Dendritic cells freshly isolated from human blood express CD4 and mature into typical immtmostimulatory dendritic cells after culture in monocyte-conditioned medium

A procedure has been developed to isolate dendritic cells to a high degree of purity from fresh blood. Prior enrichment methods have relied upon an initial 1-2-d culture period. Purified fresh isolates lack the characteristic morphology, phenotype, and immunostimulatory function of dendritic cells. The purified cells have the appearance of medium sized lymphocytes and express substantial levels of CD4, but lack the T cell molecules CD3, CDS, and T cell receptor. When placed in culture, the cells mature in a manner resembling the previously described, cytokine-dependent maturation of epidermal dendritic cells (Langerhans cells). The ceils enlarge and exhibit many cell processes, express much higher levels of major histocompatibility complex class II and a panel of accessory molecules for T cell activation, and become potent stimulators of the mixed leukocyte reaction. Among the many changes during this maturation process are a fall in CD4 and the appearance of high levels of B7/BB1, the costimulator for enhanced interleukin 2 production in T cells. These changes are not associated with cell proliferation, but are dependent upon the addition of monocyte-conditioned medium. We suggest that the freshly isolated CD4-positive blood dendritic cells are recent migrants from the bone marrow, and that subsequent maturation of the lineage occurs in tissues in situ upon appropriate exposure to cytokines

Phosphorus Fertilizer Requirements for Temperate Dairy Pastures and Milk Production in South Eastern Australia

Phosphorus (P) fertilizer is required to sustain productive pastures in Australia, yet optimum P fertility is poorly defined. A large farmlet study involving 10 herds was established in 1995 to determine the relationship between milk production and pasture response to four different P fertilizer rates, at three stocking rates. Pasture growth significantly increased with increasing P fertilizer rate. Cumulative milk production from pasture over 4 years, was significantly affected by P fertilizer, but responses diminished with increasing P rate. The results from this study will enable a better targeting of P fertility levels for profitable milk production from temperate dairy pastures and minimise the environmental impact of excess P fertilizer use

Flute Music of Luigi Zaninelli

Dedication inside front cover of the CD This recording has been a labour of love and a long journey which has finally come to fruition. It all began with an idea that developed into a doctoral dissertation The Flute Music of Luigi Zaninelli, which has now, many years later, culminated with this CD. Heartfelt thanks to: Jiggery Pokery Productions (Laoise O\u27Brien and Ben Rawlins); my wonderful colleagues who graciously agreed to participate in this project; Sandford Parish Church for the use of their beautiful facilities; and my husband, family, friends, and teachers who have supported me throughout this journey and made it possible for me to fulfil my dreams

Multi-center planning study of radiosurgery for intracranial metastases through Automation (MC-PRIMA) by crowdsourcing prior web-based plan challenge study

Background: Planning radiosurgery to multiple intracranial metastases is complex and shows large variability in dosimetric quality among planners and treatment planning systems (TPS). This project aimed to determine whether autoplanning using the Muliple Brain Mets (AutoMBM) software can improve plan quality and reduce inter-planner variability by crowdsourcing results from prior international planning study. Methods: Twenty-four institutions autoplanned with AutoMBM on a five metastases case from a prior international planning competition from which population statistics (means and variances) of 23 dosimetric metrics and resulting composite plan score (maximum score = 150) of other TPS (Eclipse, Monaco, RayStation, iPlan, GammaPlan, MultiPlan) were crowdsourced. Plan results of AutoMBM and each of the other TPS were compared using two sample t-tests for means and Levene\u27s tests for variances. Plan quality of AutoMBM was correlated with the planner\u27 experience and compared between academic and non-academic centers. Results: AutoMBM produced plans with comparable composite plan score to GammaPlan, MultiPlan, Eclipse and iPlan (127.6 vs. 131.7 vs. 127.3 vs. 127.3 and 126.7; all p \u3e 0.05) and superior to Monaco and RayStation (118.3 and 108.6; both p \u3c 0.05). Inter-planner variability of overall plan quality was lowest for AutoMBM among all TPS (all p \u3c 0.05). AutoMBM\u27s plan quality did not differ between academic and non-academic centers and uncorrelated with planning experience (all p \u3e 0.05). Conclusions: By plan crowdsourcing prior international plan challenge, AutoMBM produces high and consistent plan quality independent of the planning experience and the institution that is crucial to addressing the technical bottleneck of SRS to intracranial metastases

Purification of adenovirus and adeno-associated virus: comparison of novel membrane-based technology to conventional techniques

Adenovirus (Ad) and Adeno-associated virus (AAV) are efficient gene delivery systems; manipulation of the wild-type genome allows their use as vectors for the overexpression of desirable transgenes. Generation and purification of such viral vectors can be labour intensive, costly and require specialized equipment, but a new generation of membrane-mediated ion exchange kits for purification of recombinant virus may facilitate this process. Here, we examine the yields, transgene expression and purity of preparations of Ad and AAV purified using commercially available kits in comparison to other established techniques for purification of recombinant viral vectors. We demonstrate comparable results for Ad and AAV respectively in all parameters investigated, with a substantial reduction in purification time for the kit-based technology. Such approaches are attractive methods for small-scale purification of recombinant Ad and AAV viral vectors

Lack of effect of vitamin D and its metabolites on intestinal phosphate transport in familial hypophosphatemia of mice.

Intestinal calcium and phosphate transport was studied in normal and hypophosphatemic mice fed a variety of dietary regimens with and without vitamin D. Regardless of dietary phosphorus levels, the genetic hypophosphatemic mice had drastically reduced levels of serum inorganic phosphate and intestinal phosphate transport while showing only slightly reduced serum calcium and intestinal calcium transport levels. The inclusion of vitamin D in the diet did not increase the low serum phosphorus levels and low rates of intestinal phosphate transport in the genetic hypophosphatemic mice, while it did increase serum calcium and intestinal calcium transport levels. The administration of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 to the hypophosphatemic mice stimulated intestinal calcium transport but had no effect on intestinal phosphate transport. In contrast, the 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 stimulated both phosphate and calcium transport in the intestine of normal mice. The results obtained are consistent with the hypothesis that the primary metabolic disturbance in familial hypophosphatemia involves a defect in phosphate transport mechanisms