Reactor Concept for Contactless Kinetic Measurement in Oscillating Droplets via Raman Spectroscopy

A millistructured reactor and spectroscopic setup for contactless kinetic measurements in oscillating droplets is presented in this work. The polymerization of acrylic acid serves as a model reaction. Design and construction of the reactor focus on the optical access for Raman measurement, the nearly isothermal behavior, and the preservation of droplets during long‐term reactions with a high increase of viscosity. Another key aspect is the possibility of full automation at a later stage.     

Porosity measurements in suspension plasma sprayed YSZ coatings using NMR cryoporometry and X-ray microscopy

A large variety of coatings are used to protect structural engineering materials from corrosion, wear, and erosion, and to provide thermal insulation. In this work, yttria-stabilized zirconia coatings produced by suspension plasma spraying were investigated with respect to their microstructure and especially their porosity, as the porosity affects the thermal insulation of the underlying component. To determine porosity, pore size distribution, and pore shape, the coatings were investigated using novel advanced characterization techniques like NMR cryoporometry and X-ray microscopy. In general, the porosity is inhomogeneously distributed and the coatings showed a large variety of pore sizes ranging from a few nanometers to micrometers.     

DIC image reconstruction on large cell scans

The width of the emission spectrum of a common fluorophore allows only for a limited number of spectral distinct fluorescent markers in the visible spectrum, which is also the regime where CCD-cameras are used in microscopy. For imaging of cells or tissues, it is required to obtain an image from which the morphology of the whole cell can be extracted. This is usually achieved by differential interference contrast (DIC) microscopy. These images have a pseudo-3D appearance, easily interpreted by the human brain. In the age of high throughput and high content screening, manual image processing is not an option. Conventional algorithms for image processing often use threshold-based criteria to identify objects of interest. These algorithms fail for DIC images as they have a range from dim to bright with an intermediate intensity equal to the background, so as to produce no clear object boundary. In this article we compare different reconstruction methods for up to 100 MB-large DIC images and implement a new iterative reconstruction method based on the Hilbert Transform that enables identification of cell boundaries with standard threshold algorithms.     

Flame-spraying synthesis of aluminate glasses in the Al2O3–La2O3 system

The paper deals with the synthesis and characterisation of binary aluminate glasses in the La₂O₃–Al₂O₃ system with Al₂O₃ contents changing between 74.6 and 86.9 mol% (48–65 wt.%), and of ternary glasses with 75.7 mol% Al₂O₃ doped with 1 mol% of Nd₂O₃ or Er₂O₃. Six binary and two ternary compositions were prepared. Flame synthesis facilitated the preparation of X-ray amorphous microspheres in the systems with 58 wt.% Al₂O₃, and with eutectic composition in the pseudobinary LaAlO₃–LaAl₁₁O₁₈ system doped with Er. Other systems contained low fractions of crystalline LaAlO₃ perovskite, regardless of the composition. The diameter of prepared microspheres ranged between 2 and 10 μm. They were transparent for visible light, as well as in the IR wavenumber range from 1300 to 4000 cm^?1.     

Comparative genomic hybridization: a comparison with molecular and cytogenetic analysis

A comparative analysis of the differentiation pattern, the proliferative behaviour, and the level of apoptosis between human benign and malignant neoplasms of smooth-muscle (SM) tissue is lacking. The clinical, histopathological, immunochemical, and immunocytochemical features of leiomyomas (LM) and leiomyosarcomas (LMS) were investigated by a panel of monoclonal antibodies specific for some differentiation markers of SM tissue (SM myosin and alpha-actin, desmin, and SM22) and for markers of non-muscle tissue (vimentin and non-muscle myosin). Proliferating normal and neoplastic cells were identified by proliferating-cell nuclear antigen (PCNA)/Ki67 immunostainings and the apoptotic cells were revealed by means of the terminal-deoxynucleotidyltransferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labelling technique. Gel electrophoresis and Western blotting, performed with anti-(SM1/SM2 myosin isoform) antibody, indicated quantitative differences between LMS and LM, which mirrored higher positive to negative nuclear ratios for PCNA, Ki67 and apoptosis in malignant as opposed to benign neoplasms. With LM, however, a similar SM1 to SM2 ratio could be associated with different proliferation levels. Uterine, gastric and intestinal LMS displayed specific patterns of SM1/SM2 and/or non-muscle myosin expression that were not paralleled by different levels of proliferation/apoptosis. While the level of PCNA/Ki67 correlated with the level of apoptosis in normal SM tissues and LM, that of LMS did not. In vivo at the cellular level, LM and uterine LMS displayed a near-uniform SM tissue differentiation, whereas the other LMS displayed a lesser or a heterogeneous immunoreactivity. In vitro, cultured LMS cells showed a limited and peculiar expression of SM myosin. In conclusion, there is no reciprocal relationship between degree of differentiation and the level of proliferation, as exemplified by the finding that the less differentiated intestinal LMS displays the lowest proliferative behaviour and that the relatively more differentiated gastric LMS/metastasis is more proliferative.     

Clinical comparison of cellulose and expanded polytetrafluoroethylene membranes in the treatment of class II furcations in mandibular molars with 6-month re-entry

To evaluate the clinical significance of serum levels of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) in colorectal cancer patients, we measured the venous and portal concentrations of HGF in 60 patients. The tissue concentrations in the tumour and adjacent normal mucosa were also determined. The serum HGF concentration for the peripheral venous blood of the patients was significantly higher than that in normal controls. The content of HGF in cancer tissue was also significantly higher than that in normal mucosa, and it was correlated with the serum HGF concentration for the peripheral venous blood. The serum concentration of HGF reflected pathological features, including tumour size and lymph node or liver metastasis, and it showed an association with various preoperative nutritional parameters and the preoperative haemoglobin level. The serum HGF concentration was also correlated with the serum concentrations of immunosuppressive acidic protein and interleukin-6, indices of the host's immunological condition. Serum HGF seems to be a useful index of the disease status of patients with colorectal carcinoma.     

Biomechanical study of sternal closure using rigid fixation techniques in human cadavers

BACKGROUND: We believe rigid plate fixation may be superior to wire fixation in sternal closure, as rigid fixation used in the craniofacial skeleton has shown greater stability, lower postoperative pain, and accelerated bone healing. We hypothesize that sterna fixed with titanium plates are more stable mechanically than sterna fixed with wires. METHODS: The sterna from human cadavers were used in this two-phased study. Phase I compared wires to four-hole titanium straight plates. Phase II compared wires to four-hole titanium custom H plates. The sterna were tested biomechanically using all fixation methods. RESULTS: Phase I showed no statistically significant difference in the stiffness or lateral displacement between the wired and straight plated sterna. Phase II showed a statistically significant greater stiffness (p < 0.05) and less lateral displacement (p < 0.05) in the custom plated sterna over the wired sterna. CONCLUSIONS: Our results showed that custom titanium H plates were superior to wire fixation. Furthermore, our results established the importance of plate configuration in sternal fixation. Our study may have beneficial clinical implications, as decreased motion at the sternotomy site could mean less postoperative pain, a decreased incidence of infection, and accelerated bone healing.     

Prognostic value of prostate-specific antigen for women with breast cancer: a large United States cohort study

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is a valuable tumor marker used for diagnosis and management of prostate cancer. Recently, PSA has been found in various female tissues and body fluids. Female breasts, both normal and abnormal, including cancerous tissues, can produce PSA, and this production is regulated by androgens and progestins. Preliminary data suggested that patients with breast tumors positive for PSA may have better prognosis compared to those with PSA-negative breast tumors. This study examines the prognostic value of PSA in a large cohort study of United States patients. Using a PSA assay that has a lower detection limit of 0.001 ng/ml, we measured PSA in tumor cytosolic extracts of 953 women with primary breast cancer. Other information available for this study included age, follow-up time, survival outcome, tumor size, nodal status, steroid hormone receptor levels, DNA analysis by flow cytometry, and postoperative treatment. The median follow-up time was 73 months. During the follow-up, 200 patients relapsed and 188 died. PSA presence was found to be significantly associated with smaller tumors, tumors with low S-phase fraction, diploid tumors, younger patient age, and tumors with lower cellularity. Survival analysis indicated that the relative risks (RRs) for relapse and death were both significantly lower [RR = 0.67 (P = 0.01) for relapse; RR = 0.72 (P = 0.05) for death] in PSA-positive patients (levels higher than the 30th percentile of PSA values) than in PSA-negative patients. The reduced risks for relapse and death remained statistically significant after other clinical and pathological variables were adjusted in the multivariate analysis [RR = 0.68 (P = 0.02) for relapse; RR = 0.65 (P = 0.02) for death]. Our results suggest that the measurement of PSA in breast tumor extracts provides additional information on the prognosis of patients with primary breast cancer.