In broiler chickens, the relationship between dietary supplementation of vitamin C and hepatic, cardiac and renal heat shock proteins (HSP60, HSP70 and HSP90), heat shock factors (HSF-1 and HSF-3) and enzymatic antioxidants requires further investigation. The current study aimed to investigate this relationship at cellular and molecular levels in a 42 days experiment. Two hundred, one-day-old broiler chicks (Ross 308) were allocated into four equal groups. Chicks in the first and third groups were thermo-neutral (TN; 22°C for 24 hours/day) and fed basal diet without or with vitamin C (1g/kg basal diet), respectively. Chicks in the second and fourth groups were heat stressed (HS; 34°C for 8 hours/day) and fed basal diet without or with vitamin C, respectively. Performance parameters were recorded throughout the experiment. Levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione S-transferase (GST), glutathione peroxidase (GPX), Catalase (CAT) and gene expression of heat shock proteins (HSP60, 70 and 90) and heat shock factors (HSF 1 and 3) were analyzed in liver, heart and kidney tissues of the studied groups. Heat stress induced a negative impact on performance parameters, significant reduction in activities of all examined antioxidant enzymes and a significant up-regulation in heat shock proteins and factors genes in all studied tissues. Dietary supplementation of vitamin C corrected these parameters towards the normal control values. Conclusively, dietary supplementation of the examined dose of vitamin C was efficient at ameliorating the detrimental effects of heat stress on liver, heart and kidney tissues of broilers chickens at cellular and molecular levels.

Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) is one of the most important piezoelectric polymers. Piezoelectricity in PVDF appears in polar b and ɣ phases. Piezoelectric fibers obtained by means of electrospinning may be used in tissue engineering (TE) as a smart analogue of the natural extracellular matrix (ECM). We present results showing the effect of rotational speed of the collecting drum on morphology, phase content and in vitro biological properties of PVDF nonwovens. Morphology and phase composition were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), respectively. It was shown that increasing rotational speed of the collector leads to an increase in fiber orientation, reduction in fiber diameter and considerable increase of polar phase content, both b and g. In vitro cell culture experiments, carried out with the use of ultrasounds in order to generate electrical potential via piezoelectricity, indicate a positive effect of polar phases on fibroblasts. Our preliminary results demonstrate that piezoelectric PVDF scaffolds are promising materials for tissue engineering applications, particularly for neural tissue regeneration, where the electric potential is crucial.

The attenuating properties of biological tissue are of great importance in ultrasonic medical imaging. Investigations performed in vitro and in vivo showed the correlation between pathological changes in the tissue and variation of the attenuation coefficient. In order to estimate the attenuation we have used the downshift of mean frequency (fm) of the interrogating ultrasonic pulse propagating in the medium. To determine the fm along the propagation path we have applied the fm estimator (I/Q algorithm adopted from the Doppler mean frequency estimation technique). The mean-frequency shift trend was calculated using Single Spectrum Analysis. Next, the trends were converted into attenuation coefficient distributions and finally the parametric images were computed. The RF data were collected in simulations and experiments applying the synthetic aperture (SA) transmit-receiving scheme. In measurements the ultrasonic scanner enabling a full control of the transmission and reception was used. The resolution and accuracy of the method was verified using tissue mimicking phantom with uniform echogenicity but varying attenuation coefficient.

In this contribution an optical method of controlling the state of soft biological tissues in real time, exposed to laser radiation is discussed. The method is based on the assumption that the change dynamics of the amplitude of the scattered diagnostic radiation (λ = 635 nm) is compatible with the change dynamics of the tissue inner structure exposed to the Nd:YAG laser radiation (λ = 1064 nm). In this method the measurement of the tissue temperature is omitted. Exemplary results of the laboratory research on this method and an interpretation of the results are presented.

The paper presents selected results of studies connected with modeling of a biological object which could be used for simulation and measurements of the selected human tissues optical transmittance. The studies were performed for transilluminated homogeneous tissue layers as well as for objects consisted of different tissues. During simulations the software built with LabVIEW environment was used. Experimental verification of the model structure was made with spectrophotometry. The presented examples of modeling concern the transmittance spectra for two selected specific objects: the venous blood and muscle tissue analyzed in the wavelength range extending from 360 nm to 900 nm. The implemented model could be used in estimating the content and thickness of particular layers distinguished in a complex object and prediction of their transillumination efficiency.

We describe a new method to separate ballistic from the scattered photons for optical tissue characterization. It is based on the hypothesis that the scattered photons acquire a phase delay. The photons passing through the sample without scattering or absorption preserve their coherence so they may participate in interference. We implement a Mach−Zehnder experimental setup where the ballistic photons pass through the sample with the delay caused uniquely by the sample indices of refraction. We incorporate a movable mirror on the piezoelectric actuator in the sample arm to detect the amplitude of the modulation term. We present the theory that predicts the path−integrated (or total) concentration of the scattering and absorption centres. The proposed technique may characterize samples with transmission attenuation of ballistic photons by a factor of 10^-14.

Many therapeutic applications of pulsed focused ultrasound are based on heating of detected lesions which may be localized in tissues at different depths under the skin. In order to concentrate the acoustic energy inside tissues at desired depths a new approach using a planar multi-element annular array transducer with an electronically adjusted time-delay of excitation of its elements, was proposed. The 7-elements annular array transducer with 2.4 MHz center operating frequency and 20 mm outer diameter was produced. All its elements (central disc and 6 rings) had the same radiating area. The main purpose of this study was to investigate thermal fields induced in bovine liver in vitro by pulsed focused ultrasonic beams with various acoustic properties and electronically steered focal plane generated from the annular array transducer used. The measurements were performed for the radiating beams with the 20 mm focal depth. In order to maximize nonlinear effects introducing the important local temperature rise, the measurements have been performed in two-layer media comprising of a water layer, whose thickness was specific for the transducer used and equal to 13 mm, and the second layer of a bovine liver with a thickness of 20 mm. The thickness of the water layer was determined numerically as the axial distance where the amplitude of the second harmonics started to increase rapidly. The measurements of the temperature rise versus time were performed using a thermocouple placed inside the liver at the focus of the beam. The temperature rise induced in the bovine liver in vitro by beams with the average acoustic power of 1W, 2 W and 3 W and duty cycle of 1/5, 1/15 and 1/30, respectively, have been measured. For each beam used the exposure time needed for the local tissue heating to the temperature of 43°C (used in therapies based on ultrasonic enhancement of drug delivery or in therapies involving stimulation of immune system by enhancement of the heat shock proteins expression) and to the temperature of 56°C (used in HIFU therapies) was determined. Two sets of measurements were done for each beam considered. First, the thermocouple measurement of the temperature rise was done and next, the real-time monitoring of dynamics of growth of the necrosis area by using ultrasonic imaging technique, while the sample was exposed to the same acoustic beam. It was found that the necrosis area becomes visible in the ultrasonic image only for beams with the average acoustic power of 3 W, although after cutting the sample the thermo ablated area was visible with the naked eye even for the beams with lower acoustic power. The quantitative analysis of the obtained results allowed to determine the exposure time needed to get the necrosis area visible in the ultrasonic image.

Quantitative ultrasound has been widely used for tissue characterization. In this paper we propose a new approach for tissue compression assessment. The proposed method employs the relation between the tissue scatterers’ local spatial distribution and the resulting frequency power spectrum of the backscattered ultrasonic signal. We show that due to spatial distribution of the scatterers, the power spectrum exhibits characteristic variations. These variations can be extracted using the empirical mode decomposition and analyzed. Validation of our approach is performed by simulations and in-vitro experiments using a tissue sample under compression. The scatterers in the compressed tissue sample approach each other and consequently, the power spectrum of the backscattered signal is modified. We present how to assess this phenomenon with our method. The proposed in this paper approach is general and may provide useful information on tissue scattering properties.

Biocomposite foam scaffolds of poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) with different porogenes were produced with batch foaming technique using supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) as a blowing agent. In performed experiments composites were prepared from graphene-oxide (nGO), nano-hydroxyapatite (nHA) and nano-cellulose (nC), with various concentrations. The objective of the study was to explore the effects of porogen concentration and foaming process parameters on the morphology and mechanical properties of three-dimensional porous structures that can be used as temporary scaffolds in tissue engineering. The structures were manufactured using scCO2 as a blowing agent, at two various foaming pressures (9 MPa and 18 MPa), at three different temperatures (323 K, 343 K and 373 K) for different saturation times (0.5 h, 1 h and 4 h). In order to examine the utility of porogenes, a number of tests, such as static compression tests, thermal analysis and scanning electron microscopy, have been performed. Analysis of experimental results showed that the investigated materials demonstrated high mechanical strength and a wide range of pore sizes. The obtained results suggest that PCL porous structures are useful as biodegradable and biocompatible scaffolds for tissue engineering.

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) levels in environmental media have increased over the last 20-25 years in the world. In aquatic environments PBDEs were found to be accumulated along food chain and Endocrine disruptors toxicity. In this study PBDEs were investigated in sediment and fish tissues from Lake Chaohu in central eastern China. There were 10 PBDEs congeners detected out of all 41 PBDEs. BDE-47 was of the highest with 5.17 ng/g in sediment and 58.47 ng/g in fish. PBDEs were evenly distributed across the surface sediment in the whole lake. It implied that the main source of PBDEs may not be an inflow river like Nanfei. Tissue distribution patterns of PBDEs in four fish species were in the order of BDE-47 > BDE-99 > BDE-100 > BDE-66 > BDE-138 > BDE-183 > BDE-154 > BDE-153. Octa- and deca-BDEs were below the detection limit. The concentrations of all PBDE congeners were higher in gills, livers, and kidneys than those in muscles and adipose tissue. Furthermore, PBDEs in different tissues had some different distribution patterns with fish size. Those discrepancies appeared to be correlated with the PBDEs pollution fluxes varying with the change of the year and their metabolism divergences in fish tissues.

The results of experimental investigations into foaming process of poly(ε-caprolactone) using supercritical CO2 are presented. The objective of the study was to explore the aspects of fabrication of biodegradable and biocompatible scaffolds that can be applied as a temporary three-dimensional extracellular matrix analog for cells to grow into a new tissue. The influence of foaming process parameters, which have been proven previously to affect significantly scaffold bioactivity, such as pressure (8-18 MPa), temperature (323-373 K) and time of saturation (1-6 h) on microstructure and mechanical properties of produced polymer porous structures is presented. The morphology and mechanical properties of considered materials were analyzed using a scanning electron microscope (SEM), x-ray microtomography (μ-CT) and a static compression test. A precise control over porosity and morphology of obtained polymer porous structures by adjusting the foaming process parameters has been proved. The obtained poly(ε-caprolactone) solid foams prepared using scCO2 have demonstrated sufficient mechanical strength to be applied as scaffolds in tissue engineering.

Measurement of the perfusion coefficient and thermal parameters of skin tissue using dynamic thermography is presented in this paper. A novel approach based on cold provocation and thermal modelling of skin tissue is presented. The measurement was performed on a person’s forearm using a special cooling device equipped with the Peltier module. The proposed method first cools the skin, and then measures the changes of its temperature matching the measurement results with a heat transfer model to estimate the skin perfusion and other thermal parameters. In order to assess correctness of the proposed approach, the uncertainty analysis was performed.

The study was undertaken to determine the effect of continuation or changes of the diet on the morphometry and histomorphometry of bone in male and female Wistar rats with experimen- tally induced obesity by high energetic diet. Sixty-four 90-day-old Wistar rats obtained from obese parents (16 male, 16 female) and control parents (16 male, 16 female) were used in this study. After 21 days of the baby period, rats were divided into four groups: obese rats fed with high energy feed (F/F), control rats fed with a standard diet (C/C), obese rats with changed diet from high energy diet to control diet (F/C) and control rats with changed diet from control diet to high energy diet (C/F). After 90 days of experimental feeding, the rats were sacrificed. Thereafter, body weight and the isolated humerus were measured and next, the histological stainings and counts were done. Our results revealed that change in the parent’s diet from F to C in the female leads to increased bone growth length and reduction of body weight in female and male. Reverse diet changes (from C to F) lead to decreased bone length only in the female. Moreover, the con- tinuation by offspring of both sexes with a high-energy diet contributes to a reduction in osteo- cytes, reduction in bone marrow cavity and cortical expansion, but a change in nutrition from parents’ standard diet to high-energy diet leads to increase in osteocytes dimensions. The contin- uation of feeding with F diet promotes the accumulation of adipocytes in the bone marrow in female and male, and correction of nutrition from F to standard diet leads to a reduction in their number in the bone marrow compared to groups continuing feeding with high-energy diet.

The electrical impedance diagnostic methods and instrumentation developed at the Gdansk and Warsaw Universities of Technology are described. On the basis of knowledge of their features, several original approaches to the broad field of electrical impedance applications are discussed. Analysis of electrical field distribution after external excitation, including electrode impedance, is of primary importance for measurement accuracy and determining the properties of the structures tested.

Firstly, the problem of electrical tissue properties is discussed. Particular cells are specified for in vitro and in vivo measurements and for impedance spectrometry. Of especial importance are the findings concerning the electrical properties of breast cancer, muscle anisotropy and the properties of heart tissue and flowing blood. The applications are both important and wide-ranging but, for the present, special attention has been focused on the evaluation of cardiosurgical interventions.

Secondly, methods of instrument construction are presented which use an electrical change in conductance, such as impedance pletysmography and cardiography, for the examination of total systemic blood flow. A new method for the study of right pulmonary artery blood flow is also introduced. The basic applications cover examination of the mechanical activity of the heart and evaluation of many haemodynamic parameters related to this. Understanding the features that occur during blood flow is of major importance for the proper interpretation of measurement data.

Thirdly, the development of electrical impedance tomography (EIT) is traced for the purposes of determining the internal structure of organs within the broad field of 2-D and 3-D analysis and including modelling of the organs being tested, the development of reconstruction algorithms and the construction of hardware.

Grippers are routinely used to hold, lift and move organs in laparoscopic operations. They are generally toothed to prevent organs from slipping during retention. Organs held by grippers are always at risk of being damaged by the clamping force. In this study, noncontact grippers working with the Bernoulli principle and using air pressure were developed, and vacuum performance was compared in terms of maximum tissue weight holding capacity. For this purpose, Taguchi method was employed for experimental design and optimization, and Taguchi L₁₆ orthogonal array was selected for experimental design. The experimental parameters were 4 gripper types, 4 air-pressure levels (3.5, 4.5, 5, and 5.5 bar), 4 flow rates (2.2, 2.6, 2.8 and 3 m³/h) and two animal tissue types (ventriculus/gizzard and skin). Values from the experimental procedures were evaluated using signal-to-noise ratio, analysis of variance and three-dimension graphs. An equation was obtained by using 3rd-order polynomial regression model for weight values. Optimization reliability was tested by validation tests and the revealed test results were within the estimated confidence interval. The results obtained from this study are important for future studies in terms of organ injury prevention due to traditional grippers in laparoscopic surgery.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is characterized by very poor prognosis. It is caused by asymptomatic course of the disease at early stage. Symptomatic PDAC means usually advanced stage of the disease, making radical treatment impossible. Finding of biological PDAC marker could improve PDAC treatment through early diagnosis. In our study, we investigated two adipokines: omentin and chemerin concentration in PDAC, chronic pancreatitis (CP) and healthy individuals. We examined 27 PDAC patients, 10 CP patients and 36 controls. To determine concentration of adipokines we used ELISA immunoenzymatic assay. Level of both adipokines was increased when comparing control group to PDAC patients. Additionally, chemerin concentration in CP group was elevated comparing to control. To evaluate both adipokines as potential PDAC biomarkers we performed ROC analysis. Chemerin (AUC = 0.913) displayed better discriminant ability than omentin-1 (AUC = 0.73). Some authors believe that chemerin may promote tumour growth by stimulating angiogenesis and is supposed to be a factor recruiting mesenchymal stroma cells (MSC) in tumour regions. Omentin-1 can inhibit tumourigenesis by TP53 stimulation. On the other hand, according to some studies, omentin-1 may promote cancer proliferation via Akt signalling pathway. Results from our study showed signifi cantly elevated level of chemerin and omentin-1 in PDAC patients. Th erefore, w e believe that both investigated adipokines may provide promising and novel pharmacological insights for oncological diagnosis in the near future.

O b j e c t i v e s: To evaluate the properties of natural sweetener solutions in whole organ preservation and assess their influence on the dimension, weight and shape of cardiac tissue samples in stated time intervals, up to a one-year period of observation.

B a c k g r o u n d: Tissue fixation is essential for biological sample examination. Many negative toxic effects of formaldehyde-based fixatives have forced us to seek alternatives for formaldehyde based solutions. It has been demonstrated that natural sweeteners can preserve small tissue samples well and that these solutions can be used in histopathological processes. However, their ability to preserve whole human organs are unknown.

M e t h o d s: A total of 30 swine hearts were investigated. Th ree study groups (n = 10 in each case) were formed and classifi ed on the type of fixative: (1) 10% formaldehyde phosphate-buffered solution (FPBS), (2) 10% alcohol-based honey solution (ABHS), (3) 10% water-based honey solution (WBHS). Samples were measured before fi xation and in the following time points: 24 hours, 72 hours, 168 hours, 3 months, 6 months and 12 months.

R e s u l t s: The WBHS failed to preserve heart samples and decomposition of tissues was observed one week after fixation. In half of the studied parameters, the ABHS had similar modifying tendencies as compared to FPBS. Th e overall condition of preserved tissue, weight, left ventricular wall thickness, right ventricular wall thickness and the diameter of the papillary muscle differed considerably.

C o n c l u s i o n s: The ABHS may be used as an alternative fi xative for macroscopic studies of cardiac tissue, whereas the WBHS is not suited for tissue preservation.

Image-guided High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) technique is dynamically developing technology for treating solid tumors due to its non-invasive nature. Before a HIFU ablation system is ready for use, the exposure parameters of the HIFU beam capable of destroying the treated tissue without damaging the surrounding tissues should be selected to ensure the safety of therapy. The purpose of this work was to select the threshold acoustic power as well as the step and rate of movement of the HIFU beam, generated by a transducer intended to be used in the HIFU ablation system being developed, by using an array of thermocouples and numerical simulations. For experiments a bowl-shaped 64-mm, 1.05 MHz HIFU transducer with a 62.6 mm focal length (f-number 0.98) generated pulsed waves propagating in two-layer media: water/ex vivo pork loin tissue (50 mm/40 mm) was used. To determine a threshold power of the HIFU beam capable of creating the necrotic lesion in a small volume within the tested tissue during less than 3 s each tissue sample was sonicated by multiple parallel HIFU beams of different acoustic power focused at a depth of 12.6 mm below the tissue surface. Location of the maximum heating as well as the relaxation time of the tested tissue were determined from temperature variations recorded during and after sonication by five thermo-couples placed along the acoustic axis of each HIFU beam as well as from numerical simulations. The obtained results enabled to assess the location of each necrotic lesion as well as to determine the step and rate of the HIFU beam movement. The location and extent of the necrotic lesions created was verified using ultrasound images of tissue after sonication and visual inspection after cutting the samples. The threshold acoustic power of the HIFU beam capable of creating the local necrotic lesion in the tested tissue within 3 s without damaging of surrounding tissues was found to be 24 W, and the pause between sonications was found to be more than 40 s.