alternative for type A3 TBFs. The utilization of O-arm navigation and percutaneous pedicle screw fixation guaranteed the high accuracy of screw placement, protected staff from radiation exposure and offered benefits of minimal invasive technique. © 2019 The Authors.Among the numerous endogenous biological molecules, information on lipids is highly coveted for understanding both aspects of developmental biology and research in fatal chronic diseases. Due to the pronounced absorption features of lipids in the extended near-infrared region (1650-1850 nm), visualisation and identification of lipids become possible using multi-spectral photoacoustic (optoacoustic) microscopy. However, the spectroscopic studies in this spectral region require lasers that can produce high pulse energies over a broad spectral bandwidth to efficiently excite strong photoacoustic signals. The most well-known laser sources capable of satisfying the multi-spectral photoacoustic microscopy requirements (tunability and pulse energy) are tunable nanosecond optical parametric oscillators. However, these lasers have an inherently large footprint, thus preventing their use in compact microscopy systems. Besides, they exhibit low-repetition rates. Here, we demonstrate a compact all-fibre, high pulse energy supercontinuum laser that covers a spectral range from 1440 to 1870 nm with a 7 ns pulse duration and total energy of 18.3 μJ at a repetition rate of 100 kHz. Using the developed high-pulse energy source, we perform multi-spectral photoacoustic microscopy imaging of lipids, both ex vivo on adipose tissue and in vivo to study the development of Xenopus laevis tadpoles, using six different excitation bands over the first overtone transition of C-H vibration bonds (1650-1850 nm). Crown Copyright © 2020 Published by Elsevier GmbH.As optoacoustic tomography (OT) emerges as a mainstream pre-clinical imaging modality, understanding the relationship between optoacoustic and other imaging biomarkers in the context of the underlying tissue biology becomes vitally important. Complementary insight into tumour vasculature and hypoxia can be gained using OT alongside magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based techniques. To evaluate the relationship between these metrics and the relative performance of the two modalities in assessment of tumour physiology, co-registration of their output imaging data is required. Unfortunately, this poses a significant challenge due to differences in animal positioning during imaging. Here, we present an integrated framework for registration of OT and MR image data in mice. Our framework combines a novel MR animal holder, to improve animal positioning during imaging, and a landmark-based software co-registration algorithm. We demonstrate that our protocol significantly improves registration of both body and tumour contours between these modalities, enabling more precise multi-modal tumour characterisation. © 2019 The Author(s).Besnoitia darlingi, B. neotomofelis and B. oryctofelisi are closely related coccidian parasites with cats as definitive hosts. While B. darlingi uses opossums as intermediate hosts, B. neotomofelis and B. oryctofelisi have been described in Southern Plains woodrats (Neotoma micropus) from the USA and in domestic rabbits from Argentina, respectively. A comparison of the Internal Transcribed Spacer-1 (ITS-1) region of the ribosomal DNA (rDNA) of these Besnoitia spp. showed only a few differences. The present study aimed at developing a real-time PCR to detect B. darlingi, B. neotomofelis and B. oryctofelisi in tissues of intermediate and in faeces of definitive hosts in order to support studies of these organisms' epidemiology and pathogenesis. The established PCR was based on primer regions distinct from the ITS-1 sequences of ungulate Besnoitia spp. and made use of a Besnoitia universal probe. To monitor inhibition, a heterologous internal control was established based on the enhanced green fluorescent protein gene. The real-time PCR reacted with B.  https://www.selleckchem.com/products/Cyclopamine.html  darlingi, B. neotomofelis and B. oryctofelisi, while the novel PCR did not recognize ungulate Besnoitia spp. (B. besnoiti, B. bennetti, B. tarandi). DNA of Apicomplexa ascribed to other Besnoitia-related genera, including other gut parasites of cats (Cryptosporidium parvum, Giardia duodenalis, Tritrichomonas foetus), was not recognized. The real-time PCR had an analytic sensitivity of less than 1 tachyzoite per reaction. In feline faeces spiked with B. darlingi oocysts, the limit of detection was a DNA amount equivalent to 1 oocyst per PCR reaction. In B. darlingi infected ɣ-interferon knock-out mice, the lung was identified as the predilection organ. In conclusion, this real-time PCR should advance further studies on these parasites and may inspire research on related species, not only in the Americas, but also in other parts of the world. © 2020 The Author(s).Essential thrombocythemia (ET) is an indolent myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN) with a transformation to acute myeloid leukemia in less then 5% of patients. A 79-year-old man with JAK2V617F-positive ET exhibited leukocytosis with an increase in monoblastic cells, leading to a diagnosis of acute monoblastic and monocytic leukemia. Leukemic cells carried a TET2 mutation but not JAK2V617F mutation. We concluded that the TET2 mutation occurred in MPN-initiating cells and overcame JAK2-mutated cells. The absence of a JAK2 mutation in the leukemic cells in this case suggests the leukemia emerged from a JAK2-negative MPN cell clone carrying the TET2 mutation. © 2019 The Author(s).Status asthmaticus is a life-threatening disorder that can manifest in dangerous levels of hypercapnia and acidosis. The use of extracorporeal carbon dioxide removal (ECCO2R) has been used successfully to control pH and PaCO2 in patients with acute severe asthma. The present report describes the use of this technology in near-fatal asthma with brain death, and awaiting organ harvest. The ProLUNG® system consists of a veno-venous hemoperfusion circuit with an artificial lung polymethylpentene membrane coated with phosphorylcholine with a surface of 1.81 m2. The system can reach a blood flow of 450 ml/min trough a double-lumen central venous catheter (13.0 Fr) placed in femoral, subclavian or jugular vein. The platform is provided with automated management of airflow and VCO2 monitoring during treatment. The patient was maintained on extracorporeal treatment ensuring stable arterial pH control and PaCO2 control. In acute status asthmaticus, complicated with cardiac arrest, mini-invasive ECCO2R was an effective method of controlling pH and PaCO2, for optimizing hemodynamic and aerobic metabolism and for performing protective ventilation for an optimal organ donor preservation until the organ harvest occurs.