Lectin histochemistry of murine WAP-T mammary cancer reveals similar glycoconjugate changes to those in human breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: The WAP-T mouse model is an established clinically relevant model of breast cancer. Lectins have been used to study malignant progression in clinical studies. We investigated lectin binding sites to test for the clinical relevance of this model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Samples of the WAP-T mouse mammary tissues, from normal tissues to undifferentiated higher tumor grades were stained using an indirect technique with nine different lectins for intensity of lectin binding. RESULTS: HPA bound to the luminal epithelium in higher tumor grades in a similar pattern to that in human breast cancer. BSA-IB4 bound to luminal epithelium in hyperplasia and increased towards higher grades, comparable to previous clinical studies. PHA-L-binding to myoepithelium and luminal epithelium increased from hyperplasia to higher grades, comparable to findings in human breast cancer. CONCLUSION: The results of our study support the hypothesis that lectin binding sites change similarly in WAP-T and human breast cancer, stressing the similarity of this model with the clinical setting.

Planning implant positions for an auricular prosthesis with digital data.

The esthetic result of an auricular prosthesis is influenced by the position of the prosthesis incorporating the implants. The entire surface of the patient's head is captured by means of a conventional computed tomography (CT). The digital data are used to mirror the contralateral unimpaired ear for restoration of the impaired side. The virtual ear is integrated into a template covering the auricular defect and indexed to the nasal area with computer-aided technology (CAD/CAM). This virtual template is converted into an acrylic resin template. With that the surgeon and the anaplastologist should determine the optimal implant position of the auricular prosthesis.

Shape discrimination with hexapole-dipole interactions in magic angle spinning colloidal magnetic resonance.

We have studied the interactions between magnetically driven, DNA-linked anisotropic and isotropic colloidal rotors interacting via induced magnetic dipolar and multipolar forces. We show that a balance between magnetic dipole-dipole and dipole-hexapole interactions near the magic angle allows discrimination between spherical and anisotropic magnetic colloidal rotors.

Dumbbell diffusion in a spatially periodic potential.

We present a numerical investigation of the Brownian motion and diffusion of a dumbbell in a two-dimensional periodic potential. Its dynamics is described by a Langevin model including the hydrodynamic interaction. With increasing values of the amplitude of the potential we find along the modulated spatial directions a reduction of the diffusion constant and of the impact of the hydrodynamic interaction. For modulation amplitudes of the potential in the range of the thermal energy the dumbbell diffusion exhibits a pronounced local maximum at a wavelength of about 3/2 of the dumbbell extension. This is especially emphasized for stiff springs connecting the two beads.

Phase transitions from saddles of the potential energy landscape.

The relation between saddle points of the potential of a classical many-particle system and the analyticity properties of its thermodynamic functions is studied. For finite systems, each saddle point is found to cause a nonanalyticity in the Boltzmann entropy, and the functional form of this nonanalytic term is derived. For large systems, the order of the nonanalytic term increases unboundedly, leading to an increasing differentiability of the entropy. Analyzing the contribution of the saddle points to the density of states in the thermodynamic limit, our results provide an explanation of how, and under which circumstances, saddle points of the potential energy landscape may (or may not) be at the origin of a phase transition in the thermodynamic limit. As an application, the puzzling observations by Risau-Gusman et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 145702 (2005)] on topological signatures of the spherical model are elucidated.

A process for making cutaneous radiation applicators based on digital data.

An optical modeling process for facial regions and other body surfaces has been developed. The body part in question is digitized using optical 3-D metrology to obtain a comprehensive dataset. The data is then prepared for further use by smoothing the point clusters. The radiophysically significant position of the radioactive material, e. g., seeds, aluminum tubes, etc., can be accurately determined using CAD modeling. Subsequently, a rapid prototyping process (fused deposition modeling [FDM]) is used to implement the CAD model directly in order to create a radiation applicator that can be used in practice. Biologically compatible polycarbonate can be used for this purpose.