A method for determining the biological age or pace of aging of an adult dog, said method comprising determining the levels of one or more biomarkers selected from the group consisting of (1) blood globulin levels, (2) blood total protein, (3) blood alkaline phosphatase, (4) blood platelet count, (5) blood mean corpuscular volume or (6) urine specific gravity, comparing the results with values obtained from healthy dogs of a known age and of a similar category (toy, small, medium, large or giant). Kits, systems and/or computer media for carrying out the method form further aspects of the invention.

A system for electronically and optically monitoring biological samples, the system including: a multi-well plate having a plurality of wells configured to receive a plurality of biological samples, each of the wells having a set of electrodes and a transparent window on a bottom surface of the well that is free of electrodes; an illumination module configured to illuminate the wells; a cradle configured to receive the multi-well plate, the cradle having an opening on the bottom that exposes the transparent windows of the wells; and an optical imaging module movable across different wells of a same multi-well plate to capture images through the windows.

Provided herein are carrier cells and virus combinations and methods for treatment of cancers. Also provided are modified carrier cells for such treatment, and methods of selecting carrier cells that are matched to subjects for such treatment.

The present disclosure provides a diabetes mellitus therapy targeting abnormal stem cells. In one embodiment, the present disclosure provides a therapy for diabetes mellitus and/or a disease, a disorder and/or a symptom relating to diabetes mellitus, said therapy targeting abnormal stem cells. In one embodiment, the present disclosure provides a diagnosis of diabetes mellitus and/or a disease, a disorder and/or a symptom relating to diabetes mellitus or a risk of the same, said diagnosis using abnormal stem cells as an index. In one embodiment, the abnormal stem cells described in the present disclosure are abnormal hematopoietic stem cells. In one embodiment, CD106 is expressed in the abnormal stem cells described in the present disclosure at a level different from in normal cells.

The described invention identifies endothelial cells within the perivascular niche as a crucial component in driving bone marrow (BM) inflammation and HSC dysfunction. We demonstrate that crosstalk between ERK-MAPK and NF-κB signaling pathways within the endothelium plays a key role in modulating the outcomes of chronic inflammation. Sustained activation of the MAPK pathway selectively within the endothelium of adult mice leads to inflammation-induced HSC dysfunction including loss of engraftment ability and a myeloid-biased output. HSC defects caused by endothelial MAPK activation are completely resolved upon simultaneous inhibition of endothelial NF-κB signaling. The described invention identifies Stem Cell Growth Factor alpha (SCGF) as a niche-derived factor that suppresses BM inflammation and enhances hematopoietic recovery following myelosuppressive injury.

The present disclosure relates to a Proteomics-to-Genomics approach allows for in silico validation of biomarkers and drug targets. Biomarkers having high prognostic value in predicting cancer patient populations that may benefit from mitochondrial biogenesis inhibitor therapy may be identified under the present approach. Also disclosed are methods for identifying candidates for anti-mitochondrial therapy, and in particular mitochondrial biogenesis inhibitor therapy. Diagnostic kits including reagents for determining transcripts or probes of high prognostic value are also disclosed. Additionally, mitochondrial biogenesis inhibitors may be used as anti-cancer agents for diverse oncogenic stimuli, including for example, c-MYC and H-Ras oncogenes, as well as environmental stimuli such as, for example rotenone.

This document provides methods and materials related to genetic variations of neurological disorders. For example, this document provides methods for using such genetic variations to assess susceptibility of developing Parkinson's disease.

Described herein are methods for treating rheumatoid arthritis by determining whether a subject having rheumatoid arthritis will respond to an anti-TNF-alpha therapy based on the number of innate and adaptive immune cells in a sample from the subject prior to treatment.

A pumpless microfluidic system is disclosed that can be used to mimic the interaction of organ systems with the immune system. Also disclosed is a method for mimicking an immune system, comprising culturing a plurality of organ cells and at least one population of immune cells in the disclosed pumpless microfluidic system under physiological conditions. The method can further comprise activating an immune reaction in the pumpless microfluidic system, continuing the culture for a defined period, collecting a sample of culture medium from the system, and assaying the sample for one or more indicators of an immune response.

A method and/or system can include processing a blood sample of a patient by degrading red blood cells of the blood sample using a lysing solution, quenching the degradation of the red blood cells after a threshold lysing time, centrifuging and aspirating the quenched solution to remove degraded red blood cell debris and concentrate white blood cells of the blood sample, and suspending the concentrated white blood cells in a buffer solution; within a threshold transfer time, deforming white blood cells, of the suspended white blood cells, within a microfluidic chip; and determining a probability that the patient is in an immune activation state based on images of the white blood cells acquired while deforming the white blood cells.