Trends and characteristics of cases when serial carboxyhemoglobins are obtained.

Background: Carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) levels are obtained when there is suspicion for carbon monoxide (CO) exposure. Serial COHb levels are sometimes obtained despite the well-established half-life of COHb with oxygen supplementation. We sought to evaluate the trends and characteristics associated with obtaining serial carboxyhemoglobin levels.

Role of miR-139 as a surrogate marker for tumor aggression in breast cancer.

MicroRNAs are non-protein coding molecules that play a key role in oncogenesis, tumor progression, and metastasis in many types of malignancies including breast cancer. In the current study, we studied the expression of microRNA-139-5p (miR-139) in invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) of the breast and correlated its expression with tumor grade, molecular subtype, hormonal status, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 status, proliferation index, tumor size, lymph node status, patient's age, and overall survival in 74 IDC cases. In addition, we compared and correlated miR-139 expression in 18 paired serum and tissue samples from patients with IDC to assess its value as a serum marker.

Tracking cross-contamination transfer dynamics at a mock retail deli market using GloGerm.

Ready-to-eat (RTE) deli meats are considered a food at high risk for causing foodborne illness. Deli meats are listed as the highest risk RTE food vehicle for Listeria monocytogenes. Cross-contamination in the retail deli market may contribute to spread of pathogens to deli meats.

Validation of rat reference genes for improved quantitative gene expression analysis using low density arrays.

Real-time PCR has become increasingly important in gene expression profiling research, and it is widely agreed that normalized data are required for accurate estimates of messenger RNA (mRNA) expression. With increased gene expression profiling in preclinical research and toxicogenomics, a need for reference genes in the rat has emerged, and the studies in this area have not yet been thoroughly evaluated. The purpose of our study was to evaluate a panel of rat reference genes for variation of gene expression in different tissue types.

Quantification of MPTP-induced dopaminergic neurodegeneration in the mouse substantia nigra by laser capture microdissection.

The neurotoxin MPTP is widely used to cause damage to the dopaminergic system in rodents and non-human primates to model various aspects of Parkinson's disease. In mice, depletion of striatal dopamine is the commonly used endpoint to assess neuronal damage. However, it has proved technically challenging to quantify dopaminergic cell bodies as an index of neuronal integrity.

Molecular cytogenetic assignment of genes to bovine chromosome 5.

Seven genes were assigned by molecular cytogenetic methods to bovine chromosome 5. To accomplish this, specific primers were either publicly available or were designed from highly conserved regions of the publicly available mammalian gene sequences. The identity of the amplified segments was verified by sequencing and alignment with the published sequences.