Anatomy Of The Breast

The breast consists of a mixture of:

• Fat
• Milk glands - lobules that secrete milk during pregnancy and breastfeeding
• Mammary ducts – canals that carry milk from the lobules to the nipple openings
• Fibrous connective tissue
• Nerves
• Blood vessels
• Lymph vessels – delicate vessels that collect lymph fluid from tissues and drain it back into the bloodstream
• Small amounts of muscle tissue

In the nipple to allow it to become erect in response to sexual stimulation or breastfeeding
Around the lobules to help squeeze milk into the ducts.
Key muscles support the breasts rom behind and underneath.
Breast size and shape is unique to each woman and is determined by heredity and body size. However, breast tissue changes throughout a woman’s lifetime depending on hormonal changes.
Breasts develop at puberty as hormones stimulate the system to form and enlarge lobules and ducts. Full development can occur any time between the ages of 12 and 19.
A woman’s monthly menstrual cycle causes breast granularity to change. Swelling and tenderness of both breasts may occur during the second half of the menstrual cycle. Cysts may grow and then shrink.
During pregnancy, the lobules multiply and begin to produce milk.
When a baby is born, milk is released into the ducts for breastfeeding (lactation).
During menopause the number of lobules decreases and those remaining shrink. A larger proportion of the breast is made up of fat so breast density decreases.

Om Nanotech- Shining Star in the Indian IT Industry – First Company in India to undertake Die Testing facility

New Delhi, August 01, 2011: Om Nanotech Pvt. Ltd. the leading manufacturer, supplier and exporter of Memory Modules, Computer RAM, Pen Drives, Flash Cards, has been leading in innovation and bringing first-time technologies to India. After successfully establishing DRAM/Flash IC calibration/testing, Om Nanotech Pvt. Ltd. has now ventured into Die Testing for DRAM/Flash, which is again a First in India.
Explaining the die testing facility at Om Nanotech’s manufacturing unit, Mr. Atul Khosla, Director, Om Nanotech Pvt. Ltd. said, The Die Testing is a complex process which testing the Die before it is converted to an IC. Die is made from Wafers that are manufactured in highly complex FABS. There are only a handful of DRAM/FLASH FABs globally. Wafers are very thin disks of pure silicon on which minute circuits are etched using very nano-meter lasers. The wafer could have hundreds of Dies’ (circuits) etched in a single wafer. These wafers normally come in 8”, 10” and 12” diameter sizes, which are then cut to produce Die. Die can be perceived as the smallest unit which independently has the complete functionality desired from the IC. This Die is subsequently sent for packaging which involves encapsulating the Die with special plastics (black colored body), after connecting the connector pads on the Die to external terminals using extremely thin gold wires. Die probing requires specialized probes that need handling under a microscope.”
“Along with its contribution in the manufacturing of memory products, we are proud that our manufacturing unit has also resulted as a source of employment for a number of people,” added Mr. Khosla.
At the die testing facility, Om Nanotech conducts die probing which ensures that the Die has no inherent problems that may result in low yields after the Die has been packaged into IC . Obviously, the Die that is faulty, results in a faulty packaged IC, leading to wastage of investment on the packaging itself
To master this technology, Om Nanotech Pvt. Ltd. Organized specialized overseas training. The team got extended training and successfully replicated Die Testing at it’s Noida facility, without any further assistance from any external party. Om Nanotech Pvt. Ltd. has currently established a Die Testing capacity of 9 million die per annum.

Alcohol's effects on gene expression in the central nervous system

Alcohol's primary target is the central nervous system (CNS), where it influences neurotransmission to produce intoxication. Scientists can now use microarray technology to study brain function gene by gene. Symposium proceedings published in the February issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research address the effects of alcohol on what is called "gene expression" in the CNS regions of animal models.
"All of our cells have exactly the same deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), which means they all have the same genes," explained William J. McBride, symposium organizer and professor of neurobiology at the Indiana University School of Medicine. "The reason that different cells can appear and work so differently with the same genes – giving us, for example, unique eyes, skin, or hair – is that only some genes are used or 'turned on' in each cell. This is called gene expression."
McBride said that researchers now know that alcohol can change gene expression in the brain, and that these changes are likely responsible for many of the 'symptoms' of addiction, such as tolerance, physical dependence, and craving, as well as the 'consequences' of alcoholism, such as brain damage.
"The challenge has been to find out which genes – out of more than 50,000 – are turned on or off in the brains of alcoholics," he said. "Microarray studies – the examination of a small glass microscope slide that has thousands of different DNA samples attached to it – that are applied to brain function are just beginning in the field of alcoholism. Several years ago, it was impossible to analyze more than a handful of these genes, however, microarray technology has changed that."
Symposium speakers at the June 2004 Research Society on Alcoholism meeting in Vancouver, B.C. presented the following findings from recent studies that used genetic animal models:


# Gene expression profiling in the nucleus accumbens, prefrontal cortex, and ventral tegmental areas show that distinct biological pathways are associated with alcohol's action in specific brain regions and certain mouse strains.


"We were able to use gene expression profiling to determine that alcohol produces multiple effects on different biological processes," said McBride, "and that these changes are different in several brain regions which may be involved in alcohol addiction."


# Researchers have identified individual genes and gene networks that may play an important role in determining the behavioral responses to alcohol as well as possibly influencing drinking behavior.


"Thus far, genes that appear to be responsive to alcohol include genes involved in the intracellular signaling process (which can alter how the neuron functions), neuropeptide signaling (which modulates nerve cell activity), and myelin structure (which is needed for communication between nerve cells)," said McBride. "Gene expression profiling has also been used to identify chromosomes and chromosomal regions that influence alcohol drinking and response to alcohol."


# Intracranial self-administration of ethanol into the posterior ventral tegmental area (VTA) of alcohol-preferring rats produced results suggesting that the reinforcing effects of alcohol are activating VTA dopamine neurons and producing changes in synaptic connections that resemble those that occur in memory and learning.


"Learning and memory require enhanced synaptic function between neurons," explained McBride. "Enhanced synaptic function is characterized by increased formation of synaptic proteins. The stimulation of VTA dopamine neurons by alcohol increases the expression of genes involved in the synthesis of synaptic proteins in target regions of the VTA. In short, these results suggest that alcohol can produce changes in the brain reward system that can further increase the rewarding effects of alcohol."


# Microarray techniques confirmed earlier reports indicating that chronic alcohol exposure/withdrawal differentially alters gene expression in the prefrontal cortex of mice. More than 300 genes were found to be altered by acute alcohol treatment.


"The prefrontal cortex is involved in motivated behaviors," noted McBride. "Studies with humans indicate that this brain region is sensitive to the effects of heavy alcohol drinking and repeated withdrawals. The microarray technique provides insight into cellular changes that occur over time with chronic alcohol drinking and repeated withdrawals."


Collectively speaking, added McBride, findings presented at the symposium demonstrate the quantitative and qualitative applications of microarrays to studying the genetic and biological bases of alcoholism and alcohol abuse within discrete brain regions.
"For researchers, microarray technology has the potential of studying the genetic and biological bases of alcohol's rewarding effects, sensitivity to the effects of alcohol, development of tolerance to the effects of alcohol, development of alcohol dependence, and alcohol withdrawal severity," he said. "For the average reader, knowing which genetic profiles might contribute to excessive alcohol drinking could be used to identify risk factors that contribute to alcoholism and alcohol abuse, and could aid in the development of selective treatment strategies for different subgroups of alcoholics."
McBride added that, despite recent advances, researchers need further developments in microarray technologies and bioinformatic approaches to better understand the complex neurobiological mechanisms underlying alcohol addiction. "Future research will need to determine changes in gene expression in very discrete neuronal pathways that may be involved in mediating the effects of alcohol that lead to addiction," he said. "Future studies will also require the integrative efforts of many investigators working with different animal models in order to identify the multiple genetic factors that contribute to the risk for alcoholism and alcohol abuse."

Source : Indiana University School of Medicine