Study of acetowhitening method to distinguish normal and cancerous tissue at cellular level

A time-resolved 3-channel data acquisition system is designed to study the temporal characteristics of acetowhitening at cellular level. Both normal and cancerous cells from the ectocervical tissue are studied and the intensity of the backscattering light from the monolayer cells is recorded and analyzed. It is found that the intensity decay courses of normal and cancerous cells are quite different in the line shape. Double-exponential decay model is used to fit the curves and the calculated time constant is used to quantitatively distinguish the normal and cancerous cells. The time constant of cancerous cells is longer than that of normal cells when the same concentration of acetic acid is used. The study shows the potential of this method to distinguish normal and cancerous tissues from the decay course of acetowhitening. The quantification of the acetowhitening effect could be potentially used for the objective detection of neoplastic lesions at cervical tissue

Depth-resolved fluorescence of human ectocervical tissue

The depth-resolved autofluorescence of normal and dysplastic human ectocervical tissue within 120um depth were investigated utilizing a portable confocal fluorescence spectroscopy with the excitations at 355nm and 457nm. From the topmost keratinizing layer of all ectocervical tissue samples, strong keratin fluorescence with the spectral characteristics similar to collagen was observed, which created serious interference in seeking the correlation between tissue fluorescence and tissue pathology. While from the underlying non-keratinizing epithelial layer, the measured NADH fluorescence induced by 355nm excitation and FAD fluorescence induced by 457nm excitation were strongly correlated to the tissue pathology. The ratios between NADH over FAD fluorescence increased statistically in the CIN epithelial relative to the normal and HPV epithelia, which indicated increased metabolic activity in precancerous tissue. This study demonstrates that the depth-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy can reveal fine structural information on epithelial tissue and potentially provide more accurate diagnostic information for determining tissue pathology

How variation in management perceptions affects organizational performance

Multiple respondents, Variation, Organizational performance, Management perception,

Research article: Coastal flood-risk management practice in tai o, a town in Hong Kong

Coastal megadeltas in Asia have emerged rapidly; their megacities are particularly stressed by urbanization and rapid population growth. In the Pearl River Delta, towns in coastal megacities, such as Hong Kong, experience severe land shortage, which has led to the installation of essential infrastructure in flood-prone areas. Floods from the storm surge of two recent storms, Typhoons Hagupit and Koppu in 2008 and 2009, respectively, damaged over 100 properties in the Tai O, Hong Kong. Although projected sea-level rise and frequent storms pose a serious threat for the foreseeable future, flood management is inadequately understood by the various stakeholders in Tai O. Based on interviews of 22 stakeholders related to flood-risk management in Tai O, this article highlights the similarities and differences in the prevailing perceptions of coastal flood management practices. In addition, the report highlights the need for urgent attention so as to establish an integrated coastal flood-risk management strategy that will involve all stakeholders in mitigating the emerging flood vulnerability of the coastal communities. © 2013 National Association of Environmental Professionals