In-hospital resource utilization in coronary angioplasty: the impact of increased coronary stenting rates and antiplatelet therapy

BACKGROUND: The technique of coronary stenting has evolved over recent years, with improved stent technology and effective antiplatelet therapies to prevent stent thrombosis. In Europe, reductions in stent and equipment costs have resulted from increased market competition. The impact of these changes on the in-hospital procedural cost of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in the current clinical setting is not known. METHODS: We compared the initial equipment and pharmaceutical costs of one hundred consecutive, unselected patients undergoing PCI in 1998 to a similar population who underwent PCI in 1994. RESULTS: Similar patient characteristics were noted, yet more complex disease (multivessel, AHA type B2/C lesions) was treated in the 1998 population. The stent utilization rate (83% vs 15%, p < 0.0001) and use of intravenous and/or oral antiplatelet therapy (abciximab, ticlopidine) (64% vs 4%, p < 0.0001) was higher in 1998. Similar angiographic success was achieved in each group with low complication rates. Mean hospital stay was reduced in the 1998 group (2.6 +/- 2.8 vs 4.3 +/- 3.8 days, p < 0.001). Repeat PCI was required more frequently in the 1994 population (26% vs 9%, p < 0.001). Overall there was no significant difference in the mean equipment cost between the two groups ( pound 1551 vs pound 1422, p=ns). CONCLUSION: Despite the widespread use of coronary stenting and antiplatelet therapies there appears to be no difference in current in-hospital equipment costs for PCI compared to 1994. Improved clinical outcomes in the 1998 population imply that stenting is a cost-effective therapy.     

The use of unlicensed bone marrow–derived platelet lysate–expanded mesenchymal stromal cells in colitis: a pre-clinical study

Background

Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are a promising candidate for treatment of inflammatory disorders, but their efficacy in human inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) has been inconsistent. Comparing the results from various pre-clinical and clinical IBD studies is also challenging due to a large variation in study designs.

Expression of immunogenic VP2 protein of infectious bursal disease virus in Arabidopsis thaliana

VP2 protein is the major host-protective immunogen of infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) of chickens. Transgenic lines of Arabidopsis thaliana expressing recombinant VP2 were developed. The VP2 gene of an IBDV antigenic variant E strain was isolated, amplified by RT-PCR and introduced into a plant expression vector, pE1857, having a strong promoter for plant expression. A resulting construct with a Bar gene cassette for bialaphos selection in plant (rpE-VP2) was introduced into Agrobacterium tumefaciens by electroporation. Agrobacterium containing the rpE-VP2 construct was used to transform Ar. thaliana and transgenic plants were selected using bialaphos. The presence of VP2 transgene in plants was confirmed by PCR and Southern blot analysis and its expression was confirmed by RT-PCR. Western blot analysis and antigen-capture ELISA assay using monoclonal anti-VP2 were used to determine the expression of VP2 protein in transgenic plants. The level of VP2 protein in the leaf extracts of selected transgenic plants varied from 0.5% to 4.8% of the total soluble protein. Recombinant VP2 protein produced in plants induced antibody response against IBDV in orally-fed chickens.     

The European Renal Genome Project: An Integrated Approach Towards Understanding the Genetics of Kidney Development and Disease

Rapid progress in genome research creates a wealth of information on the functional annotation of mammalian genome sequences. However, as we accumulate large amounts of scientific information we are facing problems of how to integrate and relate the data produced by various genomic approaches. Here, we propose the novel concept of an organ atlas where diverse data from expression maps to histological findings to mutant phenotypes can be queried, compared and visualized in the context of a three-dimensional reconstruction of the organ. We will seek proof of concept for the organ atlas by elucidating genetic pathways involved in development and pathophysiology of the kidney. Such a kidney atlas may provide a paradigm for a new systems-biology approach in functional genome research aimed at understanding the genetic bases of organ development, physiology and disease.Key Words: EuReGene, kidney, genome, development, pathophysiology, genetics     

Responses of potential hosts of Asian cuckoos to experimental parasitism

In the arms race between avian brood parasites and their hosts, several adaptations and counter‐adaptations have evolved. The most prominent host defence is rejection of parasitic eggs. We experimentally parasitized nests of 10 potential host species breeding in sympatry with four different cuckoo species in an area in Bangladesh using differently coloured model eggs to test host responses. In four species we introduced both mimetic and non‐mimetic eggs. Black Drongos Dicrurus macrocercus, hosts of the Indian Cuckoo Cuculus micropterus, rejected all model eggs. Common Mynas Acridotheres tristis and Jungle Babblers Turdoides striata accepted all eggs regardless of mimicry. These two species are parasitized by Asian Koels Eudynamys scolopaceus, Common Hawk‐cuckoo Hierococcyx varius and, in the case of Jungle Babblers, Jacobin Cuckoos Clamator jacobinus. Pied Mynas Gracupica contra, with no records of parasitism in our study area, also accepted all eggs regardless of mimicry. In the six remaining species, all of which lay spotted eggs, we introduced only non‐mimetic eggs. Black‐hooded Orioles Oriolus xanthornus rejected all model eggs, even though we have found no records of natural parasitism. Long‐tailed Shrikes Lanius schach and House Crows Corvus splendens, hosts of Asian Koels, rejected 75 and 9.1% of model eggs, respectively. Large‐billed Crows Corvus macrorhynchos, apparently not used as hosts in our study area, accepted all blue but rejected all brown model eggs. Oriental Magpie‐Robins Copsychus saularis and Red‐vented Bulbuls Pycnonotus cafer accepted all non‐mimetic model eggs. In Black Drongos, Long‐tailed Shrikes and Black‐hooded Orioles, all model eggs were ejected within 24 h of introduction. The results show considerable variation in egg rejection rates among various species, providing baseline data for further investigation of co‐evolutionary interactions between brood parasites and hosts in this region.     

Widespread hybridization between the Greater Spotted Eagle Aquila clanga and the Lesser Spotted Eagle Aquila pomarina (Aves: Accipitriformes) in Europe

Hybridization is a significant threat for endangered species and could potentially even lead to their extinction. This concern applies to the globally vulnerable Greater Spotted Eagle Aquila clanga, a species that co‐occurs, and potentially interbreeds, with the more common Lesser Spotted Eagle Aquila pomarina in a vast area of Eastern Europe. We applied single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and microsatellite markers in order to study hybridization and introgression in 14 European spotted eagle populations. We detected hybridization and/or introgression in all studied sympatric populations. In most regions, hybridization took place prevalently between A. pomarina males and A. clanga females, with introgression to the more common A. pomarina. However, such a pattern was not as obvious in regions where A. clanga is still numerous. In the course of 16 years of genetic monitoring of a mixed population in Estonia, we observed the abandonment of A. clanga breeding territories and the replacement of A. clanga pairs by A. pomarina, whereby on several occasions hybridization was an intermediate step before the disappearance of A. clanga. Although the total number of Estonian A. clanga × A. pomarina pairs was twice as high as that of A. clanga pairs, the number of pairs recorded yearly were approximately equal, which suggests a higher turnover rate in interbreeding pairs. This study shows that interspecific introgressive hybridization occurs rather frequently in a hybrid zone at least 1700‐km wide: it poses an additional threat for the vulnerable A. clanga, and may contribute to the extinction of its populations. © 2010 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2010, 100 , 725–736.     

Symbiosome-like intracellular colonization of cereals and other crop plants by nitrogen-fixing bacteria for reduced inputs of synthetic nitrogen fertilizers

It has been forecast that the challenge of meeting increased food demand and protecting environmental quality will be won or lost in maize, rice and wheat cropping systems, and that the problem of environmental nitrogen enrichment is most likely to be solved by substituting synthetic nitrogen fertilizers by the creation of cereal crops that are able to fix nitrogen symbiotically as legumes do. In legumes, rhizobia present intracellularly in membrane-bound vesicular compartments in the cytoplasm of nodule cells fix nitrogen endosymbiotically. Within these symbiosomes, membrane-bound vesicular compartments, rhizobia are supplied with energy derived from plant photosynthates and in return supply the plant with biologically fixed nitrogen, usually as ammonia. This minimizes or eliminates the need for inputs of synthetic nitrogen fertilizers. Recently we have demonstrated, using novel inoculation conditions with very low numbers of bacteria, that cells of root meristems of maize, rice, wheat and other major non-legume crops, such as oilseed rape and tomato, can be intracellularly colonized by the non-rhizobial, non-nodulating, nitrogen fixing bacterium, Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus that naturally occurs in sugarcane. G. diazotrophicus expressing nitrogen fixing (nifH) genes is present in symbiosome-like compartments in the cytoplasm of cells of the root meristems of the target cereals and non-legume crop species, somewhat similar to the intracellular symbiosome colonization of legume nodule cells by rhizobia. To obtain an indication of the likelihood of adequate growth and yield, of maize for example, with reduced inputs of synthetic nitrogen fertilizers, we are currently determining the extent to which nitrogen fixation, as assessed using various methods, is correlated with the extent of systemic intracellular colonization by G. diazotrophicus, with minimal or zero inputs.     

Genotyping of pantophysin I (Pan I) of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua L.) by allele‐specific PCR

The two main allelic variants of the Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua L.) pantophysin I (Pan I) locus have different frequencies within different cod stocks. The Dra I polymorphism which distinguishes the two alleles can thus be used for discrimination of coastal and offshore cod populations. We present a new method for Pan I genotyping using fluorescent allele‐specific duplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR). This method is more rapid, reliable and cost‐effective than the previously published method and it is not affected by DNA source and quality. This improvement is important for studies demanding high throughput and accuracy of Pan I genotyping