NOTES ON FOOD, GROWTH AND REPRODUCTION OF HOMALOPTERA AMPHISQUAMA TA (WEBER and DE BEAUFORT), (BALlTORIDAE) FROM ALAS RIVER, ACEH, SUMATRA ISLAND

Approximately 253 specimens of freshwater fish Homalopteraamphisguamata (Weber and de Beaufort) were collected during dry and rainy seasons from the upper reached of Alas river, Sumatra island in 1981-1983. Their food, growth and reproduction were studied. Phytoplanktonic algae, especially Bacillariophyceae and small aquatic insects are their food preference. The growth pattern was different between sex, that is allometric for the male and isometric for the female.Relatively, there is no difference of condition factor between sex (0.850 for the male and 0.848 for the female). However, tne'vaiues were different between seasons. The mixed value in average was around 0.934 in rainy season and around 0.775 in dry season. Total fecundity highly varied from 63 up to 470 or 93 in average. The bigger size of the fish tended to show higher fecundity value. The percentage number of matured gonads during the rainy season was 8.89-22.55 % and in dry season was 8.21-18.33%. The diameter of matured eggs was around 2.01 mm in average

Fiber optic photoacoustic probe with ultrasonic tracking for guiding minimally invasive procedures

In a wide range of clinical procedures, accurate placement of medical devices such as needles and catheters is critical to optimize patient outcomes. Ultrasound imaging is often used to guide minimally invasive procedures, as it can provide real-time visualization of patient anatomy and medical devices. However, this modality can provide low image contrast for soft tissues, and poor visualization of medical devices that are steeply angled with respect to the incoming ultrasound beams. Photoacoustic sensors can provide information about the spatial distributions of tissue chromophores that could be valuable for guiding minimally invasive procedures. In this study, a system for guiding minimally invasive procedures using photoacoustic sensing was developed. This system included a miniature photoacoustic probe with three optical fibers: one with a bare end for photoacoustic excitation of tissue, a second for photoacoustic excitation of an optically absorbing coating at the distal end to transmit ultrasound, and a third with a Fabry-Perot cavity at the distal end for receiving ultrasound. The position of the photoacoustic probe was determined with ultrasonic tracking, which involved transmitting pulses from a linear-array ultrasound imaging probe at the tissue surface, and receiving them with the fiber-optic ultrasound receiver in the photoacoustic probe. The axial resolution of photoacoustic sensing was better than 70 μm, and the tracking accuracy was better than 1 mm in both axial and lateral dimensions. By translating the photoacoustic probe, depth scans were obtained from different spatial positions, and two-dimensional images were reconstructed using a frequency-domain algorithm

Music-of-Light Stethoscope: A Demonstration of the Photoacoustic Effect

In this paper we present a system aimed at demonstrating the photoacoustic (PA) effect for educational purposes. PA imaging is a hybrid imaging modality that requires no contrast agent and has a great potential for spine and brain lesion characterisation, breast cancer and blood flow monitoring notably in the context of fetal surgery. It relies on combining light excitation with ultrasound reception. Our brief was to present and explain PA imaging in a public-friendly way suitable for a variety of ages and backgrounds. We developed a simple, accessible demonstration unit using readily available materials. We used a modulated light emitting diode (LED) torch and an electronic stethoscope. The output of a music player was used for light modulation and the chest piece of the stethoscope covered by a black tape was used as an absorbing target and an enclosed chamber. This demonstration unit was presented to the public at the Bloomsbury Festival On Light in October 2015. Our stall was visited by over 100 people of varying ages. Twenty families returned in-depth evaluation questionnaires, which show that our explanations of the photoacoustic effect were well understood. Their interest in biomedical engineering was increased

How does conformational flexibility influence key structural features involved in activation of anaplastic lymphoma kinase?

Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase (ALK) plays a major role in developing tumor processes and therefore has emerged as a validated therapeutic target. Applying atomistic molecular dynamics simulations on the wild type enzyme and the nine most frequently occurring and clinically important activation mutants we revealed important conformational effects on key interactions responsible for the activation of the enzyme

Disulfonated tetraphenyl chlorin (TPCS2a)–induced photochemical internalisation of bleomycin in patients with solid malignancies: A first-in-man phase I dose escalation clinical trial

BACKGROUND: Photochemical internalisation, a novel minimally invasive treatment, has shown promising preclinical results in enhancing and site-directing the effect of anticancer drugs by illumination, which initiates localised chemotherapy release. We assessed the safety and tolerability of a newly developed photosensitiser, disulfonated tetraphenyl chlorin (TPCS2a), in mediating photochemical internalisation of bleomycin in patients with advanced and recurrent solid malignancies. METHODS: In this phase 1, dose-escalation, first-in-man trial, we recruited patients (aged ≥18 to <85 years) with local recurrent, advanced, or metastatic cutaneous or subcutaneous malignancies who were clinically assessed as eligible for bleomycin chemotherapy from a single centre in the UK. Patients were given TPCS2a on day 0 by slow intravenous injection, followed by a fixed dose of 15 000 IU/m2 bleomycin by intravenous infusion on day 4. After 3 h, the surface of the target tumour was illuminated with 652 nm laser light (fixed at 60 J/cm2). The TPCS2a starting dose was 0·25 mg/kg and was then escalated in successive dose cohorts of three patients (0·5, 1·0, and 1·5 mg/kg). The primary endpoints were safety and tolerability of TPCS2a; other co-primary endpoints were dose-limiting toxicity and maximum tolerated dose. The primary analysis was per protocol. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00993512, and has been completed. FINDINGS: Between Oct 3, 2009, and Jan 14, 2014, we recruited 22 patients into the trial. 12 patients completed the 3-month follow-up period. Adverse events related to photochemical internalisation were either local, resulting from the local inflammatory process, or systemic, mostly as a result of the skin-photosensitising effect of TPCS2a. The most common grade 3 or worse adverse events were unexpected higher transient pain response (grade 3) localised to the treatment site recorded in nine patients, and respiratory failure (grade 4) noted in two patients. One dose-limiting toxicity was reported in the 1·0 mg/kg cohort (skin photosensitivity [grade 2]). Dose-limiting toxicities were reported in two of three patients at a TPCS2a dose of 1·5 mg/kg (skin photosensitivity [grade 3] and wound infection [grade 3]); thus, the maximum tolerated dose of TPCS2a was 1·0 mg/kg. Administration of TPCS2a was found to be safe and tolerable by all patients. No deaths related to photochemical internalisation treatment occurred. INTERPRETATION: TPCS2a-mediated photochemical internalisation of bleomycin is safe and tolerable. We identified TPCS2a 0·25 mg/kg as the recommended treatment dose for future trials. FUNDING: PCI Biotech

Ultrasonic Needle Tracking with Dynamic Electronic Focusing

Accurate identification of the needle tip is a key challenge with ultrasound-guided percutaneous interventions in regional anaesthesia, foetal surgery and cardiovascular medicine. In this study, we developed an ultrasonic needle tracking system in which the measured needle tip location was used to set the electronic focus of the external ultrasound imaging probe. In this system, needle tip tracking was enabled with a fibre-optic ultrasound sensor that was integrated into a needle stylet, and the A-lines recorded by the sensor were processed to generate tracking images of the needle tip. The needle tip position was estimated from the tracking images. The dependency of the tracking image on the electronic focal depth of the external ultrasound imaging probe was studied in a water bath and with needle insertions into a clinical training phantom. The variability in the estimated tracked position of the needle tip, with the needle tip at fixed depths in the imaging plane across a depth range from 0.5 to 7.5 cm, was studied. When the electronic focus was fixed, the variability of tracked position was found to increase with distance from that focus. The variability with the fixed focus was found to depend on the the relative distance between the needle tip and focal depth. It was found that with dynamic focusing, the maximum variability of tracked position was below 0.31 mm, as compared with 3.97 mm for a fixed focus

EVALUASI KINERJA MORFOMETRIK IKAN BUBARA, CARANX IQNOBILIS PADA KERAMBA JARING APUNG DI PERAIRAN TELUK AMBON DALAM

Monitoring dan evaluasi kinerja morfometrik ikan kuwe, Caranx iqnobilis pada sistem akuakultur masih kurang dan terbatas. Padahal melalui studi ini dapat mengevaluasi kinerja produksi akuakultur dapat terpantau. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengevaluasi kinerja morfometrik ikan kuwe dalam sistem keramba jaring apung Penelitian ini berlangsung selama enam bulan dan bertempat di perairan teluk Ambon dalam. Analisis data dilakukan di Computational Biology Studio, MMSCE Universitas Pattmuar. Data morfometrik dilakukan secara digital menggunakan perangkat lunak Image-J. Analisis kinerja karakter menggunakan pendekatan kurva Bruri dan koefisien Bruri. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa proporsi karakter morfometrik ikan kuwe pada setiap lokasi budidaya di keramba jaring apung (KJA) dan yang dijadikan sebagai benchmarks berdasarkan rasio bobot tubuh, rasio panjang tubuh, dan rasio tinggi tubuh memiliki presentase karakter yang bervariasi. Kinerja morfometrik ikan Kuwe berdasarkan rasio bobot, panjang, dan tinggi tubuh masih menunjukkan kinerja yang baik namun memiliki keragaman yang bervariasi pada setiap populasi. Performa karakter morfometrik ikan kuwe pada setiap populasi berdasarkan kurva dan koefisien Bruri menunjukkan performa yang homogen atau merata pada setiap populasinya

Selectivity and functional diversity in arbuscular mycorrhizas of co-occurring fungi and plants from a temperate deciduous woodland

1 The arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi colonizing plants at a woodland site in North Yorkshire (UK) have been characterized from the roots of five plant species (Rubus fruticosus agg. L., Epilobium angustifolium L., Acer pseudoplatanus L., Ajuga reptans L. and Glechoma hederacea L.), and identified using small-subunit rRNA (SSUrRNA) gene amplification and sequencing. 2 Interactions between five plant species from the site and four co-occurring glomalean fungi were investigated in artificial one-to-one AM symbioses. Three of the fungi were isolated from the site; the fourth was a culture genetically similar to a taxon found at the site. Phosphorus uptake and growth responses were compared with non-mycorrhizal controls. 3 Individual fungi colonized each plant with different spatial distribution and intensity. Some did not colonize at all, indicating incompatibility under the conditions used in the experiments. 4 Glomus hoi consistently occupied a large proportion of root systems and outperformed the other fungi, improving P uptake and enhancing the growth of four out of the five plant species. Only G. hoi colonized and increased P uptake in Acer pseudoplatanus, the host plant with which it associates almost exclusively under field conditions. Colonization of all plant species by Scutellospora dipurpurescens was sparse, and beneficial to only one of the host plants (Teucrium scorodonia). Archaeospora trappei and Glomus sp. UY1225 had variable effects on the host plants, conferring a range of P uptake and growth benefits on Lysimachia nummularia and T. scorodonia, increasing P uptake whilst not affecting biomass in Ajuga reptans and Glechoma hederacea, and failing to form mycorrhizas with A. pseudoplatanus. 5 These experimental mycorrhizas show that root colonization, symbiont compatibility and plant performance vary with each fungus-plant combination, even when the plants and fungi naturally co-exist. 6 We provide evidence of physical and functional selectivity in AM. The small number of described AM fungal species (154) has been ascribed to their supposed lack of host specificity, but if the selectivity we have observed is the general rule, then we may predict that many more, probably hard-to-culture glomalean species await discovery, or that members of species as currently perceived may be physiologically or functionally distinct

The diastereoselective Meth-Cohn epoxidation of camphor-derived vinyl sulfones

Some camphor-derived vinyl sulfones bearing oxygen functionality at the allylic position have been synthesized and their nucleophilic epoxidation reactions under Meth-Cohn conditions have been explored. The γ-oxygenated camphor-derived vinyl sulfones underwent mildly diastereoselective nucleophilic epoxidation reactions, affording the derived sulfonyloxiranes in up to 5.8:1 dr. The observed diastereoselectivities were sensitive to the reaction conditions employed. In contrast, no stereoselectivity was observed in the nucleophilic epoxidation of the corresponding γ-oxygenated isobornyl vinyl sulfone. A tentative mechanism has been proposed to explain the origins of the diastereoselectivit