Background Miniature pig (minipig) is increasingly used as a large animal model for a variety of biomedical studies. Little information is available in the literature on anatomy, histology and sialograghy of the submandibular gland of the minipig. The purpose of this study was to characterize the morphology of a miniature pig's (minipig) submandibular gland as a large animal model for further biomedical studies.Methods Five minipigs were subjected to sialographic, anatomic, histologic, histochemical and ultrastructural evaluations for submandibular glands. Results Sialograms showed a long, horizontal main excretory duct and a pear-shaped gland located inferoposterior to the angle of the mandible. The submandibular glands lied superficial to the suprahyoid, and infrahyoid muscle groups, and were covered by the inferior portion of the parotid gland. The submandibular glands were characterized by a mixed parenchyma of mucous and serous secretory acini. Alcian blue (AB) staining and periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) reactions demon-strated that minipig submandibular glands synthesized and secreted acid mucous substances by serous cells and polysaccharide, and neutral mucous substances, by mucous cells. Conclusion The submandibular gland of the minipig is considered a useful large salivary gland animal model for biomedical studies.
Magnetic refrigeration techniques based on the magnetocaloric effect (MCE) were demonstrated as a promising alternative to conventional vapour-cycle refrigeration.Recently, scientists focused their research on room temperature magnetic refrigeration.The rare earth Gd metal is regarded as a prototype for room temperature magnetic refrigerant.Considering the various requirements in application, it is necessary to search for the magnetic refrigerant possessing qualities as good as Gd but having different Tc above or below room temperature.In this article, we report the magnetic entropy changes in Gd1 -xTx(T = Ti, Cr, Fe and Cu) alloys.With a small quantity of T atoms introduced in Gd, the Curie temperature increases.The values of magnetic entropy change in these alloys are almost the same as or a little less than that of Gd.But the refrigerant capacities of these alloys are obviously larger than that of Gd.All these facts suggest that Gd1-xTx(T = Ti, Cr, Fe and Cu) alloys may be good refrigerants for room temperature magnetic refrigeration.
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