The current development of microfluidics-based microphysiological systems (MPSs) will rapidly lead to a paradigm shift from traditional static 2-dimensional cell cultivation towards organized tissue ...culture within a dynamic cellular milieu. Especially organs-on-a-chip (OoCs) can very precisely re-create the mechanical and unique anatomical structures of the oral environment. This review provides an introduction to such technology, from commonly used chip materials and fabrication methods to the application of OoC in in vitro culture. OoCs are advantageous because of their small-scaled culture environment, the highly controlled dynamic experimental conditions, and the likeness to the in vivo structure. We specifically focus on current chip designs in dental, oral, and craniofacial (DOC) research. Also, future perspectives are discussed, like model standardization and the development of integrated platforms with advanced read-out functionality. By doing so, it will be possible for OoCs to serve as an alternative for animal testing and to develop highly predictive human models for clinical experiments and even personalized medicine.
This paper presents an iterative procedure based on an implicit finite difference method to solve a mathematical model of drug delivery from a planar matrix with a moving boundary condition. This ...model includes the diffusion equation with space–time fractional-order derivatives. We establish the stability and convergence analysis of the method. We compare the numerical results with the scale-invariant and the homotopy perturbation solutions for different space–time-fractional orders and the problem parameters.
Lack of anatomical details in diffusion weighted magnetic resonance images limits their utilization and treatment response monitoring, shadowing the useful information they contain. Contemporary ...methods of utilizing these images are based on manual selection of region of interest, raising concerns about susceptibility of manual ROI placement to human errors, and limiting the investigation in specific spatial regions. In contrary to the whole body bone marrow segmentation with the luxury to include all the diseased bone marrow, high profile analysis could be applied. In this paper, we propose an automatic method for segmentation of pelvic bone with possible bone metastasis in apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps. This method is a multi-parametric registration-segmentation method, taking advantage of prior information of the pelvic anatomy. Intensity inhomogeneity in the bone structure caused by bone marrow metastasis challenges the segmentation process on anatomical MR images. Specifically, we first build a probability map which provides shape and volume constraints for the segmentation. Then, T1-weighted MR images are rigidly registered to the probability map, and then the registered T1-weighted image is non-rigidly registered to its' corresponding ADC maps. Finally, the probability map is coupled with a local level set framework for automatic pelvic bone segmentation of the T1-weighted images. The segmented bone is used as a mask on the ADC map. The method is validated on 10 pairs of ADC/T1 images of breast cancer with bone marrow metastases patients. Both quantitative and qualitative evaluation results demonstrate the validity of the proposed method.
In this paper, a new single-image super-resolution method is presented to increase the spatial resolution of metabolite maps computed from magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging. The proposed ...method is based on a non-local patch-based strategy that uses a high resolution T1-weighted image to regularise the super-resolution process. The method is implemented in a multi-scale fashion. The accuracy of the method is validated on both phantom and in vivo images. Both qualitative and quantitative validation suggest that the method has potential for clinically relevant neuroimaging applications.
International and Australian evidence suggests there is a widespread problem with school principal recruitment. It appears that principal candidate pools are diminishing and that employers are unable ...to replace current vacancies and meet projected demand. This article investigates the parameters of this perceived principal recruitment problem in the context of recent school governance reforms. An unintended consequence of reform policies is the emergence of leadership 'disengagement', a disinclination among teachers to pursue the principalship and other school-level leadership roles. It explores some of the origins of disengagement, provides an explanation for its emergence and considers some of its major implications for future research into principal recruitment and replenishment. Author abstract, ed
International and Australian evidence suggests there is a widespread problem with school principal recruitment. It appears that principal candidate pools are diminishing and that employers are unable ...to replace current vacancies and meet projected demand. This article investigates the parameters of this perceived principal recruitment problem in the context of recent school governance reforms. An unintended consequence of reform policies is the emergence of leadership 'disengagement', a disinclination among teachers to pursue the principalship and other school-level leadership roles. It explores some of the origins of disengagement, provides an explanation for its emergence and considers some of its major implications for future research into principal recruitment and replenishment. Author abstract, ed
This paper describes a new all-optical data bus network architecture which may be considered for implementation in many all-optical systems, particularly in linear and ring local area networks. A ...linear data bus, fabricated using 8 single-mode/multi-mode couplers, was constructed and characterised.