Imaging of GaAs Nanowire Using Combined Aberration-corrected TEM/STEM and Exit Wave Restoration

Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2009 in Richmond, Virginia, USA, July 26 - July 30, 200

Topography of Genetic Loci in Tissue Samples: Towards New Diagnostic Tool Using Interphase FISH and High-Resolution Image Analysis Techniques

Using single and dual colour fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) combined with image analysis techniques the topographic characteristics of genes and centromeres in nuclei of human colon tissue cells were investigated. The distributions of distances from the centre‐of‐nucleus to genes (centromeres) and from genes to genes (centromeres to centromeres) were studied in normal colon tissue cells found in the neighbourhood of tumour samples, in tumour cell line HT‐29 and in promyelocytic HL‐60 cell line for comparison. Our results show that the topography of genetic loci determined in 3D‐fixed cell tissue corresponds to that obtained for 2D‐fixed cells separated from the tissue. The distributions of the centre‐of‐nucleus to gene (centromere) distances and gene to gene (centromere to centromere) distances and their average values are different for various genetic loci but similar for normal colon tissue cells, HT‐29 colon tumour cell line and HL‐60 promyelocytic cell line. It suggests that the arrangement of genetic loci in cell nucleus is conserved in different types of human cells. The investigations of trisomic loci in HT‐29 cells revealed that the location of the third genetic element is not different from the location of two homologues in diploid cells. We have shown that the topographic parameters used in our experiments for different genetic elements are not tissue or tumour specific. In order to validate high‐resolution cytometry for oncology, further investigations should include more precise parameters reflecting the state of chromatin in the neighbourhood of critical oncogenes or tumour suppresser genes

Valorisation of Biowastes for the Production of Green Materials Using Chemical Methods

With crude oil reserves dwindling, the hunt for a sustainable alternative feedstock for fuels and materials for our society continues to expand. The biorefinery concept has enjoyed both a surge in popularity and also vocal opposition to the idea of diverting food-grade land and crops for this purpose. The idea of using the inevitable wastes arising from biomass processing, particularly farming and food production, is, therefore, gaining more attention as the feedstock for the biorefinery. For the three main components of biomass—carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins—there are long-established processes for using some of these by-products. However, the recent advances in chemical technologies are expanding both the feedstocks available for processing and the products that be obtained. Herein, this review presents some of the more recent developments in processing these molecules for green materials, as well as case studies that bring these technologies and materials together into final products for applied usage

K24

A permanently high virulence was found in tachyzoites of T. gondii K24 after serial passage in mice (90 passages during 324 days). Virulence tests revealed that a single tachyzoite of the 50th passage represented LD100 for mice. Analysis of genotype of K24 isolate was done by PCR/RFLP with ROP1/DdeI, SAG1/DdeI, 850/RsaI and IGS/RsaI and by RFLP/DNA with TGR 1E sequence and PstI enzyme. K24 isolate had an atypical genotype, with an association of type II (for ROP1, SAG1 genes and TGR1 E sequence) and type I (for 850 gene) alleles, and a new pattern observed for IGS. All tested PCR/RFLP did not change through 2, 10, 20, 28, 40, 50, 60, 70, 81 and 90 tested passages. In RFLP/DNA with PstI enzyme and TGR1 E probe, K24 isolate produced a pattern with seven fragments of the size ranging from one to 23 kb and did not change through 7, 56, 70 and 83 tested passages. K24 T. gondii isolate is a hybrid and has the virulence of lineage I isolates