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The maturation process of the feline cornea proceeds over the first 1-2 years of life to attain an adult status that is characterized by a roughly spherical state of approximately 39 D corneal curvature, substantially flatter than the human cornea, and a central thickness similar to the human cornea. Research studies of the refractive or optical properties of the cornea in which cats are used as experimental animals should be conducted on animals greater than 18 months of age.

The poor efficacy of systemic cancer therapeutics in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is partly attributed to deposition of collagen and hyaluronan, leading to interstitial hypertension collapsing blood and lymphatic vessels, limiting drug delivery. The intrinsic micro-regional interactions between hyaluronic acid (HA), collagen and the spatial origins of mechanical stresses that close off blood vessels was investigated here. Multiple localized pressure measurements were analyzed with spatially-matched histochemical images of HA, collagen and vessel perfusion. HA is known to swell, fitting a linear elastic model with total tissue pressure (TTP) increasing above interstitial fluid pressure (IFP) directly with collagen content. However, local TTP appears to originate from collagen area fraction, as well as increased its entropy and fractal dimension, and morphologically appears to be maximized when HA regions are encapsulated by collagen. TTP was inversely correlated with vascular patency and verteporfin uptake, suggesting interstitial hypertension results in vascular compression and decreased molecular delivery in PDAC. Collagenase injection led to acute decreases in total tissue pressure and increased drug perfusion. Large microscopic variations in collagen distributions within PDAC leads to microregional TPP values that vary on the hundred micron distance scale, causing micro-heterogeneous limitations in molecular perfusion, and narrows viable treatment regimes for systemically delivered therapeutics.

Purpose The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy of iron oxide/magnetic nanoparticle hyperthermia (mNPH) and 915 MHz microwave hyperthermia at the same thermal dose in mouse mammary adenocarcinoma model. Materials and Methods A thermal dose equivalent to 60 minutes at 43°C (CEM 60) was delivered to a syngeneic mouse mammary adenocarcinoma flank tumor (MTGB) via mNPH or locally delivered 915 MHz microwaves. mNPH was generated with ferromagnetic, hydroxyethyl starch coated magnetic nanoparticles. Following mNP delivery, the mouse/tumor was exposed to an alternating magnetic field (AMF). The microwave hyperthermia treatment was delivered by a 915 MHz microwave surface applicator. Time required for the tumor to reach three times the treatment volume was used as the primary study endpoint. Acute pathological effects of the treatments were determined using conventional histopathological techniques. Results Locally delivered mNPH resulted in a modest improvement in treatment efficacy as compared to microwave hyperthermia (p=0.09) when prescribed to the same thermal dose. Tumors treated with mNPH also demonstrated reduced peritumoral normal tissue damage. Conclusions Our results demonstrate similar tumor treatment efficacy when tumor heating is delivered by locally delivered mNPs and 915 MHz microwaves at the same measured thermal dose. However, mNPH treatments did not result in the same type or level of peritumoral damage seen with the microwave hyperthermia treatments. These data suggest that mNP hyperthermia is capable of improving the therapeutic ratio for locally delivered tumor hyperthermia. These results further indicate that this improvement is due to improved heat localization in the tumor.

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