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The vertebrate inner ear sensory epithelia contain different types of hair cells and supporting cells. The teleost saccule is anatomically similar to the mammalian saccule and is primarily involved in the detection of translational acceleration and orientation with respect to gravity. To facilitate molecular studies of the teleost saccule cDNA libraries were constructed from microdissected Lepomis macrochirus (bluegill sunfish) saccular maculae. To our knowledge, this is the first report of cDNA libraries constructed from the saccule. In one instance, a non-polymerase chain reaction-based method of amplifying a mRNA population from limited amounts of starting tissue was employed that allowed construction of cDNA libraries from nanogram amounts of tissue mRNA. Conventional cDNA libraries were constructed from the sunfish saccular maculae as well. These cDNA libraries enriched in hair cell and supporting cell transcripts should facilitate molecular biological studies of inner ear sensory epithelia. As an example of their utility, efforts to identify tyrosine kinases expressed in the saccular endorgan using low-stringency hybridization screening of these cDNA libraries and the partial sequence of a cDNA found to encode an erbB-2-related tyrosine kinase are also reported.

1.1. Background: We have assessed an approach, enabling an endoscopist together with surgical assistance to perform endoscopic sutures based on minimally-invasive principles. Aim:Assessment of a new suturing-system in the gastrointestinal tract. Methods:An endoscopist and a surgical assistant used a standard flexible scope and an external 5mm needle-holder with a flexible shaft and articulating end-effectors to perform sutures within the esophagus. For knot-tying, a 5mm flexible knot-pusher was used. The procedures were performed by 4 surgeons with different levels of experience. Assessment of this system consisted of initial box-testing in explants and subsequently in a porcine model to explore different prototypes of needle-holder, suture-materials and time-consumption with suturing. In the final series duration of closure of an esophageal incision was measured. Results:Results show a good feasibility with a mean duration for single bite suturing of 10 min (8-35) and extracorporeal knot-tying median duration 5 min (2-8). The closure of an esophageal incision required a double bite procedure, followed by 3 knots in a median time of 20 min (14-45), performed by 4 endoscopists/surgeons of different level of experience. Conclusion:In animal studies we established the feasibility of a new flexible articulating instruments with flexible endoscopy and surgical assistance to perform reliable intraluminal sutures.

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