Thin Slices Research Articles

Automated optimization of spatial resolution for single-sided NMR.

Single-sided NMR instruments utilize inhomogeneous magnetic fields with strong gradients to nondestructively probe physical properties of materials. The sensitive region of this type of magnet is often a thin slice above the magnet's surface; measuring planar samples with high spatial resolution requires coplanarity between the sensitive region of the magnet and the sample region of interest. We developed an algorithmic approach to position flat samples coplanar with the magnet's sensitive region. The efficient and objective positioning process utilizes an adjustable stage that offers control over three degrees of freedom, and the optimal position for each sample is found with a quadtree algorithm. We show this algorithm is effective for positioning samples with various relaxation behaviors. We report resolution values that describe position optimization, acquisition constraints, and final spatial resolution for each sample. Measurements after optimized positioning had appropriate spatial resolution to distinguish physical regions of layered samples with different physical properties, namely, relaxation behavior. Our algorithmic positioning process can be implemented for planar samples in research and industrial settings to enhance spatial resolution of single-sided NMR measurements.

Anchor : Fast and Precise Value-flow Analysis for Containers via Memory Orientation

Containers are ubiquitous data structures that support a variety of manipulations on the elements, inducing the indirect value flows in the program. Tracking value flows through containers is stunningly difficult, because it depends on container memory layouts, which are expensive to be discovered. This work presents a fast and precise value-flow analysis framework called Anchor for the programs using containers. We introduce the notion of anchored containers and propose the memory orientation analysis to construct a precise value-flow graph. Specifically, we establish a combined domain to identify anchored containers and apply strong updates to container memory layouts. Anchor finally conducts a demand-driven reachability analysis in the value-flow graph for a client. Experiments show that it removes 17.1% spurious statements from thin slices and discovers 20 null pointer exceptions with 9.1% as its false-positive ratio, while the smashing-based analysis reports 66.7% false positives. Anchor scales to millions of lines of code and checks the program with around 5.12 MLoC within 5 hours.

Quantitative optical coherence microscopy of neuron morphology in human entorhinal cortex.

The size and shape of neurons are important features indicating aging and the pathology of neurodegenerative diseases. Despite the significant advances of optical microscopy, quantitative analysis of the neuronal features in the human brain remains largely incomplete. Traditional histology on thin slices bears tremendous distortions in three-dimensional reconstruction, the magnitude of which are often greater than the structure of interest. Recently development of tissue clearing techniques enable the whole brain to be analyzed in small animals; however, the application in the human remains challenging. In this study, we present a label-free quantitative optical coherence microscopy (OCM) technique to obtain the morphological parameters of neurons in human entorhinal cortex (EC). OCM uses the intrinsic back-scattering property of tissue to identify individual neurons in 3D. The area, length, width, and orientation of individual neurons are quantified and compared between layer II and III in EC. The high-resolution mapping of neuron size, shape, and orientation shows significant differences between layer II and III neurons in EC. The results are validated by standard Nissl staining of the same samples. The quantitative OCM technique in our study offers a new solution to analyze variety of neurons and their organizations in the human brain, which opens new insights in advancing our understanding of neurodegenerative diseases.

Analysis on the Difference of Micropore Structure Characteristics and Physical Properties of Mixed Rock Reservoir

The accumulation of multiple source components leads to the superposition of multiple pore throat systems and similar pore throat distribution may correspond to different seepage capacity in the mixed rock reservoir. Taking the mixed rock reservoir of III+IV oil formation in Nanyishan Oilfield, Chaidamu Basin, as an example, the development characteristics of pore throat system and its controlling factors in the mixed rock were summarized by means of thin slice, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and high pressure mercury injection, and the reservoir physical property differences and their genetic controlling mechanism were analyzed. The results show that the reservoir space of the mixed reservoir mainly consists of intergranular pore fracture, micropore fracture, and micropore-dissolution pore. The diverse and complex pore types make the reservoir space combination type, capillary pressure curve shape and reservoir physical properties are not completely corresponding. The higher the content of brittle minerals, the higher the reservoir permeability. However, the development of iron dolomite mainly destroys the reservoir. The permeability of reservoir is mainly controlled by the development degree of macropores and the pore size which is the main contribution to permeability, and the proportion of macropores increases with the increase of permeability.

Size effects in the elastic properties of polycrystalline silicon

AbstractPolycrystalline silicon has a wide range of applications in the semiconductor industry. Instead of components whose dimensions are of the same order of magnitude in all three spatial directions, thin slices are primarily used there. Deviating mechanical properties have been noticed among such thin configurations. In this work, we systematically investigate the size‐dependent effective elastic properties of polycrystalline silicon. This is realized by gradually reducing the thickness of such components, starting from a structure usually referred to as representative volume element. Based on the framework of continuum mechanics, we specify unit cell problems for aggregates whose microstructures are build artificially based on first‐order properties through tessellations. The effective responses of virtual material tests are determined by the aid of the finite element method. Based on a larger number of computational simulations with different but equivalent microstructures, the effective elastic properties of silicon polycrystals are evaluated statistically. The findings are examined with regard to geometrically‐induced symmetries by several methods. For the unconstrained configurations examined here, results show an increase in the scattering of the results where the average stiffness decreases with decreasing structural thickness. These outcomes are also compared to analytical estimates for silicon bulk configurations. This comparison indicates that the average stiffness varies in between a reasonable mean and the isotropic first‐order lower bound of the silicon bulk. Compared to experimental findings, admissible bounds of the stiffnesses are clearly outlined.

The Significance of the Intercarotid Distances for Transsphenoidal Pituitary Surgery: A Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study

We performed MRI to analyze the distance between the left and right internal carotid arteries (ICD) around pituitary tumors for transsphenoidal surgery (TSS). Measurements were performed using thin slice T2-weighted MRI, and/or time-of-flight MR angiography imaging for 64 non-functioning pituitary neuroendocrine tumors (NF-pitNETs), 22 growth hormone-producing pitNETs (GH producing pitNETs), and 46 normal controls. We measured the ICD at 3 anatomic levels: at the distal dural ring (ICD-A); at the most concave point of the C4-C5 bend (ICD-B); and at the most convex point of the C4 bend (ICD-C). Additionally, we measured the sagittal distance between the tuberculum selle and the junction of the sellar floor and clivus on the mid sagittal MRI (TS-C). We found that ICD-B was the longest and that ICD-A was the shortest among the three distance parameters in all groups (P<0.001). The comparison of the groups revealed that the NF-pitNET group had longer distances than the normal control group at all ICDs (P<0.001). The GH producing pitNET group had longer distance than the normal control group at ICD-B (P<0.001). Tumor volume was correlated with ICD-A and ICD-B in the NF-pitNET, and was correlated with ICD-C in the GH producing pitNET group. Among the distance parameters, ICD-B is the longest, and was approximately twice the width of the TS-C. The shape of the sella is an ellipse that is widest in the lateral dimension in TSS. A horizontal based dural incision may be more rational than a conventional X-shaped dural incision.

PKAID-Net: Prior Knowledge Aware Iterative Denoising Neural Network for Photon Counting Detector CT.

An important feature enabled by Photon-Counting Detector (PCD) CT is the simultaneous acquisition of multi-energy data, which can produce virtual monoenergetic images (VMIs) at a high spatial resolution. However, noise levels observed in the high-resolution (HR) VMIs are markedly increased. Recent work involving deep learning methods has shown great potential in CT image denoising. Many CNN applications involve training using spatially co-registered low- and high-dose CT images featuring high and low image noise, respectively. However, this is implausible in routine clinical practice. Further, typical denoising methods treat each VMI energy level independently, without consideration of the valuable information in the spectral domain. To overcome these obstacles, we propose a prior knowledge-aware iterative denoising neural network (PKAID-Net). PKAID-Net offers two major benefits: first, it utilizes spectral information by including a lower-noise VMI as a prior input; and second, it iteratively constructs refined datasets for neural network training to improve the denoising performance. This study includes 10 patient coronary CT angiography (CTA) exams acquired on a clinical HR PCD-CT (NAEOTOM Alpha, Siemens Healthineers). The HR VMIs were reconstructed at 50 and 70 keV, using a sharp kernel (Bv68) and thin (0.6 mm, 0.3 mm increment) slice thickness. Results showed that the PKAID-Net provided a noise reduction of 96% and 70% relative to FBP and iterative reconstruction, respectively while maintaining spatial and spectral fidelity and a natural noise texture. These results demonstrate the noise reduction capacity of PKAID-Net as applied to cutting-edge PCD-CT data to enable HR, multi-energy cardiac CT imaging.

Filter exchange imaging with crusher gradient modelling detects increased blood–brain barrier water permeability in response to mild lung infection

Blood–brain barrier (BBB) dysfunction occurs in many brain diseases, and there is increasing evidence to suggest that it is an early process in dementia which may be exacerbated by peripheral infection. Filter-exchange imaging (FEXI) is an MRI technique for measuring trans-membrane water exchange. FEXI data is typically analysed using the apparent exchange rate (AXR) model, yielding estimates of the AXR. Crusher gradients are commonly used to remove unwanted coherence pathways arising from longitudinal storage pulses during the mixing period. We first demonstrate that when using thin slices, as is needed for imaging the rodent brain, crusher gradients result in underestimation of the AXR. To address this, we propose an extended crusher-compensated exchange rate (CCXR) model to account for diffusion-weighting introduced by the crusher gradients, which is able to recover ground truth values of BBB water exchange (kin) in simulated data. When applied to the rat brain, kin estimates obtained using the CCXR model were 3.10 s−1 and 3.49 s−1 compared to AXR estimates of 1.24 s−1 and 0.49 s−1 for slice thicknesses of 4.0 mm and 2.5 mm respectively. We then validated our approach using a clinically relevant Streptococcus pneumoniae lung infection. We observed a significant 70 ± 10% increase in BBB water exchange in rats during active infection (kin = 3.78 ± 0.42 s−1) compared to before infection (kin = 2.72 ± 0.30 s−1; p = 0.02). The BBB water exchange rate during infection was associated with higher levels of plasma von Willebrand factor (VWF), a marker of acute vascular inflammation. We also observed 42% higher expression of perivascular aquaporin-4 (AQP4) in infected animals compared to non-infected controls, while levels of tight junction proteins remain consistent between groups. In summary, we propose a modelling approach for FEXI data which removes the bias in estimated water-exchange rates associated with the use of crusher gradients. Using this approach, we demonstrate the impact of peripheral infection on BBB water exchange, which appears to be mediated by endothelial dysfunction and associated with an increase in perivascular AQP4.

Strategi Pengembangan Usaha Mikro Kecil Dan Menengah (UMKM) Keripik Tempe Selama Masa Pandemi Covid-19 Di Kabupaten Deli Serdang

Tempe chips are food made from soy tempeh in the form of plates / thin slices that are fried with the addition of flour and spices. The problem with tempe chip processing SMEs today is how to develop a strategy for developing micro, small and medium enterprises (UMKM) for tempe chips during the Covid-19 pandemic in Deli Serdang Regency. The purpose of this study was to determine the development strategy of Tempe Chips Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) during the Covid-19 pandemic in Deli Serdang Regency. The method used to determine the strategy for developing tempeh chips is by using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method. Based on the results of research using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method of tempe chips in Deli Serdang Regency, a development strategy that is a priority to be applied is by increasing cooperation with retailers so that it will increase consumer purchasing power for tempe chip products. criteria and alternatives that become priority are the value of purchasing power with a weight of 18.16 and the value of retailers with a weight of 35.4. Based on the results of the implementation, the AHP method can provide recommendations in making decisions to increasing purchasing power can be done by increasing cooperation with retailers.

Propagating wave merging in a precipitation reaction.

Propagating precipitation waves are a remarkable form of spatiotemporal behavior that arise through the coupling of reaction, diffusion, and precipitation. We study a system with a sodium hydroxide outer electrolyte and an aluminum hydroxide inner electrolyte. In a redissolution Liesegang system, a single propagating precipitation band moves down through the gel, with precipitate formed at the band front and precipitate dissolved at the band back. Complex spatiotemporal waves occur within the propagating precipitation band, including counter-rotating spiral waves, target patterns, and annihilation of waves on collision. We have also carried out experiments in thin slices of gel, which have revealed propagating waves of a diagonal precipitation feature within the primary precipitation band. These waves display a wave merging phenomenon in which two horizontally propagating waves merge into a single wave. Computational modeling permits the development of a detailed understanding of the complex dynamical behavior.

Determination of Krogh Coefficient for Oxygen Consumption Measurement from Thin Slices of Rodent Cortical Tissue Using a Fick's Law Model of Diffusion.

To investigate the impact of experimental interventions on living biological tissue, ex vivo rodent brain slices are often used as a more controllable alternative to a live animal model. However, for meaningful results, the biological sample must be known to be healthy and viable. One of the gold-standard approaches to identifying tissue viability status is to measure the rate of tissue oxygen consumption under specific controlled conditions. Here, we work with thin (400 μm) slices of mouse cortical brain tissue which are sustained by a steady flow of oxygenated artificial cerebralspinal fluid (aCSF) at room temperature. To quantify tissue oxygen consumption (Q), we measure oxygen partial pressure (pO2) as a function of probe depth. The curvature of the obtained parabolic (or parabola-like) pO2 profiles can be used to extract Q, providing one knows the Krogh coefficient Kt, for the tissue. The oxygen trends are well described by a Fick's law diffusion-consumption model developed by Ivanova and Simeonov, and expressed in terms of ratio (Q/K), being the rate of oxygen consumption in tissue divided by the Krogh coefficient (oxygen diffusivity × oxygen solubility) for tissue. If the fluid immediately adjacent to the tissue can be assumed to be stationary (i.e., nonflowing), one may invoke conservation of oxygen flux K·(∂P/∂x) across the interface to deduce (Kt/Kf), the ratio of Krogh coefficients for tissue and fluid. Using published interpolation formulas for the effect of salt content and temperature on oxygen diffusivity and solubility for pure water, we estimate Kf, the Krogh coefficient for aCSF, and hence deduce the Kt coefficient for tissue. We distinguish experimental uncertainty from natural biological variability by using pairs of repeated profiles at the same tissue location. We report a dimensionless Krogh ratio (Kt/Kf)=0.562±0.088 (mean ± SD), corresponding to a Krogh coefficient Kt=(1.29±0.21)×10-14 mol/(m·s·Pa) for mouse cortical tissue at room temperature, but acknowledge the experimental limitation of being unable to verify that the fluid boundary layer is truly stationary. We compare our results with those reported in the literature, and comment on the challenges and ambiguities caused by the extensive use of 'biologically convenient' non-SI units for tissue Krogh coefficient.

Schistes Lustrés in a hyper-extended continental margin setting and reinterpretation of the limit between the Mont Fort and Tsaté nappes (Middle and Upper Penninics, Western Swiss Alps)

The Schistes Lustrés form a large and complex unit at the top of the Penninic nappe stack of the Alpine belt. Calcschists, partly of Late Cretaceous age, constitute the dominant lithology. They are closely associated both with blueschist facies Piemont-Ligurian ophiolites and continent-derived Mesozoic metasediments. The question of whether the Schistes Lustrés originated on continental or oceanic crust has been extensively debated among Alpine geologists and is locally still controversial. We present here new structural and stratigraphic observations, as well as Raman graphite thermometry (RSCM) data, for the Schistes Lustrés complex of the Combin zone in the Hérens, Dix and Bagnes valleys. Our observations indicate that the basal part of this Schistes Lustrés complex (defined as the Série Rousse) is systematically devoid of ophiolitic material, and rests in stratigraphic contact on the underlying Triassic - Lower Cretaceous metasediments and Paleozoic basement of the Mont Fort nappe (Prepiemont paleogeographic domain). The unconformity at the base of the Schistes Lustrés complex is interpreted as resulting from the sedimentation of the Série Rousse on a paleorelief formed by remnants of Jurassic normal fault scarps, and not as an Alpine tectonic contact, as previously proposed. The lithostratigraphic comparison with the Breccia nappe in the Prealps, as well as a foraminifer discovery, allows us to better constrain the age of the Série Rousse. It extends from the middle of the Early Cretaceous (Aptian?) to the Late Cretaceous (Campanian to earliest Maastrichtian?). In contrast, the upper contact of the Série Rousse with the ophiolite-bearing Schistes Lustrés clearly corresponds to an Alpine thrust. The thrust zone is underlined by thin and discontinuous slices of highly strained continental-margin derived Mesozoic metasediments (Frilihorn slices). RSCM data show that the recrystallization of the organic matter progressively increases on both sides towards this contact. This contact, internal to the Schistes Lustrés complex, is reinterpreted as the major tectonic contact separating the Middle Penninic Mont Fort nappe from the Upper Penninic Tsaté nappe (defined here as including only the ophiolite-bearing Schistes Lustrés and associated meta(ultra-)basites). This study clearly documents that the Schistes Lustrés consist of sediments either deposited on oceanic crust, showing locally preserved stratigraphic contacts with ophiolitic or serpentinized sub-continental mantle slivers, or sediments still resting stratigraphically on a former hyper-extended continental margin.

KARAKTERISTIK PENGERINGAN BIJI PINANG MENGGUNAKAN EXPERIMENTAL DRYER

Abstract&#x0D; Areca nut seeds at harvest generally have a high water content, so to reduce the water content of betel nuts, namely drying or drying the betel nuts, they must be dried because if they contain high water content, the betel nuts will be easily damaged. To obtain the drying characteristics, thick sliced, medium sliced, and thin sliced areca seed layers were dried using an experimental dryer.&#x0D; This study aims to analyze temperature changes in the dryer during the drying process, determine the drying characteristics of areca nut meat including moisture content versus time, drying rate versus time and drying rate versus moisture content. The betel nut meat taken from the Malalayang One area is then sliced into 3 thicknesses, namely thick, medium and thin. Observations of temperature changes were carried out at the temperature of the material in each thickness, the ambient temperature, the plenum temperature and the temperature above the dried material. The temperature data is plotted and analyzed graphically. The water content was analyzed descriptively calculated based on the hourly weight loss. drying rate obtained from calculations and analyzed graphically.&#x0D; The results showed the temperature distribution in the plenum room, drying room, material temperature and drying room temperature. The water content decreased inversely with the change in time, the longer the drying time, the lower the water content in Areca seed, showing a pattern of decreasing water content in this experiment by showing an exponential pattern. Drying time for Areca nut seeds using this drying tool takes 9, 5, and 4 hours for thick, medium, and thin slices. The moisture content of Areca seed at the end of drying was 9.0%, 4.8% and 3.07 for thick, medium and thin slices, respectively. The drying rate of Areca seed relative to the drying time decreased the drying rate. The average drying rates for thick, medium, and thin slices were 7.92%/hour, 15.10%/hour, and 19.31%/hour, respectively.&#x0D; Keywords : Drying, Areca Nut, Experimental Dryer

Light diffraction by sarcomeres produces iridescence in transmission in the transparent ghost catfish.

Despite the elaborate varieties of iridescent colors in biological species, most of them are reflective. Here we show the rainbow-like structural colors found in the ghost catfish (Kryptopterus vitreolus), which exist only in transmission. The fish shows flickering iridescence throughout the transparent body. The iridescence originates from the collective diffraction of light after passing through the periodic band structures of the sarcomeres inside the tightly stacked myofibril sheets, and the muscle fibers thus work as transmission gratings. The length of the sarcomeres varies from ~1 μm from the body neutral plane near the skeleton to ~2 μm next to the skin, and the iridescence of a live fish mainly results from the longer sarcomeres. The length of the sarcomere changes by ~80 nm as it relaxes and contracts, and the fish shows a quickly blinking dynamic diffraction pattern as it swims. While similar diffraction colors are also observed in thin slices of muscles from non-transparent species such as the white crucian carps, a transparent skin is required indeed to have such iridescence in live species. The ghost catfish skin is of a plywood structure of collagen fibrils, which allows more than 90% of the incident light to pass directly into the muscles and the diffracted light to exit the body. Our findings could also potentially explain the iridescence in other transparent aquatic species, including the eel larvae (Leptocephalus) and the icefishes (Salangidae).

Bioinformatics-based Prediction of Character of Envelope Glycoprotein and Analysis of Epitopes of B- and T-cell of gp120

1Objectives: To analyze the characteristics of gp120 gene sequence and protein structure of HIV-1 CRF01_AE and to predict B- and T-cell epitopes and to forecast binding sites between gp120 and mD1.22 by using bioinformatics in order to lay a foundation for the research and development of AIDS vaccines and peptide-based drugs. Methods: The gene sequences and the amino acid sequences of gp120 were obtained from NCBI GeneBank database. Physicochemical property, membrane-panning region, PTMs sites of gp120 and secondary structure were analyzed by Expasy ProtParam, TMpred, NetPhos and GlycoMine and SOPMA, respectively. Epitopes of B-cell were predicted by VaxiJen v2.0, AllerTOP v2.0 and IEDB while epitopes of T-cell were predicted by IEDB. Protein-protein docking were forecast by Z-dock, pymol and so on. Results: The calculation formula of gp120 is C1033H1633N299O319S9. The number of amino acids is 211, and the molecular weight is 23633.68. The theoretical isoelectric point (pI) is 7.76. It is estimated that 17 residues are phosphorylation sites, while gp120 has more than 5 glycosylation sites. The protein contains alpha helix (blue mark), beta turn (green mark), random coil (purple mark) and thin slice (red mark), which are 26.54%, 6.16%, 40.28% and 27.01% respectively. We selected the top 10 possible epitopes of B cells, but only the top 5 epitopes of MHC-I. The most possible binding site between gp120 and mD1.22 was showed. Conclusion: With the potential humoral immunity and cellular immunity, gp120 of HIV-1 is a promising target for HIV-1 treating. The interaction of gp120 with CD4 is the first step of HIV cycle which allows the entry of HIV into CD4+ T-cells. This study has analyzed and predicted the binding sites between gp120 and mD1.22 and the character and B-cell and T-cell epitopes of gp120, could be a foundation for subsequent study of developing vaccine and polypeptide drugs.

Investigation of the physicochemical properties of the thin slices of dried pork meat paper mixed with squid.

Globally, the Peruvian squid (Dosidicus gigas) has the highest productivity among squid species. However, due to its high-water content and astringent taste, it has limited fresh food value. This study used Peruvian squid meat as the primary material to prepare thin slices of dried squid meat paper mixed with pork. Here, different proportions (20, 40, 60, 80, and 100%, while 0% as the control group) of squid surimi have used to mix with pork for the meat paper preparation and the changes in physicochemical properties, microstructure, and sensory evaluation were analyzed. The results showed that the total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) contents increased with the storage period, where 20% squid surimi substitution had the lowest TVB-N content. The 20% squid surimi substitution group had the highest expansion rate, the lowest peroxide value (PV), and moisture content. The food-borne microorganisms (E. coli, coliforms, and Salmonella spp.) were within the legal limits or negative. Hardness and crispiness, 20-40% squid surimi substitution were closely similar to the control group. This study has provided an effective investigation of the possibility of expanding the utilization of Peruvian squid resources by combining appropriate squid surimi with minced pork for high-quality thin slices of dried meat paper.

Establishing a Microfluidic Tumor Slice Culture Platform to Study Drug Response.

Accurate models for tumor biology and prediction of drug responses of individual tumors require novel technology to grow tumor tissue ex vivo to maintain tumor growth characteristics in situ. Models containing only tumor cells, without the stromal components of the tumor, are suboptimal for many purposes and are generally problematic because the cells are passed through extensive culture and selection. Therefore, direct culture of (human) tumors is of considerable interest for basic tumor biology and diagnostic purposes. Microfluidic technologies have been proposed to accurately mimic physiological conditions for tissue growth. Most published systems build tissues from individual cell types in so-called Organ-on-Chip (OoC) cultures. We here describe a novel OoC device for growing tumor specimens. Thin tumor slices are grown in a microfluidic 'chip' that allows precisely controlled in vitro culture conditions. The performance of the OoC device was extensively validated for predicting therapeutic responses in human breast cancer patient-derived xenograft (PDX) tumor material. The system is amenable to primary tumor material from surgery or biopsies. In addition to using the model to predict and evaluate therapeutic responses, the model can also be used for mechanistic studies of human cancers, such as clonal evolution or immune responses, or to validate new or repurposed (cancer) drugs. The Bi/ond Cancer-on-Chip (CoC) device is designed to culture tumor slices and investigate aspects of tumor growth and drug responses. Here, we describe the step-by-step process of setting up tumor slice cultures using a Bi/ond CoC device and performing in vitro drug response evaluation. © 2023 The Authors. Current Protocols published by Wiley Periodicals LLC. Basic Protocol 1: Establishment of breast cancer tumor slice culture using a microfluidic cancer-on-chip platform for chemotherapy testing ex vivo Basic Protocol 2: Histology and immunohistochemistry-based analysis of tumor tissue architecture, cell proliferation, and cell death.

Multiple, speeded assessments under scrutiny: Underlying theory, design considerations, reliability, and validity.

Recently, multiple, speeded assessments (e.g., "speeded" or "flash" role-plays) have made rapid inroads into the selection domain. So far, however, the conceptual underpinning and empirical evidence related to these short, fast-paced assessment approaches has been lacking. This raises questions whether these speeded assessments can serve as reliable and valid indicators of future performance. This article uses the notions of stimulus and response domain sampling to conceptualize multiple, speeded behavioral job simulations as a hybrid of established simulation-based selection methods. Next, we draw upon the thin slices of behavior paradigm to theorize about the quality of ratings made in multiple, speeded behavioral simulations. In two studies, various assessor pools assessed a sample of 96 MBA students in 18 3-min role-plays designed to capture situations in the junior management domain. At the individual speeded role-play level, reliability and validity were not ensured. Yet, aggregated across all assessors' ratings of all speeded role-plays, the overall score for predicting future performance was high (.54). Validities remained high when assessors evaluated only the first minute (vs. full 3 min) or received only a control training (vs. traditional assessor training). Aggregating ratings of performance in multiple, heterogeneous situations that elicit a variety of domain-relevant behavior emerged as key requirement to obtain adequate domain coverage, capture both ability and personality (extraversion and agreeableness), and achieve substantial validities. Overall, these results show the importance of the stimulus and response domain sampling logic and send a strong warning to using "single" speeded behavioral simulations in practice. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

APPLICATION OF ACACIA TANNINS IN ELASTIC LEATHER MATERIALS PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY

An IR-spectroscopic study of the interaction of collagen with blackwood acacia (acacia melanoxylon) tannins and its use for tanning and filling semi-finished leather products in the production of elastic leathers for shoe uppers was conducted. The analysis of IR spectra of the interaction of the chrome tanning collagen products dermis with the acacia extract tannins can indicate the intermolecular ionic bonds formation and a hydrogen bonds dense network building-up with the amino groups of collagen and phenolic and carbonyl groups of the plant extract tannins. The following reagents were used for the semi-finished product tanning: sodium chloride TU 9192-069-00200009527-98, formic and sulfuric acids according to DSTU GOST 1706-78 and DSTU GOST 2184:2018, and sodium carbonate ISO 6353-2-83. Blackwood acacia extract together with the synthesis product of 2-naphtholsulfonic acid with dioxydiphenylsulfone as synthetic tanning agent BNS TU 17-06-165-89 were used to fill the tanned semi-finished product. The application of BNS TU 17-06-165-89 syntan in the process of finishing and filling of chrome tanned semi-finished leather product after catting it into thin slices with a thickness of 1.4 mm together with acacia extract tannins ensures an increase in its diffusion into the structure and provides a process duration reduction. The use of acacia extract tannins in the production technology of elastic hides makes it possible to obtain a filled-greased semi-finished product with increased physical and chemical properties: porosity, volumetric yield, air permeability by 21, 37, 86%, respectively, compared to the chrome tanning semi-finished product. The obtained results give the grounds for recommendation the use of acacia extract tannins in the wide range of elastic leathers production technologies.

Toward a dynamic approach of person perception at zero acquaintance: Applying recurrence quantification analysis to thin slices

Thin-slice methodology has provided us with abundant behavioral streams that self-reported measures would fail to capture, but traditional analytical paradigms in social and personality psychology cannot fully capture the temporal trajectories of person perception at zero acquaintance. At the same time, empirical investigations into how persons and situations jointly predict behavior enacted in situ are scarce, despite the importance of examining real-world behavior to understand any phenomenon of interest. To complement existing theoretical models and analyses, we propose the dynamic latent state-trait model blending dynamical systems theory and person perception. We present a data-driven case study using thin-slice methodology to demonstrate the model. This study provides direct empirical support for the proposed theoretical model on person perception at zero acquaintance highlighting the target, the perceiver, the situation, and time. The results of the study demonstrate that dynamical systems theory approaches can be leveraged to provide information about person perception at zero acquaintance above and beyond that of more traditional approaches. Classification code3040 (Social Perception & Cognition)