Monitoring of Cell Layer Integrity with a Current-Driven Organic Electrochemical Transistor

The integrity of CaCo-2 cell barriers is investigated by organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) in a current-driven configuration. Ion transport through cellular barriers via the paracellular pathway is modulated by tight junctions between adjacent cells. Rupturing its integrity by H2O2 is monitored by the change of the output voltage in the transfer characteristics. It is demonstrated that by operating the OECT in a current-driven configuration, the sensitive and temporal resolution for monitoring the cell barrier integrity is strongly enhanced as compared to the OECT transient response measurement. As a result, current-driven OECTs are useful tools to assess dynamic and critical changes in tight junctions, relevant for clinical applications as drug targeting and screening

Reflectivity of the dense xenon plasma

The investigation of optical properties of the dense xenon plasma is important for the realization of different technological applications [1-2]. In this work we consider the dense partially ionized xenon plasma consisting of the electrons, ions and atoms..

Rosacea and perioral dermatitis: a single‐center retrospective analysis of the clinical presentation of 1032 patients

Background Rosacea is a common chronic inflammatory cutaneous disorder affecting nearly 5.5 % of the adult population. Our aim was to evaluate the prevalence and epidemiology of rosacea and perioral dermatitis (POD) in an ambulatory care setting. Methods We retrospectively analyzed medical data of patients with a confirmed diagnosis of rosacea or perioral dermatitis (POD) presenting at our university hospital outpatient clinic during a 3‐year period. Results Out of 1032 patients, 81.5 % were diagnosed with rosacea and 18.5 % with POD. Overall prevalence was 1.4 % for rosacea and 0.3 % for POD. 69.3 % of the analyzed patients were female. Overall mean age was 49.3 ± 7.7 (1–92) years; the women’s average age was less than the men’s. Patients with POD were younger and predominantly female, whereas patients with phymatous rosacea were older and predominantly male. The most common phenotypes were papulopustular rosacea (68.4 %), erythematotelangiectatic rosacea (22.5 %), and phymatous rosacea (8.0 %). Special forms of rosacea were diagnosed in 15.8 % of the patients; the most frequent were ocular rosacea (6.9 %) and steroid‐induced rosacea (5.4 %). Conclusions The large patient cohort analyzed in our study provides a good estimate of the frequency of the rosacea subtypes, special forms and of perioral dermatitis in a hospital‐based outpatient care setting

Dielectric function of a two-component plasma including collisions

A multiple-moment approach to the dielectric function of a dense non-ideal plasma is treated beyond RPA including collisions in Born approximation. The results are compared with the perturbation expansion of the Kubo formula. Sum rules as well as Ward identities are considered. The relations to optical properties as well as to the dc electrical conductivity are pointed out.Comment: latex, 10 pages, 7 figures in ps forma

Reaction rates and transport in neutron stars

Understanding signals from neutron stars requires knowledge about the transport inside the star. We review the transport properties and the underlying reaction rates of dense hadronic and quark matter in the crust and the core of neutron stars and point out open problems and future directions.Comment: 74 pages; commissioned for the book "Physics and Astrophysics of Neutron Stars", NewCompStar COST Action MP1304; version 3: minor changes, references updated, overview graphic added in the introduction, improvements in Sec IV.A.

Gene expression profile of circulating tumor cells in breast cancer by RT-qPCR

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) have been associated with prognosis especially in breast cancer and have been proposed as a liquid biopsy for repeated follow up examinations. Molecular characterization of CTCs is difficult to address since they are very rare and the amount of available sample is very limited.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We quantified by RT-qPCR <it>CK-19, MAGE-A3, HER-2, TWIST1, hTERT α+β+</it>, and <it>mammaglobin </it>gene transcripts in immunomagnetically positively selected CTCs from 92 breast cancer patients, and 28 healthy individuals. We also compared our results with the CellSearch system in 33 of these patients with early breast cancer.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>RT-qPCR is highly sensitive and specific and can detect the expression of each individual gene at the one cell level. None of the genes tested was detected in the group of healthy donors. In 66 operable breast cancer patients, <it>CK-19 </it>was detected in 42.4%, <it>HER-2 </it>in 13.6%, <it>MAGE-A3 </it>in 21.2%, <it>hMAM </it>in 13.6%, <it>TWIST-1 </it>in 42.4%, and <it>hTERT α+β+ </it>in 10.2%. In 26 patients with verified metastasis, <it>CK-19 </it>was detected in 53.8%, <it>HER-2 </it>in 19.2%, <it>MAGE-A3 </it>in 15.4%, <it>hMAM </it>in 30.8%, <it>TWIST-1 </it>in 38.5% and <it>hTERT </it>α⁺β⁺in 19.2%. Our preliminary data on the comparison between RT-qPCR and CellSearch in 33 early breast cancer patients showed that RT-qPCR gives more positive results in respect to CellSearch.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Molecular characterization of CTCs has revealed a remarkable heterogeneity of gene expression between breast cancer patients. In a small percentage of patients, CTCs were positive for all six genes tested, while in some patients only one of these genes was expressed. The clinical significance of these findings in early breast cancer remains to be elucidated when the clinical outcome for these patients is known.</p