OBJECTIVE To study the role of the endothelial protein C receptor (EPCR) in the modulation of susceptibility to inflammation-induced vascular leak in vivo. APPROACH AND RESULTS Genetically modified mice with low, <10% EPCR expression (EPCR(low)) and control mice were challenged with lipopolysaccharides in a mouse model of endotoxemia. Infrared fluorescence and quantification of albumin-bound ...

BACKGROUND/AIMS Preeclampsia is a hypertensive disorder which develops de novo in women during pregnancy. The urinary excretion of the cardiotonic steroid, marinobufagenin (MBG), is increased prior to the development of hypertension. Preeclamptic patients are volume expanded but much of the excess salt and water appears to be located primarily in the interstitial space. Therefore, 'capillary le...

The performance of four bilevel positive pressure preset ventilators was compared. The ventilators tested were; BiPAP ST30 (Respironics); Nippy2 (B + D Electrical); Quantum PSV (Healthdyne); and Sullivan VPAP H ST (Resmed). A patient simulator was used to determine the sensitivity of the triggering mechanisms and the responses to a leak within the patient circuit, and to changes in patient effo...

BACKGROUND Independent lung ventilation (ILV) has been recommended for unilateral pulmonary pathology. We describe a case of a multiple trauma patient treated with ILV for unilateral lung injury. CASE REPORT Following a road accident, an 18 year-old male patient was referred to the university hospital with multiple organ failure, a ruptured liver and spleen, a fractured spine at the Th1-2 lev...

Background: Our group has recently published that proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) induce transmucosal, paracellular, bidirectional leakage in the gastric corpus epithelium to a wide range of molecules. Aim: This study was undertaken to determine if H-2 blocker medications also induce such leakage, or whether it is a result of specific inhibition of H + ,K + -ATPase. Methods: At the beginning and ...

Acute lung injury after hemorrhagic shock (HS) is associated with the expression of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha in the lung. However, the role of TNF-alpha and its receptors in this pulmonary disorder remains obscure. This study examined the temporal relationship of pulmonary TNF-alpha production to neutrophil accumulation during HS and determined the role of TNF-alpha in neutrophil accum...

We developed a hydraulic fracturing simulator by coupling a flow simulator to a geomechanics code, namely T+M simulator. Modeling of the vertical fracture development involves continuous updating of the boundary conditions and of the data connectivity, based on the finite element method for geomechanics. The T+M simulator can model the initial fracture development during the hydraulic fracturin...

Blood leak alarms are important safety features in a hemodialysis machine to protect patients from loss of blood through a rupture in the dialyzer membrane (true alarms). A false blood leak alarm can be triggered by air bubbles or detector malfunction (such as deposits of grease or scale). Hydroxocobalamin is an injectable form of vitamin B12 approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for ...