Experimental Fock-State Superradiance.

Superradiance in an ensemble of atoms leads to the collective enhancement of radiation in a particular mode shared by the atoms in their spontaneous decay from an excited state. The quantum aspects of this phenomenon are highlighted when such collective enhancement is observed in the emission of a single quantum of light. Here we report a further step in exploring experimentally the nonclassical features of superradiance by implementing the process not only with single excitations, but also in a two-excitation state. Particularly, we measure and theoretically model the wave packets corresponding to superradiance in both the single-photon and two-photon regimes. Such progress opens the way to the study and future control of the interaction of nonclassical light modes with collective quantum memories at higher photon numbers.

Expression of proteoglycans in two types of ameloblastoma: novel Immunohistochemical findings.

Alterations in cellular and extracellular matrix components play an important role during tumorigenesis; proteoglycans are included among these components. Ameloblastomas are odontogenic tumors distinguished as invasive and infiltrative neoplasms and are divided into different histological types, the most common of which are the unicystic ameloblastoma and the conventional ameloblastoma. The aim of this study was to identify the presence of two proteoglycans, perlecan and biglycan, in different types of ameloblastoma. Using immunohistochemistry, we determined the presence of both proteins in 28 unicystic ameloblastomas and 23 conventional ameloblastomas. We identified the cytoplasmic and nuclear presence of perlecan and the cytoplasmic presence of biglycan in both types of ameloblastoma. The mean values of immunoexpression were higher in the conventional type compared to the unicystic type. Neither the presence of biglycan in ameloblastomas nor the nuclear presence of perlecan in any odontogenic tumor has previously been reported. The differential immunoexpression of perlecan and biglycan in these types of ameloblastomas suggests their participation in the developmental process of these tumors.

Effect of different concentrations of acetic, citric, and propionic acid dipping solutions on bacterial contamination of raw chicken skin.

Bacterial contamination of raw, processed poultry may include spoilage bacteria and foodborne pathogens. We evaluated different combinations of organic acid (OA) wash solutions for their ability to reduce bacterial contamination of raw chicken skin and to inhibit growth of spoilage bacteria and pathogens on skin during refrigerated storage. In experiment 1, raw chicken skin samples were dipped into a suspension of either 10(8) cfu/mL of Salmonella Typhimurium, Escherichia coli O157:H7, or Listeria monocytogenes for 30 s and then immersed in PBS or an OA wash solution mixture of 0.8% citric, 0.8% acetic, and 0.8% propionic acid (at equal wt/vol concentrations) for an additional 30 s. In experiment 2, three different concentrations of the OA wash solution (0.2, 0.4, and 0.6% at equal wt/vol concentrations) were tested against chicken skin samples contaminated with Salmonella Typhimurium. Viable pathogenic bacteria on each skin sample were enumerated after 1 and 24 h of storage at 4°C in both experiments. In experiment 3, skin samples were initially treated on d 1 with PBS or 2 concentrations of the OA mixture (0.4 and 0.8%), and total aerobic bacteria were enumerated during a 2-wk storage period. In all experiments, significant (P < 0.05) differences were observed when skin samples were treated with the OA wash solution and no spoilage organisms were recovered at any given time point, whereas increasing log10 numbers of spoilage organisms were recovered over time in PBS-treated skin samples. These results suggest that 0.2 to 0.8% concentrations of an equal-percentage mixture of this OA combination may reduce pathogens and spoilage organisms and improve food safety properties of raw poultry.

Vertical transmission and pathological findings in the mother, the placenta and the offspring, during first and last thirds of gestation in a mouse model of congenital toxoplasmosis.

We performed a study of congenital toxoplasmosis of the first and third gestation periods in mice, and determined its effects on the embryos/fetuses, the placentae and the maternal organs. We infected pregnant BALB/c mice by i.v. injection of 2.5--10.0 × 106 tachyzoites of the ME49 T. gondii strain and euthanized them 72 h later. The tissues were analyzed by histopathology, immunohistochemistry and parasite-specific qPCR. Infections with the lowest dose induced remarkably different changes in the two thirds: a) all doses diminished the number of products/litter, the lowest dose only by 14%; but most embryos still visible were degenerated in the case of the first period, while the fetuses of the last third were perfectly preserved; b) the transmission rate in the first third was relatively high, but with a very low parasite burden; c) with the lowest dose, strong vascular changes (congestion, thrombosis and hemorrhage) predominated in the placentas of the first period, while they were absent in the last third; d) necrosis caused by T. gondii to maternal organs was much stronger during the last gestation period than in the first. Our results suggest that the vascular alterations at the placenta of the first third of pregnancy prevent embryo from large parasite burden, but provoke its death by starvation. In the last gestation period, there was poor control of parasite dissemination to the placenta and the fetus, but there was greater capacity of the product to defend itself from T. gondii.

Recommendations of the Society of Thoracic Surgery and the Section of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery of the Spanish Society of Anesthesia, Resuscitation and Pain Therapy, for patients undergoing lung surgery included in an intensified recovery program.

In recent years, multidisciplinary programs have been implemented that include different actions during the pre, intra and postoperative period, aimed at reducing perioperative stress and therefore improving the results of patients undergoing surgical interventions. Initially, these programs were developed for colorectal surgery and from there they have been extended to other surgeries. Thoracic surgery, considered highly complex, like other surgeries with a high postoperative morbidity and mortality rate, may be one of the specialties that most benefit from the implementation of these programs. This review presents the recommendations made by different specialties involved in the perioperative care of patients who require resection of a lung tumor. Meta-analyzes, systematic reviews, randomized and non-randomized controlled studies, and retrospective studies conducted in patients undergoing this type of intervention have been taken into account in preparing the recommendations presented in this guide. The GRADE scale has been used to classify the recommendations, assessing on the one hand the level of evidence published on each specific aspect and, on the other hand, the strength of the recommendation with which the authors propose its application. The recommendations considered most important for this type of surgery are those that refer to pre-habilitation, minimization of surgical aggression, excellence in the management of perioperative pain and postoperative care aimed at providing rapid postoperative rehabilitation.

Recommendations of the Society of Thoracic Surgery and the Section of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery of the Spanish Society of Anesthesia, Resuscitation and Pain Therapy, for patients undergoing lung surgery included in an intensified recovery program. / Recomendaciones de la Sociedad Española de Cirugía Torácica y de la Sección de Cardiotorácica y Cirugía Vascular de la Sociedad Española de Anestesiología, Reanimación y Terapéutica del Dolor, para los pacientes sometidos a cirugía pulmonar incluidos en un programa de recuperación intensificada.

In recent years, multidisciplinary programs have been implemented that include different actions during the pre, intra and postoperative period, aimed at reducing perioperative stress and therefore improving the results of patients undergoing surgical interventions. Initially, these programs were developed for colorectal surgery and from there they have been extended to other surgeries. Thoracic surgery, considered highly complex, like other surgeries with a high postoperative morbidity and mortality rate, may be one of the specialties that most benefit from the implementation of these programs. This review presents the recommendations made by different specialties involved in the perioperative care of patients who require resection of a lung tumor. Meta-analyses, systematic reviews, randomized and non-randomized controlled studies, and retrospective studies conducted in patients undergoing this type of intervention have been taken into account in preparing the recommendations presented in this guide. The GRADE scale has been used to classify the recommendations, assessing on the one hand the level of evidence published on each specific aspect and, on the other hand, the strength of the recommendation with which the authors propose its application. The recommendations considered most important for this type of surgery are those that refer to pre-habilitation, minimization of surgical aggression, excellence in the management of perioperative pain and postoperative care aimed at providing rapid postoperative rehabilitation.

Syndecan-1 (CD138) and Ki-67 expression in different subtypes of ameloblastomas.

Ameloblastoma is the most frequent odontogenic tumor and is considered a benign, but locally invasive, neoplasm with variable clinico-pathological expression. Syndecan-1 is a cell surface proteoglycan that binds cells to the extracellular matrix and its expression is down-regulated in many cellular transformation models. The aims of this study were to examine the pattern of syndecan-1 expression, to evaluate the proliferating activity in a large series of solid/multicystic (SA) and unicystic ameloblastomas (UA), and to study its possible correlation to their biological behavior. Immunohistochemical studies were performed for syndecan-1 (clone MI15) and Ki-67 (clone MIB-1) in 120 ameloblastomas (75 SA and 45 UA). The salient finding was that expression of syndecan-1 was related to the histological subtype of tumors, as there was a lower expression in SA (40.2%) as compared to UA (49.7%) (p<0.05). These findings did not correlate with Ki-67 expression, as this was similar in both types of ameloblastomas. Our results suggest that the reduced expression of syndecan-1 supports the view that SA has a more aggressive biological behavior than the UA. The lack of correlation between reduction of the syndecan-1 and Ki-67 index may be due to the different histomorphologies of both types of ameloblastoma, and more studies are necessary to better understand the role of this protein in the biological behavior of these tumors.

A comparison of proton therapy and IMRT treatment plans for prostate radiotherapy.

Proton therapy (PT) is becoming a more widely available treatment option on the world stage and there is some interest in investment in this treatment option in Australia. The benefit of PT has been shown for a number of tumour sites, particularly for paediatric patients. The workload from these patients may not completely fill the maximum yearly workload of a machine. This work aims to ascertain if prostate cancer would be a suitable candidate to fill the rest of the workload at an Australian PT facility. Passive and intensity modulated proton therapy (IMPT) plans were generated for a prostate patient. These were compared to 7 field sliding window and step and shoot IMRT plans. All plans used a prescription dose of 78 CGE. IMRT and IMPT plans used inverse planning for optimisation. Homogeneity in the PTV was best for the IMPT plan. IMPT also gave the best rectal sparing. The bladder and femoral heads were exposed to less dose in both proton plans. Proton plans exposed normal tissue outside the PTV to less than 50% of the dose given by the IMRT plans. PT, particularly IMPT, is a suitable treatment option for the prostate cancer patient presented here.

Photothermal techniques applied to the determination of the water vapor diffusion coefficient and thermal diffusivity of edible films.

Water vapor diffusion coefficient (WVDC) and thermal diffusivity (alpha) were determined in gelatin-starch films through photothermal techniques. The effect of different variables in the elaboration of these films, such as starch and glycerol concentrations and pH, were evaluated through the response surface methodology. The results indicated that an increase in the glycerol concentration and pH favored the WVDC of the films. On the other hand, alpha was influenced principally by the starch content and pH of the film-forming solution. The minimum alpha value was 4.5 x 10(-4) cm2/s, which is compared with alpha values reported for commercial synthetic polymers.

Traveling waves in a spring-block chain sliding down a slope.

Traveling waves are studied in a spring slider-block model. We explicitly construct front waves (kinks) for a piecewise-linear spinodal friction force. Pulse waves are obtained as the matching of two traveling fronts with identical speeds. Explicit formulas are obtained for the wavespeed and the wave form in the anticontinuum limit. The link with localized waves in a Burridge-Knopoff model of an earthquake fault is briefly discussed.

Glioblastoma stem cells exploit the αvß8 integrin-TGFß1 signaling axis to drive tumor initiation and progression.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is a primary brain cancer that contains populations of stem-like cancer cells (GSCs) that home to specialized perivascular niches. GSC interactions with their niche influence self-renewal, differentiation and drug resistance, although the pathways underlying these events remain largely unknown. Here, we report that the integrin αvß8 and its latent transforming growth factor ß1 (TGFß1) protein ligand have central roles in promoting niche co-option and GBM initiation. αvß8 integrin is highly expressed in GSCs and is essential for self-renewal and lineage commitment in vitro. Fractionation of ß8high cells from freshly resected human GBM samples also reveals a requirement for this integrin in tumorigenesis in vivo. Whole-transcriptome sequencing reveals that αvß8 integrin regulates tumor development, in part, by driving TGFß1-induced DNA replication and mitotic checkpoint progression. Collectively, these data identify the αvß8 integrin-TGFß1 signaling axis as crucial for exploitation of the perivascular niche and identify potential therapeutic targets for inhibiting tumor growth and progression in patients with GBM.

A comparison of surface doses for very small field size x-ray beams: Monte Carlo calculations and radiochromic film measurements.

Stereotactic radiosurgery treatments involve the delivery of very high doses for a small number of fractions. To date, there is limited data in terms of the skin dose for the very small field sizes used in these treatments. In this work, we determine relative surface doses for small size circular collimators as used in stereotactic radiosurgery treatments. Monte Carlo calculations were performed using the BEAMnrc code with a model of the Novalis Trilogy linear accelerator and the BrainLab circular collimators. The surface doses were calculated at the ICRP skin dose depth of 70 µm all using the 6 MV SRS x-ray beam. The calculated surface doses varied between 15 and 12 % with decreasing values as the field size increased from 4 to 30 mm. In comparison, surface doses were measured using Gafchromic EBT3 film positioned at the surface of a Virtual Water phantom. The absolute agreement between calculated and measured surface doses was better than 2.0 % which is well within the uncertainties of the Monte Carlo calculations and the film measurements. Based on these results, we have shown that the Gafchromic EBT3 film is suitable for surface dose estimates in very small size fields as used in SRS.

[Asthma associated with gastroesophageal reflux]. / Asma asociada a reflujo gastroesofágico.

OBJECTIVE: In order to explore the association between poorly controllable asthma and gastroesophageal reflux (GER), a prospective clinical trial is presented. MATERIAL AND METHOD: This trial included 28 patients with negative atopic indicators who presented difficulty in the management of their disease. All patients underwent a complete medical history as well as skin tests for common airborne allergens, total serum IgE, peripheral blood eosinophils, spirometry, chest X-ray and esophageal barium films. Additionally, esophageal endoscopy was performed on 9 patients, and esophageal manometry in 1 patient. All were submitted to antireflux therapy and received omeprazole and cisapride for 8 weeks. RESULTS: Complete improvement was observed in 24 patients (85.7%), moderate improvement in 3 patients (10.7%), and no improvement in 1 patient (3.6%). Three patients required antireflux surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Symptoms reappeared 2-3 weeks after suspending treatment, which led to the recommendation that antireflux measures become a way of life for these patients.

[Usefulness of simple paranasal sinus radiographs and axial computed tomography in the diagnosis of chronic sinusitis]. / Utilidad de la radiografía simple de senos paranasales y la tomografía axial computada en el diagnóstico de sinusitis crónica.

AIMS: A prospective, observational clinical trial is presented with the object of determining the frequency with which CT scans of the paranasal sinuses establish the diagnosis of chronic sinusitis in patients with symptoms of sinusitis but without alterations in the plain films of the paranasal sinuses. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study included 113 patients, 64 females and 49 males, with the clinical diagnosis of chronic sinusitis. All had plain films of the paranasal sinuses. CT scans of the paranasal sinuses were performed on all patients with negative findings on plane films. RESULTS: Of the 113 patients, 68 (60%) presented positive radiographic findings of chronic sinusitis on plain films. In the 45 remaining patients (39%) in which plain films were negative, CT scans of the paranasal sinuses were performed and demonstrated ethmoid sinusitis in all of them (100%). CONCLUSION: That CT scan is more sensitive in the diagnosis of ethmoid sinusitis as compared to plain films of the paranasal sinuses, due to the fact that ethmoid anatomy is better delineated by this method. Plain films of the paranasal sinuses are of lesser use in determining ethmoid anatomy due to the superposition of images that occurs in this technique.

[Determination of the eosinophil count in nasal mucus. Comparison of 2 techniques]. / Determinación de la cuenta de eosinófilos en moco nasal. Comparación de dos técnicas.

We compared swab and scraping (Rhino-probe) technics in the nasal cytology obtention for eosinophils count in 36 patients with a range of 2-46 years old (mean age 18.6 years) with diagnosis of Allergic Rhinitis. The eosinophil count with swab technic was between 0-79 cells with average of 6.5 cells and in the scraping (Rhino-probe) was in a rate of 0-100 cells with a average of 13.4 cells. Of the 36 patients with Rhinitis seen at our clinic, 13 (36%) of positive with swab and 19 (53%) with scraping technics (Rhino-probe) with percent differential of 17%. The comparison between the eosinophils count with both technics was p less than 0.05 for scraping (Rhino-probe) technic.