The anomaly Cu doping effects on LiFeAs superconductors

The Cu substitution effect on the superconductivity of LiFeAs has been studied in comparison with Co/Ni substitution. It is found that the shrinking rate of the lattice parameter c for Cu substitution is much smaller than that of Co/Ni substitution. This is in conjugation with the observation of ARPES that shows almost the same electron and hole Fermi surfaces (FSs) size for undoped and Cu substituted LiFeAs sample, except for a very small hole band sinking below Fermi level with doping. This indicates that there is little doping effect at Fermi surface by Cu substitution, in sharp contrast to the more effective carrier doping effect by Ni or Co.

Magnetic resonance morphometry of the loss of gray matter volume in Parkinson's disease patients

Voxel-based morphometry can be used to quantitatively compare structural differences and func-tional changes of gray matter in subjects. In the present study, we compared gray matter images of 32 patients with Parkinson's disease and 25 healthy controls using voxel-based morphometry based on 3.0 T high-field magnetic resonance T1-weighted imaging and clinical neurological scale scores. Results showed that the scores in Mini-Mental State Examination and Montreal Cognitive Assessment were lower in patients compared with controls. In particular, the scores of visuospa-tial/executive function items in Montreal Cognitive Assessment were significantly reduced, but mean scores of non-motor symptoms significantly increased, in patients with Parkinson's disease. In dition, gray matter volume was significantly diminished in Parkinson's disease patients compared with normal controls, including bilateral temporal lobe, bilateral occipital lobe, bilateral parietal lobe, bilateral frontal lobe, bilateral insular lobe, bilateral parahippocampal gyrus, bilateral amygdale, right uncus, and right posterior lobe of the cerebellum. These findings indicate that voxel-based phometry can accurately and quantitatively assess the loss of gray matter volume in patients with Parkinson' disease, and provide essential neuroimaging evidence for multisystem pathological mechanisms involved in Parkinson's disease.

Changes of brain gray matter structure in Parkinson's disease patients with dementia

Voxel-based morphometry is gaining considerable interest for studies examining Parkinson's disease dementia patients. In this study, 12 patients with clinically defined Parkinson's disease and dementia and 12 non-demented patients with Parkinson's disease were examined using a T1WI three-dimensional fast spoiled gradient echo sequence. Gray matter data were analyzed using a voxel-based morphometry method and independent sample t-test based on Statistical Parametric Mapping 5 software. Differences in gray matter volume were represented with statistical parametric mapping. Compared with Parkinson's disease patients without dementia, decreased gray matter volume in Parkinson's disease dementia patients was observed in the bilateral superior temporal gyrus, bilateral posterior cingulate and left cingulate gyrus, right parahippocampal gyrus and hippocampus, right precuneus and right cuneus, left inferior frontal gyrus and left insular lobe. No increased gray matter volume was apparent. These data indicate that gray matter atrophy in the limbic system and cerebral neocortex is related to the presence of dementia.

Direct observation of the spin texture in SmB6 as evidence of the topological Kondo insulator

Topological Kondo insulators have been proposed as a new class of topological insulators in which non-trivial surface states reside in the bulk Kondo band gap at low temperature due to strong spin-orbit coupling. In contrast to other three-dimensional topological insulators, a topological Kondo insulator is truly bulk insulating. Furthermore, strong electron correlations are present in the system, which may interact with the novel topological phase. By applying spin- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, here we show that the surface states of SmB6 are spin polarized. The spin is locked to the crystal momentum, fulfilling time reversal and crystal symmetries. Our results provide strong evidence that SmB6 can host topological surface states in a bulk insulating gap stemming from the Kondo effect, which can serve as an ideal platform for investigating of the interplay between novel topological quantum states with emergent effects and competing orders induced by strongly correlated electrons.

Measurement of the target-normal single-spin asymmetry in deep-inelastic scattering from the reaction (3)He(↑)(e,e')X

We report the first measurement of the target-normal single-spin asymmetry in deep-inelastic scattering from the inclusive reaction 3)He(↑)(e,e')X on a polarized (3)He gas target. Assuming time-reversal invariance, this asymmetry is strictly zero in the Born approximation but can be nonzero if two-photon-exchange contributions are included. The experiment, conducted at Jefferson Lab using a 5.89 GeV electron beam, covers a range of 1.7<W<2.9  GeV, 1.0<Q(2)<4.0  GeV(2) and 0.16<x<0.65. Neutron asymmetries were extracted using the effective nucleon polarization and measured proton-to-(3)He cross-section ratios. The measured neutron asymmetries are negative with an average value of (-1.09±0.38)×10(-2) for invariant mass W>2  GeV, which is nonzero at the 2.89σ level. Our measured asymmetry agrees both in sign and magnitude with a two-photon-exchange model prediction that uses input from the Sivers transverse momentum distribution obtained from semi-inclusive deep-inelastic scattering.

Predicting bacterial essential genes using only sequence composition information

Essential genes are those genes that are needed by organisms at any time and under any conditions. It is very important for us to identify essential genes from bacterial genomes because of their vital role in synthetic biology and biomedical practices. In this paper, we developed a support vector machine (SVM)-based method to predict essential genes of bacterial genomes using only compositional features. These features are all derived from the primary sequences, i.e., nucleotide sequences and protein sequences. After training on the multiple samplings of the labeled (essential or not essential) features using a library for SVM, we obtained an average area under the ROC curve (AUC) of about 0.82 in a 5-fold cross-validation for Escherichia coli and about 0.74 for Mycoplasma pulmonis. We further evaluated the performance of the method proposed using the dataset consisting of 16 bacterial genomes, and an average AUC of 0.76 was achieved. Based on this training dataset, a model for essential gene prediction was established. Another two independent genomes, Shewanella oneidensis RW1 and Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium SL1344 were used to evalutate the model. Results showed that the AUC sores were 0.77 and 0.81, respectively. For the convenience of the vast majority of experimental scientists, a web server has been constructed, which is freely available at http://cefg.uestc.edu.cn:9999/egp.

Association of maternal KIR and fetal HLA-C genes with the risk of preeclampsia in the Chinese Han population

INTRODUCTION

This study is to investigate the distribution of inhibitory and activating killer-cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs) and the combination of KIR/human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-C in women with preeclampsia in the Chinese Han population.

METHODS

A total of 271 patients and 295 controls were enrolled in our study. The inhibitory/activating KIR and HLA-C genes were detected using the PCR-SSP (polymerase chain reaction with sequence-specific primers) method.

RESULTS

Our result showed that decreased numbers of individual activating KIR genes (2DS2, 2DS3, and 2DS5) were observed in women with preeclampsia. Furthermore, the gene frequency of total activating KIRs was significantly lower in patients compared with that of the controls (P = 0.03). The frequency of the KIR2DL1 gene was increased in women with preeclampsia when a homozygous HLA-C2 allele appeared in the fetus.

CONCLUSION

The results suggest that a KIR genetic variation might influence the risk of preeclampsia. The lack of activating KIRs could possibly lower uterine natural killer (uNK) cell activation, thereby contributing to the pathogenesis of preeclampsia. Moreover, the imbalance of the inhibitory or activating signals at the maternal-fetal interface seems to play a regulatory role in the occurrence of preeclampsia.

High spatial resolution mapping of deposition layers on plasma facing materials by laser ablation microprobe time-of-flight mass spectroscopy

A laser ablation microprobe time-of-flight mass spectroscopy (LAM-TOF-MS) system with high spatial resolution, ~20 nm in depth and ~500 μm or better on the surface, is developed to analyze the composition distributions of deposition layers on the first wall materials or first mirrors in tokamak. The LAM-TOF-MS system consists of a laser ablation microprobe combined with a TOF-MS and a data acquisition system based on a LabVIEW program software package. Laser induced ablation combined with TOF-MS is an attractive method to analyze the depth profile of deposited layer with successive laser shots, therefore, it can provide information for composition reconstruction of the plasma wall interaction process. In this work, we demonstrate that the LAM-TOF-MS system is capable of characterizing the depth profile as well as mapping 2D composition of deposited film on the molybdenum first mirror retrieved from HL-2A tokamak, with particular emphasis on some of the species produced during the ablation process. The presented LAM-TOF-MS system provides not only the 3D characterization of deposition but also the removal efficiency of species of concern.

Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy observation of anomalous electronic states in EuFe2As(2-x)P(x)

We used angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy to investigate the electronic structure and the Fermi surface of EuFe2As2, EuFe2As1.4P0.6 and EuFe2P2. We observed doubled core level peaks associated with the pnictide atoms. Using K atoms evaporated at the surface to affect the surface quality, we show that one component of these doubled peaks is related to a surface state. Nevertheless, strong electronic dispersion along the c-axis, especially pronounced in EuFe2P2, is observed for at least one band, thus indicating that the Fe states, albeit probably affected at the surface, do not form pure two-dimensional surface states. We determine the evolution of the Fermi surface as a function of the P content and reveal that the hole Fermi surface pockets enlarge with increasing P content. We also show that the spectral weight near the Fermi level of EuFe2P2 is reduced as compared to that of EuFe2As2 and EuFe2As1.4P0.6. Finally, we identify the electronic states associated with the Eu(2+) f states and show an anomalous jump in EuFe2P2.

Design of an ultrahigh-energy-resolution and wide-energy-range soft X-ray beamline

A new ultrahigh-energy-resolution and wide-energy-range soft X-ray beamline has been designed and is under construction at the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility. The beamline has two branches: one dedicated to angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) and the other to photoelectron emission microscopy (PEEM). The two branches share the same plane-grating monochromator, which is equipped with four variable-line-spacing gratings and covers the 20-2000 eV energy range. Two elliptically polarized undulators are employed to provide photons with variable polarization, linear in every inclination and circular. The expected energy resolution is approximately 10 meV at 1000 eV with a flux of more than 3 × 10(10) photons s(-1) at the ARPES sample positions. The refocusing of both branches is based on Kirkpatrick-Baez pairs. The expected spot sizes when using a 10 µm exit slit are 15 µm × 5 µm (horizontal × vertical FWHM) at the ARPES station and 10 µm × 5 µm (horizontal × vertical FWHM) at the PEEM station. The use of plane optical elements upstream of the exit slit, a variable-line-spacing grating and a pre-mirror in the monochromator that allows the influence of the thermal deformation to be eliminated are essential for achieving the ultrahigh-energy resolution.

Pharmacokinetics and ex-vivo pharmacodynamics of cefquinome against Klebsiella pneumonia in healthy dogs

A two-period cross-over study was carried to investigate the pharmacokinetics (PK) and ex-vivo pharmacodynamics (PD) of cefquinome when administrated intravenously (IV) and intramuscularly (IM) in seven healthy dogs at a dose of 2 mg/kg of body weight. Serum concentrations were determined by HPLC-MS/MS assay and cefquinome concentration vs. time data after IV and IM were best fit to a two-compartment open model. Cefquinome mean values of area under concentration-time curve (AUC) were 5.15 μg · h/mL for IV dose and 4.59 μg · h/mL for IM dose. Distribution half-lives and elimination half-lives after IV dose and IM dose were 0.27 and 0.44 h, 1.53 and 1.94 h, respectively. Values of total body clearance (ClB ) and volume of distribution at steady-state (Vss ) were 0.49 L · kg/h and 0.81 L/kg, respectively. After IM dose, Cmax was 2.53 μg/mL and the bioavailability was 89.13%. For PD profile, the determined MIC and MBC values against K. pneumonia were 0.030 and 0.060 μg/mL in MHB and 0.032 and 0.064 μg/mL in serum. The ex vivo time-kill curves also were established in serum. In conjunction with the data on MIC, MBC values and the ex vivo bactericidal activity in serum, the present results allowed prediction that a single cefquinome dosage of 2 mg/kg may be effective in dogs against K. pneumonia infection.

Deregulation of let-7e in epithelial ovarian cancer promotes the development of resistance to cisplatin

Drug resistance remains a major clinical obstacle to successful treatment in ovarian cancer patients, and the evidence of microRNAs involvement in drug resistance has been emerging recently. In this report, we investigated the role of let-7e in the development of cisplatin-resistant ovarian cancer. On the cellular level, let-7e expression was significantly reduced in cisplatin-resistant human epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) cell line A2780/CP compared with parental A2780 cell and decreased in a concentration-dependent manner in A2780, SKOV3 and ES2 cells treated with cisplatin. Overexpression of let-7e by transfection of agomir could resensitize A2780/CP and reduce the expression of cisplatin-resistant-related proteins enhancer of zeste 2 (EZH2) and cyclin D1 (CCND1), whereas let-7e inhibitors increased resistance to cisplatin in parental A2780 cells. Quantitative methylation-specific PCR analysis showed hypermethylation of the CpG island adjacent to let-7e in A2780/CP cells, and demethylation treatment with 5-aza-CdR or transfection of pYr-let-7e-shRNA plasmid containing unmethylated let-7e DNA sequence could restore let-7e expression and partly reduce the chemoresistance. In addition, cisplatin combined with let-7e agomirs inhibited the growth of A2780/CP xenograft more effectively than cisplatin alone. Diminished expression of EZH2 and CCND1 and higher cisplatin concentrations in tumor tissue of mice subjected to administration of let-7e agomirs in addition to cisplatin were revealed by immunohistochemistry and atomic absorption spectroscopy, respectively. Taken together, our findings suggest that let-7e may act as a promising therapeutic target for improvement of the sensibility to cisplatin in EOC.

Clinical and epidemiological survey and analysis of the first case of human infection with avian influenza A(H7N9) virus in Hangzhou, China

To investigate and report on the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of the first case of human infection with avian influenza A(H7N9) virus in Hangzhou, China. A field epidemiological survey was used to study the first case in Hangzhou. The patient was a 39-year-old male chef with a history of exposure to a farm product market and to poultry prior to the onset of disease on 15 March 2013. He had diarrhea, chills, pyrexia, and intermittent cough with freshly red foamy bloody sputum early in his disease. His fever > 39 °C continued for a week with rapid progression. Computed tomography findings showed extensive bilateral consolidation, followed by multiorgan failure. The patient died on the morning of 27 March. His infection was eventually confirmed 1 week later on 3 April. Flu-like symptoms including fever and cough were found in 46 of his 138 close contacts. This was the first case of human infection with avian influenza A(H7N9) virus in Hangzhou. None of the close contacts had onset of the disease. The case patient’s condition progressed rapidly. The source of infection might be his exposure to the farm product market, but the mode of exposure remains unclear.

Pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic relationship of cefquinome against Pasteurella multocida in a tissue-cage model in yellow cattle

The cephalosporin antimicrobial drug cefquinome was administered to yellow cattle intravenously (i.v.) and intramuscularly (i.m.) at a dose of 1 mg/kg of body weight in a two-period crossover study. The pharmacokinetic (PK) properties of cefquinome in serum, inflamed tissue-cage fluid (exudate), and noninflamed tissue-cage fluid (transudate) were studied using a tissue-cage model. The in vitro and ex vivo activities of cefquinome in serum, exudate, and transudate against a pathogenic strain of Pasteurella multocida (P. multocida) were determined. A concentration-independent antimicrobial activity of cefquinome was confirmed for levels lower than 4 × MIC. Integration of in vivo pharmacokinetic data with the in vitro MIC provided mean values for the time that drug levels remain above the MIC (T > MIC) in serum was 14.10 h after intravenous and 14.46 h after intramuscular dosing, indicating a likely high level of effectiveness in clinical infections caused by P. multocida of MIC 0.04 μg/mL or less. These data may be used as a rational basis for setting dosing schedules, which optimize clinical efficacy and minimize the opportunities for emergence of resistant organisms.

Pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic relationship of marbofloxacin against Pasteurella multocida in a tissue-cage model in yellow cattle

The fluoroquinolone antimicrobial drug marbofloxacin was administered to yellow cattle intravenously and intramuscularly at a dose of 2 mg/kg of body weight in a two-period crossover study. The pharmacokinetic properties of marbofloxacin in serum, inflamed tissue-cage fluid (exudate), and noninflamed tissue-cage fluid (transudate) were studied by using a tissue-cage model. The in vitro and ex vivo activities of marbofloxacin in serum, exudate, and transudate against a pathogenic strain of Pasteurella multocida (P. multocida) were determined. Integration of in vivo pharmacokinetic data with the in vitro MIC provided mean values for the area under the curve (AUC)/MIC for serum, exudate, and transudate of 155.75, 153.00, and 138.88, respectively, after intravenous dosing and 160.50, 151.00, and 137.63, respectively, after intramuscular dosing. After intramuscular dosing, the maximum concentration/MIC ratios for serum, exudate, and transudate were 21.13, 9.13, and 8.38, respectively. The ex vivo growth inhibition data after intramuscular dosing were fitted to the inhibitory sigmoid Emax equation to provide the values of AUC/MIC required to produce bacteriostasis, bactericidal activity, and elimination of bacteria. The respective values for serum were 17.25, 31.29, and 109.62, and slightly lower values were obtained for transudate and exudate. It is proposed that these findings might be used with MIC50 or MIC90 data to provide a rational approach to the design of dosage schedules which optimize efficacy in respect of bacteriological as well as clinical cures.

A mobile-health system to manage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients at home

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in Australia and globally, and leads to a substantial burden on healthcare services. Effective and timely management of patients with COPD has been essential to alleviate COPD exacerbation, improve the quality of life, and consequently reduce the economic burden. To achieve this, a mobile and internet technologies assisted home care model (M-COPD) was developed to assist clinicians to remotely monitor and manage COPD conditions and events. This paper will focus on the technical aspect of M-COPD system by describing its setup and discussing how the M-COPD could address the clinical needs in monitoring and managing COPD conditions of patients at home.

[Phosphorylation-independent desensitization of metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 by G protein-coupled receptor kinase 2 in HEK 293 cells]

The metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5) is one of the important excitatory neurotransmitter receptors in the central nervous system, and its desensitization by G protein-coupled receptor kinases (GRKs) plays an important role in neuron protection against receptor overstimulation. It is reported that GRK2 could down-regulate the mGluR5 signaling in both HEK 293 cells and neurons. However, whether GRK2-mediated mGluR5 desensitization is phosphorylation dependent remains controversial. Here, we demonstrated that the signal intensity and kinetics of mGluRS desensitization was inhibited or changed by GRK2 in HEK 293 cells. By using the catalytically inactive GRK2 mutant K220R, and the receptor mutants that lack potential phosphorylation sites in the C-terminal tail, we demonstrated that the GRK2-mediated mGluR5 desensitization was phosphorylation-independent. Furthermore, overexpression of an N-terminal regulator of G protein signaling (RGS) homology (RH) domain of GRK2 was sufficient to attenuate the mGluR5 signaling, whereas the expression of GRK2 D110A mutant devoid in Galphaq binding was unable to inhibit mGluRS signaling. In summary, this study provides evidence that GRK2 mediates phosphorylation-independent mGluR5 desensitization via the interaction between the RGS domain and Galphaq in HEK 293 cells.

A novel allele: HLA-B*13:01:06, identified by sequence-based typing in a Chinese individual

HLA-B*13:01:06 has one nucleotide acid change (G→A) at position 219, at codon 49 (GCG→GCA) in exon2 without amino acid change (Ala→Ala).

[X-ray diagnostic machine synchronization control on EMC test]

This paper puts forward a new synchronous loading control method using EMC test system & X-ray diagnostic machine in the field of X-ray diagnostic machine on EMC test, solves it's recurrence problem.

Photonic wire biosensor microarray chip and instrumentation with application to serotyping of Escherichia coli isolates

A complete photonic wire molecular biosensor microarray chip architecture and supporting instrumentation is described. Chip layouts with 16 and 128 independent sensors have been fabricated and tested, where each sensor can provide an independent molecular binding curve. Each sensor is 50 μm in diameter, and consists of a millimeter long silicon photonic wire waveguide folded into a spiral ring resonator. An array of 128 sensors occupies a 2 × 2 mm2 area on a 6 × 9 mm2 chip. Microfluidic sample delivery channels are fabricated monolithically on the chip. The size and layout of the sensor array is fully compatible with commercial spotting tools designed to independently functionalize fluorescence based biochips. The sensor chips are interrogated using an instrument that delivers sample fluid to the chip and is capable of acquiring up to 128 optical sensor outputs simultaneously and in real time. Coupling light from the sensor chip is accomplished through arrays of sub-wavelength surface grating couplers, and the signals are collected by a fixed two-dimensional detector array. The chip and instrument are designed so that connection of the fluid delivery system and optical alignment are automated, and can be completed in a few seconds with no active user input. This microarray system is used to demonstrate a multiplexed assay for serotyping E. coli bacteria using serospecific polyclonal antibody probe molecules.

Abstract A50: Nanobiocojugates of differential imaging and treatment of brain metastatic tumors

Introduction: A significant clinical problem with brain metastatic (BM) tumors is drug delivery and diagnostic imaging to verify MRI enhancement(s) for planning treatment. MRI enhancement in cancer patient's brain might result from infection after chemotherapy that impairs immune system; metastasis from primary lung/breast cancer; or a new primary brain tumor. Unlike lung/breast, brain biopsies are often technically impossible. Therefore, there is urgent need for the development of effective theranostic (dual therapy and diagnostic) systems against brain metastatic cancer.

Most chemotherapeutic drugs or therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAb), Trastuzumab, Cetuximab, and Rituximab, are effective for primary tumor treatment but cannot penetrate blood brain barrier (BBB) failing to treat brain metastasis.

We used a natural nanobiopolymer, polymalic acid (PMLA), as a nanoplatform for the family of tumor-targeted PolycefinTM drugs to provide differential brain tumor imaging and treatment.

Methods: Three xenogeneic orthotropic human brain metastatic tumors, MDA-MB-474, HER2+ breast cancer; A549 lung cancer, and MDA-MB-468, triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), both EGFR+, were inoculated stereotactically into the brain of mice.

For diagnostic imaging, PolycefinTM was used with covalently attached MRI tracer Gadolinium (Gd-DOTA). Morpholino antisense oligonucleotides (AON) were conjugated to PolycefinTM to specifically inhibit gene/protein expression to block tumor growth. The combination of cell surface targeting mAbs, including anti-transferrin receptor (TfR) mAb for drug BBB transcytosis, and AONs to multiple tumor markers on the same delivery polymer was used for anti-tumor treatment.

MRI 1H imaging was performed on a 9.4-Tesla small animal MRI system. Treatment groups of animals included (1) HER2+ MDA-MB-474 breast cancer metastases targeted with PMLA-Gd-DOTA/HER2 mAb/TfR mAb; (2) EGFR+ MDA-MB-468 TNBC metastases targeted with PMLA-Gd-DOTA/EGFR mAb/TfR mAb; and (3) Controls for all treatments inoculated with PMLA-IgG mAb and clinical Gd.

Unpublished Results. Imaging: Dynamic T1 analysis. Similar data for specific tumor imaging were obtained for brain-implanted lung and breast tumors: the inverse of T1-1 relaxation time (proportional to Gd concentration) was measured in healthy brain part and in the tumor. T1-1 time dependence for Gd-DOTA-Polycefin (T1-1 ratio tumor/normal brain) was compared with clinically used Gd MRI agent, MultiHance®. After reaching a maximum, high T1-1 relative values prevailed for several hours for Gd-DOTA-mAb-Polycefin, but declined rapidly for Gd. High contrast for Gd was seen in 20 min, whereas that for Gd-DOTA-Polycefin peaked in 45-60 min, and remained for up to 3 hrs. By differential MRI with anti-HER2 (Trastuzumab) or anti-EFGR (Cetuximab) mAb attached covalently to the nanoplatform, we were able to differentiate HER2+ from EGFR+ metastatic brain tumors with corresponding imaging controls.

Treatment: Animal survival after Polycefin treatment of various brain metastases was significantly higher than in untreated (PBS) or therapeutic mAb (Herceptin or Cetuximab) treated animals. These survival increases were as follows: 66% for lung cancer metastasis, 47% for HER2+ breast cancer metastasis, and 81% for TNBC metastasis.

Conclusions. We have developed a system for differential imaging and treatment of various metastatic brain tumors based on specific metastasis targeting, and inhibition of expression of tumor-specific genes/proteins. Systemic treatment with this system resulted in significantly increased survival of brain metastatic tumor-bearing animals.

Citation Format: Julia Y. Ljubimova, R. Patil, P. Gangalum, S. Wagner, S. Inoue, H. Ding, J. Portilla, K. Rekechenetskiy, K. Bindu, J. Markman, A. Chesnokova, K. L. Black, E. Holler. Nanobiocojugates of differential imaging and treatment of brain metastatic tumors. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Tumor Invasion and Metastasis; Jan 20-23, 2013; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(3 Suppl):Abstract nr A50.

Guidelines and good clinical practice recommendations for contrast enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in the liver--update 2012: a WFUMB-EFSUMB initiative in cooperation with representatives of AFSUMB, AIUM, ASUM, FLAUS and ICUS

Initially, a set of guidelines for the use of ultrasound contrast agents was published in 2004 dealing only with liver applications. A second edition of the guidelines in 2008 reflected changes in the available contrast agents and updated the guidelines for the liver, as well as implementing some non-liver applications. Time has moved on, and the need for international guidelines on the use of CEUS in the liver has become apparent. The present document describes the third iteration of recommendations for the hepatic use of contrast enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) using contrast specific imaging techniques. This joint WFUMB-EFSUMB initiative has implicated experts from major leading ultrasound societies worldwide. These liver CEUS guidelines are simultaneously published in the official journals of both organizing federations (i.e., Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology for WFUMB and Ultraschall in der Medizin/European Journal of Ultrasound for EFSUMB). These guidelines and recommendations provide general advice on the use of all currently clinically available ultrasound contrast agents (UCA). They are intended to create standard protocols for the use and administration of UCA in liver applications on an international basis and improve the management of patients worldwide.

Evolution from a nodeless gap to d(x(2)-y(2))-wave in underdoped La(2-x)Sr(x)CuO4

Using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), it is revealed that the low-energy electronic excitation spectra of highly underdoped superconducting and nonsuperconducting La(2-x)Sr(x)CuO(4) cuprates are gapped along the entire underlying Fermi surface at low temperatures. We show how the gap function evolves to a d(x(2)-y(2)) form with increasing temperature or doping, consistent with the vast majority of ARPES studies of cuprates. Our results provide essential information for uncovering the symmetry of the order parameter(s) in strongly underdoped cuprates, which is a prerequisite for understanding the pairing mechanism and how superconductivity emerges from a Mott insulator.

A mobile phone enabled health promotion program for middle-aged males

The prevalence of chronic diseases among middle aged males outweigh their female counterparts in developed countries. To prevent this, delivery of health promotion programs targeting lifestyle modifications of physical activity and nutrition in middle-aged males has been essential, but often difficult. ManUp health promotion program was a recent initiative that uses current advances in information and communication technology (ICT) to reach the middle-aged males. One of the key components of the ICT approach was the development of smartphone application to enable middle-aged men to uptake the program with their own mobile phone. The smart phone application was aimed at providing varied level of challenges towards physical activity and healthy eating behavior, with interactive and motivational feedback SMS messages. The ManUp program was recently implemented and trialed in a randomized control trial in Gladstone and Rockhampton, Queens. This paper describes the components of the smart phone application integrated within the ManUp health promotion program.