A TWO-DIMENSIONAL THERMODYNAMIC MODEL TO PREDICT HEART THERMAL RESPONSE DURING OPEN CHEST PROCEDURES

In this work, the temperature distribution of the heart in an open chest surgery scenario is studied. It is also evaluated the cardiac thermal effects of the injection of a cooling liquid in the aorta root, which is used in infrared thermography. The finite element method was used to develop a model that predicts the temperature distribution modification in a 2-dimensional slice of the heart. This thermodynamic model allows the computational simulation of the thermal cardiac response to open chest procedures, which are required by cardiac surgery. The influence of several operating parameters (e.g., coronary flow rate, temperature) on the resulting thermal distribution is analyzed. Therefore, this analysis allows the identification of parameters that could be controlled to minimize the loss of energy, and consequently, avoiding the hazardous thermal distribution that could put the heart in danger during cardiac surgery

INFRARED IMAGING AND COMPUTERIZED TOMOGRAPHY IN BREAST CANCER: CASE STUDY

This work presents a case study of a 75-year-old woman breast withcancer. The investigation process used infrared image, mammography,computerized tomography (CT) and ultrasound guided biopsy toassess, stage and final diagnostic of the tumor. Each one of theseevaluations brings an isolated piece of information that results in thecorrect diagnostic, and treatment. As early diagnostic of breast cancergoes towards improvement in diagnostics and better therapeutics, it isreasonable to state that breast cancer diagnostics must be achieved asearly as possible. An association between infrared image abnormalitiesand computerized tomography is acknowledged and is assumed that acorrelation could exist. The technical literature demonstrated thattumor depth could be inferred from infrared images, but criticalinformation such as breast perfusion for accurate predictions are notavailable yet. Considering that a mathematical model could modelbreast perfusion, this study proposes that tumor morphology and depthin breast cancer could be adequately determined using mathematicalmodeling, infrared imaging, and computerized tomography incomplementary actions

Integrating SpyCatcher/SpyTag covalent fusion technology into phage display workflows for rapid antibody discovery.

An early bottleneck in the rapid isolation of new antibody fragment binders using in vitro library approaches is the inertia encountered in acquiring and preparing soluble antigen fragments. In this report, we describe a simple, yet powerful strategy that exploits the properties of the SpyCatcher/SpyTag (SpyC/SpyT) covalent interaction to improve substantially the speed and efficiency in obtaining functional antibody clones of interest. We demonstrate that SpyC has broad utility as a protein-fusion tag partner in a eukaryotic expression/secretion context, retaining its functionality and permitting the direct, selective capture and immobilization of soluble antigen fusions using solid phase media coated with a synthetic modified SpyT peptide reagent. In addition, we show that the expressed SpyC-antigen format is highly compatible with downstream antibody phage display selection and screening procedures, requiring minimal post-expression handling with no sample modifications. To illustrate the potential of the approach, we have isolated several fully human germline scFvs that selectively recognize therapeutically relevant native cell surface tumor antigens in various in vitro cell-based assay contexts

SURGERY BY INFRARED VISION

This paper is about the development, uses and advantages of infrared thermography. Its principles had already been used by old civilizations as a manner of diseases diagnosis. The discovery of the infrared waves and its heating power happened on 1800, but its use in modern Medicine as a diagnosis method was only possible because of the scientific and technological development demanded by the Great Wars, in the 20th century. Here the authors present some news and promising surgery applications

Theory of mind impairment in patients with behavioural variant fronto-temporal dementia (bv-FTD) increases caregiver burden

Background: Theory of mind (ToM), the capacity to infer the intention, beliefs and emotional states of others, is frequently impaired in behavioural variant fronto-temporal dementia patients (bv-FTDp); however, its impact on caregiver burden is unexplored. Setting: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health. Subjects: bv-FTDp (n = 28), a subgroup of their caregivers (n = 20) and healthy controls (n = 32). Methods: we applied a faux-pas (FP) task as a ToM measure in bv-FTDp and healthy controls and the Zarit Burden Interview as a measure of burden in patients' caregivers. Patients underwent structural MRI; we used voxel-based morphometry to examine relationships between regional atrophy and ToM impairment and caregiver burden. Results: FP task performance was impaired in bv-FTDp and negatively associated with caregiver burden. Atrophy was found in areas involved in ToM. Caregiver burden increased with greater atrophy in left lateral premotor cortex, a region associated in animal models with the presence of mirror neurons, possibly involved in empathy. Conclusion: ToM impairment in bv-FTDp is associated with increased caregiver burde

Soluble trivalent engagers redirect cytolytic T cell activity toward tumor endothelial marker 1.

Tumor endothelial marker 1 (TEM1) is an emerging cancer target with a unique dual expression profile. First, TEM1 is expressed in the stroma and neo-vasculature of many human carcinomas but is largely absent from healthy adult tissues. Second, TEM1 is expressed by tumor cells of mesenchymal origin, notably sarcoma. Here, we present two fully human anti-TEM1 single-chain variable fragment (scFv) reagents, namely, 1C1m and 7G22, that recognize distinct regions of the extracellular domain and possess substantially different affinities. In contrast to other, well-described anti-TEM1 binders, these fragments confer cytolytic activity when expressed as 2 <sup>nd</sup> generation chimeric antigen receptors (CARs). Moreover, both molecules selectively redirect human T cell effector functions toward TEM1 <sup>+</sup> tumor cells when incorporated into experimental soluble bispecific trivalent engagers that we term TriloBiTEs (tBs). Furthermore, systemic delivery of 1C1m-tB prevents the establishment of Ewing sarcoma tumors in a xenograft model. Our observations confirm TEM1 as a promising target for cancer immunotherapy and illustrate the prospective translational potential of certain scFv-based reagents

DEVELOPMENT OF AN AIR HEATING AND HUMIDIFYING SYSTEM FOR MECHANICAL VENTILATION OF INTENSIVE CARE UNIT PATIENTS

The mechanical ventilators, also named artificial ventilators, are devices used in Intensive Care Units (ICU) for clinically critical patients. The equipment provides artificial breathing for the patient, creating favorable conditions for the patient recovery. It works as a system that is connected to the electric grid and two other networks, one supplies compressed air and the other supplies pure oxygen. Inside the equipment the gases are mixed, and then warmed up and humidified to be finally delivered to the patient. The existing system for treatment of the mixture is not effective, since it delivers the breathing air to the patient out of the normal physiology recommended range, i.e., temperature ~32-34°C and relative humidity ~80-95%. The objective of this work was to develop a new air heating and humidifying system for mechanical ventilation. First, it was built an air feeding system, composed by a compressor and an electronically controlled valve to simulate an actual mechanical ventilation system in the laboratory. A device for conditioning the air (temperature and humidity) was conceived and built for treating the air feeding system output air. The results of the laboratory measurements show that the developed equipment was capable of making the breathing air to reach the recommended ranges by the normal physiology