Application of an artificial intelligence for quantitative analysis of endothelial capillary beds in vitro.

Background: The use of endothelial cell cultures has become fundamental to study angiogenesis. Recent advances in artificial intelligences (AI) offer opportunities to develop automated assessment methods in medical research, analyzing larger datasets.

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the application of AI with a manual method to morphometrically quantify in vitro angiogenesis.

Microvascular changes following exposure to iodinated contrast media in vitro. A qualitative comparison to serum creatinine concentrations in post-cardiac catheterization patients.

Introduction: Contrast-associated acute kidney injury (CA-AKI) is characterized as a loss of renal function following radiological contrast media administration. While all contrast media induce variable changes in microvascular endothelial cells in vitro, only few studies report clinical significance of their findings. A comprehensive assessment of the effect of iodinated contrast media on the renal function in vitro and in vivo is essential.

Efficient skin interactions of graphene derivatives: challenge, opportunity or both?

Interactions between graphene, with its wide deployment in consumer products, and skin, the body's largest organ and first barrier, are highly relevant with respect to toxicology and dermal delivery. In this work, interaction of polyglycerol-functionalized graphene sheets, with 200 nm average lateral size and different surface charges, and human skin was studied and their potential as topical delivery systems were investigated. While neutral graphene sheets showed no significant skin interaction, their positively and negatively charged counterparts interacted with the skin, remaining in the stratum corneum.

Closure times of neurocranial sutures and synchondroses in Persian compared to Domestic Shorthair cats.

Human-directed selective breeding has modified the phenotype of the modern Persian cat towards an extreme brachycephalic phenotype ('peke-face' Persian), which originates from a spontaneous mutation that first appeared in the 1950s in traditional Persian types. It was suggested that the peke-face phenotype results from pathologic skull development and might represent a craniosynostosis of the coronal sutures. We followed this hypothesis and investigated the time dependent status of the neurocranial sutures and synchondroses in an ontogenetic series of doll-faced and peke-faced Persian cats compared to Domestic Shorthair cats (DSHs).

Alternatives in Education-Evaluation of Rat Simulators in Laboratory Animal Training Courses from Participants' Perspective.

In laboratory animal science (LAS) education and training, five simulators are available for exercises on handling and routine procedures on the rat, which is-beside mice-the most commonly used species in LAS. Since these simulators may have high potential in protecting laboratory rats, the aim of this study is to investigate the simulators' impact on the 3R (replace, reduce, refine) principle in LAS education and training. Therefore, the simulators were evaluated by 332 course participants in 27 different LAS courses via a practical simulator training workshop and a paper-based two-part questionnaire-both integrated in the official LAS course schedule.