Scaling down of microequipment parameters

A method of micromechanical device fabrication is examined in this article. The method consists of the development of equipment which has sizes comparable with the sizes of the produced parts. There are different approaches to this problem. We propose a method of micromachine tool and micromanipulator creation. We do not use the expensive elements. To obtain the necessary precision we utilize the natural advantages of equipment of small size. In this article the error analysis of the microequipment is given and the methods of error minimization are described. An example of the developed microequipment prototypes is given.     

Design and implementation of a reconfigurable test-bed for real-time security measurements in VoIP systems

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) systems have to face a great number of security threats, which are basically connected to the underlying Internet Protocol (IP) infrastructure. Along with relevant economic losses and malfunction for the VoIP system itself, external attacks exploiting a security hole could also bring to a major security failure for the interconnected Public-Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), usually regarded as a reliable and secure domain. This is the reason why before connecting a private VoIP network to the carrier infrastructure, a great number of tests have to be carried out, to verify the security robustness of the VoIP network to common attacks.     

Synthesis, structural characterization, and pro-apoptotic activity of 1-indanone thiosemicarbazone platinum(II) and palladium(II) complexes: potential as antileukemic agents

In the search for alternative chemotherapeutic strategies against leukemia, various 1‐indanone thiosemicarbazones, as well as eight novel platinum(II) and palladium(II) complexes, with the formula [MCl₂(HL)] and [M(HL)(L)]Cl, derived from two 1‐indanone thiosemicarbazones were synthesized and tested for antiproliferative activity against the human leukemia U937 cell line. The crystal structure of [Pt(HL1)(L1)]Cl^.2M eOH, where L1=1‐indanone thiosemicarbazone, was solved by X‐ray diffraction. Free thiosemicarbazone ligands showed no antiproliferative effect, but the corresponding platinum(II) and palladium(II) complexes inhibited cell proliferation and induced apoptosis. Platinum(II) complexes also displayed selective apoptotic activity in U937 cells but not in peripheral blood monocytes or the human hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cell line used to screen for potential hepatotoxicity. Present findings show that, in U937 cells, 1‐indanone thiosemicarbazones coordinated to palladium(II) were more cytotoxic than those complexed with platinum(II), although the latter were found to be more selective for leukemic cells suggesting that they are promising compounds with potential therapeutic application against hematological malignancies.     

Tumor Accumulation and Off-Target Biodistribution of an Indocyanine-Green Fluorescent Nanotracer: An Ex Vivo Study on an Orthotopic Murine Model of Breast Cancer

Indocyanine green (ICG) is a near infrared fluorescent tracer used in image-guided surgery to assist surgeons during resection. Despite appearing as a very promising tool for surgical oncology, its employment in this area is limited to lymph node mapping or to laparoscopic surgery, as it lacks tumor targeting specificity. Recently, a nanoformulation of this dye has been proposed with the aim toward tumor targeting specificity in order to expand its employment in surgical oncology. This nanosystem is constituted by 24 monomers of H-Ferritin (HFn), which self-assemble into a spherical cage structure enclosing the indocyanine green fluorescent tracer. These HFn nanocages were demonstrated to display tumor homing due to the specific interaction between the HFn nanocage and transferrin receptor 1, which is overexpressed in most tumor tissues. Here, we provide an ex vivo detailed comparison between the biodistribution of this nanotracer and free ICG, combining the results obtained with the Karl Storz endoscope that is currently used in clinical practice and the quantification of the ICG signal derived from the fluorescence imaging system IVIS Lumina II. These insights demonstrate the suitability of this novel HFn-based nanosystem in fluorescence-guided oncological surgery.     

Estado actual de la aplicacion de computadoras a textos en español

Leopoldo Sáez-Godoy es responsable de la sección de espa?ol de la ALLC y miembro del Comité Bibliográfico de CHum.     

A two-level finite element method and its application to the Helmholtz equation

A two-level finite element method is introduced and its application to the Helmholtz equation is considered. The method retains the desirable features of the Galerkin method enriched with residual-free bubbles, while it is not limited to discretizations using elements with simple geometry. The method can be applied to other equations and to irregular-shaped domains. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Role of 8-Oxoguanine DNA Glycosylase-1 in Inflammation

Many, if not all, environmental pollutants/chemicals and infectious agents increase intracellular levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) at the site of exposure. ROS not only function as intracellular signaling entities, but also induce damage to cellular molecules including DNA. Among the several dozen ROS-induced DNA base lesions generated in the genome, 8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanine (8-oxoG) is one of the most abundant because of guanine’s lowest redox potential among DNA bases. In mammalian cells, 8-oxoG is repaired by the 8-oxoguanine DNA glycosylase-1 (OGG1)-initiated DNA base excision repair pathway (OGG1–BER). Accumulation of 8-oxoG in DNA has traditionally been associated with mutagenesis, as well as various human diseases and aging processes, while the free 8-oxoG base in body fluids is one of the best biomarkers of ongoing pathophysiological processes. In this review, we discuss the biological significance of the 8-oxoG base and particularly the role of OGG1–BER in the activation of small GTPases and changes in gene expression, including those that regulate pro-inflammatory chemokines/cytokines and cause inflammation.     

A two-warehouse inventory model for non-instantaneous deteriorating items with interval-valued inventory costs and stock-dependent demand under inflationary conditions

Neural Computing and Applications - This research work develops a two-warehouse inventory model for non-instantaneous deteriorating items with interval-valued inventory costs and stock-dependent...