Assessment of primary lymphedema and post-thrombotic lower limb edema patient's pathway.

OBJECTIVES: To assess: (1) lower limb primary lymphedema or post-thrombotic syndrome patient's pathway in terms of health care professional use and (2) if aetiology of edema has an impact on this pathway. METHODS: Ancillary survey of the transversal prospective CHROEDEM pilot study. Forty patients with either lower limb primary lymphedema or post-thrombotic syndrome were invited to participate. RESULTS: Seventy-five percent of primary lymphedema patients and 50% of post-thrombotic patients benefited from a multidisciplinary management (P=0.10) including the general practitioner, the vascular medicine physician and either a physiotherapist (particularly in case of primary lymphedema), a registered nurse (particularly in case of post-thrombotic syndrome). Main ambulatory health care professionals' correspondent of hospital-based vascular medicine physicians were general practitioners (80%) in post-thrombotic patients, and general practitioners (60%) and physiotherapists (45%) in primary lymphedema patients. Pharmacists were also involved in patient education. CONCLUSION: Management of primary lymphedema and post-thrombotic related chronic edema is usually multidisciplinary. General practitioners and vascular medicine physicians are the cornerstones of this management, that also involves the physiotherapist in case of primary lymphedema and in a lesser extent the registered nurse and the pharmacist. This suggests that these five healthcare professional should play a key role in case of development of standardized patient pathways for primary lymphedema and post-thrombotic syndrome.

[Quality standards for ultrasonographic assessment of peripheral vascular malformations and vascular tumors. Report of the french society for vascular medicine. 2018 Update]. / Standards de qualité pour la pratique de l'examen écho-Doppler dans l'étude des malformations et tumeurs vasculaires. Rapport de la Société française de médecine vasculaire (SFMV) : actualisation 2018.

The quality standards of the French Society of Vascular Medicine for the ultrasonographic assessment of vascular malformations are based on the two following requirements: (1) technical know-how: mastering the use of ultrasound devices and the method of examination; (2) medical know-how: ability to adapt the methods and scope of the examination to its clinical indication and purpose, and to rationally analyze and interpret its results. AIMS OF THE QUALITY STANDARDS: To describe an optimal method of examination in relation to the clinical question and hypothesis. To homogenize practice, methods, glossary, and reporting. To provide good practice reference points, and promote a quality process. ITEMS OF THE QUALITY STANDARDS: The 3 levels of examination; their clinical indications and goals. The reference standard examination (level 2), its variants according to clinical needs. The minimal content of the examination report; the letter to the referring physician (synthesis, conclusion and proposal for further investigation and/or therapeutic management). Commented glossary (anatomy, hemodynamics, semiology). Technical bases. Setting and use of ultrasound devices. Here, we discuss ultrasonography methods of using of ultrasonography for the assessment of peripheral vascular malformations and tumors (limbs, face, trunk).

Model-based monitoring and control of a monoclonal antibody production process.

A structured mathematical model describing the dynamics of hybridoma growth and monoclonal antibody (mAb) production in suspension cultures is presented. The model fits well to experimental data obtained from batch, fed-batch, and continuous cultures with hybridoma cells. Applications of the model for process control are demonstrated. 1. An extended Kalman filter (EKF) was designed to estimate the state of the process. The oxygen consumption rate of the cell culture is monitored on-line and is used as the only measurement information for the EKF. This EKF is able to provide good estimates for living and dead cell densities and the medium composition. 2. The mathematical model can be applied for the optimization of fed-batch cultures.

DNA distribution and respiratory activity of Spodoptera frugiperda populations infected with wild-type and recombinant Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrosis virus.

Spodoptera frugiperda cells were infected with a wild-type Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrosis virus and with a recombinant Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrosis virus. The recombinant virus was derived from the wild-type virus and produced beta-galactosidase instead of polyhedrin. The changes in cell size, cell growth, viability, DNA distribution, and respiratory activity were followed through the time course of the infection. The DNA content as measured by flow cytometry of infected cells increased to approximately 1.8 times the value of uninfected cells and the distributions of single-cell DNA content of the infected cells were strongly deformed. Early in the infection the respiratory activity passed through a maximum. The mitochondrial activity based on Rhodamine 123 labelling of cells infected with the recombinant virus, as determined by flow cytometry, also passed through a maximum at 24 h post infection while the mitochondrial activity of cells infected with the wild-type virus continued to increase. Evolution of single-cell mitochondrial activity was different in uninfected populations and in populations infected with wild-type and with recombinant virus. In all experiments performed, the recombinant virus influenced cell behavior and the measured parameters earlier than the wild-type virus. The influence of the multiplicity of infection was stronger for the wild-type virus than for the recombinant virus.

On-line immunoanalysis for bioprocess control.

Immunoanalytical techniques such as ELISA are often used for the detection of proteins produced in cultivation processes. Owing to the difficulty of automating of the time-consuming traditional ELISA, there is an intense demand for a suitable on-line monitoring method. Combining well-known immunoassays with the FIA technique, we present the heterogeneous and the turbidimetric immuno-FIA methods. The following proteins were investigated with these FIA methods: thermostable pullulanase, IgG, antithrombin III, and recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator. In the cases of pullulanase and monoclonal mouse IgG, the turbidimetric immuno-FIA was used for on-line analysis of the cultivation process. Results are presented here to demonstrate the effectiveness and application of these immunoanalysis.

Automated imunoanalysis systems for monitoring mammalian cell cultivation processes.

Two different automated immunoanalysis systems are presented. Both are based on the principles of flow-injection analysis and were developed to provide reliable, rapid monitoring of relevant proteins in animal cell cultivation processes. One system uses a turbidimetric analysis, and the other employs a heterogeneous chemistry with immobilized immunocomponents. For both systems, the analysis time is in the range of a few minutes, and a complete analysis cycle, including triplicate analyses and various washing steps, is in the range of 20-30 minutes. Samples from cultivation processes can be analyzed directly without dilution. Quantitation of proteins such as rt-PA or monoclonal antibodies can be performed over an analyte concentration range of 1-1000 mg/L. Both systems were compared to conventional ELISA assays on microtiter plates. The turbidimetric analysis system also included a biosensor for simultaneous glucose determination.