Endoplasmic reticulum stress in lung disease.

Exposure to inhaled pollutants, including fine particulates and cigarette smoke is a major cause of lung disease in Europe. While it is established that inhaled pollutants have devastating effects on the genome, it is now recognised that additional effects on protein folding also drive the development of lung disease. Protein misfolding in the endoplasmic reticulum affects the pathogenesis of many diseases, ranging from pulmonary fibrosis to cancer. It is therefore important to understand how cells respond to endoplasmic reticulum stress and how this affects pulmonary tissues in disease. These insights may offer opportunities to manipulate such endoplasmic reticulum stress pathways and thereby cure lung disease

Machining of silicon wafers with an abrasive water jet cutter

This thesis consists of a study of the effects of abrasive water jet cutting on brittle silicon substrates. In total, 26 different cuts were made in a single crystal silicon substrate with an abrasive water jet cutter under different conditions of water flow, water pressure, and abrasive flow rate. These cuts were analyzed for surface roughness, and microstructure. The roughness measurements were compared in order to determine the best possible cutting conditions. The cut with the best roughness of 0.000170 inches was obtained under cutting conditions of 30 KSI water pressure, 1 inch/minute cutting speed, and an abrasive flow rate of 56 grams/minute. Other trends in the data show the optimum cutting speed to be between 1 and 2 inches/ minute. The water pressure of 30 KSI achieved better results than the 50 KSI presures under similar cutting conditions . At both 50KSI and 30 KSI, low abrasive flow rates result in better roughness values

Descriptions of reversed yielding in bending

Existence of Bauschinger effect in bending-unbending of copper beams has been shown from experiment. In modelling of the Bauschinger effect, it is shown that a significant second plastic penetration can occur with the release of the moment required for an elasticplastic bending of a beam. The theory is given for both linear and parabolic hardening material models. The elastic and plastic strains are developed from each hardening model to express the beam curvature of the unstressed neutral axis. Conditions are expressed, using the normalized stress—strain response of a rectangular beam section, for which the release is purely elastic and elastic—plastic. Under the latter the depth to which a second zone of plasticity penetrates is given. Two stress distributions: one for applying the moment and the other for its release, are sufficient to derive the residual stress. Residuals found for parabolic hardening are believed to be more realistic than those from simpler linear or perfectly plastic models, particularly, where a second penetration is evident

Ambulatory Thoracoscopic Pleurodesis Combined With Indwelling Pleural Catheter in Malignant Pleural Effusion.

Background and Objective: Malignant pleural effusion (MPE) often results in debilitating symptoms. Relief of dyspnoea and improvement in quality of life can be achieved with either talc pleurodesis or insertion of an indwelling tunneled pleural catheter (IPC). The former requires a lengthy hospital stay and the latter is associated with lower pleurodesis rates. In response to limited hospital bed capacity, we developed a pragmatic approach in managing MPE by combining thoracoscopic talc poudrage and insertion of IPC into a single day case procedure. We present data on the safety and efficacy of this approach. Methods: Patients who had undergone the abovementioned procedure between 2017 and 2020 were analyzed. Demographic data, hospital length of stay (LOS), histological diagnosis, rates of pleurodesis success and procedural related complications were collated. Patients were followed-up for 6 months. Results: Forty-five patients underwent the procedure. Mean age was 68.5 ± 10.4 years and 56% were male. Histological diagnosis was achieved in all cases. 86.7% of patients were discharged on the day of the procedure. Median LOS was 0 (IQR 0-0) days. Successful pleurodesis was attained in 77.8% at 6-month follow-up. No procedure related deaths or IPC related infections were recorded. Conclusion: Ambulatory thoracoscopic poudrage and IPC insertion is a safe and effective option in the management of MPE. All patients received a definitive pleural intervention with 77.8% pleurodesis success at 6-months and majority of them discharged on the same day. Future randomized trials are required to confirm these findings

Genetic susceptibility.

Why only 20% of smokers develop clinically relevant chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) was a puzzle for many years. Now, epidemiologic studies point clearly toward a large heritable component. The combination of genome-wide association studies and candidate gene analysis is helping to identify those genetic variants responsible for an individual's susceptibility to developing COPD. In this review, the current data implicating specific loci and genes in the pathogenesis of COPD are examined

Luminescence based temperature bio-imaging: Status, challenges, and perspectives

The only way to get thermal images of living organisms without perturbing them is to use luminescent probes with temperature-dependent spectral properties. The acquisition of such thermal images becomes essential to distinguish various states of cells, to monitor thermogenesis, to study cellular activity, and to control hyperthermia therapy. Current efforts are focused on the development and optimization of luminescent reporters such as small molecules, proteins, quantum dots, and lanthanide-doped nanoparticles. However, much less attention is devoted to the methods and technologies that are required to image temperature distribution at both in vitro or in vivo levels. Indeed, rare examples can be found in the scientific literature showing technologies and materials capable of providing reliable 2D thermal images of living organisms. In this review article, examples of 2D luminescence thermometry are presented alongside new possibilities and directions that should be followed to achieve the required level of simplicity and reliability that ensure their future implementation at the clinical level. This review will inspire specialists in chemistry, physics, biology, medicine, and engineering to collaborate with materials scientists to jointly develop novel more accurate temperature probes and enable mapping of temperature with simplified technical mean