Theory Summary and Future Directions

Summary talk at the Lepton-Photon Symposium, Cornell University, Aug. 10-15, 1993.Comment: (Talk presented at the Lepton-Photon Symposium, Cornell University, Aug. 10-15, 1993.) 19 page

IGF-1/IGFBP-1 increases blastocyst formation and total blastocyst cell number in mouse embryo culture and facilitates the establishment of a stem-cell line

BACKGROUND: Apoptosis occurs frequently for blastocysts cultured in vitro, where conditions are suboptimal to those found in the natural environment. Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) plays an important role in preventing apoptosis in the early development of the embryo, as well as in the progressive regulation of organ development. We hypothesize that IGF-1 and its dephosphorylated binding protein (IGFBP-1) may be able to improve embryo culture with an associated reduced cell death, and that the resultant increase in the total cell number of the embryo could increase the chances of establishing an embryonic stem-cell line. RESULTS: In vivo fertilized zygotes were cultured in medium containing supplementary IGF-1, or IGFBP-1/IGF-1. The stages of the resultant embryos were evaluated at noon on day five post-hCG injection. The extent of apoptosis and necrosis was evaluated using Annexin V and propidium iodine staining under fluorescent microscopy. The establishment of embryonic stem-cell lines was performed using the hatching blastocysts that were cultured in the presence of IGF-1 or IGFBP-1/IGF-1. The results show that the rate of blastocyst formation in a tissue-culture system in the presence of IGF-1 was 88.7% and IGFBP-1/IGF-1 it was 94.6%, respectively, and that it was significantly greater than the figure for the control group (81.9%). IGFBP-1/IGF-1 also resulted in a higher hatching rate than was the case for the control group (68.8% vs. 48.6% respectively). IGF-1 also increased the number of Annexin V-free and propidium iodine-free blastocysts in culture (86.8% vs. 75.9% respectively). Total cell number of blastocyst in culture was increased by 18.9% for those examples cultured with dephosphorylated IGFBP-1/IGF-1. For subsequent stem-cell culture, the chances of the successful establishment of a stem-cell line was increased for the IGF-1 and IGFBP-1/IGF-1 groups (IGF-1 vs. IGFBP-1/IGF-1 vs. control: 45.8% vs. 59.6% vs. 27.3% respectively). CONCLUSION: IGF-1 or dephosphorylated IGFBP-1/IGF-1 supplement does result in an anti-apoptotic effect for early embryo development in culture, with a subsequent increased total cell number resulting from cell culture. The effect is beneficial for the later establishment of a stem-cell line

Cytoskeletal Dynamics: A View from the Membrane

Many aspects of cytoskeletal assembly and dynamics can be recapitulated in vitro; yet, how the cytoskeleton integrates signals in vivo across cellular membranes is far less understood. Recent work has demonstrated that the membrane alone, or through membrane-associated proteins, can effect dynamic changes to the cytoskeleton, thereby impacting cell physiology. Having identified mechanistic links between membranes and the actin, microtubule, and septin cytoskeletons, these studies highlight the membrane’s central role in coordinating these cytoskeletal systems to carry out essential processes, such as endocytosis, spindle positioning, and cellular compartmentalization

Deep learning for healthcare applications based on physiological signals: A review

Background and objective: We have cast the net into the ocean of knowledge to retrieve the latest scientific research on deep learning methods for physiological signals. We found 53 research papers on this topic, published from 01.01.2008 to 31.12.2017. Methods: An initial bibliometric analysis shows that the reviewed papers focused on Electromyogram(EMG), Electroencephalogram(EEG), Electrocardiogram(ECG), and Electrooculogram(EOG). These four categories were used to structure the subsequent content review. Results: During the content review, we understood that deep learning performs better for big and varied datasets than classic analysis and machine classification methods. Deep learning algorithms try to develop the model by using all the available input. Conclusions: This review paper depicts the application of various deep learning algorithms used till recently, but in future it will be used for more healthcare areas to improve the quality of diagnosi

Global patient outcomes after elective surgery: prospective cohort study in 27 low-, middle- and high-income countries.

BACKGROUND: As global initiatives increase patient access to surgical treatments, there remains a need to understand the adverse effects of surgery and define appropriate levels of perioperative care. METHODS: We designed a prospective international 7-day cohort study of outcomes following elective adult inpatient surgery in 27 countries. The primary outcome was in-hospital complications. Secondary outcomes were death following a complication (failure to rescue) and death in hospital. Process measures were admission to critical care immediately after surgery or to treat a complication and duration of hospital stay. A single definition of critical care was used for all countries. RESULTS: A total of 474 hospitals in 19 high-, 7 middle- and 1 low-income country were included in the primary analysis. Data included 44 814 patients with a median hospital stay of 4 (range 2-7) days. A total of 7508 patients (16.8%) developed one or more postoperative complication and 207 died (0.5%). The overall mortality among patients who developed complications was 2.8%. Mortality following complications ranged from 2.4% for pulmonary embolism to 43.9% for cardiac arrest. A total of 4360 (9.7%) patients were admitted to a critical care unit as routine immediately after surgery, of whom 2198 (50.4%) developed a complication, with 105 (2.4%) deaths. A total of 1233 patients (16.4%) were admitted to a critical care unit to treat complications, with 119 (9.7%) deaths. Despite lower baseline risk, outcomes were similar in low- and middle-income compared with high-income countries. CONCLUSIONS: Poor patient outcomes are common after inpatient surgery. Global initiatives to increase access to surgical treatments should also address the need for safe perioperative care. STUDY REGISTRATION: ISRCTN5181700

Iron Behaving Badly: Inappropriate Iron Chelation as a Major Contributor to the Aetiology of Vascular and Other Progressive Inflammatory and Degenerative Diseases

The production of peroxide and superoxide is an inevitable consequence of aerobic metabolism, and while these particular "reactive oxygen species" (ROSs) can exhibit a number of biological effects, they are not of themselves excessively reactive and thus they are not especially damaging at physiological concentrations. However, their reactions with poorly liganded iron species can lead to the catalytic production of the very reactive and dangerous hydroxyl radical, which is exceptionally damaging, and a major cause of chronic inflammation. We review the considerable and wide-ranging evidence for the involvement of this combination of (su)peroxide and poorly liganded iron in a large number of physiological and indeed pathological processes and inflammatory disorders, especially those involving the progressive degradation of cellular and organismal performance. These diseases share a great many similarities and thus might be considered to have a common cause (i.e. iron-catalysed free radical and especially hydroxyl radical generation). The studies reviewed include those focused on a series of cardiovascular, metabolic and neurological diseases, where iron can be found at the sites of plaques and lesions, as well as studies showing the significance of iron to aging and longevity. The effective chelation of iron by natural or synthetic ligands is thus of major physiological (and potentially therapeutic) importance. As systems properties, we need to recognise that physiological observables have multiple molecular causes, and studying them in isolation leads to inconsistent patterns of apparent causality when it is the simultaneous combination of multiple factors that is responsible. This explains, for instance, the decidedly mixed effects of antioxidants that have been observed, etc...Comment: 159 pages, including 9 Figs and 2184 reference

First molecular identification of Vorticella sp. from freshwater shrimps in Tainan, Taiwan

Freshwater shrimps are the most common crustaceans kept in an aquarium. This study was a survey seeking parasites infecting cultured freshwater atyid shrimps at aquarium stores in Tainan, Taiwan. We observed that atyid shrimps were infested with Vorticella and Scutariella. Scutariella is a common shrimp parasite; thus, we focused on Vorticella infection in the atyid shrimps. Vorticella aequilata-like pop TW, a freshwater peritrich ciliate, was isolated from the atyid shrimps. The morphological characteristics were investigated using live observations. Specimens from the population showed identical arrangement of the infraciliature and identical ITS1-5.8SITS2 region sequences. The zooids are bell-shaped, 40–58 μm wide and 47–70 μm in long in vivo. The food vacuole is variable in shape and is located in the middle of the cell. ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 sequences of Vorticella aequilata-like pop TW did not match any available sequences in GenBank. Phylogenetically, Vorticella aequilata-like pop TW clusters with the other Vorticella within the family Vorticellidae and nests with Vorticella aequilata in the subclade. Above all, the morphological characteristics and molecular analyses show that the investigated Vorticella is a Vorticella aequilata-like species. The phylogenetic analyses of ciliates based on the ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 sequences reveal that the Vorticella genus consists of Vorticella morphospecies and that taxonomic revision of the genus is needed. Morphometric criteria and molecular analysis were used to describe and identify the Vorticella specie and this study presents the first molecular identification analysis of the Vorticella species in the cultured atyid shrimps in Tainan, Taiwan

Design of low-threshold photonic-crystal surface-emitting lasers with confined gain regions by using selective area intermixing

Abstract Photonic-crystal surface-emitting lasers have many promising properties over traditional semiconductor lasers and are regarded as the next-generation laser sources. However, the minimum achievable lasing threshold of PCSELs is still several times larger than that of VCSELs, and limiting its applications especially if the required power is small. Here, we propose a new design that reduces the gain region in the lateral plane by using selective quantum-well intermixing to reduce the threshold current of PCSELs. By performing theoretical calculations, we confirmed that the threshold current can be lowered by a factor of two to three while keeping the PCSEL’s advantage of small divergence angle