Search for effects beyond the born approximation in polarization transfer observables in e(over→)p elastic scattering

Intensive theoretical and experimental efforts over the past decade have aimed at explaining the discrepancy between data for the proton electric to magnetic form factor ratio, G(E)/G(M), obtained separately from cross section and polarization transfer measurements. One possible explanation for this difference is a two-photon-exchange contribution. In an effort to search for effects beyond the one-photon-exchange or Born approximation, we report measurements of polarization transfer observables in the elastic H(e[over →],e(')p[over →]) reaction for three different beam energies at a Q(2)=2.5  GeV(2), spanning a wide range of the kinematic parameter ε. The ratio R, which equals μ(p)G(E)/G(M) in the Born approximation, is found to be independent of ε at the 1.5% level. The ε dependence of the longitudinal polarization transfer component P(ℓ) shows an enhancement of (2.3±0.6)% relative to the Born approximation at large ε.

The 3Ns chromosome of Psathyrostachys huashanica carries the gene(s) underlying wheat stripe rust resistance

Stripe rust (Puccinia striiformis tritici (Pst)) is one of the most destructive diseases of wheat in the world. Exploiting and utilizing stripe rust resistance genes of wild species has become an essential strategy for resistance breeding. Psathyrostachyshuashanica Keng ex Kuo is a wild species in Triticeae that has been used for wheat improvement because of its high resistance or immunity to stripe rust. In this study, 9 wheat-P. huashanica addition lines were characterized by Giemsa C-banding, genomic in situ hybridization (GISH), and disease resistance evaluation. Giemsa C-banding and GISH demonstrated that lines 163-5, 165-1, 183-5, 240-3, and 240-4 are P. huashanica 3Ns chromosome monosomic addition lines; lines 183-1 and 183-20 are P. huashanica 3Ns chromosome disomic addition lines; line 165-20 is a P. huashanica 3Ns and 4Ns chromosomes double disomic addition line, and line 219-1 is a P. huashanica 1Ns and 3Ns/5A chromosomes double disomic addition-substitution line. All these addition lines with P. huashanica 3Ns chromosome(s) expressed high resistance or immunity to stripe rust. By comparing the series of wheat-P. huashanica chromosome addition lines, we concluded that the P. huashanica 3Ns chromosome carries the gene(s) for resistance or immunity to stripe rust. These addition lines can be used as a donor source of novel stripe rust resistance to wheat breeding programs.

Childhood risk factors in Korean women with anorexia nervosa: two sets of case-control studies with retrospective comparisons

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to investigate the characteristics of the risk factors for anorexia nervosa (AN) in Korean women.

METHOD

Two sets of case-control comparisons were conducted, in which 52 women with lifetime AN from Seoul, S. Korea, were compared with 108 Korean healthy controls and also with 42 women with lifetime AN from the UK in terms of their childhood risk factors. A questionnaire designed to conduct a retrospective assessment of the childhood risk factors was administered to all participants.

RESULTS

The Korean AN women were more likely to report premorbid anxiety, perfectionism, and emotional undereating and were less likely to report having supportive figures in their childhood than the Korean healthy controls. There were no overall differences in the childhood risk factors between the Korean and British women with AN.

DISCUSSION

Premorbid anxiety, perfectionism, less social support, and emotional undereating merit attention as risk factors in Korean AN. The current results are informative, but an epidemiologically robust prospective case-control study would be needed to validate these findings.

Intraperitoneal Ropivacaine for Effective Pain Relief after Laparoscopic Appendectomy: A Prospective, Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Study

This prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study evaluated the effectiveness of intraperitoneal instillation of ropivacaine in the relief of pain in patients undergoing laparoscopic appendectomy. Patients in group C (placebo control group; n = 33) received normal saline and those in group I (instillation group; n = 30) received an instillation of 2 mg/kg ropivacaine at the initiation of the pneumoperitoneum. Visual analogue scale pain scores, fentanyl consumption and the frequency at which patients pushed the button (FPB) of a patient-controlled analgesia system during the post-operative period were significantly lower in group I compared with group C, and decreased gradually with time in both groups. The total amount of fentanyl consumed and the total FPB were significantly lower in group I compared with group C. Thus, intraperitoneal ropivacaine instillation reduced pain during the post-operative period after laparoscopic appendectomy. In addition, this drug was easy to administer and had no adverse effects at the dose used.

Structure effects in angle-resolved high-order above-threshold ionization of molecules

We present energy-resolved angular distributions of photoelectrons generated in above-threshold ionization (ATI) of nonaligned diatomic molecules N2 and O2 in high-intensity short laser pulses, with emphasis on the most energetic part of the spectra. The angular distribution for photoelectrons with energy of 10U(p) (U(p): ponderomotive energy), i.e., the plateau cutoff in ATI spectra, is found to be broader in O2 than in N2. Resorting to the analyses from both an S-matrix theory and an intuitive semiclassical model, we attribute the observation to the effect of the ground state molecular orbital structure on high-energy electron emission in strong-field molecular ionization.

Prognostic Factors for Locoregional Recurrence in Operable Breast Cancer Patients Treated with Preoperative Systemic Chemotherapy

Background: We aimed to evaluate the clinicopathologic factors affecting locoregional recurrence (LRR) in potentially operable breast cancer patients receiving preoperative systemic chemotherapy (PST).Methods: We reviewed the records of 316 breast cancer patients treated with PST (doxorubicin/cyclophosphamide, 101; docetaxel /capecitabine, 103; paclitaxel/gemcitabine, 43; doxorubicin/docetaxel, 69) followed by surgery and adjuvant radiotherapy between 2002 and 2006. The majority of patients had clinical positive axillary lymph nodes. To define the prognostic factors for LRR, age, clinical stage, hormone receptor (HR) and HER2 status, clinical and pathologic response, type of operation, pathological characteristics including tumor size, tumor grade, nodal status, number of positive axillary nodes, size of metastatic lymph node and status of resection margin and tumor multiplicity before and after PST were analyzed.Results: Overall 52 patients (16.5%) in the primary tumor and 87 patients (27.5%) in the axillary nodes achieved a pathologic complete response (pCR), and 206 patients (65.2%) underwent breast conserving surgery (BCS). With a median follow-up of 52.4 month (range: 4.7 - 89.4), total 18 (5.7%) patients developed LRR; 2 of 110 (1.8%) patients with mastectomy vs. 16 of 206 (7.7%) patients with BCS (p=0.04). Other significant factors in the univariate analysis were clinical T stage, HR status, clinical response and tumor multiplicity. A pCR in the primary tumor or node was not a prognostic factor for LRR in this study. In multivariate analysis, clinical T stage (T3/4, HR 7.8; 95% CI, 2.33-26.24; P=0.001), hormone receptor status (negative, HR 6.2; 95% CI, 1.91-20.22; P=0.002) and type of surgery (BCS, HR 9.5; 95% CI, 1.97-46.37; P=0.005) were independent prognostic factors. Among patients with BCS, advanced clinical T stage (HR 12.4; 95% CI, 3.45-44.56; P<0.001), negative hormone receptor (HR 4.74; 95% CI, 1.33-16.96; P=0.02), non-responding disease (HR 6.54; 95% CI, 1.07-40.12; P=0.04) and multiple tumors (HR 4.36; 95% CI, 1.06-17.90; P=0.04) developed more frequent LRR.Conclusions: Significantly more patients with advanced clinical T stage, negative HR status and BCS developed LRR in operable breast cancer treated with PST. Moreover, in patients with BCS after PST, clinically non-responding disease and multiple tumors showed unfavorable prognosis besides the larger tumors and negative hormone receptor.Partly supported by NCC Grant No 0610240

Citation Information: Cancer Res 2009;69(24 Suppl):Abstract nr 1095.

Prognosis of Metaplastic Breast Cancer: Poorer Than the Rest of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

Background: The biologic behavior of metaplastic breast cancer (MBC) has not been well elucidated due to its rarity and heterogeneity. This study was designed to assess the clinical and tumor characteristics and outcomes of MBC patients as compared with invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) in general and the triple-negative (TN) subtype.Materials and methods: This study included 35 MBC and 2,839 IDC patients diagnosed at the National Cancer Center, Korea between 2000 and 2008. We, retrospectively, reviewed the clinicopathologic characteristics and clinical outcomes.Results: The mean age was 47.4 years for MBC group and 48.3 years for IDC group. The MBC group presented with larger tumors (≥ T2, 78.8% vs 41.0%; P<0.001), higher histologic grade (grade 3, 92.0% vs 44.6%; P<0.001), fewer ER and PgR positivity (ER+, 14.3% vs 69.0% ; P<0.001 and PgR+, 25.7% vs 66.1%; P<0.001), higher Ki-67 expression (35.5%±26.2% vs 20.6% ±19.8%; P=0.024) and more TN subtypes (48.6% vs 11.9%; P<0.001) than IDC group. Excluding de novo stage IV patients, 14 of 32 (43.7%) MBC patients and 260 of 2782 (9.4%) IDC patents developed disease recurrence with a median follow-up of 36.2 months (range, 4.9-117.8 months). MBC was a poor prognostic factor for disease recurrence in univariate and multivariate analysis (HR 5.19; 95% CI, 2.04-13.18; P=0.001). MBC patients demonstrated aggressive pathologic features and experienced more disease recurrence (HR 4.77; 95% CI, 1.99-11.44; P=0.001) even when compared with 330 patients with TN subtype.Conclusions:Patients with metaplastic breast carcinoma appeared to have inherent aggressive tumor biology with poorer clinical outcomes than those with IDC in general and TN subtype.Partly supported by NCC Grant No 0610240

Citation Information: Cancer Res 2009;69(24 Suppl):Abstract nr 4057.

Classical aspects in above-threshold ionization with a midinfrared strong laser field

We present high resolution photoelectron energy spectra of noble gas atoms from high intensity above-threshold ionization (ATI) at midinfrared wavelengths. An unexpected structure at the very low-energy portion of the spectra, in striking contrast to the prediction of the simple-man theory, has been revealed. A semiclassical model calculation is able to reproduce the experimental feature and suggests the prominent role of the Coulomb interaction of the outgoing electron with the parent ion in producing the peculiar structure in long wavelength ATI spectra.

Biological barriers to therapy with antisense and siRNA oligonucleotides

Attaining the full therapeutic utility of antisense and siRNA oligonucleotides will require understanding of the biological barriers that stand between initial administration of these drugs and their final actions within cells. This review examines some of the key barriers that affect the biodistribution of oligonucleotides both in molecular form and when they are associated with nanocarriers. An understanding of the biological processes underlying these barriers will aid in the design of more effective delivery systems.