HPC-A dose prediction on the optia® cell separator based on a benchmark CE2 collection efficiency: Promoting clinical efficiency, minimizing toxicity, and allowing quality control.

It has been shown that it is possible to predict the CD 34+ hematopoietic progenitor cell dose from collection procedures on TerumoBCT COBE Spectra® cell separator platform using simple variables available at the start of the procedure. In this article, we demonstrate that this can be done simply and reliably using TerumoBCT Spectra Optia® ("Optia") cell separator platform with a very close correlation between predicted and actual results (correlation coefficient 0.956). This knowledge can be used to optimize apheresis sessions and to minimize harmful effects and costs. In addition, we have shown differences in collection efficiency between healthy donors and cancer patients undergoing autologous donation. Finally, we have shown a small but significant improvement in collection efficiency for the Optia platform compared with the COBE Spectra platform.

Low Doses of Mycotoxin Mixtures below EU Regulatory Limits Can Negatively Affect the Performance of Broiler Chickens: A Longitudinal Study.

Several studies have reported a wide range of severe health effects as well as clinical signs, when livestock animals are exposed to high concentration of mycotoxins. However, little is known regarding health effects of mycotoxins at low levels. Thus, a long-term feeding trial (between May 2017 and December 2019) was used to evaluate the effect of low doses of mycotoxin mixtures on performance of broiler chickens fed a naturally contaminated diet. In total, 18 successive broiler performance trials were carried out during the study period, with approximately 2200 one-day-old Ross-308 chicks used for each trial. Feed samples given to birds were collected at the beginning of each trial and analysed for multi-mycotoxins using a validated LC-MS/MS method. Furthermore, parameters including feed intake, body weight and feed efficiency were recorded on a weekly basis. In total, 24 mycotoxins were detected in samples analysed with deoxynivalenol (DON), zearalenone (ZEN), fumonisins (FBs), apicidin, enniatins (ENNs), emodin and beauvericin (BEV), the most prevalent mycotoxins. Furthermore, significantly higher levels (however below EU guidance values) of DON, ZEN, FBs, BEV, ENNs and diacetoxyscirpenol (DAS) were detected in 6 of the 18 performance trials. A strong positive relationship was observed between broilers feed efficiency and DON (R2 = 0.85), FBs (R2 = 0.53), DAS (R2 = 0.86), ZEN (R2 = 0.92), ENNs (R2 = 0.60) and BEV (R2 = 0.73). Moreover, a three-way interaction regression model revealed that mixtures of ZEN, DON and FBs (p = 0.01, R2 = 0.84) and ZEN, DON and DAS (p = 0.001, R2 = 0.91) had a statistically significant interaction effect on the birds' feed efficiency. As farm animals are often exposed to low doses of mycotoxin mixtures (especially fusarium mycotoxins), a cumulative risk assessment in terms of measuring and mitigating against the economic, welfare and health impacts is needed for this group of compounds.

Variation in mating systems of salamanders: mate guarding or territoriality?

Two of the most common mating tactics in vertebrates are mate guarding and territoriality, yet much of the research on these strategies has focused on mating systems in birds, despite novel insights gained from studying less traditional systems. North American stream salamanders that comprise the Eurycea bislineata complex represent an excellent nontraditional system for comparing mating strategies because these species exhibit a continuum of male morphologies, diverse habitat associations, and various potential mating strategies. We studied two species within this complex that exhibit the extremes of this continuum, Eurycea aquatica (robust morph) and Eurycea cirrigera (slender morph). The larger head in males of E. aquatica is due to larger musculature around the jaw and may be associated with aggressive behavior. Therefore, we hypothesized that the robust morphology exhibited by males of E. aquatica provides benefits during either territorial defense or mate defense and that males of E. cirrigera would not exhibit aggression in either scenario. We found that neither species exhibited aggressive behavior to defend a territory. However, in the presence of a female, males of E. aquatica were significantly more aggressive toward intruding males than were males of E. cirrigera. Therefore, mate-guarding behavior occurs in E. aquatica, and the enlarged head of males likely aids in deterring rivals. This is the first demonstration of mate-guarding behavior in a plethodontid, the most speciose family of salamanders.

The CTSA Consortium's Catalog of Assets for Translational and Clinical Health Research (CATCHR).

The 61 CTSA Consortium sites are home to valuable programs and infrastructure supporting translational science and all are charged with ensuring that such investments translate quickly to improved clinical care. Catalog of Assets for Translational and Clinical Health Research (CATCHR) is the Consortium's effort to collect and make available information on programs and resources to maximize efficiency and facilitate collaborations. By capturing information on a broad range of assets supporting the entire clinical and translational research spectrum, CATCHR aims to provide the necessary infrastructure and processes to establish and maintain an open-access, searchable database of consortium resources to support multisite clinical and translational research studies. Data are collected using rigorous, defined methods, with the resulting information made visible through an integrated, searchable Web-based tool. Additional easy-to-use Web tools assist resource owners in validating and updating resource information over time. In this paper, we discuss the design and scope of the project, data collection methods, current results, and future plans for development and sustainability. With increasing pressure on research programs to avoid redundancy, CATCHR aims to make available information on programs and core facilities to maximize efficient use of resources.

Primitive, quiescent, Philadelphia-positive stem cells from patients with chronic myeloid leukemia are insensitive to STI571 in vitro.

In clinical trials, the tyrosine kinase inhibitor STI571 has proven highly effective in reducing leukemic cell burden in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). The overall sensitivity of CML CD34(+) progenitor cells to STI571 and the degree to which cell death was dependent on cell cycle status were determined. Stem cells (Lin(-)CD34(+)) from the peripheral blood of patients with CML in chronic phase and from granulocyte-colony-stimulating factor-mobilized healthy donors were labeled with carboxy-fluorescein diacetate succinimidyl diester dye to enable high-resolution tracking of cell division. Then they were cultured for 3 days with and without growth factors +/- STI571. After culture, the cells were separated by fluorescence-activated cell sorting into populations of viable quiescent versus cycling cells for genotyping. For healthy controls, in the presence of growth factors, STI571 affected neither cell cycle kinetics nor recovery of viable cells. In the absence of growth factors, normal cells were unable to divide. For CML samples, in the presence or absence of growth factors, the response to STI571 was variable. In the most sensitive cases, STI571 killed almost all dividing cells; however, a significant population of viable CD34(+) cells was recovered in the undivided peak and confirmed to be part of the leukemic clone. STI571 also appeared to exhibit antiproliferative activity on the quiescent population. These studies confirm that CML stem cells remain viable in a quiescent state even in the presence of growth factors and STI571. Despite dramatic short-term responses in vivo, such in vitro insensitivity to STI571, in combination with its demonstrated antiproliferative activity, could translate into disease relapse after prolonged therapy.