Intravital microscopic observation of the microvasculature during hemodialysis in healthy rats

Hemodialysis (HD) provides life-saving treatment for kidney failure. Patient mortality is extremely high, with cardiovascular disease (CVD) being the leading cause of death. This results from both a high underlying burden of cardiovascular disease, as well as additional physiological stress from the HD procedure itself. Clinical observations indicate that HD is associated with microvascular dysfunction (MD), underlining the need for a fundamental pathophysiological assessment of the microcirculatory consequences of HD. We therefore successfully developed an experimental small animal model, that allows for a simultaneous real-time assessment of the microvasculature. Using in-house built ultra-low surface area dialyzers and miniaturized extracorporeal circuit, we successfully dialyzed male Wistar Kyoto rats and combined this with a simultaneous intravital microscopic observation of the EDL microvasculature. Our results show that even in healthy animals, a euvolemic HD procedure can induce a significant systemic hemodynamic disturbance and induce disruption of microvascular perfusion (as evidence by a reduction in the proportion of the observed microcirculation receiving blood flow). This study, using a new small animal hemodialysis model, has allowed direct demonstration that microvascular blood flow in tissue in skeletal muscle is acutely reduced during HD, potentially in concert with other microvascular beds. It shows that preclinical small animal models can be used to further investigate HD-induced ischemic organ injury and allow rapid throughput of putative interventions directed at reducing HD-induced multi-organ ischemic injury.

Morphological growth pattern of Phanerochaete chrysosporium cultivated on different Miscanthus x giganteus biomass fractions

Background Solid-state fermentation is a fungal culture technique used to produce compounds and products of industrial interest. The growth behaviour of filamentous fungi on solid media is challenging to study due to the intermixity of the substrate and the growing organism. Several strategies are available to measure indirectly the fungal biomass during the fermentation such as following the biochemical production of mycelium-specific components or microscopic observation. The microscopic observation of the development of the mycelium, on lignocellulosic substrate, has not been reported. In this study, we set up an experimental protocol based on microscopy and image processing through which we investigated the growth pattern of Phanerochaete chrysosporium on different Miscanthus x giganteus biomass fractions. Results Object coalescence, the occupied surface area, and radial expansion of the colony were measured in time. The substrate was sterilized by autoclaving, which could be considered a type of pre-treatment. The fastest growth rate was measured on the unfractionated biomass, followed by the soluble fraction of the biomass, then the residual solid fractions. The growth rate on the different fractions of the substrate was additive, suggesting that both the solid and soluble fractions were used by the fungus. Based on the FTIR analysis, there were differences in composition between the solid and soluble fractions of the substrate, but the main components for growth were always present. We propose using this novel method for measuring the very initial fungal growth by following the variation of the number of objects over time. Once growth is established, the growth can be followed by measurement of the occupied surface by the mycelium. Conclusion Our data showed that the growth was affected from the very beginning by the nature of the substrate. The most extensive colonization of the surface was observed with the unfractionated substrate containing both soluble and solid components. The methodology was practical and may be applied to investigate the growth of other fungi, including the influence of environmental parameters on the fungal growth.

First study on oxyuriosis in horses from Algeria: Prevalence and clinical aspects

The present study was carried out the Tiaret region, on horses belonging to the Chaouchaoua National Haras, ONDEEC and on two private farms during the period from February 05th to April 17th, 2019. It aims to assess the overall prevalence of equine oxyuriosis in the area and to describe the most dominant clinical signs of this parasite infection. Scotch tape test was applied on 176 horses randomly selected and the microscopic observation of slides was carried out at the parasitology laboratory of the Veterinary institute of Tiaret. The overall prevalence of Oxyuris equi was 38.64% with females being more infected (37.04%) than males (20.45%). The prevalence of oxyuriosis was higher in fillies (70%) than in foals (48.39%).The high prevalence of Oxyuris equi was recorded in the private farms with a percentage of 85% and 44% in farm 1 and 2, respectively. The more commonly clinical signs were tail rubbing in 42% and scratching in 32% of positive horses.Equine oxyuriosis is a common infection in the study area and requires the application of hygienic measures with more therapeutic and preventive care.

Microscopic Observation of Omeprazole Sensitivity Technology in the Diagnosis and Nursing of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease with Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease

At present, the problem of food safety has led to a variety of stomach diseases in some people, and antibiotics are mainly used in the treatment. In the clinical treatment, the treatment effect is reduced due to the excessive acidity of gastric acid. In this paper, under the microscope to observe the sensitivity of omeprazole technology, the diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with gastroesophageal reflux disease was proposed, and the importance of nursing intervention was emphasized. This paper first describes the use of ultrasound-guided microscopic observation technology and clinical deficiencies. Then use the microscope to observe omeprazole sensitivity technology to observe the pathological section of patients, compare the results of diagnosis and gastroscopy, and evaluate the clinical effect of nursing intervention in patients. Methods: 26 patients with suspected chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) in our hospital were selected as the research objects. After the initial diagnosis, treatment measures were taken and nursing intervention was carried out. The results showed that 1 case, 4 cases, 8 cases and 13 cases of unsatisfied, benign, suspicious and malignant cases were diagnosed by endoscopic ultrasound-guided microscopic observation under nursing intervention, and the overall consistency with the final cytological diagnosis was 85%. Therefore, endoscopic ultrasound-guided microscopic observation in the application of gastric lesions is effective and accurate, and can replace the conventional microscopic diagnosis law.

Metal atom–guided conformational analysis of single polynuclear coordination molecules

Microscopic observation of single molecules is a rapidly expanding field in chemistry and differs from conventional characterization techniques that require a large number of molecules. One of such form of single-molecule microscopy is high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM), which is especially suitable for coordination compounds because of its atomic number–dependent contrast. However, to date, single-molecule observations using HAADF-STEM has limited to simple planar molecules. In the present study, we demonstrate a direct structural investigation of nonplanar dendronized polynuclear Ir complexes with subnanometer resolution using Ir as an atomic label. Decreasing the electron dose to the dendrimer complexes is critical for the single-molecule observation. A comparison with simulated STEM images of conformational isomers is performed to determine the most plausible conformation. Our results enlarge the potential of electron microscopic observation to realize structural analysis of coordination macromolecules, which has been impossible with conventional methods.