Packings of monodisperse emulsions in flat microfluidic channels.

In the lateral confinement of a flat microfluidic channel, monodisperse emulsion droplets spontaneously self-organize in a variety of topologically different packings. The explicit construction of mechanically equilibrated arrangements of effectively two-dimensional congruent droplet shapes reveals the existence of multiple mechanical equilibria depending on channel width W, droplet area A{d}, and volume fraction φ of the dispersed phase. The corresponding boundaries of local or global stability are summarized in a packing diagram for congruent droplet shapes in terms of the dimensionless channel width w=W/sqrt[A_{d}] and φ.

Erroneous diagnosis of pancreatic cancer after radiotherapy of testicular cancer.

Background: After radiotherapy with or without chemotherapy radiation-induced normal tissue alteration may mimic cancer and may cause major morbidity.

Results: Two patients irradiated for seminoma, in one case combined with cisplatin-based chemotherapy, developed clinical symptoms and radiological signs comparable to pancreatic cancer (stenosis of the ductus choledochus). The non-malignant diagnosis was finally established by revision of the histological specimen (case 1) and per-operatively (case 2).

Utility of the sperm chromatin structure assay as a diagnostic and prognostic tool in the human fertility clinic.

The sperm chromatin structure assay (SCSA) was used to measure over 500 human semen samples from two independent studies: Study I, 402 samples from 165 presumably fertile couples wishing to achieve pregnancy over 12 menstrual cycles; Study II, samples from 115 patients seeking fertility counselling. The SCSA measures susceptibility to DNA denaturation in situ in spermatozoa exposed to acid for 30 s, followed by acridine orange staining. SCSA data from the male partners of 73 couples (group 1) achieving pregnancy during months 1-3 of Study I were used as the standard of 'sperm chromatin compatible with high fertility' and were significantly different from those of 40 couples (group 3) achieving pregnancy in months 4-12 (P < 0.

Epithelial cells from human fallopian tube in culture.

The epithelial cells lining the inner surface of the Fallopian tube influence the reproductive process by both their ciliary and secretory activities. The aim of the present work was to establish a method to culture these cells as a model for more specific studies of their properties. Minor slices of the mucosal ridges were cut and minced extensively using a fine scissor.