B-mode and colour Doppler sonographic examination of the milk vein and musculophrenic vein in dry cows and cows with a milk yield of 10 and 20 kg

BACKGROUND: This study investigated the effect of milk yield on blood flow variables in the milk vein and musculophrenic vein in dairy cows. METHODS: Five healthy dry cows, five cows with a daily milk yield of 10 kg and five others with a daily milk yield of 20 kg underwent B-mode and colour Doppler sonographic examination. The diameter of the veins, blood flow velocities and blood flow volumes were measured on both sides in standing, non-sedated cows using a 7.5 MHz linear transducer. RESULTS: Lactating cows had significantly higher blood flow velocities in the milk vein than dry cows; the maximum blood flow velocity of dry cows and those with a daily milk yield of 10 and 20 kg were 14.04, 38.77 and 39.49 cm/s, respectively, the minimum velocities were 0.63, 3.02 and 2.64 cm/s, respectively, and the mean maximum velocities were 8.21, 26.67 und 28.22 cm/s, respectively. Cows producing 20 kg of milk a day had a blood flow volume of 3.09 l/min, which was significantly higher than 0.79 l/min recorded in dry cows. Lactating cows had significantly higher mean maximum blood flow velocities in the musculophrenic vein than dry cows. Blood flow variables of both veins did not differ significantly between the left and right side. CONCLUSION: This study showed that milk yield has a profound effect on blood flow variables in the milk vein and to a lesser extent the musculophrenic vein. This must be taken into consideration in future Doppler sonographic studies of these veins and possibly other vessels. Furthermore, measurements on one side are representative of both sides

Molecular, Enzymatic, and Cellular Characterization of Soluble Adenylyl Cyclase From Aquatic Animals.

The enzyme soluble adenylyl cyclase (sAC) is the most recently identified source of the messenger molecule cyclic adenosine monophosphate. sAC is evolutionarily conserved from cyanobacteria to human, is directly stimulated by [Formula: see text] ions, and can act as a sensor of environmental and metabolic CO2, pH, and [Formula: see text] levels. sAC genes tend to have multiple alternative promoters, undergo extensive alternative splicing, be translated into low mRNA levels, and the numerous sAC protein isoforms may be present in various subcellular localizations. In aquatic organisms, sAC has been shown to mediate various functions including intracellular pH regulation in coral, blood acid/base regulation in shark, heart beat rate in hagfish, and NaCl absorption in fish intestine. Furthermore, sAC is present in multiple other species and tissues, and sAC protein and enzymatic activity have been reported in the cytoplasm, the nucleus, and other subcellular compartments, suggesting even more diverse physiological roles. Although the methods and experimental tools used to study sAC are conventional, the complexity of sAC genes and proteins requires special considerations that are discussed in this chapter

HER2 status of bone marrow micrometastasis and their corresponding primary tumours in a pilot study of 27 cases: a possible tool for anti-HER2 therapy management?

Discrepancies have been reported between HER2 status in primary breast cancer and micrometastatic cells in bone marrow. The aim of this study was to assess HER2 gene status in micrometastatic cells in bone marrow and corresponding primary tumour. Micrometastatic cells were detected in bone marrow aspirations in a prospective series of 27 breast cancer patients by immunocytochemistry (pancytokeratin antibody). HER2 status of micrometastatic cells was assessed by fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH), respectively in 24 out of 27. Primary tumour HER2 status was assessed by immunohistochemistry (CB11 antibody) and by FISH in 20 out of 27 of the cases. HER2 was amplified or overexpressed in five out of 27 (18.5%) primary tumours and in four out of 27 (15%) micrometastatic cells. In two cases, HER2 was overexpressed and amplified in primary tumour, but not in micrometastatic cells, whereas, in one case, HER2 presented a low amplification rate (six copies) in micrometastatic cells not found in the primary tumour. We demonstrated that negative and positive HER2 status remained, in the majority of the cases, stable between the bone marrow micrometastasis and the primary tumour. Therefore, the efficiency of anti-HER2 adjuvant therapy could be evaluated, in a clinical trial, by sequential detection of HER2-positive micrometastatic cells within the bone marrow, before and after treatment

Understanding the process that gives rise to household car ownership level changes

© 2016 The Authors Quantitative studies have revealed that changes to the number of cars owned by households are more likely to occur at the time of life events. However, causal explanations of such relationships are either absent or lacking evidence. To address this knowledge gap, this paper presents a qualitative study which enabled the development of a new conceptual framework to explain the process through which the number of cars owned by households changes over time. The framework emerged through an inductive analysis of 15 in-depth biographical interviews and was validated through a mixed methods survey of 184 households located in Bristol (UK). The following mechanisms of the process are identified: Life events alter roles, relationships, spatial contexts and lifestyle preferences. This can lead to a condition of stress which relates to a discrepancy between satisfaction with the current car ownership level and a more desirable alternative. Attempts to adjust to the new situation are made through processes of travel behaviour adaptation and consideration of whether the car ownership level ought to be altered. A propensity to change car ownership level can emerge from this. However, given the effort involved in taking action, households tend to resist making changes to their car ownership level in the short term. Action to change car ownership level is found to often be prompted by another external stimulus such as the receipt of a maintenance bill. A key message from the analysis is that changes in household car ownership level should be considered as the outcome of a continuous process of development over the life course, rather than as discrete decisions

Enrichment methods to detect bone marrow micrometastases in breast carcinoma patients: clinical relevance

INTRODUCTION: Improving technologies for the detection and purification of bone marrow (BM) micrometastatic cells in breast cancer patients should lead to earlier prognosis of the risk of relapse and should make it possible to design more appropriate therapies. The technique used has to overcome the challenges resulting from the small number of target cells (one per million hematopoietic cells) and the heterogeneous expression of micrometastatic cell markers. In the present study, we have assessed the clinical relevance of current methods aimed at detecting rare disseminated carcinoma cells. METHODS: BM aspirates from 32 carcinoma patients were screened for the presence of micrometastatic cells positive for epithelial cell adhesion molecule and positive for cytokeratins, using optimized immunodetection methods. A comparison with data obtained for 46 control BM aspirates and a correlation with the clinical status of patients were performed. RESULTS: We developed a sensitive and efficient immunomagnetic protocol for the enrichment of BM micrometastases. This method was used to divide 32 breast carcinoma patients into three categories according to their epithelial cell adhesion molecule status. These categories were highly correlated with the recently revised American Joint Committee on Cancer staging system for breast cancer, demonstrating the clinical relevance of this simple and reliable immunomagnetic technique. We also evaluated immunocytochemical detection of cytokeratin-positive cells and cytomorphological parameters. Immunocytochemistry-based methods for the detection of BM micrometastases did not provide any information about the clinical status of patients, but helped to refine the immunomagnetic data by confirming the presence of micrometastases in some cases. We also tested a new density gradient centrifugation system, able to enrich the tumor fraction of BM specimens by twofold to threefold as compared with standard Ficoll methods. CONCLUSION: These improved methods for the detection of micrometastatic cells in patient BM should help clinicians to predict the clinical status of breast cancer patients at the time of surgery or treatment

Epithelial to mesenchymal transition and breast cancer

Epithelial-mesenchymal plasticity in breast carcinoma encompasses the phenotypic spectrum whereby epithelial carcinoma cells within a primary tumor acquire mesenchymal features and re-epithelialize to form a cohesive secondary mass at a metastatic site. Such plasticity has implications in progression of breast carcinoma to metastasis, and will likely influence response to therapy. The transcriptional and epigenetic regulation of molecular and cellular processes that underlie breast cancer and result in characteristic changes in cell behavior can be monitored using an increasing array of marker proteins. Amongst these markers exists the potential for emergent prognostic, predictive and therapeutic targeting