Authenticity green coffee bean species and geographical origin using near-infrared spectroscopy combined with chemometrics

To prevent the adulteration of agricultural resources and provide a solution to enhance the green coffee bean supply chain, authentication using the near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) technique was investigated. Partial least square with discrimination analysis (PLS-DA) models combined with various preprocessing methods were built from NIR spectra of 153 Vietnamese green coffee samples. The model combined with the standard normal variate and the first order of derivative yielded excellent performance in predicting coffee species with the error cross-validation of 0.0261. PLS-DA model of mean centre and first-order derivative spectra also yielded good performance in verifying geographical indication of green coffee with the error of 0.0656. By contrast, the predicting abilities of post-harvest methods were poor. The overall results showed a high potential of the NIRS in online authentication practices.     

Recurrent erosion after photorefractive keratectomy

Recurrent erosion of the corneal epithelium has been treated successfully by phototherapeutic keratectomy when convention therapy has failed. We present a case of recurrent corneal erosion occurring 1 year after photorefractive keratectomy in a 55-year-old myopic woman. No corneal abnormalities were previously identified in either the affected or the fellow eye. This case demonstrates the potential for ineffective healing of the corneal epithelial basement membrane complex after excimer laser photorefractive keratectomy.     

Improvements in the silver-staining technique for nucleolar organizer regions (AgNOR)

The silver-staining technique for nucleolar organizer regions (AgNOR) of Ploton et al., as popularized by Crocker, is being widely used for evaluation of nucleolar function, especially in neoplasia. It suffers from limited reliability, background staining, precipitates, and fading of the sections. Factors were identified that affect these problems. The oxidation-reduction level and gelatin used are particularly important. An improved procedure is presented which incorporates pre-reduction of the sections, selection of an optimal gelatin, and post-treatment of the sections to produce a permanent preparation. It is compatible with many fixatives and with other stains used before or after the silver stain.     

Late complication of laparoscopic salpingoophorectomy: retained foreign body presenting as an acute abdomen

The technique of immunocytochemistry was used to identify myoglobin in kidney, confirming a diagnosis of neuroleptic malignant syndrome following an otherwise obscure autopsy in a decomposed body. The features of neuroleptic malignant syndrome are reviewed with a differential diagnosis of myoglobin renal casts. The report emphasizes a thorough and detailed assessment of deaths which occur during treatment with neuroleptic drugs.     

An in vitro model of traumatic neuronal injury: loading rate-dependent changes in acute cytosolic calcium and lactate dehydrogenase release

We developed a new in vitro model of neuronal injury using NT2-N cells to examine the effects of hydrodynamic loading rate on intraneuronal calcium dynamics and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release. Our apparatus consisted of a parallel disk viscometer which induced fluid shear stress with well-defined magnitudes and loading rates to cultured cells. We found that the deformation response of the cells was dependent on the severity of the insult, with increased cellular strains generated for higher shear stresses at a constant loading rate. Peak intracellular free calcium concentration correlated with strain, suggesting that mechanical deformation may regulate calcium response. Slowly applied fluid shear stress elicited no response, whereas high loading rates resulted in peak calcium increases 2.9 to 3.6 times baseline values as injury severity was increased. LDH release measured within 5 min after the insult correlated with loading rate. In addition, LDH release continued to increase out to 24 h following high loading rate conditions, demonstrating that the application of fluid shear stress led to prolonged cell damage. The acute response in NT2-N cells subjected to an insult with the CSID is dependent on the loading rate, and these results suggest that initial membrane deformation may trigger subsequent events.     

A one-site, two-state model for the binding of anions in photosystem II

Photosystem II membranes, dialyzed against a Cl(-)-free buffer to remove bound Cl-, lost about 65% of the control activity. A light-intensity study of the Cl(-)-free membranes showed that all PS II centers were able to evolve oxygen at about 35% of the control rate when measured in Cl(-)-free medium. The Cl(-)-depleted membranes were immediately (< 15 s) reactivated to 85-90% of the original activity by the addition of fairly high concentrations of Cl- (Kd = 0.5 mM), but both Cl- and the activity were promptly lost when the membranes immediately after reactivation were diluted in a Cl(-)-free medium. However, stabilization of Cl(-)-binding could be accomplished by prolonged incubation in the presence of Cl-. The transition to stable binding, followed using 36Cl-, occurred over several minutes. The stable binding was further characterized by a Kd of 20 microM and a t1/2 for dissociation of about 1h [Lindberg et al. (1993) Photosynth. Res. 38, 401-408]. The effects on S2 signals of removal of Cl- were studied using EPR. The depletion of Cl- was accompanied by a shift in intensity toward the g = 4.1 signal at the expense of the multiline signal. When Cl- or Br- but not F- was added to the depleted PS II membranes, the original distribution of the signals was immediately (< 30 s) restored. We propose that Cl(-)-binding responsible for high oxygen-evolution activity and normal EPR properties of the S2 state may occur either as high affinity (Kd = 20 microM) and slowly exchanging (t1/2 = 1 h), or as low affinity (Kd = 0.5 mM) and rapidly exchanging (t1/2 < 15 s). Our results suggest that Br- but not F- has a mode of binding similar to that of Cl-. The high-affinity state is the normal state of binding, but once Cl- has been removed, it will first rebind as low-affinity, rapidly exchanging followed by conversion into a high-affinity, slowly exchanging mode of binding.     

RSFM网络及其在信号滤波中的应用

介绍了一种适用于模式识别的新型神经网络模型--局部有监督特征映射（Reglonal Supervised Feature Mapping,RSFM）网络,描述了该网络的拓扑结构和学习算法,研究了网络的基本性能,最后将其应用到了信号滤波中.理论研究和仿真实验表明,该网络结构简单、算法简洁,收敛速度快、识别精度高,适用于需要大样本训练、随机干扰严重的复杂模式的分类与识别.     

The investigation of 32P wire for catheter-based endovascular irradiation

The dose distribution from a 32P source has been measured and calculated in order to evaluate its application in endovascular irradiation. The source dimension was 27 mm in length and 0.3 mm in diameter and was embedded in the end of a Ni-Ti wire. Dose measurements were performed using radiochromic film in several specially designed tissue equivalent phantoms. Loevinger's point dose kernel was used for the calculation. The approximate dose rate at a radial distance of 1.5 mm from the center of the source was found to be 6.75 cGy/s per GBq (0.25 cGy/s per mCi), which allows the delivery of a therapeutic dose in a short time interval with a satisfactory homogeneity without stepping the source. However, the dose rate falls off almost exponentially along the radial distance. Therefore it may not be suitable for treating large diameter vessel from a centrally located source. The effect of a curved 32P wire source on the radial dose distribution was also investigated. The results showed that for a maximum bend of 180 degrees the dose rate was increased by as much as 20% along the inner radial distance but decreased by as much as 20% along the outer radial distance compared to the dose along a straight wire. However, for curvatures normally encountered in a clinical situation, the dose rate was changed less than 5%.