Human organ phantoms for catheterization using the radiation crosslinking technique

HUMAN ORGAN TRANSPLANTATION: LEGAL SYSTEM MONITORING

World of Medicine and Biology ◽

10.26724/2079-8334-2018-3-65-128-134 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 14 (65) ◽

pp. 128

Author(s):

А. О. Yanchuk ◽

S. О. Kuznichenko ◽

Yu. V. Gradova

Keyword(s):

Organ Transplantation ◽

Legal System ◽

System Monitoring ◽

Human Organ

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‘I’m not Sherlock Holmes’: Suspicions, secrecy and silence of transplant professionals in the human organ trade

European Journal of Criminology ◽

10.1177/1477370818825331 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 17 (6) ◽

pp. 764-783

Author(s):

Frederike Ambagtsheer ◽

Linde Van Balen

Keyword(s):

Qualitative Interview ◽

Interview Study ◽

Safe Distance ◽

Sherlock Holmes ◽

Human Organ ◽

Qualitative Interview Study ◽

Organ Trade ◽

The Subject

This article presents the results of a qualitative interview study amongst 41 Dutch transplant professionals. The overarching aim was to acquire in-depth understanding of transplant professionals’ experiences with and attitudes towards patients who purchase kidneys. We found that transplant professionals occasionally treat patients who are suspected of kidney purchases abroad. However, they turn a blind eye to their patients’ suspected purchases. Secrecy and silence function as a tacit agreement between patients and their caregivers that keeps the subject of kidney purchase at a safe distance and allows transplant professionals to ignore its suspected occurrence. They thus participate in the building of walls of secrecy and silence in the organ trade.

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Understanding the challenges to investigating and prosecuting organ trafficking: a comparative analysis of two cases

Trends in Organized Crime ◽

10.1007/s12117-021-09421-2 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Frederike Ambagtsheer

Keyword(s):

Criminal Justice ◽

Human Trafficking ◽

Organ Trafficking ◽

Institutional Barriers ◽

Human Organ ◽

Cross Border ◽

Successful Case ◽

Mixed Method Design ◽

Organ Trade ◽

Case Outcome

AbstractThe human organ trade is proliferating globally. However, far fewer cases have been prosecuted than would be expected based on estimates of the crime. Research exploring the challenges to investigating and prosecuting organ trafficking cases is practically non-existent. Also no studies exist that explain these challenges utilizing a criminal justice framework. This article aims to explain the legal, institutional and environmental factors that affected the investigation and prosecution of two organ trafficking cases: the Netcare case, exposed in South Africa and the Medicus case, exposed in Kosovo. It analyzes these factors through a comparative, mixed-method design, utilizing a theoretical criminal justice framework. Both cases constituted globally operating criminal networks involving brokers and transplant professionals that colluded in organizing illegal transplants. Both cases contained human trafficking elements, however only the Medicus case was prosecuted as a human trafficking case. Legal uncertainty, a lack of institutional readiness and cross-border collaboration issues hampered investigation and prosecution of the Netcare case. The Medicus case also reported problems during cross-border collaboration, as well as a corrupt environment and institutional barriers, which impeded a successful case outcome. Recommendations to improve enforcement of organ trafficking include improving identification of suspicious transplant activity, strengthening cross-border collaboration and enhancing whistleblower protection laws.

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Radiation Crosslinking of Rubber. Yields of Hydrogen and Crosslinks

Rubber Chemistry and Technology ◽

10.5254/1.3540243 ◽

1961 ◽

Vol 34 (3) ◽

pp. 735-747

Author(s):

D. T. Turner

Keyword(s):

Radiation Crosslinking

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Mechanical Strain-Enabled Reconstitution of Dynamic Environment in Organ-on-a-Chip Platforms: A Review

Micromachines ◽

10.3390/mi12070765 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (7) ◽

pp. 765

Author(s):

Qianbin Zhao ◽

Tim Cole ◽

Yuxin Zhang ◽

Shi-Yang Tang

Keyword(s):

Cell Culture ◽

Shear Stress ◽

Cultured Cells ◽

Mechanical Strain ◽

3D Cell Culture ◽

Small Scale ◽

Mechanical Stimuli ◽

Human Organ ◽

Organ On A Chip

Organ-on-a-chip (OOC) uses the microfluidic 3D cell culture principle to reproduce organ- or tissue-level functionality at a small scale instead of replicating the entire human organ. This provides an alternative to animal models for drug development and environmental toxicology screening. In addition to the biomimetic 3D microarchitecture and cell–cell interactions, it has been demonstrated that mechanical stimuli such as shear stress and mechanical strain significantly influence cell behavior and their response to pharmaceuticals. Microfluidics is capable of precisely manipulating the fluid of a microenvironment within a 3D cell culture platform. As a result, many OOC prototypes leverage microfluidic technology to reproduce the mechanically dynamic microenvironment on-chip and achieve enhanced in vitro functional organ models. Unlike shear stress that can be readily generated and precisely controlled using commercial pumping systems, dynamic systems for generating proper levels of mechanical strains are more complicated, and often require miniaturization and specialized designs. As such, this review proposes to summarize innovative microfluidic OOC platforms utilizing mechanical actuators that induce deflection of cultured cells/tissues for replicating the dynamic microenvironment of human organs.

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Systemic Metabolic Alterations Correlate with Islet-Level Prostaglandin E2 Production and Signaling Mechanisms That Predict β-Cell Dysfunction in a Mouse Model of Type 2 Diabetes

Metabolites ◽

10.3390/metabo11010058 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. 58 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Michael D. Schaid ◽

Yanlong Zhu ◽

Nicole E. Richardson ◽

Chinmai Patibandla ◽

Irene M. Ong ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Type 2 Diabetes ◽

Prostaglandin E2 ◽

Genetic Model ◽

Cell Mass ◽

Arachidonic Acid Metabolite ◽

Β Cell ◽

Human Organ ◽

Cell Dysfunction ◽

Primary Mouse

The transition from β-cell compensation to β-cell failure is not well understood. Previous works by our group and others have demonstrated a role for Prostaglandin EP3 receptor (EP3), encoded by the Ptger3 gene, in the loss of functional β-cell mass in Type 2 diabetes (T2D). The primary endogenous EP3 ligand is the arachidonic acid metabolite prostaglandin E2 (PGE2). Expression of the pancreatic islet EP3 and PGE2 synthetic enzymes and/or PGE2 excretion itself have all been shown to be upregulated in primary mouse and human islets isolated from animals or human organ donors with established T2D compared to nondiabetic controls. In this study, we took advantage of a rare and fleeting phenotype in which a subset of Black and Tan BRachyury (BTBR) mice homozygous for the Leptinob/ob mutation—a strong genetic model of T2D—were entirely protected from fasting hyperglycemia even with equal obesity and insulin resistance as their hyperglycemic littermates. Utilizing this model, we found numerous alterations in full-body metabolic parameters in T2D-protected mice (e.g., gut microbiome composition, circulating pancreatic and incretin hormones, and markers of systemic inflammation) that correlate with improvements in EP3-mediated β-cell dysfunction.

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