Estimation of the pulmonary microvascular reflection coefficient to protein in dogs

We used a new technique to estimate the pulmonary microvascular membrane reflection coefficient to plasma protein (sigma d) in anesthetized dogs. In five animals we continuously weighed the lower left lung lobe and used a left atrial balloon to increase the pulmonary microvascular pressure (Pc). We determined the relationship between the rate of edema formation (S) and Pc and estimated the fluid filtration coefficient (Kf) as delta S/delta Pc. From the S vs. Pc relationship and Kf, we estimated the Pc at which S/Kf = 10 mmHg for each dog. This pressure (P10) was 38.0 +/- 5.8 (SD) mmHg, and the plasma protein osmotic pressure (pi c) was 14.9 +/- 3.7 mmHg. In five additional dogs in which we decreased pi c to 2.9 +/- 1.7 mmHg, P10 = 27.2 +/- 2.6 mmHg. The P10 vs. pi c regression line fit to the data from all 10 dogs was P10 = 0.92 pi c +/- 24.4 mmHg (r = 0.88). We estimated sigma d from the slope of the regression line as sigma d = square root of delta P10/delta pi c. With this technique, we estimated that, with 95% probability, sigma d lies between 0.72 and unity. This is higher than most previous sigma d estimates.     

Hydraulic conductivity of canine parietal pleura in vivo

The hydraulic conductivity (Lp) of the parietal pleura was measured in vivo in spontaneously breathing anesthetized dogs in either the supine (n = 8) or the prone (n = 7) position and in an excised portion of the chest wall in which the pleura and its adjacent tissue were intact (n = 3). A capsule was glued to the exposed parietal pleura after the intercostal muscles were removed. The capsule was filled with either autologous plasma or isotonic saline. Transpleural fluid flow (V) was measured at several transpleural hydrostatic pressures (delta P) from the rate of meniscus movement within a graduated pipette connected to the capsule. Delta P was defined as the measured difference between capsule and pleural liquid pressures. The Lp of the parietal pleura was calculated from the slope of the line relating V to delta P by use of linear regression analysis. Lp in vivo averaged 1.36 X 10(-3) +/- 0.45 X 10(-3) (SD) ml.h-1.cmH2O-1.cm-2, regardless of whether the capsule was filled with plasma or saline and irrespective of body position. This value was not significantly different from that measured in the excised chest wall preparation (1.43 X 10(-3) +/- 1.1 X 10(-3) ml.h-1.cmH2O-1.cm-2). The parietal pleura offers little resistance to transpleural protein movement, because there was no observed difference between plasma and saline. We conclude that because the Lp for intact parietal pleura and extrapleural interstitium is approximately 100 times smaller than that previously measured in isolated stripped pleural preparations, removal of parietal pleural results in a damaged preparation.     

Comparative permeability of canine visceral and parietal pleura

To determine the permeability of canine pleural mesothelium, visceral and intercostal parietal pleura from mongrel dogs was carefully stripped from the underlying tissue and mounted as a planar sheet in a Ussing-type chamber. The hydraulic conductivity (Lp) was determined from the rate of volume flux in response to hydrostatic pressure gradients applied to either the mucosal or serosal surface of the pleural membrane. The diffusional permeability (Pd) of radiolabeled water, sucrose, inulin, and albumin was determined under equilibrium conditions from the unidirectional tracer flux. The Lp of the visceral pleura was 0.39 +/- 0.032 (SE) X 10(-4) ml.s-1.cmH2O-1.cm-2 and that Lp of parietal pleura was 1.93 +/- 0.93 X 10(-4) ml.s-1.cmH2O-1.cm-2 (P less than 0.001). The Pd of the visceral pleura ranged from 12.21 +/- 0.45 X 10(-4) cm/s for 3H2O to 0.34 +/- 0.03 X 10(-4) cm/s for [3H]albumin. The Pd of the parietal pleura for water and sucrose was similar to that of the visceral membrane, whereas its Pd for the larger inulin and albumin molecules was greater than that of visceral pleura (P less than 0.01). A spontaneous potential difference could not be detected across either membrane. The relatively higher parietal pleural Lp and Pd for larger solutes is probably due to the presence of stomata in this membrane. These results indicate that both the parietal and the visceral pleura are extremely permeable tissues which offer little resistance to water and solute flux.     

Peculiar capillary convolution of the parietal pleura. III. Electron microscopy studies]

By means of electron microscopy and ultrahistochemical research it has been attempted to detail the structure and explain the function of the pleural tufts of the parietal pleura present in the ventral mediastinum of dogs. This led to the discovery that the varions forms present for the surface-enlarging pleura protusions in actuality exhibit corresponding morphological characteristics. As a special formation of the serous lamina of parietal pleura, they are covered by an occasionally incomplete mesothel unit. The parenchyma of these organs is compinsed of a macrophage-rich outer border zone and of a vessel-canying central zone. The experimental in vivo application of cationized ferritin in the pleura-space clearly indicated a high resorptive metabolism of the mesothel and of the pluripotential mesenchym cells. The higher incidence of lymphoplasmatic cell-forms in the proximity of the central vessels along with leucocytic cell infiltrations fulfill an immunocellular and phagocytic function. The structure of the cell population of the pleural tufts partaking on the resorption of matter out of the pleural space has been discussed in detail. The in vivo application of a cationized ferritin solution for the purpose of studying these resorptive processes has been critically judged.     

Culture procedure of mesothelial cells from the rat parietal pleura

Cultures were made of mesothelial cells obtained by scraping the parietal pleura of the adult rats. The growth was restricted to close polyhedric epithelial-like cells, forming a monolayer. The cellular proliferation continued until the 7th day, followed by a stationary phases. In subcultures the mesothelial cells kept their epithelial type. The cultures were stopped on the 20th day.     

Electronmicroscopic observations on the visceral and parietal rat's pleura after contralateral pneumonectomy

The mechanism of compensatory growth and healing of the pleura remains unresolved. Contralateral visceral and parietal (diaphragmatic and costal) pleura were investigated by transmission electron microscopy, following an experimental pneumonectomy (EP). Fifteen young-adult Wistar rats were divided into three groups and with survival times of 1, 5 and 8 days respectively after EP. Three sham-operated (thoracic cavity opened and closed) and three unoperated rats served as controls. One day following EP the superficial mesothelial cells have more microvilli and microvesicles, but a lower number of specialized contacts. Multiplication of extravasal cells leads to an increase of the thickness of the layer over the basal lamina and of the submesothelial layer. Five days after EP the superficial cells show a stratified arrangement in longer sectors of both pleural sheets. Along with typical mesothelial cells there are three new populations of cells: (1) with an abundant granular endoplasmic reticulum and secretory granules, (2) with fibroblast-like characteristics and (3) with a more extensive lysosomal system. The submesothelial layer is thickened due to newly formed blood vessels and collagen bundles. Eight days after EP the mesothelial cells build multi-row arrangement sectors and surround intercellular dilatations covered with microvilli. 'Activated' high mesothelial cells characterize the monolayer sectors. The submesothelial layer remains thicker due to larger collagen bundles and elastic fibers. The changes in the mesothelium and in the connective tissue layer suggest the existence of two periods. The first one is characterized by different mesothelial cell populations, new vasculogenesis and starting of fibrillogenesis. In the second period there are 'activated' mesothelial cells, pleural villi, groups of lymphatic lacunae and significant fibrillogenesis.     

Regional blood flow to canine parietal pleura and internal intercostal muscle

Transcapillary Starling forces in the parietal pleura and the underlying interstitium may potentially contribute to the exchange of fluid across this barrier. However, the extent of blood flow to the parietal pleura has not been measured. Thus, using standard microsphere techniques, we compared blood flow to the parietal pleura, including the subpleural interstitium, with blood flow to the adjacent internal intercostal muscle, as well as with flows to other serous tissues, including mediastinal pleura, pericardium, and parietal peritoneum, in anesthetized dogs that were either breathing spontaneously (n = 9) or ventilated to control arterial PCO2 (n = 5). Blood flow (ml.min-1.g-1) was measured after 20 min of equilibration in four successive body positions: right lateral decubitus, supine, left lateral decubitus, and prone. Overall, flow to parietal pleura was not different in spontaneous [1.07 +/- 0.14 (SE)] and mechanically ventilated animals (0.74 +/- 0.11). Flow to the internal intercostal muscle was significantly less than pleural blood flow, averaging 0.24 +/- 0.03 and 0.16 +/- 0.03 in the same groups, although again there was no effect of ventilation mode. Blood flow to other serous tissues in the thoracic cavity, specifically the mediastinal pleura (0.67 +/- 0.14) and pericardium (0.88 +/- 0.22), was similar to parietal pleural flow, whereas that to the parietal peritoneum was an order of magnitude lower (0.09 +/- 0.02, P less than 0.05). Changing body position had no effect on blood flow to any of the sampled tissues. Blood flow to the dorsal aspect of the chest wall muscle in spontaneously breathing animals tended to be greater than that to lateral or ventral portions of the chest wall.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Immune response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in the parietal pleura of patients with tuberculous pleurisy

The T lymphocyte-mediated immune response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in the parietal pleura of patients with tuberculous pleurisy is unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the immune response in the parietal pleura of tuberculous pleurisy compared with nonspecific pleuritis. We have measured the numbers of inflammatory cells particularly T-cell subsets (Th1/Th2/Th17/Treg cells) in biopsies of parietal pleura obtained from 14 subjects with proven tuberculous pleurisy compared with a control group of 12 subjects with nonspecific pleuritis. The number of CD3+, CD4+ and CCR4+ cells and the expression of RORC2 mRNA were significantly increased in the tuberculous pleurisy patients compared with the nonspecific pleuritis subjects. The number of toluidine blue+ cells, tryptase+ cells and GATA-3+ cells was significantly decreased in the parietal pleura of patients with tuberculous pleurisy compared with the control group of nonspecific pleuritis subjects. Logistic regression with receiver operator characteristic (ROC) analysis for the three single markers was performed and showed a better performance for GATA-3 with a sensitivity of 75%, a specificity of 100% and an AUC of 0.88. There was no significant difference between the two groups of subjects in the number of CD8, CD68, neutrophil elastase, interferon (IFN)-γ, STAT4, T-bet, CCR5, CXCR3, CRTH2, STAT6 and FOXP3 positive cells. Elevated CD3, CD4, CCR4 and Th17 cells and decreased mast cells and GATA-3+ cells in the parietal pleura distinguish patients with untreated tuberculous pleurisy from those with nonspecific pleuritis.     

Cortico-cortical connections in the parietal area of the cerebral cortex

Layer-by-layer arrangement of the commissural and associative fibers has been studied in the cat parietal cortex. The commissural fibers are distributed in all the layers of the parietal cortex in the contralateral hemisphere, except the superficial part of the I layer. These fibers mainly terminate in the III, IV layers of the contralateral parietal cortex, though their termination in other layers is not excluded. The associative fibers of the parietal cortex are distributed in all the layers of the sensomotor area, except the superficial part of the I layer. They mainly terminate in the III, IV, V layers of the primary somatosensory and in the III, V layers of the motor cortex.     

Evidence for the lateral intraparietal area as the parietal eye field.

It has long been appreciated that the posterior parietal cortex plays a role in the processing of saccadic eye movements. Only recently has it been discovered that a small cortical area, the lateral intraparietal area, within this much larger area appears to be specialized for saccadic eye movements. Unlike other cortical areas in the posterior parietal cortex, the lateral intraparietal area has strong anatomical connections to other saccade centers, and its cells have saccade-related responses that begin before the saccades. The lateral intraparietal area appears to be neither a strictly visual nor strictly motor structure; rather it performs visuomotor integration functions including determining the spatial location of saccade targets and forming plans to make eye movements.     

Coding of the reach vector in parietal area 5d

Competing models of sensorimotor computation predict different topological constraints in the brain. Some models propose population coding of particular reference frames in anatomically distinct nodes, whereas others require no such dedicated subpopulations and instead predict that regions will simultaneously code in multiple, intermediate, reference frames. Current empirical evidence is conflicting, partly due to difficulties involved in identifying underlying reference frames. Here, we independently varied the locations of hand, gaze, and target over many positions while recording from the dorsal aspect of parietal area 5. We find that the target is?represented in a predominantly hand-centered reference frame here, contrasting with the relative code seen in dorsal premotor cortex and the mostly gaze-centered reference frame in the parietal reach region. This supports the hypothesis that different nodes of the sensorimotor circuit contain distinct and systematic representations, and this constrains the types of computational model that are neurobiologically relevant.     

盐胁迫对三角叶滨藜根选择透性和反射系数的影响

以Hoagland溶液培养的三角叶滨藜幼苗为材料,分别采用电导率法、原子吸收分光光度计法和压力室法测定了不同浓度盐胁迫下三角叶滨藜根的质膜透性、离子吸收和根系反射系数,分析其抗盐特点和机制.结果表明:随着盐胁迫强度的增加,三角叶滨藜根细胞质膜透性增大、根系反射系数减小;盐胁迫导致三角叶滨藜根系对K+的总吸收量减少、对Na+的总吸收量增多,但对Na+的相对吸收量减少、对K+的相对吸收量增加.盐胁迫条件下,三角叶滨藜根系对离子吸收有较强的调节能力;而根系反射系数的减小有利于根系用较小的负压力吸收水分,减小木质部空化的危险.说明三角叶滨藜具有较高的抗盐能力.