The system employs an integrated, all optical detection scheme for both modalities in backward mode utilizing a shared 2D optical scanner with a field-of-view of similar to 13 x 13 mm(2). The photoacoustic waves were detected using a Fabry Perot polymer film ultrasound sensor placed on the surface of the skin. The sensor is transparent in the spectral range 590-1200 nm.

This permits the photoacoustic excitation beam (670-680 nm) and the OCT probe beam (1050 nm) to be transmitted through the sensor CDK inhibitor head and into the underlying tissue thus providing a backward mode imaging configuration. The respective OCT and PAT axial resolutions were 8 and 20 mu m and the lateral resolutions were 18 and 50-100 mu m. The system provides greater penetration depth than previous combined PA/OCT devices due to the longer wavelength of the OCT beam (1050 nm rather than 829-870 nm) and by operating in the tomographic rather than the optical resolution mode of photoacoustic imaging. Three-dimensional in vivo images of the vasculature and the surrounding tissue micro-morphology

in murine and human skin were acquired. These studies demonstrated the complementary contrast and tissue information Selleck BMS 345541 provided by each modality for high-resolution 3D imaging of vascular structures to depths of up to 5 mm. Potential applications include characterizing skin conditions such as tumors, vascular lesions, soft tissue damage such as burns and wounds, inflammatory conditions such as dermatitis and other superficial tissue abnormalities. c Copyright 2011 Optical Society of America”
“P>1. Parasitized females in mammals, fish and birds can enhance the immune defence of their offspring by transferring specific antibodies for the embryo. Likewise,

social insect mothers transfer immunity despite the fact that invertebrates lack antibodies.\n\n2. Female trans-generational immune priming is consistent with parental investment theory, because mothers invest more into rearing their offspring than fathers. However, when immune priming is not directly linked TGFbeta inhibitor to parental care, as is often the case in insects that abandon their eggs after oviposition, both sexes might benefit from protecting their offspring.\n\n3. Using the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum, we show that after parental exposure to heat-killed bacteria, trans-generational immune priming occurs through fathers as well as mothers.\n\n4. This novel finding challenges the traditional view that males provide only genes to their offspring in species without paternal care, and raises the possibility of a division of tasks with respect to immune protection between parents.”
“Background: We have examined the association between adiposity and cardiac structure in adulthood, using a life course approach that takes account of the contribution of adiposity in both childhood and adulthood.