Shape and position of the sarcoplasmic reticulum and the Golgi apparatus in the sole plate and remaining subsarcolemmal muscle region of the mouse using imidazole-osmium staining

By means of thin (< or =150 nm) and thick (>150 nm) sections, the shape and position of the sarcoplasmic reticulum and of the Golgi apparatus in the sole plate and in the remaining subsarcolemmal sarcoplasmic region were investigated. For this purpose the membranes were stained by means of imidazole-osmium postfixation and unstained sections analyzed under the electron microscope. Both in the sarcoplasma of the sole plate and around the muscle fiber nuclei, a network of tubules is visible after imidazole-osmium staining which can be identified as the sarcoplasmic reticulum solely on the basis of its contacts with the perinuclear cistern and the cisterns of the triads. Findings in literature on the position of the Golgi apparatus are confirmed and similar spatial relationships and vesiculations between the perinuclear cisterns and the Golgi apparatus of the sole plate nuclei and the other subsarcolemmal fiber nuclei are also demonstrated using this new staining method.     

Bandwidth allocation under end‐to‐end percentile delay bounds

We describe an efficient and accurate approximation method for calculating the bandwidth that should be allocated on each link along the path of a point‐to‐point Multiprotocol Label Switching connection, so that the end‐to‐end delay D is less than or equal to a given value T with a probability γ, that is, P(D ≤ T) = γ. We model a connection by a tandem queuing network of infinite capacity queues. The arrival process of packets to the connection is assumed to be bursty and correlated and it is depicted by a two‐stage Markov‐Modulated Poisson Process. The service times are exponentially distributed. The proposed method uses only the first queue of the tandem queuing network to construct an upper and lower bound of the required bandwidth so that P(D ≤ T) = γ. Subsequently, we estimate the required bandwidth using a simple interpolation function between the two bounds. Extensive comparisons with simulation showed that the results obtained have an average relative error of 1.25%. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Acute Effects of Leptin on the Contractility of Isolated Rat Atrial and Ventricular Cardiomyocytes

Leptin is a pleiotropic peptide playing an important role in the regulation of cardiac functions. It is not clear whether leptin directly modulates the mechanical function of atrial cardiomyocytes. We compared the acute effects of leptin on the characteristics of mechanically non-loaded sarcomere shortening and cytosolic Ca²⁺ concentration ([Ca²⁺]_i) transients in single rat atrial and ventricular cardiomyocytes. We also studied the functional properties of myosin obtained from cardiomyocytes using an in vitro motility assay and assessed the sarcomeric protein phosphorylation. Single cardiomyocytes were exposed to 5, 20, and 60 nM leptin for 60 min. In ventricular cardiomyocytes, 60 nM leptin depressed sarcomere shortening amplitude and decreased the rates of shortening and relaxation. These effects were accompanied by a decrease in the phosphorylation of cMyBP-C, an increase in Tpm phosphorylation, and a slowdown of the sliding velocity of thin filaments over myosin in the in vitro motility assay. In contrast, in atrial cardiomyocytes, the phosphorylation of cMyBP-C and TnI increased, and the characteristics of sarcomere shortening did not change. Leptin had no effect on the characteristics of [Ca²⁺]_i transients in ventricular cardiomyocytes, while 5 nM leptin prolonged [Ca²⁺]_i transients in atrial cardiomyocytes. Thus, leptin-induced changes in contractility of ventricular cardiomyocytes may be attributed to the direct effects of leptin on cross-bridge kinetics and sarcomeric protein properties rather than changes in [Ca²⁺]_i. We also suggest that the observed differences between atrial and ventricular cardiomyocytes may be associated with the peculiarities of the expression of leptin receptors, as well as signaling pathways in the atrial and ventricular myocardium.     

Laser powered heating stage in a scanning electron microscope for microstructural investigations at elevated temperatures

A laser powered heating stage designed for application in high vacuum environment of a scanning electron microscope (SEM) is presented. It was developed to observe and characterize microstructural changes in crystalline materials at elevated temperatures up to 1000 degrees C. The approach utilizes the power output of a commercial infrared diode laser in order to heat up specimens without interference with the electronic system of the SEM. The heating stage can be used in combination with any standard characterization technique applicable for SEMs--electron backscatter diffraction, orientation contrast imaging, x-ray energy dispersive spectrometry, etc. The results of test measurements are presented.     

In vitro investigations of a novel wound dressing concept based on biodegradable polyurethane

Non-healing and partially healing wounds are an important problem not only for the patient but also for the public health care system. Current treatment solutions are far from optimal regarding the chosen material properties as well as price and source. Biodegradable polyurethane (PUR) scaffolds have shown great promise for in vivo tissue engineering approaches, but accomplishment of the goal of scaffold degradation and new tissue formation developing in parallel has not been observed so far in skin wound repair. In this study, the mechanical properties and degradation behavior as well as the biocompatibility of a low-cost synthetic, pathogen-free, biocompatible and biodegradable extracellular matrix mimicking a PUR scaffold was evaluated in vitro. The novel PUR scaffolds were found to meet all the requirements for optimal scaffolds and wound dressings. These three-dimensional scaffolds are soft, highly porous, and form-stable and can be easily cut into any shape desired. All the material formulations investigated were found to be nontoxic. One formulation was able to be defined that supported both good fibroblast cell attachment and cell proliferation to colonize the scaffold. Tunable biodegradation velocity of the materials could be observed, and the results additionally indicated that calcium plays a crucial role in PUR degradation. Our results suggest that the PUR materials evaluated in this study are promising candidates for next-generation wound treatment systems and support the concept of using foam scaffolds for improved in vivo tissue engineering and regeneration.     

OntoSTEP: Enriching product model data using ontologies

The representation and management of product lifecycle information is critical to any manufacturing organization. Different modeling languages are used at different lifecycle stages, for example STEP’s EXPRESS may be used at a detailed design stage, while UML may be used for initial design stages. It is necessary to consolidate product information created using these different languages to build a coherent knowledge base. In this paper, we present an approach to enable the translation of STEP schema and its instances to Ontology Web Language (OWL). This gives a model–which we call OntoSTEP–that can easily be integrated with any OWL ontologies to create a semantically rich model. As an example, we combine geometry information represented in STEP with non-geometry information, such as function and behavior, represented using the NIST’s Core Product Model (CPM). A plug-in for Protégé is developed to automate the different steps of the translation. As additional benefits, reasoning, inference procedures, and queries can be performed on enriched legacy CAD models. We describe the rules for the translation from EXPRESS to OWL, and illustrate the benefits of OWL translation with an example. We will also describe how these mapping rules can be implemented through meta-model based transformations, which can be used to map other languages to OWL.     

Characterisation of Novel Angiogenic and Potent Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Micro-Fragmented Adipose Tissue

Adipose tissue and more specifically micro-fragmented adipose tissue (MFAT) obtained from liposuction has recently been shown to possess interesting medicinal properties whereby its application supports pain reduction and may enhance tissue regeneration particularly in osteoarthritis. Here we have characterised samples of MFAT produced using the Lipogems^® International Spa system from eight volunteer individuals in order to understand the critical biological mechanisms through which they act. A variation was found in the MFAT cluster size between individual samples and this translated into a similar variation in the ability of purified mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to form colony-forming units. Almost all of the isolated cells were CD105/CD90/CD45+ indicating stemness. An analysis of the secretions of cytokines from MFAT samples in a culture using targeted arrays and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) showed a long-term specific and significant expression of proteins associated with anti-inflammation (e.g., interleukin-1 receptor alpha (Il-1Rα) antagonist), pro-regeneration (e.g., hepatocyte growth factor), anti-scarring and pro-angiogenesis (e.g., transforming growth factor beta 1 and 2 (TGFβ1/2) and anti-bacterial (e.g., chemokine C-X-C motif ligand-9 (CXCL-9). Angiogenesis and angiogenic signalling were notably increased in primary bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAEC) to a different extent in each individual sample of the conditioned medium whilst a direct capacity of the conditioned medium to block inflammation induced by lipopolysaccharides was shown. This work characterises the biological mechanisms through which a strong, long-lasting, and potentially beneficial effect can be observed regarding pain reduction, protection and regeneration in osteoarthritic joints treated with MFAT.     

Content presentation personalisation and media adaptation in tourism web sites using Fuzzy Delphi Method and Fuzzy Cognitive Maps

Web sites become more powerful when they can adjust to their users’ needs. Web personalisation refers to adapting both the content and the presentation of web sites, so that to deliver the maximum effect to the user in the most appropriate way. A main objective of web personalisation is to adapt the presentation of the web content in a manner that increases the user’s perceived quality. This paper focuses on the applicability of fuzzy logic techniques to content presentation and media adaptation. More specifically, it applies Fuzzy Delphi Method (FDM) and Fuzzy Cognitive Maps (FCMs) in order to highlight the services features that are most preferred by the customer and to adapt presentation media and layout. Fuzzy logic is utilised to deal with the subjectivity inherent in web design choices and in customers’ perception of services priorities. FDM is used to capture the experts’ knowledge regarding media adaptation with respect to hotel service quality. A prototype that adapts the web site presentation according to customer preferences has been developed and evaluated.