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Levesque E, Hoti E, Azoulay D, Adam R, Samuel D, Castaing D, Saliba F. Non-invasive ICG-clearance: a useful tool for the management of hepatic artery thrombosis following liver transplantation. Clin Transplant 2011: 25: 297-301. © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S. The clinical presentation of hepatic artery thrombosis (HAT) post-liver transplantation (LT) varies considerably. Doppler ultrasonography (Doppler US) is the first line investigation, with a diagnostic sensitivity for HAT as high as 92%. Because indocyanine green (ICG) elimination from the blood depends among other factors on the hepatic blood flow, we hypothesized that plasma disappearance rate of indocyanine green (PDR-ICG) can be influenced by the flow in the hepatic artery. Thus, we evaluated the role of PDR-ICG measurement in HAT diagnosis in post-LT patients. Fourteen liver transplant patients with no visible flow in the hepatic artery (Doppler US) were identified. Of the 14, seven patients had HAT confirmed by CT-angiography. The PDR-ICG measurement, an investigation routinely used in our center, was performed in all 14 patients. The PDR-ICG in patients with HAT was significantly lower than in patients without HAT (5.8 ± 4.3 vs. 23.8 ± 7.4%/min, p = 0.0009). In patients with HAT, after the revascularization, the PDR-ICG value increased (5.8 ± 4.3 vs. 15.6 ± 3.5%/min, p = 0.006). The ICG elimination may be an adjunct diagnostic tool in the management of patients with suspected HAT following LT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infections remain a major cause of morbidity and mortality after liver transplantation. One possible cause of infection is preservation fluid contamination. Donor-derived pathogens, such as Candida albicans, have occasionally produced life-threatening complications in organ recipients, already described in renal transplantation. In the present case, we report the loss of a liver graft secondary to vascular complications because of C. albicans found in the preservation fluid. Our case report raises the question of implementing procedures, similar to those in renal transplantation, including early antifungal treatment and repeated radiological monitoring for the prevention and detection of vascular complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Passive open-top devices have been proposed as a method to experimentally increase temperature in high-latitude ecosystems. There is, however, little documentation on the efficacy of these devices. This paper examines the performance of four open-top chambers for altering temperature at six sites in the Arctic and Antarctica. Most of the heating effect was due to daytime warming above ambient; occasional night-time cooling below ambient, especially of air temperatures, depressed mean daily temperature. The mean daily temperatures at four arctic sites were generally increased by 1.2--1.8 deg.C; but occasionally, temperature depressions also occurred. Under optimal conditions at theantarctic site (dry soils, no vegetation, high radiation) mean dailysoil temperatures were increased by + 2.2 deg.C (-10 cm) to + 5.2 deg.C (0 cm). Protection from wind may play a more important role than temperature per se in providing a favourable environment for plant growth within opentop devices. Wind speed had a generally negative impact on mean daily temperature. Daily global radiation was both positively and negatively related to chamber temperature response. The effect of chambers on snow accumulation was variable with the Alexandra Fjord site showing an increased accumulation in chambers but no difference in the date of snowmelt, while at Latnjajaure in a deep snowfall site, snowmelt occurred 1--2 weeks earlier in chambers, potentially increasing the growing season. Selection of a passive temperature-enhancing system requires balancing the temperature enhancement desired against potential unwanted ecological effects such as chamber overheating and altered light, moisture, and wind. In general, the more closed the temperature-enhancing system, the higher is the temperature enhancement, but the larger are the unwanted ecological effects. Open-top chambers alter temperature significantly and minimize most unwantedecological effects; as a consequence, these chambers are a useful tool [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The seasonal patterns of leaf exsertion, elongation, and senescence were described and compared for two of the most abundant graminoid species of Alaskan moist tussock tundra, Eriophorum vaginatum and Carexbigelowii. In addition the responses of both species to NPK fertilizer and to variation in site fertility (water track vs. non-track areas) were also assayed and compared. The research was done over two full growing seasons at two sites near Toolik Lake, Alaska, where other aspects of the ecology of both species have been the subject of intensive and ongoing research. Both species showed the typical graminoid pattern of sequential leaf growth, in which the exsertion and elongation of new leaves is coincident with the senescence of old leaves. However, the rates of these processes were much slower and steadier in Eriophorum than in Carex, with much greater overlap in the life histories of individual leaf cohorts. The total and green leaf lengths of whole tillers in Eriophorum were also less variable over the entire year than in Carex. The conclusion is that leaf growth in Carex shoulddepend more on external storage of carbon and nutrients than Eriophorum, with a much greater seasonal variation in demands on storage andretranslocation to and from leaves. The effects of fertilizer and the water track on leaf growth dynamics and turnover rates were largelynonsignificant, despite major effects on total tiller size and productivity. This is in contrast to previous research on evergreen leaf dynamics, but similar to results of previous research on overall production and biomass regulation in Eriophorum. It is concluded that the graminoid response to increased nutrient availability in the Arctic is to dilute the greater amounts of nutrient uptake by greater growth,so that nearly the same metabolic homeostasis is achieved as under low nutrient availability, but at a higher biomass. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]