Ultrazvučne značajke bulbouretralnih žlijezda kunića (Oryctolagus cuniculus).

The aim of the study was to describe some of the ultrasonographic features of domestic rabbit bulbourethral glands, with regard to their relevance to reproductive pathology. The glands of ten sexually mature, clinically healthy, white, male New Zealand rabbits, aged 18 months, with body masses ranging from 2.8-3.2 kg, were investigated following anaesthesia. A perineal sonographic approach was applied. The glands were observed in two planes. They were viewed sonographically as solid, hyperechoic, heterogeneous structures. A hyperechoic gland without a hypoechoic center was visualized in sagittal section. In transverse section, normal bulbourethral glands were visualized dorsolaterally to the bulbar urethra, and a hypoechoic urethra was located ventromedially. As part of the study, the sonographic features of the bulbourethral glands were compared in a liquid isotonic medium. The analogous results of both methods allowed us to propose the use of perineal ultrasonography as a sufficiently definitive, non-invasive method for visualizing rabbit bulbourethral glands.Cilj ovog istraživanja bio je opisati neke ultrazvučne značajke bulbouretralnih žlijezda kunića s obzirom na njihovu važnost u patologiji spolnih organa. Nakon anestezije bile su pretražene žlijezde 10 spolno zrelih, klinički zdravih kunića bijele novozelandske pasmine u dobi od 18 mjeseci, tjelesne mase 2,8 - 3,2 kg. Ultrazvučna pretraga obavljena je u perinealnom području. Žlijezde su bile pretražene u dvije ravnine. Ultrazvučno su se vidjele kao dvije hiperehogene solidne, heterogene tvorevine. Hiperehogena žlijezda bez hipoehogenog centra bila je uočljiva na sagitalnoj ravnini. U poprječnoj ravnini normalne bulbouretralne žlijezde uočavale su se dorzolateralno od bulbarne uretre, a hipoehonogena uretra bila je smještena ventromedijalno.Ultrazvučne značajke bulbouretralnih žlijezda bile su uspoređivane u odnosu na izotonični tekući medij. Na osnovi postignuća sličnih rezultata dvjema metodama može se predložiti perinealni ultrazvučni pristup kao primjerena neinvazivna metoda za vizualizaciju bulbouretralnih žlijezda kunića

Genetic Abolishment of Hepatocyte Proliferation Activates Hepatic Stem Cells

Quiescent hepatic stem cells (HSCs) can be activated when hepatocyte proliferation is compromised. Chemical injury rodent models have been widely used to study the localization, biomarkers, and signaling pathways in HSCs, but these models usually exhibit severe promiscuous toxicity and fail to distinguish damaged and non-damaged cells. Our goal is to establish new animal models to overcome these limitations, thereby providing new insights into HSC biology and application. We generated mutant mice with constitutive or inducible deletion of Damaged DNA Binding protein 1 (DDB1), an E3 ubiquitin ligase, in hepatocytes. We characterized the molecular mechanism underlying the compensatory activation and the properties of oval cells (OCs) by methods of mouse genetics, immuno-staining, cell transplantation and gene expression profiling. We show that deletion of DDB1 abolishes self-renewal capacity of mouse hepatocytes in vivo, leading to compensatory activation and proliferation of DDB1-expressing OCs. Partially restoring proliferation of DDB1-deficient hepatocytes by ablation of p21, a substrate of DDB1 E3 ligase, alleviates OC proliferation. Purified OCs express both hepatocyte and cholangiocyte markers, form colonies in vitro, and differentiate to hepatocytes after transplantation. Importantly, the DDB1 mutant mice exhibit very minor liver damage, compared to a chemical injury model. Microarray analysis reveals several previously unrecognized markers, including Reelin, enriched in oval cells. Here we report a genetic model in which irreversible inhibition of hepatocyte duplication results in HSC-driven liver regeneration. The DDB1 mutant mice can be broadly applied to studies of HSC differentiation, HSC niche and HSCs as origin of liver cancer

Designing of a simulator architecture for greener data center through knowledge transfer by partners in different sectors

In recent years, increasing demand for internet service providers, cloud services and the information and communications technologies, data centers (DCs) have become a very important place in the energy consumption industry. Furthermore, the energy consumed by the IT industry including DCs reached about 10% of the world's electricity generation. Therefore data centers have become a significant source of CO2 emissions and a crucial player in the electrical power system. In order to predict energy demand better and reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions in specific national DCs, the GreenDC Project aims developing a decision support tool. This project was funded by EU through H2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie. It is progressing by secondment activities that consist of knowledge transfer between academic and industrial partners. This paper aims to define and explain the architecture of its decision support tool, GreenDC DSS. The GreenDC DSS architecture composed of four interactional layers which are data layer, math model layer, business logic layer, and user interface layer. In this paper, the design of each layer has been described and the process of entire GreenDC DSS Tool has been examined with an example user scenario which is formed by considering the user requirements of data center managers. Also, it has been shown that a skeleton of the simulator gives optimum working strategies to data center manager

Liver cell therapy: is this the end of the beginning?

The prevalence of liver diseases is increasing globally. Orthotopic liver transplantation is widely used to treat liver disease upon organ failure. The complexity of this procedure and finite numbers of healthy organ donors have prompted research into alternative therapeutic options to treat liver disease. This includes the transplantation of liver cells to promote regeneration. While successful, the routine supply of good quality human liver cells is limited. Therefore, renewable and scalable sources of these cells are sought. Liver progenitor and pluripotent stem cells offer potential cell sources that could be used clinically. This review discusses recent approaches in liver cell transplantation and requirements to improve the process, with the ultimate goal being efficient organ regeneration. We also discuss the potential off-target effects of cell-based therapies, and the advantages and drawbacks of current pre-clinical animal models used to study organ senescence, repopulation and regeneration

Stem cells in liver regeneration and therapy

The liver has adapted to the inflow of ingested toxins by the evolutionary development of unique regenerative properties and responds to injury or tissue loss by the rapid division of mature cells. Proliferation of the parenchymal cells, i.e. hepatocytes and epithelial cells of the bile duct, is regulated by numerous cytokine/growth-factor-mediated pathways and is synchronised with extracellular matrix degradation and restoration of the vasculature. Resident hepatic stem/progenitor cells have also been identified in small numbers in normal liver and implicated in liver tissue repair. Their putative role in the physiology, pathophysiology and therapy of the liver, however, is not yet precisely known. Hepatic stem/progenitor cells also known as “oval cells” in rodents have been implicated in liver tissue repair, at a time when the capacity for hepatocyte and bile duct replication is exhausted or experimentally inhibited (facultative stem/progenitor cell pool). Although much more has to be learned about the role of stem/progenitor cells in the physiology and pathophysiology of the liver, experimental analysis of the therapeutic value of these cells has been initiated. Transplantation of hepatic stem/progenitor cells or in vivo pharmacological activation of the pool of hepatic stem cells may provide novel modalities for the therapy of liver diseases. In addition, extrahepatic stem cells (e.g. bone marrow cells) are being investigated for their contribution to liver regeneration. Hepatic progenitor cells derived from embryonic stem cells are included in this review, which also discusses future perspectives of stem cell-based therapies for liver diseases

Postoperative Complication Rate in Recurrent Benign Goiter - a Retrospective Analysis

Background: Recurrent benign goiter remains an unsolved problem in the modern endocrine surgery based on the high rate of postoperative complications.Materials and Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted extracting data from our endocrine surgical database for the period 1997 - 2013. 804 patients with pathology of thyroid gland in total were operated on in the Surgical Department of the University Hospital Stara Zagora. Fifty (6.2%) of them underwent elective surgery for recurrent benign goiter. From them, 8 (16%) were male and 42 (84%) were female. According to the type of the surgical procedure: unilateral lobectomy (n-9, 18%); subtotal thyroidectomy (n-17, 34%); thyroidectomy (n-20, 40%); partial lobectomy (n-4, 8%). We observed early postoperative complications such as bleeding, laryngeal nerve injury, and hypoparathyroidism. Results: After the elective surgery, we observed early postoperative bleeding in 2 patients (4%), one patient was with permanent laryngeal nerve paralysis (2%), two patients had transient nerve injury (4%) and just one patient had evidence of postoperative hypoparathyroidism (2%). In our study group none of patients had tracheal injury, ductus thoracicus, and oesophagus injury. Our mortality was zero. All patients with postoperative complications underwent thyroidectomy as a surgical procedure. Conclusion: We conclude that the percentage of postoperative complications is mainly associated with the need of thyroidectomy, which is a difficult procedure due to the impaired anatomy from previous surgical procedures