Development of Aspiration-Assisted End-Cut Coaxial Biopsy Needles

Needle biopsy procedures, such as fine-needle aspiration and core needle biopsy, are used to extract tissue samples for diagnosis, and collection of larger samples allows for more accurate diagnosis of cancers. The combination of lower needle insertion force, less needle deflection, and reduced friction between the tissue and needle surface also leads to a more efficient biopsy procedure. In this research, a new end-cut-type coaxial needle with a modified aspiration mechanism has been developed to extract large tissue with minimal damage. The study shows that the clearance between the inner stylette and external needle and the insertion speed are the key factors affecting the biopsy performance including syringe friction force and amount of tissue extracted. Larger tissue samples (gelatin and chicken breast are used as samples here) can be obtained when inserting at lower speeds and using coaxial needles with smaller clearances between the external needles and inner stylettes. For solid samples (gelatin), the space inside the external needle is nearly filled with the solid sample. For samples consisting of both solid (chicken meat) and liquid components, a slower needle insertion results in extraction of more liquid than solid. To extract larger solid samples, high-speed needle insertion is required. This paper presents the design and manufacture of the system, protocol to evaluate the needle biopsy, and evaluation of the needle biopsy performance using gelatin and chicken breast as tissue samples.

An Experimental Investigation of Churning Power Losses of a Gearbox

ii Acknowledgements iv Vita v List of Tables viii List of Figures ix Nomenclature xiii

An Experimental Investigation of Churning Power Losses of a Gearbox

A Load Distribution Model for Planetary Gear Sets

Cell-wide analysis of protein thermal unfolding reveals determinants of thermostability

Temperature-induced cell death is thought to be due to protein denaturation, but the determinants of thermal sensitivity of proteomes remain largely uncharacterized. We developed a structural proteomic strategy to measure protein thermostability on a proteome-wide scale and with domain-level resolution. We applied it to Escherichia coli , Saccharomyces cerevisiae , Thermus thermophilus , and human cells, yielding thermostability data for more than 8000 proteins. Our results (i) indicate that temperature-induced cellular collapse is due to the loss of a subset of proteins with key functions, (ii) shed light on the evolutionary conservation of protein and domain stability, and (iii) suggest that natively disordered proteins in a cell are less prevalent than predicted and (iv) that highly expressed proteins are stable because they are designed to tolerate translational errors that would lead to the accumulation of toxic misfolded species.

Rotary and linear molecular motors driven by pulses of a chemical fuel

Many biomolecular motors catalyze the hydrolysis of chemical fuels, such as adenosine triphosphate, and use the energy released to direct motion through information ratchet mechanisms. Here we describe chemically-driven artificial rotary and linear molecular motors that operate through a fundamentally different type of mechanism. The directional rotation of [2]- and [3]catenane rotary molecular motors and the transport of substrates away from equilibrium by a linear molecular pump are induced by acid-base oscillations. The changes simultaneously switch the binding site affinities and the labilities of barriers on the track, creating an energy ratchet. The linear and rotary molecular motors are driven by aliquots of a chemical fuel, trichloroacetic acid. A single fuel pulse generates 360° unidirectional rotation of up to 87% of crown ethers in a [2]catenane rotary motor.

AB0057 The role of growth differentiation factor (GDF)-15 and transforming growth factor (TGF)-β in the development of pulmonary fibrosis

Python in the NERSC Exascale Science Applications Program for Data

We describe a new effort at the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC) in performance analysis and optimization of scientific Python applications targeting the Intel Xeon Phi (Knights Landing, KNL) manycore architecture. The Python-centered work outlined here is part of a larger effort called the NERSC Exascale Science Applications Program (NESAP) for Data. NESAP for Data focuses on applications that process and analyze high-volume, high-velocity data sets from experimental or observational science (EOS) facilities supported by the US Department of Energy Office of Science. We present three case study applications from NESAP for Data that use Python. These codes vary in terms of "Python purity" from applications developed in pure Python to ones that use Python mainly as a convenience layer for scientists without expertise in lower level programming languages like C, C++ or Fortran. The science case, requirements, constraints, algorithms, and initial performance optimizations for each code are discussed. Our goal with this paper is to contribute to the larger conversation around the role of Python in high-performance computing today and tomorrow, highlighting areas for future work and emerging best practices.

Small RNA-seq during acute maximal exercise reveal RNAs involved in vascular inflammation and cardiometabolic health: brief report

Exercise improves cardiometabolic and vascular function, although the mechanisms remain unclear. Our objective was to demonstrate the diversity of circulating extracellular RNA (ex-RNA) release during acute exercise in humans and its relevance to exercise-mediated benefits on vascular inflammation. We performed plasma small RNA sequencing in 26 individuals undergoing symptom-limited maximal treadmill exercise, with replication of our top candidate miRNA in a separate cohort of 59 individuals undergoing bicycle ergometry. We found changes in miRNAs and other ex-RNAs with exercise (e.g., Y RNAs and tRNAs) implicated in cardiovascular disease. In two independent cohorts of acute maximal exercise, we identified miR-181b-5p as a key ex-RNA increased in plasma after exercise, with validation in a separate cohort. In a mouse model of acute exercise, we found significant increases in miR-181b-5p expression in skeletal muscle after acute exercise in young (but not older) mice. Previous work revealed a strong role for miR-181b-5p in vascular inflammation in obesity, insulin resistance, sepsis, and cardiovascular disease. We conclude that circulating ex-RNAs were altered in plasma after acute exercise target pathways involved in inflammation, including miR-181b-5p. Further investigation into the role of known (e.g., miRNA) and novel (e.g., Y RNAs) RNAs is warranted to uncover new mechanisms of vascular inflammation on exercise-mediated benefits on health. NEW & NOTEWORTHY How exercise provides benefits to cardiometabolic health remains unclear. We performed RNA sequencing in plasma during exercise to identify the landscape of small noncoding circulating transcriptional changes. Our results suggest a link between inflammation and exercise, providing rich data on circulating noncoding RNAs for future studies by the scientific community.

The Relationship between Dental Follicle Width and Maxillary Impacted Canines’ Descriptive and Resorptive Features Using Cone-Beam Computed Tomography

Objectives. To assess the relationship between dental follicle width and maxillary impacted canines’ descriptive and resorptive features with three-dimensional (3D) cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). Methods. The study comprised 102 patients with cone-beam computed tomography 3D images and a total of 140 impacted canines. The association between maxillary impacted canine dental follicle width and the variables of gender, impaction side (right and left), localization of impacted canine (buccal, central, and palatal), and resorption of the adjacent laterals was compared. Measurements were analyzed with Student’s t-test, Kruskal-Wallis test, and Mann–Whitney U statistical test. Results. According to gender, no statistically significant differences were found in the follicle size of the maxillary impacted canine between males and females (p>0.05). Widths of the follicles were determined for the right and left impaction sides, and no statistically significant relation was found (p>0.05). There were statistically significant differences between root resorption degrees of lateral incisors and maxillary impacted canine follicle width (p<0.05). Statistically significant higher follicle width values were present in degree 2 (mild) resorption than in degree 1 (no) and degree 3 (moderate) resorption samples (p<0.05). Conclusions. No significant correlation was found between follicle width and the variables of gender, impaction side, and localization of maxillary impacted canines. Our study could not confirm that increased dental follicle width of the maxillary impacted canines exhibited more resorption risk for the adjacent lateral incisors.