BACKGROUND-Donor to recipient lung size matching at lung transplantation (LTx) can be estimated by the predicted total lung capacity (pTLC)ratio (donor pTLC/recipient pTLC). We aimed to determine whether the pTLC-ratio is associated with the risk of primary graft dysfunction (PGD) after bilateral LTx (BLT).

Early epithelial injury after lung transplantation may contribute to development of bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS). We evaluated the relationship between early post-operative soluble receptor for advanced glycation end product (sRAGE) levels, a marker of type I alveolar cell injury, and BOS. We performed a cohort study of 106 lung transplant recipients between 2002 and 2006 at the University of Pennsylvania with follow-up through 2010. Plasma sRAGE was measured 6 and 24 hours after transplantation. Cox proportional hazards models were used to evaluate the association between sRAGE and time to BOS, defined according to ISHLT guidelines. Sixty (57%) subjects developed BOS. The average time to BOS was 3.4 years. sRAGE levels measured at 6 hours (HR per SD of sRAGE: 1.69, 95% CI: 1.11, 2.57, p=0.02) and 24 hours (HR per SD of sRAGE: 1.74, 95% CI: 1.14, 2.65, p=0.01) were associated with an increased hazard of BOS. Multivariable Cox regression indicated this relationship was independent of potential confounders. Elevated plasma sRAGE levels measured in the immediate post-operative period are associated with the development of BOS. Early epithelial injury after transplantation may contribute to the development of fibrosis in BOS.

Given a resistive transducer which responds directly or indirectly to a physical quantity x, it is shown that the relationship may be linearized by linear methods if and only if both the resistance and conductance of the transducer are concave upward as functions of x. This result applies to either deflection output or to null balance output. The application to the common temperature transducers is considered. It is shown that thermistors, linear metals (e.g., copper), and nickel can be linearized in terms of temperature, but platinum cannot be. If linearization is desired in terms of the reciprocal of absolute temperature, then all the above mentioned transducers can be linearized, including platinum. Quantitative results are obtained for all cases.

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