Low-cost two-photon microscope with fully customized trajectories

A modular and efficient nonlinear scanning microscope using an ultrashort pulse laser has been developed. The system is fully supervised by with an ad-hoc electronic system based on FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array). A closed-loop control allows the compensation of scanning system non-idealities. Fully customizable trajectories can be used, in order to find best performances of the mechanical system. The electronic system is also characterized by the management of the target focusing on different focal planes and automatic research of the best focal plane. An ad-hoc software controls the system by a standard USB interface and processes images

Architectural Design Using the Enterprise Information System Architecture Planning (EAP) Library and Archive Department of Salatiga City

The increasingly rapid rate of development of information technology's impact on human life. Both in favor of the activities of individuals or an organization. Organizations must now be able to use Information Technology or Information Systems in support of the overall business process and can become an overloaded organization in today's business competition. The research looked at the needs of the organization and the constraints that impede business processes at the Department of Libraries and Archives at Salatiga. Therefore, in this study researchers used a method of Enterprise Architecture Planning (EAP), which is the stage of planning quality data and pivot on business needs and also how the implementation of the architecture that will do efforts to vision, mission, and goals of the organization. The results of this study provide a blueprint picture related to technology, namely data architecture, application architecture, technology architecture, the implementation plan is a guideline need of Information System

RELATIONS AMONG FORAGE SHORGUM YIELD AND PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES AND ORGANIC MATTER CONTENT OF A LATOSOL IN THE BRAZILIAN SAVANNAH RELAÇÕES ENTRE PRODUTIVIDADE DE SORGO FORRAGEIRO E ATRIBUTOS FÍSICOS E TEOR DE MATÉRIA ORGÂNICA DE UM LATOSSOLO DO CERRADO

The soil physical attributes and organic matter influence plant growth and development by limiting root growth and crop yield. Aiming to study the spatial and linear correlations among forage sorghum yield and soil physical properties and organic matter, an experiment was carried out in a Distroferric Red Latosol, in Selvíria, Mato Grosso do Sul State, Brazil, in the 2005 crop season. Thus, the forage sorghum fresh and dry matter yield, microporosity, macroporosity, total porosity, soil bulk density, and organic matter content were analyzed, at three depths (0.00-0.10 m, 0.10-0.20 m, and 0.20-0.30 m). The samples were collected in a geostatistical grid, with a total of 124 points, in an area of 4,000 m2. The sorghum fresh and dry matter yield showed high variability, while, for the soil properties, it was low. The plant attributes, macroporosity (in the first layers), microporosity, total porosity, and bulk density, in the first and third layers, followed well-defined spatial standards, reaching from 17.9 m to 84.2 m, while the other attributes showed pure nugget effect. The simple linear correlation among the plant attributes was high and positive, while among the plant and soil attributes it was low and significant, with positive interactions for macroporosity and total porosity, as well as negative for soil bulk density, in the first layer. The bulk density in the soil surface layer was an excellent indicator of soil physical quality, for the estimation of dry matter yield.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;KEY-WORDS: Spacial variability; macroporosity, microporosity, total porosity; bulk density.<br>&lt;p style="text-align: justify !important;"&gt;&lt;span style="color: #000000;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: xx-small;"&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;span lang="pt-BR"&gt;Os atributos físicos e a matéria orgânica do solo influenciam no crescimento e desenvolvimento vegetal, limitando o crescimento de raízes e a produtividade das culturas. Objetivando-se estudar a variabilidade espacial e correlações lineares entre a produtividade do sorgo forrageiro e os atributos físicos e matéria orgânica do solo, realizou-se um experimento em Latossolo Vermelho distroférrico, no município de Selvíria (MS), na safrinha de 2005. Para tanto, estimou-se a produtividade de matéria fresca e seca do sorgo forrageiro, a microporosidade, macroporosidade, porosidade total, densidade e teor de matéria orgânica do solo, em três profundidades (0,00-0,10 m; 0,10-0,20 m; e 0,20-0,30 m). As amostras foram coletadas em uma malha geoestatística, com total de 124 pontos, em área de 4.000 m2. As produtividades de matéria fresca e seca apresentaram elevada variabilidade, enquanto, para os atributos do solo, em geral, a variabilidade foi baixa. Os atributos da planta, a macroporosidade (nas primeiras camadas), microporosidade, porosidade total e densidade total, na primeira e terceira camadas, seguiram padrões espaciais bem definidos, com alcances estabelecidos entre 17,9 m e 84,2 m, enquanto os demais atributos apresentaram efeito pepita puro. A correlação linear simples entre os atributos da planta foi alta e positiva, enquanto, entre os atributos da planta com os do solo, foi baixa e significativa, com interações positivas para macroporosidade e porosidade total, bem como negativa para densidade do solo, na primeira camada. A densidade do solo, na menor profundidade, foi um excelente indicador da qualidade física do solo, para a estimativa da produtividade de matéria seca.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p class="western"&gt;&lt;span style="color: #000000;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: xx-small;"&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;span lang="pt-BR"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;PALAVRAS-CHAVES: Variabilidade espacial; macroporosidade; microporosidade; porosidade total; densidade do solo.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt

Correlação linear e espacial entre a produtividade e o teor de proteína bruta do guandu anão e os atributos de um Latossolo

With the use of no-till farming, the soil physical and chemical properties are constantly changed, directly reflecting on plant yield and composition. In 2006, in the municipality of Selvíria, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, the linear and spatial correlations between the plant attributes and the attributes of a Rhodic Hapludox were analyzed. The objective of this work was to select among the analyzed soil attributes the one that best explained the variability of agricultural yield. For this, the geostatistical grid was installed for the soil and plant collection in 124 sampling points in a 4,000 m 2 area. In the soil samples, collected at three depths (0-0.10 m, 0.20-0.30 m and 0.10-0.20 m), the microporosity, macroporosity, total porosity, bulk density and organic matter content were determined. In the plant, the yield (fresh and dry matter) and the crude protein content were determined. From the spatial viewpoint, there was a direct correlation between the dry matter yield and the soil organic matter content, as well as an inverse correlation between the crude protein content and the macroporosity and total porosity of soil. Therefore, the surface organic matter content behaved as a soil chemical quality indicator to estimate the dry matter yield of Cajanus cajan L. under the conditions of this research.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq

Fun&Co: identification of key functional differences in transcriptomes

Motivation: Microarray and other genome-wide technologies allow a global view of gene expression that can be used in several ways and whose potential has not been yet fully discovered. Functional insight into expression profiles is routinely obtained by using gene ontology terms associated to the cellular genes. In this article, we deal with functional data mining from expression profiles, proposing a novel approach that studies the correlations between genes and their relations to Gene Ontology (GO). We implemented this approach in a public web-based application named Fun&Co. By using Fun&Co, the user dissects in a pair-wise manner gene expression patterns and links correlated pairs to gene ontology terms. The proof of principle for our study was accomplished by dissecting molecular pathways in muscles. In particular, we identified specific cellular pathways by comparing the three different types of muscle in a pairwise fashion. In fact, we were interested in the specific molecular mechanisms regulating the cardiovascular system (cardiomyocytes and smooth muscle cells). Results: We applied here Fun&Co to the molecular study of cardiovascular system and the identification of the specific molecular pathways in heart, skeletal and smooth muscles (using 317 microarrays) and to reveal functional differences between the three different kinds of muscle cells

A New Liver Autotransplantation Technique Using Subnormothermic Machine Perfusion for Organ Preservation in a Porcine Model

Abstract: Background. Hepatic resection is the gold standard of therapy for primary and secondary liver tumors, but few patients are eligible for this procedure because of the extent of their neoplasms. Improvements in surgical experience of liver transplantation (OLT), hepatic resection and preservation with sub-normothermic machine perfusion (MP) have prompted the development of a new model of large animal autotransplantation. Methods. Landrace pigs were used in this experiment. After intubation, hepatectomy was performed according to the classic technique. The intrahepatic caval vein was replaced with a homologous tract of porcine thoracic aorta. The liver was perfused with hypothermic Celsior solution followed by MP at 20 degrees C with oxygenated Krebs solution. An hepatectomy was performed during the period of preservation, which lasted 120 minutes, then the liver was reimplanted into the same animal in a 90 degrees counterclockwise rotated position. The anastomoses were performed in the classic sequence. Samples of intravascular fluid, blood and liver biopsies were obtained at the end of the period of preservation in MP and again at 1 and 3 hours after liver reperfusion to evaluate graft function and microscopic damage. Results. All animals survived the procedure. The peak of aspartate aminotransferase was recorded 60 minutes after reperfusion and the peak of alanine aminotransferase and lactate dehydrogenase after 180 minutes. Histopathologic examination under the light microscope identified no necrosis or congestion. Intraoperative echo-color Doppler documented good patency of the anastomosis and normal venous drainage. Conclusion. This system made it possible to perform hepatic resections and vascular reconstructions ex situ while preserving the organ with mechanical perfusion (ex vivo, ex situ surgery). Improving surgical techniques regarding autotransplantation and our understanding of ischemia reperfusion damage may enable the development of interesting scenarios for aggressive surgical treatment or radiochemotherapy options to treat primary and secondary liver tumors unsuitable for conventional in situ surgery

Sorafenib for the treatment of recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma after liver transplantation?

Abstract BACKGROUND: There are scarce data on the use of sorafenib for the treatment of recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Ten patients were treated with sorafenib after OLT following the Italian Drug Agency guidelines: they had well-compensated liver function (Child-Pugh class A in the case of cirrhosis), intermediate-or advanced-stage HCC, good general condition (performance status 0), and not suitable for loco-regional therapies. Patients with HCC recurrence after OLT were treated with sorafenib (400 mg twice daily). Adverse events (AEs) were assessed using National Cancer Institute Common Toxicity Criteria of Adverse Events (NCI-CTCAE) v3.0 with tumor responses evaluated acording to modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Select Tumors) criteria. RESULTS: Median duration of treatment was 10 months (range, 2-18). Seven patients (70%) received an additionally targeted therapy with mTOR inhibitors as part of their immunosuppressive regimen. Most common grade 3 AEs included diarrhea (50%), hand-foot skin reaction (30%), and fatigue (20%). Sorafenib had to be discontinued in 3 patients (30%) due to AEs and 4 additional patients (40%) required a dose adjustment. No deterioration of liver graft function occurred. Three patients (30%) stopped treatment due to radiological progression of HCC, whereas 3 are still using the drug. Median time to progression was 8 months (range, 2-16). Median survival from start of therapy was 18 months (range, 4- 36). CONCLUSION: Our preliminary results suggest that sorafenib is a safe effective therapy for recurrent HCC after OLT