The neonatal and juvenile pig in pediatric drug discovery and development

Pharmacotherapy in pediatric patients is challenging in view of the maturation of organ systems and processes that affect pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. Especially for the youngest age groups and for pediatric-only indications, neonatal and juvenile animal models can be useful to assess drug safety and to better understand the mechanisms of diseases or conditions. In this respect, the use of neonatal and juvenile pigs in the field of pediatric drug discovery and development is promising, although still limited at this point. This review summarizes the comparative postnatal development of pigs and humans and discusses the advantages of the juvenile pig in view of developmental pharmacology, pediatric diseases, drug discovery and drug safety testing. Furthermore, limitations and unexplored aspects of this large animal model are covered. At this point in time, the potential of the neonatal and juvenile pig as nonclinical safety models for pediatric drug development is underexplored

Fast Marching Based Superpixels Generation

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The use of spa and phage typing for characterization of a MRSA population in a Belgian hospital: comparison between 2002 and 200736895

TARGET OF THE STUDY: Strain typing of pathogens is essential to pinpoint the sources and routes of transmission and to forecast future trends. In a general hospital, we studied possible changes in the MRSA population. PATIENTS AND METHODS: MRSA isolates received from a Belgian general hospital, during 2002 (n=150) and the second half of 2007 (n=105), were compared by phage and spa typing. RESULTS: In 2002, [J]* phage types characterized 45% of the MRSA isolates, 13% belonged to the [O]* phage types, 12% to a local phage type 29/42E/54/D11* and 28% were not assigned to a defined group. Thirteen different spa types were found among the isolates: 39% belonged to t038, 27% to t121, 14% to t041, 5% to t740, and 4% to t002 and t024 each. Two spa types were found respectively in two and three isolates, five were unique. In 2007, 35% belonged to [J]*, 23% to [O]* and 39% could not be put in a defined group. Eighteen different spa types were found: 30% belonged to t740, 29% to t121, 13% to t038 and 10% to t002. Three spa types were represented in two isolates, eleven were unique. The t041 spa type was specific for the 29/42E/54/D11* and the majority of the t121 isolates were related to [J]*. CONCLUSION: [J]* remained the dominant phage types group but decreased whereas [O]*, the second phage types group, increased. As to the spa types, t740 became dominant while t121 remained second. Phage and spa typing point to some quantitative changes among the Belgian MRSA population</p

Improved dose-volume histograms for Y90-PET based dosimetry with partial volume effect and noise compensations by means of region sub-segmentation

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Partial volume effect and nois compensation of dose-volume histograms for Y90-PET based dosimetry by means of region sub-segmentation.

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Partial volume effect and noise compensation of dose-volume histograms for Y90-PET based dosimetry by means of region sub-segmentation

International audienc

Alternate Structural-Textural Video Inpainting for Spot Defects Correction in Movies

International audienceWe propose a new video inpainting model for movies restoration application. Our model combines structural reconstruction with a diffusion-based method and textural reconstruction with a patch-based method. Both proposed energies (one for each method) are alternatively minimized in order to preserve the overall structure while adding textural refinement. While the structural reconstruction is obtained jointly with optical flow computation with several proximal approaches, the textural reconstruction is processed by a variational non-local approach. Preliminary results on different Middlebury frames show quality improvement in the reconstruction

Nephrotoxicity of gentamicin in humans

The authors made a complete study of humans receiving amino glycoside antibiotics. Renal histology, electron microscopy and morphometry, and histochemistry and biochemistry of alanine aminopeptidase, glucose-6phosphatase, phosphorylase, acid phosphatase, cathepsin B, N-acetyl-ß-D-glucosaminidase, sphyngolyyelinase and phospholipase-A. In 3 patients with acute renal failure following a prolonged treatment with Gentamycin, the activities are diminished of sphyngomyelinase, acid phospholipases and alanine amino peptidase. 5 patients undergoing nephrectomy for cancer, received Gentamicin iv during 4 days prior to surgery. Gentamycin concentration in the cortex is 169 µg/g (mean). By light microscopy no alteration is visible. However by electron microscopy osmiophilic myeloid bodies are seen in the lysosomes of the proximal tubule; the brush order and mitochondria look normal. Lysosomes are identified by acid phosphatase reaction product (lead precipitate). Morphometry shows a near doubling of the lysosomal volume Vv in the proximal epithelium from 2.3% to 4.17% (mean of 5 treated vs 5 control patients). The activity of renal acid phospolipases is diminished in each patient treated with Gentamycin. but other enzymes not regularly modified. Four patients underwent a renal biopsy 4 hrs after Gentamycin injection; by electron microscopy lamellar structures are seen in some lysosomes. This study confirms in the human the renal modifications seen in animals elicited by Gentamycin. 12 electron micrographs; 4 tables; 2 graphs