In vivo, online label-free monitoring of heterogenous oxygen utilization during phototherapy with real-time ultrasound-guided photoacoustic imaging.

Understanding the tumor microenvironment, particularly the vascular density and the availability of oxygen, is key in individualizing treatment approaches and determining their efficacy. While there are many therapies including radiotherapy that are ineffective in hypoxic tumor microenvironments, here we demonstrate the heterogeneous oxygen consumption during photodynamic therapy (PDT), a non-invasive treatment method using localized light to activate a photosensitive drug in the presence of oxygen that has shown high effectiveness in the treatment of various types of tumors, including those presented in head and neck cancer (HNC) patients. While our previous work has demonstrated that blood oxygen saturation (StO) mapped before and after treatment with ultrasound-guided photoacoustic imaging (US-PAI) can be used as a surrogate marker for the regionalized long-term efficacy of PDT, real-time monitoring of StO during PDT could provide additional insights on oxygen consumption and inform dose design for "on the spot" treatment decisions.

A novel approach using cyanoacrylate ester fuming on surfaces with anti-climb paint.

The use of fingermarks as evidence in forensic science remains indispensable with these being used for identification and/or elimination purposes. A wide array of methods and techniques have been developed to enhance, recover, and preserve fingermarks from various surfaces. However, the forensic community continues to encounter challenges when dealing with certain surfaces, among them is anti-climb paint, presenting unique difficulties due to its non-drying nature.

Art by firelight? Using experimental and digital techniques to explore Magdalenian engraved plaquette use at Montastruc (France).

Palaeolithic stone plaquettes are a type of mobiliary art featuring engravings and recovered primarily from Magdalenian sites, where they can number from single finds to several thousand examples. Where context is available, they demonstrate complex traces of use, including surface refreshing, heating, and fragmentation. However, for plaquettes with limited or no archaeological context, research tends to gravitate toward their engraved surfaces.

Risk of measles transmission on aeroplanes: Australian experience 2007-2011.

Objective: To quantify the risk of transmission of measles associated with infectious people who travelled on aeroplane flights to or within Australia.

Design, Setting And Subjects: Data were obtained from state and territory health authorities on all measles notifications from January 2007 to June 2011 for people who were likely to have been infectious or infected while travelling on aeroplanes in Australia.

Results: Forty-five infectious people travelled on aeroplanes.

Toxicology in Australia: a key component of environmental health.

Managing public concerns relating to chemical exposures can consume substantial public health resources, particularly as the scientific basis around these issues is often contentious. Toxicology remains underrecognized as a public health discipline in Australia, although Australian toxicologists are making significant contributions from academia, government, and the commercial sector toward assessing the level of risk and protecting the community from environmental hazards. Internationally, the growth of environmental toxicology and the promotion of sound science in risk assessment as a basis for making regulatory decisions have been, to some extent, driven by the outcomes of the 1992 UNCED Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio Summit) and its Chapter 19 Agenda 21 activities.

The soiled environment: bubble, bubble, soil in trouble.

There are many contaminated soil sites in Australia. Contamination may be from human activities (eg, smelters, industrial waste dumps, old gasworks) or from naturally occurring sources (eg, surface mineralisation). Concentrations of contaminants may vary markedly across a site.