NDE of Metal Surface Breaking Cracks Under Adhesive Coating

Initiation and propagation of surface breaking cracks is a major factor limiting life of many engineering structures [1]. A significant effort has been expended towards developing non-destructive methods to detect and size surface breaking cracks [2]–[5]. Due to their high sensitivity ultrasonic and eddy current methods are the two most widely used in practical inspections. For example, surface acoustic wave is capable of detecting a 50¼m deep semicircular crack [4, 5]. About the same size cracks can be detected by eddy current method in a number of conducting materials

The diagnostic role of glycosaminoglycans in pleural effusions: A pilot study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Pleural effusions are classified into transudates and exudates. Various criteria have been used with Light's et al being the most accepted ones. Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) have been detected during pleural fluids (PF) analysis in various causes. In this pilot study, we investigated: (a) the usefulness of GAGs in the assessment of pleural effusions, and (b) whether and in what way GAGs correlate with established criteria used to indicate an exudate.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>LDH, total protein, cholesterol and GAG levels were measured in pleural fluid and serum from 50 patients with pleural effusion. GAG levels were defined by the photometric method of Hata. The discriminative properties of pleural GAGs (pGAG), pleural fluid/serum GAG ratio (GAGR), serum GAGs (sGAG) and serum LDH (sLDH) were explored with ROC analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>According to ROC analysis, pGAG and GAGR exhibited satisfactory discriminative properties in the separation of pleural effusions. For GAGR, at a 1.1 cut off point, sensitivity and specificity reached 75.6%; 95%CI: 60.5–87.1 and 100%; 95%CI: 47.8–100, respectively. For pGAG at a cut off value of 8.4 μg/ml, these percentages changed to 86.7%; 95%CI: 73.2–94.9 and 100%; 95%CI: 47.8–100. The study also revealed the differential role of sGAG between malignancies and benign cases, scoring 68.8%; 95%CI: 50.0–83.9 for sensitivity, and 84.6%; 95%CI: 54.5–97.6 for specificity at a 7.8 μg/ml cut off.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results suggest that glycosaminoglycan measurement of both serum and pleural effusions could be useful for simultaneous differentiation of exudates from transudates, and of malignant from benign exudates.</p

Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH): relation to vertebral fractures and bone density

UnlabelledRadiographs and spinal bone mineral density (BMD) were evaluated from 342 elderly men regarding possible effects of diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) on vertebral fractures and densitometry measurements. Prevalent vertebral fractures were more frequent among men with DISH compared to men with no DISH even after fracture prevalence was adjusted for BMD. Paravertebral calcifications should be considered in patients with DISH when interpreting BMD measurements because both dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and quantitative CT (QCT) densitometry may not be reliable.IntroductionThe purpose of this study is to evaluate the prevalence of DISH in older men and its association with vertebral fractures and with BMD determined by DXA and QCT.MethodsLateral radiographs of the spine were analyzed in a sample of 342 men aged ≥ 65 years participating in the MrOS Study concerning the presence and grade of DISH and vertebral fractures. Lumbar BMD was measured by both DXA (areal, grams per square centimeter) and QCT (volumetric, grams per cubic centimeter). The association between DISH, BMD, and presence of fractures was studied using χ ( 2 ) and t tests.ResultsDISH was present in 52% (178/342) of the men. Men with DISH were older (mean, 75.1 vs 73.3, p &lt; 0.05) and more likely to have prevalent fractures (28% vs 20%, p &lt; p = 0.09). BMD assessed with DXA (1.08 vs 1.00 g/cm(2), p ≤ 0.0001), but not with QCT (0.11 vs 0.11 g/cm3, p = 0.65), was significantly higher in men with DISH compared to men without DISH. Significantly lower BMD of men with both DISH and fractures compared to men with DISH but without fractures was only detected by QCT (-25%, 0.09 vs 0.12, p &lt; 0.05). Both DXA BMD and QCT BMD were significantly higher in severe lumbar DISH (+22% and +31%, p &lt; 0.0001), respectively.ConclusionDISH was associated with a higher prevalence of vertebral fractures in elderly men. Lumbar ossifications related to DISH should be considered when interpreting BMD measurements to predict their fracture risk

Recent Progress in the Use of Glucagon and Glucagon Receptor Antagonists in the Treatment of Diabetes Mellitus

Glucagon is an important pancreatic hormone, released into blood circulation by alpha cells of the islet of Langerhans. Glucagon induces gluconeogenesis and glycogenolysis in hepatocytes, leading to an increase in hepatic glucose production and subsequently hyperglycemia in susceptible individuals. Hyperglucagonemia is a constant feature in patients with T2DM. A number of bioactive agents that can block glucagon receptor have been identified. These glucagon receptor antagonists can reduce the hyperglycemia associated with exogenous glucagon administration in normal as well as diabetic subjects. Glucagon receptor antagonists include isoserine and beta-alanine derivatives, bicyclic 19-residue peptide BI-32169, Des-His1-[Glu9] glucagon amide and related compounds, 5-hydroxyalkyl-4-phenylpyridines, N-[3-cano-6- (1,1 dimethylpropyl)-4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-1-benzothien-2-yl]-2-ethylbutamide, Skyrin and NNC 250926. The absorption, dosage, catabolism, excretion and medicinal chemistry of these agents are the subject of this review. It emphasizes the role of glucagon in glucose homeostasis and how it could be applied as a novel tool for the management of diabetes mellitus by blocking its receptors with either monoclonal antibodies, peptide and non-peptide antagonists or gene knockout techniques

Defining the Sister Rat Mammary Tumor Cell Lines HH-16 cl.2/1 and HH-16.cl.4 as an In Vitro Cell Model for Erbb2

Cancer cell lines have been shown to be reliable tools in genetic studies of breast cancer, and the characterization of these lines indicates that they are good models for studying the biological mechanisms underlying this disease. Here, we describe the molecular cytogenetic/genetic characterization of two sister rat mammary tumor cell lines, HH-16 cl.2/1 and HH-16.cl.4, for the first time. Molecular cytogenetic analysis using rat and mouse chromosome paint probes and BAC/PAC clones allowed the characterization of clonal chromosome rearrangements; moreover, this strategy assisted in revealing detected breakpoint regions and complex chromosome rearrangements. This comprehensive cytogenetic analysis revealed an increase in the number of copies of the Mycn and Erbb2 genes in the investigated cell lines. To analyze its possible correlation with expression changes, relative RNA expression was assessed by real-time reverse transcription quantitative PCR and RNA FISH. Erbb2 was found to be overexpressed in HH-16.cl.4, but not in the sister cell line HH-16 cl.2/1, even though these lines share the same initial genetic environment. Moreover, the relative expression of Erbb2 decreased after global genome demethylation in the HH-16.cl.4 cell line. As these cell lines are commercially available and have been used in previous studies, the present detailed characterization improves their value as an in vitro cell model. We believe that the development of appropriate in vitro cell models for breast cancer is of crucial importance for revealing the genetic and cellular pathways underlying this neoplasy and for employing them as experimental tools to assist in the generation of new biotherapies

Pseudoneoplastic lesions of the testis and paratesticular structures

Pseudotumors or tumor-like proliferations (non-neoplastic masses) and benign mimickers (non-neoplastic cellular proliferations) are rare in the testis and paratesticular structures. Clinically, these lesions (cysts, ectopic tissues, and vascular, inflammatory, or hyperplastic lesions) are of great interest for the reason that, because of the topography, they may be relevant as differential diagnoses. The purpose of this paper is to present an overview of the pseudoneoplasic entities arising in the testis and paratesticular structures; emphasis is placed on how the practicing pathologist may distinguish benign mimickers and pseudotumors from true neoplasia. These lesions can be classified as macroscopic or microscopic mimickers of neoplasia