Reducing intimal hyperplasia in vein grafts harvested by a no-touch harvesting technique

Objective To investigate the effect of no-touch harvesting technique in reducing vein graft intimal hyperplasia. Methods This longitudinal trial compared graft angiostenosis of two groups undergoing jugular vein to carotid artery interposition grafting in rabbit model. Conventional group:12 rabbits had their veins stripped,distended,and stored in heparinized saline solution. No-touch group:12 rabbits had veins removed with surrounding tissues,but were not distended,and stored in heparinized blood. The grafts were removed 4 weeks following grafting,and morphometry and immunohistochemistry assessment were performed. Results The intimal thickness,degree of angiostenosis and proliferation index of vascular smooth muscle cells of no-touch group were significantly reduced (P<0.01) compared with those of the conventional group. The proliferating cell nuclear antigen positive-staining cells were significantly increased (P<0.01) in the conventional group compared with whose in the no-touch group. Conclusion Harvesting the vein graft with no-touch harvesting technique could significantly reduce intimal hyperplasia of the vein graft.

Water harvesting experiences from the southern and eastern Africa rainwater network

This paper shares experiences of the southern and eastern Africa rainwater network on rainwater harvesting.It also shares the lessons drawn from policy research awareness creation and networking building of national networks and assessment of promising water harvesting techniques in the Sub-Saharan Africa.The concerted promotional effort of the southern and eastern Africa rainwater network has resulted in the general acceptance of rainwater harvesting as a viable option for boosting domestic water supply agricultural production and environmental sustainability.To date twelve nationally registered rainwater harvesting associations have been established which are providing leadership and capacity building in rainwater harvesting.Governments and donors are also aligning their policies towards providing increased financial institutional and technical support for upscaling rainwater-harvesting techniques. This paper concludes that diligent land and water management is necessary for yielding the highest benefits from rainwater.In addition to enabling policies and institutions there must be ample budgetary support to increase adoption of the technology.

Mountain Wood vs. Lowland Wood Harvesting Methods： An Ecological Case Study

Are Austrian mountain wood harvesting techniques more ecological than techniques applied in the lowlands of southern Germany？ For this comparative study, the authors selected the area of Lower Bavaria for lowland wood, as a great deal of wood is imported from this region to western Austria. At first, the felling area is described for both regions, from forest site to sawmill. Thereby, the authors create mean values related to timber harvesting and transportation, which are applicable to the whole of western Austria and Lower Bavaria, southern Germany. Secondly, the eco-balance of mountain and lowland wood is established. It is based on the following impact categories： global warming potential, acidification potential, eutrophication potential, ozone depletion potential and non-renewable primary energy. The environmental impact is more expressive if the results are applied to a specific construction part （i.e., glued laminated timber-ceiling）. Our research study showed the eco-balance of western Austrian mountain wood is more favourable than the environmental impact of harvesting lowland wood in southern Germany.