Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
Measurable Increase (measurable + increase)
Selected AbstractsEfficacy of intervention strategies for bioremediation of crude oil in marine systems and effects on indigenous hydrocarbonoclastic bacteriaENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 6 2007Boyd A. McKew Summary There is little information on how different strategies for the bioremediation of marine oil spills influence the key indigenous hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria (hydrocarbonoclastic bacteria, HCB), and hence their remediation efficacy. Therefore, we have used quantitative polymerase chain reaction to analyse changes in concentrations of HCB in response to intervention strategies applied to experimental microcosms. Biostimulation with nutrients (N and P) produced no measurable increase in either biodegradation or concentration of HCB within the first 5 days, but after 15 days there was a significant increase (29%; P < 0.05) in degradation of n -alkanes, and an increase of one order of magnitude in concentration of Thalassolituus (to 107 cells ml,1). Rhamnolipid bioemulsifier additions alone had little effect on biodegradation, but, in combination with nutrient additions, provoked a significant increase: 59% (P < 0.05) more n -alkane degradation by 5 days than was achieved with nutrient additions alone. The very low Alcanivorax cell concentrations in the microcosms were hardly influenced by addition of nutrients or bioemulsifier, but strongly increased after their combined addition, reflecting the synergistic action of the two types of biostimulatory agents. Bioaugmentation with Thalassolituus positively influenced hydrocarbon degradation only during the initial 5 days and only of the n -alkane fraction. Bioaugmentation with Alcanivorax was clearly much more effective, resulting in 73% greater degradation of n -alkanes, 59% of branched alkanes, and 28% of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, in the first 5 days than that obtained through nutrient addition alone (P < 0.01). Enhanced degradation due to augmentation with Alcanivorax continued throughout the 30-day period of the experiment. In addition to providing insight into the factors limiting oil biodegradation over time, and the competition and synergism between HCB, these results add weight to the use of bioaugmentation in oil pollution mitigation strategies. [source] Vascular alterations in the rabbit patellar tendon after surgical incisionJOURNAL OF ANATOMY, Issue 5 2001M. R. DOSCHAK Open incision of the patellar tendon (PT) is thought to promote acute vascular responses which ultimately result in an enhanced degree of tendon repair. Such a clinical procedure is commonly applied to patients with refractory tendinitis. The objective of this study was to quantify the vascular adaptations (both anatomical and physiological) to longitudinal incision of the PT, and the resultant effects on tendon organisation. Fifty-four New Zealand White rabbits were separated into 3 experimental groups and 2 control groups. Experimental groups underwent surgical incision of the right PT, and were assessed 3 d, 10 d and 42 d following injury; normal unoperated controls were evaluated at time zero, and sham-operated controls were evaluated at 3 d to control for the effects of incising the overlying skin. Quantitative measures of PT blood supply (blood flow, microvascular volume) and geometric properties of PT substance were obtained for each PT. Histomorphology was assessed to evaluate vascular remodelling and matrix organisation in the healing PT. Longitudinal open incision surgery of the PT led to rapid increases in both blood flow and vascular volume. The incision of overlying tissues alone (sham-operated) contributed to this measurable increase, and accounted for 36% and 42% of the elevated blood flow and vascular volume respectively at the 3 d interval. In the incised PT, blood flow significantly increased by 3 d compared with both time zero and sham-operated controls, and remained significantly elevated at the 10 d interval. Similarly, vascular volume of the incised PT increased at 3 d compared both with time zero and sham-operated controls. At the 10 d interval, the increase in vascular volume was greatest in the central PT substance. By 42 d both blood flow and vascular volume of the incised tendon had diminished, with only blood flow remaining significantly different from controls. In the contralateral limb, a significant neurogenically mediated vasodilation was measured in the contralateral PTs at both early time intervals, but was not seen by the later 42 d interval. With respect to PT geometric properties in the experimental animals, a larger PT results as the tendon matrix and blood vessels remodel. PT cross-sectional area increased rapidly by 3 d to 1·3 times control values, and remained significantly elevated at 42 d postinjury. Morphological assessments demonstrated the disruption of matrix organisation by vascular and soft tissue components associated with the longitudinal incisions. Substantial changes in matrix organisation persisted at 42 d after surgery. These findings suggest that open longitudinal incision of the PT increases the vascular supply to deep tendon early after injury. These changes probably arise through both vasomotor and angiogenic activity in the tissue. Since PT blood flow and vascular volume return towards control levels after 6 wk but structural features remain disorganised, we propose that vascular remodelling is more rapid and complete than matrix remodelling after surgical incision of the PT. [source] Radiofrequency exposure and mammalian cell toxicity, genotoxicity, and transformationBIOELECTROMAGNETICS, Issue S6 2003Martin L. Meltz Abstract The published in vitro literature relevant to the issue of the possible induction of toxicity, genotoxicity, and transformation of mammalian cells due to radiofrequency field (RF) exposure is examined. In some instances, information about related in vivo studies is presented. The review is from the perspective of technical merit and also biological consistency, especially with regard to those publications reporting a positive effect. The weight of evidence available indicates that, for a variety of frequencies and modulations with both short and long exposure times, at exposure levels that do not (or in some instances do) heat the biological sample such that there is a measurable increase in temperature, RF exposure does not induce (a) DNA strand breaks, (b) chromosome aberrations, (c) sister chromatid exchanges (SCEs), (d) DNA repair synthesis, (e) phenotypic mutation, or (f) transformation (cancer-like changes). While there is limited experimental evidence that RF exposure induces micronuclei formation, there is abundant evidence that it does not. There is some evidence that RF exposure does not induce DNA excision repair, suggesting the absence of base damage. There is also evidence that RF exposure does not inhibit excision repair after the induction of thymine dimers by UV exposure, as well as evidence that indicates that RF is not a co-carcinogen or a tumor promoter. The article is in part a tutorial, so that the reader can consider similarities and discrepancies between reports of RF-induced effects relative to one another. Bioelectromagnetics Supplement 6:S196,S213, 2003. © 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Intraoperative Assessment of an Implantable Electrode Array for Cavernous Nerve StimulationTHE JOURNAL OF SEXUAL MEDICINE, Issue 8 2008Arthur L. Burnett ABSTRACT Introduction., Erectile dysfunction remains a major functional complication of radical prostatectomy in the modern era despite surgical techniques to preserve the penile autonomic nerve supply. Aim., To develop and evaluate a neurostimulation system for cavernous nerve electrical stimulation for future use as a chronic implantation device that neurotrophically promotes erectile function recovery following radical prostatectomy. Method., After radical retropubic prostatectomy, the neurovascular bundle was stimulated using a temporarily placed electrode array of an implantable neurostimulation system (20 Hz frequency, 260 µ seconds pulse width, 5 mA,60 mA amplitude up to 10 minutes), and penile circumference increases were measured. Main Outcome Measure., Increase in penile circumference. Results., Among 12 men (mean age 60.3 years) enrolled in this study, 6 (50%) demonstrated measurable increases in penile circumference in response to cavernous nerve stimulation. Among these six men, the mean increase was 5.0 mm (range 1.6 mm to 7.0 mm). Temporary surgical placement of the device was done with relative ease, and there was no evidence of injury to the neurovascular bundle. Conclusions., A chronic implantable nerve stimulation system for cavernous nerve stimulation having possible neuromodulatory effects on the recovery of penile erections after radical prostatectomy is feasible. Burnett AL, Teloken PE, Briganti A, Whitehurst T, and Montorsi F. Intraoperative assessment of an implantable electrode array for cavernous nerve stimulation. J Sex Med 2008;5:1949,1954. [source] | ||||||||||