Acute lung injury (ALI) is well defined in humans, but there is no agreement as to the main features of acute lung injury in animal models. A Committee was organized to determine the main features that characterize ALI in animal models and to identify the most relevant methods to assess these features. We used a Delphi approach in which a series of questionnaires were distributed to a panel of experts in experimental lung injury. The Committee concluded that the main features of experimental ALI include histological evidence of tissue injury, alteration of the alveolar capillary barrier, presence of an inflammatory response, and evidence of physiological dysfunction; they recommended that, to determine if ALI has occurred, at least three of these four main features of ALI should be present. The Committee also identified key "very relevant" and "somewhat relevant" measurements for each of the main features of ALI and recommended the use of least one "very relevant" measurement and preferably one or two additional separate measurements to determine if a main feature of ALI is present. Finally, the Committee emphasized that not all of the measurements listed can or should be performed in every study, and that measurements not included in the list are by no means "irrelevant." Our list of features and measurements of ALI is intended as a guide for investigators, and ultimately investigators should choose the particular measurements that best suit the experimental questions being addressed as well as take into consideration any unique aspects of the experimental design.

/pdf/an-official-american-thoracic-society-workshop-report-2nhg153vye.pdf

An Official American Thoracic Society Workshop Report: Features and Measurements of Experimental Acute Lung Injury in Animals

The endothelial cell (EC) lining of the pulmonary vasculature forms a semipermeable barrier between the blood and the interstitium of the lung. Disruption of this barrier occurs during inflammatory...

Cytoskeletal regulation of pulmonary vascular permeability

Despite advances in critical care, the mortality rate in patients with acute lung injury remains high. Furthermore, most patients who die do so from multisystem organ failure. It has been postulate...

Invited review: mechanisms of ventilator-induced lung injury: a perspective.

Once upon a time the existence of ventilator-induced lung injury (VILI) was debated. After all, most patients with lung dysfunction requiring mechanical ventilation had other potential causes of lung injury, and many patients appeared to tolerate mechanical ventilation for prolonged periods without any adverse sequelae. However, as a result of numerous studies over the past century, and especially during the past 20 years it is now generally accepted that mechanical ventilation per se can initiate as well as exacerbate lung injury and contribute to patient morbidity and mortality. This review examines the seminal bench and bedside studies that contributed to our current understanding of VILI, and that form the basis for current recommendations for mechanical ventilation of the critically ill. Figure 1 schematically depicts a timeline of bench to bedside research on VILI. Included in this review are many of the most frequently cited studies (with the number of citations, N, from the Institute for Science Information Citation Index as of August 2005 included in parentheses), as well as those studies which the authors feel have had a particularly significant impact on subsequent research and/or clinical practice.

/pdf/ventilator-induced-lung-injury-from-the-bench-to-the-bedside-4j2bwvdak9.pdf

Ventilator-induced lung injury: from the bench to the bedside

High-altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE) develops in rapidly ascending nonacclimatized healthy individuals at altitudes above 3,000 m. An excessive rise in pulmonary artery pressure (PAP) preceding ede...

https://www.physiology.org/doi/pdf/10.1152/japplphysiol.01167.2004

Physiological aspects of high-altitude pulmonary edema

The present article describes a novel application of capacitance–voltage measurements to determine simultaneously the band discontinuities (ΔEV, ΔEC) and interface charge density (σ) of heterojunctions. The method, which we refer to as C–V matching, complements the most versatile C–V profiling technique proposed by Kroemer and successfully applied by others. In contrast to the C–V profiling which is limited to isotype heterojunctions, the new method is applicable to p-n heterojunctions as well. The methodology is based on three cardinal equations which are not controversial—the lineup of the bands relative to the common Fermi level (at equilibrium) or the quasi-Fermi levels (when voltage is applied), the charge neutrality and the expression for the total capacitance of the heterostructure. The three equations are formulated for equilibrium as well as nonequilibrium conditions, using quasi-Fermi levels and the quasi-equilibrium approximation. The three cardinal equations are defined by the two constant (al...

G. Gordon

Papers

Measurement of band offsets and interface charges by the C–V matching method