Molecular insights of Hippo signaling in the chick developing lung.

Hippo signaling pathway and its effector YAP have been recognized as an essential growth regulator during embryonic development. Hippo has been studied in different contexts; nevertheless, its role during chick lung branching morphogenesis remains unknown. Therefore, this work aims to determine Hippo role during early pulmonary organogenesis in the avian animal model. The current study describes the spatial distribution of Hippo signaling members in the embryonic chick lung by in situ hybridization. Overall, their expression is comparable to their mammalian counterparts. Moreover, the expression levels of phosphorylated-YAP (pYAP) and total YAP revealed that Hippo signaling is active in the embryonic chick lung. Furthermore, the presence of pYAP in the cytoplasm demonstrated that the Hippo machinery distribution is maintained in this tissue. In vitro studies were performed to assess the role of the Hippo signaling pathway in lung branching. Lung explants treated with a YAP/TEAD complex inhibitor (verteporfin) displayed a significant reduction in lung size and branching and decreased expression of ctgf (Hippo target gene) compared to the control. This approach also revealed that Hippo seems to modulate the expression of key molecular players involved in lung branching morphogenesis (sox2, sox9, axin2, and gli1). Conversely, when treated with dobutamine, an upstream regulator that promotes YAP phosphorylation, explant morphology was not severely affected. Overall, our data indicate that Hippo machinery is present and active in the early stages of avian pulmonary branching and that YAP is likely involved in the regulation of lung growth.

Net-phase flow NMR for compact applications.

The net phase of the NMR signal is proposed as a robust mechanism for the encoding of fluid flow velocity into phase, showing local bijectivity. While magnitude-based or imaging-based methods suffer from loss of signal, by increasing the flow rate, the present method enables us to maintain the high SNR even for the case of fast flow. In addition, it is shown that a well-engineered flow channel is also necessary, which is not the case for traditional cylindrical flow channels. In this contribution, we report on implementing this approach in a low-cost NMR-based flowmeter for use in a low field (1 T) setting, for example, for monitoring reaction flow industrial processes.

A Novel Sentinel Lymph Node Approach in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Occult metastases are common in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) which is why elective neck dissection, adjuvant radiotherapy or watchful waiting have been treatment options after surgical removal of the primary tumour. Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) has lately emerged as a novel possibility in treatment planning. OBJECTIVES: To establish a reliable and clinically useful protocol for SLNB in staging/elective neck dissection in oral cancer. METHODS: Fourteen consecutive patients with T1-T2 N0 oral cancer were enrolled when scheduled for elective neck dissection. RESULTS: This study outlines various techniques for improving SLNB in head and neck cancer. After evaluation, a combination of techniques was found to constitute a reliable, clinically adaptable work concept. The suggested procedure starts with the pre-surgical injection of radioactive technetium 99Tcm carried on tilmanocept (Lymphoseek ®) at the tumour site. The radioactivity in the lymph node is then visualized preoperatively with Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT/CT). Intraoperatively, indocyanine green (ICG) is injected and a sentinel node is visualized with near-infrared light. To support the sentinel node detection, the surgeon uses a hand-held gamma detection probe. This approach results in a reproducible and reliable detection of sentinel nodes. CONCLUSION: This paper presents a novel protocol for the identification of the sentinel node in the head and neck region. The protocol additionally enables the use of flow cytometry analysis of resected lymph nodes.

Geometrically-differential NMR in a stripline front-end.

A major challenge facing the development of portable, low-cost NMR is the development of robust yet sensitive transceivers, for which several trade-offs in scalability, performance and complexity are usually necessary. Here we report on a stripline-based NMR detector that overcomes previous limitations. It features a sensitivity of 5.7×10-4 TA-1Ω-0.5 over a sample volume of 10 mm × 10 mm × 3 mm, an exceptionally high B1 homogeneity of A450/A90=98.4%, intrinsic electromagnetic shielding of 27 dB from environmental influences, and a total signal gain of 68 dB in the presence of a noise factor of 1.28, without any exterior shielding. The new dual-coil arrangement offers a downscalable geometry optimised for gap magnets, and it is voltage-tunable and plug-in compatible with commercial software-defined radio spectrometer boards. Exceptionally, it features both common-mode and novel differential-mode NMR measurement abilities.

A multi-purpose, rolled-up, double-helix resonator.

Multilayer flexible substrates offer a means to combine high lateral precision and resolution with roll-up processes, allowing layer-based manufacturing to reach into the third dimension. Here we explore this combination to achieve an otherwise hard-to-manufacture resonator geometry: the double-helix. The use of commercial flexPCB technology enabled optimal winding connections and a versatile adjustment to various operation fields, sample volumes and resonance numbers. The sensitivity of the design is shown to greatly benefit from the fabrication method, though optimal electrical connections and several radially-wound windings, and was measured to outperform an equivalent solenoid despite the known geometrical disadvantage.

Hydroxylamine as an oxygen nucleophile. Structure and reactivity of ammonia oxide.

Ammonia oxide is revealed as a stable molecule in a crystal structure and as a likely reactive species in many reactions of hydroxylamine.