Semiconducting quantum confined silicon-tin alloyed nanocrystals prepared by ns pulsed laser ablation in water

Here we demonstrate the material's synthetic feasibility for semiconducting alloyed silicon-tin nanocrystals (SiSn-NCs) with quantum confinement effects. An environmentally friendly synthesis is achieved by ns laser ablation of amorphous SiSn in water at ambient conditions. Plasmas generated in the liquid by laser pulses are characterized by spatial confinement with very high pressure (GPa), which allowed the growth of the SiSn-NCs via kinetic pathways. We further illustrate that surface engineering by a direct-current atmospheric pressure microplasma is capable of tailoring the SiSn-NCs surface properties without the need for lengthy surfactants, resulting in room temperature photoluminescence (PL); the PL peak wavelength is red-shifted by more than 250 nm with respect to the PL peak wavelengths observed for comparable elemental silicon nanocrystals.

Construction, expression and characterisation of recombinant molecules of the urease gene operon from a urease-positive thermophilic Campylobacter (UPTC) isolate

A recombinant molecule of the full-length urease gene operon was constructed in vitro from the Japanese urease-positive thermophilic Campylobacter (UPTC) CF89-12 isolate and expressed in Escherichia coli cells. Several large deletion recombinant variants of urease subunit genes were also constructed and expressed in E. coli cells. A positive urease reaction with the log-phase cultured E. coli JM109 cells in the NiCl2-containing medium transformed with pGEM-T vector carrying the recombinant molecule of the full-length operon was detected with isopropyl-beta-D-thiogalactoside. Among the several deletion recombinant variants, each ureA-, ureB-, ureE-, ureF-, ureG- and ureH-large deficient, only ureE-large deletion variant (63% deficient) showed a positive urease reaction (approximately 15-fold). In addition, a ureE-complete deletion recombinant variant (100% deficient) constructed also showed a positive reaction of urease (approximately 18-fold). Recombinant urease subunits A and B were immunologically identified by Western blot analysis with anti-urease alpha (A) and beta (B) raised against Helicobacter pylori.

186 EFFECT OF POLYVINYLPYRROLIDONE SUPPLEMENTATION IN CULTURE MEDIUM ON THE GROWTH OF MOUSE OOCYTES

A high volume of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) supplementation in culture medium has a significant impact on the growth of bovine oocytes. The objective of the present study was to determine whether or not PVP affects oocyte growth in the mouse. Oocyte–granulosa cell complexes were isolated from 11- or 12-day-old mice (ICR) by mechanical isolation of follicles, followed by a collagenase treatment (0.1%; 10 min). Twenty complexes were placed on each insert fit in the 24-well culture plate and cultured for 10 days in an atmosphere of 5% CO2 in air at 37°C. The culture medium was a modified α-MEM supplemented with 5% fetal bovine serum and 1 ng mL–1 FSH. The concentration of PVP (molecular weight of 360 000) was 0%, 1%, 2%, or 3% (w/v). During the first 2 days, only medium with 0% PVP was used. The oocytes recovered on Day 10 were subjected to in vitro maturation, IVF, and embryo culture. In 12 replications, the total numbers of oocytes cultured in medium with 0%, 1%, 2%, and 3% PVP were 235, 233, 233, and 231, respectively. In some additional experiments, oocytes were fixed on Day 10 and processed for transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The oocytes in medium with 0% PVP became located within an enlarged dome-like structure. In medium with 2% PVP and 3% PVP, no such domes were formed, and the oocytes within several granulosa cell layers were exposed to medium; however, the cumulus cell mass specifically became larger than that in medium with 0% PVP. The viabilities of oocytes recovered from medium with 0%, 1%, 2%, and 3% PVP were 83%, 81%, 91%, and 93%, respectively. The survival rate was significantly higher in medium with 3% PVP than in medium with 0% PVP or 1% PVP (P < 0.05). The mean oocyte diameter increased from 59 µm (Day 0) to 72, 71, 71, and 72 µm in medium with 0, 1, 2, and 3% PVP, respectively, but they continued to be smaller than in vivo grown oocytes (81.0 µm; P < 0.01). When maturation was induced, cumulus cell mucification occurred irrespective of PVP concentration during the growth. No significant differences were found between the groups in the percentage of polar body extrusion (ranging from 78 to 88%). Developmental outcomes based on oocytes used for in vitro fertilization were the following: cleavage rates were 67, 78, 74, and 76%; and blastocyst rates were 37, 44, 47, and 36% of oocytes that had been grown in medium with 0, 1, 2, and 3% PVP, respectively. The numbers of oocytes included were 60, 59, 68, and 66, respectively. The TEM observation suggests that more intimate contacts were maintained between the oocyte and cumulus cells in medium with 2% PVP than in medium with 0% PVP. Taken together, PVP supplementation in medium has a considerable influence on the morphology of mouse oocyte–granulosa cell complexes and close contacts within the complexes in the long-term culture, as having been observed with bovine oocytes.

Embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma of the uterus in a 35-year-old woman: case report and review of the literature

Embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is a rare sarcoma that characteristically occurs in children. The current treatment protocols are based on trials performed in patients under 21 years of age. Embryonal RMS in women over 20 years of age is rare, and studies on treatments and outcomes are limited. The authors here in report a case of a 35-year-old woman with ectocervical RMS who was treated with radical hysterectomy followed by chemotherapy. She is currently disease-free. Based on a literature review, the authors recommend a surgical approach in combination with chemotherapy for treatment of embryonal RMS in adult patients.

Synthesis of transfer-free graphene on an insulating substrate using a solid phase reaction

We demonstrate a solid phase reaction approach to synthesise transfer-free graphene on an insulating substrate by controlling the C diffusion process. Metal assisted crystallization by annealing of a C thin film was carried out to synthesise transfer-free graphene, in the presence of a top metal oxide and metal layer. Without the metal oxide layer, a large amount of C atoms diffused to the top of the metal surface and hence the formation of only small graphene domains was observed on the underneath of the metal layer. Introducing the metal oxide layer at the top surface, C diffusion was reduced and consequently the thin C film was crystallized to form large area graphene at the metal-insulating substrate interface. The metal oxide or metal catalyst layer was removed after graphene formation and transfer-free graphene was obtained directly on the base substrate. This finding shows that the thin metal oxide layer is critical to synthesise graphene with better quality and continuous domain structures.

Molecular identification of an arsenic four-gene operon in Campylobacter lari

An arsenic (ars) four-gene operon, containing genes encoding a putative membrane permease (ArsP), a transcriptional repressor (ArsR), an arsenate reductase (ArsC) and an arsenical-resistance membrane transporter (Acr3) was first identified in urease-positive thermophilic Campylobacter (UPTC) isolate, CF89-12. UPTC CF89-12 and some other Campylobacter lari isolates contained their ars four-genes, similarly, differing from that in the reference C. lari RM2100 strain. Two putative promoters and a putative terminator were identified for the operon in UPTC CF89-12. In vivo transcription of the operon was confirmed in the UPTC cells. PCR experiments using two primer pairs designed in silico to amplify two arsR and arsC-acr3 segments, respectively, generated two amplicons, approximately 200 and 350 base pairs, with all 31 of 31 and 19 of 31 C. lari isolates (n = 17 for UPTC; n = 14 for UN C. lari), respectively. An inverted repeat forming a dyad structure, a potential binding site for a transcriptional repressor, was identified in the promoter region. Within the deduced 61 amino acids sequence of the putative arsR open reading frame from the UPTC CF89-12, a metal binding box and a DNA-binding helix-turn-helix motif were identified. The UPTC CF89-12 and some other UPTC isolates isolated from natural environment were resistant to arsenate.

SU-D-217BCD-02: Online Angular Tube Current Modulation in X-Ray Computed Tomography: Can Tube Current Be Modulated Appropriately?

PURPOSE

In X-ray computed tomography (CT), X-rays are significantly less attenuated in the anteroposterior direction and more in the lateral direction. Therefore, the tube current should be adjusted within one gantry rotation using angular tube current modulation (TCM). The aim of this study was to evaluate whether online angular TCM could reduce radiation dose appropriately.

METHODS

A 128-detector dual-source CT (SOMATOM Definition Flash; Siemens Healthcare, Erlangen, Germany) and an online TCM system (CARE Dose 4D; Siemens Healthcare) were used. Dose profiles were acquired using the CT Dose Profiler (RTI Electronics, Molndal, Sweden) and an elliptical cylindrical phantom (MHT; Kyoto Kagaku, Kyoto, Japan) for helical CT scans with and without TCM. In addition, absorbed dose distributions within a single section were acquired using an anthropomorphic phantom (RANI 10; The Phantom Laboratory, Salem, NY) and radiophotoluminescent glass dosimeters (RPLDs) (GD- 302M; Chiyoda Technol, Tokyo, Japan) for helical CT scans with and without TCM after placing RPLDs within all holes of one section and pasting them around the section. A graph of each absorbed dose distribution was drawn using graphing software (ORIGIN 8.6; OriginLab, Northampton, MA).

RESULTS

The acquired dose profiles suggested that online angular TCM could adjust the tube current in near-real time according to the attenuation measured from the previous projection. The profiles gradually stabilized because the tube current was adjusted properly. The absorbed doses were low and the distributions were stable with TCM compared with those without TCM.

CONCLUSIONS

In X-ray CT, an online angular TCM can reduce radiation dose effectively by adjusting tube current within one gantry rotation in near-real time.

Increased plasma levels of high mobility group box 1 in patients with acute liver failure

BACKGROUND

High-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) is a monocyte-derived late-acting inflammatory mediator, which is released in conditions such as shock, tissue injury and endotoxin-induced lethality. In this study, we determined the plasma and hepatic tissue levels of HMGB1 in patients with acute liver failure (ALF).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We determined the plasma levels of HMGB1 and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) in 7 healthy volunteers (HVs), 40 patients with liver cirrhosis (LC), 37 patients with chronic hepatitis (CH), 18 patients with severe acute hepatitis (AH), and 14 patients with fulminant hepatitis (FH). The 14 patients with FH were divided into two subgroups depending upon the history of plasma exchange (PE) before their plasma sample collection. The hepatic levels of HMGB1 were measured in tissue samples from 3 patients with FH who underwent living-donor liver transplantation and from 3 healthy living donors. Hepatic tissue samples were also subjected to immunohistochemical examination for HMGB1.

RESULTS

The plasma levels of HMGB1 (ng/ml) were higher in patients with liver diseases, especially in FH patients with no history of PE, than in HVs (0.3 ± 0.3 in HVs, 4.0 ± 2.0 in LC, 5.2 ± 2.6 in CH, 8.6 ± 4.8 in severe AH, 7.8 ± 2.7 in FH with a history of PE, and 12.5 ± 2.6 in FH with no history of PE, p < 0.05 in each comparison). There was a strong and statistically significant relationship between the mean plasma HMGB1 level and the logarithm of the mean AST level (R = 0.900, p < 0.05). The hepatic tissue levels of HMGB1 (ng/mg tissue protein) were lower in patients with FH than in healthy donors (539 ± 116 in FH vs. 874 ± 81 in healthy donors, p < 0.05). Immunohistochemical staining for HMGB1 was strong and clear in the nuclei of hepatocytes in liver sections from healthy donors, but little staining in either nuclei or cytoplasm was evident in specimens from patients with FH.

CONCLUSION

We confirmed that plasma HMGB1 levels were increased in patients with ALF. Based on a comparison between HMGB1 contents in normal and ALF livers, it is very likely that HMGB1 is released from injured liver tissue.

Clinical implementation of a GPU-based simplified Monte Carlo method for a treatment planning system of proton beam therapy

We implemented the simplified Monte Carlo (SMC) method on graphics processing unit (GPU) architecture under the computer-unified device architecture platform developed by NVIDIA. The GPU-based SMC was clinically applied for four patients with head and neck, lung, or prostate cancer. The results were compared to those obtained by a traditional CPU-based SMC with respect to the computation time and discrepancy. In the CPU- and GPU-based SMC calculations, the estimated mean statistical errors of the calculated doses in the planning target volume region were within 0.5% rms. The dose distributions calculated by the GPU- and CPU-based SMCs were similar, within statistical errors. The GPU-based SMC showed 12.30-16.00 times faster performance than the CPU-based SMC. The computation time per beam arrangement using the GPU-based SMC for the clinical cases ranged 9-67 s. The results demonstrate the successful application of the GPU-based SMC to a clinical proton treatment planning.

Heterogeneity of colorectal cancers and extraction of discriminator gene signatures for personalized prediction of prognosis

Dissected specimens of colorectal cancer (CRC) have been intensively studied using molecular sketches (gene signatures) to obtain a set of discriminator gene signatures for accurate prognosis prediction in individual patients. The discriminators obtained so far are not universally applicable, as the gene sets reflect the method and site of the study. In this study, we show that dissected stage II and III CRC samples are significantly heterogeneous in molecular sketches, and are not appropriate sources for discriminator extraction unless handled individually. To search for an accurate discriminator gene set for prediction of metastases, we need to start with less heterogeneous stage II CRC. We examined 198 (92 stage II and 106 stage III) CRC dissected samples for the predictability of discriminator gene signatures by analyzing stage II CRC alone, stage III alone, or in combination. The best predictive power of discriminator genes was obtained only when these genes were extracted and validated with stage II CRC samples. An accurate discriminator gene set for the prediction of CRC metastases can be obtained by focusing on stage II CRC samples.

Topical application of hangeshashinto (TJ-14) in the management of chemotherapy-induced oral mucositis: A preliminary study

603

Background: Oral mucositis is a common toxicity associated with cytotoxic chemotherapy used for cancer treatment and results in severe discomfort and impairs patients' ability to eat, swallow, and talk. The treatment of chemotherapy-induced oral mucositis is not well established. The cyclooxygenase pathway mediates tissue injury and pain through upregulation of pro-inflammatory prostaglandins. Recent study showed that one of the Japanese traditional medicines (kampo), hangeshashinto (TI-14), may be useful for periodontal disease via downregulation of pro-inflammatory prostaglandins in human. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of TJ-14 on chemotherapy- induced oral mucositis.

Methods: Fourteen patients with chemotherapy-induced oral mucositis during mFOLFOX6 or FOLFIRI treatment for requiring to the metastasis of advanced colorectal cancer were received topical application of TJ-14. Topical TJ-14 was applied to the oral mucositis three times a day. Patients were asked to make 50 mL of TJ-14 solution (2.5 g) with a tap water and were advised to rinse the TJ-14 solution on the oral mucosa for 10 seconds and then to spill it. Additionally, TJ-14 was topically applied with a cotton pellet on the oral mucositis. The above treatment was advised throughout the course of chemotherapy. Patients were evaluated for the oral mucositis using the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) version 4 before and after 2-weeks TJ-14 treatment.

Results: Thirteen of the fourteen patients (92.8 %) responded to the TJ-14 therapy. There was significant reduction in the grade 3/4 mucositis from 3.2 to 1.8 (p=0.02) as well as in the grade 1/2 mucositis from 1.6 to 0.6 (p=0.034). There is no patient showed worse than before. The compliance of TJ-14-treatment was good.

Conclusions: Topical application of TJ-14 may have therapeutic effects on chemotherapy-induced oral mucositis via downregulation of pro-inflammatory prostaglandins.

No significant financial relationships to disclose.

Bandgap Engineering of ZnO Transparent Conducting Films

Low resistivity and transparent Al doped ZnMgO films were deposited on glass substrates by a pulsed laser deposition system. For up to 32 atm% of Mg content, segregation of a MgO phase was not observed. The bandgap of these films could be widened to about 4 eV with increasing Mg content. The relation between bandgap and resistivity was found to be a trade-off; i.e. the larger the bandgap, the higher the resistivity. The maximum bandgap among films with an electrical resistivity of less than 10-3 Ω cm was 3.94 eV. The average optical transmittance of these films was more than 90 % for wavelengths λ between 400 and 1100 nm. The transmittance around λ = 330 nm was still 50 %.

High-Quality Transparent Conducting Oxide Films Deposited by a Novel Ion Plating Technique

A novel ion plating technique that has the attributes of both superb controllability of the high density plasma used as well as ion beam shape has been developed and applied to the deposition of transparent conducting oxides. The advantages of this technique include reduced ion damage, scale-up capability, in-plane uniformity, the use of low growth temperatures and fast deposition rates suggesting that the technique is very promising for a variety of applications such as solar cells and organic device fabrication. Gallium doped zinc oxide films have been deposited on glass substrates at 200°C. Resistivities as low as ρ∼2.7×10-4 Ω-cm with high transparency have been demonstrated. In addition, this technique has been successfully applied to large area deposition such as 65 cm × 55 cm-sized glass substrates.