We present an interdisciplinary effort to record feeding behaviors and control the diet of a hummingbird species (Phaethornis longirostris, the long-billed hermit or LBH) by developing a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) based smart feeder. The system contains an RFID reader, a microcontroller, and a servo-controlled hummingbird feeder opener; the system is presented as a tool for studying ...

Mouse 3T3 feeder layer has been utilized for epidermal and corneal epithelial cell culture to promote tissue-like cell stratification. However, the molecular mechanism underlying epithelial-feeder layer interactions remains poorly understood. Here, the feeder layer activity of six different mouse cell lines was examined in terms of the colony-forming efficiency (CFE) of primary limbal epithelia...

PURPOSE To measure the blood flow velocities in feeder vessels of patients with choroidal neovascularization (CNV) secondary to age-related macular degeneration. METHODS We examined the early images of indocyanine green videoangiography (v-ICGA) in 29 patients (29 eyes) with CNV, in whom feeder vessels could be identified by v-ICGA. The v-ICGA images were installed in a personal computer. Wit...

Exponentially growing monolayer cultures of 9L rat brain tumor cells were treated with either 5-fluorouracil or methotrexate. The surviving fraction of cells was determined by a colony formation assay. After 5-fluorouracil treatment, 2 to 5 X 10(5) feeder cells were required to maximize surviving fractions for each drug concentration and to generate a biphasic dose-response curve. If only 1 X 1...

BACKGROUND Differentiated cells can be reprogrammed into pluripotency by transduction of four defined transcription factors. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) are expected to be useful for regenerative medicine as well as basic research. Recently, the report showed that mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEF) cells are not essential for reprogramming. However, in using fibroblasts as donor c...

The intralaminar screw construct has been recently introduced in C6-C7 fixation. The aim of the study is to compare the stability afforded by three different C7 posterior fixation techniques using a three-dimensional finite element model of a C6-C7 cervical spine motion segment. Finite element models representing three different cervical anchor types (C7 intralaminar screw, C7 lateral mass scre...

The use of a puzzle-feeder, as feeding enrichment, was investigated in three families of captive common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus). The study was carried out as a simultaneous choice test between two cages: one contained the puzzle-feeder, the other contained the usual food dishes, but otherwise both were arranged similarly. The monkeys were allowed to choose whether to feed from the usual ...

This chapter describes the methods we use to maintain and expand undifferentiated human embryonic stem (hES) cells on human and mouse feeder cells. All of the available hES cells have been derived and propagated on primary mouse embryonic fibroblasts as feeder cells that have been mitotically inactivated. We found that hES cells can be successfully cultured on selected human feeder cells, such ...

To compare the mechanical effectiveness of a new conical screw design with a conventional cylindrical screw design, the screw insertion time, torque, and pull-out strength of single-pedicle screw and triangulated-pedicle screw constructs of each type of screw were compared in human cadaveric vertebral bodies. The time required to insert the conical screws was less than that required for cylindr...

PURPOSE To establish a culture technique for human corneal epithelial equivalents that do not require fetal bovine serum (FBS), feeder cells, or bovine pituitary extracts and compare this system with conventional culture medium with FBS and mouse 3T3 fibroblasts. METHODS Human corneal limbal tissue from donor corneas was dissociated on denuded amniotic membranes and then cultured for 3 weeks ...