Biomimetic Leukocyte Adhesion： A Review of Microfluidic and Computational Approaches and Applications

Leukocyte rolling and adhesion are complex physiological processes that have received a great deal of attention over the past decade. Significant increases in the knowledge base related to how leukocytes adhere in shear flows have occurred as a result of the development of novel experimental and computational techniques. Micro- and nano-fabrication techniques have enabled the development of novel flow devices for studying leukocyte adhesion in simple and complex geometries. Improvements in computer technology have enabled simulations of complex flow processes to be developed. As a result of these advances in knowledge related to leukocyte adhesion, numerous novel devices have been developed that mimic the leukocyte rolling and adhesion process. Examples of these devices include cell separation and enrichment devices and targeted ultrasound contrast agents. Future advances related to leukocyte rolling and adhesion processes hold great promise for advancing our knowledge of disease processes as well as development of novel therapeutic devices.     

A Review of: “Images: A Reader”

Photographs are a ubiquitous feature of Aboriginal life in Northeastern Australia, with images of relatives being prominently displayed in most Aboriginal houses. This display of photographs is tied to a form of distributed personhood that draws on photographs to create a sense of social immediacy in the absence of close kin. This sense of immediacy also occurs in relation to photographs of the dead, giving these images a particular force for Aboriginal viewers. But further consideration of this force of photographic images suggests that they should be treated neither as things nor as aspects of persons, despite their seeming ability to manifest agency in Aboriginal life-worlds.     

A Review of: “Mammal Tracks and Sign of the Northeast”

Gastroliths are usually described as being highly polished, but no technique has actually been used to measure the amount of polish. The use of profilometer and laser light‐scattering measurements on gastroliths, suspected gastroliths, and fluvial clasts are applications of technology new to geology and paleontology. These techniques permit rapid and nondestructive tests and can be used to quantify the surface polish of materials having irregular surfaces. A pilot study of these three populations indicates that suspected and bona fide gastroliths are generally much more highly polished than fluvial clasts.     

A Review of: “Bioaffinity Chromatography”

Abstract

J. Turkovi, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1993; hardbound, XVIII + 796 pages, $282,75     

A Review of: “A White Man's Foot”

While conducting research among the Aran Islanders of Ireland between 1958 and 1968, the author and his wife became aware that their interpretation of Aran culture and personality was at variance with those of filmmakers and writers of fame who had portrayed the Aran milieu in film, books, and plays. This article examines the several reasons why his and his wife's interpretation differs from those, in particular, of Robert Flaherty, John M. Synge, Pat Mullen, and P. A. Ó Síocháin, with special emphasis on the influence of nativism and primitivism on their portrayals. The setting of the article is Ireland of four decades ago and mirrors conditions much different from those of today.     

A Review of: “Handbook of Affinity Chromatography”

Abstract

T. Kline, Ed. Marcel Dekker, New York, 1993; hardbound, viii + 332 pages, $135.00     

A Review of: “Handbook of Material Culture”

The examination of a well‐documented petroglyph site, located near the northeastern shoreline of now‐dry Owens Lake, California, is used as a springboard for a review of explanatory models for the interpretation of rock art sites in California and the Great Basin. Interpretive models and methods of analysis used by Julian Steward, Robert Heizer, and others who have visited or reported on this site are reviewed. The persistence of Heizer's “hunting‐magic” explanation for the creation of the rock art is used as one of several examples of how preconceived notions can affect interpretations of ancient art.     

A Review of: “Chromatography in Biotechnology”

Abstract

C. Horvith and L.S. Ettre, Eds. ACS Symposium Series 529, American Chemical Society, Washington, DC, 1993, hardbound pp. ix+ 189, $49.95     

A Review of: “Aqueous Two-Phase Partitioning”

Abstract

B. Y. Zaslavsky Marcel Dekker, New York, 1994; hardbound, pp. xiii+696, $165.00     

Finger Tip Amputations—Review of Procedures and Applications

Repair of finger tip amputations depends upon the slope of transsection and how much of the tip has been amputated. Type 1 and 2 injuries are easily handled in the emergency room by local flaps with results acceptable by functional and economic criteria. Type 3 amputations with losses of less than 25 percent can be repaired by primary closure. Losses of 50 percent or over are best treated by local or “distant” flaps from the involved or adjacent fingers or palm. Each style of flap and technique has advantages and disadvantages.     

Cell Adhesion: Separation of p120's Powers?

The catenin p120 is involved in many processes, including cell-cell adhesion and cancer. Recent work explores whether p120 independently regulates two key binding partners, RhoGTPase and cadherin.     

Cell Adhesion: Sorting out Cell Mixing with Echinoid?

Cadherins control intercellular adhesion in epithelial cells. This property relies on the ability to recruit actin filaments at adherens junctions via beta-catenin and alpha-catenin. A recent study shows that Echinoid, a member of the immunoglobulin domain containing protein family, is a modulator of intercellular adhesion in Drosophila that controls cell sorting.