Furnishing Wound Repair by the Subcutaneous Fascia

Mammals rapidly heal wounds through fibrous connective tissue build up and tissue contraction. Recent findings from mouse attribute wound healing to physical mobilization of a fibroelastic connective tissue layer that resides beneath the skin, termed subcutaneous fascia or superficial fascia, into sites of injury. Fascial mobilization assembles diverse cell types and matrix components needed for rapid wound repair. These observations suggest that the factors directly affecting fascial mobility are responsible for chronic skin wounds and excessive skin scarring. In this review, we discuss the link between the fascia’s unique tissue anatomy, composition, biomechanical, and rheologic properties to its ability to mobilize its tissue assemblage. Fascia is thus at the forefront of tissue pathology and a better understanding of how it is mobilized may crystallize our view of wound healing alterations during aging, diabetes, and fibrous disease and create novel therapeutic strategies for wound repair.

A primer on ocular viscosurgical devices

Purpose To provide pharmacists with an overview of ocular viscosurgical devices (OVDs) and a comprehensive resource describing characteristics of commercially available agents. Summary OVDs are substances that are injected into the eye during ophthalmic procedures, such as cataract surgery, to reduce injury to the endothelium that may result from surgical manipulation. Currently available OVDs are composed of one or more of the following active ingredients: sodium hyaluronate, sodium chondroitin sulfate, and hydroxypropylmethylcellulose. Rheologic properties of OVDs, such as viscosity, elasticity, pseudoplasticity, and cohesion, affect the products’ function and performance. Based on rheologic properties, OVDs can be generally classified as cohesive or dispersive. Given each products’ unique characteristics, OVDs are not interchangeable. An understanding of OVD characteristics and role in practice allows for improved product selection, which varies based on patient characteristics and procedure. Availability of OVD information and literature is generally lacking since OVDs are regulated by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as medical devices. This primer includes an overview of relevant ophthalmic surgical practices and the landscape of comparative efficacy and safety literature to assist in formulary decision-making. This review also provides a comprehensive guide to commercially available OVDs and a discussion on practical considerations for the pharmacist. Conclusion Pharmacists may be tasked with handling OVDs in institutional settings. Knowledge about OVD rheologic properties, product characteristics, role in practice, and available literature is necessary for managing formularies and ensuring optimal product selection.

Photoacoustic technique: a new method for measuring the rheologic properties of human bronchial mucus

Patients affected by obstructive pulmonary diseases exhibit typical characteristics of airway mucus hypersecretion, including sputum production, in- creased luminal mucus, goblet cell hyperplasia and submucosal gland hypertrophy. The mucociliary system is a sophisticated defense mechanism to maintain the homeostasis of the respiratory tract by means of the bronchial mucus transport, the process in which airway mucus together with substances trapped within are moved out of the lungs. In the end, the mucus together with the substances trapped within are swallowed or coughed up. It is an impor- tant defense mechanism of the human body. [...]

Endotracheal tube mucus as a source of airway mucus for rheological study

Muco-obstructive lung diseases (MOLDs), like cystic fibrosis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, affect a spectrum of subjects globally. In MOLDs, the airway mucus becomes hyperconcentrated, increasing osmotic and viscoelastic moduli and impairing mucus clearance. MOLD research requires relevant sources of healthy airway mucus for experimental manipulation and analysis. Mucus collected from endotracheal tubes (ETT) may represent such a source with benefits, e.g., in vivo production, over canonical sample types such as sputum or human bronchial epithelial (HBE) mucus. Ionic and biochemical compositions of ETT mucus from healthy human subjects were characterized and a stock of pooled ETT samples generated. Pooled ETT mucus exhibited concentration-dependent rheologic properties that agreed across spatial scales with reported individual ETT samples and HBE mucus. We suggest that the practical benefits compared with other sample types make ETT mucus potentially useful for MOLD research.

Influence of mechanical activation of a cordierite -based filler on sedimentation stability of lost foam refractory coatings

For the development of the Lost Foam refractory coatings with controlled rheologic properties, the influence of the mechanical activation process on the cordierite-based filler?s properties change was examined. First of all, the test referred to the change of filler particles? size and shape, as well as to dispersion ability and stability of the coating suspension. Cordierite was obtained by synthesis in a solid state, out of the mass consisting of kaoline, alumina, quartz, sepiolite. For characterization purposes, the following methods were used: X-ray diffraction, differential thermal analysis, SEM and optical microscopy. Mechanical activation of filler was performed in a vibrating mill. The upper boundary of the grain size was 100% -30 x 10-6 m, the times were (min): 15; 30; 60. The new composition of Lost foam refractory coatings has been developed with a change of the coating production process, as well. These newly synthesized coatings proved to be effective in terms of a positive influence on a surface quality, structural and mechanical properties of aluminium castings. Test results may be useful to have the Lost Foam refractory coatings specified together with other process parameters used for the production of castings according to this casting method.