Particle-species dependent modification of jet-induced correlations in Au+Au collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=200 GeV

Measurements in Au+Au collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=200 GeV of jet correlations for a trigger hadron at intermediate transverse momentum (p_{T,trig}) with associated mesons or baryons at lower p_{T,assoc} indicate strong modification of the away-side jet. The ratio of jet-associated baryons to mesons increases with centrality and p_{T,assoc}. For the most central collisions, the ratio is similar to that for inclusive measurements. This trend is incompatible with in-vacuum fragmentation but could be due to jetlike contributions from correlated soft partons, which recombine upon hadronization.

Effects of in utero JP-8 jet fuel exposure on the immune systems of pregnant and newborn mice

The US Air Force has implemented the widespread use of JP-8 jet fuel in its operations, although a thorough understanding of its potential effects upon exposed personnel is unclear. Previous work has reported that JP-8 exposure is immunosuppressive. In the present study, the effects of in-utero JP-8 jet fuel exposure in mice were examined to ascertain any potential effects of jet fuel exposure on female personnel and their offspring. Exposure by the aerosol route (at 1000 mg/m3 for 1 h/day; similar to exposures incurred by flight line personnel) commencing during the first (d7 to birth) or last (d15 to birth) trimester of pregnancy was analyzed. It was observed that even 6-8 weeks after the last jet fuel exposure that the immune system of the dams (mother of newborn mice) was affected (in accordance with previous reports on normal mice). That is, thymus organ weights and viable cell numbers were decreased, and immune function was depressed. A decrease in viable male offspring was found, notably more pronounced when exposure started during the first trimester of pregnancy. Regardless of when jet fuel exposure started, all newborn mice (at 6-8 weeks after birth) reported significant immunosuppression. That is, newborn pups displayed decreased immune organ weights, decreased viable immune cell numbers and suppressed immune function. When the data were analyzed in relation to the respective mothers of the pups the data were more pronounced. Although all jet fuel-exposed pups were immunosuppressed as compared with control pups, male offspring were more affected by jet fuel exposure than female pups. Furthermore, the immune function of the newborn mice was directly correlated to the immune function of their respective mothers. That is, mothers showing the lowest immune function after JP-8 exposure gave birth to pups displaying the greatest effects of jet fuel exposure on immune function. Mothers who showed the highest levels of immune function after in-utero JP-8 exposure gave birth to pups displaying levels of immune function similar to controls animals that had the lowest levels of immune function. These data indicated that a genetic component might be involved in determining immune responses after jet fuel exposure. Overall, the data showed that in-utero JP-8 jet fuel exposure had long-term detrimental effects on newborn mice, particularly on the viability and immune competence of male offspring.

Early initiation of tacrolimus or cyclophosphamide therapy for idiopathic membranous nephropathy with severe proteinuria

BACKGROUND

Early initiation of therapy is warranted for patients with idiopathic membranous nephropathy (IMN) who have severe proteinuria. Therapy with tacrolimus (TAC) or intravenous cyclophosphamide (CYC) may be an option in treating such patients.

METHODS

This prospective cohort study included patients with IMN whose daily proteinuria was greater than 6.0 g with 3-6 months observation of nonimmunosuppressive therapy. One cohort received prednisone combined with oral TAC (target trough blood level of 4-8 ng/mL) for 24 weeks. The other cohort received prednisone combined with intravenous CYC (750 mg/m2 body surface) every 2 weeks for the first 8 weeks and then once per 4 weeks for the next 16 weeks.

RESULTS

Thirty patients met criteria for enrollment, and 25 patients completed therapy. The results of the 24-week therapeutic period were complete remission (CR) 4 patients (30.8%) on CYC and 8 patients (66.7%) on TAC; partial remission (PR) 7 patients (53.8%) on CYC and 3 patients (25%) on TAC; no response 2 patients (15.4%) on CYC and 1 patient (8.3%) on TAC. The percentages of remission (either PR or CR) by 4 and 8 weeks were significantly higher in TAC group than in CYC group (p<or=0.05). The probability of CR was significantly higher in the TAC group than in the CYC group (p=0.018, by log-rank test).

CONCLUSION

Earlier initiation of therapy with TAC or intravenous CYC (combined steroid) for 24 weeks was useful for Chinese adults with IMN in inducing remission of severe proteinuria, and quicker remission was seen in TAC therapy.

Zirconia toughened alumina ceramic foams for potential bone graft applications: fabrication, bioactivation, and cellular responses

Zirconia toughened alumina (ZTA) has been regarded as the next generation orthopedic graft material due to its excellent mechanical properties and biocompatibility. Porous ZTA ceramics with good interconnectivity can potentially be used as bone grafts for load-bearing applications. In this work, three-dimensional (3D) interconnected porous ZTA ceramics were fabricated using a direct foaming method with egg white protein as binder and foaming agent. The results showed that the porous ZTA ceramics possessed a bimodal pore size distribution. Their mechanical properties were comparable to those of cancellous bone. Due to the bio-inertness of alumina and zirconia ceramics, surface bioactivation of the ZTA foams was carried out in order to improve their bioactivity. A simple NaOH soaking method was employed to change the surface chemistry of ZTA through hydroxylation. Treated samples were tested by conducting osteoblast-like cell culture in vitro. Improvement on cells response was observed and the strength of porous ZTA has not been deteriorated after the NaOH treatment. The porous 'bioactivated' ZTA ceramics produced here could be potentially used as non-degradable bone grafts for load-bearing applications.

Source breakup dynamics in Au + Au collisions at sqrt[s(NN)]=200 GeV via three-dimensional two-pion source imaging

A three-dimensional correlation function obtained from midrapidity, low p(T), pion pairs in central Au+Au collisions at sqrt[s(NN)]=200 GeV is studied. The extracted model-independent source function indicates a long range tail in the directions of the pion pair transverse momentum (out) and the beam (long). A proper breakup time tau(0) ~ 9 fm/c and a mean proper emission duration Delta tau ~ 2 fm/c, leading to sizable emission time differences ({|Delta t(LCM)|} approximately 12 fm/c), are required to allow models to be successfully matched to these tails. The model comparisons also suggest an outside-in "burning" of the emission source reminiscent of many hydrodynamical models.

Comparison of nutritional quality between Chinese indica rice with sck and cry1Ac genes and its nontransgenic counterpart

Nutritional assessment of transgenic crops used for human food and animal feed is an important aspect of safety evaluations. An insect-resistant rice (IRR) was generated by the stable insertion of sck, a modified cowpea trypsin inhibitor gene, and cry1Ac, encoding a crystal protein from Bacillus thuringiensis into the genome of a common variety of Chinese indica rice. The composition of the brown and milled rice grain from the resulted IRR line designated Liangyou Kefeng No. 6 was compared with that of the parental rice cultivar Liangyou 2186. Nutrients, including the proximates, amino acids, fatty acids, minerals, and vitamins, were measured. The antinutritive components such as phytic acid, lectin, and trypsin inhibitors were also examined. The data demonstrated that the nutritional quality of both the brown and milled rice grains from the transgenic line was substantially equivalent to that of the nontransgenic counterpart, and measured amounts of nutritional components fell within the range of values reported for other commercial lines.

Dynamic progression of an intraperitoneal xenograft model of human ovarian cancer and its potential for preclinical trials

This study was conducted to establish a feasible intraperitoneal xenograft model in nude mice which mimicked the dynamic progression of human ovarian cancer and to explore its potential for preclinical trials. A human ovarian tumor line SKOV3 was originally injected s.c. to develop tumors; then the tumors were harvested and minced into small particles for i.p. inoculation in three groups of nude mice which would be monitored consecutively. The intraperitoneal carcinomatosis and relevant organs were collected for histopathological dynamic comparison and CA125 immunohistochemical staining 7, 21 and 49 days after inoculation. An additional experiment with cisplatin sensitivity test was performed and tumor tissues were observed for apoptosis-Hoechst assay. The intraperitoneal carcinomatosis had a rapid progression which resulted in extensive dissemination on the peritoneal surfaces and invasion into abdominal lymph nodes, livers, pancreas and spleen. Tumor tissues revealed similar morphological features of primary tumor from which SKOV3 derived and part of in vivo tumor mass was positive for CA125. Cisplatin could significantly inhibit the intraperitoneal carcinomatosis growth. This model may provide a valuable platform to study the biological properties of ovarian cancer as well as to test new therapeutic strategies in preclinical trials.

Diabetes knowledge and glycemic control among Chinese people with type 2 diabetes

BACKGROUND

Diabetes self-management education (DSME) is a key component of effective glycemic control and an important part of clinical diabetes management. The effects of DSME in China have not been investigated.

OBJECTIVES

To identify factors that could enhance the quality of Chinese DSME programmes. The relationship between patients' diabetes knowledge and their glycemic control was explored.

METHODS

A non-experimental cross-sectional study was undertaken in a large Shanghai hospital in China. Forty inpatients and 60 outpatients with type 2 diabetes mellitus were recruited. A Chinese version of the Diabetes Knowledge Scale was used to assess subjects' diabetes knowledge and collect demographic data and HbA1c levels.

RESULTS

The mean diabetes knowledge scores among Chinese with type 2 diabetes was 22.1 +/- 3.76 out of a possible 30 marks. There was no difference in overall diabetes knowledge in people with HbA1c <7%, indicating good control and those with HbA1c >or=7%, indicating suboptimal glycemic control (t = -0.811, P = 0.419). However, there were differences in scores between the two groups for some specific questions on sick day management and food substitution. Moreover, sociodemographic characteristics such as age and occupation were significantly correlated with diabetes knowledge; age was negatively correlated with diabetes knowledge and white-collar workers had the highest mean knowledge score and housewives the lowest.

CONCLUSION

Sociodemographic characteristics need to be considered when developing diabetes self-management programmes for Chinese people with type 2 diabetes.

Enhancement of therapeutic effectiveness by combining liposomal honokiol with cisplatin in ovarian carcinoma

Honokiol, a well-tolerated natural product, can inhibit the proliferation of cancer cells. But its water insolubility hampers its systemic administration for therapy of cancer. As a drug delivery system, the pegylated liposome (PEGL) can increase the water solubility and targeting of the drug. Honokiol has been successfully encapsulated by PEGL in our laboratory. We wondered whether the combination treatment with pegylated liposomal honokiol (H-PEGL) and cisplatin (DDP) could improve the antitumor efficacy in ovarian carcinoma. H-PEGL could introduce apoptosis of SKOV3 cells in vitro, which was quantified by flow cytometric analysis, and the cellular morphologic changes were determined by propidium iodide staining. In a human ovarian carcinoma mouse model, combination treatment with H-PEGL (0.4 mg/day for 30 days; intraperitoneal) and DDP (5 mg/kg on days 7, 11, 15, 19; intraperitoneal) acted synergistically to inhibit tumor growth by 91.48% without notable toxicity, but H-PEGL and DDP alone only inhibit tumor growth by 66.83% and 52.5% as compared to the NaCl solution control, respectively. Assessment of microvessel density and apoptosis index by CD31 and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated nick end labeling immunohistochemistry respectively suggested that the antitumor activity of H-PEGL is mediated by angiogenesis inhibition and introduction of apoptosis. Our results showed us a splendid prospect of the clinical application of combination treatment on patients suffering from ovarian cancer with H-PEGL and DDP.

Elliptic flow for phi mesons and (anti)deuterons in Au+Au collisions at square root of sNN=200 GeV

Differential elliptic flow (v(2)) for phi mesons and (anti)deuterons (d)d is measured for Au+Au collisions at square root of sNN=200 GeV. The v(2) for phi mesons follows the trend of lighter pi+/- and K+/- mesons, suggesting that ordinary hadrons interacting with standard hadronic cross sections are not the primary driver for elliptic flow development. The v(2) values for (d)d suggest that elliptic flow is additive for composite particles. This further validation of the universal scaling of v(2) per constituent quark for baryons and mesons suggests that partonic collectivity dominates the transverse expansion dynamics.

System size and energy dependence of jet-induced hadron pair correlation shapes in Cu+Cu and Au+Au collisions at square root sNN=200 and 62.4 GeV

We present azimuthal angle correlations of intermediate transverse momentum (1-4 GeV/c) hadrons from dijets in Cu+Cu and Au+Au collisions at square root sNN=62.4 and 200 GeV. The away-side dijet induced azimuthal correlation is broadened, non-Gaussian, and peaked away from Delta phi=pi in central and semicentral collisions in all the systems. The broadening and peak location are found to depend upon the number of participants in the collision, but not on the collision energy or beam nuclei. These results are consistent with sound or shock wave models, but pose challenges to Cherenkov gluon radiation models.

J/psi production versus transverse momentum and rapidity in p+p collisions at square root s=200 GeV

J/psi production in p+p collisions at square root s=200 GeV has been measured by the PHENIX experiment at the BNL Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider over a rapidity range of -2.2<y<2.2 and a transverse momentum range of 0<pT<9 GeV/c. The size of the present data set allows a detailed measurement of both the pT and the rapidity distributions and is sufficient to constrain production models. The total cross section times the branching ratio is Bll sigma pp J/psi=178+/-3stat+/-53sys+/-18norm nb.

J/psi production versus centrality, transverse momentum, and rapidity in Au+Au collisions at square root sNN=200 GeV

The PHENIX experiment at the BNL Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) has measured J/psi production for rapidities -2.2<y<2.2 in Au+Au collisions at square root sNN=200 GeV. The J/psi invariant yield and nuclear modification factor RAA as a function of centrality, transverse momentum, and rapidity are reported. A suppression of J/psi relative to binary collision scaling of proton-proton reaction yields is observed. Models which describe the lower energy J/psi data at the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron invoking only J/psi destruction based on the local medium density predict a significantly larger suppression at RHIC and more suppression at midrapidity than at forward rapidity. Both trends are contradicted by our data.

Scaling properties of azimuthal anisotropy in Au+Au and Cu+Cu Collisions at sqrt[s NN]=200 GeV

Differential measurements of elliptic flow (v2) for Au+Au and Cu+Cu collisions at sqrt[sNN]=200 GeV are used to test and validate predictions from perfect fluid hydrodynamics for scaling of v2 with eccentricity, system size, and transverse kinetic energy (KE T). For KE T identical with mT-m up to approximately 1 GeV the scaling is compatible with hydrodynamic expansion of a thermalized fluid. For large values of KE T mesons and baryons scale separately. Quark number scaling reveals a universal scaling of v2 for both mesons and baryons over the full KE T range for Au+Au. For Au+Au and Cu+Cu the scaling is more pronounced in terms of KE T, rather than transverse momentum.

Effects of rhFSH dose on ovarian follicular response, oocyte recovery and embryo development in rhesus monkeys

The objective was to study the effects of dose of recombinant human follicular stimulating hormone (rhFSH) for ovarian stimulation in rhesus monkeys. Nineteen pubertal and 109 adult female rhesus monkeys were given 37.5, 18, or 9 IU of rhFSH twice-daily for 8 days (total of 600, 300, or 150 IU of rhFSH per cycle, respectively; designated Regimens 1, 2 and 3). Ovarian responses were assessed with ultrasonography, serum concentrations of E2 and FSH, and by in vitro developmental potential (following IVF) of retrieved oocytes. Regimen 1 had more monkeys with very large follicles (diameter>8 mm) than Regimen 2 (P<0.05), which impaired development potential. However, there were no differences between Regimens 1 and 2 in oocyte recovery, whereas Regimen 3 did not elicit superovulation. The developmental potential of embryos obtained from Regimen 2 was higher than that of Regimen 1, as determined by culture to the blastocyst stage in vitro (proportion of blastocysts relative to collected MII oocytes was 55.8% versus 36.8% in pubertal and 63.8% versus 44.2% in adult monkeys; P<0.05 for each), and the results of embryo transfer from Regimen 2 were acceptable. In conclusion, we inferred that the optimal rhFSH dose for ovarian stimulation in rhesus monkeys was a total of 300 IU; this dose should be efficacious for ovarian stimulation as the quality or recovered oocytes was higher and the risk of overstimulation was reduced.

Evidence for a long-range component in the pion emission source in Au+Au collisions at sqrt sNN=200 GeV

Emission source functions are extracted from correlation functions constructed from charged pions produced at midrapidity in Au+Au collisions at sqrt[s(NN)]=200 GeV. The source parameters extracted from these functions at low k(T) give first indications of a long tail for the pion emission source. The source extension cannot be explained solely by simple kinematic considerations. The possible role of a halo of secondary pions from resonance emissions is explored.

Radiographic examination of 41 cases of odontogenic myxomas on the basis of conventional radiographs

OBJECTIVE

There are some different radiographic appearances of odontogenic myxoma that have not been reported in the published literature. The purpose of this article is to offer rare views of odontogenic myxomas and analyse the characteristics of the radiographic appearances.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We reviewed the radiographic appearances of 41 cases of odontogenic myxomas on conventional radiographs, recruited from patients who visited the Department of Oral Radiology, West China College of Stomatology, Sichuan University between 1964 and 2005. The diagnoses of the cases were verified by histopathology.

RESULTS

On conventional radiographs, odontogenic myxomas presented varying radiographic appearances, which could be divided into six types as follows: Type I-unilocular; Type II-multilocular (including honeycomb, soap bubble and tennis racquet patterns); Type III-involvement of local alveolar bone; Type IV-involvement of the maxillary sinus; Type V-osteolytic destruction and Type VI-a mix of osteolytic destruction and osteogenesis.

CONCLUSION

Odontogenic myxoma has variable radiographic appearances on conventional radiographs. This classification system helps us better understand the radiographic appearances of odontogenic myxoma on conventional radiographs.