3D Microscopy Research Articles

Enhancing the tribological performance of PLA-based biocomposites reinforced with graphene oxide

Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) reinforced with graphene has gained substantial interest as a biomaterial, where the tribological and mechanical behavior of PLA/graphene composites are major concerns. This study aims to develop PLA-based biocomposites reinforced with graphene oxide (GO) that have enhanced tribological capabilities. First, homogenous dispersions of GO and GO treated with the anionic surfactant dioctyl sulfosuccinate sodium salt (AOT) were retained. Then, poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) biopolymer and PLLA/GO, PLLA/GO(AOT), PLA/GO(AOT), and PLLA/polyethylene glycol (PEG)/GO biocomposite samples were produced via hot pressing, and their tribological behavior was examined in detail. The worn surface characteristics were examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), 3D confocal microscopy, and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Results showed that GO reinforcement considerably affected the sliding wear behavior of PLA. Contrary to anticipated, surface treatment of GO does not improve the PLLA/GO wear resistance; rather, it increases the wear rate. PEG positively affects the sliding wear performance of PLLA/GO. PLLA/GO and PLLA/PEG/GO biocomposites exhibited the lowest wear rate at normal loads of 5 and 8 N, respectively, which was decreased by about 50% compared to unreinforced PLLA samples. With the addition of GO, the wear mechanisms of the PLA-based biocomposites changed from adhesive wear to abrasive wear. These findings might increase the applicability of PLA-based biocomposites where tribological performance is the main concern, such as biodegradable implants for load-bearing bone fractures or scaffolds, opening up new opportunities for their use.

Implementing new computational methods for the study of JCT and SC inner wall basement membrane biomechanics and hydrodynamics

PurposeThe conventional aqueous outflow pathway, which includes the trabecular meshwork (TM), juxtacanalicular tissue (JCT), and the inner wall endothelium of Schlemm's canal (SC), regulates intraocular pressure (IOP) by controlling the aqueous humor outflow resistance. Despite its importance, our understanding of the biomechanics and hydrodynamics within this region remains limited. Fluid-structure interaction (FSI) offers a way to estimate the biomechanical properties of the JCT and SC under various loading and boundary conditions, providing valuable insights that are beyond the reach of current imaging techniques. MethodsIn this study, a normal human eye was fixed at a pressure of 7 mm Hg, and two radial wedges of the TM tissues, which included the SC inner wall basement membrane and JCT, were dissected, processed, and imaged using 3D serial block-face scanning electron microscopy (SBF-SEM). Four different sets of images were used to create 3D finite element (FE) models of the JCT and inner wall endothelial cells of SC with their basement membrane. The outer JCT portion was carefully removed as the outflow resistance is not in that region, leaving only the SCE inner wall and a few µm of the tissue, which does contain the resistance. An inverse iterative FE algorithm was then utilized to calculate the unloaded geometry of the JCT/SC complex at an aqueous humor pressure of 0 mm Hg. Then in the model, the intertrabecular spaces, pores, and giant vacuole contents were replaced by aqueous humor, and FSI was employed to pressurize the JCT/SC complex from 0 to 15 mm Hg. ResultsIn the JCT/SC complex, the shear stress of the aqueous humor is not evenly distributed. Areas proximal to the inner wall of SC experience larger stresses, reaching up to 10 Pa, while those closer to the JCT undergo lower stresses, approximately 4 Pa. Within this complex, giant vacuoles with or without I-pore behave differently. Those without I-pores experience a more significant strain, around 14%, compared to those with I-pores, where the strain is roughly 9%. ConclusionsThe distribution of aqueous humor wall shear stress is not uniform within the JCT/SC complex, which may contribute to our understanding of the underlying selective mechanisms in the pathway.

Synergistic antimicrobial activity of essential oils in combination with phage endolysin against Salmonella Typhimurium in cooked ground beef

This study was designed to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of selected essential oils (AITC, carvacrol, eugenol, and thymol) in combination with Salmonella phage-encoding endolysin (LysPB32) against Salmonella Typhimurium KCCM 40253 in vitro and in cooked ground beef. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of AITC, carvacrol, eugenol, and thymol against S. Typhimurium were determined in the absence and presence of LysPB32 using broth microdilution assay. In vitro antimicrobial susceptibility of S. Typhimurium to the essential oils in combination with LysPB32 was evaluated at 37 °C for 24 h using time-kill curve assay. The N-phenyl-1-napthylamine (NPN) uptake and relative bacterial fitness were measured to evaluate the outer membrane permeability and reproductive success. The morphological alterations of these treated S. Typhimurium cells were observed through a holotomographic 3D microscopy. The MICs of AITC, carvacrol, eugenol, and thymol against S. Typhimurium were significantly decreased from 6.0 to 2.9 mg/mL, 3.0 to 0.8 mg/mL, 2.8 to 0.7 mg/mL, and 1.4 to 0.7 mg/mL, respectively, when treated with LysPB32 (100 μg/mL). The combinations of carvacrol, eugenol, and thymol combined with LysPB32 effectively reduced the numbers of S. Typhimurium to below the detection limit (20 CFU/mL) after 12 h incubation at 37 °C, caused by membrane disruption. The relative bacterial fitness was significantly decreased in S. Typhimurium treated with carvacrol in the absence and presence of LysPB32. The combinations of carvacrol and eugenol with LysPB32 most effectively inhibited the growth of S. Typhimurium in cooked ground beef after 24 h of storage at 37 °C (>2 log reduction) and 7 days of refrigerated storage (>2 log reduction). Therefore, this study could provide the possibility of using the combinations of essential oils and phage endolysin as synergistic antimicrobials and also pave the way for designing effective food preservatives to enhance food safety and quality.

A Comprehensive Mechanical Examination of ABS and ABS-like Polymers Additively Manufactured by Material Extrusion and Vat Photopolymerization Processes.

Additive manufacturing technologies have developed rapidly in recent decades, pushing the limits of known manufacturing processes. The need to study the properties of the different materials used for these processes comprehensively and in detail has become a primary goal in order to get the best out of the manufacturing itself. The widely used thermoplastic polymer material acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) was selected in the form of both filaments and ABS-like resins to investigate and compare the mechanical properties through a series of different tests. ABS-like resin material is commercially available, but it is not a sufficiently mechanically studied form of the material, which leads to the rather limited literature. Considering that ABS resin is a declared material that behaves like the ABS filament but in a different form, the objective of this study was to compare these two commercially available materials printed with three different 3D printers, namely Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM), Stereolithography (SLA) and Digital Light Processing (DLP). A total of 45 test specimens with geometries and test protocols conforming to the relevant standards were subjected to a series of tensile, three-point bending and compression tests to determine their mechanical properties. Characterization also included evaluation of morphology with 2D and 3D microscopy, dimensional accuracy of 3D scans, and Shore A hardness of each material and 3D printing process. Tensile testing results have shown that FDM toughness is 40% of the value for DLP. FDM elongation at break is 37% of DLP, while ultimate tensile stress for SLA is 27% higher than FDM value. Elastic modulus for FDM and SLA coincide. Flexure testing results indicate that value of DLP flexural modulus is 54% of the FDM value. SLA strain value is 59% of FDM, and DLP ultimate flexure stress is 77% of the value for FDM. Compression test results imply that FDM specimens absorb at least twice as much energy as vat polymerized specimens. Strain at break for SLA is 72% and strain at ultimate stress is 60% of FDM values. FDM yield stress is 32% higher than DLP value. SLA ultimate compressive stress is half of FDM, while value for DLP compressive modulus is 69% of the FDM value. The results obtained are beneficial and give a more comprehensive picture of the behavior of the ABS polymers used in different forms and different AM processes.

Accurately 3D neuron localization using 2D conv‐LSTM super‐resolution segmentation network

AbstractNeuron localization is a fundamental step in the neuron morphology reconstruction and quantitative analysis of cell counting and spatial distribution. The recent development of labelling and imaging techniques has resulted in growing demand for automatic neuron localization methods of 3D neuronal microscopy images. However, accurately localizing touching neurons remains a challenge. To address this issue, a novel method utilizing a super‐resolution segmentation network based on 2D Conv‐LSTM and a region growing method are proposed. This network can map and detect individual neurons in higher resolution space, allowing for the separation of closely touching neurons with reduced resource consumption. Subsequently, a region growing method is employed to localize neurons accurately. This method is evaluated using neuronal images generated by TDI‐fMOST. This method achieved neuron localization with an F1 score of 0.91. In comparison, other automatic localization methods achieved F1 scores lower than 0.85. It is also demonstrated that our network has fewer computational requirements compared to 3D neural networks. This method is promising for accurately localizing neurons in large‐scale neuron images.

Edge Bleeding Artifact Reduction for Shape from Focus in Microscopic 3D Sensing.

Shape from focus enables microscopic 3D sensing by combining it with a microscope system. However, edge bleeding artifacts of estimated depth easily occur in this environment. Therefore, this study analyzed artifacts and proposed a method to reduce edge bleeding artifacts. As a result of the analysis, the artifact factors are the depth of field of the lens, object texture, brightness difference between layers, and the slope of the object. Additionally, to reduce artifacts, a weighted focus measure value method was proposed based on the asymmetry of local brightness in artifacts. The proposed reduction method was evaluated through simulation and implementation. Edge bleeding artifact reduction rates of up to 60% were shown in various focus measure operators. The proposed method can be used with postprocessing algorithms and reduces edge bleeding artifacts.

In-Depth Quantification ofCell Division andElongation Dynamics at the Tip ofGrowing Arabidopsis Roots Using 4D Microscopy, AI-Assisted Image Processing andData Sonification.

One of the fundamental questions in plant developmental biology is how cell proliferation and cell expansion coordinately determine organ growth and morphology. An amenable system to address this question is the Arabidopsis root tip, where cell proliferation and elongation occur in spatially separated domains, and cell morphologies can easily be observed using a confocal microscope. While past studies revealed numerous elements of root growth regulation including gene regulatory networks, hormone transport and signaling, cell mechanics and environmental perception, how cells divide and elongate under possible constraints from cell lineages and neighboring cell files has not been analyzed quantitatively. This is mainly due to the technical difficulties in capturing cell division and elongation dynamics at the tip of growing roots, as well as an extremely labor-intensive task of tracing the lineages of frequently dividing cells. Here, we developed a motion-tracking confocal microscope and an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-assisted image-processing pipeline that enables semi-automated quantification of cell division and elongation dynamics at the tip of vertically growing Arabidopsis roots. We also implemented a data sonification tool that facilitates human recognition of cell division synchrony. Using these tools, we revealed previously unnoted lineage-constrained dynamics of cell division and elongation, and their contribution to the root zonation boundaries.

DeepSeeded: Volumetric segmentation of dense cell populations with a cascade of deep neural networks in bacterial biofilm applications

Accurate and automatic segmentation of individual cell instances in microscopy images is a vital step for quantifying the cellular attributes, which can subsequently lead to new discoveries in biomedical research. In recent years, data-driven deep learning techniques have shown promising results in this task. Despite the success of these techniques, many fail to accurately segment cells in microscopy images with high cell density and low signal-to-noise ratio. In this paper, we propose a novel 3D cell segmentation approach DeepSeeded, a cascaded deep learning architecture that estimates seeds for a classical seeded watershed segmentation. The cascaded architecture enhances the cell interior and border information using Euclidean distance transforms and detects the cell seeds by performing voxel-wise classification. The data-driven seed estimation process proposed here allows segmenting touching cell instances from a dense, intensity-inhomogeneous microscopy image volume. We demonstrate the performance of the proposed method in segmenting 3D microscopy images of a particularly dense cell population called bacterial biofilms. Experimental results on synthetic and two real biofilm datasets suggest that the proposed method leads to superior segmentation results when compared to state-of-the-art deep learning methods and a classical method.

Microstructure and tribological behavior of Al–12Si – Nano graphene composite fabricated by laser metal deposition process

To improve the wear resistance of the Al-based alloys and extend its application spectrum, graphene nano-platelets (GNPs) reinforced Al–12Si matrix composites were fabricated by laser melting deposition (LMD) technology. The microstructure, wear morphologies and surface roughness were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electron back-scattered diffraction (EBSD) setups and 3D confocal microscopy. The microhardness and high-speed reciprocating frictional properties both Al–12Si and GNPs/Al–12Si composites were evaluated. The addition of graphene significantly refines the microstructure and improves the wear resistance of the matrix. The formation of a relatively stable mechanically mixed layer (MML) reduces the contact area between the friction pair material and the wear surface, the wear rate and roughness of the Al–12Si – 0.5 wt% GNP reinforced composites decrease with the increase of sliding speed, and the wear mechanism changes from adhesive wear accompanied by abrasive wear to fatigue wear. Meanwhile, as the load increases, the wear rate and roughness increase. The wear mechanism of the composite changes from abrasive wear to a mixed mode (combination of both adhesive and abrasive). This research not only offers valuable information about the Al–Si-based composites but provides theoretical light on their industrial applications.

A Micro-Topography Measurement and Compensation Method for the Key Component Surface Based on White-Light Interferometry.

The grinding grooves of material removal machining and the residues of a machining tool on the key component surface cause surface stress concentration. Thus, it is critical to carry out precise measurements on the key component surface to evaluate the stress concentration. Based on white-light interferometry (WLI), we studied the measurement distortion caused by the reflected light from the steep side of the grinding groove being unable to return to the optical system for imaging. A threshold value was set to eliminate the distorted measurement points, and the cubic spline algorithm was used to interpolate the eliminated points for compensation. The compensation result agrees well with the atomic force microscope (AFM) measurement result. However, for residues on the surface, a practical method was established to obtain a microscopic 3D micro-topography point cloud and a super-depth-of-field fusion image simultaneously. Afterward, the semantic segmentation network U-net was adopted to identify the residues in the super-depth-of-field fusion image and achieved a recognition accuracy of 91.06% for residual identification. Residual feature information, including height, position, and size, was obtained by integrating the information from point clouds and super-depth-of-field fusion images. This work can provide foundational data to study surface stress concentration.

Accelerated degradation of cathodic protected epoxy coating by Pseudomonas aeruginosa in seawater

The combination of coatings and cathodic protection (CP) is one of the most commonly used methods for corrosion protection of metal materials. However, the protection life of this method is difficult to match the original design, which mechanism is still not well known. Previous work reports that coatings experience degradation mainly due to cathodic disbondment and microbial factors in marine environments. To further explore the possible reason for this question, we studied the degradation behavior of epoxy coatings in the co-existence of CP and Pseudomonas aeruginosa in seawater using Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), Confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM), Scanning electron microscope (SEM), 3D microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA), and Energy disperse spectrometer (EDS). The EIS results indicate that coating resistance drops bellows 106 Ω cm2 after 35 d of immersion under the effect of P. aeruginosa alone, but the degradation rate of coatings increases in the co-existence of CP and P. aeruginosa. The coating resistance drops bellows 106 Ω cm2 after 7 d of immersion in the P. aeruginosa containing seawater at − 1.05 VCSE. This may be due to P. aeruginosa can cause benzene ring removal from the epoxy coating, and the presence of CP promotes biofilm formation on the coating surface. The thickness of biofilm is about 33.3 μm at − 1.05 VCSE, which is about 1.5 times larger than at OCP, and the diameter of microscopic defects is about 9 times larger than in sterile seawater at the same CP potential. The presence of P. aeruginosa accelerate Cl− penetrating through the coating causing pitting corrosion of the substrate steel. This study revealed that the shorter protection life of organic coating can be attributed to the combined effect of CP and microorganisms in marine environments. The findings of this study can be referenced for better understanding of the coating failure mechanism in marine environments, and provide guidance for selecting appropriate organic coatings with anti-fouling and anti-corrosive properties.

In vitro modeling of polyclonal infection dynamics within the human airways by Haemophilus influenzae differential fluorescent labeling.

Standardized clinical procedures for antibiotic administration rely on pathogen identification and antibiotic susceptibility testing, often performed on single-colony bacterial isolates. For respiratory pathogens, this could be questionable, as chronic patients may be persistently colonized by multiple clones or lineages from the same bacterial pathogen species. Indeed, multiple strains of nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae, with different antibiotic susceptibility profiles, can be co-isolated from cystic fibrosis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease sputum specimens. Despite this clinical evidence, we lack information about the dynamics of H. influenzae polyclonal infections, which limits the optimization of therapeutics. Here, we present the engineering and validation of a plasmid toolkit (pTBH, toolbox for Haemophilus), with standardized modules consisting of six reporter genes for fluorescent or bioluminescent labeling of H. influenzae. This plasmid set was independently introduced in a panel of genomically and phenotypically different H. influenzae strains, and two of them were used as a proof of principle to analyze mixed biofilm growth architecture and antibiotic efficacy, and to visualize the dynamics of alveolar epithelial co-infection. The mixed biofilms showed a bilayer architecture, and antibiotic efficacy correlated with the antibiotic susceptibility of the respective single-species strains. Furthermore, differential kinetics of bacterial intracellular location within subcellular acidic compartments were quantified upon co-infection of cultured airway epithelial cells. Overall, we present a panel of novel plasmid tools and quantitative image analysis methods with the potential to be used in a whole range of bacterial host species, assay types, and/or conditions and generate meaningful information for clinically relevant settings. IMPORTANCE Genomic diversity of nontypeable H. influenzae strains confers phenotypic heterogeneity. Multiple strains of H. influenzae can be simultaneously isolated from clinical specimens, but we lack detailed information about polyclonal infection dynamics by this pathogen. A long-term barrier to our understanding of this host-pathogen interplay is the lack of genetic tools for strain engineering and differential labeling. Here, we present a novel plasmid toolkit named pTBH (toolbox for Haemophilus), with standardized modules for fluorescent or bioluminescent labeling, adapted to H. influenzae requirements but designed to be versatile so it can be utilized in other bacterial species. We present detailed experimental and quantitative image analysis methods, together with proof-of-principle examples, and show the ample possibilities of 3D microscopy, combined with quantitative image analysis, to model H. influenzae polyclonal infection lifestyles and unravel the co-habitation and co-infection dynamics of this respiratory pathogen.

Multi-angle Scheimpflug projection 3D microscope: Design, calibration, and three-dimensional reconstruction

3D measurement of complex micro-structures has becoming increasingly important for precision manufacturing. In this paper, a multi-angle Scheimpflug projection 3D microscope (MASP-3DM) is proposed, and the detailed design procedure is given. The system deployed four Scheimpflug projections and one telecentric imaging to overcome the shortcomings of limited depth of field (DOF), occlusion and reflection. Then, an improved and practical system calibration method is proposed, which utilizes pinhole projection model to calibrate the telecentric imaging. Meanwhile, local homography is combined with perspective-n-point (PnP) strategy to improve the calibration accuracy. Further, a point-cloud registration error correction model is established to achieve complete and high-precision measurement. The experimental results indicate that the re-projection error is within ±0.5μm and the registration error is less than 2μm for system calibration, the maximum of mean deviation, measurement bias, standard deviation, and type A uncertainty are respectively less than 3μm, 7μm, 4μm, and 1μm for 3D measurement, within the 10(H)mm×50(W)mm×40(D)mm volume.

Thickness, Adhesion and Microscopic Analysis of the Surface Structure of Single-Layer and Multi-Layer Metakaolin-Based Geopolymer Coatings

This work is focused on creating coating layers made of a metakaolin-based geopolymer suspensions (GP)-formed Al matrix modified using H3PO4 acid with Al(OH)3 in isopropyl alcohol, named GP suspension I, and H3PO4 acid with nano Al2O3 in isopropyl alcohol, named GP suspension J. The selected GP suspensions were applied on aluminum and steel underlying substrates as single-layer coatings and multi-layer coatings, where multi-layer coatings included three and five layers that were polymerized by a curing process. Curing was divided into two types with every layer curing process and final layer curing process. For both GP suspensions I and J, the effect of the number of layers and the type of substrate on adhesion was investigated. The prepared samples on underlying substrates were characterized on the microscopy analysis including SEM for high-resolution images and 3D laser confocal microscopy (CLSM) for the 3D visualization of the coatings structure. Microscopy analysis showed structural defects such as porosity, cracks and peeling, which increase with a greater number of applied layers. However, these defects were only evident on a micro scale and did not seem to be fatal for the performance of the surface stability. The EDS mapping of the prepared layer showed inhomogeneity in the distribution of elements caused by the brush application. A grid test and thickness measurement were performed to complete the microscopy analysis. The grid test confirmed a very high adhesion of GP coatings on the aluminum substrate with a rating of one (only in one case was there a rating of two) and a lower adhesion on the steel substrate with the most frequent rating of three (in one case, there were ratings of two and one). The thickness measurement proved a noticeably thicker thickness of the prepared layer on the Fe substrate compared to the Al substrate by 20%–30% in the case of suspension I and by 70%–10% in the case of suspension J. The thickness of the layer also showed a dependence on the method of application and curing, as a thicker layer was always achieved when curing after the final layer of the GP suspension, compared to curing after each applied layer. The resulting single-layer and multi-layer thicknesses ranged from approx. 7 to 30 µm for suspension I and from approx. 3 to 11 µm for suspension J. A non-linear increase in thickness was also evident from the thickness measurement data.

High-Performance, Multifunctional, and Designable Carbon Fiber Felt Skeleton Epoxy Resin Composites EP/CF-(CNT/AgBNs)x for Thermal Conductivity and Electromagnetic Interference Shielding.

In this work, high-performance epoxy resin (EP) composites with simultaneous excellent thermal conductivity (TC) and outstanding electromagnetic shielding properties are fabricated through the structural synergy of 1D carbon nanotubes and 2D silver-modified boron nitride nanoplates (CNT/AgBNs) to erect microscopic 3D networks on long-range carbon fiber (CF) felt skeletons. The line-plane combination of CNT/AgBNs improve the interfacical bonding involving EP and CF felts and alleviate the phonon scattering at the interface. Eventually, the TC of the EP composites is enhanced by 333% (up to 0.91W m-1 K-1 ) with respect to EP due to the efficient and orderly transmission of phonons along the 3D pathway. Meanwhile, the unique anisotropic structure of CF felt and exceptional insulating BNs diminishes the electronic conduction between CNT and CFs, which protects the through-plane insulating properties of EPcomposites. Furthermore, the EPcomposites present favorable electromagnetic shielding properties (51.36dB) attributed to the multiple reflection and adsorption promoted by the multiple interfaces of stacked AgBNs and heterointerface among CNT/AgBNs, CF felt and EP. Given these distinguishing features, the high-performance EP composites open a convenient avenue for electromagnetic wave (EMW) shielding and thermal management applications.

Effect of square wave potential polarity and amplitude on property of trivalent chromium conversion coating applied on Zn−Al hot-dip coating

The formation of Cr(III) chemical conversion coating (TCC) on Zn−Al hot-dip coating was unraveled and cathode or anode square wave potential (φp) was applied during the TCC construction progress in terms of comparatively investigating the effectiveness of φp. Corrosion resistance of TCC in chloride-containing solution was obtained by EIS and polarization curve measurements, combined with the discussion of macro/micro-morphology using 3D microscope and chemical composition distribution analysis using XPS, AES, FTIR and Raman spectra. The results showed that the cathode φp enhanced the corrosion resistance and reduced the content of Cr(VI) on the surface of freshly-prepared TCC better than anode φp. Besides, the hydrophobicity of TCC and adhesion to epoxy primer were also improved due to the reconstruction of the micro−nano structure.

Indicatory surface of anelastic-elastic properties of Ti alloys

The simultaneous influence of hydrogen H and ultrasound deformation on internal friction Q −1 and dynamic elastic modulus E of intermetallic Ti3Al alloy after cutting and polishing were studied. The relaxation maximum of internal friction Q −1 M1 at temperature Т М1 ≈ 398 К, conditioned by the mechanism caused by reorientation interstitial atoms in dumbbell configurations H-H was discovered. Internal friction maximum Q −1 M2 in intermetallic Ti3Al at temperature T M2 ≈ 439 K was discovered with an activation energy H 2 = 0.86±0.1 eV. 2D and 3D atomic force microscopy microstructure images of Ti (VT8) alloy after mechanical and thermal treatment are presented. Strengthening of Ti alloys is related to the cooperation of dislocations with point defects.

Consultation on UTUC II Stockholm 2022: diagnostic and prognostic methods—what’s around the corner?

PurposeTo map current literature and provide an overview of upcoming future diagnostic and prognostic methods for upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC), including translational medical science.MethodsA scoping review approach was applied to search the literature. Based on the published literature, and the experts own experience and opinions consensus was reached through discussions at the meeting Consultation on UTUC II in Stockholm, September 2022.ResultsThe gene mutational profile of UTUC correlates with stage, grade, prognosis, and response to different therapeutic strategies. Analysis of pathway proteins downstream of known pathogenic mutations might be an alternative approach.Liquid biopsies of cell-free DNA may detect UTUC with a higher sensitivity and specificity than urinary cytology. Extracellular vesicles from tumour cells can be detected in urine and may be used to identify the location of the urothelial carcinoma in the urinary tract. 3D microscopy of UTUC samples may add information in the analysis of tumour stage. Chemokines and chemokine receptors were linked to overall survival and responsiveness to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in muscle-invasive bladder cancer, which is potentially also of interest in UTUC.ConclusionCurrent diagnostic methods for UTUC have shortcomings, especially concerning prognostication, which is important for personalized treatment decisions. There are several upcoming methods that may be of interest for UTUC. Most have been studied for urothelial carcinoma of the bladder, and it is important to keep in mind that UTUC is a different entity and not all methods are adaptable or applicable to UTUC.

Microstructural characterization and mechanical behavior of Aba Panu meteorite by correlative microscopy and nanoindentation

Meteorite samples that land on earth can provide important information about asteroid and meteors found in space. Thorough, multimodal, and multiscale microstructural analysis is necessary to provide clues about the formation history of these materials. Both 3D x-ray tomography and scanning electron microscopy, along with energy dispersive spectroscopy, were used to obtain detailed structural information from the Aba Panu meteorite. EDS was utilized to obtain elemental composition and identify existing minerals in the meteorite. The microstructural analysis enabled a proposed hypothesis of potential local structure formation processes supported by phase diagrams of the existing minerals. Mechanical properties of identified phases were measured using nanoindentation and Vickers hardness testing. By combining structural, compositional, and mechanical results, a comprehensive characterization and discussion of meteorite Aba Panu was obtained.

Efficient compressed sensing reconstruction for 3D fluorescence microscopy using OptoMechanical Modulation Tomography (OMMT) with a 1+2D regularization.

OptoMechanical Modulation Tomography (OMMT) exploits compressed sensing to reconstruct high resolution microscopy volumes from fewer measurement images compared to exhaustive section sampling in conventional light sheet microscopy. Nevertheless, the volumetric reconstruction process is computationally expensive, making it impractically slow to use on large-size images, and prone to generating visual artefacts. Here, we propose a reconstruction approach that uses a 1+2D Total Variation (TV1+2) regularization that does not generate such artefacts and is amenable to efficient implementation using parallel computing. We evaluate our method for accuracy and scaleability on simulated and experimental data. Using a high quality, but computationally expensive, Plug-and-Play (PnP) method that uses the BM4D denoiser as a benchmark, we observe that our approach offers an advantageous trade-off between speed and accuracy.