A technic for laparoscopic gastrostomy

The authors describe the technique of laparoscopic gastrostomy and laparoscopic assisted gastrostomy. It is an alternative method for patients, when PEG (percutaneous endoscopic gastronomy) or other more physiologic way of food administration is not possible to perform.     

Analysis of T-cell receptor gene rearrangement in lymph nodes of patients with mycosis fungoides. Prognostic implications

PURPOSE: To evaluate different vein grafts for luminal coating of endovascular stents in normal canine arteries. METHODS: Twenty-four tantalum Strecker stents were coated with either autologous (n = 10), denatured heterologous (n = 11), or denatured homologous vein grafts (n = 3). The carotid artery (n = 11) and the iliac artery (n = 13) were stented using a transfemoral approach. Angiograms were performed at days 0, 7, and 21, and months 3, 6, and 9. All grafts underwent histological examination. RESULTS: Eight of 10 autologous vein grafts showed patency during the whole observation period of 9 months, without histological signs of inflammation. Denatured heterologous vein grafts revealed acute (n = 3), subacute (n = 5), or delayed (n = 3) vessel occlusion. Hyaloid transformation of the vein graft and lympho-plasmacellular formations were seen. Denatured homologous vein grafts showed acute vessel occlusion. Although significant inflammatory tissue response was seen, no host-versus-graft reaction was present. CONCLUSION: Autologous vein graft-coated stents showed good biocompatibility in canine arteries. Preparation was cumbersome and required surgical venae-sectio. Denatured vein grafts, however, were limited by inflammatory reactions.     

Effect of the antioxidant Nicanartine on the proliferative and inflammatory response after experimental balloon angioplasty

BACKGROUND: Antioxidant treatment seems to reduce the development of restenosis after percutaneous transluminal angioplasty. In this study, the effect of Nicanartine, a new antioxidant drug with both antiproliferative and lipid-lowering properties, on the proliferative and inflammatory response after balloon angioplasty was investigated in a rabbit model of restenosis. METHODS: To induce pre-interventional plaques in the common carotid artery of 48 New Zealand White rabbits, electrostimulation was carried out for 28 days. After a break of 7 days, balloon angioplasty was performed in 36 animals, of which 18 received Nicanartine at a dose of 120 mg/kg body weight; the other 18 served as a control group. The vessels were excised by day 7 and 28 after balloon angioplasty and examined for intimal plaque size, macrophage content and proliferative activity. Bromodeoxyuridine labeling was used to determine proliferating cells in the dilated segment; macrophages were detected using the RAM-11 antibody. RESULTS: In the Nicanartine-treated group, immunohistological quantification 7 days after intervention showed a statistically significant (P< 0.05) reduction of both cells undergoing DNA synthesis (1.6+/-1.4% versus 3.7+/-2.2%) and intimal macrophages (0.7+/-1.2% versus 1.3+/-0.6%). Twenty-eight days after balloon angioplasty, proliferative activity in both groups was decreased to a level comparable to the non-dilated control groups. A clear trend towards smaller plaques could be seen in the Nicanartine group (0.146+/-0.077 mm2 versus 0.255+/-0.174 mm2). Total cholesterol levels did not differ significantly between the groups. CONCLUSION: Under treatment with Nicanartine a clear reduction in the proliferative and inflammatory response after balloon angioplasty was observed. Antioxidant treatment, especially with compounds having antiproliferative and lipid-lowering properties, appears to be an effective secondary preventive strategy after interventional treatment in patients with coronary artery disease.     

Use of anti-CD3 epsilon F(ab')2 fragments in vivo to modulate graft-versus-host disease without loss of graft-versus-leukemia reactivity after MHC-matched bone marrow transplantation

The use of T cell-specific mAb in vivo for prevention and treatment of graft-vs-host disease (GVHD) and its impact on graft-vs-leukemia (GVL) reactivity was examined in a murine model of MHC-matched bone marrow transplantation (BMT). F(ab')2 fragments of a CD3 epsilon-specific mAb were administered to irradiated AKR (H-2k) hosts after transplantation of BM plus spleen cells from B10.BR donors (BMS chimeras). The effects on GVH and GVL reactivity were Ab dose- and schedule-dependent. A short course of mAb (qe2d, days 0 to 8) prevented clinical evidence of GVHD and mortality. Anti-CD3 F(ab')2 mAb reversed clinical symptoms of acute GVHD when delayed up to 18 days post-transplant. Anti-host (Mls-1a)-specific V beta 6+ cells were absent from the spleens of GVH-negative control mice, but persisted in Ab-treated BMS chimeras despite the absence of GVHD. Leukemic mice given 16.7 micrograms of Ab on days 0, 2, and 4 survived leukemia-free without developing severe GVHD. A longer course of Ab completely prevented GVHD, but led to leukemia relapse in tumor-bearing hosts, despite engraftment of donor T cells. The GVL effect was quantitatively stronger when Ab was used for GVH therapy as compared with GVH prevention. Some Ab-treated, GVH-free chimeras relapsed with lymphomas in unusual sites, suggesting that occult tumor cells may persist in nonlymphoid tissues. These experiments demonstrate that T cell-specific mAb can be used successfully in vivo to avoid severe GVHD, but that excessive or ill-timed administration of Ab may eliminate GVL reactivity.     

Die anthropologische Konstitution von ‘Rasse’ und ‘Geschlecht’ um 1900

Drawing upon the perspective of poststructuralist feminist science studies, this paper examines the ‘productivity’ of German physical anthropology around 1900. The scientific discourse of anthropology is characterised by highly heterogeneous knowledge production under conditions of ‘mechanical objectivity’ [Daston/Galison, 2002]. It manifests a strong drive toward visual representations. Methodologically grounded in Foucault, Derrida, and Butler, physical anthropology at the turn of the century can be understood as oscillating between the production and the deconstruction of the categories of ‘race’ and ‘sex’. A close reading of one exemplary visualisation – the skull reconstruction of Kollmann and Büchly (1898) – extends the insights of Rheinberger on the productivity of experimental systems.     

Heat transfer enhancement of NBI vacuum pump cryopanels

Huge cryogenic pumps are installed inside neutral beam injectors in order to manage the typically very large gas flows. This paper deals with the aspect of passive cooling in NBI cryopump design development and discusses design considerations in two example areas. One is the design of cryopanels consisting of a pipe, centrally supplied with cryogenic helium, and a welded fin, passively cooled, to provide the necessary pumping surface below a given maximum temperature. The results of several parametric simulations in ANSYS are presented using different copper thicknesses and cryopanel geometries to discuss the thermal capability (heat transfer characteristics and heat capacities) of a number of design variants. The optimum design solution is based on copper-coated fins, using an electroplating technique, and thereby improving the heat transfer of the cryopanels while attaining an overall reduction in weight. The other area is the sound design of the manifold shielding system with a weld contact between copper and stainless steel. Weld samples were manufactured and investigated to raise awareness of the demands and risks during manufacturing and to demonstrate that readily applicable weld procedures exist.     

Trierucoylglycerol Biosynthesis in Transgenic Plants of Rapeseed (Brassica napus L.)

The erucoyl-CoA specific sn-1-acylglycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase (LPAAT) of Limnanthes douglasii was functionally expressed in developing seeds of differing high-erucic acid rapeseed genotypes, namely resynthesized lines and cultivars. Lipid analysis revealed that seed oil of transgenic plants in contrast to that of control plants contained trierucoylglycerol as well as a molecular species with two erucoyl groups and one eicosenoyl group. The proportion of trierucoylglycerol was distinctly higher in the seeds from transgenic resynthesized plants than in those from transgenic cultivars. In pooled seed oil fractions, up to 9% trierucoylglycerol (trierucin) was determined and the fatty acid composition at the sn-2 position was found to consist of more than 40% erucic acid. Since the pooled seeds were segregating for the presence of the L. douglasii gene, the analysis of single seeds gave even higher levels of up to 13% trierucin.