Influence of Glass Microsphere Filler on the Rheological Behavior of an Epoxy Resin

The rheological behavior of epoxy resin filled with glass hollow microspheres was studied using three types of microspheres with different particle size distributions. The shear-rate dependence on viscosity, as well as relative apparent viscosity, of the suspensions was investigated at different microsphere filler loadings. The change in relative viscosity with different types of microsphere loads was also investigated using the established semi empirical model to estimate the critical filler load. It was found that the critical filler load for all suspensions tested depends mostly on the filler size distribution, neither on the average filler size nor on the specific surface area of the filler.

Abstract OT1-02-03: TBCRC 044: A randomized phase II study of pembrolizumab in combination with carboplatin versus carboplatin alone in breast cancer patients with chest wall disease

Background: Patients with breast cancer (BC) and chest wall disease have limited treatment options. We hypothesize that checkpoint inhibition may be an effective treatment approach due to the inflammatory nature of chest wall infiltration, and the association of PD-1 expression with lymphocytic infiltration. Platinum chemotherapy may facilitate anti-tumor immunity in a synergistic manner, and clinical studies of the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab with platinum combinations have been effective in the treatment of advanced lung cancer. In this study, we will evaluate the combination of carboplatin and pembrolizumab in BC patients with chest wall disease.

Methods: This is a randomized phase II multicenter study in the TBCRC including patients with advanced, unresectable BC with hormone resistant or triple negative chest wall disease. Patients may have had prior surgery, prior chest wall radiation is not required, and other sites of distant metastases are allowed. Eighty-four patients at TBCRC sites will be randomized 2:1 to receive pembrolizumab and carboplatin (n=56, Arm A) or carboplatin alone (n=28, Arm B) until disease progression. Patients randomized to Arm B may cross-over following progression to pembrolizumab alone (Arm Bx). Patients in Arm A will be treated with pembrolizumab 200 mg IV and carboplatin AUC 5 IV every 3 weeks for at least 6 cycles followed by maintenance pembrolizumab 200 mg IV every 3 weeks if stable or responding disease. Patients in Arm B will be treated with carboplatin AUC 5 IV every 3 weeks until progression, then may cross-over to pembrolizumab 200 mg IV every 3 weeks alone (Arm Bx). An interim analysis for futility will be performed after 18 patients are enrolled into Arm B to allow early closure of that arm for lack of efficacy. The primary endpoint is disease control rate at 18 weeks of treatment; the study is powered to detect a 20% difference in disease control rates between arms (hazard ratio 0.52, α= 0.10, β= 0.20). Secondary endpoints include progression free survival, toxicity, and response based on PD-L1 expression and irRECIST. Exploratory endpoints include association of response with a number of biomarkers including tumor PD-L1 gene expression, tumor and peripheral blood immune composition and cytokine expression, peripheral T-cell PD-1 expression, circulating tumor DNA, circulating tumor cells, and tumor MYC genomic expression using tumor biopsy and peripheral blood testing before and after treatment. This study should be open to accrual by August of 2017. (NCT03095352)

Citation Format: Vidula N, Goga A, Krummel M, Hwang J, Liu M, Park BH, Nanda R, Pohlmann P, Storniolo AM, Van Poznak C, Brufsky A, Abramson V, Wolff A, Rugo HS. TBCRC 044: A randomized phase II study of pembrolizumab in combination with carboplatin versus carboplatin alone in breast cancer patients with chest wall disease [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2017 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2017 Dec 5-9; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(4 Suppl):Abstract nr OT1-02-03.

Ionic cellulose-stabilized gold nanoparticles and their application in the catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol

A novel strategy for the synthesis of highly stable gold nanoparticles (GNPs) was designed by reducing HAuCl₄ with NaBH₄ in an aqueous solution of water-soluble ionic cellulose composed of dimethylimidazolium cations and phosphite-bound cellulose anions. NMR and UV-Vis analysis along with the measurement of the zeta potential suggest that the exceptionally high stability of GNPs originates from the strong interaction of GNPs with the phosphite groups of the ionic cellulose. The thus prepared GNPs exhibit excellent catalytic activity for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol, a model hydrogenation reaction.

Gold nanoparticles (GNP) were highly stabilized by water soluble ionic cellulose by the strong interaction of GNP with the phosphite groups and showed extremely high catalytic activity for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol.

The association between serum uric acid and asymptomatic intracranial arterial stenosis in middle-aged Koreans

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Intracranial arterial stenosis (ICAS) is one of the most common causes of stroke, especially in Asians. Hyperuricemia has been associated with an increased risk of comorbidities such as metabolic syndrome or cardiovascular diseases. However, there are few studies focusing on the association between serum uric acid (SUA) levels and asymptomatic ICAS. The aim of this study was to explore the association between SUA and the prevalence of ICAS in middle-aged Korean health screening examinees.

METHODS AND RESULTS

A cross-sectional study was performed on 9417 males and 7755 females who underwent a comprehensive health examination including transcranial Doppler (TCD) ultrasonography. The association of SUA and ICAS was analyzed using multivariate logistic regression. The prevalence of ICAS among the total examinee population was 3.55%. In females, the multivariate-adjusted odds ratio for ICAS was 1.52 (confidence interval 1.13-2.04) in the 3rd quartile of SUA and 1.45 (1.05-2.00) in the highest quartile, compared to the reference (P for trend 0.008). This trend was evident in all clinically relevant subgroups evaluated, including women with low inflammation status. SUA was not significantly associated with the prevalence of ICAS among males. In a sensitivity analysis, the multivariate-adjusted odds ratio of middle cerebral artery stenosis in females was 1.60 (1.09-2.37) in the highest quartile compared to the reference (P for trend 0.023).

CONCLUSIONS

Higher SUA level was associated with increased risk of ICAS among middle-aged females but not males. A further cohort study is warranted to elucidate the effect of SUA on asymptomatic ICAS.

Antiviral activity of exopolysaccharides from Arthrospira platensis against koi herpesvirus

Although koi herpesvirus (KHV) has a history of causing severe economic losses in common carp and koi farms, there are still no treatments available on the market. Thus, the aim of this study was to test exopolysaccharides (EPS) for its antiviral activity against KHV, by monitoring inhibition and cytotoxic effects in common carp brain cells. These substances can be easily extracted from extracellular algae supernatant and were identified as groups of sulphated polysaccharides. In order to reach this aim, Arthrospira platensis, which is well known for its antiviral activity of intra- and extracellular compounds towards mammalian herpesviruses, was investigated as standard organism and compared to commercial antiviral drug, ganciclovir, which inhibits the viral DNA polymerization. The antiviral activity of polysaccharides of A. platensis against KHV was confirmed in vitro using qualitative assessment of KHV life cycle genes, and it was found by RT-PCR that EPS, applied at a concentration of >18 μg mL^-1 and a multiplicity of infection (MOI) of 0.45 of KHV, suppressed the viral replication in common carp brain (CCB) cells even after 22 days post-infection, entirely. Further, this study presents first data indicating an enormous potential using polysaccharides as an additive for aquacultures to lower or hinder the spread of the KHV and koi herpesvirus disease (KHVD) in future.

Semi-quantitative assessment of disease risks at the human, livestock, wildlife interface for the Republic of Korea using a nationwide survey of experts: A model for other countries

Wildlife-associated diseases and pathogens have increased in importance; however, management of a large number of diseases and diversity of hosts is prohibitively expensive. Thus, the determination of priority wildlife pathogens and risk factors for disease emergence is warranted. We used an online questionnaire survey to assess release and exposure risks, and consequences of wildlife-associated diseases and pathogens in the Republic of Korea (ROK). We also surveyed opinions on pathways for disease exposure, and risk factors for disease emergence and spread. For the assessment of risk, we employed a two-tiered, statistical K-means clustering algorithm to group diseases into three levels (high, medium and low) of perceived risk based on release and exposure risks, societal consequences and the level of uncertainty of the experts' opinions. To examine the experts' perceived risk of routes of introduction of pathogens and disease amplification and spread, we used a Bayesian, multivariate normal order-statistics model. Six diseases or pathogens, including four livestock and two wildlife diseases, were identified as having high risk with low uncertainty. Similarly, 13 diseases were characterized as having high risk with medium uncertainty with three of these attributed to livestock, six associated with human disease, and the remainder having the potential to affect human, livestock and wildlife (i.e., One Health). Lastly, four diseases were described as high risk with high certainty, and were associated solely with fish diseases. Experts identified migration of wildlife, international human movement and illegal importation of wildlife as the three routes posing the greatest risk of pathogen introduction into ROK. Proximity of humans, livestock and wildlife was the most significant risk factor for promoting the spread of wildlife-associated diseases and pathogens, followed by high density of livestock populations, habitat loss and environmental degradation, and climate change. This study provides useful information to decision makers responsible for allocating resources to address disease risks. This approach provided a rapid, cost-effective method of risk assessment of wildlife-associated diseases and pathogens for which the published literature is sparse.

Genetic alterations in mesiodens as revealed by targeted next-generation sequencing and gene co-occurrence network analysis

OBJECTIVE

Mesiodens is the most common type of supernumerary tooth which includes a population prevalence of 0.15%-1.9%. Alongside evidence that the condition is heritable, mutations in single genes have been reported in few human supernumerary tooth cases. Gene sequencing methods in tradition way are time-consuming and labor-intensive, whereas next-generation sequencing and bioinformatics are cost-effective for large samples and target sizes.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We describe the application of a targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS) and bioinformatics approach to samples from 17 mesiodens patients. Subjects were diagnosed on the basis of panoramic radiograph. A total of 101 candidate genes which were captured custom genes were sequenced on the Illumina HiSeq 2500. Multistep bioinformatics processing was performed including variant identification, base calling, and in silico analysis of putative disease-causing variants.

RESULTS

Targeted capture identified 88 non-synonymous, rare, exonic variants involving 42 of the 101 candidate genes. Moreover, we investigated gene co-occurrence relationships between the genomic alterations and identified 88 significant relationships among 18 most recurrent driver alterations.

CONCLUSION

Our search for co-occurring genetic alterations revealed that such alterations interact cooperatively to drive mesiodens. We discovered a gene co-occurrence network in mesiodens patients with functionally enriched gene groups in the sonic hedgehog (SHH), bone morphogenetic proteins (BMP), and wingless integrated (WNT) signaling pathways.

Bone-density testing interval and transition to osteoporosis in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

The study aims to evaluate the rate of transition to osteoporosis in 360 RA patients and estimate the rescreening intervals of bone mineral density (BMD) testing. Osteoporosis was newly developed in 24.8 % during mean follow-up of 7.4 years. The estimated time of a BMD testing interval was dependent on the baseline T-score in RA patients.

INTRODUCTION

Although BMD testing is routinely performed in RA patients, the interval between BMD tests has not been determined.

METHODS

We retrospectively recruited 360 consecutive female patients with RA, who underwent repeated BMD testing, with a mean age of 53.7 ± 10.2 years and a mean follow-up duration of 7.4 ± 5.0 years. We stratified the study participants into five groups based on their baseline T-score range. The testing interval was defined as the estimated time for 10 % of patients in each subgroup to transition to osteoporosis. Competing-risk analyses were performed with sensitivity analysis by menopausal status and risk factors for transition to osteoporosis.

RESULTS

At baseline, 15 % of screened patients had osteoporosis, and during follow-up, that proportion increased to 24.8 %. The estimated BMD testing interval for 10 % of patients to develop osteoporosis was 9.6 years for those with normal BMD, 7.6 years for those with mild osteopenia, 4.7 years for those with moderate osteopenia, and 2.1 years for those with severe osteopenia. No significant risk factor for transition to osteoporosis was identified in this cohort.

CONCLUSIONS

Our data indicate that osteoporosis will develop in less than 10 % of female RA patients during rescreening intervals of approximately 9 years for those with normal bone density at baseline, 7 years for those with mild osteopenia, 4 years for those with moderate osteopenia, and 2 years for those with severe osteopenia at baseline. BMD interval in RA patients could be adjusted according to their baseline BMD T-scores.

A phase II study of axitinib in advanced neuroendocrine tumors

Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) are highly vascular neoplasms overexpressing vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) as well as VEGF receptors (VEGFR). Axitinib is a potent, selective inhibitor of VEGFR-1, -2 and -3, currently approved for the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma. We performed an open-label, two-stage design, phase II trial of axitinib 5mg twice daily in patients with progressive unresectable/metastatic low-to-intermediate grade carcinoid tumors. The primary end points were progression-free survival (PFS) and 12-month PFS rate. The secondary end points included time to treatment failure (TTF), overall survival (OS), overall radiographic response rate (ORR), biochemical response rate and safety. A total of 30 patients were enrolled and assessable for toxicity; 22 patients were assessable for response. After a median follow-up of 29months, we observed a median PFS of 26.7months (95% CI, 11.4-35.1), with a 12-month PFS rate of 74.5% (±10.2). The median OS was 45.3 months (95% CI, 24.4-45.3), and the median TTF was 9.6months (95% CI, 5.5-12). The best radiographic response was partial response (PR) in 1/30 (3%) and stable disease (SD) in 21/30 patients (70%); 8/30 patients (27%) were unevaluable due to early withdrawal due to toxicity. Hypertension was the most common toxicity that developed in 27 patients (90%). Grade 3/4 hypertension was recorded in 19 patients (63%), leading to treatment discontinuation in six patients (20%). Although axitinib appears to have an inhibitory effect on tumor growth in patients with advanced, progressive carcinoid tumors, the high rate of grade 3/4 hypertension may represent a potential impediment to its use in unselected patients.

A phase I trial of panobinostat and epirubicin in solid tumors with a dose expansion in patients with sarcoma

BACKGROUND

Treatment options for sarcoma are limited. Histone deacetylase inhibitors increase the efficacy of topoisomerase II inhibitors by promoting access to chromatin and by down-regulating DNA repair. Thus, combined panobinostat and epirubicin therapy was evaluated to treat refractory sarcoma.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Patients with advanced solid tumors were enrolled in a 3 + 3 dose-escalation phase I trial of panobinostat given on days 1, 3, and 5 followed by 75 mg/m(2) of epirubicin on day 5 in 21-day cycles, with a dose expansion at maximum tolerated dose (MTD) in 20 sarcoma patients. Peripheral blood mononucleocyte histone acetylation was also evaluated.

RESULTS

Forty patients received 20-60 mg panobinostat. Dose-limiting toxicities included thrombocytopenia, febrile neutropenia, and fatigue at 60 mg, defining a panobinostat MTD at 50 mg. Four responses were seen in 37 assessable patients, all after progression on prior topoisomerase II inhibitors. For those with sarcoma, 12 of 20 derived clinical benefit (1 partial response and 11 stable disease, median overall survival 8.3 months), including 8 of 14 previously progressed on topoisomerase II therapy. Treatment benefits correlated with increased histone acetylation and decreased neutrophil count on day 5.

CONCLUSIONS

Panobinostat and epirubicin treatment is well tolerated and may reverse anthracycline resistance. Changes in histone acetylation and associated decrease in neutrophil count correlated with clinical benefit and warrant investigation as predictive biomarkers.

CLINICAL TRIAL

This trial is registered at www.Clinicaltrials.gov, Identifier: NCT00878904.

Predisposition to and effects of methamphetamine use on the adolescent brain

Adolescence is a period of heightened vulnerability both to addictive behaviors and drug-induced brain damage. Yet, only limited information exists on the brain mechanisms underlying these adolescent-specific characteristics. Moreover, distinctions in brain correlates between predisposition to drug use and effects of drugs in adolescents are unclear. Using cortical thickness and diffusion tensor image analyses, we found greater and more widespread gray and white matter alterations, particularly affecting the frontostriatal system, in adolescent methamphetamine (MA) users compared with adult users. Among adolescent-specific gray matter alterations related to MA use, smaller cortical thickness in the orbitofrontal cortex was associated with family history of drug use. Our findings highlight that the adolescent brain, which undergoes active myelination and maturation, is more vulnerable to MA-related alterations than the adult brain. Furthermore, MA-use-related executive dysfunction was greater in adolescent MA users than in adult users. These findings may provide explanation for the severe behavioral complications and relapses that are common in adolescent-onset drug addiction. Additionally, these results may provide insights into distinguishing the neural mechanisms that underlie the predisposition to drug addiction from effects of drugs in adolescents.

Growth of optical-quality anthracene crystals doped with dibenzoterrylene for controlled single photon production

Dibenzoterrylene (DBT) molecules within a crystalline anthracene matrix show promise as quantum emitters for controlled, single photon production. We present the design and construction of a chamber in which we reproducibly grow doped anthracene crystals of optical quality that are several mm across and a few μm thick. We demonstrate control of the DBT concentration over the range 6-300 parts per trillion and show that these DBT molecules are stable single-photon emitters. We interpret our data with a simple model that provides some information on the vapour pressure of DBT.