6 research outputs found
High-Resolution Whole-Mount In Situ Hybridization Using Quantum Dot Nanocrystals
The photostability and narrow emission spectra of nanometer-scale semiconductor crystallites (QDs) make them desirable candidates for whole-mount fluorescent in situ hybridization to detect mRNA transcripts in morphologically preserved intact embryos. We describe a method for direct QD labeling of modified oligonucleotide probes through streptavidin-biotin and antibody-mediated interactions (anti-FITC and anti-digoxigenin). To overcome permeability issues and allow QD conjugate penetration, embryos were treated with proteinase K. The use of QDs dramatically increased sensitivity of whole-mount in situ hybridization (WISH) in comparison with organic fluorophores and enabled fluorescent detection of specific transcripts within cells without the use of enzymatic amplification. Therefore, this method offers significant advantages both in terms of sensitivity, as well as resolution. Specifically, the use of QDs alleviates issues of photostability and limited brightness plaguing organic fluorophores and allows fluorescent imaging of cleared embryos. It also offers new imaging possibilities, including intracellular localization of mRNAs, simultaneous multiple-transcript detection, and visualization of mRNA expression patterns in 3D
Hospital based Treatment for Internet Addicts
The importance of recognizing the symptoms of Internet addiction
constitutes the first step for treatment. Internet use can be
pathological, and the percentage of addicted people is increasing while
people become dependent on technology and Internet continues to develop.
This study is a systematic litterature review. An electronic literature
search was conducted using as keywords internet addiction, psychological
implications, internet abuse etc. to the following databases: Medline,
PubMed and Google Schoolar. The majority of research was conducted in
Europe and in North America. We found 20 surveys. 9 were excluded on the
basis of screening due to full text articles were not available. The
final number of included surveys was 11. Hospitals and clinics have to
emerge with outpatient treatment services for Internet addiction
recovery, and in some cases there may be a need for addiction
rehabilitation centers as admitted from people with Internet addiction
into inpatient care
Maternal and neonatal risk factors for neonatal respiratory distress syndrome in term neonates in Cyprus: a prospective case-control study
Background Neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (NRDS) is strongly
associated with premature birth, but it can also affect term neonates.
Unlike the extent of research in preterm neonates, risk factors
associated with incidence and severity of NRDS in term neonates are not
well studied. In this study, we examined the association of maternal and
neonatal risk factors with the incidence and severity of NRDS in term
neonates admitted to Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in Cyprus.
Methods In a prospective, case-control design we recruited term neonates
with NRDS and non-NRDS admitted to the NICU of Archbishop Makarios III
hospital, the only neonatal tertiary centre in Cyprus, between April
2017-October 2018. Clinical data were obtained from patients’ files. We
used univariate and multivariate logistic and linear regression models
to analyse binary and continuous outcomes respectively. Results During
the 18-month study period, 134 term neonates admitted to NICU were
recruited, 55 (41%) with NRDS diagnosis and 79 with non-NRDS as
controls. In multivariate adjusted analysis, male gender (OR: 4.35, 95%
CI: 1.03-18.39, p = 0.045) and elective caesarean section (OR: 11.92,
95% CI: 1.80-78.95, p = 0.01) were identified as independent predictors
of NRDS. Among neonates with NRDS, early-onset infection tended to be
associated with increased administration of surfactant (beta:0.75, 95%
CI: - 0.02-1.52, p = 0.055). Incidence of pulmonary hypertension or
systemic hypotension were associated with longer duration of parenteral
nutrition (pulmonary hypertension: 11Vs 5 days, p < 0.001, systemic
hypotension: 7 Vs 4 days, p = 0.01) and higher rate of blood transfusion
(pulmonary hypertension: 100% Vs 67%, p = 0.045, systemic hypotension:
85% Vs 55%, p = 0.013). Conclusions This study highlights the role of
elective caesarean section and male gender as independent risk factors
for NRDS in term neonates. Certain therapeutic interventions are
associated with complications during the course of disease. These
findings can inform the development of evidence-based recommendations
for improved perinatal care
Single-Shot Optical Sectioning Using Two-Color Probes in HiLo Fluorescence Microscopy
We describe a wide-field fluorescence microscope setup which combines HiLo microscopy technique with the use of a two-color fluorescent probe. It allows one-shot fluorescence optical sectioning of thick biological moving sample which is illuminated simultaneously with a flat and a structured pattern at two different wavelengths. Both homogenous and structured fluorescence images are spectrally separated at detection and combined similarly with the HiLo microscopy technique. We present optically sectioned full-field images of Xenopus laevis embryos acquired at 25 images/s frame rate