Differential interference contrast microscopy for cells using hard x-ray holography

We propose a differential interference contrast method for cells using hard x-ray Gabor holography and knife-edge filtering in the spatial frequency domain, without relying on beam shearing. A phase object is holographically recorded and reconstructed by computer. Interference between the wavefronts of zeroth order weighted by e^jπ/2 in the positive frequency region produces a dark image. Similarly, interference between the wavefronts of the zeroth order weighted by e^j3π/2 in the negative frequency region produces a bright image. By adding these two intensity distributions, good quality phase-contrast images of 8-μm-diameter polystyrene beads and human HeLa cells were obtained.

Early vs delayed closure of loop defunctioning ileostomy in patients undergoing distal colorectal resections: an integrated systematic review and meta-analysis of published randomized controlled trials

AIMS

The objective of this study was to evaluate the surgical outcomes and feasibility of early loop defunctioning ileostomy closure, within 2 weeks of index surgery, in patients undergoing distal colorectal resection.

METHODS

A systematic review of the literature on published randomized controlled trials reporting the feasibility and outcomes on early vs delayed closure of loop defunctioning ileostomy in patients undergoing distal colorectal resection using the principles of meta-analysis on RevMan 5.4 statistical software was undertaken.

RESULTS

Four randomized, controlled trials on 446 patients evaluating the feasibility and outcomes on early vs delayed closure of loop defunctioning ileostomy in patients undergoing low colorectal resection were analysed. There were 176 patients in the early closure group and 270 patients in the delayed closure group. The risk of anastomotic leak [risk ratio 0.37 (CI: 0.10-1.42), P = 0.15], anastomotic stenosis [risk ratio 4.79 (CI: 0.23-98.47), P = 0.31] and postoperative complications [risk ratio 0.75 (CI: 0.48-1.16), P = 0.19] was similar in both groups. In addition, there was no significant difference between the groups with regard to the duration of operation [standardized mean difference -0.49 (CI: -01.09, -0.12), P = 0.12] and length of hospitalization [standardized mean difference -0.04 (CI: -0.25, -0.18), P = 0.75].

CONCLUSIONS

Early closure of loop defunctioning ileostomy in patients undergoing distal colorectal resection is feasible with comparable outcomes to delayed closure.

Combining 3D human in vitro methods for a 3Rs evaluation of novel titanium surfaces in orthopaedic applications

In this study, we report on a group of complementary human osteoblast in vitro test methods for the preclinical evaluation of 3D porous titanium surfaces. The surfaces were prepared by additive manufacturing (electron beam melting [EBM]) and plasma spraying, allowing the creation of complex lattice surface geometries. Physical properties of the surfaces were characterized by SEM and profilometry and 3D in vitro cell culture using human osteoblasts. Primary human osteoblast cells were found to elicit greater differences between titanium sample surfaces than an MG63 osteoblast-like cell line, particularly in terms of cell survival. Surface morphology was associated with higher osteoblast metabolic activity and mineralization on rougher titanium plasma spray coated surfaces than smoother surfaces. Differences in osteoblast survival and metabolic activity on titanium lattice structures were also found, despite analogous surface morphology at the cellular level. 3D confocal microscopy identified osteoblast organization within complex titanium surface geometries, adhesion, spreading, and alignment to the biomaterial strut geometries. Mineralized nodule formation throughout the lattice structures was also observed, and indicative of early markers of bone in-growth on such materials. Testing methods such as those presented are not traditionally considered by medical device manufacturers, but we suggest have value as an increasingly vital tool in efficiently translating pre-clinical studies, especially in balance with current regulatory practice, commercial demands, the 3Rs, and the relative merits of in vitro and in vivo studies. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2016;113: 1586-1599. © 2015 The Authors. Biotechnology and Bioengineering Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Factors associated with failure to achieve a glycated haemoglobin target of <8.0% in the Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes (ACCORD) trial

The aim of this study was to identify the clinical features of participants in the standard therapy arm of the Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes (ACCORD) glycaemia trial who failed to reach the glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) target. We analysed 4685 participants in the standard therapy arm, comparing participants who reached the HbA1c target of <8.0% with those whose HbA1c level was ≥8.0% 12 months after randomization. Baseline and 12-month clinical characteristics were compared. At 12 months after randomization, 3194 participants had HbA1c <8.0% and 1491 had HbA1c ≥8.0%. Black race [odds ratio (OR) 0.74, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.61-0.89; p = 0.002], severe hypoglycaemia (OR 0.57, CI 0.37-0.89; p = 0.014) and insulin use (OR 0.51, CI 0.40-0.65; p < 0.001) were associated with failure to reach HbA1c goal at 12 months in the adjusted model. Even with free medications, free visits with clinicians and aggressive titration of medications, >30% of participants in the standard arm of the ACCORD trial had an HbA1c ≥8.0% at 1 year. Participants who were black, had severe hypoglycaemia and were on insulin were more likely to have an above-target HbA1c concentration after 12 months on the standard protocol.

Washing off intensification of cotton and wool fabrics by ultrasounds

Wet textile washing processes were set up for wool and cotton fabrics to evaluate the potential of ultrasound transducers (US) in improving dirt removal. The samples were contaminated with an emulsion of carbon soot in vegetable oil and aged for three hours in fan oven. Before washing, the fabrics were soaked for 3 min in a standard detergent solution and subsequently washed in a water bath. The dirt removal was evaluated through colorimetric measurements. The total color differences ΔE of the samples were measured with respect to an uncontaminated fabric, before and after each washing cycle. The percentage of ΔE variation obtained was calculated and correlated to the dirt removal. The results showed that the US transducers enhanced the dirt removal and temperature was the parameter most influencing the US efficiency on the cleaning process. Better results were obtained at a lower process temperature.

Processing movement related cortical potentials in EEG signals for identification of slow and fast movements

The extraction of intended kinetic information from an EEG signal can have several applications related to the rehabilitation for subjects with various neurological disorders. However, the task is mainly constrained by the low signal-to-noise ratio for the EEG signals. It is well known that the cortical activity takes place at a very low frequency since it is characterized by the dropping of movement related cortical potential (MRCP) across the sampled EEG signal. The strong variations in the MRCP is indicative of the noise due to various sources. The aim of this work is to remove this noise from the EEG signals using empirical mode decomposition, which decomposes a signal into harmonics (intrinsic mode functions--IMF) of various frequencies. The IMFs pertaining to small frequencies are later used for features extraction where we extract the spatial and spectral features from the selected IMFs. The features are later used for classification using support vector machines (SVM). Our experiments show superior results to the benchmark method for the underlying dataset that has been used in this research.

Oncological feasibility of laparoscopic distal pancreatectomy for adenocarcinoma: a single-institution comparative study

BACKGROUND

Laparoscopic distal pancreatectomy (LDP) is performed increasingly for pancreatic pathology in the body and tail of the pancreas. However, only few reports have compared its oncological efficacy with open distal pancreatectomy (ODP). We compared these two techniques in patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

METHODS

From a prospectively maintained database, all patients who underwent either LDP or ODP for adenocarcinoma in the body and tail of the pancreas between January 2008 and December 2011 were compared. Data were analysed using SPSS(®) v19 utilising standard tests. A p value <0.05 was considered significant.

RESULTS

Of 101 patients who underwent distal pancreatectomy, 22 had histologically confirmed adenocarcinoma (LDP n = 8, ODP n = 14). Both groups were well matched for age and the size of tumour (22 vs. 32 mm, p = 0.22). Intraoperative blood loss was 306 ml compared with 650 ml for ODP (p = 0.152). A longer operative time was noted for LDP (376 vs. 274 min, p < 0.05). Total length of stay was shorter for LDP compared with ODP (8 vs. 12 days, p = 0.05). The number of postoperative pancreatic fistulas were similar (LDP n = 2 vs. ODP n = 3, p = 0.5). Complete resection (R0) was achieved in 88 % of LDP (n = 7) compared with 86 % of ODP (n = 12). The median number of lymph nodes harvested was 16 for LDP versus 14 for ODP. Overall 3-year survival also was similar: LDP = 82 %, ODP = 74 % (p = 0.89).

CONCLUSIONS

From an oncological perspective, LDP is a viable procedure and its results are comparable to ODP for ductal adenocarcinomas arising in the body and tail of the pancreas.