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Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive...Apocrine hidrocystomas are benign cystic tumors derived from apocrine sweat glands; they are most commonly located in the skin of the head and neck regions. Ophthalmic...
Apocrine hidrocystomas are benign cystic tumors derived from apocrine sweat glands; they are most commonly located in the skin of the head and neck regions. Ophthalmic occurrences characteristically appear at the lash line and canthi of the eyelid, although rare instances have been described in the conjunctiva, caruncle, and orbit. The authors describe an exceptional instance of a mobile epibulbar subconjunctival apocrine hidrocystoma in a 57-year-old woman without a history of previous ocular injury or surgery. Histopathology of the excised specimen displayed an empty cyst lined by a double layer of cuboidal epithelium with the inner layer exhibiting periodic acid-Schiff-positive apical decapitation secretion. Confirmatory immunohistochemistry included reactivity with cytokeratin-7, smooth muscle actin, D2-40, and CDGFP-15.
Topics: Apocrine Glands; Eyelids; Female; Hidrocystoma; Humans; Immunohistochemistry; Middle Aged; Sweat Gland Neoplasms
PubMed: 34284427
DOI: 10.1097/IOP.0000000000002019 -
Cold Spring Harbor Protocols Jul 2023Naive males court both virgin and mated females but learn through experience to discriminate between them, thus minimizing futile investments in nonreceptive female...
Naive males court both virgin and mated females but learn through experience to discriminate between them, thus minimizing futile investments in nonreceptive female flies. In the laboratory, we can exploit the innate courtship enthusiasm of males and manipulate their behavior by placing them with a nonreceptive female (immature virgin females, decapitated mature virgin females, or mature mated females), termed as the courtship suppression/conditioning assay. Early studies showed that male flies that experience failure to mate upon interaction with nonreceptive previously mated females show decreased motivation to court (courtship suppression). Courtship suppression is an important experimental paradigm for studying genes and neuronal circuits that mediate short- and long-term memory. The anti-aphrodisiac male-specific pheromone 11--vaccenyl-acetate plays a key role in this conditioned response, as male flies learn to associate its presence on mated females with the failure to mate.
Topics: Animals; Male; Female; Drosophila; Drosophila melanogaster; Courtship; Sexual Behavior, Animal
PubMed: 36781210
DOI: 10.1101/pdb.prot108106 -
Evolutionary Psychology : An... Oct 2021At the beginning of our era, after a battle on the Ionian Sea, Antony and Cleopatra took their own lives in Egypt, and Augustus was made an by his senators Roman...
At the beginning of our era, after a battle on the Ionian Sea, Antony and Cleopatra took their own lives in Egypt, and Augustus was made an by his senators Roman emperors had sexual access to those senators' daughters and wives, and to thousands of slaves. But they ran governments with help from their castrated civil servants. And they enforced an Imperial Cult: subjects made sacrifices to the emperor's or procreative spirit; or they got disemboweled by wild animals, or decapitated. Then Constantine moved off from the Tiber to the Bosporus, and Europe was ruled over by a few. Lords covered the countryside with bastards, but passed on estates on to their oldest sons. Daughters and younger sons were put away in the Church, where some became parents, but most were reproductively suppressed: they were or or without a husband, and ἄγαμος or or without a wife. Heretics who objected got burned at the stake. Then the Crusaders expanded Europe to the East, and Columbus went off to the West, and politics, sex and religion became more democratic. Power was more widely distributed; more men and women had families if they wanted them, and monasteries emptied out. The Reformation followed the Roman Church, which had followed the Imperial Cult.
Topics: Catholicism; Christianity; Europe; Female; Humans; Male; Politics; Religion; Sexual Behavior
PubMed: 34939448
DOI: 10.1177/14747049211066795 -
Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety Jun 2021Decapitation and root cutting can influence plant physiological features, such as height, dry weight, and transpiration rate, which partly determine the success of...
Decapitation and root cutting can influence plant physiological features, such as height, dry weight, and transpiration rate, which partly determine the success of phytoremediation. In this study, the effects of three root cutting intensities (10%, 25%, and 33%), decapitation, and their combination on the phytoremediation efficiency of Celosia argentea were evaluated. Decapitation increased the biomass yield of C. argentea roots and leaves and significantly improved the species' Cd decontamination ability. Root cutting, especially 33% cutting treatment, decreased the root dry weight. The 10% and 25% root cutting treatments increased the leaf biomass yield by 58.6% and 41.4%, respectively, compared with the untreated control, even compensating for the loss of roots, but 33% root cutting decreased the leaf dry weight. Low and moderate root cutting intensity (10% and 25%) increased the leaf Cd content by 33.4% and 24.9%, respectively, and was associated with improved transpiration rate. The highest root and leaf dry weights were observed for the combination of decapitation and 10% root cutting, which increased the biomass yield of underground and aerial parts by 109.9% and 286.2%, respectively. In addition, decapitation offset the negative effects of 33% root cutting on plant growth, indicated by the higher dry weight relative to the control. Decapitated C. argentea accumulated 11.0, 7.5, and 0.7 times more Cd with the 10%, 25%, and 33% root cutting treatments, respectively, compared with the control. The combination of root cutting and decapitation was a practicable and economical method of enhancing the Cd decontamination capacity of C. argentea.
Topics: Biodegradation, Environmental; Biomass; Celosia; Decapitation; Plant Roots; Plants; Soil; Soil Pollutants
PubMed: 33756287
DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2021.112162 -
Methods in Molecular Biology (Clifton,... 2022Shoot branching is an important trait that depends on the activity of axillary meristems and buds and their outgrowth into branches. It is remarkably plastic, being...
Shoot branching is an important trait that depends on the activity of axillary meristems and buds and their outgrowth into branches. It is remarkably plastic, being influenced by a number of external cues, such as light, temperature, soil nutrients, and mechanical manipulation. These are transduced into an internal hormone signaling network where auxin, cytokinins, and strigolactones play leading regulatory roles. Recently, sugars have also emerged as important signals promoting bud activation. These signals are in part integrated by the bud-specific growth repressor BRANCHED1 (BRC1).To understand how shoot branching is affected by particular growth conditions or in specific plant lines, it is necessary to count the number of branches and/or quantify other branch-related parameters. Here we describe how to perform such quantifications in Arabidopsis and in tomato.
Topics: Arabidopsis; Arabidopsis Proteins; Indoleacetic Acids; Solanum lycopersicum; Mutation; Plant Shoots; Transcription Factors
PubMed: 35467200
DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-2297-1_5 -
Advances in Clinical and Experimental... Mar 2022In the literature, it has been suggested that ketamine-related oxidative organ damage results from increased blood adrenaline level, and thiopental-related oxidative...
BACKGROUND
In the literature, it has been suggested that ketamine-related oxidative organ damage results from increased blood adrenaline level, and thiopental-related oxidative damage is caused by decreased adrenaline level, suggesting that ketamine-thiopental combination (KT) may be beneficial in reducing the hepatotoxic effect of ketamine.
OBJECTIVES
To biochemically investigate the effects of ketamine, thiopental and KT on the liver in rats.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
Male albino Wistar type rats received intraperitoneally (ip.) 30 mg/kg ketamine in the ketamine alone (KG) group (n = 6), 15 mg/kg thiopental in the thiopental alone (TG) group (n = 6), and 30 mg/kg ketamine + 15 mg/kg thiopental in the ketamine+thiopental (KTG) group (n = 6). The same volume of distilled water as solvent was given to the healthy (HG) animal group. This procedure was repeated once daily for 30 days. At the end of this period, the animals were killed by decapitation and their livers were removed. In liver tissue, malondialdehyde (MDA), total glutathione (tGSH), total oxidant status (TOS), total antioxidant status (TAS), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels were measured. The IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, adrenalin (ADR), noradrenalin (NDR), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels were determined in blood samples taken from the tail veins.
RESULTS
In the group treated with ketamine and thiopental alone, MDA, TOS, IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, ADR, NDR, ALT, and AST levels were found to be high, and those of tGSH and TAS to be low. However, there was no significant change in the levels of these parameters in the KTG.
CONCLUSIONS
These results indicate that oxidative stress and inflammation developed in the liver tissue of the group that used ketamine and thiopental alone, suggesting that the KT form may be safer in terms of toxicity in the clinical usage.
Topics: Animals; Antioxidants; Ketamine; Liver; Male; Malondialdehyde; Oxidative Stress; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Thiopental; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
PubMed: 34918884
DOI: 10.17219/acem/143573 -
IEEE Transactions on Robotics : a... Feb 2022Accidental or deliberate disruption of the coordination function in a multi-agent system has been discussed and referred to in the social sciences literature as leader...
Accidental or deliberate disruption of the coordination function in a multi-agent system has been discussed and referred to in the social sciences literature as leader decapitation; this paper outlines a methodology for making multi-agent networks resilient to this type of failure, enabling a timely restoration of operation normalcy by leveraging machine learning techniques. The approach involves endowing the agents with a cascade of independent learning modules that enable them to discover over time their role in the overall system coordinating strategy, so that they are able to autonomously implement it when central coordination seizes to function. Through these machine learning algorithms, the agents incrementally identify the overall system's task specification and simultaneously optimize their strategy to serve the common goal.
PubMed: 38751944
DOI: 10.1109/TRO.2021.3108074 -
International Ophthalmology Aug 2023This study aimed to compare the efficacy of topical bevacizumab and motesanib in an experimental corneal neovascularization model, and find the most effective motesanib... (Review)
Review
PURPOSE
This study aimed to compare the efficacy of topical bevacizumab and motesanib in an experimental corneal neovascularization model, and find the most effective motesanib dose.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
In experiments, 42 Wistar Albino rats were randomly divided into six groups (n = 7). Corneal cauterization was applied to all groups except the group 1. Group 1 did not receive any treatment. Topical dimethylsulfoxide was applied to sham group three times a day(tid). Topical bevacizumab drops (5 mg/ml) were applied to Group 3 tid. Topical motesanib drops with a dose of 2.5, 5, and 7.5 mg/ml were respectively applied in Groups 4, 5, and 6 tid. On the 8th day, corneal photographs of all rats were taken under general anesthesia, and the percentage of corneal neovascular area was calculated. VEGF-A mRNA, VEGFR-2 mRNA, miRNA-21, miRNA-27a, miRNA-31, miRNA-126, miRNA-184, and miRNA-204 were evaluated by the qRT-PCR method in corneas taken after decapitation.
RESULTS
The percentage of corneal neovascularization areas and VEGF-A mRNA expression levels were decreased in all treatment groups compared to group 2 (p < 0.05). VEGFR-2 mRNA levels were found to be statistically significantly decreased in groups 4 and 6 compared to group 2 (p < 0.05). Statistically significant changes were detected in the expression levels of only miRNA-126 among all miRNAs.
CONCLUSION
Motesanib with a dose of 7.5 mg/ml statistically significantly suppressed the VEGFR-2 mRNA level compared with other treatment doses and may be more effective than bevacizumab. Further, miRNA-126 can be used as a proangiogenic marker.
Topics: Rats; Animals; Bevacizumab; Corneal Neovascularization; Angiogenesis Inhibitors; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-2; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized; Rats, Wistar; MicroRNAs; Disease Models, Animal; Administration, Topical
PubMed: 36971928
DOI: 10.1007/s10792-023-02685-3 -
Neurochemistry International Jun 2022It is known that brain energy metabolites such as ATP are quickly depleted during postmortem ischemia; however, a comprehensive assessment on the effects of preceding...
It is known that brain energy metabolites such as ATP are quickly depleted during postmortem ischemia; however, a comprehensive assessment on the effects of preceding hypercapnia/ischemia and the dissection process on the larger brain metabolome remains lacking. This study sought to address this unknown by measuring aqueous metabolites impacted by hypercapnia/ischemia and brain dissection using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance. Metabolites were measured in rats subjected to 1) high energy head-focused microwave irradiation (control group); 2) CO-induced hypercapnia/ischemia followed by immediate microwave irradiation; 3) CO followed by decapitation and then microwave irradiation ∼6.4 min later, to simulate a postmortem interval equivalent to typical dissection times; and 4) CO-induced hypercapnia/ischemia followed by dissection within ∼6 min (no microwave fixation) to test the effects of brain dissection on the metabolome. Compared to control rats subjected to head-focused microwave irradiation, concentrations of high-energy phosphate metabolites and glucose were significantly reduced, while β-hydroxybutyrate and lactate were increased in rats subjected to all other treatments. Several amino acids and neurotransmitters (GABA) increased by hypercapnia/ischemia and dissection. Sugar donors involved in glycosylation decreased and nucleotides decreased or increased following hypercapnia/ischemia and dissection. sn-Glycero-3-phosphocholine decreased and its choline byproduct increased in all groups relative to controls, indicating postmortem changes in lipid turnover. Antioxidants increased following hypercapnia/ischemia but decreased to control levels following dissection. This study demonstrates substantial post-mortem changes in brain energy and glycosylation pathways, as well as protein, nucleotide, neurotransmitter, lipid, and antioxidant turnover due to hypercapnia/ischemia and dissection. Changes in phosphate donors, glycosylation and amino acids reflect post-translational modification and protein degradation processes that persist post-mortem. Microwave irradiation is necessary for accurately capturing in vivo brain metabolite concentrations.
Topics: Amino Acids; Animals; Brain; Brain Ischemia; Carbon Dioxide; Hypercapnia; Ischemia; Lipids; Metabolome; Neurotransmitter Agents; Phosphates; Rats
PubMed: 35104537
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuint.2022.105294 -
Laboratory Animals Oct 2022Rodents are the most widely used species for scientific purposes. A critical pre-requisite of their use, based on utilitarian ethical reasoning, is the provision of a... (Review)
Review
Rodents are the most widely used species for scientific purposes. A critical pre-requisite of their use, based on utilitarian ethical reasoning, is the provision of a humane death when necessary for scientific or welfare grounds. Focussing on the welfare challenges presented by current methods, we critically evaluate the literature, consider emerging methodologies that may have potential for refinement and highlight knowledge gaps for future research. The evidence supports the conclusion that scientists and laboratory personnel should seek to avoid killing laboratory rodents by exposing them to carbon dioxide (CO), unless exploiting its high-throughput advantage. We suggest that stakeholders and policymakers should advocate for the removal of CO from existing guidelines, instead making its use conditionally acceptable with justification for additional rationale for its application. With regards to physical methods such as cervical dislocation, decapitation and concussion, major welfare concerns are based on potential inaccuracy in application and their susceptibility to high failure rates. There is a need for independent quality-controlled training programmes to facilitate optimal success rates and the development of specialist tools to improve outcomes and reliability. Furthermore, we highlight questions surrounding the inconsistent inclusion criteria and acceptability of physical methods in international regulation and/or guidance, demonstrating a lack of cohesion across countries and lack of a comprehensive 'gold standard' methodology. We encourage better review of new data and championing of open access scientific resources to advocate for best practice and enable significant changes to policy and legislation to improve the welfare of laboratory rodents at killing.
Topics: Animals; Animal Welfare; Carbon Dioxide; Rodentia; Reproducibility of Results
PubMed: 35611553
DOI: 10.1177/00236772221097472