The identification of a beta-cell tracer is a major quest in diabetes research. However, since MRI, PET and SPECT cannot resolve individual islets, optical techniques are required to assess the specificity of these tracers. We propose to combine Optical Coherence Microscopy (OCM) with fluorescence detection in a single optical platform to facilitate these initial screening steps from cell cultu...

Optical coherence microscopy (OCM) combines coherence gating, high numerical aperture optics, and a fiber-core pinhole to provide high axial and lateral resolution with relatively large depth of imaging. We present a handheld rigid OCM endoscope designed for small animal surgical imaging, with a 6-mm diam tip, 1-mm scan width, and 1-mm imaging depth. X-Y scanning is performed distally with mirr...

Oxidative coupling of methane (OCM) is a promising method for the direct conversion of methane to ethene and ethane (C2 products). Among the catalysts reported previously, Mn2O3-Na2WO4/SiO2 showed the highest conversion and selectivity, but only at 800° to 900°C, which represents a substantial challenge for commercialization. We report a TiO2-doped Mn2O3-Na2WO4/SiO2 catalyst by using Ti-MWW zeo...

PURPOSE The cyclolignan picropodophyllin (PPP) efficiently blocks the activity of insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor (IGF-1R) and inhibits growth of uveal melanoma cells in vitro and in vivo. In this study, we aimed to investigate the efficiency of orally administered PPP on growth of uveal melanoma xenografts. Further, we focused on the effect of PPP on vascular endothelial growth factor (V...

In the lead up to large-scale change bought about by enterprise system implementations, there are multiple complex influences at play that impact perceptions that the organisation might not be ready for the change effort. These influences manifest in uncertainty, ambiguity in roles and responsibilities and in many cases, information overload. Organisational change management (OCM) is often cons...

This paper proposes a novel scheme for image focusing by introducing a new focus measure based on self-matching methods. A unique pencil-shaped profile is identified by comparing the similarity between all patterns extracted around the same position in each scene. Based on this profile, a new criterion function called Complementary Pencil Volume (hereafter CPV) is defined to evaluate focused or...

PURPOSE Bone morphogenetic protein-7 (BMP7), a member of the TGF-beta superfamily, is essential for early ocular morphogenesis, and lack of BMP7 causes epithelial development disturbances in the eye. In the present study, the association of tumorigenicity and malignant behavior of human uveal melanoma with BMP7 expression and the possibility that overexpression of BMP7 in uveal melanoma affects...

PURPOSE The aim of this study was to compare the serum levels of one-carbon metabolism (OCM) nutrients (e.g., folate, homocysteine and vitamin B12) and peripheral blood DNA methylation in epileptic patients under treatment with antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) and in healthy controls. METHODS In this cross-sectional study, 60 patients with epilepsy who were receiving valproate (VPA) (n = 30) or lam...