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Polarized Light-Based Cancer Cell Detection Techniques: A Review
No full textCancer is becoming raging phenomenon in clinical and pharmaceutical studies worldwide. It can be diagnosed by several step, including physical examination, blood or serum tests, and medical screening and imaging. Screening and imaging used to only be recommended if clear symptoms were observed, and positive results obtained from a blood test analysis were only significant if there was a high level of cancer markers observed. Optical biosensors are currently being developed that may be ideal for sensitive, selective and label free detection but burdensome and sophisticated. Recent studies of interest rely more on the application of nanomaterial (for indirect biochemical assays) than direct testing for in situ discrimination of the morphology of normal and cancerous cells. This review will be devoted to a description of the most recent developments of polarized light-based cancer cell/biomarker detection devices. These devices mostly operate based on a degree of polarization (DOP) and angle of polarization (AOP) of light parameters in separate devices. The main aim of this review is to provide an in-depth insight into the future use of device that measures the AOP in a single integrated device for cancer cell/tissue detection. © 2001-2012 IEEE
Role of coaggregation in the pathogenicity and prolonged colonisation of Vibrio cholerae
No full textCholera is an acute diarrheal illness caused by the Gram-negative bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The pathogen is known for its ability to form biofilm that confers protection against harsh environmental condition and as part of the colonisation process during infection. Coaggregation is a process that facilitates the formation of biofilm. In a preliminary in vitro study, high coaggregation index and biofilm production were found between V. cholerae with human commensals namely Escherichia coli and Enterobacter cloacae. Building upon these results, the effects of coaggregation were further evaluated using adult BALB/c mouse model. The animal study showed no significant differences in mortality and fluid accumulation ratio between treatment groups infected with V. cholerae alone and those infected with coaggregation partnership (V. cholerae with E. coli or V. cholerae with E. cloacae). However, mild inflammation was detected in both partnering pairs. Higher density of V. cholerae was recovered from faecal samples of mice co-infected with E. coli and V. cholerae in comparison with other groups at 24 h post-infection. This partnership also elicited slightly higher levels of interleukin-5 (IL-5) and interleukin-10 (IL-10). Nonetheless, the involvement of autoinducer-2 (AI-2) as the signalling molecules in quorum sensing system is not evident in this study. Since E. coli is one of the common commensals, our result may suggest the involvement of commensals in cholera development. © 2019, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature
Moyamoya disease in a young woman with intraand extracranial vessels involvement on vessel wall imaging
No full text[No abstract available
Underutilization of epilepsy surgery in ASEAN countries
No full textPurpose: This survey was performed to determine the availability of epilepsy surgery, and understand the limiting factors to epilepsy surgery in ASEAN countries with total of 640 million population. Method: A cross-sectional survey was completed by national representatives in all ASEAN countries (Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam). Results: Overall facilities for initial epilepsy pre-surgical evaluation are available in most countries, but further non-invasive and invasive investigations are limited. Three countries (Brunei, Cambodia, and East Timor) have no epilepsy center, and 2 countries (Laos, Myanmar) have level 2 centers doing tumor surgery only. Level-3 epilepsy centers are available in 6 countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippine, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam); only 5 countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippine, Singapore, Thailand) has at least one level-4 epilepsy care facility. Indonesia with 261 million population only has one level 3 and another level 4 center. The costs of presurgical evaluation and brain surgery vary within and among the countries. The main barriers towards epilepsy surgery in ASEAN include lack of expertise, funding and facilities. Conclusions: Epilepsy surgery is underutilized in ASEAN with low number of level 3 centers, and limited availability of advanced presurgical evaluation. Lack of expertise, facilities and funding may be the key factors contributing to the underutilization. © 2019 British Epilepsy Associatio
Microplasma direct writing for site-selective surface functionalization of carbon microelectrodes
No full textCarbon micro- and nanoelectrodes fabricated by carbon microelectromechanical systems (carbon MEMS) are increasingly used in various biosensors and supercapacitor applications. Surface modification of as-produced carbon electrodes with oxygen functional groups is sometimes necessary for biofunctionalization or to improve electrochemical properties. However, conventional surface treatment methods have a limited ability for selective targeting of parts of a surface area for surface modification without using complex photoresist masks. Here, we report microplasma direct writing as a simple, low-cost, and low-power technique for site-selective plasma patterning of carbon MEMS electrodes with oxygen functionalities. In microplasma direct writing, a high-voltage source generates a microplasma discharge between a microelectrode tip and a target surface held at atmospheric pressure. In our setup, water vapor acts as an ionic precursor for the carboxylation and hydroxylation of carbon surface atoms. Plasma direct writing increases the oxygen content of an SU-8-derived pyrolytic carbon surface from ~3 to 27% while reducing the carbon-to-oxygen ratio from 35 to 2.75. Specifically, a microplasma treatment increases the number of carbonyl, carboxylic, and hydroxyl functional groups with the largest increase observed for carboxylic functionalities. Furthermore, water microplasma direct writing improves the hydrophilicity and the electrochemical performance of carbon electrodes with a contact-angle change from ~90° to ~20°, a reduction in the anodic peak to cathodic peak separation from 0.5 V to 0.17 V, and a 5-fold increase in specific capacitance from 8.82 mF∙cm−2 to 46.64 mF∙cm−2. The plasma direct-writing technology provides an efficient and easy-to-implement method for the selective surface functionalization of carbon MEMS electrodes for electrochemical and biosensor applications. © 2019, The Author(s)
Leucophyllinines A and B, bisindole alkaloids from Leuconotis eugeniifolia
No full textTwo new bisindole alkaloids, leucophyllinines A (1) and B (2) consisting of eburnane and quebrachamine-type skeletons were isolated from the bark of Leuconotis eugeniifolia, and their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic data. Leucophyllinines A and B showed antiplasmodial activities against Plasmodium falciparum 3D7. © 2019, The Japanese Society of Pharmacognosy
Piet Mondrian, early Neo-Plastic compositions, and six principles of Neo-Plasticism
No full textIn spite of the prominent role of Piet Mondrian (1872-1944) as a pure abstract painter and writer of his theories who developed the abstract art into what he called Neo-Plasticism, little has been written about him compared to other painters such as Picasso and Matisse. Examining the past and recent literature published about Mondrian, some scholars examined the aesthetic evolution of Mondrian’s vision toward his Neo-Plastic art and theory within a historical context by depending on the influences he received from circle of thinkers, artists, and friends during his life. While other scholars analyzed the components of Neo-Plastic theory through formal tenets of De Stijl or a metaphysical lens through premises of western
philosophies such as Theosophy, Hegel, and Platonism. Nevertheless, despite the emphasis of the majority
of scholars on close relation between Mondrian’s paintings and writings, researchers showed little tendency
to examine the development of core formal theories of Neo-Plasticism through a parallel analysis of his Neo-Plastic paintings and his theoretical writings. Therefore, in this paper I aim to examine Mondrian’s early artistic ideas, through a coinciding analysis of his 1919-1920 paintings and his 1919-1923 theoretical essays. In this article, I have considered six principles of Neo-Plasticism published in 1926 by Mondrian, as my main point of departure. The main objective of this paper is to reveal the degrees of Mondrian’s awareness toward his refined, crystalized, aesthetic principles - he wrote in 1926 - by examining his early Neo-Plastic 1919-1920 compositions and his 1919-1923 theoretical essays. By conducting a context independent research on Mondrian’s paintings and writings, I aim to propose a novel perspective looking through the very core theory of Neo-Plasticism and to motivate more scholars to examine Mondrian’s Neo-Plastic paintings and writings as integrated body of his Neo-Plasticism
Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in ameloblastoma: focus on morphologically evident mesenchymal phenotypic transition
No full textThe ameloblastoma is the most common and clinically significant odontogenic epithelial neoplasm known for its locally-invasive behaviour and high recurrence risk. Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a fundamental process whereby epithelial cells lose their epithelial characteristics and gain mesenchymal properties. EMT induction via transcription repression has been investigated in ameloblastoma. However, morphologically evident mesenchymal phenotypic transition remains ill-defined. To determine this, 24 unicystic (UA), 34 solid/multicystic (SA) and 18 recurrent ameloblastoma (RA) were immunohistochemically examined for three EMT-related mesenchymal markers, alpha smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), osteonectin and neuronal cadherin (N-cadherin). All three factors were heterogeneously detected in ameloblastoma samples (α-SMA, n=71/76, 93.4%; osteonectin, n=72/76, 94.7%; N-cadherin, n=24/76, 31.6%). In the tumoural parenchyma, immunoreactive cells were not morphologically distinct from their non-reactive cellular counterparts. Rather, α-SMA and osteonectin predominantly labelled the cytoplasm of central polyhedral > peripheral columnar/cuboidal tumour cells. N-cadherin demonstrated weak-to-moderate circumferential membranous staining in both neoplastic cell types and cytoplasmic expression in spindle-celled epithelium of desmoplastic amelobastoma. For all tumour subsets, α-SMA and osteonectin scored significantly higher in the stroma > parenchyma whilst α-SMA was overexpressed along the tumour invasive front > centre (p UA and RA > UA (p<0.05). Other clinicopathological parameters showed no significant associations. Taken together, acquisition of mesenchymal traits without morphologically evident mesenchymal alteration suggests partial EMT in ameloblastoma. Stromal upregulation of these proteins in SA and RA implicates a role in local invasiveness. © 2019 Royal College of Pathologists of Australasi
Multiphase particle-in-cell simulation in severe internal carotid artery stenosis
No full textInternal carotid artery (ICA) stenosis, usually caused by atherosclerosis plaque, restricts the blood supply to the brain and causes cerebral ischemia. The plaque can be stable and asymptomatic, or it can cause embolization. An emboli can break from the plaque and travel to the blood vessels in the brain, causing a transient ischemic attack (TIA) or thromboembolic stroke. To reduce the risk of a stroke, estimation of the blood flow and stress distribution at the ICA stenosis is important. Common diagnostic methods, such as computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are only able to provide a stenotic configuration. In addition, conventional image-based computational fluid dynamics (CFD) assumes the blood is a single-phase fluid, ignoring the circulating blood cell particles. This may result in an unreliable estimation of the blood flow and stress distribution at the ICA stenosis. Therefore, a multiphase particle-in-cell (MP-PIC) model was introduced to calculate the plasma flow and blood cell motion separately. The MP-PIC simulation showed a reverse flow, flow stagnation, and flow swigging at the stenosis that was not demonstrated by the single-phase model simulation. Thus, the blood cell motion caused significant temporal and spatial flow oscillation variations at the stenosis and must be considered in a hemodynamic simulation. © 2018 Elsevier B.V
Addiction Rehabilitation and Structural Family Therapy
No full textAddiction is a societal problem that has affected people from all over the world. As this is the case, a serious look needs to be taken with regards to treatment. Structural Family Therapy was fathered by Salvador Minuchin, who believed that addictions in the family causes a shift in the dynamic of the family, which is where addiction rehabilitation treatment with family members affected by addictions should begin. When working with clients who have addictions, it is important to view the client through a holistic lens; meaning we must view how the substances/activities, and the stresses in their lives which led them to the substances/activities, cause changes in their psychology and physiology. From there, we can create a treatment plan that works with families that offers a prognosis for the client’s life, not just treating their addiction. Structural Family Therapy is great for this, has part of treatment is looking at the client holistically, and helping heal the various parts of the clients lives, including healing their family unit. © 2019, Indian Journal of Public Health Research and Development. All right reserved