The optical design and performance of the recently opened 13A biological small‐angle X‐ray scattering (SAXS) beamline at the 3.0 GeV Taiwan Photon Source of the National Synchrotron Radiation ...Research Center are reported. The beamline is designed for studies of biological structures and kinetics in a wide range of length and time scales, from angstrom to micrometre and from microsecond to minutes. A 4 m IU24 undulator of the beamline provides high‐flux X‐rays in the energy range 4.0–23.0 keV. MoB4C double‐multilayer and Si(111) double‐crystal monochromators (DMM/DCM) are combined on the same rotating platform for a smooth rotation transition from a high‐flux beam of ∼4 × 1014 photons s−1 to a high‐energy‐resolution beam of ΔE/E ≃ 1.5 × 10−4; both modes share a constant beam exit. With a set of Kirkpatrick–Baez (KB) mirrors, the X‐ray beam is focused to the farthest SAXS detector position, 52 m from the source. A downstream four‐bounce crystal collimator, comprising two sets of Si(311) double crystals arranged in a dispersive configuration, optionally collimate the DCM (vertically diffracted) beam in the horizontal direction for ultra‐SAXS with a minimum scattering vector q down to 0.0004 Å−1, which allows resolving ordered d‐spacing up to 1 µm. A microbeam, of 10–50 µm beam size, is tailored by a combined set of high‐heat‐load slits followed by micrometre‐precision slits situated at the front‐end 15.5 m position. The second set of KB mirrors then focus the beam to the 40 m sample position, with a demagnification ratio of ∼1.5. A detecting system comprising two in‐vacuum X‐ray pixel detectors is installed to perform synchronized small‐ and wide‐angle X‐ray scattering data collections. The observed beamline performance proves the feasibility of having compound features of high flux, microbeam and ultra‐SAXS in one beamline.
The optical design and performance of the BioSAXS beamline at the Taiwan Photon Source are reported
There are still no effective therapies for hyposalivation caused by irradiation. In our previous study, bone marrow stem cells can be transdifferentiated into acinar-like cells in vitro. Therefore, ...we hypothesized that transplantation with bone marrow stem cells or acinar-like cells may help functional regeneration of salivary glands. Bone marrow stem cells were labeled with nanoparticles and directly co-cultured with acinar cells to obtain labeled acinar-like cells. In total, 140 severely combined immune-deficiency mice were divided into 4 groups for cell therapy experiments: (1) normal mice, (2) mice receiving irradiation around their head-and-neck areas; (3) mice receiving irradiation and intra-gland transplantation with labeled stem cells; and (4) mice receiving irradiation and intra-gland transplantation with labeled acinar-like cells. Our results showed that salivary glands damaged due to irradiation can be rescued by cell therapy with either bone marrow stem cells or acinar-like cells for recovery of saliva production, body weight, and gland weight. Transdifferentiation of bone marrow stem cells into acinar-like cells in vivo was also noted. This study demonstrated that cell therapy with bone marrow stem cells or acinar-like cells can help functional regeneration of salivary glands, and that acinar-like cells showed better therapeutic potentials than those of bone marrow stem cells.
Aim
The aim of the current systematic review was to critically appraise evidence from randomized and prospective non‐randomized comparative clinical trials about the efficacy of lateral bone ...augmentation prior to implant placement and their outcome regarding bone width gain.
Materials and Methods
Eight databases were searched until May 2018 for randomized and prospective non‐randomized comparative trials on lateral bone augmentation prior to implant placement. After elimination of duplicate studies, data extraction and risk‐of‐bias assessment according to the Cochrane guidelines, random‐effects meta‐analyses of mean differences (MD) or relative risks (RR) and their 95% CIs were performed, followed by subgroup, meta‐regression and sensitivity analyses.
Results
Overall, 25 trials (16 randomized/9 non‐randomized) were identified, which included a total of 553 patients (42.2% male; mean age of 43.9 years). In these included studies and populations, various modalities for primary lateral bone augmentation rendered implant placement feasible. Small discrepancies were found between overall clinical and radiographic gain (pooled gains of 3.45 ± 1.18 mm versus 2.90 ± 0.83 mm, respectively), but were not statistically significant. Bone width gain was significantly inversely associated with baseline bone width (pooled effect: −0.35 mm/mm; 95% CI: −0.63 to −0.07 mm; p = 0.01). Additionally, % graft resorption was associated with patient age (36%/year, 95% CI: −0.62 to −0.11 mm; p = 0.01). The presence of xenograft added to autologous graft led to less resorption compared to autologous graft alone (MD: 1.06 mm; 95% CI: 0.21 to 1.92 mm; p = 0.01). Barrier membrane did not yield significant difference in terms of bone width gain (MD: −0.33 mm; 95% CI: −2.24 to 1.58 mm; p > 0.05) and graft resorption (MD: 0.84 mm; 95% CI: −1.42 to 3.09 mm; p > 0.05). However, the quality of evidence ranged from very low to moderate due to bias and imprecision.
Conclusions
Initially smaller bone dimensions are associated with favours larger bone width gain, which indicates that a severe lateral bone deficiency can be effectively augmented applying primary lateral bone augmentation. Both Patients’ age and recipient site (maxilla or mandible) seem to influence graft resorption. The addition of a xenograft can be helpful in reducing graft resorption. Existing evidence from randomized and prospective non‐randomized trials on humans indicates that lateral bone augmentation prior to implant placement can successfully increase bone width. There are some indications that patient‐related, site‐related, and technique‐related characteristics might influence the amount of gained bone width, but the quality of evidence is for the most part hampered by the small number of existing studies and methodological limitations that might lead to bias.
In recent decades, wintertime sea surface temperatures off the eastern coast of China have steadily increased. The warming is accompanied by on‐coast wind convergence across East China Sea and by ...stronger northeasterly wind which is spatially inhomogeneous being greatest in the Taiwan Strait. Strong winds favor more frequent cross‐shelf currents and vigorous spreading of heat from the Kuroshio, which warms the coastal sea in a positive feedback loop. The process also weakens the East Asian winter monsoon over eastern China, contributing to its decoupling from the recent rebound of the Siberian High.
Key Points
Recent warming off coastal China is accompanied by stronger northeasterly wind
Stronger winter monsoon spreads heat from Kuroshio producing air‐sea response
The increased wind is detached from the recent rebound of the Siberian High
OBJECTIVES: To compare the different correlations of body mass index (BMI) and percent body fat (BF%) with other ethnic groups and to evaluate the appropriateness of Asia-Pacific redefining obesity ...criteria in the Taiwanese population. The corresponding BF% to BMI cutoffs of overweight and obesity will also be studied. DESIGN: A cross-sectional epidemiological survey. SUBJECTS: A total of 509 male and 570 female Taiwanese subjects aged 20 y sampled by the systematic stratified clustering sampling method were analyzed. MEASUREMENTS: BMI was obtained by body weight (kg) divided by squared body height (m2). The estimated BMI (BMIe) was deduced from the Caucasian-based four-compartment equation (4C). BF% measured by the methods of dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) or Caucasian-based 4C were used and abbreviated as DXA-BF and 4C-BF, respectively. RESULTS: The curvilinear relationship between age and BMI or DXA-BF was established. When compared by age-stratified groups, Taiwanese subjects had a higher BF% (4C-BF) in any given BMI than Caucasians. That is, the level of 4C-BF for BMI25 kg/m2 in Taiwanese subjects was similar to BMI30 kg/m2 in Caucasians. The BMIe values of 25 and 30 kg/m2 were nearly equal to the BMIs of 23.6 and 25.3 kg/m2 in males, and 22.7 and 24.8 kg/m2 in females, respectively. The 4C-BF of 25% was nearly equal to a BMI of 26.2 kg/m2 in males, and 35% was equal to a BMI of 24.4 kg/m2 in females. Consequently, the DXA-BF cutoffs for BMIs of 23 and 25 kg/m2 were compatible to 23 and 25% in males, and 35 and 38% in females, respectively. CONCLUSION: It was demonstrated that Taiwanese subjects had a relatively lower BMI but a higher BF% than Caucasians. In general, the newly proposed Asia-Pacific BMI cutoffs for overweight (23 kg/m2) and obesity (25 kg/m2) may be acceptable to both male and female Taiwanese subjects. The corresponding BF% (DXA-BF) cutoffs for obesity would be 25% in male and 38% in female Taiwanese subjects, respectively.
Life Detection From Biological Motion Troje, Nikolaus F.; Chang, Dorita H. F.
Current directions in psychological science : a journal of the American Psychological Society,
02/2023, Letnik:
32, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Life motion, the active movements of people and other animals, contains a wealth of information that is potentially accessible to the visual system of an observer. Biological-motion point-light ...displays have been widely used to study both the information contained in life motion stimuli and the visual mechanisms that make use of it. Biological motion conveys motion-mediated dynamic shape, which in turn can be used for identification and recognition of the agent, but it also contains local visual invariants that humans and other animals use as a general detection system that signals the presence of other agents in the visual environment. Here, we review recent research on behavioral, neurophysiological, and genetic aspects of this life-detection system and discuss its functional significance in the light of earlier hypotheses.
A sensor array containing six non-covalent gold nanoparticle-fluorescent polymer conjugates has been created to detect, identify and quantify protein targets. The polymer fluorescence is quenched by ...gold nanoparticles; the presence of proteins disrupts the nanoparticle-polymer interaction, producing distinct fluorescence response patterns. These patterns are highly repeatable and are characteristic for individual proteins at nanomolar concentrations, and can be quantitatively differentiated by linear discriminant analysis (LDA). Based on a training matrix generated at protein concentrations of an identical ultraviolet absorbance at 280 nm (A280 = 0.005), LDA, combined with ultraviolet measurements, has been successfully used to identify 52 unknown protein samples (seven different proteins) with an accuracy of 94.2%. This work demonstrates the construction of novel nanomaterial-based protein detector arrays with potential applications in medical diagnostics.
A common imaging finding in brain abscess and necrotic glioblastoma is a T2 hypointense margin. The features of this hypointense rim on SWI have not been previously described, to our knowledge. We ...aimed to differentiate abscesses from glioblastomas by assessing the morphology of their lesion margin by using SWI.
T2WI and SWI were performed in 12 abscesses and 20 rim-enhancing glioblastomas. On T2WI and SWI, the prevalence and the border types (complete versus incomplete) of hypointense rims were qualitatively assessed. On SWI, the contour (smooth versus irregular) and the location of hypointense rims relative to the contrast-enhancing rims as well as the prevalence of the "dual rim sign," defined as 2 concentric rims at lesion margins with the outer one being hypointense and the inner one hyperintense relative to cavity contents, were also analyzed.
Prevalence and the border types of the hypointense rims on T2WI were not different between abscesses and glioblastomas. On SWI, there were significantly more hypointense rims that were complete (P < .001) and smooth (P < .001), having the same location as the contrast-enhancing rims (P < .001) for abscesses. A dual rim sign was present in 9 of 12 abscesses but absent in all glioblastomas (P < .001).
SWI may be helpful in differentiating pyogenic abscesses from necrotic glioblastomas. The dual rim sign is the most specific imaging feature distinguishing the 2.
Tumour blood vessels differ from their normal counterparts for reasons that have received little attention. We report here that they are of at least six distinct types, we describe how each forms, ...and, looking forward, encourage the targeting of tumour vessel subsets that have lost their vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A) dependency and so are likely unresponsive to anti-VEGF-A therapies.
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