The Effects of Busulfan on Xenogeneic Transplantation of Human Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells in Recipient Mice.

BACKGROUND: Humanized mouse models with engraftment of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) or hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are effective tools for the study of human immunity. Busulfan has been used as a substitute for irradiation in human hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) transplantation models, but it has not been tested in human peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) transplantation models. METHODS: This study evaluated PBMC engraftment using cytometry and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in female NOD.CB17/Prkdcscid/JKrb/ IL2 receptor γ-/- (NIG) mice treated with busulfan. RESULTS: In this model, the percentage of human CD3+ T cell engraftment in the blood was 28.2%, with dominant infiltration of CD8+ cells in the spleen 3 weeks post PBMC transplantation. Production of human cytokines, including Interleukin (IL)-12p70, IL-4, IL-5, IFN-γ, IL-6, IL-8, IL-22, Tumor Necrosis Factor alpha, and IL-10, was determined in mice treated with busulfan. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrate that busulfan treatment is a beneficial alternative for simple and efficient PBMC engraftment in a rodent model, possibly helping to evaluate human immunity in preclinical studies.

A Software Platform for Quadruped Robots with Advanced Manipulation Capabilities.

Recently, a diverse range of robots with various functionalities have become a part of our daily lives. However, these robots either lack an arm or have less capable arms, mainly used for gestures. Another characteristic of the robots is that they are wheeled-type robots, restricting their operation to even surfaces. Several software platforms proposed in prior research have often focused on quadrupedal robots equipped with manipulators. However, many of these platforms lacked a comprehensive system combining perception, navigation, locomotion, and manipulation. This research introduces a software framework for clearing household objects with a quadrupedal robot. The proposed software framework utilizes the perception of the robot's environment through sensor inputs and organizes household objects to their designated locations. The proposed framework was verified by experiments within a simulation environment resembling the conditions of the RoboCup@Home 2021-virtual competition involving variations in objects and poses, where outcomes demonstrate promising performance.