Diffuse Optical Imaging Using Decomposition Methods

Diffuse optical imaging (DOI) for detecting and locating targets in a highly scattering turbid medium is treated as a blind source separation (BSS) problem. Three matrix decomposition methods, independent component analysis (ICA), principal component analysis (PCA), and nonnegative matrix factorization (NMF) were used to study the DOI problem. The efficacy of resulting approaches was evaluated and compared using simulated and experimental data. Samples used in the experiments included Intralipid-10% or Intralipid-20% suspension in water as the medium with absorptive or scattering targets embedded

Optical biopsy identification and grading of gliomas using label-free visible resonance Raman spectroscopy.

Glioma is one of the most refractory types of brain tumor. Accurate tumor boundary identification and complete resection of the tumor are essential for glioma removal during brain surgery. We present a method based on visible resonance Raman (VRR) spectroscopy to identify glioma margins and grades. A set of diagnostic spectral biomarkers features are presented based on tissue composition changes revealed by VRR. The Raman spectra include molecular vibrational fingerprints of carotenoids, tryptophan, amide I/II/III, proteins, and lipids. These basic in situ spectral biomarkers are used to identify the tissue from the interface between brain cancer and normal tissue and to evaluate glioma grades. The VRR spectra are also analyzed using principal component analysis for dimension reduction and feature detection and support vector machine for classification. The cross-validated sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy are found to be 100%, 96.3%, and 99.6% to distinguish glioma tissues from normal brain tissues, respectively. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for the classification is about 1.0. The accuracies to distinguish normal, low grade (grades I and II), and high grade (grades III and IV) gliomas are found to be 96.3%, 53.7%, and 84.1% for the three groups, respectively, along with a total accuracy of 75.1%. A set of criteria for differentiating normal human brain tissues from normal control tissues is proposed and used to identify brain cancer margins, yielding a diagnostic sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 71%. Our study demonstrates the potential of VRR as a label-free optical molecular histopathology method used for in situ boundary line judgment for brain surgery in the margins

Over expression of Zmda1-1 gene increases seed mass of corn

Genetic engineering of seed size and increasing biomass in crop plants has an important significant contribution to the world. Arabidopsis DA1 is one of the key factors that negatively control seed and organ size by restricting the period of cell proliferation, and the mutant of Arabidopsis DA1, da1-1 (DA1R358K) can dramatically increase the size of seed. However, it is not clear whether overexpression of Zmda1-1, the mutant of ZmDA1 which is homology of DA1 in Arabidopsis, has the same biological effect as da1-1 in Arabidopsis. Therefore, in this study, the plant expression vector harboring both Zmda1-1 driven by the corn ubiquitin promoter and a PAT selectable marker gene driven by 35S CAMV promoter was constructed and introduced into maize inbred line ‘ji444’ using pollen-tube-pathway method. Screened with herbicide phosphinothricin (PPT), 22 seedlings of 2563 transformed samples survived, and 21 independence lines of which were positive in polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis, and the transformation rate of T0 generation was about 0.82%. Further PCR-southern blotting results proved that the Zmda1-1 had integrated into maize genome, and the Zmda1-1 had expression in low level by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis. The seed mass of transgenic maize increased at an average of 33.6% of empty vector control lines, and the harvest yield was increased by 23.6 to 114.1% in different lines than empty vector control lines. The result suggests that Zmda1-1 can be used to engineer higher harvest yield in crops plant, thus providing the first successful example of increasing the harvest yield of maize by transgenic technology.Key words: Transgenic maize, pollen-tube pathway, Zmda1-1, seed mass

Time reversal optical tomography: locating targets in a highly scattering turbid medium

A time reversal optical tomography (TROT) method for near-infrared (NIR) diffuse optical imaging of targets embedded in a highly scattering turbid medium is presented. TROT combines the basic symmetry of time reversal invariance and subspace-based signal processing for retrieval of target location. The efficacy of TROT is tested using simulated data and data obtained from NIR imaging experiments on absorptive and scattering targets embedded in Intralipid-20% suspension in water, as turbid medium. The results demonstrate the potential of TROT for detecting and locating small targets in a turbid medium, such as, breast tumors in early stages of growth

Investigation of Ni/SiO2 catalysts prepared at different conditions for hydrogen production from ethanol steam reforming

Ni/SiO2 catalysts prepared by a sol–gel method have been investigated for hydrogen production via steam reforming of ethanol using a continuous flow, fixed bed reactor system. Chemical equilibrium calculations were also performed to determine the effects of temperature and molar steam to carbon ratio on hydrogen production. The acidity of the preparation solution (modified by nitric acid and ammonia) and calcination atmosphere (air and N2) were investigated in the preparation of the catalysts. BET surface area and porosity, temperature-programmed oxidation (TPO), X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to characterise the prepared catalysts. The BET surface area was reduced when the solution acidity was lowered during the sol–gel preparation process. A pH value less than 2.0 was necessary to achieve high metal dispersion in the catalyst. Smaller NiO particles were obtained when the catalyst was calcined in N2. Material balances on ethanol steam reforming at 600 °C using the prepared Ni/SiO2 catalysts were determined, and higher hydrogen production with lower coke deposition on the reacted catalysts were also obtained from the catalysts calcined in N2 atmosphere

Application of eye‐tracking in nursing research: A scoping review

Abstract Aims To map the themes and methods of nursing researches involving eye‐tracking as a measurement, and offer suggestion for future nursing research using eye‐tracking. Design We conducted a scoping review following the methodology outlined in the JBI Manual for Evidence Synthesis on scoping reviews. Methods Eligibility criteria were established based on Population (involving nursing or nursing students), Concept (utilizing eye‐tracking as a research method), and Context (in any setting). Articles were retrieved from the PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, CINAHL, APA PsycInfo, and Scopus databases, spanning from database inception to November 17, 2023. The included studies were analysed using descriptive statistics and content analysis. Results After duplicates were removed, 815 citations were identified from searches of electronic databases and other resources, and 66 met the inclusion criteria finally. Thirty‐eight studies were conducted in a simulated environment. Five application domains were identified, and most of the studies (N = 50) were observational. The domains found in our review did not cover all topics of nursing research in the same depth. Additionally, 39 studies did not solely explicate eye‐tracking data but instead integrated behavioural measures, scales/questionnaires, or other physiological data. Conclusions Eye‐tracking emerges as a significant research tool in uncovering visual behaviour, particularly in nursing research focused on nursing education. This study not only summarized the application and interpretation of eye‐tracking data but also recognized its potential in advancing clinical nursing research and practice. To effectively harness the capabilities of eye‐tracking in elucidating cognitive processes, future research should aim for a clearer grasp of the theoretical underpinnings of the addressed research problems and methodological choices. It is crucial to emphasize the standardization of eye‐tracking method reporting and ensuring data quality. No Patient or Public Contribution

Influence of pasture or total mixed ration on fatty acid composition and expression of lipogenic genes of longissimus thoracis and subcutaneous adipose tissues in Albas White Cashmere Goats

The aim of this study was to evaluate pasture or total mixed ration (TMR) feeding of adult and kid Albas White Cashmere Goats (AWCG), considering the FA profiles and lipogenic gene expressions in the longissimus thoracis (LT) and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT). In the first trial, 60 adult female goats from Inner Mongolia White Cashmere Goat Breeding Farm were used. In the second trial, 60 AWCG castrated male kid goats from Inner Mongolia White Cashmere Goat Breeding Farm were used. FA was determined with gas chromatography, and gene expressions were analysed using qRT-PCR. In the first trial, the levels of C16:0, C18:0, C18:2n6c, ω-6/ω-3PUFA, ACC, FAS, SCD, SREBP-1c and C/EBPα were significantly higher, but the levels of C18:3n3, C20:5n3, C22:6n3, ω-3PUFA, PUFA and P/S as well as the genes expression of LPL, HSL and PPARγ were significantly lower in LT muscle and SAT from TMR-fed adult goats compared to pasture-fed adult goats. In the second trial, the TMR-fed kid goats had higher levels of C17:0, C18:0, C18:2n6c, MUFA, ω-6/ω-3, ACC, FAS, SCD and C/EBPα in LT muscle and SAT, but had lower levels of C18:3n3, C20:5n3, C22:6n3, ω-3PUFA, LPL, HSL and PPARγ than the pasture-fed kids. In addition, TMR feeding increased final body weight and average daily gain of adult female goats and kid goats