a-large-lateral-craniotomy-procedure-for-mesoscale-wide-field-optical

A Large Lateral Craniotomy Procedure for Mesoscale Wide-field Optical Imaging of Brain Activity

The craniotomy is a commonly performed procedure to expose the brain for in vivo experiments. In mouse research, most labs utilize a small craniotomy, ...

University of Lethbridge

The objective of this study was to determine whether the Tc-99m red blood cells (Tc-99m RBC) method has a true advantage over the Tc-99m sulfur colloid (Tc-99m SC) technique in a busy clinical practice for detecting and localizing lower gastrointestinal bleeding sites.

Tc-99m sulfur colloid and Tc-99m tagged red blood cell methods are comparable for detecting lower gastrointestinal bleeding in clinical practice.

Direct microscopic observation and an interfacial force model were used to better understand and control microbial adhesion to polymeric ultrafiltration membranes. The model was used to predict a "critical flux", below which cells deposited reversibly, and direct observation was used to visually quantify cell deposition and removal. In preliminary direct observation experiments, permeate reversal (backpulsing) was more effective than cross-flow hydrodynamics at removing deposited cells. In experiments conducted below the critical flux, no cell accumulation was observed over repeated forward-reverse filtration cycles; however, a small fraction of cells deposited irreversibly regardless of the flux, membrane, or solution chemistry. The fraction of irreversibly deposited cells was consistent with the equilibrium surface coverage attained without permeation (i.e., due to heterogeneous adsorption). Although steric forces were not invoked to establish a critical flux, when operating above the critical flux, a balance between permeation drag and steric repulsion appeared to determine the strength of adhesion of cells to membranes. Direct observation also confirmed that above the critical flux fouling occurred and pressure losses accumulated over several backpulse cycles, whereas below the critical flux there were no observable pressure losses or fouling.

Direct observation of microbial adhesion to membranes.

Sequential screening has become increasingly popular in drug discovery. It iteratively builds quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) models from successive high-throughput screens, making screening more effective and efficient. We compare cluster structure-activity relationship analysis (CSARA) as a QSAR method with recursive partitioning (RP), by designing three strategies for sequential collection and analysis of screening data. Various descriptor sets are used in the QSAR models to characterize chemical structure, including high-dimensional sets and some that by design have many variables not related to activity. The results show that CSARA outperforms RP. We also extend the CSARA method to deal with a continuous assay measurement.

Exploration of cluster structure-activity relationship analysis in efficient high-throughput screening.

It is now well established that stromal interaction molecule 1 (STIM1) is the calcium sensor of endoplasmic reticulum stores required to activate store-operated calcium entry (SOC) channels at the surface of non-excitable cells. However, little is known about STIM1 in excitable cells, such as striated muscle, where the complement of calcium regulatory molecules is rather disparate from that of non-excitable cells. Here, we show that STIM1 is expressed in both myotubes and adult skeletal muscle. Myotubes lacking functional STIM1 fail to show SOC and fatigue rapidly. Moreover, mice lacking functional STIM1 die perinatally from a skeletal myopathy. In addition, STIM1 haploinsufficiency confers a contractile defect only under conditions where rapid refilling of stores would be needed. These findings provide insight into the role of STIM1 in skeletal muscle and suggest that STIM1 has a universal role as an ER/SR calcium sensor in both excitable and non-excitable cells.

STIM1 signalling controls store-operated calcium entry required for development and contractile function in skeletal muscle.

A rigorous psychometric methodology was used to develop a measure of unmet needs for cancer survivors' principal support persons. Principal support person was defined as "someone you can count on and who helps you with your needs."

The cancer support person's unmet needs survey: psychometric properties.

This study aims to develop a psychometrically rigorous instrument to measure the unmet needs of adult cancer survivors who are 1 to 5 years post-cancer diagnosis. "Unmet needs" distinguishes between problems which survivors experience and problems which they desire help in managing.

Psychometric properties of cancer survivors' unmet needs survey.

To compare the clinical presentation of 231 patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) with 89 patients with aqueous-deficient dry eye (keratoconjunctivitis sicca; KCS), to determine those procedures that best differentiate these groups in the eye care clinic.

Rose bengal staining of the temporal conjunctiva differentiates Sjögren's syndrome from keratoconjunctivitis sicca.

The purpose of this study was to use factor analysis to analyze 90 clinical characteristics of a cohort of 231 patients with primary Sjogren syndrome (pSS).

Factor analysis of the clinical characteristics of primary Sjogren syndrome.

Because comorbidity affects cancer treatment outcomes, guidelines recommend considering comorbidity when making treatment decisions in older patients with lung cancer. Yet, it is unclear whether treatment is targeted to healthier older adults who might reasonably benefit.

Impact of age and comorbidity on non-small-cell lung cancer treatment in older veterans.

Lung cancer incidence is associated with markers of lower socioeconomic status (SES) in whites, blacks, and Asians but with markers of higher SES in Hispanics. The magnitude and etiology of this positive gradient in Hispanics remain undefined. We examined non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) incidence and ever-smoking rates among California Hispanics according to measures of SES.

Incidence of non-small-cell lung cancer among California Hispanics according to neighborhood socioeconomic status.

The use of electronic medical record data linked to biological specimens in health care settings is expected to enable cost-effective and rapid genomic analyses. Here, we present a model that highlights potential advantages for genomic discovery and describe the operational infrastructure that facilitated multiple simultaneous discovery efforts.

Biobanks and electronic medical records: enabling cost-effective research.

The Team Approach to Advanced Cancer Care-Redefining the Gold Standard.

This review, for literature published in 2015, contains information related to membrane processes for municipal and industrial applications. This review is a subsection of the Treatment Systems section of the annual Water Environment Federation literature review and covers the following topics: pretreatment, membrane bioreactor (MBR) configuration, design, nutrient removal, operation, industrial treatment, anaerobic membrane systems, reuse, microconstituents removal, membrane technology advances, membrane fouling, and modeling. Other sub-sections of the Treatment Systems section that might relate to this literature review include: Biological Fixed-Film Systems, Activated Sludge and Other Aerobic Suspended Culture Processes, Anaerobic Processes, Water Reclamation and Reuse. The following sections might also have related information on membrane processes: Industrial Wastes, Hazardous Wastes, and Fate and Effects of Pollutants.

Sunny Wang

Canadian Center for Behavioural Neuroscience

University of Lethbridge

A Large Lateral Craniotomy Procedure for Mesoscale Wide-field Optical Imaging of Brain Activity

Sunny Wang

.css-o250i3{font-size:18px;font-family:Open Sans,sans-serif;line-height:21.6px;}Canadian Center for Behavioural Neuroscience

University of Lethbridge

A Large Lateral Craniotomy Procedure for Mesoscale Wide-field Optical Imaging of Brain Activity

Canadian Center for Behavioural Neuroscience