Effective elimination of laser interference fringing in fluorescence microscopy by spinning azimuthal incidence angle

Laser illumination used in both conventional widefield epi-fluorescence as well as in total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy is subject to nonuniformities in intensity that obscure true image details. These intensity variations are interference fringes arising from coherent light scattering and diffraction at every surface in the laser light's optical path, including the lenses, mirrors, and coverslip. We present an inexpensive technique for effectively eliminating these interference fringes based upon introduction of the excitation laser beam by oblique through-the-objective incidence coupled with rapid azimuthal rotation of the plane of incidence. Although this rotation can be accomplished in several ways, a particularly simple method applicable to a free laser beam is to use an optical wedge, spun on a motor, which diverts the beam into a hollow cone of fixed angle. A system of lenses converts this collimated beam cone into a focused spot that traces a circle at the objective's back focal plane. Consequently, a collimated beam with fixed polar angle and spinning azimuthal angle illuminates the sample. If the wedge is spun rapidly, then the different interference patterns at every particular azimuthal incidence angle average out over a single camera exposure to produce an effectively uniform field of illumination. Microsc. Res. Tech., 2006. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/55799/1/20334_ftp.pd

Comorbidities and side effects of the imunomodulatory treatment in multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis is a demyelinating, neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system, that affects the young adult and is associated with a high degree of disability. Physical and mental comorbidity and adverse health behaviors are common in patients with MS. Comorbidities and health behaviors are associated with adverse outcomes in MS and should be considered in the assessment and management of patients with MS. We have studied a group of 150 MS patients treated with immunomodulators inside the Romanian national MS treatment programme. The patients we analysed corresponded to the available literature in matters or number, age and sex. We searched for associated pathology and side effects of the treatment. After selecting and statistically analyzing the data we concluded that dyslipidemia was the most common comorbidity, followed by hyperglicemia and vertebral hernia. The presence or not of a comorbidity before the treatment does not relate to the EDSS score (

Laser Ablation for Gliomas

Laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT) is a novel minimally invasive neurosurgical procedure in which laser light is delivered through a stereotactically positioned probe to an intracranial lesion for controlled thermal ablation of the pathological tissue. LITT is considered for patients who are poor candidates for open surgical resection due to (1) location of lesion (e.g., deep-seated or near critical structures), (2) history of intracranial interventions or medical comorbidities that increase surgical risk, or (3) lesion refractoriness to prior conventional therapies. The use of LITT was initially limited by concerns over off-target thermal damage; however, recent advances in magnetic resonance imaging-based thermal imaging have enabled real-time monitoring of tissue ablation dynamics, thereby improving its safety profile. Accordingly, the past two decades have seen a rapid expansion in the use of LITT for a variety of intracranial pathologies, including neoplasms, radiation necrosis, and epilepsy. This chapter focuses on the novel application of LITT to both newly diagnosed and recurrent glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). We first review the technological developments that enabled the safe use of LITT for GBM. We then review recent evidence regarding the indications, outcomes, and limitations of LITT as a novel adjuvant treatment for GBM

Rediscovering the cardiorenal syndrome: from theory to practice

Cardiorenal syndrome (CRS) is a state of advanced involvement that occurs between the heart and the kidneys, with both organs being affected by multiple causes, either secondary to a systemic pathology, or the dysfunction of one of these organs causing dysfunction on the other, acutely or chronically. Typically, there are five different types with different pathophysiology, but with the same purpose: cardiac and renal involvement. Epidemiological data from meta-analysis carried out around the world indicate that it is a very common pathology, yet commonly missed by clinicians. In patients with kidney or heart disease, which places them in a position to develop the syndrome, the first contact doctor must actively search for the diagnosis. In hospitalized patients, especially among those with previous cardiac or renal pathology, this syndrome has an important relevance, since its incidence is very high and early diagnosis is extremely important for an adequate treatment and thus avoid the perpetuation of damage to both organs. An early diagnosis can reduce the mortality rate, since it has been estimated that it increases by approximately 15% for every 10 ml / min reduction in GFR

Cheating Detection and Cheater Identification in CRT-based Secret Sharing Schemes

In this paper we analyze the cheating detection and cheater identification problems for the secret sharing schemes based on the Chinese remainder theorem (CRT), more exactly for Mignotte [1] and Asmuth-Bloom [2] schemes. We prove that the majority of the solutions for Shamir’s scheme [3] can be translated to these schemes and, moreover, there are some interesting specific solutions

Relational Communication Spaces: Infrastructures and Discursive Practices

Digital communication technologies, social web platforms, and mobile communication have fundamentally altered the way we communicate publicly. They have also changed our perception of space, thus making a re-calibration of a spatial perspective on public communication necessary. We argue that such a new perspective must consider the relational logic of public communication, which stands in stark contrast to the plain territorial notion of space common in communication research. Conceptualising the spatiality of public communication, we draw on Low's (2016) sociology of space. Her relational concept of space encourages us to pay more attention to (a) the infrastructural basis of communication, (b) the operations of synthesising the relational communication space through discursive practices, and (c) power relations that determine the accessibility of public communication. Thus, focusing on infrastructures and discursive practices means highlighting crucial socio-material preconditions of public communication and considering the effects of the power relations which are inherent in their spatialisation upon the inclusivity of public communication. This new approach serves a dual purpose: Firstly, it works as an analytical perspective to systematically account for the spatiality of public communication. Secondly, the differentiation between infrastructural spaces and spaces of discursive practices adds explanatory value to the perspective of relational communication spaces.DFG, 290045248, SFB 1265: Re-Figuration von Räume

Occurrence and Removal of Priority Substances and Contaminants of Emerging Concern at the WWTP of Benidorm (Spain)

This work is part of the European research project LIFE15 ENV/ES/00598 whose objective was to develop an efficient and sustainable methodology to eliminate Priority Substances (PS) and Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CEC), in Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTP). The aim was to achieve reduce the concentration of PSs until their concentration was below the quality limit established in the DIRECTIVE 2013/39/EU, and to achieve reductions of 99% of the initial concentration for the selected CECs. The plant selected for the experimentation was the Benidorm WWTP (Spain). This publication studied the appearance and elimination, in the conventional treatment of this plant, of 12 priority substances (EU) and 16 emerging pollutants (5 of them included in the EU watch lists) during a year of experimentation. The analytical methods of choice were High Performance Liquid Chromatography coupled to a Mass Spectrometer (HPLC-MS/MS) and Gas Chromatography coupled to a Mass Spectrometer (GC-MS/MS). Results showed that the PSs atrazine, brominated diphenyl ether, isoproturon, octylphenol, pentachlorobenzene, simazine, terbutryn, tributyltin, and trifluralin, and the CECs 17-α-ethinylestradiol, 17-β-estradiol, imazalil, orthophenylphenol, tertbutylazine, and thiabendazole, were not detected. The micropollutants with the highest a-verage percentages of removal (>90%) are: chloramphenicol (100%), estriol (100%) and ibuprofen (99%). Partially removed were ketoprofen (79%), chlorpyrifos (78%), di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (78%), estrone (76%), sulfamethoxazole (68%), and fluoxetine (53%). The compounds with the lowest average percentage of removal (<50%) are diclofenac (30%), erythromycin (1%), diuron (0%) and carbamazepine (0%). For the micropollutants chlorpyrifos, diclofenac, erythromycin, sulfamethoxazole, carbamazepine, fluoxetine, ibuprofen, and ketoprofen, complementary treatments will be necessary in case there is a need to reduce their concentrations in the WWTP effluent below a certain standard. The presence of the different micropollutants in the samples was not regular. Some of them were presented continuously, such as carbamazepine; however, others sporadically such as chloramphenicol and others were associated with seasonal variations or related to remarkable periods of time, such as sulfamethoxazole.This research was funded by European Commission, grant number LIFE15ENV/ES/00598 Development of an Efficient and Sustainable Methodology for Emerging Pollutants Removal in WWTPS