scholarly journals Evaluating the voiding spot assay in mice: a simple method with complex environmental interactions

2017 ◽  
Vol 313 (6) ◽  
pp. F1274-F1280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huan Chen ◽  
Lanlan Zhang ◽  
Warren G. Hill ◽  
Weiqun Yu
Keyword(s):  
Corticotropin Releasing Factor ◽  
Water Bottle ◽  
Group Housing ◽  
Single Group ◽  
Simple Method ◽  
Multiple Factors ◽  
Cage Floor ◽  
Environmental Interactions ◽  
Urinary Dysfunctions ◽  
Lower Urinary

The voiding spot assay (VSA) on filter paper is an increasingly popular method for studying lower urinary tract physiology in mice. However, the ways VSAs are performed differ significantly between laboratories, and many variables are introduced compared with the mouse’s normal housing situation. Rodents are intelligent social animals, and it is increasingly understood that social and environmental stresses have significant effects on their physiology. Surprisingly, little is known about whether change of environment during VSA affects mouse voiding and what the best methodologies are for retaining “natural” micturition patterns. It is well known that stress-related neuropeptide corticotropin-releasing factor is significantly elevated and induces dramatic voiding changes when rodents encounter stresses. Therefore we hypothesized that changes in the environmental situation could potentially alter voiding during VSA. We have examined multiple factors to test whether they affect female mouse voiding patterns during VSA, including cage type, cage floor, water availability, water bottle location, single or group housing, and different handlers. Our results indicate that mice are surprisingly sensitive to changes in cage type and floor surface, water bottle location, and single/group housing, each of which induces significant changes in voiding patterns, indicative of a stress response. In contrast, neither changing handler nor 4 h of water deprivation affected voiding patterns. Our data indicate that VSA should be performed under conditions as close as possible to the mouse’s normal housing. Optimizing VSA methodology will be useful in uncovering voiding alterations in both genetic and disease models of lower urinary dysfunctions.

scholarly journals Biomarkers in Overactive Bladder: A New Objective and Noninvasive Tool?

2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiago Antunes-Lopes ◽  
Sérgio Carvalho-Barros ◽  
Célia-Duarte Cruz ◽  
Francisco Cruz ◽  
Carlos Martins-Silva
Keyword(s):  
Overactive Bladder ◽  
Potential Role ◽  
Exciting Field ◽  
Noninvasive Test ◽  
Reactive Protein ◽  
Urinary Dysfunctions ◽  
Human Costs ◽  
Low Sensitivity ◽  
Lower Urinary

Overactive bladder syndrome (OAB) is a highly prevalent urinary dysfunction, with considerable economic and human costs. Clinical diagnosis of OAB is still based on subjective symptoms. A new accurate, objective and noninvasive test to diagnose OAB and assess therapeutic outcome is lacking. Recent studies in lower urinary tract (LUT) dysfunctions, particularly in OAB patients, indicate that urinary proteins (neurotrophins, prostaglandins, and cytokines), serum C reactive protein, and detrusor wall thickness are altered, and such changes could be used as biomarkers of the disease. Nowadays, increasing emphasis has been given to the role of urinary neurotrophins, namely nerve growth factor (NGF) and brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), as key players in some urinary dysfunctions. Although recently considered to be a bladder dysfunction biomarker, urinary NGF presents low sensitivity and specificity. Preliminary results suggest that BDNF may serve as a more efficient biomarker. Even though we have to wait for future studies to confirm the potential role of NGF and BDNF as OAB biomarkers, it is already clear that neurotrophins will contribute to elucidate the physiopathological basis of OAB. Herein are reviewed the latest advances in this new and exciting field, the detection and clinical application of emerging OAB biomarkers.

A simple way for producing holographic filters suitable for image improvement

1978 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 226-227
Author(s):  
K.-H. Herrmann ◽  
E. Reuber ◽  
P. Schiske
Keyword(s):  
Transfer Functions ◽  
Diffraction Order ◽  
Lateral Position ◽  
Simple Method ◽  
Spatial Frequencies ◽  
Resolution Electron ◽  
Wiener Filters ◽  
Image Improvement ◽  
Optical Reconstruction ◽  
Set Up

Aposteriori deblurring of high resolution electron micrographs of weak phase objects can be performed by holographic filters [1,2] which are arranged in the Fourier domain of a light-optical reconstruction set-up. According to the diffraction efficiency and the lateral position of the grating structure, the filters permit adjustment of the amplitudes and phases of the spatial frequencies in the image which is obtained in the first diffraction order.In the case of bright field imaging with axial illumination, the Contrast Transfer Functions (CTF) are oscillating, but real. For different imageforming conditions and several signal-to-noise ratios an extensive set of Wiener-filters should be available. A simple method of producing such filters by only photographic and mechanical means will be described here.A transparent master grating with 6.25 lines/mm and 160 mm diameter was produced by a high precision computer plotter. It is photographed through a rotating mask, plotted by a standard plotter.

Rotary Beveling for In Situ Thin-Section Microscopy of Cell Cultures

1981 ◽  
Vol 39 ◽  
pp. 550-551
Author(s):  
Dean A. Handley ◽  
Jack T. Alexander ◽  
Shu Chien
Keyword(s):  
Cell Growth ◽  
Cell Cultures ◽  
Molecular Interactions ◽  
Convenient Method ◽  
Petri Dish ◽  
Simple Method ◽  
Thin Section Microscopy ◽  
Thin Sectioning ◽  
Organic Fluids

In situ preparation of cell cultures for ultrastructural investigations is a convenient method by which fixation, dehydration and embedment are carried out in the culture petri dish. The in situ method offers the advantage of preserving the native orientation of cell-cell interactions, junctional regions and overlapping configurations. In order to section after embedment, the petri dish is usually separated from the polymerized resin by either differential cryo-contraction or solvation in organic fluids. The remaining resin block must be re-embedded before sectioning. Although removal of the petri dish may not disrupt the native cellular geometry, it does sacrifice what is now recognized as an important characteristic of cell growth: cell-substratum molecular interactions. To preserve the topographic cell-substratum relationship, we developed a simple method of tapered rotary beveling to reduce the petri dish thickness to a dimension suitable for direct thin sectioning.

Development of a simple method for the determination of single nucleotide polymorphisms

2010 ◽  
Vol 34 (8) ◽  
pp. S75-S75
Author(s):  
Weifeng Zhu ◽  
Zhuoqi Liu ◽  
Daya Luo ◽  
Xinyao Wu ◽  
Fusheng Wan
Keyword(s):  
Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms ◽  
Nucleotide Polymorphisms ◽  
Simple Method ◽  
Single Nucleotide

Case Exercise: Biomechanics in Rearend Motor Vehicle Collisions

2007 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 4-7
Author(s):  
Charles N. Brooks ◽  
Christopher R. Brigham
Keyword(s):  
Motor Vehicle ◽  
Body Position ◽  
Motor Vehicle Collisions ◽  
Time Curve ◽  
Vehicle Collisions ◽  
Need For Treatment ◽  
Multiple Factors ◽  
Bodily Injury ◽  
Vehicle Collision ◽  
Physical Findings

Abstract Multiple factors determine the likelihood, type, and severity of bodily injury following a motor vehicle collision and, in turn, influence the need for treatment, extent of disability, and likelihood of permanent impairment. Among the most important factors is the change in velocity due to an impact (Δv). Other factors include the individual's strength and elasticity, body position at the time of impact, awareness of the impending impact (ie, opportunity to brace, guard, or contract muscles before an impact), and effects of braking. Because Δv is the area under the acceleration vs time curve, it combines force and duration and is a useful way to quantify impact severity. The article includes a table showing the results of a literature review that concluded, “the consensus of human subject research conducted to date is that a single exposure to a rear-end impact with a Δv of 5 mph or less is unlikely to result in injury” in most healthy, restrained occupants. Because velocity incorporates direction as well as speed, a vehicular occupant is less likely to be injured in a rear impact than when struck from the side. Evaluators must consider multiple factors, including the occupant's pre-existing physical and psychosocial status, the mechanism and magnitude of the collision, and a variety of biomechanical variables. Recommendations based solely on patient history and physical findings (and, perhaps, imaging studies) may be ill-informed.

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