Thymidine Kinase 1 (TK1) plays an important role in DNA precursor synthesis and serum TK1 activity has been used as a biomarker for prognosis and therapy monitoring of different malignancies. AroCell ...has developed a dual monoclonal antibody ELISA for determination of TK1 protein in clinical samples. The purpose of the study is to validate the ELISA analytically in relation to the gold standard,
3
H-deoxythymidine (dThd) phosphorylation assay for TK1 activity using sera from patients with different malignancies. The colorimetric TK 210 ELISA was validated analytically by assessment of precision, linearity, interfering substances, and stability. For the clinical validation, serum samples from patients with hematological malignancies (n = 100), breast cancer (n = 56), prostate cancer (n = 70) and blood donors (n = 159) were analyzed using TK 210 ELISA and TK1 activity by
3
H-deoxythymidine (dThd) phosphorylation assay. The sandwich TK 210 ELISA was highly specific for TK1 protein having a detection limit of 0.12 ng/mL, with a functional sensitivity of 0.25 ng/mL. Within-run CVs ranged from 5.5% to 10% and between-run CVs ranged from 5% to 15%. The ratio of observed to expected dilutional parallelism of 5 serum samples was in the range of 80–120%. Samples exhibited stability through four freeze/thaw cycles and 5 days at 4°C. Further, the ROC curve analysis showed that TK 210 ELISA and
3
H-dThd phosphorylation assay had similar sensitivity (62% vs 59%) in hematological malignancies. However, in the case of breast and prostate cancer sera, TK 210 ELISA had higher sensitivity (59% and 44%) compared to
3
H-dThd phosphorylation assay (47% and 25%) at a specificity of 98%. These data demonstrate that the dual monoclonal antibody based AroCell TK 210 ELISA is a robust, accurate and precise tool for measuring TK1 protein in different malignancies that can improve the clinical applications of TK1 as a biomarker in cancer management.
The pig industry faces many animal welfare issues. Among these, biting behaviour has a high incidence. It is indicative of an existing problem in biters and is a source of physical damage and ...psychological stress for the victims. We categorize this behaviour into aggressive and non-aggressive biting, the latter often being directed towards the tail. This review focusses specifically on predisposing factors in early life, comprising the prenatal and postnatal periods up to weaning, for the expression of aggressive and non-aggressive biting later in life. The influence of personality and coping style has been examined in a few studies. It varies according to these studies and, thus, further evaluation is needed. Regarding the effect of environmental factors, the number of scientific papers is low (less than five papers for most factors). No clear influence of prenatal factors has been identified to date. Aggressive biting is reduced by undernutrition, cross-fostering and socialization before weaning. Non-aggressive biting is increased by undernutrition, social stress due to competition and cross-fostering. These latter three factors are highly dependent on litter size at birth. The use of familiar odours may contribute to reducing biting when pigs are moved from one environment to another by alleviating the level of stress associated with novelty. Even though the current environment in which pigs are expressing biting behaviours is of major importance, the pre-weaning environment should be optimized to reduce the likelihood of this problem.
Thymidine Kinase 1 (TK1) plays an important role in DNA precursor synthesis and serum TK1 activity has been used as a biomarker for prognosis and therapy monitoring of different malignancies. AroCell ...has developed a dual monoclonal antibody ELISA for determination of TK1 protein in clinical samples. The purpose of the study is to validate the ELISA analytically in relation to the gold standard, 3H-deoxythymidine (dThd) phosphorylation assay for TK1 activity using sera from patients with different malignancies. The colorimetric TK 210 ELISA was validated analytically by assessment of precision, linearity, interfering substances, and stability. For the clinical validation, serum samples from patients with hematological malignancies (n = 100), breast cancer (n = 56), prostate cancer (n = 70) and blood donors (n = 159) were analyzed using TK 210 ELISA and TK1 activity by 3H-deoxythymidine (dThd) phosphorylation assay. The sandwich TK 210 ELISA was highly specific for TK1 protein having a detection limit of 0.12 ng/mL, with a functional sensitivity of 0.25 ng/mL. Within-run CVs ranged from 5.5% to 10% and between-run CVs ranged from 5% to 15%. The ratio of observed to expected dilutional parallelism of 5 serum samples was in the range of 80–120%. Samples exhibited stability through four freeze/thaw cycles and 5 days at 4°C. Further, the ROC curve analysis showed that TK 210 ELISA and 3H-dThd phosphorylation assay had similar sensitivity (62% vs 59%) in hematological malignancies. However, in the case of breast and prostate cancer sera, TK 210 ELISA had higher sensitivity (59% and 44%) compared to 3H-dThd phosphorylation assay (47% and 25%) at a specificity of 98%. These data demonstrate that the dual monoclonal antibody based AroCell TK 210 ELISA is a robust, accurate and precise tool for measuring TK1 protein in different malignancies that can improve the clinical applications of TK1 as a biomarker in cancer management.
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•Ni addition enables microstructures from fully ferritic to martensitic-austenitic.•Solute Al and Ni in martensite cause a pronounced age-hardening response.•Age hardening arises from ...the formation of B2-(Ni,Fe)Al precipitates.•Peak hardness is similar to maraging grade 300 and superior to PH stainless steels.•B2 Formation in martensite is associated with heat release and a net contraction.
The age hardenability of Al-alloyed lightweight stainless steels with the base chemical composition Fe–10.5Cr–3Al (wt.%) and Ni concentrations in the range 3–15 wt.% was studied. Alloys containing 3% and 6%Ni exhibited almost fully ferritic matrix microstructures and a weak age hardening response. Alloys containing 9%, 12%, and 15%Ni, on the other hand, developed primarily martensitic microstructures. Differential scanning calorimetry measurements indicated the occurrence of an exothermic reaction in the approximate temperature range 375–625 °C. Dilatometry measurements indicated that the exothermic reaction was accompanied by a net contraction. Hardness measurements after aging for 5 min indicated significant hardening of alloys already at 350 °C due to the formation of B2-(Ni,Fe)Al intermetallic precipitates. The age hardening response was significantly superior to that of conventional precipitation-hardenable martensitic stainless steels. Tensile elongation in the aged condition was negatively influenced by the presence of soft ferrite regions. Processing conditions associated with a fully martensitic microstructure prior to aging are required to render a uniform age hardening response. Guidelines for the development of a new family of lightweight precipitation-hardenable steels with lower raw material costs and a higher corrosion resistance compared to the standard 18Ni maraging steels are provided.
Metal-accumulating woody species have been considered for phytoextraction of metal-contaminated sites. We investigated Zn and Cd accumulation in tissues of adult trees and associated herbaceous ...species collected from contaminated areas in Central Europe. We found considerable Cd and Zn accumulation in various willow, poplar and birch species with up to 116
mg
Cd
kg
−1 and 4680
mg
Zn
kg
−1 in leaves of
Salix caprea. Annual variation of Cd and Zn concentrations in leaves of
Salix caprea were small, indicating that data obtained in different years can be compared. Metal concentrations in leaves were not related to total (
aqua regia) or labile (1
M NH
4NO
3 extract) concentrations in soil but the accumulation factors (leaf concentration: soil concentration) for Cd and Zn followed an inverse log type function. Metal partitioning between tissues showed a minimum in the wood, with increasing concentrations of Cd and Zn towards the leaves and fine roots.
Adult field-grown Salix caprea, Populus tremula and other tree species accumulate up to 4680
mg
Zn
kg
−1 and 116
mg
Cd
kg
−1 in their leaves.
In the Alps, traditional dairy farms are small-scale operations where vertical transhumance from valley indoor housing systems to highland pasture-based systems is still practiced in summer. Vertical ...transhumance implies a substantial change of environment, available resources, and management practices from one season to another. In such systems, animal-based welfare measures need to be monitored throughout the year to capture the variation of welfare outcomes, based on which targeted welfare management plans can be implemented. Because the Welfare Quality assessment approach has been tailored to indoor housing and intensive farming systems, the European Food Safety Authority recently developed a welfare assessment protocol for small-scale dairy cattle farms adapted after the Welfare Quality framework. The aim of this study was to assess nonbehavioral animal-based measures as defined by this protocol at different time points for transhumant systems in the Alps. In total, 18 animal-based measures were assessed before, during, and after the mountain pasture period in a sample of 67 small-scale dairy cattle farms practicing vertical transhumance in neighboring provinces of Austria, Italy, and Slovenia. Significant differences between assessments were identified for dirtiness of legs and teats, hairless patches, lesions and swellings, claw condition, ocular discharge, and diarrhea whereas BCS, lameness/severe lameness, vulvar discharge, nasal discharge, and hampered respiration were unchanged between seasons. In addition, a benchmarking exercise was carried out to identify relative boundaries (worst quartile thresholds) for each animal-based measure and to contribute to the discussion about achievable welfare outcomes for the 2 husbandry conditions that characterize a transhumant system. Worst quartile thresholds indicated a high prevalence of dirtiness (>80%) when cows were kept indoors, high prevalence of hairless patches (65%) before pasture turnout, and high prevalence of very lean cows (>13%) throughout the assessments. On the other hand, the best quartile thresholds for most clinical conditions suggested that high welfare standards (zero prevalence) are widely achievable in mountain farms practicing vertical transhumance during all assessments. The thresholds identified through benchmarking should serve as the basis for an effective context-based welfare management strategy promoting continuous welfare improvement on-farm.
It is known that tactile stimulation (TS) during ontogeny modifies brain plasticity and enhances the motor and cognitive skills. Our hypothesis was that early handling including TS would increase ...play and exploratory behaviour in commercial pigs under standardized test conditions. Piglets from 13 litters were subjected to three handling treatments from 5 to 35 days of age: all the piglets were handled (H), none of the piglets were handled (NH) or half of the piglets in the litter were handled (50/50). At 42 days of age, the pigs’ behaviour was observed in pairs in a novel pen with a ‘toy’ (tug rope). The main results were that more locomotor play was performed by pigs from litters where all or half of them had been handled, whereas social exploratory behaviour was more pronounced in pigs from litters where half of them had been handled. Although behaviour was affected by the interaction of treatment with sex or with weight category, we propose that the handling procedure does seem to have acted to increase locomotor skills and that handling half of the piglets in the litter may have triggered a series of socio-emotional interactions that were beneficial for the whole group.
Direct metal laser sintered Ti–6Al–4V samples, with intentionally induced defects generated by varying the process parameters, were analyzed using microtensile testing techniques. Samples with ...defects exhibited statistically-significant larger microtensile than macrotensile ultimate strengths. Weibull microtensile moduli are smaller than macrotensile moduli indicating greater variability. Comparing the microtensile results to macrotensile properties reveals how changing these process parameters affects the range of mechanical behaviors potentially present in additively-manufactured parts due to the varying microstructures in the material.
The Slovenian karst region and similar types of land are difficult to cultivate and often exposed to the process of being abandoned and overgrown with shrubs, trees, and brushwood. Co-grazing in a ...mixed group may be a way to optimize the management of sheep and goat flocks in such areas. To obtain more knowledge of the natural behavior of small ruminants, the experiment was designed on pasture in the mountain karst region. The experimental area was divided in 6 paddocks, of which 3 paddocks were covered with grass, herbs, and legumes (i.e., grassy paddock GP). In the other 3 paddocks the area was additionally overgrown with hazel, beech trees, and bushes (i.e., woody paddock WP). In a mixed flock of 40 Slovenian local sheep breed (Istrian Pramenka) and 10 crossbreed goats (Saanen × Alpine goat), 10 animals per species were focally observed during daylight (0500-2100 h). The natural behavior was scored on 12 d, 2 consecutive days in each of the paddocks. Animals were rotated between 6 paddocks according to the balanced schedule. They stayed at each paddock for 5 or 6 d. Observations started on the third day after moving the animals into a specific paddock, following 2 d of adaptation. The results indicated that botanically diverse paddock together with climate conditions affected the behavior. Goats were grazing more (P < 0.001) whereas sheep less in the WP (P = 0.05). In sheep, drinking and salt consumption were higher (both P < 0.001) in the WP, suggesting that salt triggered additional water consumption. The WP enabled conditions where more comfort behavior, that is, autogrooming (both species P < 0.001) and object grooming (both species P < 0.001), was performed. On the second day of observation, animals grazed more compared to the first day (both species P < 0.001), most likely due to lower forage availability. Goats drank (P < 0.001) and consumed more salt on the second day (P < 0.001). With higher temperature sheep and goats grazed less (P < 0.05 and P < 0.001, respectively) and goats drank more (P < 0.05). Sheep showed more while goats less autogrooming when temperature was lower (both P < 0.001). More autogrooming was shown on the second day of observation but only in goats (P < 0.001). The performed behavior of co-grazing sheep and goats suggests different foraging strategies and adaptation between the species, which may be taken into account for management decisions under specific environmental conditions in the mountain karst region.
Covetic materials have been claimed to be new types of metal matrix nano-composite materials. These materials are formed from face-centered-cubic metals which are alleged to be super-saturated with ...up to ~ 10 wt pct of activated nano-carbon. The focus of this study was to characterize the chemical composition of copper covetic materials of varying nano-carbon concentrations, and characterize the thermal properties of these materials in order to determine if these materials exhibit enhanced material properties.
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