International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 13-15, 1981 / Bahia Hotel, San Diego, California / An on-board baseband processor concept developed for commercial communications satellite systems planned for the 1990s is described. The baseband processor, which operates in a time-division multiple access mode, provides significant advantages in improved link margins and system flexibility in accommodating varying demands from a large number of users because of its ability to route and control message traffic on an individual basis. This concept is currently being implemented in a proof-of-concept model with the main objective of developing the technology required to support detailed design and fabrication for an experimental satellite to be launched in 1987. This technology development includes serial MSK modems, Clos-type baseband routing switch, a singlechip custom CMOS maximum-likelihood convolutional decoder, and custom LSI implementation of high speed, low power ECL building blocks.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 22-25, 1984 / Riviera Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada / The paper gives a short history of the beginnings in tele-meteorology and missile telemetry in Germany and describes the developments since the 50’s in these fields, and in remote control systems up to the present day.

Real-time on-site histopathology review of biopsy tissues at the point-of-procedure has great potential for significant clinical value and improved patient care. For instance, on-site review can aid in rapid screening of diagnostic biopsies to reduce false-negative results, or in quantitative assessment of biospecimen quality to increase the efficacy of downstream laboratory and histopathology analysis. However, the only currently available rapid pathology method, frozen section analysis (FSA), is too time-and labor-intensive for use in screening large quantities of biopsy tissues and is too destructive for maximum tissue conservation in multiple small needle core biopsies. In this work we demonstrate the spectrally-compatible combination of the nuclear stain DRAQ5 and the anionic counterstain eosin as a dual-component fluorescent staining analog to hematoxylin and eosin intended for use on fresh, unsectioned tissues. Combined with optical sectioning fluorescence microscopy and pseudo-coloring algorithms, DRAQ5 and eosin ("D&E") enables very fast, non-destructive psuedohistological imaging of tissues at the point-of-acquisition with minimal tissue handling and processing. D&E was validated against H&E on a one-to-one basis on formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded and frozen section tissues of various human organs using standard epi-fluorescence microscopy, demonstrating high fidelity of the staining mechanism as an H&E analog. The method was then applied to fresh, whole 18G renal needle core biopsies and large needle core prostate biospecimen biopsies using fluorescence structured illumination optical sectioning microscopy. We demonstrate the ability to obtain high-resolution histology-like images of unsectioned, fresh tissues similar to subsequent H&E staining of the tissue. The application of D&E does not interfere with subsequent standard-of-care H&E staining and imaging, preserving the integrity of the tissue for thorough downstream analysis. These results indicate that this dual-stain pseudocoloring method could provide a real-time histology-like image at the time of acquisition and valuable objective tissue analysis for the clinician at the time of service.

It is a striking observation that tissue of patients invaded by the deep mycoses often lacks evidence of an inflammatory response. This lack of host response is often attributed to neutropenia secondary to chemotherapy. However, systematic studies do not support this simplistic explanation. However, invasive fungal lesions are characterized by abundant fungal functional amyloid, which in turn is bound by serum amyloid P component (SAP). We postulate that SAP is important in the local immune response in invasive fungal infections. The interaction between fungal functional amyloid, SAP, and the immune response in deep mycoses is discussed.

Background: Adipose-derived stem/stromal cells (ASCs) isolated from the stromal vascular fraction are a source of mesenchymal stem cells that have been shown to be beneficial in many regenerative medicine applications. ASCs are an attractive source of stem cells in particular, due to their lack of immunogenicity. This study examines differences between mitochondrial bioenergetic profiles of ASCs isolated from adipose tissue of five peri-organ regions: pericardial, thymic, knee, shoulder, and abdomen. Results: Flow cytometry showed that the majority of each ASC population isolated from the adipose tissue of 12 donors, with an n = 3 for each tissue type, were positive for MSC markers CD90, CD73, and CD105, and negative for hematopoietic markers CD34, CD11B, CD19, and CD45. Bioenergetic profiles were obtained for ASCs with an n = 4 for each tissue type and graphed together for comparison. Mitochondrial stress tests provided the following measurements: basal respiration rate (measured as oxygen consumption rate [pmol O-2/min], ATP production, proton leak, maximal respiration, respiratory control ratio, coupling efficiency, and non-mitochondrial respiration. Glycolytic stress tests provided the following measurements: basal glycolysis rate (measured as extracellular acidification rate [mpH/min]), glycolytic capacity, glycolytic reserve, and non-glycolytic acidification. Conclusions: The main goal of this manuscript was to provide baseline reference values for future experiments and to compare bioenergetic potentials of ASCs isolated from adipose tissue harvested from different anatomical locations. Through an investigation of mitochondrial respiration and glycolysis, it was demonstrated that bioenergetic profiles do not significantly differ by region due to depot-dependent and donor-dependent variability. Thus, although the physiological function, microenvironment and anatomical harvest site may directly affect the characteristics of ASCs isolated from different organ regions, the ultimate utility of ASCs remains independent of the anatomical harvest site.

Leptospirosis causes significant morbidity and mortality worldwide; however, the role of the host immune response in disease progression and high case fatality (> 10-50%) is poorly understood. We conducted a multi-parameter investigation of patients with acute leptospirosis to identify mechanisms associated with case fatality. Whole blood transcriptional profiling of 16 hospitalized Brazilian patients with acute leptospirosis (13 survivors, 3 deceased) revealed fatal cases had lower expression of the antimicrobial peptide, cathelicidin, and chemokines, but more abundant pro-inflammatory cytokine receptors. In contrast, survivors generated strong adaptive immune signatures, including transcripts relevant to antigen presentation and immunoglobulin production. In an independent cohort (23 survivors, 22 deceased), fatal cases had higher bacterial loads (P = 0.0004) and lower anti-Leptospira antibody titers (P = 0.02) at the time of hospitalization, independent of the duration of illness. Low serum cathelicidin and RANTES levels during acute illness were independent risk factors for higher bacterial loads (P = 0.005) and death (P = 0.04), respectively. To investigate the mechanism of cathelicidin in patients surviving acute disease, we administered LL-37, the active peptide of cathelicidin, in a hamster model of lethal leptospirosis and found it significantly decreased bacterial loads and increased survival. Our findings indicate that the host immune response plays a central role in severe leptospirosis disease progression. While drawn from a limited study size, significant conclusions include that poor clinical outcomes are associated with high systemic bacterial loads, and a decreased antibody response. Furthermore, our data identified a key role for the antimicrobial peptide, cathelicidin, in mounting an effective bactericidal response against the pathogen, which represents a valuable new therapeutic approach for leptospirosis.

Ultrasensitive nanomechanical instruments, including the atomic force microscope (AFM)(1-4) and optical and magnetic tweezers(5-8), have helped shed new light on the complex mechanical environments of biological processes. However, it is difficult to scale down the size of these instruments due to their feedback mechanisms9, which, if overcome, would enable high-density nanomechanical probing inside materials. A variety of molecular force probes including mechanophores(10), quantum dots(11), fluorescent pairs(12,13) and molecular rotors(14-16) have been designed to measure intracellular stresses; however, fluorescence-based techniques can have short operating times due to photo-instability and it is still challenging to quantify the forces with high spatial and mechanical resolution. Here, we develop a compact nanofibre optic force transducer (NOFT) that utilizes strong near-field plasmon-dielectric interactions to measure local forces with a sensitivity of <200 fN. The NOFT system is tested by monitoring bacterial motion and heart-cell beating as well as detecting infrasound power in solution.

No description available.

Background: Aortic valve insufficiency (AI) at the time of left ventricular assist device (LVAD) insertion needs to be corrected, however there is little known about how to manage bioprosthetic valvular AI. Case presentation: A 55-year-old female with dilated cardiomyopathy who previously had a bioprosthetic aortic valve replacement needed a LVAD as a bridge to transplant. Her left ventricular ejection fraction was 10% and had mild to moderate transvalvular AI. She underwent a HeartWare HVAD insertion along with aortic valvular coaptation stitch repair (Park's stitch) to the bioprosthetic valve. Conclusion: Her AI improved to trivial with minimal ejection through the bioprosthetic valve. She was transplanted 6 months following the surgery. A Park's stitch to the bioprosthetic aortic valve with more than mild AI might be a good option for bridge to transplant patient.

A. Otto's Thesis--Copenhagen.