Continuous centrifuge decelerator for polar molecules.

Producing large samples of slow molecules from thermal-velocity ensembles is a formidable challenge. Here we employ a centrifugal force to produce a continuous molecular beam with a high flux at near-zero velocities. We demonstrate deceleration of three electrically guided molecular species, CH3F, CF3H, and CF3CCH, with input velocities of up to 200 m s(-1) to obtain beams with velocities below 15 m s(-1) and intensities of several 10(9) mm(-2) s(-1). The centrifuge decelerator is easy to operate and can, in principle, slow down any guidable particle. It has the potential to become a standard technique for continuous deceleration of molecules.

Storage and adiabatic cooling of polar molecules in a microstructured trap.

We present a versatile electric trap for the exploration of a wide range of quantum phenomena in the interaction between polar molecules. The trap combines tunable fields, homogeneous over most of the trap volume, with steep gradient fields at the trap boundary. An initial sample of up to 10(8), CH(3)F molecules is trapped for as long as 60 s, with a 1/e storage time of 12 s. Adiabatic cooling down to 120 mK is achieved by slowly expanding the trap volume. The trap combines all ingredients for opto-electrical cooling, which, together with the extraordinarily long storage times, brings field-controlled quantum-mechanical collision and reaction experiments within reach.

Electrostatic extraction of cold molecules from a cryogenic reservoir.

We present a method which delivers a continuous, high-density beam of slow and internally cold polar molecules. In our source, warm molecules are first cooled by collisions with a cryogenic helium buffer gas. Cold molecules are then extracted by means of an electrostatic quadrupole guide. For ND3 the source produces fluxes up to (7+/- 4(7)) x 10(10) molecules/s with peak densities up to (1.0+/- 0.6(1.0)) x 10(9) molecules/cm3. For H2CO the population of rovibrational states is monitored by depletion spectroscopy, resulting in single-state populations up to (82+/-10)%.

Practical aspects of planning, building, and interpreting tissue microarrays: the Cooperative Prostate Cancer Tissue Resource experience.

This is a review of several new approaches developed at or adopted by the Cooperative Prostate Cancer Tissue Resource (CPCTR) to resolve issues involved in tissue microarray (TMA) construction and use. CPCTR developed the first needle biopsy TMA, allowing researchers to obtain 200 or more consecutive cancer sections from a single biopsy core. Using radiographs of original paraffin blocks to measure tissue thickness we developed a method to produce TMAs with a larger number of usable sections. The modular approach to plan TMA construction is also a novel concept wherein TMAs of different types, such as tumor grade TMAs, metastasis TMA and hormone refractory tumors TMA can be combined to form an ensemble of TMAs with expanded research utility, such as support for tumor progression studies. We also implemented an open access TMA Data Exchange Specification that allows TMA data to be organized in a self-describing XML document annotated with well-defined common data elements. It ensures inter-laboratory reproducibility because it offers information describing the preparation of TMA blocks and slides. There are many important aspects that may be missed by both beginners and experienced investigators in areas of TMA experimental design, human subjects protection, population sample size, selection of tumor areas to sample, strategies for saving tissues, choice of antibodies for immunohistochemistry, and TMA data management.

[Frontal and temporal onset of brain atrophy. Clinical and instrumental findings]. / Frontal und temporal beginnende Hirnatrophie. Klinische und apparative Befunde.

We report the cases of a 70-year old man with left temporal brain atrophy and of a 39-year-old man with neuropathologically verified frontal lobe degeneration (FLD) of Non-Alzheimer type. 10 patients with FLD collected during a prospective study on degenerative dementia had more severe volumetric brain changes and less severe quantitative band power changes than a group of matched patients with clinically diagnosed Alzheimer's disease.

[Adults with hereditary fructose intolerance: risks of fructose infusion]. / Erwachsene mit hereditärer Fructoseintoleranz: Gefährdung durch Fructoseinfusion.

After her first grand mal seizure a 30-year-old woman was given a fructose infusion by an emergency doctor. On admission to hospital she complained of severe nausea. Ultrasonography revealed hepatosplenomegaly and the gamma-GT concentration was raised to 25 U/l. As hyperinsulinism was suspected an oral glucose tolerance test was suggested, but refused by the patient. She reported marked aversion to all sweet foods. Examination of an endoscopically obtained liver biopsy revealed clear reduction in fructoaldolase activity in liver tissue, i.e. the diagnosis of hereditary fructose intolerance. Three of the patient's siblings were also affected. The widespread use of infusion solutions containing sorbitol and fructose has twice proved acutely hazardous in this patient and is generally life-threatening for persons with an inborn error of metabolism whose pathologic status often remains undiagnosed to an adult age.