Optical Imaging of Bacterial Infections

The rise in multidrug resistant (MDR) bacteria has become a global crisis. Rapid and accurate diagnosis of infection will facilitate antibiotic stewardship and preserve our ability to treat and cure patients from bacterial infection. Direct in situ imaging of bacteria offers the prospect of accurately diagnosing disease and monitoring patient outcomes and response to treatment in real-time. There have been many recent advances in the field of optical imaging of infection; namely in specific probe and fluorophore design. This combined with the advances in imaging device technology render direct optical imaging of infection a feasible approach for accurate diagnosis in the clinic. Despite this, there are currently no licensed molecular probes for clinical optical imaging of infection. Here we report some of the most promising and interesting probes and approaches under development for this purpose, which have been evaluated in in vivo models within the laboratory setting

Computational Homogenization of Architectured Materials

Architectured materials involve geometrically engineered distributions of microstructural phases at a scale comparable to the scale of the component, thus calling for new models in order to determine the effective properties of materials. The present chapter aims at providing such models, in the case of mechanical properties. As a matter of fact, one engineering challenge is to predict the effective properties of such materials; computational homogenization using finite element analysis is a powerful tool to do so. Homogenized behavior of architectured materials can thus be used in large structural computations, hence enabling the dissemination of architectured materials in the industry. Furthermore, computational homogenization is the basis for computational topology optimization which will give rise to the next generation of architectured materials. This chapter covers the computational homogenization of periodic architectured materials in elasticity and plasticity, as well as the homogenization and representativity of random architectured materials

Arthropod 'rain' into tropical streams: The importance of intact riparian forest and influences on fish diets

Terrestrial arthropods might represent an important energy source for stream predators, but these trophic linkages have seldom been studied in the tropics. Terrestrial arthropod inputs (essentially, arthropod 'rain') into four streams with different riparian vegetation (two draining shrublands and two draining forests) were measured over three consecutive seasons (dry, wet, dry) from 2005 to 2007 in monsoonal Hong Kong. Predatory minnows, Parazacco spilurus (Cyprinidae), were collected and their consumption of terrestrial arthropods was estimated. Inputs of arthropods were dominated by Diptera, Collembola, Formicidae and aerial Hymenoptera, accounting for ≥73% of the arthropod abundance. Seasonal variation was marked: numbers in the dry seasons were approximately half (47-57%) those in the wet season, and biomass fell to one-third (33-37%) of the wet-season value. Shrubland streams received 19-43% fewer individuals and 6-34% less biomass than shaded forest streams. An analysis of fish diets in three of the four streams showed that terrestrial insects and spiders were more important prey in the two forest streams, accounting for 35-43% of prey abundance (39-43% by volume) v. 28% (27%) in the shrubland stream. Because riparian vegetation is the source of terrestrial arthropod inputs to streams, degradation of streamside forests that reduce these inputs will have consequences for the diets of stream fishes. © CSIRO 2008.link_to_subscribed_fulltex