Deep tissue space-gated microscopy via acousto-optic interaction

© 2020, The Author(s).To extend the imaging depth of high-resolution optical microscopy, various gating operations—confocal, coherence, and polarization gating—have been devised to filter out the multiply scattered wave. However, the imaging depth is still limited by the multiply scattered wave that bypasses the existing gating operations. Here, we present a space gating method, whose mechanism is independent of the existing methods and yet effective enough to complement them. Specifically, we reconstruct an image only using the ballistic wave that is acousto-optically modulated at the object plane. The space gating suppresses the multiply scattered wave by 10–100 times in a highly scattering medium, and thus enables visualization of the skeletal muscle fibers in whole-body zebrafish at 30 days post fertilization. The space gating will be an important addition to optical-resolution microscopy for achieving the ultimate imaging depth set by the detection limit of ballistic wav

Traffic Convexity Aware Cellular Networks: A Vehicular Heavy User Perspective

Rampant mobile traffic increase in modern cellular networks is mostly caused by large-sized multimedia contents. Recent advancements in smart devices as well as radio access technologies promote the consumption of bulky content, even for people in moving vehicles, referred to as vehicular heavy users. In this article the emergence of vehicular heavy user traffic is observed by field experiments conducted in 2012 and 2015 in Seoul, Korea. The experiments reveal that such traffic is becoming dominant, captured by the 8.62 times increase in vehicular heavy user traffic while the total traffic increased 3.04 times. To resolve this so-called vehicular heavy user problem (VHP), we propose a cell association algorithm that exploits user demand diversity for different velocities. This user traffic pattern is discovered first by our field trials, which is convex-shaped over velocity, i.e. walking user traffic is less than stationary or vehicular user traffic. As the VHP becomes severe, numerical evaluation verifies the proposed user convexity aware association outperforms a well-known load balancing association in practice, cell range expansion (CRE). In addition to the cell association, several complementary techniques are suggested in line with the technical trend toward 5G.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures, 1 table, to appear in IEEE Wireless Communications Magazin

Reorganization of Photoreceptor Layer on Optical Coherence Tomography Concurrent with Visual Improvement after Macular Hole Surgery

To report three cases in which reorganization of the photoreceptor layer on optical coherence tomography (OCT) was concurrent with long-term visual recovery after macular hole surgery. Serial OCT scans of three eyes in which visual acuity continued to improve for 1 or more years after successful macular hole surgery were reviewed. Case 1. At postoperative four weeks, visual acuity was 20/100 with disorganized photoreceptor layer on OCT. The photoreceptor layer had been reorganized and visual acuity had improved to 20/25 by 1 year. Case 2. Two weeks after the operation, visual acuity was 20/125 and disorganization of the photoreceptor layer was noted. Visual acuity improved to 20/50 by four months. The photoreceptor layer had been partly reorganized and had appearance of a broken line. Visual acuity had improved to 20/40 and the photoreceptor layer had been reorganized further with a residual defect on OCT by 15 months. Case 3. Visual acuity at two weeks was 20/100. OCT revealed disorganization of the photoreceptor layer. Six months after the operation, the partly reorganized photoreceptor layer appeared as a broken line and visual acuity had reached 20/80. Visual acuity had improved further to 20/40 by 1 year, concurrent with improved organization of the photoreceptor layer. The reorganization of the photoreceptor layer plays a part in long-term improvement of visual acuity after macular hole surgery

Artificial intelligence-driven new drug discovery targeting serine/threonine kinase 33 for cancer treatment

Background Artificial intelligence (AI) is capable of integrating a large amount of related information to predict therapeutic relationships such as disease treatment with known drugs, gene expression, and drug-target binding. AI has gained increasing attention as a promising tool for next-generation drug development. Methods An AI method was used for drug repurposing and target identification for cancer. Among 8 survived candidates after background checking, N-(1-propyl-1H-1,3-benzodiazol-2-yl)-3-(pyrrolidine-1-sulfonyl) benzamide (Z29077885) was newly selected as an new anti-cancer drug, and the anti-cancer efficacy of Z29077885 was confirmed using cell viability, western blot, cell cycle, apoptosis assay in MDA-MB 231 and A549 in vitro. Then, anti-tumor efficacy of Z29077885 was validated in an in vivo A549 xenograft in BALB/c nude mice. Results First, we discovered an antiviral agent, Z29077885, as a new anticancer drug candidate using the AI deep learning method. Next, we demonstrated that Z29077885 inhibits Serine/threonine kinase 33 (STK33) enzymatic function in vitro and showed the anticancer efficacy in various cancer cells. Then, we found enhanced apoptosis via S-phase cell cycle arrest as the mechanism underlying the anticancer efficacy of Z29077885 in both lung and breast cancer cells. Finally, we confirmed the anti-tumor efficacy of Z29077885 in an in vivo A549 xenograft. Conclusions In this study, we used an AI-driven screening strategy to find a novel anticancer medication targeting STK33 that triggers cancer cell apoptosis and cell cycle arrest at the s phase. It will pave a way to efficiently discover new anticancer drugs.This work was supported and funded by Standigm Inc. This work was also supported in part by National Research Foundation (NRF) funded by Korean government (MIST) (No. RS-2023-00208795 and No. RS-2023-00260529 to S.J.O

Correlation of long interspersed element-1 open reading frame 1 and c-Met proto-oncogene protein expression in primary and recurrent colorectal cancers

Background Colorectal cancer is one of the most common cancers worldwide. Colorectal cancer that has recurred and metastasized to other organs also has a very poor prognosis. According to recent studies, the long interspersed element-1 (LINE-1) retrotransposon open reading frame (ORF) is located in the intron of the c-Met proto-oncogene, which is involved in cancer progression and metastasis, and regulates its expression. However, no study has compared the expression patterns of LINE-1 ORF1 and c-Met, which are closely related to cancer progression and metastasis, and their correlation in primary and recurrent cancers. Methods In the present study, we compared the expression patterns of LINE-1 ORF1 and c-Met in both primary and recurrent colorectal cancer tissues from 10 patients. Expression patterns and correlations between LINE-1 ORF1 and c-Met proto-oncogene proteins were analyzed by immunofluorescence staining using both LINE-1 ORF1 and c-Met antibodies. Results The expression patterns of LINE-1 ORF1 and c-Met showed significant individual differences, and the expression of both proteins was correlated in all colorectal cancer patients. However, the expression levels of LINE-1 ORF1 and c-Met were not significantly different between primary and recurrent colorectal cancers. Conclusions The protein expression levels of LINE-1 ORF1 and c-Met were correlated, but did not change significantly in cases of recurrent colorectal cancer in the same patient

Lingual Squamous Cell Carcinoma Surrounded by Granular Cell Tumor

The granular cell tumor (GCT) is an uncommon, benign lesion with a preference for subcutaneous sites. In the head and neck, the tongue is the most common site, followed by the larynx. We experienced a case of a 27-year-old woman with lingual squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) surrounded by GCT. The pathological findings established that the lesion was SCC covered by GCT in the midline of the tongue. The size of the mass was very small, however, so we excised it in a diamond shape. There is an interesting association between GCTs and other malignant neoplasms. However, no causal relationship between GCT and these other carcinomas has been established. Here we report on an SCC coexisting with GCT at the same site as a median tongue lesion and review the literature

Optical Sensing Method for Screening Disease in Melon Seeds by Using Optical Coherence Tomography

We report a noble optical sensing method to diagnose seed abnormalities using optical coherence tomography (OCT). Melon seeds infected with Cucumber green mottle mosaic virus (CGMMV) were scanned by OCT. The cross-sectional sensed area of the abnormal seeds showed an additional subsurface layer under the surface which is not found in normal seeds. The presence of CGMMV in the sample was examined by a blind test (n = 140) and compared by the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. The abnormal layers (n = 40) were quantitatively investigated using A-scan sensing analysis and statistical method. By utilizing 3D OCT image reconstruction, we confirmed the distinctive layers on the whole seeds. These results show that OCT with the proposed data processing method can systemically pick up morphological modification induced by viral infection in seeds, and, furthermore, OCT can play an important role in automatic screening of viral infections in seeds