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The identification of avian gender is important for prosperous breeding of birds. Since birds do not possess external genital organs, endoscopic investigations, blood analysis, and molecular biological methods are applied to determine the gender in monomorphic species. However, anesthesia and blood sampling impose stress on the examined bird and should be avoided in terms of animal protection. Here we report on the application of UV-resonance Raman spectroscopy as a minimal invasive method for gender determination of birds via an evaluation of feather pulp samples. Sample preparation for this investigation method is simple and facilitates a quick and easy analysis. The UV-resonance Raman spectra of the feather pulp sample extracts are dominated by DNA and protein signals. The different DNA content in male and female chicken allows for gender differentiation via its characteristic Raman fingerprint. The classification either to male or female chicken is ideally accomplished by support vector machines due to the fact that no unknown classes are involved. Recognition rates of about 95% were compared to less effective results of the unsupervised hierarchical cluster analysis. Within the scope of our investigations, principal component analysis was also applied to determine the important spectral regions for the classification of chicken's feather pulp samples.

Abstract : Oxalic acid dihydrate is used to treat varroosis of Apis mellifera . This study investigates lethal and sublethal effects of oxalic acid dihydrate on individually treated honeybees kept in cages under laboratory conditions as well as the distribution in the colony. After oral application, bee mortality occurred at relatively low concentrations (No Observed Adverse Effect Level (NOAEL) 50 µg/bee; Lowest Observed Adverse Effect Level (LOAEL) 75 µg/bee) compared to the dermal treatment (NOAEL 212.5 µg/bee; LOAEL 250 µg/bee). The dosage used in regular treatment via dermal application (circa 175 µg/bee) is below the LOAEL, referring to mortality derived in the laboratory. However, the treatment with oxalic acid dihydrate caused sublethal effects: This could be demonstrated in an increased responsiveness to water, decreased longevity and a reduction in pH-values in the digestive system and the hemolymph. The shift towards stronger acidity after treatment confirms that damage to the epithelial tissue and organs is likely to be caused by hyperacidity. The distribution of oxalic acid dihydrate within a colony was shown by macro-computed tomography; it was rapid and consistent. The increased density of the individual bee was continuous for at least 14 days after the treatment indicating the presence of oxalic acid dihydrate in the hive even long after a treatment., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Objective: Three-dimensional (3D) printing has become widely available, and a few cases of its use in clinical practice have been described. The aim of this study was to explore facilities for the semi-automated delineation of breast cancer tumors and to assess the feasibility of 3D printing of breast cancer tumors., Methods: In a case series of five patients, different 3D imaging methods-magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT), and 3D ultrasound-were used to capture 3D data for breast cancer tumors. The volumes of the breast tumors were calculated to assess the comparability of the breast tumor models, and the MRI information was used to render models on a commercially available 3D printer to materialize the tumors., Results: The tumor volumes calculated from the different 3D methods appeared to be comparable. Tumor models with volumes between 325 mm 3 and 7,770 mm 3 were printed and compared with the models rendered from MRI. The materialization of the tumors reflected the computer models of them., Conclusion: 3D printing (rapid prototyping) appears to be feasible. Scenarios for the clinical use of the technology might include presenting the model to the surgeon to provide a better understanding of the tumor's spatial characteristics in the breast, in order to improve decision-making in relation to neoadjuvant chemotherapy or surgical approaches. J. Surg. Oncol. 2017;115:238-242. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., (© 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Image-based examination of the breast facilitates the detection of breast diseases, particularly of present benign and malignant lesions. For computer-aided processing of serial and multimodal clinical data, both for visual correlation and quantitative analysis, automated image-registration methods are an indispensable tool. The wide range of modalities and the high variability of breast appearance have led to a large diversity of proposed approaches for tissue deformation modeling and image registration. In this article, we review current developments in breast image registration techniques, and comment on their clinical relevance, individual capabilities, and open challenges.

Bacterial meningitis is a relevant public health concern. Despite the availability of modern treatment strategies it is still a life-threatening disease that causes significant morbidity and mortality. Therefore, an initial treatment approach plays an important role. For in-time identification of specific bacterial pathogens of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and emerged antimicrobial and adjunctive treatment, microbiological examination is of major importance. This contribution spotlights the potential of micro-Raman spectroscopy as a biomedical assay for direct analysis of bacteria in cerebrospinal fluid of patients with bacterial meningitis. The influence of miscellaneous artificial environments on several bacterial species present during bacterial meningitis was studied by means of Raman spectroscopy. The application of chemometric data interpretation via hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) allows for the differentiation of in vitro cultured bacterial cells and can also be achieved on a single cell level. Moreover as proof of principle the investigation of a CSF sample obtained from a patient with meningococcal meningitis showed that the cerebrospinal fluid matrix does not mask the Raman spectrum of a bacterial cell notably since via chemometric analysis with HCA an identification of N. meningitidis cells from patients with bacterial meningitis could be achieved., (((c) 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim).)

This contribution provides a new approach for single blood cell analysis in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) with the possibility of utilizing simultaneously on the same sample the unique capabilities of the two methods fluorescence staining and Raman spectroscopy. By doing so this technique enables the potential of accurate and rapid cell identification in order to determine cell parameters immediately (e.g. the study of the level of activation or phagocytosis activity of single blood cells). Fluorescence labeling of blood cells offers the great possibility of differentiating easily between the subtypes of white blood cells, while Raman spectroscopy reveals molecular fingerprint information with a spatial resolution down to the diffraction limit. Compared to an unstained cell, the presented results nicely demonstrate that the selected fluorescence dye does not influence the Raman spectrum of a labeled blood cell notably. By the combined application of Raman spectroscopy and statistical data analysis a distinction between white blood cell substructures could be performed. Since several blood cell types also differ in the amount of their cell components, differentiation between several blood cell types is also possible when one blood cell is described in the database by several Raman spectra according their presented sub-microscopic structures. This capability with the possibility of accurate and rapid blood cell identification in cerebrospinal fluid is extremely promising for implementation in clinical diagnostics.

We report on the great advantages of using deep UV Raman system for in situ planetary applications. Among them are to be mentioned: (I) higher scattering efficiency compared to VIS-IR Raman excitation wavelengths, (II) electronic resonance effects which increase the intrinsically weak Raman signal thus improving the S/N ratio of the detected Raman signals and (III) spectral separation of Raman and fluorescence signals. All these advantages are making UV Raman a valuable technique for in situ planetary applications. Mineral as well as biological samples were analyzed using Raman deep UV excitation and the results are presented. For the mineral samples a comparison with excitation in the NIR-VIS spectral regions is made. The impact of fluorescence on Raman data acquisition at different laser excitation wavelengths is assessed. Making use of the resonance effects, spectra of microorganisms were recorded with a high S/N ratio, allowing afterwards a very precise identification and classification (to the strain level) of the measured samples.

Fast analysis of bioaerosols in clean room environments is necessary in order to prevent contamination of pharmaceutical products, minimize machine downtimes, or both. The detection and identification of microbes will be carried out in several steps: After impaction of the aerosol on a surface, the particles are presorted with glancing light illumination and fluorescence imaging in order to distinguish between abiotic and biotic particles. Since only the biotic particles are of interest, the analysis time can be minimized due to reduction of the data set. The biotic particles are then analyzed further with Raman spectroscopy and identified with a support vector machine.

Microorganisms, such as bacteria, which might be present as contamination inside an industrial food or pharmaceutical clean room process need to be identified on short time scales in order to minimize possible health hazards as well as production downtimes causing financial deficits. Here we describe the first results of single-particle micro-Raman measurements in combination with a classification method, the so-called support vector machine technique, allowing for a fast, reliable, and nondestructive online identification method for single bacteria.