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Groundwater salinity is a critical factor affecting water quality and ecosystem health, with implications for various sectors including agriculture, industry, and public health. Hence, the reliability and accuracy of groundwater salinity predictive models are paramount for effective decision-making in managing groundwater resources. This pioneering study presents the validation of a predictive model aimed at forecasting groundwater salinity levels using three different validation methods and various data partitioning strategies. This study tests three different data validation methodologies with different data-partitioning strategies while developing a group method of data handling (GMDH)-based model for predicting groundwater salinity concentrations in a coastal aquifer system. The three different methods are the hold-out strategy (last and random selection), k-fold cross-validation, and the leave-one-out method. In addition, various combinations of data-partitioning strategies are also used while using these three validation methodologies. The prediction model's validation results are assessed using various statistical indices such as root mean square error (RMSE), means squared error (MSE), and coefficient of determination (R 2 ). The results indicate that for monitoring wells 1, 2, and 3, the hold-out (random) with 40% data partitioning strategy gave the most accurate predictive model in terms of RMSE statistical indices. Also, the results suggested that the GMDH-based models behave differently with different validation methodologies and data-partitioning strategies giving better salinity predictive capabilities. In general, the results justify that various model validation methodologies and data-partitioning strategies yield different results due to their inherent differences in how they partition the data, assess model performance, and handle sources of bias and variance. Therefore, it is important to use them in conjunction to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the groundwater salinity prediction model's behavior and performance., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

In recent years, an increase in weed infestation, which is adversely affecting crop growth and productivity has been a major challenge facing the farmers of South Asia. The adoption of a permanent bed in combination with residue retention-based crop management practices may reduce weed abundance and increase crop productivity. In a two-year field study, we evaluated the responses of different organic weed management practices with contrasting tillage and residue (R) management strategies to weed dynamics and crop productivity under rice-maize rotation. The main plot treatments consisted of zero-tillage direct seeded rice and zero-tillage maize (ZTR fb ZTM); ZTDSR and maize both on permanent raised beds with residue (PBDSR + R fb PBDSM + R); PBDSR and PBM without residue (PBDSR-R fb PBDSM-R) and conventional tillage puddled transplanted rice and conventional tillage maize (CTR fb CTM). The subplots comprised unweeded control; vermicompost mulch; P- enriched vermicompost mulch; live mulch with Sesbania spp. in rice and Pisum sativum in maize and weed-free. Total weed density and biomass in rice and maize at 30 days after sowing (DAS) were minimum for PBDSR + R fb PBDSM + R compared to remaining tillage and residue management practices in both years. Apart from weed-free treatment, the highest weed control index was found with live mulch. Yield of rice and maize were found higher in permanent beds along with residue retention-based practices. In rice, the weed-free treatment showed the highest grain yield and live mulch reported 9.8 and 6.8 % higher grain yield than vermicompost mulch and P-enriched vermicompost mulch respectively. Our study shows that conservation agriculture practices under rice-maize rotation is one of the ways to reduce weed density and improve crop productivity in South Asia and other similar agro-ecologies., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Authors.)

Background  Conflicting evidence regarding the laparoscopic versus open cholecystectomy outcomes in scientific literature impacts the medical decision-making for patients with gallbladder disease. This study aimed to compare a range of primary and secondary outcomes between patients receiving laparoscopic cholecystectomy and those with open intervention. Methods  Articles published from 1993 to 2023 were explored by utilizing advanced filters of PubMed Central/Medline, Web of Science, CINAHL, JSTOR, Cochrane Library, Scopus, and EBSCO. The gallbladder disease was determined by the presence of one or more of the following conditions: 1) Gangrenous cholecystitis, 2) acute cholecystitis, 3) chronic gallbladder diseases, and 4) cholelithiasis. The primary end-point was mortality, while the secondary outcome included (1) bile leakage, 2) common bile duct injury, 3) gangrene, 4) hospital stay (days), 5) major complications, 6) median hospital stay (days), (7) pneumonia, 8) sick leaves (days), and 9) wound infection. Results  Statistically significant reductions were observed in mortality (odds ratio [OR]: 0.30, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.30, 0.45, p  < 0.00001), mean hospital stay duration (mean difference: -2.68, 95% CI: -3.66, -1.70, p  < 0.00001), major complications (OR: 0.35, 95% CI: 0.19, 0.64, p  = 0.0005), post/intraoperative wound infection (OR: 0.29, 95% CI: 0.16, 0.51, p  < 0.0001), and sick leaves (OR: 0.34, 95% CI: 0.14, 0.80, p  = 0.01) in patients who underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy compared with those with the open intervention. No statistically significant differences were recorded between the study groups for bile leakage, common bile duct injury, gangrene, median hospital stay days, and pneumonia ( p  > 0.05). Conclusions  The pooled outcomes favored the use of laparoscopic cholecystectomy over the open procedure in patients with gallbladder disease. The consolidated findings indicate the higher impact of laparoscopic cholecystectomy in improving patient outcomes, including safety episodes, compared with open cholecystectomy., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest None declared., (The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, permitting unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction so long as the original work is properly cited. ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ).)

Guavas (Psidium guajava) are regarded as one of the most perishable commodities, primarily owing to their climacteric characteristics and heightened metabolic processes, resulting in a faster rate of softening. Edible coating is a natural ingredient that is employed as an alternative to extend the shelf life of fruits while also providing bioactive and functional compounds. Aloe vera gel is predominantly used for this purpose due to its widespread availability. Various concentrations of aloe vera-based coating formulation (25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%) were applied on fresh whole guava by dipping method. The guava was stored at a refrigerated condition (4°C) and weight loss, color, firmness, vitamin C, total phenol, and pH change were observed in this research. A significant effect of aloe vera coating was found over the storage period. Aloe vera treatment lowered the weight loss, and retarded the texture and color compared to the control sample throughout the 28 days of storage. Vitamin C and total phenol content remined high at 141.4 mg/100g and 219.6 mg GAE/100g respectively in a 100% aloe vera coated sample after 28 days of storage compared to the control. Among 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% aloe vera coated sample, 100% aloe vera was found to be the best coating material to prevent physical changes in fresh guava., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Dutta Roy et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

The pandemic situation of COVID-19 has caused global alarm in health care, devastating loss of lives, strangled economy, and paralysis of normal livelihood. The high inter-individual transmission rate created havoc in the global community. Although tremendous efforts are pitching in from across the globe to understand this disease, the clinical features seemed to have a wide range including fever, cough, and fatigue are the prominent features. Congestion, rhinorrhea, sore throat, and diarrhea are other less common features observed. The challenge of this disease lies in the difficulty in maneuvering the clinical course causing severe complications. One of the major causative factors for multi-organ failure in patients with severe COVID-19 complications is systemic vasculitis and cytokine-mediated coagulation disorders. Hence, effective markers trailing the disease severity and disease prognosis are urgently required for prompt medical treatment. In this review article, we have emphasized currently identified inflammatory, hematological, immunological, and biochemical biomarkers of COVID-19. We also discussed currently available biosensors for the detection of COVID-19-associated biomarkers & risk factors and the detection methods as well as their performances. These could be effective tools for rapid and more promising diagnoses in the current pandemic situation. Effective biomarkers and their rapid, scalable, & sensitive detection might be beneficial for the prevention of serious complications and the clinical management of the disease., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2022 The Authors.)

The aim of this paper is to provide a review of the most promising opportunities for sustainable biofuel generations in Bangladesh. Many researchers provide their opinions with their experimental results, but there has been no overall statistics and potentiality for the sustainable production of biofuel such as bioethanol and biodiesel in Bangladesh. The paper reviews the recent statistical conditions and the potential of biodiesel and bioethanol production in Bangladesh compared to other countries. Basically, the paper focuses on the potentiality of various biofuel feedstocks like as soybean oil, mustard oil, cottonseed oil, sesame oil, coconut oil, algae, rubber seed oil, jatropha, karanja oil, castor, bahera, neem, rice bran oil, pitraj and also different types of residues, crops, fruits, wastes. Among these reviewed papers, it is revealed that Bangladesh can generate annually about 0.16 million tons of edible oil. In addition, Bangladesh has the ability to produce about 1001881 tons of biodiesel from 2387500 tons of non-edible oil. Also, 0.04 million metric tons of biodiesel can be made from rubber seed oil. On the other hand, about 32 metric tons of bioethanol from 65.36 metric tons of agricultural crop residues, and about 143670082.36 gallons of bioethanol from 10.22 million metric tons of potato that is enough to meet the demand of 5% bioethanol blend annually. Furthermore, Bangladesh can produce 31.65 million metric tons of bioethanol from rice residue and 1.34 million metric tons of crude rice bran oil from rice husk of the paddy. It is conjectured that these annual production of various feedstocks can be used as major sources of biofuel and also can meet the demands of biofuel in Bangladesh., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (© 2022 The Author(s).)

Introduction: The aetiological factors of dental fear include negative information, witnessing or having a bad experience, and negative conditions related to periodontal treatment. Modified Dental Anxiety Scale Nepali version, is one of the tools used in epidemiological studies to measure dental anxiety in adults. The objective was to find out the prevalence of anxiety among dental patients visiting for periodontal therapy in a tertiary care hospital., Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among patients visiting for periodontal therapy from November 2020 to January 2021 at a tertiary care dental hospital. Ethical clearance from Institutional Review Committee (Reference no. 0311202001) was taken before the study. Convenient sampling was done. A standard questionnaire for dental anxiety was used for data collection after receiving informed consent from the participants. Data were entered and analyzed in Microsoft Excel Sheet. Descriptive data are presented as means, standard deviations, frequencies, and percentages., Results: Among a total of 311 participants visiting for periodontal therapy, 297 (95.49%) (92.57-97.42 at 95% Confidence Interval) were having anxiety. Among total patients, 113 (36.33%) were fairly anxious, 111 (35.69%) were slightly anxious, 62 (19.94%) very anxious and 11 (3.54%) were extremely anxious. Majority of males 54 (17.36%) were slightly anxious while most females 67 (21.54%) were fairly anxious. Mean Modified Dental Anxiety Scale-Nepali score of all the participants was 11.59±3.808. Extreme dental anxiety was observed in 11 (3.54%) participants 7 (2.25%) females; 4 (1.29%) males., Conclusions: The prevalence of anxiety among patients visiting for periodontal therapy in this study was found to be higher compared to other studies done in similar settings.

Indigenous preparations(IPs) for a male child is reported from some parts of India. The present study aims to explore the effects of IPs for sex selection or sex selection drugs (SSDs) on pregnancy outcomes in rat models. SSDs contain Bryonia laciniosa, Quercus infectoria and Putranjiva roxburghii along with other ingredients., Methods: An experimental design with successfully mated female rats were randomized into control and treatment groups. Phase 1 had 2 interventional arms while phase 2 had 3 interventional arms (12 rats/arm) besides control arm. In phase-1, pregnant females were dosed two SSDs(1000 mg/kg) on gestation days 1-5 whereas, in phase-2, on gestation days 6-19 to correlate the effect of the SSDs (500/1000/1500 mg/kg) consumption during different stages of pregnancy. Pregnant females were observed for clinical signs following treatment. The rats were sacrificed one day before expected day of delivery for evaluation. Pregnancy rate, gestation index, number of corpora lutea, and litter size were assessed. Foetuses were examined for sex, skeletal and soft tissue alterations., Discussion and Conclusion: In phase 1, no appreciable findings were there with SSD exposure. In phase 2, intrauterine growth and survival of foetuses were affected when SSDs were administered during organogenesis period. Decreased number of live foetuses and increased incidence of early and late resorption, reduced fetal growth with significant alteration in skeleton and viscera were found in treatment groups in a dose-dependent manner. This correlates well with findings from observational studies in pregnant women. However, such treatment at any dose did not effect sex differentiation., (© 2019 Center for Food and Biomolecules, National Taiwan University. Production and hosting by Elsevier Taiwan LLC.)

The reliable and accurate indoor pedestrian positioning is one of the biggest challenges for location-based systems and applications. Most pedestrian positioning systems have drift error and large bias due to low-cost inertial sensors and random motions of human being, as well as unpredictable and time-varying radio-frequency (RF) signals used for position determination. To solve this problem, many indoor positioning approaches that integrate the user's motion estimated by dead reckoning (DR) method and the location data obtained by RSS fingerprinting through Bayesian filter, such as the Kalman filter (KF), unscented Kalman filter (UKF), and particle filter (PF), have recently been proposed to achieve higher positioning accuracy in indoor environments. Among Bayesian filtering methods, PF is the most popular integrating approach and can provide the best localization performance. However, since PF uses a large number of particles for the high performance, it can lead to considerable computational cost. This paper presents an indoor positioning system implemented on a smartphone, which uses simple dead reckoning (DR), RSS fingerprinting using iBeacon and machine learning scheme, and improved KF. The core of the system is the enhanced KF called a sigma-point Kalman particle filter (SKPF), which localize the user leveraging both the unscented transform of UKF and the weighting method of PF. The SKPF algorithm proposed in this study is used to provide the enhanced positioning accuracy by fusing positional data obtained from both DR and fingerprinting with uncertainty. The SKPF algorithm can achieve better positioning accuracy than KF and UKF and comparable performance compared to PF, and it can provide higher computational efficiency compared with PF. iBeacon in our positioning system is used for energy-efficient localization and RSS fingerprinting. We aim to design the localization scheme that can realize the high positioning accuracy, computational efficiency, and energy efficiency through the SKPF and iBeacon indoors. Empirical experiments in real environments show that the use of the SKPF algorithm and iBeacon in our indoor localization scheme can achieve very satisfactory performance in terms of localization accuracy, computational cost, and energy efficiency.

Background: In general, mandibular canines have a single root and a single canal. The occurrence of two roots and two canals is a rare entity ranging from 1 to 5%. The anatomy of root canal morphology plays a decisive role in determining the conditions under which endodontic treatment can be performed effectively. Successful endodontic treatment comprises proper diagnosis, meticulous cleaning and shaping followed by three dimensional obturation. Failure to do so may lead to postoperative diseases, pain and further complications. This paper reports successful management of a mandibular canine with two roots and two canals., Case Presentation: 45-year-old Nepalese women with a non-significant medical history presented with a chief complaint of pain in a lower left front tooth. The pain disturbed her sleep and lingered for several minutes even after removal of a thermal stimulus. Clinical examination and testing revealed generalized severe attrition with tenderness to percussion in the mandibular left canine. Electric pulp test for all the mandibular anteriors revealed almost no response in the mandibular left canine. Intraoral periapical radiographs in different angulations were taken which revealed two roots and two canals. A clinical diagnosis of chronic irreversible pulpitis with symptomatic apical periodontitis was made and root canal therapy was performed following the standard protocols., Conclusion: Although the prevalence of two roots and two canals in mandibular canine is very low, the clinician should always be mindful of variations in the number of roots and canals for proper management of such cases.

Aims. The aim of this study was to assess the self-perception of dental appearance among Eastern Nepalese patients using aesthetic component (AC) of the index of orthodontic treatment need (IOTN) and to compare it with that of an orthodontist's assessment using the same scale and determine whether gender, area of residence, and level of education influence subject's self-perception and orthodontist's ratings. Methods. A total of 252 subjects (equal number of male and female) were conveniently selected. The average ages of subjects were 22.33 ± 2.114 years. The level of subject's perception and orthodontist's assessment was analyzed by nonparametric Chi square test. Kappa coefficient was done to verify its agreement. The Spearman's correlation test was used to check the association of educational level and age. Mann-Whitney test was used to check the associations of sex and areas of residence. Results. The demand for treatment was significantly associated with the perception of the subject and orthodontist's assessment. However, age, gender, and educational level were statistically insignificant in influencing subject perception and orthodontist's assessment. Conclusion. Patient's self-perception should be given equal importance while planning orthodontic treatment.

Acanthus ilicifolius (Acanthaceae), a mangrove medicinal plant, is widely used by the local inhabitants of the Sundarbans (India) to treat a variety of diseases. As a part of our continued search for novel bioactive products from mangrove medicinal plants, we were able to document the anti-inflammatory effects of this plant. In the present study, we have performed a detailed evaluation of the gastroprotective activity of the methanolic extract of Acanthus ilicifolius using different models of gastric ulceration. Unlike the conventional non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, a methanolic extract of Acanthus ilicifolius leaves (MEAL) possessing significant anti-inflammatory properties, as revealed from our previous studies displayed in rats in dosages of 200 mg and 400 mg/kg BW after intraperitoneal administration, showed significant protective activity (anti-ulcer activity) against the gastric lesions induced by aspirin, indomethacin, stress, ethanol, and pylorus ligation. In pylorus-ligated rats, administration of Methanolic extract of Acanthus ilicifolius leaves (MEAL) significantly decreased gastric volume, acidity, and peptic activity. Moreover, pre-treatment with MEAL significantly restored the levels of reduced glutathione (GSH) and the antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GPX), along with significant inhibition of both lipid peroxidation and myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity in pylorus-ligated animals. Ulceration induced with ethanol was significantly inhibited with MEAL, and the extract also resulted in the reduction of both lipid peroxidation and myeloperoxidase activity. Furthermore, in this experimental model, administration of MEAL improved the activities of SOD, CAT, GSH, and GPX. A similar pattern of action was also noticed in cold-restraint stress-induced (CRS) ulceration, where MEAL pre-treatment inhibited CRS-induced ulceration, improved the status of antioxidant enzymes, and also reduced the level of lipid peroxides. These results suggest that extracts of the leaves of Acanthus ilicifolius may exhibit anti-ulcer activities additional to the anti-inflammatory properties.

Cancer is one of the major causes of death. For cancer, the general conventional treatment and standard of care for clinical oncology remains surgery followed by radiation and/or systemic chemotherapy as deemed appropriate based on the clinical findings. Chemoimmunotherapy is an approach to treat cancer where chemotherapy is given along with immunotherapy. Chemoimmunotherapy may be useful to enhance survival time in cancer by improve immunity of the patients. This approach may enhance the therapeutic efficacy. A comparative study was done to assess the therapeutic efficacy of the whole cell vaccine and the tumor extract with or without combination chemotherapy with the synthesized glutamine and glutamic acid derivatives and analogs as well as the standard drug etoposide against Ehrlich Ascites Carcinoma (EAC) cells in Swiss Albino mice. The study showed promising results with the compound 5-N-n-hexyl-2-(4-iso-butylbenzenesulphonyl)glutamine. The compound when combined with the whole cell vaccine as well as the tumor extract increases the survival time and the therapeutic efficacy which is comparable with that of standard drug etoposide.

Prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) is often added to the donor pulmonary flush solution to enhance clinical lung preservation for transplantation. Although PGE1 is thought to act as a pulmonary vasodilator during the harvest period, the precise mechanism(s) of action whereby PGE1 enhances lung preservation is unknown. Because cAMP levels decline in endothelial and vascular smooth muscle cells exposed to hypoxia, we hypothesized that a PGE1-mediated increase in cAMP levels within the preserved lungs might improve pulmonary vascular homeostasis following lung transplantation. Rat lungs demonstrated a time-dependent decline in cAMP levels during hypothermic storage, with cAMP levels significantly increased by PGE1 supplementation (approximately 2-fold by 6 hours, P < .0005). To test whether augmenting cAMP levels may enhance lung preservation, experiments were performed using an orthotopic rat left lung transplant model. Compared with controls, supplementing the preservation solution with the membrane-permeable cAMP analogue dibutyryl-cAMP resulted in dose-dependent preservation enhancement, marked by reduced pulmonary vascular resistance (6.0-fold, P < .01), improved arterial oxygenation (3.0-fold, P < .01), reduced graft neutrophil infiltration (1.5-fold, P < .05), and improved recipient survival (7.0-fold, P < .005). Similar preservation enhancement was observed with another cAMP analogue (8-bromo-cAMP) or the phosphodiesterase inhibitor indolidan. Stimulating the cAMP second messenger system by PGE1 supplementation resulted in marked hemodynamic benefits and improved recipient survival, in parallel with reduced graft neutrophil infiltration, vascular permeability, and platelet deposition. These beneficial effects of PGE1 were abrogated by simultaneous administration of the cAMP-dependent protein kinase antagonist Rp-cAMPS. Although an arterial vasodilator (minoxidil) resulted in significant pulmonary vasodilation during harvest, it lacked other nonvasodilating effects of PGE1 and resulted in poor preservation. These data show that harvest vasodilation by itself is insufficient to enhance lung preservation and that PGE1 enhances lung preservation by stimulating the cAMP-dependent protein kinase and promoting non-vasodilatory mechanisms of pulmonary protection.

It has been suggested that inhaled nitric oxide gas may be beneficial after lung transplantation, because endogenous levels of pulmonary nitric oxide decline rapidly after reperfusion. However theoretical concerns remain about the formation of highly toxic oxidants during the quenching of nitric oxide by superoxide. To determine whether distal stimulation of the nitric oxide-cyclic guanosine monophosphate pathway at the level of cyclic guanosine monophosphate might confer the beneficial vascular effects of nitric oxide without its potential toxicities, we studied an orthotopic rat left lung transplant model. In this model, hemodynamic and survival measurements can be obtained independent of the native right lung. Lungs were preserved for 6 hours at 4 degrees C in Euro-Collins solution alone (control, n = 6) or supplemented with the cyclic guanosine monophosphate analog, 8-(4-chlorophenylthio)-guanosine-3',5'-cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP, n = 4). In additional experiments in which lungs were preserved with Euro-Collins solution alone, inhaled nitric oxide was administered during reperfusion (NO, n = 12). Thirty minutes after transplantation and ligation of the native right pulmonary artery, pulmonary vascular resistance, arterial oxygenation, graft neutrophil infiltration (myeloperoxidase activity), and recipient survival were evaluated. Cyclic guanosine monophosphate decreased pulmonary vascular resistance (1.1 +/- 0.2 vs 12.1 +/- 6.3 mm Hg/ml/min, p < 0.05), improved oxygen tension (369 +/- 56 vs 82.8 +/- 48 mm Hg, p < 0.05), reduced myeloperoxidase activity (1.7 +/- 0.3 vs 3.1 +/- 0.9 delta Abs 460 nm/min, p < 0.05), and improved recipient survival (100% vs 0%, p < 0.005) compared with Euro-Collins solution alone (control group). Animals receiving inhaled nitric oxide during reperfusion did not differ from control animals with respect to any of these parameters. These data suggest that distal stimulation of the nitric oxide-cyclic guanosine monophosphate pathway at the level of cyclic guanosine monophosphate has a protective effect that is not seen with inhaled nitric oxide in the immediate pulmonary reperfusion period.

Nitric oxide (NO) produced within the lungs maintains pulmonary vascular homeostatic properties, modulating leukocyte traffic, platelet aggregation, and vasomotor tone. Because reactive oxygen intermediates generated during reperfusion react rapidly with available NO, we hypothesized that the NO donor nitroglycerin (NTG) would enhance lung preservation for transplantation by improving graft blood flow and reducing graft neutrophil and platelet sequestration. By use of an orthotopic rat left lung transplant model, with ligation of the native right pulmonary artery to ensure that recipient survival and physiological measurements depend entirely on the transplanted lung, transplants were performed in 70 male Lewis rats after 6-hour 4 degrees C preservation in Euro-Collins solution (EC) alone or EC with supplemental NTG. Compared with EC alone, supplemental NTG significantly increased pulmonary arterial flow (2.2 +/- 1.4 to 21.4 +/- 2.9 mL/min, P < .01), decreased pulmonary vascular resistance (7.4 +/- 2.0 to 1.4 +/- 0.1 x 10(3) Woods units, P < .05), improved arterial oxygenation (163 +/- 57 to 501 +/- 31 mm Hg, P < .01), and enhanced recipient survival (17% to 100%, P < .001). These beneficial effects of NTG were dose dependent over a range of 0.001 to 0.1 mg/mL. Although NTG caused significant pulmonary vasodilation during the harvest/flushing period, the direct-acting vasodilator hydralazine caused greater vasodilation than did NTG but was associated with poor graft function, elevated pulmonary vascular resistance, and poor recipient survival. To explore nonvasodilator protective mechanisms of NTG, graft neutrophil and platelet sequestration were studied; supplemental NTG significantly reduced both neutrophil and platelet accumulation compared with either hydralazine or EC alone.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)