No abstract available.
Humans

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed two patients, who had taken the same plane from Los Angeles to Seoul, with novel influenza A (H1N1). Through contact tracing, we concluded that the second patient was infected during the flight.
Aircraft ; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.) ; Contact Tracing ; Disease Outbreaks ; Humans ; Influenza, Human ; Korea ; Los Angeles ; Ventilation

Here, percutaneous spinal cord injury (SCI) methods using a balloon catheter in adult rats are described. A balloon catheter was inserted into the epidural space through the lumbosacral junction and then inflated between T9-T10 for 10min under fluoroscopic guidance. Animals were divided into three groups with respect to inflation volume: 20 microL (n = 18), 50 microL (n = 18) and control (Fogarty catheter inserted but not inflated; n = 10). Neurological assessments were then made based on BBB score, magnetic resonance imaging and histopathology. Both inflation volumes produced complete paralysis. Gradual recovery of motor function occurred when 20 microL was used, but not after 50 microL was applied. In the 50 microL group, all gray and white matter was lost from the center of the lesion. In addition, supramaximal damage was noted, which likely prevented spontaneous recovery. This percutaneous spinal cord compression injury model is simple, rapid with high reproducibility and the potential to serve as a useful tool for investigation of pathophysiology and possible protective treatments of SCI in vivo.
Animals ; Balloon Embolectomy/*methods ; Disease Models, Animal ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Spinal Cord Compression/*therapy

We induced percutaneous spinal cord injuries (SCI) using a balloon catheter in 45 rats and transplanted human umbilical cord blood derived mesenchymal stem cells (hUCB-MSCs) at the injury site. Locomotor function was significantly improved in hUCB-MSCs transplanted groups. Quantitative ELISA of extract from entire injured spinal cord showed increased expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), nerve growth factor (NGF) and neurotrophin-3 (NT-3). Our results show that treatment of SCI with hUCB-MSCs can improve locomotor functions, and suggest that increased levels of BDNF, NGF and NT-3 in the injured spinal cord were the main therapeutic effect.
Animals ; Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor/*genetics ; *Cord Blood Stem Cell Transplantation ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Gene Expression Profiling ; *Gene Expression Regulation ; Humans ; Locomotion ; Nerve Growth Factor/genetics ; Rats ; Spinal Cord Injuries/*therapy

The ferret is an established animal model of influenza virus infection. Although viral replication in the upper respiratory tract is usually measured with consecutively collected nasal washes, daily evaluation of viral replication in the lung is limited because a large numbers of ferrets need to be sacrificed at consecutive time points. To overcome this limitation, we performed a virus quantification assay using bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid. This non-invasive BAL technique allows consecutive quantification of virus replication in the lungs of living ferrets. Our method can be used for the longitudinal evaluation of virus tropism in the lower respiratory tract.
Animals ; Bronchoalveolar Lavage/*veterinary ; Disease Models, Animal ; Female ; Ferrets/*virology ; Influenza A Virus, H3N2 Subtype/*physiology ; Orthomyxoviridae Infections/*veterinary/virology ; Respiratory System/*virology ; Virus Replication/*physiology