Sampling Blood from the Lateral Tail Vein of the Rat

Blood samples are commonly obtained in many experimental contexts to measure targets of interest, including hormones, immune factors, growth factors, proteins, and glucose, yet the composition of the blood is dynamically regulated and easily perturbed. One factor that can change the blood composition is the stress response triggered by the sampling procedure, which can contribute to variability in the measures of interest. Here we describe a procedure for blood sampling from the lateral tail vein in the rat. This procedure offers significant advantages over other more commonly used techniques. It permits rapid sampling with minimal pain or invasiveness, without anesthesia or analgesia. Additionally, it can be used to obtain large volume samples (upwards of 1 ml in some rats), and it may be used repeatedly across experimental days. By minimizing the stress response and pain resulting from blood sampling, measures can more accurately reflect the true basal state of the animal, with minimal influence from the sampling procedure itself.National Institute of Mental Health (U.S.) (R01 MH084966)United States. Army Research Office (United States. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Grant W911NF-10-1-0059

Microsoft Recommenders: Tools to Accelerate Developing Recommender Systems

The purpose of this work is to highlight the content of the Microsoft Recommenders repository and show how it can be used to reduce the time involved in developing recommender systems. The open source repository provides python utilities to simplify common recommender-related data science work as well as example Jupyter notebooks that demonstrate use of the algorithms and tools under various environments.Comment: pages: 2; submitted to: RecSys '1

Early exclusion of major adverse cardiac events in emergency department chest pain patients: A prospective observational study

Background The current evaluation of patients with chest pain presenting to an emergency department (ED) with suspected acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is a lengthy process involving serial measurements of troponin. Objective We aimed to validate the diagnostic accuracy of a Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) score with single high-sensitive cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) for early rule out of 30-day major adverse cardiac events (MACE), and to compare the TIMI score with combinations of heart-type fatty acid binding protein (H-FABP) and a modified HEART (history, electrocardiogram, age, risk factors, troponin) score. Methods We recruited 602 consecutive adult patients with chest pain and suspected ACS in the ED. Each patient had TIMI and HEART scores, and a point-of-care H-FABP test. Results MACE occurred in 42 (7.0%) patients within 30 days. A low risk for 30-day MACE was identified by a modified TIMI score of 0 in 65 (11%) patients, and by a HEART score ≤ 2 in 96 (16%) patients. No MACE occurred in these groups, giving both scores a sensitivity of 100% (95% confidence interval [CI] 91.6–100%), and specificity of 11.6% (95% CI 9.2–14.5%) and 17.1% (95% CI 14.2–20.5%), respectively. Use of combined TIMI and HEART scores improved the specificity further to 22.0% (95% CI 18.7–25.6%) without lowering sensitivity. Early H-FABP measurement > 7 μg/L had a sensitivity of 41.5% (95% CI 27.8–56.6%) and a specificity of 91.1% (95% CI 88.4–93.2%) for predicting 30-day MACE. Conclusions A modified TIMI score of 0 or a HEART score of ≤ 2, incorporating a single hs-cTnT level, will identify patients with low risk of 30-day MACE for early discharge within 2 h of ED arrival

Antiviral Efficacy of Metal and Metal Oxide Nanoparticles against the Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus

© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome viruses (PRRSV) are responsible for one of the most economically important diseases affecting the global pig industry. On-farm high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filtration systems can effectively reduce airborne transmission of PRRSV and the incidence of PRRS, but they are costly, and their adoption is limited. Therefore, there is a need for low-cost alternatives, such as antimicrobial filters impregnated with antiviral nanoparticles (AVNP). During the past 10 years, tailored intermetallic/multi-elemental AVNP compositions have demonstrated effective performance against human viruses. In this study, a panel of five AVNP was evaluated for viricidal activity against PRRSV. Three AVNP materials: AVNP2, copper nanoparticles (CuNP), and copper oxide nanoparticles (CuONP), were shown to exert a significant reduction (>99.99%) in virus titers at 1.0% (w/v) concentration. Among the three, CuNP was the most effective at lower concentrations. Further experiments revealed that AVNP generated significant reductions in viral titers within just 1.5 min. For an optimal reduction in viral titers, direct contact between viruses and AVNP was required. This was further explained by the inert nature of these AVNP, where only negligible leaching concentrations of Ag/Cu ions (0.06–4.06 ppm) were detected in AVNP supernatants. Real-time dynamic light scatting (DLS) and transmission electron microscopic (TEM) analyses suggested that the mono-dispersive hydrodynamic behavior of AVNPs may have enhanced their antiviral activity against PRRSV. Collectively, these data support the further evaluation of these AVNP as candidate nanoparticles for incorporation into antimicrobial air-filtration systems to reduce transmission of PRRSV and other airborne pathogens.Peer reviewe

Temporal trends in pregnancy-associated stroke and its outcomes among women with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy

Funding PW is funded by a NIHR Transitional Research Fellowship. CCG is part-funded by West Midlands ARC. LCC is funded by a NIHR Professorship (RP-2014-05-019). This paper presents independent research funded by the NIHR. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care. The funders had no involvement in the conduct of this research.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Effect of Temperature and Heat Treatment on Crack Growth Acoustic Emission in 7075 Aluminum

The acoustic emission activity due to crack advance in 7075 aluminum alloys has been found to vary with both temperature and heat treatment. An Increase in temperature or overaging of material in the -T6 condition each reduces the acoustic emission activity by changing the probability of occurrence of acoustic emission events and lowering their amplitudes. These observations suggest that the acoustic emission source mechanism is not inclusion fracture but rather is a property of the ductile matrix

Three Cases of Moraxella osloensis Meningitis: A Difficult Experience in Species Identification and Determination of Clinical Significance

We had three cases of Moraxella osloensis meningitis. The species identification was impossible by conventional and commercial phenotypic tests. However, we could identify the species using the 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Determination of clinical significance was difficult in one patient. All three patients recovered by appropriate antimicrobial therapy

Antitumor Activity of TRAIL Recombinant Adenovirus in Human Malignant Glioma Cells

Tumor necrosis factor-Related Apoptosis-Inducing Ligand (TRAIL) has been reported to specifically kill malignant cells but to be relatively nontoxic to normal cells. One of disadvantages to previous in vivo protocols was the need for large quantities of TRAIL recombinant protein to suppress tumor growth. To evaluate the antitumor activity and therapeutic value of the TRAIL gene, we constructed adenoviral vectors expressing the human TRAIL gene (Ad.hTRAIL) and transferred them into malignant glioma cells in vitro and tumors in vivo, as an alternative to recombinant soluble TRAIL protein. The results show that TRAIL-sensitive glioma cells infected Ad.hTRAIL undergo apoptosis through the production and expression of TRAIL protein. The in vitro transfer elicited apoptosis, as demonstrated by the quantification of viable or apoptotic cells and by the analysis of cleavage of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase. Furthermore, in vivo administration of Ad.hTRAIL at the site of tumor implantation suppressed the outgrowth of human glioma xenografts in SCID mice. These results further define Ad.hTRAIL as an anti-tumor therapeutic and demonstrate its potential use as an alternative approach to treatment for malignant glioma

Laboratory and experimental hut trial evaluation of VECTRON™ T500 for indoor residual spraying (IRS) against insecticide resistant malaria vectors in Burkina Faso

Background: Malaria cases in some areas could be attributed to vector resistant to the insecticide. World Health Organization recommended insecticides for vector control are limited in number. It is essential to find rotational partners for existing Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) products. VECTRON™ T500 is a novel insecticide with broflanilide as active ingredient. It has a mode of action on mosquitoes completely different to usually used. The aim of this study was to determine the optimum effective dose and efficacy of VECTRONTM T500 against susceptible and resistant strains of Anopheles in Burkina Faso. Methods: VECTRON™T500 was sprayed at 50, 100 and 200 mg/m² doses onto mud and concrete blocks using Potter Spray Tower. The residual activity of broflanilide was assessed through cone bioassays 1 week and then monthly up to 14 months post spraying. Its efficacy was evaluated at 100 and 150 mg/m² against wild free-flying mosquitoes in experimental huts on both substrates. Actellic 300CS was applied at 1000 mg/m² as reference product. Cone assays were conducted monthly, using susceptible and resistant mosquito strains. Results: In the laboratory, VECTRON™ T500 showed residual efficacy (≥80% mortality) on An. gambiae Kisumu up to 12 and 14 months, respectively, on concrete and mud blocks. Similar results were found with 100 and 200 mg/m² using An. coluzzii pyrethroid resistant strain. In experimental huts, a total of 19,552 An. gambiae s.l. were collected. Deterrence, blood-feeding inhibition and exophily with VECTRON™ treated huts were very low. At 100 and 150 mg/m², mortality of wild An. gambiae s.l. ranged between 55% and 73%. Monthly cone bioassay mortality remained >80% up to 9 months. Conclusions: VECTRON™ T500 shows great potential as IRS formulation for malaria vector control. It can be added to the arsenal of IRS products for use in rotations to control malaria and manage mosquito insecticide resistance