Scanning and Actuation Techniques for Cantilever-Based Fiber Optic Endoscopic Scanners—A Review

Endoscopes are used routinely in modern medicine for in-vivo imaging of luminal organs. Technical advances in the micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) and optical fields have enabled the further miniaturization of endoscopes, resulting in the ability to image previously inaccessible small-caliber luminal organs, enabling the early detection of lesions and other abnormalities in these tissues. The development of scanning fiber endoscopes supports the fabrication of small cantilever-based imaging devices without compromising the image resolution. The size of an endoscope is highly dependent on the actuation and scanning method used to illuminate the target image area. Different actuation methods used in the design of small-sized cantilever-based endoscopes are reviewed in this paper along with their working principles, advantages and disadvantages, generated scanning patterns, and applications

Endoscopic Optical Imaging Technologies and Devices for Medical Purposes: State of the Art

The growth and development of optical components and, in particular, the miniaturization of micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMSs), has motivated and enabled researchers to design smaller and smaller endoscopes. The overarching goal of this work has been to image smaller previously inaccessible luminal organs in real time, at high resolution, in a minimally invasive manner that does not compromise the comfort of the subject, nor introduce additional risk. Thus, an initial diagnosis can be made, or a small precancerous lesion may be detected, in a small-diameter luminal organ that would not have otherwise been possible. Continuous advancement in the field has enabled a wide range of optical scanners. Different scanning techniques, working principles, and the applications of endoscopic scanners are summarized in this review

Reproducibility of optical coherence tomography airway imaging

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a promising imaging technique to evaluate small airway remodeling. However, the short-term insertion-reinsertion reproducibility of OCT for evaluating the same bronchial pathway has yet to be established. We evaluated 74 OCT data sets from 38 current or former smokers twice within a single imaging session. Although the overall insertion-reinsertion airway wall thickness (WT) measurement coefficient of variation (CV) was moderate at 12%, much of the variability between repeat imaging was attributed to the observer; CV for repeated measurements of the same airway (intra-observer CV) was 9%. Therefore, reproducibility may be improved by introduction of automated analysis approaches suggesting that OCT has potential to be an in-vivo method for evaluating airway remodeling in future longitudinal and intervention studies. (C) 2015 Optical Society of Americ

New consensus nomenclature for mammalian keratins

Keratins are intermediate filament–forming proteins that provide mechanical support and fulfill a variety of additional functions in epithelial cells. In 1982, a nomenclature was devised to name the keratin proteins that were known at that point. The systematic sequencing of the human genome in recent years uncovered the existence of several novel keratin genes and their encoded proteins. Their naming could not be adequately handled in the context of the original system. We propose a new consensus nomenclature for keratin genes and proteins that relies upon and extends the 1982 system and adheres to the guidelines issued by the Human and Mouse Genome Nomenclature Committees. This revised nomenclature accommodates functional genes and pseudogenes, and although designed specifically for the full complement of human keratins, it offers the flexibility needed to incorporate additional keratins from other mammalian species

GeneMatch: A novel recruitment registry using at‐home APOE genotyping to enhance referrals to Alzheimer’s prevention studies

IntroductionRecruitment for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) prevention research studies is challenging because of lack of awareness among cognitively healthy adults coupled with the high screen fail rate due to participants not having a genetic risk factor or biomarker evidence of the disease. Participant recruitment registries offer one solution for efficiently and effectively identifying, characterizing, and connecting potential eligible volunteers to studies.MethodsIndividuals aged 55‐75 years who live in the United States and self‐report not having a diagnosis of cognitive impairment such as MCI or dementia are eligible to join GeneMatch. Participants enroll online and are provided a cheek swab kit for DNA extraction and apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotyping. Participants are not told their APOE results, although the results may be used in part to help match participants to AD prevention studies.ResultsAs of August 2018, 75,351 participants had joined GeneMatch. Nearly 30% of participants have one APOE4 allele, and approximately 3% have two APOE4 alleles. The percentages of APOE4 heterozygotes and homozygotes are inversely associated with age (P < .001).DiscussionGeneMatch, the first trial‐independent research enrollment program designed to recruit and refer cognitively healthy adults to AD prevention studies based in part on APOE test results, provides a novel mechanism to accelerate prescreening and enrollment for AD prevention trials.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/152681/1/alzjjalz201812007.pd

Adult Body Weight Is Programmed by a Redox-Regulated and Energy-Dependent Process during the Pronuclear Stage in Mouse

In mammals fertilization triggers a series of Ca2+ oscillations that not only are essential for events of egg activation but also stimulate oxidative phosphorylation. Little is known, however, about the relationship between quantitative changes in egg metabolism and specific long-term effects in offspring. This study assessed whether post-natal growth is modulated by early transient changes in NAD(P)H and FAD2+ in zygotes. We report that experimentally manipulating the redox potential of fertilized eggs during the pronuclear (PN) stage affects post-natal body weight. Exogenous pyruvate induces NAD(P)H oxidation and stimulates mitochondrial activity with resulting offspring that are persistently and significantly smaller than controls. Exogenous lactate stimulates NAD+ reduction and impairs mitochondrial activity, and produces offspring that are smaller than controls at weaning but catch up after weaning. Cytosolic alkalization increases NAD(P)+ reduction and offspring of normal birth-weight become significantly and persistently larger than controls. These results constitute the first report that post-natal growth rate is ultimately linked to modulation of NAD(P)H and FAD2+ concentration as early as the PN stage

Comparison of the intracellular trafficking itinerary of ctla-4 orthologues.

CTLA-4 is an essential inhibitor of T cell immune responses. At steady state, most CTLA-4 resides in intracellular compartments due to constitutive internalisation mediated via a tyrosine based endocytic motif (YVKM) within the cytoplasmic domain. This domain is highly conserved in mammals suggesting strong selective pressure. In contrast, the C-terminal domain varies considerably in non-mammals such as fish, xenopus and birds. We compared the ability of the C-terminus of these species to direct the trafficking of CTLA-4 with human CTLA-4. Using a chimeric approach, endocytosis was found to be conserved between human, xenopus and chicken CTLA-4 but was reduced substantially in trout CTLA-4, which lacks the conserved YXXM motif. Nevertheless, we identified an alternative YXXF motif in trout CTLA-4 that permitted limited endocytosis. Post-internalisation, CTLA-4 was either recycled or targeted for degradation. Human and chicken CTLA-4, which contain a YVKM motif, showed efficient recycling compared to xenopus CTLA-4 which contains a less efficient YEKM motif. Specific mutation of this motif in human CTLA-4 reduced receptor recycling. These findings suggest evolutionary development in the endocytic and recycling potential of CTLA-4, which may facilitate more refined functions of CTLA-4 within the mammalian immune system

Search for charginos in e+e- interactions at sqrt(s) = 189 GeV

An update of the searches for charginos and gravitinos is presented, based on a data sample corresponding to the 158 pb^{-1} recorded by the DELPHI detector in 1998, at a centre-of-mass energy of 189 GeV. No evidence for a signal was found. The lower mass limits are 4-5 GeV/c^2 higher than those obtained at a centre-of-mass energy of 183 GeV. The (\mu,M_2) MSSM domain excluded by combining the chargino searches with neutralino searches at the Z resonance implies a limit on the mass of the lightest neutralino which, for a heavy sneutrino, is constrained to be above 31.0 GeV/c^2 for tan(beta) \geq 1.Comment: 22 pages, 8 figure

Hadronization properties of b quarks compared to light quarks in e+e- -> q qbar from 183 to 200 GeV

The DELPHI detector at LEP has collected 54 pb^{-1} of data at a centre-of-mass energy around 183 GeV during 1997, 158 pb^{-1} around 189 GeV during 1998, and 187 pb^{-1} between 192 and 200 GeV during 1999. These data were used to measure the average charged particle multiplicity in e+e- -> b bbar events, _{bb}, and the difference delta_{bl} between _{bb} and the multiplicity, _{ll}, in generic light quark (u,d,s) events: delta_{bl}(183 GeV) = 4.55 +/- 1.31 (stat) +/- 0.73 (syst) delta_{bl}(189 GeV) = 4.43 +/- 0.85 (stat) +/- 0.61 (syst) delta_{bl}(200 GeV) = 3.39 +/- 0.89 (stat) +/- 1.01 (syst). This result is consistent with QCD predictions, while it is inconsistent with calculations assuming that the multiplicity accompanying the decay of a heavy quark is independent of the mass of the quark itself.Comment: 13 pages, 2 figure