Neuro-Insular Complexes in the Human Pancreas

It is well known that pancreatic islets are complex structures composed of endodermally derived endocrine cells, integrated with endothelial cells and other cells, originating from the mesoderm, and innervated by nerve fibers that have a neuroectodermal origin. In our studies, we focused on the interactions between the structures of the nervous system and endocrine cells, the so-called neuro-insular complexes, in the human pancreas. In this chapter, we present our results and literature data concerning the morphological organization of neuro-insular complexes in humans and other mammals. We also discuss the possible functional role of neuro-insular complexes, such as the involvement of the nervous system in the regulation and synchronization of islet hormone secretion and the morphogenetic plasticity of the endocrine pancreas in adults, as well as in the regulation of endocrine cell proliferation and maturation during prenatal development of the pancreas

Development of Human Pancreatic Innervation

Human pancreatic innervation is of particular interest due to its possible role in the pathogenesis of such diseases as diabetes mellitus, pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer. Despite the clinical importance, data concerning pancreatic innervation during human ontogeny and in various disorders are very limited. In this chapter, we present a review on human pancreatic autonomic innervation on the basis of the literature data and our previous results. Special attention is paid to the innervation of the endocrine pancreas. Gradual branching of neural network was seen during human pancreatic development. Innervation of the foetal pancreas is more abundant than in adults. In agreement with previous observations, we have revealed a close integration and similarity between endocrine cells and nervous elements in the developing human pancreas. Moreover, simultaneous interactions between the nervous system components, epithelial cells and endocrine cells were detected in the pancreas during prenatal human development. It has been suggested that pancreatic innervation plays an important role not only in regulation of endocrine and exocrine activity but also in normal islet morphogenesis

Ontogeny of the Human Pancreas

Pancreatic disorders are the most common pathologies in humans worldwide. Detailed information on pancreatic cytoarchitecture, vascularisation, innervation, morphogenesis, and cell differentiation is required for the development of new approaches to the treatment of these diseases. Currently, the majority of studies on pancreas development are performed on experimental animals (mainly rodents). Studies on human pancreatic prenatal development are restricted in number by ethical constraints and some technical difficulties. However, interspecies differences in pancreatic structure and development are considerable. Therefore, data obtained in experiments on animals and cell cultures must be supplemented with information obtained directly from human pancreatic autopsies. In this chapter, we summarise our previous results and the literature data on human pancreatic ontogeny. Special attention has been paid to the endocrine pancreas, which undergoes morphogenetic restructuring during human development. Several forms of structural organisation of the endocrine pancreas (single endocrine cells, small clusters of endocrine cells, mantle, bipolar, and mosaic islets) gradually appear during development. It is important that this restructuring is accompanied by changes in the ratio of pancreatic endocrine cells. The mechanisms of these changes are still unclear. The difficulties in identifying progenitor cells and tracking cell differentiation are the main problems associated with this issue

Pulsed Corona Plasma Technology for Treating VOC Emissions from Pulp Mills

ABSTRACT Under the DOE Office of Industrial Technologies Forest Products program various plasma technologies were evaluated under project FWP 49885 "Experimental Assessment of Low-Temperature Plasma Technologies for Treating Volatile Organic Compound Emissions from Pulp Mills and Wood Products Plants". The heterogeneous pulsed corona discharge was chosen as the best non-equilibrium plasma technology for control of the vent emissions from HVLC Brownstock Washers. The technology for removal of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) from gas emissions with conditions typical of the exhausts of the paper industry by means of pulsed corona plasma techniques presented in this work. For the compounds of interest in this study (methanol, acetone, dimethyl sulfide and α -pinene), high removal efficiencies were obtained with power levels competitive with the present technologies for the VOCs removal. Laboratory experiments were made using installation with the average power up to 20 W. Pilot plant prepared for on-site test has average plasma power up to 6.4 kW. The model of the Pilot Plant operation is presented

Pulsed Corona Plasma Technology for Treating VOC Emissions from Pulp Mills

Under the DOE Office of Industrial Technologies Forest Products program various plasma technologies were evaluated under project FWP 49885 ''Experimental Assessment of Low-Temperature Plasma Technologies for Treating Volatile Organic Compound Emissions from Pulp Mills and Wood Products Plants''. The heterogeneous pulsed corona discharge was chosen as the best non-equilibrium plasma technology for control of the vent emissions from HVLC Brownstock Washers. The technology for removal of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) from gas emissions with conditions typical of the exhausts of the paper industry by means of pulsed corona plasma techniques presented in this work. For the compounds of interest in this study (methanol, acetone, dimethyl sulfide and ? -pinene), high removal efficiencies were obtained with power levels competitive with the present technologies for the VOCs removal. Laboratory experiments were made using installation with the average power up to 20 W. Pilot plant prepared for on-site test has average plasma power up to 6.4 kW. The model of the Pilot Plant operation is presented

Prospective investigation of applicability and the prognostic significance of bone marrow involvement in patients with neuroblastoma detected by quantitative reverse transcription PCR

Background: Detection of bone marrow (BM) involvement in patients with neuroblastoma is crucial for staging and defining prognosis. Furthermore, the persistence of residual tumor cells in the BM is associated with an unfavorable outcome. Methods: Expression of PHOX2B, TH, ELAVL4, and B4GALNT1 (GD2-synthase) was analyzed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction in neuroblastoma cell lines, control BM samples, and in BM samples from patients. The threshold level of expression for each gene was established through receiver operator characteristic analysis and used to determine the diagnostic test performance. The prognostic significance of BM involvement was assessed by survival rates calculations. The median of follow-up time was 36.1 months. Results: Neither PHOX2B nor TH expression was detected in control BM, while expression of ELAVL4 was found in 20 (76.9%) and GD2-synthase in 15 (57.7%) of 26 samples. The overall correct predictive value for TH, ELAVL4, and GD2-synthase, based on thresholds levels, was 0.952, 0.828, and 0.767, respectively, whereas the overall correct predictive value for PHOX2B was 0.994. The PHOX2B/TH expression in diagnostic BM of patients with neuroblastoma corresponded with a decreased survival rate (P  1.68 in the diagnostic BM samples demonstrated an adverse prognostic effect (P = 0.006). Persistence of PHOX2B/TH expression in the BM during and after induction chemotherapy resulted in dismal outcome (P = 0.022 and P = 0.012). Conclusion: PHOX2B and TH are the most optimal markers for detection of BM involvement, allowing identification of high-risk patients. Predominance of PHOX2B expression over TH has a strong adverse prognostic impact

Micro-morphology of pineal gland calcification in age-related neurodegenerative diseases

The formation of concrements in human pineal gland (PG) is a physiological process and, according to many researchers, is associated with the involution of PG structures. The majority of scientific publications concern progressive calcification of pineal gland (PG), leaving out studies on the destruction of already formed calcified concrements. Our study fills the gap in knowledge about calcified zones destruction in PG in normal agind and neuropathological conditions, that hasn't been addressed until now

Supplementary information files for On-chip phonon-magnon reservoir for neuromorphic computing

© the authors, CC-BY 4.0Supplementary files for article On-chip phonon-magnon reservoir for neuromorphic computingReservoir computing is a concept involving mapping signals onto a high-dimensional phase space of a dynamical system called “reservoir” for subsequent recognition by an artificial neural network. We implement this concept in a nanodevice consisting of a sandwich of a semiconductor phonon waveguide and a patterned ferromagnetic layer. A pulsed write-laser encodes input signals into propagating phonon wavepackets, interacting with ferromagnetic magnons. The second laser reads the output signal reflecting a phase-sensitive mix of phonon and magnon modes, whose content is highly sensitive to the write- and read-laser positions. The reservoir efficiently separates the visual shapes drawn by the write-laser beam on the nanodevice surface in an area with a size comparable to a single pixel of a modern digital camera. Our finding suggests the phonon-magnon interaction as a promising hardware basis for realizing on-chip reservoir computing in future neuromorphic architectures.</p

On-chip phonon-magnon reservoir for neuromorphic computing

Reservoir computing is a concept involving mapping signals onto a high-dimensional phase space of a dynamical system called “reservoir” for subsequent recognition by an artificial neural network. We implement this concept in a nanodevice consisting of a sandwich of a semiconductor phonon waveguide and a patterned ferromagnetic layer. A pulsed write-laser encodes input signals into propagating phonon wavepackets, interacting with ferromagnetic magnons. The second laser reads the output signal reflecting a phase-sensitive mix of phonon and magnon modes, whose content is highly sensitive to the write- and read-laser positions. The reservoir efficiently separates the visual shapes drawn by the write-laser beam on the nanodevice surface in an area with a size comparable to a single pixel of a modern digital camera. Our finding suggests the phonon-magnon interaction as a promising hardware basis for realizing on-chip reservoir computing in future neuromorphic architectures.</p