Femtosecond laser preparation of resin embedded samples for correlative microscopy workflows in life sciences.

Correlative multimodal imaging is a useful approach to investigate complex structural relations in life sciences across multiple scales. For these experiments, sample preparation workflows that are compatible with multiple imaging techniques must be established. In one such implementation, a fluorescently labeled region of interest in a biological soft tissue sample can be imaged with light microscopy before staining the specimen with heavy metals, enabling follow-up higher resolution structural imaging at the targeted location, bringing context where it is required.

Volume EM: a quiet revolution takes shape.

Volume Electron Microscopy is a group of techniques that reveal the 3D ultrastructure of cells and tissues through volumes greater than 1 cubic micron. A burgeoning grass roots community effort is fast building the profile, and revealing the impact, of vEM technology in the life sciences and clinical research.

Sample Preparation and Warping Accuracy for Correlative Multimodal Imaging in the Mouse Olfactory Bulb Using 2-Photon, Synchrotron X-Ray and Volume Electron Microscopy.

Integrating physiology with structural insights of the same neuronal circuit provides a unique approach to understanding how the mammalian brain computes information. However, combining the techniques that provide both streams of data represents an experimental challenge. When studying glomerular column circuits in the mouse olfactory bulb, this approach involves e.

Functional and multiscale 3D structural investigation of brain tissue through correlative in vivo physiology, synchrotron microtomography and volume electron microscopy.

Understanding the function of biological tissues requires a coordinated study of physiology and structure, exploring volumes that contain complete functional units at a detail that resolves the relevant features. Here, we introduce an approach to address this challenge: Mouse brain tissue sections containing a region where function was recorded using in vivo 2-photon calcium imaging were stained, dehydrated, resin-embedded and imaged with synchrotron X-ray computed tomography with propagation-based phase contrast (SXRT). SXRT provided context at subcellular detail, and could be followed by targeted acquisition of multiple volumes using serial block-face electron microscopy (SBEM).

Colorectal cancer survival: prevalence of psychosocial distress and unmet supportive care needs.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of distress and unmet supportive care needs in post-treatment colorectal cancer (CRC) survivors. Also, to explore the association between both variables and to identify potential associated sociodemographic and cancer-related risk factors.

Methods: A cross-sectional study of 200 CRC survivors who at least 1 month before had completed the primary treatment for CRC was conducted.

Influence of different storage temperatures on the mechanical properties of NiTi, Cu-NiTi and SS orthodontic archwires: An in vitro study.

Objective: Due to their exceptional temperature sensitivity, the mechanical properties of Nickel-titanium and Copper Nickel-titanium wires may be influenced by their storage temperature. This in turn may have clinical implications and may also affect the outcomes. This study analyzed the influence of storage temperatures on the mechanical properties of orthodontic wires in a laboratory setting.

Helios modulates the maturation of a CA1 neuronal subpopulation required for spatial memory formation.

Currently, molecular, electrophysiological and structural studies delineate several neural subtypes in the hippocampus. However, the precise developmental mechanisms that lead to this diversity are still unknown. Here we show that alterations in a concrete hippocampal neuronal subpopulation during development specifically affect hippocampal-dependent spatial memory.

Urban Weathering: Interactive Rendering of Polluted Cities.

Weathering effects are ubiquitous phenomena in cities. Buildings age and deteriorate over time as they interact with the environment. Pollution accumulating on facades is a particularly visible consequence of this.

The effect of pacifier sucking on orofacial structures: a systematic literature review.

Background: Non-nutritive sucking habits may adversely affect the orofacial complex. This systematic literature review aimed to find scientific evidence on the effect of pacifier sucking on orofacial structures.

Methods: A search on MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Web of Science databases was conducted to find all pertinent articles published from inception until February 2018, based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines.

Corrigendum: FIB/SEM technology and high-throughput 3D reconstruction of dendritic spines and synapses in GFP-labeled adult-generated neurons.

[This corrects the article on p. 60 in vol. 9, PMID: 26052271.

Reelin Regulates the Maturation of Dendritic Spines, Synaptogenesis and Glial Ensheathment of Newborn Granule Cells.

The extracellular protein Reelin has an important role in neurological diseases, including epilepsy, Alzheimer's disease and psychiatric diseases, targeting hippocampal circuits. Here we address the role of Reelin in the development of synaptic contacts in adult-generated granule cells (GCs), a neuronal population that is crucial for learning and memory and implicated in neurological and psychiatric diseases. We found that the Reelin pathway controls the shapes, sizes, and types of dendritic spines, the complexity of multisynaptic innervations and the degree of the perisynaptic astroglial ensheathment that controls synaptic homeostasis.

Reelin Exerts Structural, Biochemical and Transcriptional Regulation Over Presynaptic and Postsynaptic Elements in the Adult Hippocampus.

Reelin regulates neuronal positioning and synaptogenesis in the developing brain, and adult brain plasticity. Here we used transgenic mice overexpressing Reelin (Reelin-OE mice) to perform a comprehensive dissection of the effects of this protein on the structural and biochemical features of dendritic spines and axon terminals in the adult hippocampus. Electron microscopy (EM) revealed both higher density of synapses and structural complexity of both pre- and postsynaptic elements in transgenic mice than in WT mice.

FIB/SEM technology and high-throughput 3D reconstruction of dendritic spines and synapses in GFP-labeled adult-generated neurons.

The fine analysis of synaptic contacts is usually performed using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and its combination with neuronal labeling techniques. However, the complex 3D architecture of neuronal samples calls for their reconstruction from serial sections. Here we show that focused ion beam/scanning electron microscopy (FIB/SEM) allows efficient, complete, and automatic 3D reconstruction of identified dendrites, including their spines and synapses, from GFP/DAB-labeled neurons, with a resolution comparable to that of TEM.

Transient downregulation of Dab1 protein levels during development leads to behavioral and structural deficits: relevance for psychiatric disorders.

Psychiatric disorders have been hypothesized to originate during development, with genetic and environmental factors interacting in the etiology of disease. Therefore, developmentally regulated genes have received attention as risk modulators in psychiatric diseases. Reelin is an extracellular protein essential for neuronal migration and maturation during development, and its expression levels are reduced in psychiatric disorders.

Cell-autonomous inactivation of the reelin pathway impairs adult neurogenesis in the hippocampus.

Adult hippocampal neurogenesis is thought to be essential for learning and memory, and has been implicated in the pathogenesis of several disorders. Although recent studies have identified key factors regulating neuroprogenitor proliferation in the adult hippocampus, the mechanisms that control the migration and integration of adult-born neurons into circuits are largely unknown. Reelin is an extracellular matrix protein that is vital for neuronal development.

Accelerated aging of the GABAergic septohippocampal pathway and decreased hippocampal rhythms in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease.

Patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) display altered functioning of cortical networks, including altered patterns of synchronous activity and a serious deficit in cholinergic septohippocampal (SH) innervation. However, the mechanisms underlying these alterations and the implication of the GABAergic SH component in AD are largely unknown. In addition, the GABAergic septohippocampal pathway (SHP) is believed to regulate synchronous hippocampal activity by controlling the activity of interneurons.

Neurodegeneration and functional impairments associated with glycogen synthase accumulation in a mouse model of Lafora disease.

Lafora disease (LD) is caused by mutations in either the laforin or malin gene. The hallmark of the disease is the accumulation of polyglucosan inclusions called Lafora Bodies (LBs). Malin knockout (KO) mice present polyglucosan accumulations in several brain areas, as do patients of LD.

Overexpression of Reelin prevents the manifestation of behavioral phenotypes related to schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Despite the impact of schizophrenia and mood disorders, which in extreme cases can lead to death, recent decades have brought little progress in the development of new treatments. Recent studies have shown that Reelin, an extracellular protein that is critical for neuronal development, is reduced in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder patients. However, data on a causal or protective role of Reelin in psychiatric diseases is scarce.

Reelin regulates postnatal neurogenesis and enhances spine hypertrophy and long-term potentiation.

Reelin, an extracellular protein essential for neural migration and lamination, is also expressed in the adult brain. To unravel the function of this protein in the adult forebrain, we generated transgenic mice that overexpress Reelin under the control of the CaMKIIalpha promoter. Overexpression of Reelin increased adult neurogenesis and impaired the migration and positioning of adult-generated neurons.

Biomechanical evaluation of rat skull defects, 1, 3, and 6 months after implantation with osteopromotive substances.

Purpose: To compare the mechanical strength of surgically created and healed rat calvarial defects having been filled with three different osteopromotive substances: hydroxyapatite, intramembraneous demineralised bone matrix (DBM), and autogenous bone chips.

Material: Sixty adult male Wistar rats were divided into three groups of 20 animals, each group representing healing times of one, three, or six months.

Methods: Identical 5mm bilateral critical size defects were trephined into the parietal bones and hydroxyapatite, DBM, or autogenous bone chips were implanted into the defects, or left as unfilled controls.

First-line treatment with irinotecan and raltitrexed in metastatic colorectal cancer. Mature results of a multicenter phase II study.

Objectives: The combination of irinotecan and raltitrexed is safe and active in 5-fluorouracil-refractory, metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC), with the advantage of its convenient three-weekly schedule. The aim of this multicenter phase II study was to assess its efficacy and toxicity in first-line treatment.

Methods: Between May 2000 and March 2001, 62 previously untreated patients received irinotecan (350 mg/m(2)) plus raltitrexed (3 mg/m(2)), with courses repeated every 21 days.

Preoperative uracil, tegafur, and concomitant radiotherapy in operable rectal cancer: a phase II multicenter study with 3 years' follow-Up.

Purpose: To assess tolerance and efficacy of preoperative treatment with uracil/tegafur and radiotherapy (RT) followed by surgery and postoperative flurouracil (FU)/leucovorin (LV) in patients with rectal cancer.

Patients And Methods: Patients (n = 94) with potentially resectable tumors, ultrasound at stages T2N+ (n = 4), T3 (n = 77), T4 (n = 13) were treated with UFT (400 mg/m2/d, 5 days a week for 5 weeks) and concomitant RT to the pelvis (45 Gy; 1.8 Gy/d over 5 weeks).