Cordless-Microscope
All about Cordless-Microscope.Congratulations to Dr Fiona Coyle
Congratulations to Dr Fiona Coyle
 |
 |
 |
Examiners were (extern) Emeritus Professor Ray Brach, Department of Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, USA and (intern) Dr. Brian Bowe, Acting Assistant Head, School of Physics.
Fiona’s research was supervised by Dr. Vincent Toal, Head of Physics, and Dr. Denis Wood, Wood and Associates, Forensic Engineers, Dublin.
Click Here to read the entire article...
Other Articles:
| • | Luminescence Database I—Minerals and Materials |
| Research Articles Colin M. MacRae, Nicholas C. Wilson, Microscopy and Microanalysis, Volume 14 Issue 02 , pp 184-204 Abstract A luminescence database for minerals and materials has been complied from the literature, the aim being to create a resource that will aid in the analysis of luminescence spectral of ionic species in minerals and materials. The database is based on a range of excitation techniques and records both major and minor lines, and their activators. The luminescence techniques included in the database are cathodoluminescence, ion luminescence, and photoluminescence. When combined with other traditional X-ray measurements collected on the same region, use of the luminescence database will give additional insight into the chemistry of minerals and materials. |
|
| Click Here to read the entire article... |
|
| • | |
| Click Here to read the entire article... |
|
| • | Patterns of Local Recurrence After Intraoperative Radiotherapy for Advanced Neuroblastoma |
|
The purpose of this study was to retrospectively evaluate local recurrence patterns after intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT) combined with total or subtotal resection and intensive chemotherapy for advanced neuroblastoma. The outcomes of 27 patients (14 boys and 13 girls) with advanced-stage neuroblastoma who received IORT as part of multimodality therapy between November 1988 and December 2006 were reviewed in order to evaluate the impact of IORT. Of particular interest was the local recurrence patterns observed. Six patients relapsed in the abdominal area: three out of six relapsed adjacent to the radiation fields. Other three relapsed in the field of electron ports. Among them, one relapsed in paraspinal lymph nodes, which are behind the irradiated volume but out of the reach of the electron beam, while another relapsed in the lymph nodes of the mesocolon, which had been displaced outside the irradiation field at the time of IORT. The last case relapsed beside the vertebral column near the left ureter, which had been shielded by a lead plate. These three ‘in-field’ recurrences would have been irradiated if external opposite two-beam radiations had been performed, instead of electron beams. In spite of a complete tumor control in the treated volume, some ‘marginal’ recurrences were observed. Further investigation—for example, a combination of IORT and external-beam radiotherapy—should be considered to achieve higher local control and decrease complication rates. |
|
| Click Here to read the entire article... |
|
| • | Legos Teach Fairness |
| I came across this article (via Digg) from a 2006 Rethinking Schools journal. The authors lead a before- and after-school program, and their story is about a teachable moment regarding ownership and society. The classroom Lego collection became a battleground as some kids claimed ownership of certain pieces, so the teachers developed a set of exercises and discussion opportunities to help resolve the issue. Over time, this evolved into a better understanding of how rules are formed and how societies function. I think out-of-school programs play a critical role in helping young people understand society. Because there is less formal structure, there is some room to let the kids form the rules. There is also time to reflect on how changes in those rules affect everyone. Open discussion and free choice cannot go as far in the classroom because there is a necessary structure there. (Of course, there are your "Dead Poet Society" exceptions, but how would those kids have done on their standardized tests??) One could read the Rethinking Schools article and worry that these teachers are preaching a form of communism - see James Clavell's The Children's Story for a fictional account. However, it is exercises in free thought and debate that allow the students to grow into adults who can appreciate the value of the world they live in without forgetting that it is imperfect. On a related note, the Afterschool Math PLUS curriculum includes a unit on the built environment which includes a design charette similar to the activity described in the article (building Pike Place Market from Legos). However, the kids using Math PLUS probably have instructors who are promoting cooperation and fair play more directly, since this is a deliberate part of this curriculum. The results that I have seen are great - the kids design wonderful communities (to scale - it is math after all!) and most have social justice built in. So, here is food for thought: is it better to deliberately teach our kids to be fair or better to conduct exercises that let them discover fairness on their own? |
|
| Click Here to read the entire article... |
|
| • | The Osteogenic Potential of Pseudoarthrosis Tissue and Bone from Human Scaphoid Non-Unions |
|
Scaphoid fractures have the highest prevalence of non-union in the human body, but little is known about the osteogenic potential of cells at the pseudoarthrosis. It was our goal to determine whether cells isolated from non-unions could be stimulated to differentiate into osteoblasts and produce bone in vitro. Fifteen human scaphoid non-unions were excised during surgery and bone from either side of the non-union and the fibrocartilagenous central regions were harvested. Osteoblastic populations were subcultured from these. The number of bone nodules (colonies of osteoblast cells that produced bone) from all three regions was similar to the number of nodules derived from iliac bone cultures from the same patients. Treatment of cells with rhBMP-2 resulted in a 3- to 10-fold increase in bone nodule formation in vitro from cells derived from the non-unions. These data demonstrate that cells at the pseudoarthrosis have osteogenic capability and can be stimulated by rhBMP-2, possibly increasing the ability to heal. |
|
| Click Here to read the entire article... |
|
| • | Evaluation of a 2k CCD camera with an epitaxially grown CsI scintillator for recording energy-filtered electron cryo-micrographs |
|
Zero-loss imaging of frozen-hydrated specimens requires a detector with high sensitivity, a low noise level and high spatial resolution, because more electrons are scattered inelastically than elastically by cryo-specimens and the number of electrons detected is ~1/4 of incident electrons after energy filtering. Cameras using charge-coupled devices (CCDs) are good candidates due to their high sensitivity. They have been used mainly to record electron diffraction patterns for electron crystallography due to their limited spatial resolution but recently used for acquiring direct images due to their convenience. The spatial resolution has been limited by the characteristics of a phosphor that is necessary to convert high-energy electrons to photons and the coupling. We adopted a CsI scintillator with good modulation transfer function (MTF), which was epitaxially grown from each of optical fibres. The stripes of carbon graphite with 3.4 Å spacing and 1.4 Å stripes of gold thin crystals could be recorded with a magnification of 240 000x and 560 000x at 200 kV, respectively. A computed Fourier transform of an image of a frozen-hydrated crystal of catalase containing about 1000 units showed diffraction spots at spatial frequencies of 1/9.6 Å–1 up to 1/8 Å–1 without background subtraction, when the image was recorded at 140 000x. These results show that the resolution of the developed camera was good enough to record images. Our used test method for MTF determination may be useful for others. |
|
| Click Here to read the entire article... |
|
By noreply@blogger.com (Des) - version: v1.5 build A