d-wave collapse and explosion of a dipolar bose-einstein condensate

We investigate the collapse dynamics of a dipolar condensate of 52Cr atoms when the s-wave scattering length characterizing the contact interaction is reduced below a critical value. A complex dynamics, involving an anisotropic, d-wave symmetric explosion of the condensate, is observed. The atom number decreases abruptly during the collapse. We find good agreement between our experimental results and those of a numerical simulation of the three-dimensional Gross-Pitaevskii equation, including contact and dipolar interactions as well as three-body losses. The simulation indicates that the collapse induces the formation of two vortex rings with opposite circulations.

[Conclusions and recommendations of a WHO expert consultation meeting on iron supplementation for infants and young children in malaria endemic areas]

This article presents the results of an expert consultation meeting aimed at evaluating the safety and public health implications of administering supplemental iron to infants and young children in malaria-endemic areas. Participants at this meeting that took place in Lyon, France on June 12-14, 2006 reached consensus on several important issues related to iron supplementation for infants and young children in malaria-endemic areas. The conclusions in this report apply specifically to regions where malaria is endemic.

The anaemia of infection

It is a great privilege to contribute to the Festschrift in honour of Professor Hendrik Koornhof. Internationally acclaimed researcher, academic and teacher, he has been the mentor of a whole generation of medical microbiologists. But above all, he has set an example as a humanitarian, rarely equalled by his peers. His numerous acts of kindness and concern for others, especially the underprivileged, are legendary. A man of the highest ethical and moral principles, he has always been intolerant of injustice, and has never hesitated to speak out against it, irrespective of the personal cost. He has enriched the lives of all of us who have been fortunate to know him. Professor Koornhof's major research contributions are in the field of bacterial infectious disease, to which he has made numerous seminal contributions. It seemed fitting then to devote this paper to the anaemia of bacterial infection.

Rabi oscillations at exceptional points in microwave billiards

We experimentally investigated the decay behavior with time t of resonances near and at exceptional points, where two complex eigenvalues and also the associated eigenfunctions coalesce. The measurements were performed with a dissipative microwave billiard, whose shape depends on two parameters. The t2 dependence predicted at the exceptional point on the basis of a two-state matrix model could be verified. Outside the exceptional point the predicted Rabi oscillations, also called quantum echoes in this context, were detected.

Algorithms for network analysis in systems-ADME/Tox using the MetaCore and MetaDrug platforms

The authors have previously applied two integrated platforms, MetaCore and MetaDrug, for the assembly and analysis of human biological networks as a useful method for the integration and functional interpretation of high-throughput experimental data. The present study demonstrates in detail the specific algorithms that are used in both software platforms. Using a standard set of genes as input, namely CYP3A4 (an enzyme), PXR (a nuclear hormone receptor), MDR1 (a transporter) and hERG (an ion channel) related to the absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion and toxicity (ADME/Tox) of xenobiotics, we have now generated networks with each algorithm. The relative advantages and disadvantages of these algorithms are explained using these examples as well as appropriate instances of utility to illustrate further the particular circumstances for their use. In addition, the benefits of the different network algorithms are identified when compared with algorithms available in other products, where this information is available.

Colorectal cancer patient utilization of an internet based clinical trials matching system

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Background: Colorectal cancer patients are increasingly looking to the Internet for information on clinical trials; however, services offering clinical trials recruitment have not been well defined. This study describes one of the first web-based cancer clinical trials matching resources and the demographics of the colorectal cancer patient user base. Methods: Oncolink ( http://www.oncolink.org ) is the web-based educational resource at the University of Pennsylvania and serves between 1.5–2 million pages per month to over 385,000 unique IP addresses. Oncolink, in conjunction with EmergingMed (New York, NY), launched one of the first clinical trials matching resources on the Internet. Patients input demographic and tumor-specific information via secure Internet-only registration or via the Internet with assistance from a call center, to match to trials. As of 12/2005, there were 112 total colorectal trials in the database. Results: Between 12/2000 and 9/2005 a total of 41,970 individual profiles were created, with 3289 (7.8%) by colorectal cancer patients. Other GI tumors accounted for 15% of profiles. Of the 3289 patients, 54% were male and 46% were female, and the median age was 55 (range 19–96). Most patients reported their disease as having spread to another organ (62%) or to lymph nodes (15.4%). Most patients were previously treated with surgery (81%), radiation (26%), chemotherapy (74%), and/or biological therapies (21%) (bevacizumab, cetuximab, interferon or interleukin). Patients who used the call center with the Internet were more likely to apply for enrollment in a clinical trial after review of the matches (77% vs. 10%, p<0.001). The median number of trial matches in the system was 7 per patient. Of the 3289 colorectal patients, 681 patients (21%) went on to apply for enrollment to trials based on their matches. Conclusions: This report demonstrates that a significant percentage of colorectal cancer patients are willing to use the Internet to match to clinical trials. Contact with a call center greatly increases the likelihood of application to trials. Internet based clinical trials resources should maintain options for personal communication to increase the likelihood of enrollment to clinical trials.

No significant financial relationships to disclose.

Feasibility of a multi-institutional liver cancer registry

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Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of major causes of cancer-related death globally, with increasing incidence in the United States. There is still a lack of effective therapy for the disease. Many small phase II studies of systemic therapies for advanced HCC have been performed in the US. Most studies are too small to make definitive conclusions. This registry was developed to pool phase II studies from member institutions of the Liver Cancer Research Group (LCRG) to evaluate the characteristics and outcomes of patients receiving systemic treatments in an attempt to validate known and to identify potentially new prognostic factors in HCC. Methods: An Internet based registry was initiated on the OncoLink website ( https://www.oncolink.org ) and directed by the LCRG. This registry has undergone IRB approval. All data is password protected and maintained on physical and electronically secure servers. The registry contains 37 fields for each patient, which details demographics, tumor parameters, underlying liver disease, and detailed treatment information of chemotherapy and/or biological therapies. Results: As of 1/10/2006, 101 patients have been entered in the database from 5 institutions. The median age of patients in these studies is 59 years old (range 26–82) with 22 female (22%) patients. The racial distribution was: 67% of Caucasian, 15% African American, 11% Asian, and 6% Hispanic. The median performance status of patients included in these phase II studies was ECOG 1 (PS 0/1/2: 41/56/4). A variety of cytotoxic and biological agents (either as a single agent or as combination) were included in the analysis including doxorubicin, epirubicin, gemcitabine, oxaliplatin, capecitabine, thalidomide, erlotinib, and bevacizumab. All patients had extensive disease, most of them with multiple lesions (51% ≥ 5 lesions) and bilobar involvement (69%). The mean size of lesions was 8.3 cm (range 1–20 cm). Within the population, 25% patents have hepatitis B and 44% have hepatitis C as their background diseases. Conclusions: This multi-institutional database for HCC treated on phase II clinical trials in the US is feasible. This database continues to expand through the support of the LCRG. As the data matures, future studies on outcomes related to biological and chemotherapeutic regimens will be presented.

No significant financial relationships to disclose.

Intravascular electric impedance spectroscopy of atherosclerotic lesions using a new impedance catheter system

Newer techniques are required to identify atherosclerotic lesions that are prone to rupture. Electric impedance spectroscopy (EIS) can characterize biological tissues by measuring the electrical impedance over a frequency range. We tested a newly designed intravascular impedance catheter (IC) by measuring the impedance of different stages of atherosclerosis induced in an animal rabbit model. Six female New Zealand White rabbits were fed for 17 weeks with a 5% cholesterol-enriched diet to induce early forms of atherosclerotic plaques. All aortas were prepared from the aortic arch to the renal arteries and segments of 5-10 mm were marked by ink spots. A balloon catheter system with an integrated polyimide-based microelectrode structure was introduced into the aorta and the impedance was measured at each spot by using an impedance analyzer. The impedance was measured at frequencies of 1 kHz and 10 kHz and compared with the corresponding histomorphometric data of each aortic segment.Forty-four aortic segments without plaques and 48 segments with evolving atherosclerotic lesions could be exactly matched by the histomorphometric analysis. In normal aortic segments (P0) the change of the magnitude of impedance at 1 kHz and at 10 kHz (|Z|(1 kHz) - |Z|(10 kHz), = ICF) was 208.5 +/- 357.6 Omega. In the area of aortic segments with a plaque smaller than that of the aortic wall diameter (PI), the ICF was 137.7 +/- 192.8 Omega. (P 0 vs. P I; p = 0.52), whereas in aortic segments with plaque formations larger than the aortic wall (PII) the ICF was significantly lower -22.2 +/- 259.9 Omega. (P0 vs. PII; p = 0.002). Intravascular EIS could be successfully performed by using a newly designed microelectrode integrated onto a conventional coronary balloon catheter. In this experimental animal model atherosclerotic aortic lesions showed significantly higher ICF in comparison to the normal aortic tissue.

The relationship between serum cobalamin concentration and mean red cell volume at varying concentrations of serum folate

There is concern that exposure of patients to folic acid may prevent the development of the macrocytosis of cobalamin deficiency and thus delay the detection of the neurological complications. We examined the relationship between low cobalamin levels and mean cell volume (MCV) at different serum folate concentrations in 63,472 blood samples tested in a community pathology laboratory over 2 years. We found no evidence that high serum folate levels masked the macrocytosis of cobalamin deficiency in this population with similar increases in MCV regardless of whether the serum folate was low, normal or high. Macrocytosis appears to retain its value as a marker of cobalamin deficiency in people with serum folate concentrations above the population average.

[Possibilities of regression in arteriosclerosis]

We studied the hypercholesterolemic rabbit model in order to evaluate potentials of regression of arteriosclerosis by measuring various blood and plaque parameters. After induction of arteriosclerosis by feeding a 2% cholesterol-enriched diet (CHF) for 6 weeks, the highly increased blood lipid levels decreased significantly under normal diet, while the cholesterol concentration, the lumen stenosis, and the number of smooth muscle cells in the plaques of the thoracic aorta still significantly increased. Sixty-eight weeks after reaching normal blood lipid levels, cellular density and number of macrophages significantly diminished; cholesterol concentration and lumen stenosis did not change significantly, whereas the smooth muscle cells further increased. Arteriosclerotic arteries of elderly people demonstrated a similar structure as seen after long-term regression in our experiments.

Glucose transport and apoptosis after gene therapy with HSV thymidine kinase

The relation between tumour metabolism and induction of apoptosis by gene therapy was investigated in a rat Morris hepatoma (MH3924A) model expressing the HSV thymidine kinase (HSVtk) gene. In vivo the amount of glucose transporter (GLUT1 and GLUT3 isoforms) expressing cells was determined in tumours of untreated and treated animals using immunohistochemistry. In vitro uptake studies with 2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG), 3-O-methylglucose and thymidine (TdR) and a TUNEL (TdT-mediated dUTP nick end labelling) assay for the assessment of apoptosis were done immediately and 24 h after treatment of the recombinant cells with different doses of ganciclovir (GCV). Immunohistochemistry revealed a significant increase in GLUT1 in treated tumours which showed enhanced transport activity for FDG. In vitro the FDG and 3-O-methylglucose uptake increased to 186% when compared with that of the non-treated cells immediately after incubation with GCV. However, 24 h later the FDG uptake had declined to its normal level, whereas the accumulation of 3-O-methylglucose remained elevated. The uptake of TdR, which was determined simultaneously, decreased in the acid-insoluble fraction of the cells to 27% and 11%, respectively, immediately and 24 h after therapy, while in the acid-soluble fraction it increased to 229% and to 167%, respectively. Employing the TUNEL technique, 25% of cells were found to be apoptotic 24 h after the termination of GCV treatment. Inhibition of glucose transport by cytochalasin B or competition with deoxyglucose resulted in a 78% (cytochalasin B) and 88% (deoxyglucose) decrease in FDG uptake in the recombinant hepatoma cells and in an increase in the apoptotic cell fraction. It is concluded that inhibition of enhanced glucose transport in GCV-treated cells increased apoptosis. Therefore, enhanced glucose transport seems to represent a stress reaction of tumour cells dedicated for the prevention of cell death.