Hepatic embolotherapy in interventional oncology: technology, techniques, and applications.

Embolotherapy continues to play a growing role in the management of primary and secondary hepatic malignancies. In this review article, we examine the basis of therapy with a focus on neovascularization, which makes treatments via the hepatic artery possible. An overview of the three generations of embolic and therapeutic agents follows. The techniques, technologies, and complications of bland embolization, transarterial chemoembolization, drug-eluting beads, and selective internal radiotherapy are covered to give the reader an overview of this exciting field in interventional radiology.

Family therapy for schizophrenia: cultural challenges and implementation barriers in the South African context.

Family therapy is an effective, evidence based intervention for schizophrenia. This literature review explores the impact of culture on family therapy as a treatment model for schizophrenia and examines how cultural beliefs impact on access to care. Although there is a good deal of evidence to suggest that certain principles of family therapy such as empathy and psycho-education are universal, there is a paucity of literature about the role of culture in designing family interventions for people living with schizophrenia in a culturally diverse setting such as South Africa. It is well acknowledged that cultural ideologies influence families' belief systems of schizophrenia, expected expressed emotion, and levels of stigma in relation to mental illness. Additionally, in adapting models designed for first-world settings, consideration needs to be given to aspects such as language, educational level and accessibility of mental health care facilities. Family therapists are increasingly recognising the need for the study and implementation of evidence based culture-relevant and culture-responsive therapeutic techniques. These techniques need to be cost-effective and will require training, supervision, staff support, and management input in order to become generally available.

Automated serial sectioning applied to 3D paper structure analysis.

A better understanding of paper properties requires a detailed knowledge about the spatial arrangement of its constituent materials in its structure. This paper presents a novel approach for the analysis of the three-dimensional paper structure at the fibre level. A technique combining a rotary microtome and an optical microscopy was developed allowing serial sectioning of hundreds of cuts. The microscope is fixed on a moveable stage and mounted in front of a microtome. Repeatedly, thin slices are cut off an embedded paper sample and the cut block surface is scanned in a fully automated process. The prototype built is able to digitize paper samples with a size of more than 1 cm(2) at a possible three-dimensional resolution below 1 µm. Advanced computer vision methods are applied to extract relevant information from the digitized samples. Currently, the most important applications are the analysis of pigment coating layers on the paper surfaces and the analysis of fibre transverse morphology. Besides the analysis of paper structures, this technique is also suited for the spatial analysis of other materials, if the structural features are accessible with light optical microscopy.