Canine lung transplantation after more than twenty-four hours of normothermic preservation

BACKGROUND: Consistent clinical results have not been achieved when lung preservation times exceed 6 hours. The aim of this study was to use an alternative normothermic autoperfusion technique for lung preservation and transplantation. METHODS: In six paired dogs, donor lungs were removed, along with the heart, liver, pancreas, duodenum, and both kidneys, and were preserved for 24 to 33 hours in a normothermic autoperfused multiple organ block. Orthotopic left lung transplantation was performed at the end of the preservation period. RESULTS: Lung function was good during the preservation period. With a gas mixture of 50% O2 + 3% CO2 + 47% N2 delivered to the multiorgan block, arterial oxygen tension ranged from 331 +/- 19 to 383 +/- 8 mm Hg; carbon dioxide tension ranged from 18 +/- 5 to 32 +/- 5 mm Hg; and pH ranged from 7.36 +/- 0.02 to 7.45 +/- 0.08. After transplantation, the dogs were kept anesthetized and ventilated for 24 hours with the same gas mixture. The opposite pulmonary artery was occluded 0 to 6 hours after transplantation. Arterial blood pressures were stable after surgery. Arterial oxygen tension was maintained between 205 +/- 39 and 320 +/- 57 mm Hg, and arterial carbon dioxide tension was maintained between 23 +/- 2 and 34 +/- 2 mm Hg. Lung tissue wet/dry weight ratio was 4.94 +/- 0.17 after preservation; this ratio did not differ from that found in normal controls (4.91 +/- 0.10). CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that the lungs were well preserved for more than 24 hours of preservation when the normothermic multiorgan block preparation was used. The transplanted left lung was able to support the anesthetized dog after the opposite pulmonary artery was occluded.     

Parity conditions in homotopic knock-knee routing

We examine the impact ofevenness (all cuts having even free capacity) andlocal evenness (cuts that separate a single vertex having even free capacity) on homotopic knock-knee routing. Kaufmann and Mehlhorn have presented a linear-time algorithm for routing even instances. We show that routing locally even instances is NP-hard. If we are permitted to move modules slightly, however, then we can efficiently route any locally even instance in which the free capacity of every cut is nonnegative. This fact implies that locally even instances can be one-dimensionally compacted in polynomial time. But when the assumption of local evenness is dropped, routing again becomes NP-hard, whether or not modules may move.This work was supported in part by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Sonderforschungsbereich 124, Teilprojekt B2 (VLSI Entwurf und Parallelität), and in part by DIMACS (Center for Discrete Mathematics and Theoretical Computer Science), a National Science Foundation Science and Technology Center, Grant NSF-STC88-09648. Miller Maley was also supported by a Mathematical Sciences Postdoctoral Research Fellowship from the National Science Foundation, Grant DMS-8705835.     

DNA computation: theory, practice, and prospects

L. M. Adleman launched the field of DNA computing with a demonstration in 1994 that strands of DNA could be used to solve the Hamiltonian path problem for a simple graph. He also identified three broad categories of open questions for the field. First, is DNA capable of universal computation? Second, what kinds of algorithms can DNA implement? Third, can the error rates in the manipulations of the DNA be controlled enough to allow for useful computation? In the two years that have followed, theoretical work has shown that DNA is in fact capable of universal computation. Furthermore, algorithms for solving interesting questions, like breaking the Data Encryption Standard, have been described using currently available technology and methods. Finally, a few algorithms have been proposed to handle some of the apparently crippling error rates in a few of the common processes used to manipulate DNA. It is thus unlikely that DNA computation is doomed to be only a passing curiosity. However, much work remains to be done on the containment and correction of errors. It is far from clear if the problems in the error rates can be solved sufficiently to ever allow for general-purpose computation that will challenge the more popular substrates for computation. Unfortunately, biological demonstrations of the theoretical results have been sadly lacking. To date, only the simplest of computations have been carried out in DNA. To make significant progress, the field will require both the assessment of the practicality of the different manipulations of DNA and the implementation of algorithms for realistic problems. Theoreticians, in collaboration with experimentalists, can contribute to this research program by settling on a small set of practical and efficient models for DNA computation.     

Subdiffraction-limited focusing lens

We describe techniques for making a diffractive optical element that produces a subdiffraction-limited spot size. We provide experimental verification, using a diffraction optical element that is constructed on a magneto-optic spatial light modulator.     

Implementation of large scale shadowgraphy in hydrogen explosion phenomena

The purpose of this study is to determine the performance of a portable large-scale shadowgraph system for use in hydrogen combustion experiments. Previous large-scale shadowgraph and schlieren implementations have often been limited to background-oriented techniques which are subject to noise. The system built is based on a large-scale shadowgraph technique, developed by Settles, which allows for noise-free visualization. We performed jet release, unconfined flame and detonation experiments in hydrogen mixtures. Shadowgrams taken were compared to a Z-schlieren system. Large-scale shadowgraphy offered high-quality visualization of hydrogen explosion phenomenon.     

An international evaluation of holmium oxide solution reference materials for wavelength calibration in molecular absorption spectrophotometry

Commercial spectrophotometers typically use absorption-based wavelength calibration reference materials to provide wavelength accuracy for their applications. Low-mass fractions of holmium oxide (Ho2O3) in dilute acidic aqueous solution and in glass matrixes have been favored for use as wavelength calibration materials on the basis of spectral coverage and absorption band shape. Both aqueous and glass Ho2O3 reference materials are available commercially and through various National Metrology Institutes (NMIs). Three NMIs of the North American Cooperation in Metrology (NORAMET) have evaluated the performance of Ho3-(aq)-based Certified Reference Materials (CRMs) under "routine" operating conditions using commercial instrumentation. The study was not intended to intercompare national wavelength scales but to demonstrate comparability of wavelength measurements among the participants and between two versions of the CRMs. It was also designed to acquire data from a variety of spectrophotometers for use in a NIST study of wavelength assignment algorithms and to provide a basis for a possible reassessment of NIST-certified Ho3+(aq) band locations. The resulting data show a substantial level of agreement among laboratories, instruments, CRM preparations, and peak-location algorithms. At the same time, it is demonstrated that the wavelength comparability of the five participating instruments can actually be improved by calibrating all of the instruments to the consensus Ho3+(aq) band locations. This finding supports the value of absorption-based wavelength standards for calibrating absorption spectrophotometers. Coupled with the demonstrated robustness of the band position values with respect to preparation and measurement conditions, it also supports the concept of extending the present approach to additional NMIs in order to certify properly prepared dilute acidic Ho2O3 solution as an intrinsic wavelength standard.