Role of marsupial tammar wallaby milk in lung maturation of pouch young

Background: Marsupials such as the tammar wallaby (M.Eugenii) have a short gestation (29.3 days) and at birth the altricial young resembles a fetus, and the major development occurs postnatally while the young remains in the mother\u27s pouch. The essential functional factors for the maturation of the neonate are provided by the milk which changes in composition progressively throughout lactation (300 days). Morphologically the lungs of tammar pouch young are immature at birth and the majority of their development occurs during the first 100 days of lactation. Results: In this study mouse embryonic lungs (E-12) were cultured in media with tammar skim milk collected at key time points of lactation to identify factors involved in regulating postnatal lung maturation. Remarkably the embryonic lungs showed increased branching morphogenesis and this effect was restricted to milk collected at specific time points between approximately day 40 to 100 lactation. Further analysis to assess lung development showed a significant increase in the expression of marker genes Sp-C, Sp-B, Wnt-7b, BMP4 and Id2 in lung cultures incubated with milk collected at day 60. Similarly, day 60 milk specifically stimulated proliferation and elongation of lung mesenchymal cells that invaded matrigel. In addition, this milk stimulated proliferation of lung epithelium cells on matrigel, and the cells formed 3-dimensional acini with an extended lumen. Conclusions: This study has clearly demonstrated that tammar wallaby milk collected at specific times in early lactation contains bioactives that may have a significant role in lung maturation of pouch young

Automated Suturing For Pacemaker Lead Placement Via Video Guided Minimally Invasive Surgical Access

The placement of permanent and temporary cardiac epicardial pacemaker leads through minimally invasive cardiac surgery (MICS) access remains a challenge. A reliable ergonomic approach for remote lead placement requires improved technology. We present a novel means to enable the remote placement of epicardial leads using automated suturing devices and videoscopy

Differential temporal expression of milk miRNA during the lactation cycle of the marsupial tammar wallaby (Macropus eugenii)

Lactation is a key aspect of mammalian evolution for adaptation of various reproductive strategies along different mammalian lineages. Marsupials, such as tammar wallaby, adopted a short gestation and a relatively long lactation cycle, the newborn is immature at birth and significant development occurs postnatally during lactation. Continuous changes of tammar milk composition may contribute to development and immune protection of pouch young. Here, in order to address the putative contribution of newly identified secretory milk miRNA in these processes, high throughput sequencing of miRNAs collected from tammar milk at different time points of lactation was conducted. A comparative analysis was performed to find distribution of miRNA in milk and blood serum of lactating wallaby

Algorithmic Pirogov-Sinai theory

We develop an efficient algorithmic approach for approximate counting and sampling in the low-temperature regime of a broad class of statistical physics models on finite subsets of the lattice $\mathbb Z^d$ and on the torus $(\mathbb Z/n \mathbb Z)^d$. Our approach is based on combining contour representations from Pirogov-Sinai theory with Barvinok's approach to approximate counting using truncated Taylor series. Some consequences of our main results include an FPTAS for approximating the partition function of the hard-core model at sufficiently high fugacity on subsets of $\mathbb Z^d$ with appropriate boundary conditions and an efficient sampling algorithm for the ferromagnetic Potts model on the discrete torus $(\mathbb Z/n \mathbb Z)^d$ at sufficiently low temperature

Exposure to diesel exhaust induces changes in EEG in human volunteers

Background: Ambient particulate matter and nanoparticles have been shown to translocate to the brain, and potentially influence the central nervous system. No data are available whether this may lead to functional changes in the brain. Methods: We exposed 10 human volunteers to dilute diesel exhaust (DE, 300 μg/m3) as a model for ambient PM exposure and filtered air for one hour using a double blind randomized crossover design. Brain activity was monitored during and for one hour following each exposure using quantitative electroencephalography (QEEG) at 8 different sites on the scalp. The frequency spectrum of the EEG signals was used to calculate the median power frequency (MPF) and specific frequency bands of the QEEG. Results: Our data demonstrate a significant increase in MPF in response to DE in the frontal cortex within 30 min into exposure. The increase in MPF is primarily caused by an increase in fast wave activity (β2) and continues to rise during the 1 hour post-exposure interval. Conclusion: This study is the first to show a functional effect of DE exposure in the human brain, indicating a general cortical stress response. Further studies are required to determine whether this effect is mediated by the nanoparticles in DE and to define the precise pathways involved

Protection and mechanism of action of a novel human respiratory syncytial virus vaccine candidate based on the extracellular domain of small hydrophobic protein

Infections with human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV) occur globally in all age groups and can have devastating consequences in young infants. We demonstrate that a vaccine based on the extracellular domain (SHe) of the small hydrophobic (SH) protein of HRSV, reduced viral replication in challenged laboratory mice and in cotton rats. We show that this suppression of viral replication can be transferred by serum and depends on a functional IgG receptor compartment with a major contribution of FcRI and FcRIII. Using a conditional cell depletion method, we provide evidence that alveolar macrophages are involved in the protection by SHe-specific antibodies. HRSV-infected cells abundantly express SH on the cell surface and are likely the prime target of the humoral immune response elicited by SHe-based vaccination. Finally, natural infection of humans and experimental infection of mice or cotton rats does not induce a strong immune response against HRSV SHe. Using SHe as a vaccine antigen induces immune protection against HRSV by a mechanism that differs from the natural immune response and from other HRSV vaccination strategies explored to date. Hence, HRSV vaccine candidates that aim at inducing protective neutralizing antibodies or T-cell responses could be complemented with a SHe-based antigen to further improve immune protection

Maintenance and Consolidation Therapy in Patients with Unresectable Stage III/IV Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Lung cancer remains the most common cancer and the leading cause of cancer-related mortality. Despite continuing improvements in chemoradiotherapy regimens and the recent clinical validation of particular agents as maintenance treatments in advanced disease, there remains an unmet need for new therapies with clinically proven value in the treatment of unresectable stage III NSCLC. Studies are under way to determine whether the use of anticancer vaccines may be an effective strategy in the treatment of NSCLC