Atmospheric Sensors and Energy Harvesters on Overhead Power Lines

We demonstrate the feasibility of using novel, small energy harvesters to power atmospheric sensors and radios simply attached to a single conductor of existing overhead power distribution lines. We demonstrate the ability to harvest the required power for operating multiple atmospheric and power-system sensors, together with short-range radios that could broadcast atmospheric sensor data to the cellphones of people nearby. Occasional long-range broadcasts of the data could also be made of both atmospheric and power-line conditions.

Gene Expression Signatures and Immunohistochemical Subtypes Add Prognostic Value to Each Other in Breast Cancer Cohorts

Purpose: Gene signatures and Ki67 stratify the same breast tumor into opposing good/poor prognosis groups in approximately 20% of patients. Given this discrepancy, we hypothesized that the combination of a clinically relevant signature and IHC markers may provide more prognostic information than either classifier alone.Experimental Design: We assessed Ki67 alone or combined with ER, PR and HER2 (forming IHC subtypes), and the research versions of the Genomic Grade Index, 70-gene, cell-cycle score, recurrence score (RS), and PAM50 signatures on matching TMA/whole tumor sections and microarray data in two Swedish breast cancer cohorts of 379 and 209 patients, with median follow-up of 12.4 and 12.5 years, respectively. First, we fit Cox proportional hazards models and used the change in likelihood ratio (Δ LR) to determine the additional prognostic information provided by signatures beyond that of (i) Ki67 and (ii) IHC subtypes. Second and uniquely, we then assessed whether signatures could compete well with pathology-based IHC classifiers by calculating the additional prognostic information of Ki67/IHC subtypes beyond signatures.Results: In cohort 1, only RS and PAM50 provided additional prognostic information beyond Ki67 and IHC subtypes (Δ LR-χ2 Ki67: RS = 12.8, PAM50 = 20.7, IHC subtypes: RS = 12.9, PAM50 = 11.7). Conversely, IHC subtypes added prognostic information beyond all signatures except PAM50. Similar results were observed in cohort 2.Conclusions: RS and PAM50 provided more prognostic information than the IHC subtypes in all breast cancer patients; however, the IHC subtypes did not add any prognostic information to PAM50. Clin Cancer Res; 23(24); 7512-20. ©2017 AACR.

Friction, Stability and the Design of Robotic Fingers

For practical reasons, compliant materials are often used on the gripping surfaces of robotic hands. Such materials are not well described by the Coulomb friction law or by simple point-contact or line-contact kinematics. In this paper, a shearing model is used to describe the contact friction. Models ofpointed, curved, flat, soft, and soft-curved fingertips are then developed and compared in terms of their contribu tion to the stiffness and stability of a simple grasp. There is a spectrum of contact conditions defined by the fingertip radius and contact area relative to the object size. This spectrum provides insights for designing and controlling robotic fingers.

17β-estradiol regulates giant vesicle formation via estrogen receptor-alpha in human breast cancer cells

A significant proportion of the genes regulated by 17-beta-estradiol (E2) via estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) have roles in vesicle trafficking in breast cancer. Intracellular vesicle trafficking and extracellular vesicles have important roles in tumourigenesis. Here we report the discovery of giant (3-42μm) intracellular and extracellular vesicles (GVs) and the role of E2 on vesicle formation in breast cancer (BC) cell lines using three independent live cell imaging techniques. Large diameter vesicles, GVs were also identified in a patient-derived xenograft BC model, and in invasive breast carcinoma tissue. ERα-positive (MCF-7 and T47D) BC cell lines demonstrated a significant increase in GV formation after stimulation with E2 which was reversed by tamoxifen. ERα-negative (MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-468) BC cell lines produced GVs independently of E2 and tamoxifen. These results indicate the existence of both intracellular and extracellular vesicles with considerably larger dimensions than generally recognised with BC cells and suggest that the GVs are regulated by E2 via ERα in ERα-positive BC but by E2-independent mechanisms in ER-ve BC.

High-performance dispenser printed MA p-type Bi(0.5)Sb(1.5)Te(3) flexible thermoelectric generators for powering wireless sensor networks

This work presents a novel method to synthesize p-type composite thermoelectric materials to print scalable thermoelectric generator (TEG) devices in a cost-effective way. A maximum ZT of 0.2 was achieved for mechanically alloyed (MA) p-type Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 (8 wt % extra Te additive)-epoxy composite films cured at 250 °C. A 50% increase in Seebeck coefficient as a result of adding 8 wt % extra Te in stoichiometric Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 contributed to the increase in ZT. To demonstrate cost-effective and scalable manufacturing, we fabricated a sixty element thermoelectric generator prototype with 5.0 mm × 600 μm × 120 μm printed dimensions on a custom designed polyimide substrate with thick metal contacts. The prototype TEG device produced a power output of 20.5 μW at 0.15 mA and 130 mV for a temperature difference of 20 K resulting in a device areal power density of 152 μW/cm(2). This power is sufficient for low power applications such as wireless sensor network (WSN) devices.

Enhanced performance of dispenser printed MA n-type Bi₂Te₃ composite thermoelectric generators

This work presents performance advancements of dispenser printed composite thermoelectric materials and devices. Dispenser printed thick films allow for low-cost and scalable manufacturing of microscale energy harvesting devices. A maximum ZT value of 0.31 has been achieved for mechanically alloyed (MA) n-type Bi₂Te₃-epoxy composite films with 1 wt % Se cured at 350 °C. The enhancement of ZT is a result of increase in the electrical conductivity through the addition of Se, which ultimately lowers the sintering temperature (350 °C). A 62 single-leg thermoelectric generator (TEG) prototype with 5 mm ×700 μm × 120 μm printed element dimensions was fabricated on a custom designed polyimide substrate with thick metal contacts. The prototype device produced a power output of 25 μW at 0.23 mA current and 109 mV voltage for a temperature difference of 20 °C, which is sufficient for low power generation for autonomous microsystem applications.

Estrogen regulates vesicle trafficking gene expression in EFF-3, EFM-19 and MCF-7 breast cancer cells

Estrogens are critical mediators of breast tumorigenesis. This occurs via the action of estrogens on the estrogen receptor (ER), which regulates the transcriptome of breast cancer cells. Despite the long history of the search for estrogen-regulated genes in breast cancer, knowledge of the E2-regulated transcriptome and its effects is incomplete. We used Affymetrix GeneChips to profile the effects of estradiol on the expression of genes in EFF-3, EFM-19 and MCF-7 cells. In addition to many well-characterized estrogen-regulated genes, this identified a novel group of genes that have roles in vesicle trafficking, including exocytosis. Recent evidence in the literature supports a role for vesicle trafficking in tumorigenesis. We focused on five genes (SYTL5, RAB27B, SNX24, GALNT4 and SLC12A2/NKCC1/BSC2) and confirmed their estrogen-regulation using quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR). qPCR also demonstrated that these five genes were expressed in invasive breast carcinoma tissue. Immunohistochemistry showed expression of SYTL5 in cells of normal breast ductal epithelium, ductal carcinoma in-situ (DCIS) and invasive breast carcinoma. The results suggest that a significant effect of estrogens is to regulate the expression of genes that affect diverse aspects of vesicle trafficking including exocytosis.

The semi-permeability of silicone: a saline-filled breast implant with intraluminal and pericapsular Aspergillus flavus

Fungal infection of breast implants is a rare complication. Growth of fungi within the lumen of saline-filled implants has previously been demonstrated in laboratory studies, however, clinical infections are rare. We report a case of Aspergillus flavus growth within and around a saline-filled breast implant that was inserted 18 months previously. This was successfully treated with implant removal and wound irrigation. Possible routes of microbial contamination as well as survival mechanisms of organisms within saline-filled implants are discussed. This case re-iterates that the silicone envelope of a saline-filled implant is selectively permeable and we believe this is instrumental in facilitating intraluminal microbial growth. This also emphasises the importance of stringent asepsis when dealing with saline-filled breast implants including avoiding contamination of the saline filling fluid.

Hand surface area—Do racial differences exist?

The patient's own palm is used as a template in assessing small patchy burns and is traditionally believed to be 1% of body surface area. This does alter with the patient's age, sex and BMI and there have been suggestions that it can also differ between ethnic groups. We undertook this study to see if there were any differences in the hand surface area between Caucasians, Orientals and Asians. It was done by tracing the hand outline and calculating the surface area. The study showed that there was no significant difference between the three ethnic groups in terms of hand surface area.

Colonic adenocarcinoma presenting as a cutaneous metastasis in an old operative scar

Cutaneous metastasis from colon cancer is an uncommon event that usually occurs after identification of the primary tumour and generally indicates diffuse disease. Incisional metastasis occasionally occurs following laparoscopic or open colon cancer resection. However, to the authors' knowledge only one previous case of colon cancer presenting as a cutaneous metastasis in an old operative scar has been reported. We describe a case of colon cancer presenting as a cutaneous metastasis in an old cholecystectomy scar and discuss possible pathophysiological mechanisms.

Nitric oxide is a mediator of apoptosis in the rheumatoid joint

OBJECTIVE

To study the role of nitric oxide (NO) derived from the inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) pathway in the induction of apoptosis in the rheumatoid joint.

METHODS

Joint tissue was obtained from four rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients, three osteoarthritis patients and two patients with a fractured neck of the femur (NOF#), and apoptotic cells were identified in cryosections using the TUNEL (terminal dUTP nick end labelling) assay. Expression of iNOS was determined using immunohistochemistry. NO synthesis and the effect of NOS inhibitors on apoptosis levels were studied in explant cultures of RA cartilage and synovium.

RESULTS

Numbers of apoptotic cells were greatly increased in rheumatoid synovium and articular cartilage compared with NOF# and osteoarthritic synovium. Immunohistochemistry showed co-localization of iNOS staining and apoptosis in the synovial lining layer and articular cartilage. The NOS inhibitor L-NMMA (L-N(G)-monomethylarginine) strongly inhibited apoptosis in explant cultures of synovium and cartilage, and this was reversed by the NO donor S-nitroso-acetyl-penicillamine.

CONCLUSION

This study indicates that NO acts as a mediator of apoptosis in RA and suggests that NOS inhibitors reverse this process.

Auditing outcomes after treatment of Scottish patients with uveal melanoma in Liverpool

Uveal melanoma is the most common primary intraocular malignant tumour, although it is a rare condition. Between January 1993 and December 1997 a total of 120 patients were referred from Scotland to the Ocular Oncology Service at St. Paul's Eye Unit in Liverpool. Of these, 98 had uveal melanoma, which was treated with primary enucleation (24), or by conservative methods, consisting of plaque radiotherapy (30), proton beam radiotherapy (19), trans-scleral local resection (19), or endoresection (6). After conservative treatment, 92% of eyes were retained, with 65% of eyes maintaining the same level of vision as at presentation or better. The main complications were retinal detachment (8), death from metastatic disease (7) and local tumour recurrence (4). This study gives an overview of the treatment of uveal melanoma and demonstrates that most patients with uveal melanoma can be treated conservatively, with the large majority retaining the eye and good vision.

Immunolocalization of inducible nitric oxide synthase in synovium and cartilage in rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis

Nitric oxide has been implicated as a mediator of inflammatory arthritis, and recent work has shown that pro-inflammatory cytokines stimulate NO production in vitro by activation of the inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) pathway. In order to identify the cellular sources of NO production within the joint, we have used immunohistochemical techniques to study the distribution of iNOS in synovium and cartilage from normal and diseased joints. iNOS was most strongly expressed in the synovial lining layer, subsynovium, vascular smooth muscle and chondrocytes from patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Analysis of serial sections, coupled with double immunofluorescent staining, showed that the CD68+ macrophages in the synovial lining layer and, to a lesser extent, fibroblasts were the predominant source of iNOS within synovium, whereas T cells, B cells and neutrophils were negative. A similar pattern of iNOS staining was seen in osteoarthritis, but fewer cells were iNOS positive and the intensity of staining, particularly in cartilage, was much weaker than in RA. In contrast, no evidence of iNOS was detected in non-inflammatory synovium or in cartilage derived from normal joints (fractured neck of femur). In conclusion, these data support the hypothesis that synovium and cartilage are important sources of increased NO production in patients with inflammatory arthritis. Localization of iNOS at these sites within the inflamed joint raises the possibility that increased local production of NO may contribute to the pathogenesis of inflammatory arthritis by increasing synovial blood flow and by modulating cellular function within synovium and articular cartilage.

A Remote Temperature Sensing Technique for Estimating the Cutting Interface Temperature Distribution

Cutting temperature is a major factor in controlling tool wear rate. Thus, sensing and control of cutting temperature is important in achieving a desired tool performance. This paper is concerned with estimating the cutting interface temperature distribution based on remote temperature measurements. This class of problems of estimating unknown boundary conditions from known interior quantities is called the inverse problem. The inverse problem of a square insert under steady state conditions is considered in this paper. The temperature distribution in a square insert is best described in Ellipsoidal Coordinates. The mapping functional in the one-dimensional case is solved analytically. The mapping functionals in general three-dimensional cases are solved numerically using the semianalytical finite element method. The mapping functional in a three-dimensional case is represented by a transformation matrix which maps one vector representing the cutting interface temperature distribution to another vector representing the remote temperatures. The transformation matrix is then used to solve the inverse problem of estimating the interface temperature distribution with redundant remote measurements. Measurement errors and transformation matrix errors are imposed in simulation studies. The sensitivity of inverse solutions to these errors is discussed.