The stability of genetic markers as indicated in goats

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Erythrocyte antibodies in porcine eperythrozoonosis.

Autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) was detected in pigs affected by spontaneous eperythrozoonosis. Autoantibodies against red cells were found by hemagglutination and hemolysin tests and direct and indirect antiglobulin tests using immunofluorescence. According to these findings and morphological results, the process in porcine eperythrozoonosis is to be classified as acquired autoimmune hemolytic anemia due to "cold" antibodies

Realistic exposure methods for investigating the interaction of nanoparticles with the lung at the air-liquid interface in vitro.

In light of the increasingly abundant use of engineered nanoparticles(NPs) and the ongoing exposure to ambient ultrafine particles it is imperative that the potential for NPs to elicit adverse effects on human health is understood. In order to determine the potential harm that NPs may exert, many different in vitro systems have been used. Commonly in vitro nanotoxicology studies use NP suspensions applied directly to cell cultures. Although the use of in vitro monoculture systems to assess the effects of NPs on, for example, the lung is frequently debated, the use of suspension exposures is not realistic in relation to the exposure of NPs to humans via inhalation; the primary exposure route to the human body for NPs. As an alternative to the suspension (or submerged) exposure method, numerous different exposure systems at theair-liquid interface have been developed and used in nanotoxicology research, which mimic the realistic conditions of NP inhalation exposure. In addition, such air-liquid exposure systems also offer the advantage to determine the exact dose (or concentration) which is deposited on the cell surface. The aimof this review is to provide a description of these different exposure systems, to explain how they recreate realistic inhalation conditions for occupational and environmental exposure, as well to describe how they may be used to gain an insight into how NPs may interact with the epithelial airway barrier following inhalation

Prognostic value of serum tumor markers in medullary thyroid cancer patients undergoing vandetanib treatment

Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) such as vandetanib have shown clinical effectiveness in advanced medullary thyroid cancer (MTC). During TKI treatment, fluctuations in the tumor markers carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and calcitonin (CTN) are frequently observed. Their role for treatment monitoring and the decision-making process has not been fully elucidated yet. Twenty-one patients (male, 16, female, 5; mean age, 49±13 years) with progressive MTC receiving vandetanib (300mg orally per day) were considered. Tumor restaging was performed every 3 months including contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT). Response was assessed according to recent criteria (Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors, RECIST 1.1). Additionally, CEA and CTN were measured at the day of CT imaging and alterations observed in tumor markers were compared to respective imaging findings (partial response, PR; stable disease, SD; progressive disease, PD). During long-term follow-up (510±350 days [range, 97-1140 days]), CTN and CEA levels initially dropped in 71.4% and 61.9% of the patients followed by fluctuations in serum marker levels. A rise in CTN ≥39.5% between 2 subsequent measurements (defined by ROC analysis) had a sensitivity of 70.6% and a specificity of 83.2% in predicting PD with an accuracy of 82.0% (area under the curve (AUC), 0.76). Oscillations in CEA levels were not predictive for PD. Whereas tumor marker fluctuations in MTC patients undergoing TKI treatment are a frequent phenomenon, a significant rise in CTN ≥40% turns out to as an early indicator of tumor progression