and producing countries. (author)

  10. Holding multiple items in short term memory: a neural mechanism.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Edmund T Rolls

    Full Text Available Human short term memory has a capacity of several items maintained simultaneously. We show how the number of short term memory representations that an attractor network modeling a cortical local network can simultaneously maintain active is increased by using synaptic facilitation of the type found in the prefrontal cortex. We have been able to maintain 9 short term memories active simultaneously in integrate-and-fire simulations where the proportion of neurons in each population, the sparseness, is 0.1, and have confirmed the stability of such a system with mean field analyses. Without synaptic facilitation the system can maintain many fewer memories active in the same network. The system operates because of the effectively increased synaptic strengths formed by the synaptic facilitation just for those pools to which the cue is applied, and then maintenance of this synaptic facilitation in just those pools when the cue is removed by the continuing neuronal firing in those pools. The findings have implications for understanding how several items can be maintained simultaneously in short term memory, how this may be relevant to the implementation of language in the brain, and suggest new approaches to understanding and treating the decline in short term memory that can occur with normal aging.

  11. Holding multiple items in short term memory: a neural mechanism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rolls, Edmund T; Dempere-Marco, Laura; Deco, Gustavo

    2013-01-01

    Human short term memory has a capacity of several items maintained simultaneously. We show how the number of short term memory representations that an attractor network modeling a cortical local network can simultaneously maintain active is increased by using synaptic facilitation of the type found in the prefrontal cortex. We have been able to maintain 9 short term memories active simultaneously in integrate-and-fire simulations where the proportion of neurons in each population, the sparseness, is 0.1, and have confirmed the stability of such a system with mean field analyses. Without synaptic facilitation the system can maintain many fewer memories active in the same network. The system operates because of the effectively increased synaptic strengths formed by the synaptic facilitation just for those pools to which the cue is applied, and then maintenance of this synaptic facilitation in just those pools when the cue is removed by the continuing neuronal firing in those pools. The findings have implications for understanding how several items can be maintained simultaneously in short term memory, how this may be relevant to the implementation of language in the brain, and suggest new approaches to understanding and treating the decline in short term memory that can occur with normal aging.

  12. Holding Multiple Items in Short Term Memory: A Neural Mechanism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rolls, Edmund T.; Dempere-Marco, Laura; Deco, Gustavo

    2013-01-01

    Human short term memory has a capacity of several items maintained simultaneously. We show how the number of short term memory representations that an attractor network modeling a cortical local network can simultaneously maintain active is increased by using synaptic facilitation of the type found in the prefrontal cortex. We have been able to maintain 9 short term memories active simultaneously in integrate-and-fire simulations where the proportion of neurons in each population, the sparseness, is 0.1, and have confirmed the stability of such a system with mean field analyses. Without synaptic facilitation the system can maintain many fewer memories active in the same network. The system operates because of the effectively increased synaptic strengths formed by the synaptic facilitation just for those pools to which the cue is applied, and then maintenance of this synaptic facilitation in just those pools when the cue is removed by the continuing neuronal firing in those pools. The findings have implications for understanding how several items can be maintained simultaneously in short term memory, how this may be relevant to the implementation of language in the brain, and suggest new approaches to understanding and treating the decline in short term memory that can occur with normal aging. PMID:23613789

  13. Qualitative similarities in the visual short-term memory of pigeons and people.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gibson, Brett; Wasserman, Edward; Luck, Steven J

    2011-10-01

    Visual short-term memory plays a key role in guiding behavior, and individual differences in visual short-term memory capacity are strongly predictive of higher cognitive abilities. To provide a broader evolutionary context for understanding this memory system, we directly compared the behavior of pigeons and humans on a change detection task. Although pigeons had a lower storage capacity and a higher lapse rate than humans, both species stored multiple items in short-term memory and conformed to the same basic performance model. Thus, despite their very different evolutionary histories and neural architectures, pigeons and humans have functionally similar visual short-term memory systems, suggesting that the functional properties of visual short-term memory are subject to similar selective pressures across these distant species.

  14. Graft type for femoro-popliteal bypass surgery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ambler, Graeme K; Twine, Christopher P

    2018-02-11

    inferior to Dacron at all time points.Below-knee bypassFor bypass below the knee, we found no graft type to be superior to any other in terms of primary patency, though one trial showed improved secondary patency of HUV over PTFE at all time points to 24 months (Peto OR 3.40, 95% CI 1.45 to 7.97; 88 limbs; P = 0.005).One study compared PTFE alone to PTFE with vein cuff; very low-quality evidence indicates no effect to either primary or secondary patency at 24 months (Peto OR 1.08, 95% CI 0.58 to 2.01; 182 limbs; 2 studies; P = 0.80 and Peto OR 1.22, 95% CI 0.67 to 2.23; 181 limbs; 2 studies; P = 0.51 respectively)Limited data were available for limb survival, and those studies reporting on this outcome showed no clear difference between graft types for this outcome. Antiplatelet and anticoagulant protocols varied extensively between trials, and in some cases within trials.The overall quality of the evidence ranged from very low to moderate. Issues which affected the quality of the evidence included differences in the design of the trials, and differences in the types of grafts they compared. These differences meant we were often only able to combine and analyse small numbers of participants and this resulted in uncertainty over the true effects of the graft type used. There was moderate-quality evidence of improved long-term (60 months) primary patency for autologous vein grafts when compared to prosthetic materials for above-knee bypasses. In the long term (two to five years) there was low-quality evidence that Dacron confers a small secondary patency benefit over PTFE for above-knee bypass. Only very low-quality data exist on below-knee bypasses, so we are uncertain which graft type is best. Further randomised data are needed to ascertain whether this information translates into an improvement in limb survival.

  15. Short-term hydropower production planning by stochastic programming

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fleten, Stein-Erik; Kristoffersen, Trine

    2008-01-01

    -term production planning a matter of spatial distribution among the reservoirs of the plant. Day-ahead market prices and reservoir inflows are, however, uncertain beyond the current operation day and water must be allocated among the reservoirs in order to strike a balance between current profits and expected......Within the framework of multi-stage mixed-integer linear stochastic programming we develop a short-term production plan for a price-taking hydropower plant operating under uncertainty. Current production must comply with the day-ahead commitments of the previous day which makes short...

  16. Intermediate-Term Outcomes of Dual Adult versus Single-Kidney Transplantation: Evolution of a Surgical Technique

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ana K. Islam

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Background. Acceptance of dual kidney transplantation (DKT has proven difficult, due to surgical complexity and concerns regarding long-term outcomes. We herein present a standard technique for ipsilateral DKT and compare outcomes to single-kidney transplant (SKT recipients. Methods. A retrospective single-center comparison of DKT and SKT performed between February 2007 and July 2013. Results. Of 516 deceased donor kidney transplants, 29 were DKT and 487 were SKT. Mean follow-up was 43 ± 67 months. DKT recipients were older and more likely than SKT recipients to receive an extended criteria graft (p<0.001. For DKT versus SKT, the rates of delayed graft function (10.3 versus 9.2% and acute rejection (20.7 versus 22.4% were equivalent (p = ns. A higher than expected urologic complication rate in the DKT cohort (14 versus 2%, p<0.01 was reduced through modification of the ureteral anastomosis. Graft survival was equivalent between DKT and SKT groups (p = ns with actuarial 3-year DKT patient and graft survivals of 100% and 93%. At 3 years, the groups had similar renal function (p = ns. Conclusions. By utilizing extended criteria donor organs as DKT, the donor pool was enlarged while providing excellent patient and graft survival. The DKT urologic complication rate was reduced by modification of the ureteral anastomosis.

  17. Short-term variability of CYG X-1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oda, M.; Doi, K.; Ogawara, Y.; Takagishi, K.; Wada, M.

    1975-01-01

    The short-term X-ray variability distinguishes Cyg X-1, which is the most likely candidate of the black hole, from other X-ray sources. Present status of our knowledge on this short-term variation mainly from the Uhuru, the MIT and the GSFC observations is reviewed. The nature of impulsive variations which compose the time variation exceeding the statistical fluctuation is discussed. There are indications that the energy spectrum of large pulses is harder than the average spectrum or the large pulses are the characteristics of the hard component of the spectrum if it is composed of two, soft and hard, components. Features of the variations may be partly simulated by the superposition of random short-noise pulses with a fraction of a second duration. However, the autocorrelation analysis and the dynamic spectrum analysis indicate that the correlation lasts for several seconds and in the variation buried are some regularities which exhibit power concentrations in several frequency bands; 0.2 -- 0.3, 0.4 -- 0.5, 0.8, 1.2 -- 1.5 Hz. There are several possible interpretation of these results in terms of: e.g. a) a mixture of short-noise pulses with two or more constant durations, b) the shape of the basic shot-noise pulse, c) bunching of the pulses, d) superposition of wave-packets or temporal oscillations. But we have not yet reached any definite understandings in the nature of the variabilities. The sub-structure of the fluctuations on a time scale of milli-second suggested by two investigations is also discussed. (auth.)

  18. Some risks related to the short-term trading of natural gas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mazighi, Ahmed El Hachemi

    2004-01-01

    Traditionally guided by long-term contracts, the international natural gas trade is experiencing new methods of operating, based on the short term and more flexibility. Today, indeed, the existence of uncommitted quantities of natural gas, combined with gas price discrepancies among different regions of the world, gives room for the expansion of the spot-trading of gas. The main objective of this paper is to discuss three fundamental risks related to the short-term trading of natural gas: volume risk, price risk and infrastructure risk. The defenders of globalisation argue that the transition from the long-term to the short-term trading of natural gas is mainly a question of access to gas reserves, decreasing costs of gas liquefaction, the building of liquefied natural gas (LNG) fleets and regasification facilities and third-party access to the infrastructure. This process needs to be as short as possible, so that the risks related to the transition process will disappear rapidly. On the other hand, the detractors of globalisation put the emphasis on the complexity of the gas value chain and on the fact that eliminating long-term contracts increases the risks inherent to the international natural gas business. In this paper, we try to untangle and assess the risks related to the short-term trading of natural gas. Our main conclusions are: the short-term trading of gas is far from riskless; volume risk requires stock-building in both consuming and producing countries; price risk, through the high volatility for gas, induces an increase in options prices; there is no evidence to suggest that money-lenders' appetite for financing gas infrastructure projects will continue in a short-term trading system. This would be a threat to consumers' security of supply. (Author)

  19. Diabetes patients show different time-course of myocardial perfusion improvement after coronary artery bypass grafting

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, J. J.; Seok, J. W.; Eo, J. S.

    2005-01-01

    Diabetes mellitus is an independent risk factor of cardiovascular disease. Diabetes is known to cause microangiopathy. The microangiopathy is hardly detectable on the coronary angiography. Myocardial perfusion imaging shows the resultant perfusion status which reflects the microangiopathy. For patients who underwent revascularization, the microangiopathy could affect the myocardial perfusion improvement. Diabetes patients probably experience the different myocardial perfusion improvement as compared to the non-diabetes patients although they have similar angiographic findings. The aim of this study is to find out whether there is a time-course difference of perfusion improvement between the diabetes and non diabetes patients who showed patent angiographic findings after coronary artery grafting surgery (CABG). A total of 129 patients who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting surgery were enrolled in this study. Myocardial SPECTs performed at previous, short-term (3 month), and mid-term (1 year) to CABG. One-year follow up angiography was done 411±121 days after surgery. Graft patency was determined according to the FitzGibbon et al. Segments were assigned to vascular territories using a 20 segment model. The segments of excellent patency were included in this study. Time course differences of concerned segments were analyzed using RMANOVA. The number of segments enrolled was 764 of diabetes and 1083 of non-diabetes. At short-term follow up, reversibility score was 2.8±8.1% in diabetes and 0.3±7.5% in non-diabetes. At long-term follow up, reversibility score was 1.8±8.0% in diabetes and 0.1±7.3% in non-diabetes. The time-course of reversibility score was significantly different between the diabetes and non diabetes (p<0.001) Diabetic segments showed high residual reversibility score than non-diabetic segments after CABG although the angiographic finding was patent in both groups. This result is maybe attributable to microangiopathy induced by diabetes

  20. Effect of donor body mass index on the outcome of donation after cardiac death kidneys: how big is too big?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jin, L X; Pitt, S C; Doyle, M B; Klein, C; Shenoy, S; Lowell, J A; Chapman, W C; Wellen, J R

    2014-01-01

    Morbid obesity (MO) has become an epidemic in the United Sates and is associated with adverse effects on health. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of MO on the short-term outcomes of kidneys transplanted from donation after cardiac death (DCD) donors. Using a prospectively collected database, we reviewed 467 kidney transplantations performed at a single center between January 2008 and June 2011 to identify 67 recipients who received transplants from 40 DCD donors. The outcomes of 14 MO DCD donor kidneys were compared with 53 non-MO DCD grafts. MO was defined as a body mass index ≥ 35. Mean patient follow-up was 16 months. The MO and non-MO DCD donor groups were similar with respect to donor and recipient age, gender, race, cause of death and renal disease, time from withdrawal of life support to organ perfusion, mean human leukocyte antigen (HLA) mismatch, and overall recipient survival. Organs from MO DCD donors also had comparable rates of delayed graft function (21.4% vs 20.0%; P = not significant [NS]). At 1 year post-transplantation, a small but statistically insignificant difference was observed in the graft survival rates of MO and non-MO donors (87% vs. 96%; P = NS). One MO kidney had primary nonfunction. These data demonstrate that kidneys procured from MO DCD donors have equivalent short-term outcomes compared with non-MO grafts and should continue to be used. Further investigation is needed to examine the effect of MO on long-term renal allograft survival. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Short-term Mobility and Increased Partnership Concurrency among Men in Zimbabwe.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Susan Cassels

    Full Text Available Migration has long been understood as an underlying factor for HIV transmission, and sexual partner concurrency has been increasingly studied as an important component of HIV transmission dynamics. However, less work has examined the role of short-term mobility in sexual partner concurrency using a network approach. Short-term mobility may be a risk for HIV for the migrant's partner as well either through the partner's risk behaviors while the migrant is away, such as the partner having additional partners, or via exposure to the return migrant.Using data from the 2010-11 Zimbabwe Demographic and Health Survey, weighted generalized linear regression models were used to investigate the associations between short-term mobility and partnership concurrency at the individual and partnership levels.At the individual level, we find strong evidence of an association between short-term mobility and concurrency. Men who traveled were more likely to have concurrent partnerships compared to men who did not travel and the relationship was non-linear: each trip was associated with a 2% higher probability of concurrency, with a diminishing risk at 60 trips (p<0.001. At the partnership level, short-term mobility by the male only or both partners was associated with male concurrency. Couples in which the female only traveled exhibited less male concurrency.Short-term mobility has the ability to impact population-level transmission dynamics by facilitating partnership concurrency and thus onward HIV transmission. Short-term migrants may be an important population to target for HIV testing, treatment, or social and behavioral interventions to prevent the spread of HIV.

  2. Short-term and long-term effects of violent media on aggression in children and adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bushman, Brad J; Huesmann, L Rowell

    2006-04-01

    To test whether the results of the accumulated studies on media violence and aggressive behavior are consistent with the theories that have evolved to explain the effects. We tested for the existence of both short-term and long-term effects for aggressive behavior. We also tested the theory-driven hypothesis that short-term effects should be greater for adults and long-term effects should be greater for children. Meta-analysis. Children younger than 18 years and adults. Violent media, including TV, movies, video games, music, and comic books. Measures of aggressive behavior, aggressive thoughts, angry feelings, physiological arousal (eg, heart rate, blood pressure), and helping behavior. Effect size estimates were combined using meta-analytic procedures. As expected, the short-term effects of violent media were greater for adults than for children whereas the long-term effects were greater for children than for adults. The results also showed that there were overall modest but significant effect sizes for exposure to media violence on aggressive behaviors, aggressive thoughts, angry feelings, arousal levels, and helping behavior. The results are consistent with the theory that short-term effects are mostly due to the priming of existing well-encoded scripts, schemas, or beliefs, which adults have had more time to encode. In contrast, long-term effects require the learning (encoding) of scripts, schemas, or beliefs. Children can encode new scripts, schemas, and beliefs via observational learning with less interference and effort than adults.

  3. Short-term effects of early-acting and multilineage hematopoietic growth factors on the repair and proliferation of irradiated pure cord blood (CB) CD34 hematopoietic progenitor cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ziegler, Benedikt L.; Sandor, Peter S.; Plappert, Ulla; Thoma, Stefan; Mueller, Robert; Bock, Thomas; Thomas, Christian A.; Nothdurft, Wilhelm; Fliedner, Theodor M.

    1998-01-01

    Purpose: Hematopoietic growth factor(s) (GF) may exert positive effects in vitro or in vivo on the survival of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells after accidental or therapeutic total body irradiation. Methods and Materials: We studied the clonogenic survival and DNA repair of irradiated (0.36, 0.73, and 1.46 Gy) CD34 + cord blood (CB) cells after short-term incubation (24 h) with GFs. CD34 + cells were stimulated with basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), stem cell factor/c-kit ligand (SCF), interleukin-3 (IL-3), IL-6, leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF), and granulocyte-monocyte colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) alone or in combination in short-term serum-free liquid suspension cultures (LSC) immediately after irradiation and then assayed for clonogenic progenitors. DNA repair was evaluated by analysis of DNA strand breaks using the comet assay. Survival of CFU-GM, BFU-E, and CFU-Mix was determined and dose-response curves were fitted to the data. Results: The radiobiological parameters (D 0 and n) showed significant GF(s) effects. Combination of IL-3 with IL-6, SCF or GM-CSF resulted in best survival for CFU-GM BFU-E and CFU-Mix, respectively. Combinations of three or more GFs did not increase the survival of clonogenic CD34 + cells compared to optimal two-factor combinations. The D 0 values for CFU-GM, BFU-E, and CFU-Mix ranged between 0.56-1.15, 0.41-2.24, and 0.56-1.29 Gy, respectively. As for controls, the curves remained strictly exponential, i.e., all survival curves were strictly exponential without any shoulder (extrapolation numbers n = 1 for all tested GF(s). DNA repair capacity of CD34 + cells determined by comet assay, was measured before, immediately after irradiation, as well as 30 and 120 min after irradiation at 1 Gy. Notably, after irradiation the 2-h repair of cytokine-stimulated and unstimulated CD34 + cells was similar. Conclusion: Our data indicate that increased survival of irradiated CB CD34 + cells after short-term GF treatment is

  4. Peritransplant Soluble CD30 as a Risk Factor for Slow Kidney Allograft Function, Early Acute Rejection, Worse Long-Term Allograft Function, and Patients' Survival.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trailin, Andriy V; Ostapenko, Tetyana I; Nykonenko, Tamara N; Nesterenko, Svitlana N; Nykonenko, Olexandr S

    2017-01-01

    We aimed to determine whether serum soluble CD30 (sCD30) could identify recipients at high risk for unfavorable early and late kidney transplant outcomes. Serum sCD30 was measured on the day of kidney transplantation and on the 4th day posttransplant. We assessed the value of these measurements in predicting delayed graft function, slow graft function (SGF), acute rejection (AR), pyelonephritis, decline of allograft function after 6 months, and graft and patient survival during 5 years of follow-up in 45 recipients. We found the association between low pretransplant serum levels of sCD30 and SGF. The absence of significant decrease of sCD30 on the 4th day posttransplant was characteristic for SGF, early AR (the 8th day-6 months), late AR (>6 months), and early pyelonephritis (the 8th day-2 months). Lower pretransplant and posttransplant sCD30 predicted worse allograft function at 6 months and 2 years, respectively. Higher pretransplant sCD30 was associated with higher frequency of early AR, and worse patients' survival, but only in the recipients of deceased-donor graft. Pretransplant sCD30 also allowed to differentiate patients with early pyelonephritis and early AR. Peritransplant sCD30 is useful in identifying patients at risk for unfavorable early and late transplant outcomes.

  5. Peritransplant Soluble CD30 as a Risk Factor for Slow Kidney Allograft Function, Early Acute Rejection, Worse Long-Term Allograft Function, and Patients' Survival

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ostapenko, Tetyana I.; Nykonenko, Tamara N.; Nesterenko, Svitlana N.; Nykonenko, Olexandr S.

    2017-01-01

    Background We aimed to determine whether serum soluble CD30 (sCD30) could identify recipients at high risk for unfavorable early and late kidney transplant outcomes. Methods Serum sCD30 was measured on the day of kidney transplantation and on the 4th day posttransplant. We assessed the value of these measurements in predicting delayed graft function, slow graft function (SGF), acute rejection (AR), pyelonephritis, decline of allograft function after 6 months, and graft and patient survival during 5 years of follow-up in 45 recipients. Results We found the association between low pretransplant serum levels of sCD30 and SGF. The absence of significant decrease of sCD30 on the 4th day posttransplant was characteristic for SGF, early AR (the 8th day–6 months), late AR (>6 months), and early pyelonephritis (the 8th day–2 months). Lower pretransplant and posttransplant sCD30 predicted worse allograft function at 6 months and 2 years, respectively. Higher pretransplant sCD30 was associated with higher frequency of early AR, and worse patients' survival, but only in the recipients of deceased-donor graft. Pretransplant sCD30 also allowed to differentiate patients with early pyelonephritis and early AR. Conclusions Peritransplant sCD30 is useful in identifying patients at risk for unfavorable early and late transplant outcomes. PMID:28694560

  6. Independence of long-term contextual memory and short-term perceptual hypotheses: Evidence from contextual cueing of interrupted search.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schlagbauer, Bernhard; Mink, Maurice; Müller, Hermann J; Geyer, Thomas

    2017-02-01

    Observers are able to resume an interrupted search trial faster relative to responding to a new, unseen display. This finding of rapid resumption is attributed to short-term perceptual hypotheses generated on the current look and confirmed upon subsequent looks at the same display. It has been suggested that the contents of perceptual hypotheses are similar to those of other forms of memory acquired long-term through repeated exposure to the same search displays over the course of several trials, that is, the memory supporting "contextual cueing." In three experiments, we investigated the relationship between short-term perceptual hypotheses and long-term contextual memory. The results indicated that long-term, contextual memory of repeated displays neither affected the generation nor the confirmation of short-term perceptual hypotheses for these displays. Furthermore, the analysis of eye movements suggests that long-term memory provides an initial benefit in guiding attention to the target, whereas in subsequent looks guidance is entirely based on short-term perceptual hypotheses. Overall, the results reveal a picture of both long- and short-term memory contributing to reliable performance gains in interrupted search, while exerting their effects in an independent manner.

  7. Questioning short-term memory and its measurement: Why digit span measures long-term associative learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Gary; Macken, Bill

    2015-11-01

    Traditional accounts of verbal short-term memory explain differences in performance for different types of verbal material by reference to inherent characteristics of the verbal items making up memory sequences. The role of previous experience with sequences of different types is ostensibly controlled for either by deliberate exclusion or by presenting multiple trials constructed from different random permutations. We cast doubt on this general approach in a detailed analysis of the basis for the robust finding that short-term memory for digit sequences is superior to that for other sequences of verbal material. Specifically, we show across four experiments that this advantage is not due to inherent characteristics of digits as verbal items, nor are individual digits within sequences better remembered than other types of individual verbal items. Rather, the advantage for digit sequences stems from the increased frequency, compared to other verbal material, with which digits appear in random sequences in natural language, and furthermore, relatively frequent digit sequences support better short-term serial recall than less frequent ones. We also provide corpus-based computational support for the argument that performance in a short-term memory setting is a function of basic associative learning processes operating on the linguistic experience of the rememberer. The experimental and computational results raise questions not only about the role played by measurement of digit span in cognition generally, but also about the way in which long-term memory processes impact on short-term memory functioning. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Glansectomy and Split-thickness Skin Graft for Penile Cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parnham, Arie S; Albersen, Maarten; Sahdev, Varun; Christodoulidou, Michelle; Nigam, Raj; Malone, Peter; Freeman, Alex; Muneer, Asif

    2018-02-01

    Penile cancer is a rare malignancy that is confined to the glans in up to four out of five cases. Although descriptions of glansectomy exist, there are no contemporary video explanations or large published single centre series. To show the efficacy and safety of glansectomy and split-thickness skin graft (STSG) reconstruction. Data were collected retrospectively for patients identified from surgical theatre diaries between February 2005 and January 2016. 177 patients with histologically proven squamous-cell carcinoma on the glans underwent glansectomy and STSG at a tertiary referral centre in the UK. The median follow-up was 41.4 mo. The skin is incised at the subcoronal level and deepened onto Buck's fascia. Dissection is performed over or under Buck's fascia, depending on suspicion of invasion or risk of disease. The glans is excised and a neoglans is created using a STSG. Local recurrence, cancer-specific survival, overall survival, and complications. Sixteen out of 172 patients (9.3%) experienced local recurrence during the follow-up period. Eighteen out of 174 (10.7%) patients died of penile cancer, while 29 patients in total died during the follow-up period. Of 145 patients, 9% required operative intervention for complications, including graft loss and meatal stenosis. Limitations include the retrospective data collection and the lack of functional and sexual outcomes. Glansectomy and STSG comprise a safe procedure in terms of oncologic control and complications for patients with penile cancer confined to the glans penis. Further studies are required to assess functional and sexual outcomes in these patients. We report on the management of penile cancers confined to the head of the penis using glansectomy and a split-thickness skin graft to recreate the appearance of a glans. This technique is safe and effective, with limited complications. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  9. Laparoscopic Surgery for Transverse Colon Cancer: Short- and Long-Term Outcomes in Comparison with Conventional Open Surgery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Min Ki; Won, Dae-Youn; Lee, Jin-Kwon; Kang, Won-Kyung; Kye, Bong-Hyeon; Cho, Hyeon-Min; Kim, Hyung-Jin; Kim, Jun-Gi

    2015-12-01

    Published studies on laparoscopic surgery for transverse colon cancer are scarce. More studies are necessary to evaluate the feasibility, safety, and long-term oncologic outcomes of laparoscopic surgery for transverse colon cancer. From April 1996 to December 2010, 102 consecutive patients with stage II or III disease who had undergone curative resection for transverse colon cancer were enrolled. Seventy-nine patients underwent laparoscopy-assisted colectomy (LAC), whereas 23 patients underwent conventional open colectomy (OC). Short- and long-term outcomes of the two groups were compared. The OC group had a larger tumor size (7.6 ± 3.4 cm versus 5.2 ± 2.3 cm, P = .004) and more retrieved lymph nodes (26.4 ± 11.6 versus 17.5 ± 9.4, P = .002), without differences in resection margins. In the LAC group, return to diet was faster (4.5 ± 1.2 days versus 5.4 ± 1.8 days, P = .013), and postoperative hospital stay was shorter (12.1 ± 4.2 days versus 15.9 ± 4.8 days, P = .000). There were no differences in occurrence of intra- or postoperative complications. There were no statistically significant differences in overall survival rate (OS) or disease-free survival rate (DFS) between the two groups (5-year OS, 90.4% versus 90.5%, P = .670; 5-year DFS, 84.2% versus 90.7%, P = .463). Laparoscopic surgery for transverse colon cancer has better short-term outcomes compared with open surgery, with acceptable long-term outcomes. As in colorectal cancer of other sites, laparoscopic surgery can be a feasible alternative to conventional surgery for transverse colon cancer.

  10. A bilateral advantage for maintaining objects in visual short term memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holt, Jessica L; Delvenne, Jean-François

    2015-01-01

    Research has shown that attentional pre-cues can subsequently influence the transfer of information into visual short term memory (VSTM) (Schmidt, B., Vogel, E., Woodman, G., & Luck, S. (2002). Voluntary and automatic attentional control of visual working memory. Perception & Psychophysics, 64(5), 754-763). However, studies also suggest that those effects are constrained by the hemifield alignment of the pre-cues (Holt, J. L., & Delvenne, J.-F. (2014). A bilateral advantage in controlling access to visual short-term memory. Experimental Psychology, 61(2), 127-133), revealing better recall when distributed across hemifields relative to within a single hemifield (otherwise known as a bilateral field advantage). By manipulating the duration of the retention interval in a colour change detection task (1s, 3s), we investigated whether selective pre-cues can also influence how information is later maintained in VSTM. The results revealed that the pre-cues influenced the maintenance of the colours in VSTM, promoting consistent performance across retention intervals (Experiments 1 & 4). However, those effects were only shown when the pre-cues were directed to stimuli displayed across hemifields relative to stimuli within a single hemifield. Importantly, the results were not replicated when participants were required to memorise colours (Experiment 2) or locations (Experiment 3) in the absence of spatial pre-cues. Those findings strongly suggest that attentional pre-cues have a strong influence on both the transfer of information in VSTM and its subsequent maintenance, allowing bilateral items to better survive decay. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Results of a Seven-Year, Single-Centre Experience of the Long-Term Outcomes of Bovine Ureter Grafts Used as Novel Conduits for Haemodialysis Fistulas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Das, Neelan; Bratby, Mark J.; Shrivastava, Vivek; Cornall, Alison J.; Darby, Christopher R.; Boardman, Philip; Anthony, Susan; Uberoi, Raman

    2011-01-01

    Purpose: To report the long-term outcomes of bovine ureter grafts as novel conduits for haemodialysis fistulas. Materials and Methods: Thirty-five patients underwent placement of a total of 40 SynerGraft 100 (SG100; CryoLife Europa ® , Guildford, UK) bovine ureter grafts between April 2002 and February 2009. Prospective data were collected on all patients, including active surveillance with blood flow studies and 6-monthly duplex ultrasound studies. Main outcome measures were primary and secondary patency rates. Results: Mean follow-up time was 97 weeks (range 4–270). Thirteen patients died from unrelated causes during the study period; 12 of these patients had a functioning graft at the time of death. Five patients underwent transplantation, and all had a functioning graft at transplantation. Twelve patients had a functioning graft at the end of the study period. One hundred and ten stenoses were detected, and 97 venoplasty procedures were performed. Of the stenoses, 41.8% were located at the venous anastomosis, 12.7% within the graft, 17.3% in the outflow veins, and 28.1% in central veins. No arterial stenoses were detected. Primary patency rates were 53% at 6 months and 14% at 1 year. Secondary patency rates were 81% at 6 months, 75% at 1 year, and 56% at 2 years. Conclusions: Active surveillance and intervention was able to achieve satisfactory long-term secondary patency for these novel conduits compared with those made of PTFE seen in other studies.

  12. Ordered Short-Term Memory Differs in Signers and Speakers: Implications for Models of Short-Term Memory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bavelier, Daphne; Newport, Elissa L.; Hall, Matt; Supalla, Ted; Boutla, Mrim

    2008-01-01

    Capacity limits in linguistic short-term memory (STM) are typically measured with forward span tasks in which participants are asked to recall lists of words in the order presented. Using such tasks, native signers of American Sign Language (ASL) exhibit smaller spans than native speakers ([Boutla, M., Supalla, T., Newport, E. L., & Bavelier, D.…

  13. Pigeon visual short-term memory directly compared to primates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wright, Anthony A; Elmore, L Caitlin

    2016-02-01

    Three pigeons were trained to remember arrays of 2-6 colored squares and detect which of two squares had changed color to test their visual short-term memory. Procedures (e.g., stimuli, displays, viewing times, delays) were similar to those used to test monkeys and humans. Following extensive training, pigeons performed slightly better than similarly trained monkeys, but both animal species were considerably less accurate than humans with the same array sizes (2, 4 and 6 items). Pigeons and monkeys showed calculated memory capacities of one item or less, whereas humans showed a memory capacity of 2.5 items. Despite the differences in calculated memory capacities, the pigeons' memory results, like those from monkeys and humans, were all well characterized by an inverse power-law function fit to d' values for the five display sizes. This characterization provides a simple, straightforward summary of the fundamental processing of visual short-term memory (how visual short-term memory declines with memory load) that emphasizes species similarities based upon similar functional relationships. By closely matching pigeon testing parameters to those of monkeys and humans, these similar functional relationships suggest similar underlying processes of visual short-term memory in pigeons, monkeys and humans. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Short-term energy outlook: Quarterly projections, Third quarter 1992

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1992-08-01

    The Energy Information Administration (EIA) prepares quarterly, short-term energy supply, demand, and price projections for publication in February, May, August, and November in the Short-Term Energy Outlook (Outlook). An annual supplement analyzes the performance of previous forecasts, compares recent cases with those of other forecasting services, and discusses current topics related to the short-term energy markets. (See Short-Term Energy Outlook Annual Supplement, DOE/EIA-0202.) The principal users of the Outlook are managers and energy analysts in private industry and government. The forecast period for this issue of the Outlook extends from the third quarter of 1992 through the fourth quarter of 1993. Values for the second quarter of 1992, however, are preliminary EIA estimates (for example, some monthly values for petroleum supply and disposition are derived in part from weekly data reported in the Weekly Petroleum Status Report) or are calculated from model simulations using the latest exogenous information available (for example, electricity sales and generation are simulated using actual weather data). The historical energy data are EIA data published in the Monthly Energy Review, Petroleum Supply Monthly, and other EIA publications. Minor discrepancies between the data in these publications and the historical data in this Outlook are due to independent rounding

  15. Auditory-Cortex Short-Term Plasticity Induced by Selective Attention

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jääskeläinen, Iiro P.; Ahveninen, Jyrki

    2014-01-01

    The ability to concentrate on relevant sounds in the acoustic environment is crucial for everyday function and communication. Converging lines of evidence suggests that transient functional changes in auditory-cortex neurons, “short-term plasticity”, might explain this fundamental function. Under conditions of strongly focused attention, enhanced processing of attended sounds can take place at very early latencies (~50 ms from sound onset) in primary auditory cortex and possibly even at earlier latencies in subcortical structures. More robust selective-attention short-term plasticity is manifested as modulation of responses peaking at ~100 ms from sound onset in functionally specialized nonprimary auditory-cortical areas by way of stimulus-specific reshaping of neuronal receptive fields that supports filtering of selectively attended sound features from task-irrelevant ones. Such effects have been shown to take effect in ~seconds following shifting of attentional focus. There are findings suggesting that the reshaping of neuronal receptive fields is even stronger at longer auditory-cortex response latencies (~300 ms from sound onset). These longer-latency short-term plasticity effects seem to build up more gradually, within tens of seconds after shifting the focus of attention. Importantly, some of the auditory-cortical short-term plasticity effects observed during selective attention predict enhancements in behaviorally measured sound discrimination performance. PMID:24551458

  16. Prolonged warm ischemia time is associated with graft failure and mortality after kidney transplantation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tennankore, Karthik K; Kim, S Joseph; Alwayn, Ian P J; Kiberd, Bryce A

    2016-03-01

    Warm ischemia time is a potentially modifiable insult to transplanted kidneys, but little is known about its effect on long-term outcomes. Here we conducted a study of United States kidney transplant recipients (years 2000-2013) to determine the association between warm ischemia time (the time from organ removal from cold storage to reperfusion with warm blood) and death/graft failure. Times under 10 minutes were potentially attributed to coding error. Therefore, the 10-to-under-20-minute interval was chosen as the reference group. The primary outcome was mortality and graft failure (return to chronic dialysis or preemptive retransplantation) adjusted for recipient, donor, immunologic, and surgical factors. The study included 131,677 patients with 35,901 events. Relative to the reference patients, times of 10 to under 20, 20 to under 30, 30 to under 40, 40 to under 50, 50 to under 60, and 60 and more minutes were associated with hazard ratios of 1.07 (95% confidence interval, 0.99-1.15), 1.13 (1.06-1.22), 1.17 (1.09-1.26), 1.20 (1.12-1.30), and 1.23 (1.15-1.33) for the composite event, respectively. Association between prolonged warm ischemia time and death/graft failure persisted after stratification by donor type (living vs. deceased donor) and delayed graft function status. Thus, warm ischemia time is associated with adverse long-term patient and graft survival after kidney transplantation. Identifying strategies to reduce warm ischemia time is an important consideration for future study. Copyright © 2015 International Society of Nephrology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Short-Term Effects of Midseason Coach Turnover on Team Performance in Soccer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balduck, Anne-Line; Buelens, Marc; Philippaerts, Renaat

    2010-01-01

    The present study addressed the issue of short-term performance effects of midseason coach turnover in soccer. The goal of this study was to examine this effect on subsequent short-term team performance. The purposes of this study were to (a) examine whether midseason coach turnover improved results in the short term, and (b) examine how team…

  18. Short-term Forecasting Tools for Agricultural Nutrient Management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Easton, Zachary M; Kleinman, Peter J A; Buda, Anthony R; Goering, Dustin; Emberston, Nichole; Reed, Seann; Drohan, Patrick J; Walter, M Todd; Guinan, Pat; Lory, John A; Sommerlot, Andrew R; Sharpley, Andrew

    2017-11-01

    The advent of real-time, short-term farm management tools is motivated by the need to protect water quality above and beyond the general guidance offered by existing nutrient management plans. Advances in high-performance computing and hydrologic or climate modeling have enabled rapid dissemination of real-time information that can assist landowners and conservation personnel with short-term management planning. This paper reviews short-term decision support tools for agriculture that are under various stages of development and implementation in the United States: (i) Wisconsin's Runoff Risk Advisory Forecast (RRAF) System, (ii) New York's Hydrologically Sensitive Area Prediction Tool, (iii) Virginia's Saturated Area Forecast Model, (iv) Pennsylvania's Fertilizer Forecaster, (v) Washington's Application Risk Management (ARM) System, and (vi) Missouri's Design Storm Notification System. Although these decision support tools differ in their underlying model structure, the resolution at which they are applied, and the hydroclimates to which they are relevant, all provide forecasts (range 24-120 h) of runoff risk or soil moisture saturation derived from National Weather Service Forecast models. Although this review highlights the need for further development of robust and well-supported short-term nutrient management tools, their potential for adoption and ultimate utility requires an understanding of the appropriate context of application, the strategic and operational needs of managers, access to weather forecasts, scales of application (e.g., regional vs. field level), data requirements, and outreach communication structure. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.

  19. Impact of MELD allocation policy on survival outcomes after liver transplantation: a single-center study in northeast Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thales Paulo Batista

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: To analyze the impact of model for end-stage liver disease (MELD allocation policy on survival outcomes after liver transplantation (LT. INTRODUCTION: Considering that an ideal system of grafts allocation should also ensure improved survival after transplantation, changes in allocation policies need to be evaluated in different contexts as an evolutionary process. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was carried out among patients who underwent LT at the University of Pernambuco. Two groups of patients transplanted before and after the MELD allocation policy implementation were identified and compared using early postoperative mortality and post-LT survival as end-points. RESULTS: Overall, early postoperative mortality did not significantly differ between cohorts (16.43% vs. 8.14%; p = 0.112. Although at 6 and 36-months the difference between pre-vs. post-MELD survival was only marginally significant (p = 0.066 and p = 0.063; respectively, better short, medium and long-term post-LT survival were observed in the post-MELD period. Subgroups analysis showed special benefits to patients categorized as nonhepatocellular carcinoma (non-HCC and moderate risk, as determined by MELD score (15-20. DISCUSSION: This study ensured a more robust estimate of how the MELD policy affected post-LT survival outcomes in Brazil and was the first to show significantly better survival after this new policy was implemented. Additionally, we explored some potential reasons for our divergent survival outcomes. CONCLUSION: Better survival outcomes were observed in this study after implementation of the MELD criterion, particularly amongst patients categorized as non-HCC and moderate risk by MELD scoring. Governmental involvement in organ transplantation was possibly the main reason for improved survival.

  20. An Artificial Neural Network Based Short-term Dynamic Prediction of Algae Bloom

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yao Junyang

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper proposes a method of short-term prediction of algae bloom based on artificial neural network. Firstly, principal component analysis is applied to water environmental factors in algae bloom raceway ponds to get main factors that influence the formation of algae blooms. Then, a model of short-term dynamic prediction based on neural network is built with the current chlorophyll_a values as input and the chlorophyll_a values in the next moment as output to realize short-term dynamic prediction of algae bloom. Simulation results show that the model can realize short-term prediction of algae bloom effectively.