Anti-Müllerian hormone levels in relation to ovarian structures, season and age in Lipizzaner broodmares.

The anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) is a granulosa cell-derived hormone that has been associated with female fertility and reflects the population of growing follicles. This study aimed to evaluate the average concentration of AMH in Lipizzaner mares, as well as to determine the relationship between AMH concentration and follicle number and size. We also investigated the relationship between the age of mares and their AMH levels.

Evaluating the Protective Role of Intranasally Administered Avian-Derived IgY Against SARS-CoV-2 in Syrian Hamster Models.

Background/objectives: The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the need for alternative prophylactic measures, particularly for populations for whom vaccines may not be effective or accessible. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of intranasally administered IgY antibodies derived from hen egg yolks as a protective agent against SARS-CoV-2 infection in Syrian golden hamsters, a well-established animal model for COVID-19.

Methods: Hens were immunized with the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 to generate IgY antibodies.

Bottling it? Consumer responses to less environmentally friendly products: A choice experiment for water in plastic packaging in the UK.

Consumers have several options when confronted with less environmentally friendly packaging like water in single use plastic bottles - they can ignore environmental concerns and proceed with a purchase, refuse to buy any such product, seek out a less damaging version like water in biodegradable bottles, and/or engage in offsetting/compensatory behavior such as donating to a charity. Understanding how consumers value these options is an important academic and management challenge. To address this, a stated choice experiment is employed.

HOX gene expression in the developing human spine.

Positional coding along the anterior-posterior axis is regulated by HOX genes, whose 3' to 5' expression correlates with location along this axis. The precise utilisation of HOX genes in different human cell types is not fully understood. Here, we use single-cell and spatial-transcriptomics, along with in-situ sequencing, to create a developmental atlas of the human fetal spine.

The Spleen Modulates the Balance of Natural and Pathological Autoantibodies in a Mouse Model of Autoimmune Arthritis.

Natural autoantibodies (natAAbs) react with evolutionarily conserved antigens but they do not lead to pathological tissue destruction, contrary to pathological autoantibodies (pathAAbs). NatAAbs usually belong to the IgM isotype, and their network, also known as the "immunological homunculus", is thought to play a role in immunological tolerance. NatAAbs are produced by B1 cells found mostly on the serosa surfaces or the spleen.

G protein-coupled estrogen receptor 1 and collagen XVII endodomain expression in human cutaneous melanomas: can they serve as prognostic factors?

Melanoma incidence is increasing globally. Although novel therapies have improved the survival of primary melanoma patients over the past decade, the overall survival rate for metastatic melanoma remains low. In addition to traditional prognostic factors such as Breslow thickness, ulceration, and mitotic rate, novel genetic and molecular markers have been investigated.

A simulation educational intervention to enhance preclinical family nurse practitioner student preparation.

Simulation has been shown to improve communication and psychometric skills in advanced practice nursing students. Little is known about the impact of a simulation educational intervention with a faculty-facilitated debriefing on the preparation of novice nurse practitioner students for their first clinical practicum. This article describes the development of an educational intervention to accomplish this.

Hemodynamic Characteristics of a Tortuous Microvessel Using High-Fidelity Red Blood Cell Resolved Simulations.

Objective: Tortuous microvessels are characteristic of microvascular remodeling associated with numerous physiological and pathological scenarios. Three-dimensional (3D) hemodynamics in tortuous microvessels influenced by red blood cells (RBCs), however, are largely unknown, and important questions remain. Is blood viscosity influenced by vessel tortuosity? How do RBC dynamics affect wall shear stress (WSS) patterns and the near-wall cell-free layer (CFL) over a range of conditions? The objective of this work was to parameterize hemodynamic characteristics unique to a tortuous microvessel.

Characterization of Removal Reasons for Nurse Sows and the Associated Removal Due to Their Extended Lactation Length in Hyperprolific Farrow-Wean Herds.

This study aimed to characterize and quantify reasons for the removal of nurse sows and identify the removal associated with their extended lactation length (ELL). A total of 100,756 removed nurse sows within a period of 2016-2022 from 53 sow herds in the Midwest USA were analyzed. Reproductive failure was the most common removal reason (χ = 8748.

Splenectomy at early stage of autoimmune arthritis delayed inflammatory response and reduced joint deterioration in mice.

The spleen plays a role in innate and adaptive immunity, and autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We investigated the effect of splenectomy in early and moderate stages of autoimmune arthritis in a mouse model. To induce recombinant human G1-induced arthritis (GIA), BALB/c mice were immunized intraperitoneally three times in 4-week intervals with the rhG1 antigen.

Enhancing Adaptive Physics Refinement Simulations Through the Addition of Realistic Red Blood Cell Counts.

Simulations of cancer cell transport require accurately modeling mm-scale and longer trajectories through a circulatory system containing trillions of deformable red blood cells, whose intercellular interactions require submicron fidelity. Using a hybrid CPU-GPU approach, we extend the advanced physics refinement (APR) method to couple a finely-resolved region of explicitly-modeled red blood cells to a coarsely-resolved bulk fluid domain. We further develop algorithms that: capture the dynamics at the interface of differing viscosities, maintain hematocrit within the cell-filled volume, and move the finely-resolved region and encapsulated cells while tracking an individual cancer cell.

Quantitative Analysis of NKX2-3 Expression in Human Colon: An Immunohistochemical Study.

In mice, Nkx2-3 homeodomain transcription factor defines the vascular specification of secondary and tertiary lymphoid tissues of the intestines. In human studies, polymorphisms in NKX2-3 have been identified as a susceptibility factor in inflammatory bowel diseases, whereas in mice, its absence is associated with protection against experimental colitis and enhanced intestinal epithelial proliferation. Here, we investigated the expression of NKX2-3 in normal, polyp, and adenocarcinoma human colon samples using immunohistochemistry and quantitative morphometry, correlating its expression with endothelial and mesenchymal stromal markers.

Angiogenic Microvascular Wall Shear Stress Patterns Revealed Through Three-dimensional Red Blood Cell Resolved Modeling.

The wall shear stress (WSS) exerted by blood flowing through microvascular capillaries is an established driver of new blood vessel growth, or angiogenesis. Such adaptations are central to many physiological processes in both health and disease, yet three-dimensional (3D) WSS characteristics in real angiogenic microvascular networks are largely unknown. This marks a major knowledge gap because angiogenesis, naturally, is a 3D process.

Estimation of shear stress heterogeneity along capillary segments in angiogenic rat mesenteric microvascular networks.

Objective: Fluid shear stress is thought to be a regulator of endothelial cell behavior during angiogenesis. The link, however, requires an understanding of stress values at the capillary level in angiogenic microvascular networks. Critical questions remain.

Natural and Pathological Autoantibodies Show Age-Related Changes in a Spontaneous Autoimmune Mouse (NZB) Model.

The natural autoantibody (natAAb) network is thought to play a role in immune regulation. These IgM antibodies react with evolutionary conserved antigens; however, they do not lead to pathological tissue destruction as opposed to pathological autoantibodies (pathAAb). The exact relation between the natAAbs and pathAAbs is still not completely understood; therefore, in the present study, we set out to measure nat- and pathAAb levels against three conserved antigens in a spontaneous autoimmune disease model: the NZB mouse strain which develops autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) from six months of age.

Absence of Nkx2-3 induces ectopic lymphatic endothelial differentiation associated with impaired extramedullary stress hematopoiesis in the spleen.

The red and white pulps as two main parts of the spleen are arranged around distinct types of vasculature, and perform significantly different functions in both humans and mice. Previous observations indicated a profound alteration of the local vessel specialization in mice lacking Nkx2-3 homeodomain transcription factor, including contradictory results suggesting presence of an ectopic lymphatic vascular structure. Furthermore, how the absence of Nkx2-3 and the consequential changes in endothelial components affect the extramedullary hematopoietic activity restricted to the splenic red pulp is unknown.