Noninvasive visualization and analysis of parafoveal capillaries in humans.

Purpose: To demonstrate a noninvasive method to visualize and analyze the parafoveal capillary network in humans.

Methods: An adaptive optics scanning laser ophthalmoscope was used to acquire high resolution retinal videos on human subjects. Video processing tools that enhance motion contrast were developed and applied to the videos to generate montages of parafoveal retinal capillaries.

Identifying cis-regulatory sequences by word profile similarity.

Background: Recognizing regulatory sequences in genomes is a continuing challenge, despite a wealth of available genomic data and a growing number of experimentally validated examples.

Methodology/principal Findings: We discuss here a simple approach to search for regulatory sequences based on the compositional similarity of genomic regions and known cis-regulatory sequences. This method, which is not limited to searching for predefined motifs, recovers sequences known to be under similar regulatory control.

The mechanical rigidity of the extracellular matrix regulates the structure, motility, and proliferation of glioma cells.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a malignant astrocytoma of the central nervous system associated with a median survival time of 15 months, even with aggressive therapy. This rapid progression is due in part to diffuse infiltration of single tumor cells into the brain parenchyma, which is thought to involve aberrant interactions between tumor cells and the extracellular matrix (ECM). Here, we test the hypothesis that mechanical cues from the ECM contribute to key tumor cell properties relevant to invasion.

Restoration of left ventricular geometry and improvement of left ventricular function in a rodent model of chronic ischemic cardiomyopathy.

Objectives: Various approaches to myocardial reconstruction have been developed for the treatment of congestive heart failure resulting from ischemic cardiomyopathy.

Methods: In this study we determined whether in situ application of polymers could reshape left ventricular geometry in a chronic rodent model of ischemic cardiomyopathy.

Results: We demonstrate that alginate and fibrin can augment left ventricular wall thickness, resulting in reconstruction of left ventricular geometry and improvement of cardiac function.

The effect of injected RGD modified alginate on angiogenesis and left ventricular function in a chronic rat infarct model.

Congestive heart failure (CHF) is a chronic disease with a high mortality rate. Managing CHF patients has been one of the most severe health care problems for years. Scaffold materials have been predominantly investigated in acute myocardial infarction (MI) studies and have shown promising improvement in LV function.

Force microscopy of nonadherent cells: a comparison of leukemia cell deformability.

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) has become an important tool for quantifying mechanical properties of biological materials ranging from single molecules to cells and tissues. Current AFM techniques for measuring elastic and viscoelastic properties of whole cells are based on indentation of cells firmly adhered to a substrate, but these techniques are not appropriate for probing nonadherent cells, such as passive human leukocytes, due to a lateral instability of the cells under load. Here we present a method for characterizing nonadherent cells with AFM by mechanically immobilizing them in microfabricated wells.

Preattentive processes guide visual search: evidence from patients with unilateral visual neglect.

Abstract Preattentive processes such as perceptual grouping are thought to be important in the initial guidance of visual attention and may also operate in unilateral neglect by contributing to the definition of a task-appropriate reference frame. We explored this question with a visual search task in which patients with unilateral visual neglect (5 with right-, 2 with left-hemisphere damage) searched a diamond-shaped matrix for a conjunction target that shared one feature with each of two distractor elements. Additional grouping stimuli appeared as flanks either on the left, right, or both sides of the central matrix, and significantly changed performance in the search task.