Application of Synchrotron Radiation Technologies to Electrode Materials for Li‐ and Na‐Ion Batteries

The search for superior‐energy‐density electrode materials for rechargeable batteries is prompted by the continuously growing demand for new electric vehicles and large energy‐storage grids. The structural properties of electrode materials affect their electrochemical performance because their functionality is correlated to their structure at the atomic scale. Although challenging, a deeper and comprehensive understanding of the basic structural operating units of electrode materials may contribute to the advancement of new energy‐storage technologies and many other technologies. Therefore, we must strategically control both the structure and kinetics of electrode materials to achieve optimal electrochemical performance. In this contribution, advancements in synchrotron radiation techniques, specifically in situ/operando experiments on electrode materials for rechargeable batteries, are presented and discussed. Indeed, the latest synchrotron radiation methods offer deeper insights into pristine and chemically modified electrode materials, opening new opportunities to optimize these materials and exploit new technologies. In particular, the most recent results from in situ/operando synchrotron radiation measurements, which play a critical role in the fundamental understanding of the kinetics processes that occur in rechargeable batteries, are discussed.     

Preservation of fertility in females treated for cancer

Advancements of diagnosis and treatment have substantially improved cancer survival rates in the last few decades. The increasing number of survivors focuses attention on long-term effects caused by cancer treatment and its impact on quality of life. Ovarian failure is one of the major sequelae of cytotoxic chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy in female children and reproductive-age women. Oncologists should address the patients about fertility preservation options before therapy. Embryo cryopreservation is the only well-established method for females in preserving fertility; however other strategies including ovarian suppression, ovarian transposition and cryopreservation of oocytes and ovarian tissue are still experimental. Patients need advice and to know which are the most practical options for them. This article reviews the available fertility preservation methods in women, and the related issues including normal physiology of the ovary, effect of anticancer therapy on fertility, role of the oncologist and ethics. We performed a MEDLINE search from 1971 to 2011 in a similar way as Jensen et al. 2011, using the following MeSH terms: antineoplastic agents; ovarian failure; premature; infertility, female; fertility preservation; child and cancer; reproductive technologies, assisted.     

Fetal Serum in Combination with 5% Dimethyl Sulfoxide Efficiently Protects the Human Gut Microbiota during Cryopreservation in Liquid Nitrogen

Biophysics - Due to advances in medical technologies, it is an important problem to develop methods that allow safe and efficient long-term preservation of the human gut microbiota without...     

Advancements in cryopreservation of domestic animal embryos.

The development of embryo freezing technologies revolutionized cattle breeding. Since then, advancements in cryobiology, cell biology, and domestic animal embryology have enabled the development of embryo preservation methodologies for our other domestic animal species, including sheep and goats. Recently, technologies have been developed to cryopreserve pig embryos, notorious for their extreme sensitivity to cooling; horse embryo cryopreservation is in its infancy. While cryopreservation can enhance the utilization of in vitro embryo production technologies, cryosurvival of in vitro-produced (IVP) or micromanipulated embryos is less than that of in vivo-derived embryos. This review outlines recent efforts in livestock embryo cryopreservation. In the near future, use of preserved embryos could be a routine breeding alternative for all livestock producers providing 1) preservation methods for maternal germplasm, 2) global genetic transport, 3) increased selection pressure within herds, 4) breeding line regeneration or proliferation, and 5) methodology for genetic rescue.     

Dose-effect and time-effect characteristics in process of tumorigenesis under combined action of ionizing radiation and chemical carcinogen

Studying of dose and time dependences of frequency of adenomas appearing under the combined effect of radiation and urethane ingressed during different terms after irradiation has show that the frequency of tumours is determined both by radiation dose, and the time interval between irradiation and ingressing of cancerogenic substance. The data obtained show the period of preservation of the induced damages and non-linearity of the process of tumour-formation under the combined effect of radiation and toxic factors on the organism. The latter is necessary to be taken into account when forecasting the radiation risk under the real ecological conditions.     

Advances of radiation sterilisation in tissue banking

Under the auspices of the IAEA tissue banking programme on “Radiation Sterilisation of Tissue Graft” conducted from 1985 to 2004, many scientists and surgeons were involved in various regional research and development (R&D) projects mainly in dealing with radiation dose selection, radiation effects on human tissues and quality system in radiation sterilisation. New findings on radiation effects, tissue processing and preservation were shared during the regional and interregional meetings and workshops. Many tissue banks started to use radiation (25 kGy) to sterilize tissue grafts for tissue safety and efficacy and still continue to use it. The IAEA Code of Practice for Radiation Sterilization of Tissues Allografts developed in 2007 offered simpler methods to conduct radiation dose setting and dose validation experiments for tissue grafts. Advances in dose selection and dose mapping are continued under the quality management system when banks need to be certified to continue their operation. The combination of good tissue processing and preservation as well as good radiation practice will ensure the tissue products are properly sterilised thus safe and of high quality. Experience in meeting challenges in using radiation sterilisation and achievements reported by the tissue bankers are shared here.     

Cryopreservation/transplantation of ovarian tissue and in vitro maturation of follicles and oocytes: Challenges for fertility preservation

Cryopreservation of ovarian tissue and in vitro follicle maturation are two emerging techniques for fertility preservation, especially in cancer patients. These treatment regimes are opening up more options and allow for more suitable choices to preserve fertility according to the patient's specific circumstances. If these technologies are to become widely accepted, they need to be safe, easy to perform and must obtain favorable results. The generation of healthy eggs with the normal genetic complement and the ability to develop into viable and healthy embryos requires tight regulation of oocyte development and maturation. Novel freezing techniques such as vitrification, along with whole ovary cryopreservation and three-dimensional follicle cultures, have shown favorable outcomes. The scope of this article is to take a comprehensively look at the challenges still faced in order for these novel technologies to be routinely employed with the aim of successful fertility preservation.     

Role of computed tomography in every day practice of municipal health care of the Russian Federation

The basic idea of the paper is due to its authors' wish to provide a comprehensive objective assessment of the role and place of currently available technologies of radiation diagnosis in municipal health care of the Russian Federation on the basis of the computed tomography (CT) room of the Stupino Central Town Clinical Hospital that performs the function of the leading medical institution of the whole Stupino District, Moscow Region. The paper presents a detailed characterization of the basic lines of CT studies and an analysis of their scope in a great variety of clinical subunits of the multidisciplinary Stupino hospital offering 795 beds. The paper lays a great emphasis on the particularly organizational aspects associated with the CT diagnosis of different diseases at the level of municipal heart care. Moreover, the authors express the idea that the findings may be applied not only to CT, but also to the whole group of new radiation diagnostic technologies. By assessing CT at the level of municipal health care, the authors fix their attention on the technological aspects of this technique. Recommendations are given on the most suitable type of CT units for municipal health care depending on the size of the population under service and on the capacity of health care structures. One of the authors' main conclusions suggests that, in addition to the radiation diagnosis service, the administrators of both regional and municipal organizational entities of practical public health care of the Russian Federation should obligatorily participate in order to obtain the high efficiency of radiation techniques.     

Integration of single cell data by disentangled representation learning

Recent developments of single cell RNA-sequencing technologies lead to the exponential growth of single cell sequencing datasets across different conditions. Combining these datasets helps to better understand cellular identity and function. However, it is challenging to integrate different datasets from different laboratories or technologies due to batch effect, which are interspersed with biological variances. To overcome this problem, we have proposed Single Cell Integration by Disentangled Representation Learning (SCIDRL), a domain adaption-based method, to learn low-dimensional representations invariant to batch effect. This method can efficiently remove batch effect while retaining cell type purity. We applied it to thirteen diverse simulated and real datasets. Benchmark results show that SCIDRL outperforms other methods in most cases and exhibits excellent performances in two common situations: (i) effective integration of batch-shared rare cell types and preservation of batch-specific rare cell types; (ii) reliable integration of datasets with different cell compositions. This demonstrates SCIDRL will offer a valuable tool for researchers to decode the enigma of cell heterogeneity.     

Brain banks: benefits,limitations and cautions concerning the use of post-mortem brain tissue for molecular studies

Brain banks are facilities providing an interface between generous donation of nervous tissues and research laboratories devoted to increase our understanding of the diseases of the nervous system, discover new diagnostic targets, and develop new strategies. Considering this crucial role, it is important to learn about the suitabilities, limitations and proper handling of individual brain samples for particular studies. Several factors may interfere with preservation of DNA, RNA, proteins and lipids, and, therefore, special care must be taken first to detect sub-optimally preserved tissues and second to provide adequate material for each specific purpose. Basic aspects related with DNA, RNA and protein preservation include agonal state, post-mortem delay, temperature of storage and procedures of tissue preservation. Examination of DNA and RNA preservation is best done by using bioanalyzer technologies instead of less sensitive methods such as agarose gels. Adequate RNA preservation is mandatory in RNA microarray studies and adequate controls are necessary for proper PCR validation. Like for RNA, the preservation of proteins is not homogeneous since some molecules are more vulnerable than others. This aspect is crucial in the study of proteins including expression levels and possible post-translational modifications. Similarly, the reliability of functional and enzymatic studies in human post-mortem brain largely depends on protein preservation. Much less is known about other aspects, such as the effects of putative deleterious factors on epigenetic events such as methylation of CpGs in gene promoters, nucleosome preservation, histone modifications, and conservation of microRNA species. Most brains are appropriate for morphological approaches but not all brains are useful for certain biochemical and molecular studies.     

Griddles, Ovens, and Agricultural Origins: An Ethnoarchaeological Study of Bread Baking in Highland Ethiopia

An ethnoarchaeological study of highland Ethiopian griddle technology is compared to bread-baking technologies in Africa and the Near East. There is a functional relationship between the use of ovens and griddles and the presence or absence of gluten in bread ingredients. Ovens are most appropriate for cereals containing gluten and may be implicated in the selection of higher quality gluten in domesticated wheats. We conclude, based on evidence for griddle use and the performance characteristics of African cereals, that indigenous species were exploited in highland Ethiopia before Near Eastern cereals were introduced. Griddle-cooking practices that bias the preservation of Near Eastern cereals over African ones may explain the absence of African cereals in the early archaeobotanical record. [Keywords: Ethiopia, ethnoarchaeology, archaeobotany, ovens, griddles]     

Benefits and costs of improved cookstoves: assessing the implications of variability in health, forest and climate impacts

Current attention to improved cook stoves (ICS) focuses on the "triple benefits" they provide, in improved health and time savings for households, in preservation of forests and associated ecosystem services, and in reducing emissions that contribute to global climate change. Despite the purported economic benefits of such technologies, however, progress in achieving large-scale adoption and use has been remarkably slow. This paper uses Monte Carlo simulation analysis to evaluate the claim that households will always reap positive and large benefits from the use of such technologies. Our analysis allows for better understanding of the variability in economic costs and benefits of ICS use in developing countries, which depend on unknown combinations of numerous uncertain parameters. The model results suggest that the private net benefits of ICS will sometimes be negative, and in many instances highly so. Moreover, carbon financing and social subsidies may help enhance incentives to adopt, but will not always be appropriate. The costs and benefits of these technologies are most affected by their relative fuel costs, time and fuel use efficiencies, the incidence and cost-of-illness of acute respiratory illness, and the cost of household cooking time. Combining these results with the fact that households often find these technologies to be inconvenient or culturally inappropriate leads us to understand why uptake has been disappointing. Given the current attention to the scale up of ICS, this analysis is timely and important for highlighting some of the challenges for global efforts to promote ICS.     

Effects of ionizing radiation and preservation on biomechanical properties of human costal cartilage

Tissue banks around the world store human cartilage obtained from cadaveric donors for use in diverse reconstructive surgical procedures. To ensure this tissue is sterile at the time of distribution, tissues may be sterilized by ionizing radiation. In this work, we evaluate the physical changes in deep frozen costal cartilage (?70 °C) or costal cartilage preserved in high concentrations of glycerol (>98 %) followed by a terminal sterilization process using ionizing radiation, at 3 different doses (15, 25 and 50 kGy). Tension and compression tests were carried out to determine the mechanical changes related both to the different preservation methods and irradiation doses. For both methods of preservation, tension strength was increased by about 24 %, when cartilage tissue was irradiated with 15 kGy. Deep frozen samples, when irradiated with 25 or 50 kGy, had a decrease in their mechanical performance, albeit to a lesser extent than when tissues were preserved in high concentration of glycerol and equally irradiated. In conclusion, processing in high concentration of glycerol did not increase tissue protection against radiation damage; while cartilage preserved in high concentrations of glycerol withstands radiation up to 25 kGy, deep frozen human costal cartilage may be sterilized with a doses up to 50 kGy without significant mechanical impact.     

Laser hair removal: where are we now?

The hair removal market is evolving rapidly. The goal has always been long-term epilation. Success is dependent on understanding hair biology and physiology and on knowledge of laser physics, skin optics, and tissue preservation with respect to these emerging laser technologies. These topics will be reviewed, as will specific categories of laser systems in the hair removal arena and the clinical aspects of laser hair removal today.     

Cancer du testicule et autoconservation de sperme

Testis cancer, chemotherapy and radiation can induce temporary or permanent infertility in men. Cryopreservation of spermatozoa seems an absolute prerequisite in such situation for male patients who are old enough to procreate. We propose a national retrospective study carried out in 17 CECOS. This survey demonstrates a regular increase for semen preservation in testis cancer and analyses the modalities of gametes preservation and their possible use. In view of this activity, we propose a discussion of the attitude of the various CECOS and of particular cases involving ethical issues.     

Terahertz radiation increases genomic instability in human lymphocytes

Terahertz radiation is increasingly being applied in new and evolving technologies applied in areas such as homeland security and medical imaging. Thus a timely assessment of the potential hazards and health effects of occupational and general population exposure to THz radiation is required. We applied continuous-wave (CW) 0.1 THz radiation (0.031 mW/ cm(2)) to dividing lymphocytes for 1, 2 and 24 h and examined the changes in chromosome number of chromosomes 1, 10, 11 and 17 and changes in the replication timing of their centromeres using interphase fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). Chromosomes 11 and 17 were most vulnerable (about 30% increase in aneuploidy after 2 and 24 h of exposure), while chromosomes 1 and 10 were not affected. We observed changes in the asynchronous mode of replication of centromeres 11, 17 and 1 (by 40%) after 2 h of exposure and of all four centromeres after 24 h of exposure (by 50%). It is speculated that these effects are caused by radiation-induced low-frequency collective vibrational modes of proteins and DNA. Our results demonstrate that exposure of lymphocytes in vitro to a low power density of 0.1 THz radiation induces genomic instability. These findings, if verified, may suggest that such exposure may result in an increased risk of cancer.     

Advances in glioma models using in vivo electroporation to highjack neurodevelopmental processes

Glioma is the most prevalent type of neurological malignancies. Despite decades of efforts in neurosurgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy, glioma remains one of the most treatment-resistant brain tumors with unfavorable outcomes. Recent progresses in genomic and epigenetic profiling have revealed new concepts of genetic events involved in the etiology of gliomas in humans, meanwhile, revolutionary technologies in gene editing and delivery allows to code these genetic “events” in animals to genetically engineer glioma models. This approach models the initiation and progression of gliomas in a natural microenvironment with an intact immune system and facilitates probing therapeutic strategies. In this review, we focus on recent advances in in vivo electroporation-based glioma modeling and outline the established genetically engineered glioma models (GEGMs).     

国产高频率X线机技术进展

介绍了国产高频X线机关键技术,新技术的应用提高了X线成像质量,减少了患者的射线剂量。整机体积小,操作方便。     

Genomics for food biotechnology: prospects of the use of high-throughput technologies for the improvement of food microorganisms.

Functional genomics is currently the most effective approach for increasing the knowledge at the molecular level of metabolic and adaptive processes in whole cells. High-throughput technologies, such as DNA microarrays, and improved two-dimensional electrophoresis methods combined with tandem mass-spectroscopy, supported by bioinformatics, are useful tools for food biotechnology, which depends on detailed knowledge of the properties of food microbes (and pathogens) in their industrial, food and consumer environments. Genomics of food microbes, based on rapidly emerging genome sequence information, generates valuable knowledge that can be used for metabolic engineering, improving cell factories and development of novel preservation methods. Furthermore, pre- and probiotic studies, characterization of stress responses, studies of microbial ecology and, last but not least, development of novel risk assessment procedures will be facilitated.