A Bayesian approach to assess interaction between known risk factors: The risk of lung cancer from exposure to asbestos and smoking

We review the literature on the combined effect of asbestos exposure and smoking on lung cancer, and explore a Bayesian approach to assess evidence of interaction. Previous approaches have focussed on separate tests for an additive or multiplicative relation. We extend these approaches by exploring the strength of evidence for either relation using approaches which allow the data to choose between both models. We then compare the different approaches.

A cell migration device that maintains a defined surface with no cellular damage during wound edge generation

Studying the rate of cell migration provides insight into fundamental cell biology as well as a tool to assess the functionality of synthetic surfaces and soluble environments used in tissue engineering. The traditional tools used to study cell migration include the fence and wound healing assays. In this paper we describe the development of a microchannel based device for the study of cell migration on defined surfaces. We demonstrate that this device provides a superior tool, relative to the previously mentioned assays, for assessing the propagation rate of cell wave fronts. The significant advantage provided by this technology is the ability to maintain a virgin surface prior to the commencement of the cell migration assay. Here, the device is used to assess rates of mouse fibroblasts (NIH 3T3) and human osteosarcoma (SaOS2) cell migration on surfaces functionalized with various extracellular matrix proteins as a demonstration that confining cell migration within a microchannel produces consistent and robust data. The device design enables rapid and simplistic assessment of multiple repeats on a single chip, where surfaces have not been previously exposed to cells or cellular secretions.