The in vivo performance of a novel thermal accelerant agent used for augmentation of microwave energy delivery within biologic tissues during image-guided thermal ablation: a porcine study.

Objectives: To investigate the effects of a novel caesium-based thermal accelerant (TA) agent on ablation zone volumes following in vivo microwave ablation of porcine liver and skeletal muscle, and to correlate the effects of TA with target organ perfusion.

Materials And Methods: This prospective study was performed following institutional animal care and use committee approval. Microwave ablation was performed in liver and resting skeletal muscle in eight Sus scrofa domesticus swine following administration of TA at concentrations of 0 mg/mL (control), 100 mg/mL and 250 mg/mL.

Struvite Urolithiasis in Long-Evans Rats.

Struvite urinary calculi, which are composed of magnesium, ammonium, and phosphate, can cause complications including sepsis and renal failure. Struvite calculi were identified within the urinary bladder and renal pelvis of 2 Long-Evans rats that died within days after arrival from a commercial vendor. The remaining rats in the shipment were screened by physical examination, radiography, and ultrasonography, revealing an additional 2 animals that were clinically affected.

Administration of luteinizing hormone releasing hormone agonist for synchronization of estrus and generation of pseudopregnancy for embryo transfer in rats.

In the past decade, the use of genetically engineered rats has increased exponentially; therefore, the ability to perform embryo transfer (ET) in rats to rederive, reanimate, or create mutant rat lines is increasingly important. However, the successful generation of pseudopregnant female rats for ET represents a limiting factor. We here evaluated the subcutaneous administration of 40 μg luteinizing hormone releasing hormone agonist (LHRHa) for estrus synchronization during the development and implementation of a rat ET program.

Restriction of endogenous T cell antigen receptor beta rearrangements to Vbeta14 through selective recombination signal sequence modifications.

T cell antigen receptor (TCR)beta V(D)J variable region exon assembly is ordered, with Dbeta to Jbeta rearrangements occurring before joining of Vbetas to a DJbeta complex. Germ-line V(D)J segments are flanked by recombination signal (RS) sequences, which consist of heptamers and nonamers separated by a spacer of 12 (12-RS) or 23 (23-RS) bp. V(D)J recombination is restricted by the 12/23 rule; joining occurs only between gene segments flanked by 12-RSs and 23-RSs.