Long Term Variceal Sclerotherapy: Is Endoscopic Sclerosis a Unique Therapeutic Approach and a True Alternative to Surgery?

Endoscopic sclerotherapy has been used to control acute variceal haemorrhage which persists despite conservative therapy, prevent recurrent variceal haemorrhage in patients with a history of oesophageal haemorrhage, and to prevent a haemorrhage in patients with oesophageal varices who never bled

Fast selective trapping and release of picoliter droplets in a 3D microfluidic PDMS multi-trap system with bubbles

The selective manipulation and incubation of individual picoliter drops in high-throughput droplet based microfluidic devices still remains challenging. We used a surface acoustic wave (SAW) to induce a bubble in a 3D designed multi-trap polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) device to manipulate multiple droplets and demonstrate the selection, incubation and on-demand release of aqueous droplets from a continuous oil flow. By controlling the position of the acoustic actuation, individual droplets are addressed and selectively released from a droplet stream of 460 drops per s. A complete trapping and releasing cycle can be as short as 70 ms and has no upper limit for incubation time. We characterize the fluidic function of the hybrid device in terms of electric power, pulse duration and acoustic path

LLNL input to FY94 hydrogen annual report

This report summarizes the FY 1994 progress made in hydrogen research at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Research programs covered include: Technical and Economic Assessment of the Transport and Storage of Hydrogen; Research and Development of an Optimized Hydrogen-Fueled Internal Combustion Engine; Hydrogen Storage in Engineered Microspheres; Synthesis, Characterization and Modeling of Carbon Aerogels for Hydrogen Storage; Chemical Kinetic Modeling of H2 Applications; and, Municipal Solid Waste to Hydrogen

Proposed nomenclature for Pseudallescheria, Scedosporium and related genera

As a result of fundamental changes in the International Code of Nomenclature on the use of separate names for sexual and asexual stages of fungi, generic names of many groups should be reconsidered. Members of the ECMM/ISHAM working group on Pseudallescheria/Scedosporium infections herein advocate a novel nomenclature for genera and species in Pseudallescheria, Scedosporium and allied taxa. The generic names Parascedosporium, Lomentospora, Petriella, Petriellopsis, and Scedosporium are proposed for a lineage within Microascaceae with mostly Scedosporium anamorphs producing slimy, annellidic conidia. Considering that Scedosporium has priority over Pseudallescheria and that Scedosporium prolificans is phylogenetically distinct from the other Scedosporium species, some name changes are proposed. Pseudallescheria minutispora and Petriellidium desertorum are renamed as Scedosporium minutisporum and S. desertorum, respectively. Scedosporium prolificans is renamed as Lomentospora prolificans

Transcriptional and Proteomic Analysis of the Aspergillus fumigatus ΔprtT Protease-Deficient Mutant

Aspergillus fumigatus is the most common opportunistic mold pathogen of humans, infecting immunocompromised patients. The fungus invades the lungs and other organs, causing severe damage. Penetration of the pulmonary epithelium is a key step in the infectious process. A. fumigatus produces extracellular proteases to degrade the host structural barriers. The A. fumigatus transcription factor PrtT controls the expression of multiple secreted proteases. PrtT shows similarity to the fungal Gal4-type Zn(2)-Cys(6) DNA-binding domain of several transcription factors. In this work, we further investigate the function of this transcription factor by performing a transcriptional and a proteomic analysis of the ΔprtT mutant. Unexpectedly, microarray analysis revealed that in addition to the expected decrease in protease expression, expression of genes involved in iron uptake and ergosterol synthesis was dramatically decreased in the ΔprtT mutant. A second finding of interest is that deletion of prtT resulted in the upregulation of four secondary metabolite clusters, including genes for the biosynthesis of toxic pseurotin A. Proteomic analysis identified reduced levels of three secreted proteases (ALP1 protease, TppA, AFUA_2G01250) and increased levels of three secreted polysaccharide-degrading enzymes in the ΔprtT mutant possibly in response to its inability to derive sufficient nourishment from protein breakdown. This report highlights the complexity of gene regulation by PrtT, and suggests a potential novel link between the regulation of protease secretion and the control of iron uptake, ergosterol biosynthesis and secondary metabolite production in A. fumigatus

The European Hematology Association Roadmap for European Hematology Research. A Consensus Document

Abstract The European Hematology Association (EHA) Roadmap for European Hematology Research highlights major achievements in diagnosis and treatment of blood disorders and identifies the greatest unmet clinical and scientific needs in those areas to enable better funded, more focused European hematology research. Initiated by the EHA, around 300 experts contributed to the consensus document, which will help European policy makers, research funders, research organizations, researchers, and patient groups make better informed decisions on hematology research. It also aims to raise public awareness of the burden of blood disorders on European society, which purely in economic terms is estimated at Euro 23 billion per year, a level of cost that is not matched in current European hematology research funding. In recent decades, hematology research has improved our fundamental understanding of the biology of blood disorders, and has improved diagnostics and treatments, sometimes in revolutionary ways. This progress highlights the potential of focused basic research programs such as this EHA Roadmap. The EHA Roadmap identifies nine sections in hematology: normal hematopoiesis, malignant lymphoid and myeloid diseases, anemias and related diseases, platelet disorders, blood coagulation and hemostatic disorders, transfusion medicine, infections in hematology, and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. These sections span 60 smaller groups of diseases or disorders. The EHA Roadmap identifies priorities and needs across the field of hematology, including those to develop targeted therapies based on genomic profiling and chemical biology, to eradicate minimal residual malignant disease, and to develop cellular immunotherapies, combination treatments, gene therapies, hematopoietic stem cell treatments, and treatments that are better tolerated by elderly patients. Received December 15, 2015. Accepted January 27, 2016. Copyright © 2016, Ferrata Storti Foundatio

The European Hematology Association Roadmap for European Hematology Research: a consensus document

The European Hematology Association (EHA) Roadmap for European Hematology Research highlights major achievements in diagnosis and treatment of blood disorders and identifies the greatest unmet clinical and scientific needs in those areas to enable better funded, more focused European hematology research. Initiated by the EHA, around 300 experts contributed to the consensus document, which will help European policy makers, research funders, research organizations, researchers, and patient groups make better informed decisions on hematology research. It also aims to raise public awareness of the burden of blood disorders on European society, which purely in economic terms is estimated at €23 billion per year, a level of cost that is not matched in current European hematology research funding. In recent decades, hematology research has improved our fundamental understanding of the biology of blood disorders, and has improved diagnostics and treatments, sometimes in revolutionary ways. This progress highlights the potential of focused basic research programs such as this EHA Roadmap. The EHA Roadmap identifies nine ‘sections’ in hematology: normal hematopoiesis, malignant lymphoid and myeloid diseases, anemias and related diseases, platelet disorders, blood coagulation and hemostatic disorders, transfusion medicine, infections in hematology, and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. These sections span 60 smaller groups of diseases or disorders. The EHA Roadmap identifies priorities and needs across the field of hematology, including those to develop targeted therapies based on genomic profiling and chemical biology, to eradicate minimal residual malignant disease, and to develop cellular immunotherapies, combination treatments, gene therapies, hematopoietic stem cell treatments, and treatments that are better tolerated by elderly patients

Akustische Manipulation mikroskopischer Tropfen und Partikel

Diese Arbeit widmet sich verschiedenen Anwendungen von akustischen Oberflächenwellen (SAW) in der Mikrofluidik. Es wird die Visualisierung des Schallpfades einer solchen Welle, erzeugt durch einen digitalen Schallwandler (IDT), in einem dünnen Flüssigkeitsfilm gezeigt. Die einkoppelnde SAW verformt die Flüssigkeitsoberfläche. Diese Verformung führt zu einem optischen Kontrast. Die optische Sichtbarkeit des Schallpfades hängt von den physikalischen Eigenschaften der Flüssigkeit ab. Dieser Zusammenhang wird theoretisch untersucht und anhand verschiedener Flüssigkeiten experimentell belegt. Die Methode ermöglicht das einfache und schnelle Messen der Anisotropie und Schallgeschwindigkeit des piezoelektrischen Substrats, auf welchem die SAW propagiert. Darüber hinaus kann diese Technik zum Charakterisieren und Testen von verschiedenen IDT Designs verwendet werden und macht so andere teure und komplizierte Aufbauten überflüssig. Im Weiteren wird die kontrollierte Einkopplung einer SAW in einen PDMS Mikrokanal demonstriert. Der im Kanal von der SAW aktuierte Bereich und die Einkopplungsrichtung kann durch einen mehrschichtigen Polydimethylsiloxan (PDMS) Aufbau festgelegt werden. Zudem kann eine stehende, akustische Oberfläche (SSAW) mit nur einem einzelnen IDT realisiert und die Form der SSAW durch die Geometrie des Aufbaus bestimmt werden. Der im Mikrokanal von der SAW beeinflusste Bereich kann unabhängig von der IDT Geometrie kontrolliert werden. Diese Flexibilität wird durch die geringe Dämpfung und beliebige Ausrichtung der SAW und die Wiederverwendbarkeit des Aufbaus unterstrichen. Um die Möglichkeiten dieser neuen Technik zu demonstrieren, wird die Separation und die Ablenkung von Partikeln demonstriert. Die Ablenkungsdistanz ist im Gegensatz zu bereits publizierten Methoden unabhängig von der Wellenlänge und somit nicht mehr wie bisher auf ein Viertel der Wellenlänge beschränkt. Außerdem werden zwei mikrofluidische Tropfenfallen, wiederum durch mehrlagige Geometrien realisiert, untersucht. Das Fangen der Tropfen geschieht im ersten System aufgrund von den Druckverhältnissen, im zweiten System, mit fünf Fallen, kann das Einlesen der Fallen akustisch induziert werden. Das selektive Herausschieben eines Tropfens aus einer Falle wird durch einen kurzen SAW Puls realisiert. Die fünf Fallen im zweiten System können je nach Position der SAW gezielt angesprochen werden. Im System mit nur einer Falle reicht bereits eine Pulslänge von 2 ms zum Auslesen der Falle. Die benötigte Energie, zusammengesetzt aus Pulslänge und Leistung, wird in beiden Systemen gemessen und ein konstanter Wert für das erste System gefunden. Darüber hinaus wird die Abhängigkeit der Tropfengröße auf das System untersucht. Abschließend werden die Druckverhältnisse im Mikrokanal abgeschätzt und die im Experiment gefundene, benötigte Leistung mit einem einfachen theoretischen Modell verglichen