Methods in molecular biology
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Metabonomics, also often referred to as "metabolomics" or "metabolic profiling," is the systematic profiling of metabolites in bio-fluids or tissues of organisms and their temporal changes. In the last decade, metabonomics has become increasingly popular in drug development, molecular medicine, and other biotechnology fields, since it profiles directly the phenotype and changes thereof in contrast to other "-omics" technologies. ⋯ This chapter describes the best practices of metabonomics as seen today. All important steps of metabolic profiling in drug development and molecular medicine are described in great detail, starting from sample preparation, to determining the measurement details of all analytical platforms, and finally, to discussing the corresponding specific steps of data analysis.
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Molecular diffusion plays an important role in many biological phenomena. Magnetic Resonance (MR) imaging is inherently sensitive to diffusion and can be used to help understand diffusion processes. Diffusion MR imaging is most widely used for imaging the ischemic brain. ⋯ DTI studies in these settings can be accomplished with high resolution and can offer exquisite contrast, but the technical and practical challenges can sometimes be different than those seen on clinical MRI scanners. Here, a stepwise methodology is presented for using small-bore, high field strength scanners (>3 T) for DTI. This chapter is aimed at addressing readers with no prior knowledge of DTI and we present both a basic explanation of underlying principles and a practical approach to the experiment.
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Therapeutic strategies for cancer include chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and radiation. Such therapies result in significant short-term clinical responses; however, relapses and recurrences occur with no treatments. Targeted therapies using monoclonal antibodies have improved responses with minimal toxicities. ⋯ In comparison with the sensitive parental cells, the RR clones are refractory to rituximab-mediated cell signaling and chemosensitization. Noteworthy, interference with the hyperactivated survival/antiapoptotic pathways in the RR clones with various pharmacological inhibitors mimicked rituximab effects in the parental cells. The development of RR clones provides a paradigm for studying resistance by other anticancer monoclonal antibodies in various tumor models.
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Here we describe MRI and (1)H MRS protocols for the investigation of animal models (mainly mice and rats) of psychiatric disorders. The introduction provides general findings from brain imaging studies in patients with psychiatric diseases and refers to general rules regarding the use of animal models in research. The methods section includes a selection of basic 9.4 T MRI and MRS protocols applicable for the investigation of animal models of psychiatric disorders (T1W, T2W, FLAIR, (1)H MRS). The notes section discusses in detail a series of factors that can influence the outcome of the experiment: from animal handling, stress-triggering aspects, and experimental design-related factors to technical aspects that affect T (1) and T (2) measurements.
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The results of clinical studies on the value of preemptive analgesia are far from being unanimous. There are a number of potential problems related to preemptive analgesia that could lead to controversy regarding its clinical significance. The following potential problems are analyzed: (1) terminology, (2) approach to reveal the effect of preemptive analgesia, (3) verification of the direct pharmacological effect of a treatment, (4) partial preemptive effect in control, (5) intensity of noxious stimuli, (6) difference in a drug concentration between study groups during postoperative period, and (7) outcome measures.