Imaging of mouse experimental melanoma in vivo and ex vivo by combination of confocal and nonlinear microscopy

We investigated possibilities of the combination of the one- and two-photon excitation microscopy for examination of the experimental melanoma tissue in vivo, in mice under general anesthesia, and ex vivo on freshly harvested specimens. Our aim was to obtain sufficiently informative images of unstained tumor tissues and their modifications after hyperthermia treatment. The mouse experimental melanoma structure was studied and compared with normal tissue from the same animal by using confocal and nonlinear microscopy techniques based on (i) one-photon excitation (1PE) fluorescence, (ii) 1PE reflectance, (iii) second harmonic generation imaging, and (iv) two-photon excitation autofluorescence. We checked different spectral conditions and other settings of image acquisition, as well as combinations of the above imaging modalities, to fully exploit the potential of these techniques in the evaluation of treated and untreated cancer tissue morphology. Our approach enabled to reveal the collagen fiber network in relation with the other tissues, and to identify invasive tumor cells. It also proved to be useful for the examination of interrelationships between functional and morphological aspects based on optical properties of the tissues, especially in studies of changes between the tumor and control tissue, as well as changes induced by physical treatments, e.g., delivery of microwave hyperthermia treatment. These differences were also evaluated quantitatively, when we found out that the maximum Euler–Poincaré characteristic reflects well the melanoma morphological structure. The results showed that the proposed investigative approach could be suitable also for a direct evaluation of tissue modifications induced by clinical interventions. Microsc. Res. Tech., 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Evidence for social anxiety and impaired social cognition in a mouse model of fragile X syndrome.

This study assessed social behavior in a mouse model of Fragile X syndrome (FXS), the Fmr1 tm1Cgr or Fmr1 "knockout" (KO) mouse. Both the KO and wild-type (WT) mice preferred to be near a novel conspecific than to be alone. However, during the initial interaction with a novel conspecific, (1) a greater proportion of the KO mice exhibited high levels of grooming; and (2) the average duration of nose contact with the stimulus mouse was significantly shorter for the KO mice, both indicative of increased arousal and/or anxiety. Both groups exhibited a robust novelty preference when the novel animal was a "preferred" mouse. However, when the novel mouse was a "nonpreferred" animal, both groups showed a diminished novelty preference but this effect was more pronounced for the WT mice. This blunted negative reaction of the KO mice to a nonpreferred animal may indicate that they were less proficient than controls in distinguishing between positive and negative social interactions. These findings provide support for the use of this animal model to study the autistic features of FXS and autism spectrum disorders. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of Long-term Intake of Rare Earth in Drinking Water on Trace Elements in Brains of Mice

Ｔｈｅｉｍｐａｃｔｏｆｒａｒｅｅａｒｔｈｓｏｎｅｎｖｉｒｏｎｍｅｎｔ,ｈｅａｌｔｈａｎｄｅｃｏｓｙｓｔｅｍ ,ａｎｄｉｔｓｌｏｎｇ ｔｅｒｍｂｉｏ ｌｏｇｉｃａｌｅｆｆｅｃｔｓｈａｖｅｄｒａｗｎｐｅｏｐｌｅ′ｓｍｕｃｈａｔｔｅｎ ｔｉｏｎ ,ｍａｎｙｗｏｒｋｓｈａｖｅｂｅｅｎｄｏｎｅ ,ｂｕｔｌｉｔｔｌｅｈａｓｋｎｏｗｎａｂｏｕｔｔｈｅｅｆｆｅｃｔｏｆｒａｒｅｅａｒｔｈｏｎｔｒａｃｅｅｌｅｍｅｎｔｓ[1 ] .Ｔｒａｃｅｅｌｅｍｅｎｔｓｐｌａｙａｎｉｍ ｐｏｒｔａｎｔｒｏｌｅｉｎｄｅｖｅｌｏｐｍｅｎｔ ,ｍｅｔａ…     

鼠标上下盖塑料熔体流动平衡分析

借助Moldflow分析软件对鼠标上下盖注射成型过程进行熔体的流动平衡分析,通过不断逼近的迭代计算和调整浇注系统中分流道的直径,达到平衡熔体流动的目的,保证多型腔模具成型的塑件具有良好的质量,缩短了模具设计周期。     

Contamination of shellfish from Shanghai seafood markets with paralytic shellfish poisoning and diarrhetic shellfish poisoning toxins determined by mouse bioassay and HPLC

This paper reports the results of investigations of shellfish toxin contamination of products obtained from Shanghai seafood markets. From May to October 2003, 66 samples were collected from several major seafood markets. Paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) and diarrhetic shellfish poisoning (DSP) toxins in shellfish samples were monitored primarily by a mouse bioassay, then analysed by HPLC for the chemical contents of the toxins. According to the mouse bioassay, eight samples were detected to be contaminated by PSP toxins and seven samples were contaminated by DSP toxins. Subsequent HPLC analysis indicated that the concentrations of the PSP toxins ranged from 0.2 to 1.9 µg/100 g tissues and the main components were gonyautoxins 2/3 (GTX2/3). As for DSP, okadaic acid was detected in three samples, and its concentration ranged from 3.2 to 17.5 µg/100 g tissues. Beside okadaic acid, its analogues, dinophysistoxins (DTX1), were found in one sample. According to the results, gastropod (Neverita didyma) and scallop (Argopecten irradians) were more likely contaminated with PSP and DSP toxins, and most of the contaminated samples were collected from Tongchuan and Fuxi markets. In addition, the contaminated samples were always found in May, June and July. Therefore, consumers should be cautious about eating the potential toxic shellfish during this specific period.     

二氢杨梅素防治磨损颗粒诱导的小鼠颅骨骨溶解的实验研究

目的: 探讨二氢杨梅素（DMY）对磨损颗粒诱导的小鼠颅骨骨溶解的作用。方法: 选用30只8周龄雄性C57BL/J6小鼠,随机分成3组,每组10只。分别为假手术组（Sham）、阳性对照组（Control）和二氢杨梅素组（DMY）。假手术组手术不加钛颗粒,阳性对照组和DMY组手术时颅骨部位注入30 mg钛颗粒构建小鼠颅骨骨溶解模型。术后DMY组每天连续予500 mg/kg DMY灌胃;假手术组和阳性对照组给予相应体积的生理盐水灌胃。14 d后取眼眶静脉血,随后处死所有实验动物并收集颅骨标本。所有标本行Micro-CT扫描、采集计算机3D重建图像并进行定量分析,随后标本脱钙后以石蜡包埋,进行病理学分析。 结果: Micro-CT扫描3D重建图像显示DMY组小鼠颅骨表面骨溶解严重程度显著低于阳性对照组;Micro-CT扫描显示DMY组小鼠颅骨骨密度明显高于阳性对照组（P<0.05）。HE染色及TRAP染色分析显示,与阳性对照组相比,DMY组小鼠颅骨骨溶解区域破骨细胞数明显减少。DMY组小鼠血清IL-1β、TNF-α、NF-κB受体激活剂配体（RANKL）水平显著低于阳性对照组（P<0.05）;骨保护素（OPG）水平显著高于阳性对照组（P<0.05）。体外细胞培养实验显示,DMY可在体外显著抑制RANKL诱导的破骨细胞分化。结论: DMY可有效抑制磨损颗粒诱导的小鼠颅骨骨溶解。     

Fibroblast Growth Factor 21 Response in a Preclinical Alcohol Model of Acute-on-Chronic Liver Injury

Background and Aims: Fibroblast growth factor (FGF) 21 has recently been shown to play a potential role in bile acid metabolism. We aimed to investigate the FGF21 response in an ethanol-induced acute-on-chronic liver injury (ACLI) model in Abcb4^−/− mice with deficiency of the hepatobiliary phospholipid transporter. Methods: Total RNA was extracted from wild-type (WT, C57BL/6J) and Abcb4⁻/⁻ (KO) mice, which were either fed a control diet (WT-Cont and KO-Cont groups; n = 28/group) or ethanol diet, followed by an acute ethanol binge (WT-EtOH and KO-EtOH groups; n = 28/group). A total of 58 human subjects were recruited into the study, including patients with alcohol-associated liver disease (AALD; n = 31) and healthy controls (n = 27). The hepatic and ileal expressions of genes involved in bile acid metabolism, plasma FGF levels, and bile acid and its precursors 7α- and 27-hydroxycholesterol (7α- and 27-OHC) concentrations were determined. Primary mouse hepatocytes were isolated for cell culture experiments. Results: Alcohol feeding significantly induced plasma FGF21 and decreased hepatic Cyp7a1 levels. Hepatic expression levels of Fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 (Fgfr1), Fgfr4, Farnesoid X-activated receptor (Fxr), and Small heterodimer partner (Shp) and plasma FGF15/FGF19 levels did not differ with alcohol challenge. Exogenous FGF21 treatment suppressed Cyp7a1 in a dose-dependent manner in vitro. AALD patients showed markedly higher FGF21 and lower 7α-OHC plasma levels while FGF19 did not differ. Conclusions: The simultaneous upregulation of FGF21 and downregulation of Cyp7a1 expressions upon chronic plus binge alcohol feeding together with the invariant plasma FGF15 and hepatic Shp and Fxr levels suggest the presence of a direct regulatory mechanism of FGF21 on bile acid homeostasis through inhibition of CYP7A1 by an FGF15-independent pathway in this ACLI model. Lay Summary: Alcohol challenge results in the upregulation of FGF21 and repression of Cyp7a1 expressions while circulating FGF15 and hepatic Shp and Fxr levels remain constant both in healthy and pre-injured livers, suggesting the presence of an alternative FGF15-independent regulatory mechanism of FGF21 on bile acid homeostasis through the inhibition of Cyp7a1.     

防鼠型PVC护套料配方研究

本文分析了防鼠 PVC护套料防鼠性能与防鼠剂用量的关系 ,防鼠 PVC护套料物理机械性能及电气性能与树脂、增塑剂、稳定剂、抗氧剂、填充剂等添加剂之间的关系 ,介绍了防鼠 PVC护套料配方的研制过程及配方的性能     

Effective accelerometer test beds for output enhancement of an inertial navigation system

This paper is submitted upon a research to enhance the output of an accelerometer widely used in inertial navigation units. In our study we introduce relatively simple and effective test beds to collect accurate and diverse reference data. We also carried out calibration runs with a highly accurate electromechanical shaking table. The proposed test beds compare well with sophisticated counterparts. The collected data is used to train artificial neural networks (ANNs) which would improve the accelerometer outputs by estimating the reference data from the actual sensor outputs. The ANN performance is compared with classic low pass filtering methods to provide a relative performance criterion. In this paper we focus on test beds rather than to give the details of the whole study. The test beds introduced in this research can be used for acquiring reference data for implementation of other different filter methods as well.     

The Striped Mouse (Rhabdomys pumilio) From the Succulent Karoo, South Africa: A Territorial Group-Living Solitary Forager With Communal Breeding and Helpers at the Nest.

The authors studied the striped mouse (Rhabdomys pumilio) in the semiarid succulent karoo of South Africa. Mice forage alone, but they live in groups that share a common nest. Groups consist of 1 to 4 breeding females, 1 to 2 breeding males, and their offspring of both sexes, which remain in their natal group even after reaching adulthood, participating in territorial defense and nest building without showing signs of reproductive activity. Interactions are typically amicable and take place inside or in front of the nest. In contrast, encounters with mice from other groups are aggressive. Group living in the succulent karoo is possibly due to ecological constraints imposed by habitat saturation because of a year-round stable food supply as well as associated benefits of philopatry. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)