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Data Availability Statement: The data underpinning this publication can be accessed from Brunel University London’s data repository, Brunelfigshare here under a CCBY licence: https://doi.org/10.17633/rd.brunel.5446813.v1. Non-digital data supporting this study are stored by the corresponding author at Brunel University. Details of how to request access to these data are provided here: https://doi.org/10.17633/rd.brunel.5446813.v1. Supplementary Materials: The following supporting information can be downloaded at: https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/ma16124240/s1, Figure S1: Plasmid–DNA interaction assay for Ti-Nb-Zr based alloys. The migration pattern of plasmid DNA incubated with Ti-Nb-Zr-based alloys and TiRG4 reference materials is shown in the figure. The bands are labeled as NC: Nicked circular and SC: Supercoiled; ddH2O served as a negative control. Copyright © 2023 by the authors. This study investigated the microstructures, mechanical performances, corrosion resistances, and in vitro studies of porous Ti-xNb-10Zr (x: 10 and 20; at. %) alloys. The alloys were fabricated by powder metallurgy with two categories of porosities, i.e., 21–25% and 50–56%, respectively. The space holder technique was employed to generate the high porosities. Microstructural analysis was performed by using various methods including scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, electron backscatter diffraction, and x-ray diffraction. Corrosion resistance was assessed via electrochemical polarisation tests, while mechanical behavior was determined by uniaxial compressive tests. In vitro studies, such as cell viability and proliferation, adhesion potential, and genotoxicity, were examined by performing an MTT assay, fibronectin adsorption, and plasmid-DNA interaction assay. Experimental results showed that the alloys had a dual-phase microstructure composed of finely dispersed acicular hcp α-Ti needles in the bcc β-Ti matrix. The ultimate compressive strength ranged from 1019 MPa to 767 MPa for alloys with 21–25% porosities and from 173 MPa to 78 MPa for alloys with 50–56% porosities. Noted that adding a space holder agent played a more critical role in the mechanical behaviors of the alloys compared to adding niobium. The pores were largely open and exhibited irregular shapes, with uniform size distribution, allowing for cell ingrowth. Histological analysis showed that the alloys studied met the biocompatibility criteria required for orthopaedic biomaterial use. EPSRC Future LiME Hub (EP/N007638/1); PhD studentship, the Republic of Turkey Ministry of National Education.

Background: Coronary artery bypass surgery is the most commonly performed cardiac operation and approximately 40-70% of patients require a blood transfusion despite improvements in cardiac surgical techniques. Some preventive perfusion methods to avoid transfusions are described, such as acute normovolemic hemodilution, retrograde autologous priming, and usage of integrated arterial filter oxygenator. Aims: We combined these three techniques (triple combination technique) to evaluate whether it is possible to avoid blood transfusions in adult patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery. Materials and Methods: A total of 300 consecutive patients were included in this randomized controlled trial. 150 patients (Group 1) were operated with triple combination technique, The other 150 patients (Group 2) were operated with standard cardiopulmonary bypass technique. The two groups were compared in terms of peroperative and postoperative blood product use. Results: Ninety-two percent (92%) of the patients (Group 1) undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery did not require any blood transfusion. Only 8% of the patients required erythrocyte suspension or fresh frozen plasma transfusion. In Group 2, 58% of patients required blood transfusions. The difference between two groups was statistically significant (p < 0,05). Conclusion: Triple combination technique is safe and cost-effective in coronary artery bypass surgery. We think that most of the patients could be operated without blood transfusion with this technique.

Medical imaging has been employed to support medical diagnosis and treatment. It may also provide crucial information to surgeons to facilitate optimal surgical preplanning and perioperative management. Essentially, semi-automatic organ and tumor segmentation has been studied by many researchers. Recently, with the development of Deep Learning (DL) algorithms, automatic organ segmentation has been gathered lots of attention from the researchers. This paper addresses to propose the most efficient DL architectures for Liver segmentation by adapting and comparing state-of-the-art DL frameworks, studied in different disciplines. These frameworks are implemented and adapted into a Commercial software, 'LiverVision'. It is aimed to reveal the most effective and accurate DL architecture for fully automatic liver segmentation. Equal conditions were provided to all architectures in the experiments so as to measure the effectiveness of algorithms accuracy, and Dice coefficient metrics were also employed to support comparative analysis. Experimental results prove that 'U-Net' and 'SegNet' have been superior in line with the experiments conducted considering the concepts of time, cost, and effectiveness. Considering both architectures, 'SegNet' was observed to be more successful in eliminating false-positive values. Besides, it was seen that the accuracy metric used to measure effectiveness in image segmentation alone was not enough. Results reveal that DL algorithms are able to automate organ segmentation from DICOM images with high accuracy. This contribution is critical for surgical preplanning and motivates author to apply this approach to the different organs and field of medicine.

In this study, biomass feedstocks; softwood pellet, straw pellet, torrefied wood chips and pyrolysis char were investigated in terms of their thermal behaviorto obtain their kinetic parameters (Ea;A). Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) of the samples under N2 atmosphere were carried out at four different heating rates (2-15 °C/min) at 25-850 °C. Coats&Redfern and Isoconversional Methods were chosen as the model-fitting and model free methods to calculate pyrolysis kinetic parameters. Straw pellet has the highest ash content (5.85 wt%) and agglomeration index of 1.27. It seemed to be more prone to agglomeration during thermochemical conversion. Its lowest ash fusion temperature (FT=1256 °C) supported its agglomeration tendency as well. In the scope of kinetic analysis, the choice on the starting and end points of decomposition stages was determinative in Coats&Redfern method, whereas Isoconversional method was evaluated to be independent from the choice of the stages. Calculated activation energies and characterization studies indicated that both torrefied wood chips and softwood pellet were the samples which might be more reactive to thermochemical conversions and less prone to agglomeration. Although pyrolysis char gave the lowest agglomeration index (0.37),its high decomposition temperature (>850 °C) is the potential drawback in front of its utilization via pyrolysis., Proceedings of the 23rd European Biomass Conference and Exhibition, 1-4 June 2015, Vienna, Austria, pp. 1236-1242

Various endocrine cells can be stained by the argyrophil reaction of Grimelius. This silver stain has recently been attributed to chromogranin A, an acidic glycoprotein, that is present in many endocrine cells. Using serial sections of plastic-embedded tissues (adrenal medulla, pancreas, gastric mucosa) various endocrine cells were investigated for their content of chromogranin A immunoreactivity and for their argyrophilia. The findings in four species (man, cattle, pig, guinea pig) showed that chromogranin A immunoreactivity and argyrophil stain partly overlap in identical endocrine cells, but do not necessarily coincide in the majority of endocrine cells. We found that endocrine cells could be positive for chromogranin A and argyrophilia (e.g., aminergic endocrine cells); or positive for chromogranin A but negative for argyrophilia (e.g., insulin cells of all species; somatostatin cells of cattle and pig); or negative for chromogranin A but positive for argyrophilia (e.g., glucagon cells of pig and guinea pig); or negative for chromogranin A and argyrophilia (e.g., somatostatin cells of man and guinea pig). Such heterogeneities of the staining pattern for chromogranin A and argyrophil silver reaction were also observed in individual endocrine cells of a given population (e.g., gastrin cells). Hence, although recent dot-blot tests have shown that chromogranin A is an argyrophilic substance, in tissue sections chromogranin A immunostaining and Grimelius' silver staining did not coincide in various endocrine cells, for unknown reasons. Therefore, it is recommended to use both chromogranin A immunohistochemistry and the classical Grimelius' silver stain to "mark" that vast majority of endocrine cells in tissue sections.

Pet owners usually consult veterinarian in order to find out whether their pet is pregnant or not, and if pregnant, to learn the number of foetuses. In cats, pregnancy can be diagnosed by abdominal palpation (Mailhac, 1982), abdominal radiography (Boyd, 1971), and abdominal ultrasound (Davidson, et al, 1986).

BACKGROUND: In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness of two devices using ultrasonic energy for dissection of lung parenchyma in an experimental animal model by comparing the two methods with each other. METHODS: Twenty New Zealand rabbits were used. One-lung ventilation was obtained under direct vision and the left lung was collapsed. The rabbits were ventilated with pressure-controlled ventilation during the experiment, beginning with a pressure level of 10 cmH(2)O. After a 1 x 1-cm pulmonary wedge resection of part of the collapsed left lung using a harmonic scalpel (group A) or an ultrasonic surgical aspirator (group B), the left lung was inflated and the pressure level was increased by 5 cmH(2)O every five minutes. The pressure level which caused an air leak from the resection surface was recorded. The morphological damage to the lung parenchyma was evaluated under light microscopy. RESULTS: The mean value of airway pressure levels that resulted in an air leak from the resection surface was 32.5 +/- 9.2 cmH(2)O for group A and 24.5 +/- 2.9 cmH(2)O for group B, and the difference between the two groups was statistically significant. The mean level of coagulation necrosis was 558.6 +/- 380.8 microns (133 - 1064 microns) for group A. No tissue damage to pulmonary parenchyma was observed in group B. CONCLUSION: The harmonic scalpel can be safely used in peripheral lung resections without needing any other method to ensure hemostasis and air tightness. The ultrasonic surgical aspirator can be used for the dissection and resection of deeper lesions and preserves more lung tissue but requires additional interventions for control of the air leak from the resection surface.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of N-butyl cyanoacrylate tissue adhesive for the prevention of air leak together with the morphological changes to lung parenchyma. METHODS: Twelve New Zealand rabbits were used. The rabbits were ventilated with pressure-controlled ventilation during the experiment, beginning with a pressure level of 10 cm H 2 O. After a 2 × 2-cm pulmonary wedge resection, the resection surface was sealed with N-butyl cyanoacrylate and the pressure level was increased every five minutes in 5-cm H 2 O increments. The pressure level which caused an air leak from the resection surface was recorded. The morphological damage to the lung parenchyma was evaluated under light microscopy. RESULTS: The mean value of the pressure levels that caused air leak was 43.3 ± 8.8 cm H 2 O. No tissue damage to lung parenchyma was recorded after histopathological examination. CONCLUSION: N-butyl cyanoacrylate was effective in preventing air leak from the pulmonary resection surface even with high airway pressure levels. It could be used as an aid for pulmonary resection lines or to control the air leak from pulmonary parenchyma.

The purpose of this study was to investigate cellular changes of the uterus during pregnancy, pyometra and different phases of the sexual cycle in dogs using endometrial cytology.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of beta-carotene and vitamin-A blood levels on follicular development (F) and corpus luteum (CL) numbers in bitches.

Functional in vitro studies with isolated gastric mucosal cells require cytological identification of different cell types in suspension or primary culture. Since suitable techniques have not been well established, different staining methods for the discrimination of dispersed pig and guinea pig gastric cells have been developed on the basis of modified previous protocols for enzymatic cell dispersion. Chief and parietal cells were visualized by combined periodic acid-Schiff stains. Surface mucous and mucous neck cells were identified by affinity-labelling, using lectins with selective staining properties in situ. Two of the lectins were found to be specific markers for gastric polymorphonuclear cells. The following vital tests were found to be useful: succinic dehydrogenase for parietal cells, Nile blue/brilliant cresyl blue stains for chief cells, and different phagocytosis assays for endothelial cells and gastric phagocytes. Endocrine cells were characterized by immunocytochemistry using specific antibodies against gastrin, somatostatin, histamine and serotonin. The same technique using a vimentin antibody was performed for the identification of fibroblasts. Proliferation of mucosal cells in primary culture was monitored by the incorporation of bromo-deoxyuridine, which was subsequently detected by a monoclonal antibody.

Loss of E-cadherin (uvomorulin), a Ca(2+)-dependent cell adhesion molecule required for normal epithelial function, has been attributed a pathogenetic role in tumor invasion. The expression of E-cadherin was studied in normal and neoplastic follicular epithelium of the human thyroid by Northern blot analysis and immunofluorescence on frozen tissue sections. In the normal thyroid (n = 10) and in benign thyroid disorders (n = 21; toxic diffuse goitre; multinodular goitre; follicular adenomas), E-cadherin mRNA levels were equally high and the follicles were generally stained, mainly along the lateral surface of the epithelial cells, by the anti-E-cadherin monoclonal antibody. In anaplastic thyroid carcinomas (n = 6) E-cadherin expression was very low or lacking. In papillary carcinomas (n = 23), E-cadherin mRNA levels varied from nearly normal to highly reduced, which roughly correlated with the overall immunofluorescence intensity. However, the immunostaining also revealed a heterogeneous "all-or-nothing" expression of E-cadherin among adjacent cells in the same tumor. In the follicular carcinomas (n = 9), E-cadherin mRNA levels were in general rather high but the immunostaining varied considerably. A few papillary and follicular tumors lacked immunoreactive E-cadherin in spite of high mRNA levels. In oxyphilic (Hürthle) cell tumors, comprising both adenomas (n = 4) and carcinomas (n = 2), E-cadherin immunoreactivity was reduced and distributed intracellularly rather than at the cell surface. The expression of E-cadherin in relapsing thyroid carcinomas and in tumors with metastatic spreading was, irrespective of the histiotype, low or lacking. Sequential Northern analysis revealed a close correlation between the expression levels of E-cadherin and the thyrotropin receptor. Together, the data suggest that in human thyroid malignancies both gene expression and posttranscriptional control of E-cadherin may be impaired.