Carbon Sources and Water-Rock Interactions in the Allier River, France

AbstractThe Allier River is an important tributary of the Loire River, one of the major rivers in France. The Allier River presents both a natural environment upstream and a zone deeply impacted by mines and human activities. The δ13C and δ7Li combination show that the Allier River DIC is due to mixing of carbon from organic decay produced in a natural environment upstream, progressively enriched in DIC of anthropogenic origin downstream, and magmatic carbon inputs often associated with hydrothermal contributions

Serial optical coherence microscopy for label-free volumetric histopathology

The observation of histopathology using optical microscope is an essential procedure for examination of tissue biopsies or surgically excised specimens in biological and clinical laboratories. However, slide-based microscopic pathology is not suitable for visualizing the large-scale tissue and native 3D organ structure due to its sampling limitation and shallow imaging depth. Here, we demonstrate serial optical coherence microscopy (SOCM) technique that offers label-free, high-throughput, and large-volume imaging of ex vivo mouse organs. A 3D histopathology of whole mouse brain and kidney including blood vessel structure is reconstructed by deep tissue optical imaging in serial sectioning techniques. Our results demonstrate that SOCM has unique advantages as it can visualize both native 3D structures and quantitative regional volume without introduction of any contrast agents

Intra-operative spectroscopic assessment of surgical margins during breast conserving surgery

Background: In over 20% of breast conserving operations, postoperative pathological assessment of the excised tissue reveals positive margins, requiring additional surgery. Current techniques for intra-operative assessment of tumor margins are insufficient in accuracy or resolution to reliably detect small tumors. There is a distinct need for a fast technique to accurately identify tumors smaller than 1 mm2 in large tissue surfaces within 30 min. Methods: Multi-modal spectral histopathology (MSH), a multimodal imaging technique combining tissue auto-fluorescence and Raman spectroscopy was used to detect microscopic residual tumor at the surface of the excised breast tissue. New algorithms were developed to optimally utilize auto-fluorescence images to guide Raman measurements and achieve the required detection accuracy over large tissue surfaces (up to 4 × 6.5 cm2). Algorithms were trained on 91 breast tissue samples from 65 patients. Results: Independent tests on 121 samples from 107 patients - including 51 fresh, whole excision specimens - detected breast carcinoma on the tissue surface with 95% sensitivity and 82% specificity. One surface of each uncut excision specimen was measured in 12–24 min. The combination of high spatial-resolution auto-fluorescence with specific diagnosis by Raman spectroscopy allows reliable detection even for invasive carcinoma or ductal carcinoma in situ smaller than 1 mm2. Conclusions: This study provides evidence that this multimodal approach could provide an objective tool for intra-operative assessment of breast conserving surgery margins, reducing the risk for unnecessary second operations

Atorvastatin Therapy during the Peri-Infarct Period Attenuates Left Ventricular Dysfunction and Remodeling after Myocardial Infarction

Although statins impart a number of cardiovascular benefits, whether statin therapy during the peri-infarct period improves subsequent myocardial structure and function remains unclear. Thus, we evaluated the effects of atorvastatin on cardiac function, remodeling, fibrosis, and apoptosis after myocardial infarction (MI). Two groups of rats were subjected to permanent coronary occlusion. Group II (n = 14) received oral atorvastatin (10 mg/kg/d) daily for 3 wk before and 4 wk after MI, while group I (n = 12) received equivalent doses of vehicle. Infarct size (Masson's trichrome-stained sections) was similar in both groups. Compared with group I, echocardiographic left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and fractional area change (FAC) were higher while LV end-diastolic volume (LVEDV) and LV end-systolic and end-diastolic diameters (LVESD and LVEDD) were lower in treated rats. Hemodynamically, atorvastatin-treated rats exhibited significantly higher dP/dtmax, end-systolic elastance (Ees), and preload recruitable stroke work (PRSW) and lower LV end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP). Morphometrically, infarct wall thickness was greater in treated rats. The improvement of LV function by atorvastatin was associated with a decrease in hydroxyproline content and in the number of apoptotic cardiomyocyte nuclei. We conclude that atorvastatin therapy during the peri-infarct period significantly improves LV function and limits adverse LV remodeling following MI independent of a reduction in infarct size. These salubrious effects may be due in part to a decrease in myocardial fibrosis and apoptosis

α-Synuclein Expression Selectively Affects Tumorigenesis in Mice Modeling Parkinson's Disease

Alpha Synuclein (α-Syn) is a protein implicated in mechanisms of neuronal degeneration in Parkinson's disease (PD). α-Syn is primarily a neuronal protein, however, its expression is found in various tumors including ovarian, colorectal and melanoma tumors. It has been hypothesized that neurodegeneration may share common mechanisms with oncogenesis. We tested whether α-Syn expression affects tumorigenesis of three types of tumors. Specifically, B16 melanoma, E0771 mammary gland adenocarcinoma and D122 Lewis lung carcinoma. For this aim, we utilized transgenic mice expression the human A53T α-Syn form. We found that the in vivo growth of B16 and E0771 but not D122 was enhanced in the A53T α-Syn mice. The effect on tumorigenesis was not detected in age-matched APP/PS1 mice, modeling Alzheimer's disease (AD), suggesting a specific effect for α-Syn- dependent neurodegeneration. Importantly, transgenic α-Syn expression was detected within the three tumor types. We further show uptake of exogenously added, purified α-Syn, by the cultured tumor cells. In accord, with the affected tumorigenesis in the young A53T α-Syn mice, over- expression of α-Syn in cultured B16 and E0771 cells enhanced proliferation, however, had no effect on the proliferation of D122 cells. Based on these results, we suggest that certain forms of α-Syn may selectively accelerate cellular mechanisms leading to cancer

Diagnostic accuracy of a clinical diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: An international case-cohort study

We conducted an international study of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) diagnosis among a large group of physicians and compared their diagnostic performance to a panel of IPF experts. A total of 1141 respiratory physicians and 34 IPF experts participated. Participants evaluated 60 cases of interstitial lung disease (ILD) without interdisciplinary consultation. Diagnostic agreement was measured using the weighted kappa coefficient (\u3baw). Prognostic discrimination between IPF and other ILDs was used to validate diagnostic accuracy for first-choice diagnoses of IPF and were compared using the Cindex. A total of 404 physicians completed the study. Agreement for IPF diagnosis was higher among expert physicians (\u3baw=0.65, IQR 0.53-0.72, p20 years of experience (C-index=0.72, IQR 0.0-0.73, p=0.229) and non-university hospital physicians with more than 20 years of experience, attending weekly MDT meetings (C-index=0.72, IQR 0.70-0.72, p=0.052), did not differ significantly (p=0.229 and p=0.052 respectively) from the expert panel (C-index=0.74 IQR 0.72-0.75). Experienced respiratory physicians at university-based institutions diagnose IPF with similar prognostic accuracy to IPF experts. Regular MDT meeting attendance improves the prognostic accuracy of experienced non-university practitioners to levels achieved by IPF experts