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The article discusses a study conducted on a number of loggerhead sea turtles Caretta caretta to establish the physiological reference ranges that enable the identification of their pathological values. The study analyzed blood samples from several healthy adult loggerhead sea turtles captured and delivered to the Sea Turtle Rescue Center of Linosa, Italy by conducting serum biochemistry and serum protein electrophoresis. It was found that the individual variations in serum glucose observed from the samples were probably associated with the stress of capture, transportation and restraint before clinical examination.

On the basis of the encouraging results achieved in several clinical trials and its proven therapeutic efficacy, 153Sm-ethylene diamine tetramethylene phosphonic acid (EDTMP) has become widely used to palliate pain from bone metastases. The results reported in the literature have led the product suppliers (QUADRAMET®, Schering) to suggest administering a fixed activity per kilogram (37 MBq/kg). However, considering the observed extreme inter-patient variability of skeletal uptake of 153Sm-EDTMP, a real therapy optimization would require the individualization of the activity to be administered on a dosimetric basis. This should be planned taking into account the generally accepted 2-Gy dose constraint to the haematopoietic red marrow, the critical organ in palliative treatments with beta-emitting, bone-seeking radiopharmaceuticals. Seven to 14 days before treatment with 153Sm-EDTMP, 44 patients underwent 99mTc-methylene diphosphonate (MDP) total-body bone scan with two scans (the first within 10 min of injection, the second after 6 h). The percentage bone uptake (Tc%) was evaluated as the ratio between total counts at 6 h, adjusted for decay, and total counts at the first scan. Tc% was then compared to Sm% similarly derived from 10-min and 24-h whole-body scans. Tc% and Sm% were compared both with and without Brenner’s method for soft tissue uptake. The correlation between Tc% and Sm% was R 2 = 0.81 and R 2 = 0.88 with and without soft tissue correction, respectively. The difference between their average values was statistically significant (Sm% = 64.3 ± 15.2, Tc% = 56.2 ± 16.0; p = 0.017) with soft tissue correction, while was not statistically significant (Sm% = 68.2 ± 15.5, Tc% = 66.9 ± 14.0; p = 0.670) without soft tissue correction. The rate of retention of 99mTc-MDP in bone provides a reliable estimate of the 153Sm-EDTMP rate of retention. The proposed method can be usefully adopted for prospective dosimetry seeing its extreme simplicity, and it requires no special investment in terms of human or instrumental resources. This allows an optimization of administered 153Sm-EDTMP activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) is a rare human tumor affecting the calcitonin-secreting c-cells of the thyroid. Here we report that two independent strains of transgenic mice expressing a Polyomavirus (Py) truncated middle-T antigen (ΔMT), consisting of the amino-terminal 304 amino acids, and the full length Py small-T antigen, developed multifocal bilateral MTCs with 100% penetrance. Occasionally one strain also developed mammary and bone tumors. Furthermore, offspring from both transgenic lines displayed pronounced waviness of the whiskers and fur, previously associated with defective epidermal growth factor receptor signaling. Transgene transcription, driven by the homologous early promoter/enhancer, and the corresponding translation products were detected in tumors and in many other organs which did not develop pathologies. The subcellular distribution of ΔMT and its interactions with the adapter proteins of the SHC family have also been analysed. Our study describes a novel murine model of MTC and provides evidence that the N-terminal 304 amino acid fragment of Py middle-T antigen, possibly in co-operation with small-T antigen, acts as a potent oncogene in c-cells of the thyroid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we describe a simple and inexpensive Distributed Feedback Dye Laser (DFDL) system for picosecond pulse generation. This system consists of an oscillator-amplifier DFDL, either in the grating or in the prism configuration: both stages are pumped by a single TEA nitrogen laser with improved beam quality. Single pulses having duration of 26 ps are obtained at a frequency up to 100Hz; the overall pulse-to-pulse stability is, at the maximum frequency, of about 25%. This system is particularly well-suited for time-resolved fluorescence microscopy studies where short tunable laser pulses of low energy are required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pheochromocytomas are adrenal medullary tumors which arise from the transformation of neural crest-derived cells. In the course of studies of mice transgenic for an SV40 T-gene ectopically expressed in the adrenal medulla, we observed the occurrence of large, mainly bilateral tumors in a high proportion of transgenic animals. From these tumors we established immortalized cell lines which grow in vitro at 32°C (the permissive temperature for the tsA58 T-protein encoded by the transgene), but not at 38°C. These cells demonstrate characteristics of both neuronal (160 kd neurofilament) and endocrine (chromogranins) cells. The expression of Mash-1 and ret supports their initial characterization as early bipotential neuro-endocrine progenitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the abstract of the paper "Eulemur Phylogeny: Evidence From Molecular and Acoustic Data," by L. Pozzi, M. Gamba, M. Delpero and C. Giacoma to be presented at the 21st Congress of the International Primatological Society, scheduled in Entebbe, Uganda from June 25-30, 2006.

Ecological variation and anthropogenic landscape modification have had key roles in the diversification and extinction of mammals in Madagascar. Lemurs represent a radiation with more than 100 species, constituting roughly one-fifth of the primate order. Almost all species of lemurs are threatened with extinction, but little is known about their genetic diversity and demographic history. Here, we analyse high-coverage genome-wide resequencing data from 162 unique individuals comprising 50 species of Lemuriformes, including multiple individuals from most species. Genomic diversity varies widely across the infraorder and yet is broadly consistent among individuals within species. We show widespread introgression in multiple genera and generally high levels of genomic diversity likely resulting from allele sharing that occurred during periods of connectivity and fragmentation during climatic shifts. We find distinct patterns of demographic history in lemurs across the ecogeographic regions of Madagascar within the last million years. Within the past 2,000 years, lemurs underwent major declines in effective population size that corresponded to the timing of human population expansion in Madagascar. In multiple regions of the island, we identified chronological trajectories of inbreeding that are consistent across genera and species, suggesting localized effects of human activity. Our results show how the extraordinary diversity of these long-neglected, endangered primates has been influenced by ecological and anthropogenic factors., Competing Interests: Competing interests: L.F.K.K. and K.K.-H.F. are employees of Illumina as of the submission of the paper. The other authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.)