Bovine Focal Hepatitis And Its Termination

The meat-packing industry has sustained a heavy loss for years because of the condemnation, upon federal inspection of bovine livers affected with telangiectasis and the so-called sawdust condition. Due to scientific advances, the monetary value and nutritional significance of the bovine liver have materially increased in recent years. The economic importance of the loss of this food product is apparent in the reports of the National Live Stock Loss Prevention Board. During the years 1941 to 1944, inclusive, a total of 910.962 beef livers were condemned for telangiectasis and 426,367 as sawdust livers by the federal meat inspectors. In 1944, a total of 12,411,374 cattle were slaughtered under federal inspection; from this number, 236,324 livers were condemned for telangiectasis and 117,871 for sawdust condition. When one considers that the average weight of the bovine liver is 10 to 12 lb., and the wholesale value is approximately 25 to 30 cents per pound, it is evident that the annual loss exceeds one million dollars

Feather Morphology In Biological Research

The feather, because of its relative simplicity, its availability, and its response to different physiological conditions that can be regulated quantitatively, is a valuable instrument for studies in various biological problems

Osteosarcoma Phenotype Is Inhibited by 3,4-Methylenedioxy-β-nitrostyrene

β-nitrostyrene compounds, such as 3,4-methylenedioxy-β-nitrostyrene (MNS), inhibit growth and induce apoptosis in tumor cells, but no reports have investigated their role in osteosarcoma. In this study, human osteosarcoma cell families with cell lines of varying tumorigenic and metastatic potential were utilized. Scrape motility assays, colony formation assays, and colony survival assays were performed with osteosarcoma cell lines, both in the presence and absence of MNS. Effects of MNS on human osteoblasts and airway epithelial cells were assessed in monolayer cultures. MNS decreased metastatic cell line motility by 72–76% and colony formation by 95–100%. MNS consistently disrupted preformed colonies in a time-dependent and dose-dependent manner. MNS had similar effects on human osteoblasts but little effect on airway epithelial cells. An inactive analog of MNS had no detectable effects, demonstrating specificity. MNS decreases motility and colony formation of osteosarcoma cells and disrupts preformed cell colonies, while producing little effect on pulmonary epithelial cells

Real-Time PCR: An Effective Tool for Measuring Transduction Efficiency in Human Hematopoietic Progenitor Cells

Accurate measurement of gene transfer into hematopoietic progenitor cells is an essential prerequisite for assessing the utility of gene therapy approaches designed to correct hematologic defects. We developed a reliable method to measure transduction efficiency at the level of the progenitor cell with real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis of individual progenitor-derived colonies. We hypothesized that this method would demonstrate better sensitivity and specificity than are currently achievable with conventional PCR. An oncoretroviral vector containing the enhanced green fluorescent protein was used to transduce human CD34+ cells derived from bone marrow or granulocyte-colony-stimulating factor-mobilized peripheral blood. Progenitor assays were set up and colonies plucked after visualization by fluorescence microscopy. By analyzing microscopically identified fluorescent samples and nontransduced samples, we calculated an overall sensitivity and specificity of 90.2 and 95.0%, respectively. Real-time PCR had higher specificity and sensitivity than conventional PCR as analyzed by generalized linear models (P = 0.002 and P = 0.019, respectively). In conclusion, we found real-time PCR to have superior sensitivity and specificity compared to conventional PCR in determining transduction efficiency of hematopoietic progenitor cells

2017 Research & Innovation Day Program

A one day showcase of applied research, social innovation, scholarship projects and activities.https://first.fanshawec.ca/cri_cripublications/1004/thumbnail.jp