Preparation and characterization of rare earth modified nanocrystalline Al2O3/13 wt%TiO2 feedstock for plasma spraying

The preparation and characterization of RE modified nanocrystalline Al2O3/13 wt%TiO2 feedstock for plasma spraying are described in this paper. Taking individual nano particles as starting materials, by wet ball milling, spray drying, sintering and plasma treating, nanocrystalline plasma sprayable feedstock is prepared. The as-prepared feedstocks were analyzed by XRD, SEM, EDS, TEM and HRTEM methods. As shown from analyses results, the reconstituted agglomerate feedstock possesses spherical geometry, proper particle size, homogeneous composition distribution and nano scaled grains. There are three dimensional net structures in the prepared feedstock, which could be retained in coatings if the feedstock does not melt or partially melts during the plasma spray process. The three dimensional net structures could play an important role in improving crack propagation resistance and wear resistance of coatings. The reconstitution process and characterization methods discussed in this paper can also be applied to prepare intraclass nanocrystalline feedstock such as ZrO2/Y2O3 and Cr2O3 et al.

Charge order in LuFe2O4: antiferroelectric ground state and coupling to magnetism

X-ray scattering by multiferroic LuFe2O4 is reported. Below 320 K, superstructure reflections indicate an incommensurate charge order with propagation close to (1/3 1/3 3/2). The corresponding charge configuration, also found by electronic structure calculations as most stable, contains polar Fe/O double layers with antiferroelectric stacking. Diffuse scattering at 360 K, with (1/3 1/3 0) propagation, indicates ferroelectric short-range correlations between neighboring double layers. The temperature dependence of the incommensuration indicates that charge order and magnetism are coupled.

Imaging findings of extraventricular neurocytoma: report of 3 cases and review of the literature

Extraventricular neurocytoma (EVN) is rare entity with similar biologic behavior and histopathologic characteristics to neurocytomas that occur in the lateral ventricles, according to the 2007 World Health Organization classification. We report the cases of 3 patients with extraventricular neurocytoma, which presented as large tumors in the left frontal and parietal lobes and in the sellar region. MR imaging showed cystic degeneration, calcification and/or hemorrhage, intense enhancement, and perilesional edema. EVN should be considered in the differential diagnosis for large, heterogeneous, enhancing brain tumors that occur in young people.

Three-dimensional magnetic correlations in multiferroic LuFe2O4

We present single crystal neutron diffraction measurements on multiferroic LuFe(2)O(4). Magnetic reflections are observed below transitions at 240 and 175 K indicating that the magnetic interactions in LuFe(2)O(4) are three-dimensional in character. The magnetic structure is refined as a ferrimagnetic spin configuration below the 240 K transition. Below 175 K a significant broadening of the magnetic peaks is observed along with the buildup of a diffuse component to the magnetic scattering.

Quantum spin correlations in an organometallic alternating-sign chain

High resolution neutron scattering is used to study excitations in the organometallic magnet (CH3)2NH2CuCl3 (DMACuCl3). Combined with bulk magnetization and susceptibility studies, the new results imply that DMACuCl3 is a realization of the S=1/2 alternating antiferromagnetic-ferromagnetic (AFM-FM) chain. Coupled-cluster calculations indicate that the AFM and FM interactions have nearly the same strength, while analysis of scattering intensities shows evidence for interdimer spin correlations. Results are discussed in the context of recent ideas concerning quantum entanglement.

Changes of cytosol glucocorticoid receptor and renal Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase activity after swimming training in rat

AIM

The aim of this study was to determine whether the down-regulation of glucocorticoid receptor (GR) by physical changes in plasma glucocorticoid hormones (GCs) is accompanied by changes in the responsiveness of target cells to GCs in rats.

METHODS

Normal male Sprague-Dawley rats were left to swim for 60 min. At 15 min and at 3, 12, 24 h after swimming training, groups of rats were sacrificed.

RESULTS

The results show that exposure of rats to a 60-min swimming stress provokes corticosterone secretion, which results in a rapid depletion of GR from renal cytosol and the subsequent induction of the renal Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase. By employing RU38486 and Trilostane before swimming training, both the effects of GCs on regulating GR binding activity and related changes in GR binding capacity to Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase activity are also investigated. RU38486 was shown to reduce GR by about 80% and the inducing effort of GCs on Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase was prevented by pretreatment of RU38486 and Trilostane.

CONCLUSION

These data suggest that physiological fluctuations in endogenous hormone secretion are sufficient to result not only in substantial cytosol GR down-regulation, but in a coordinate physiological response.

Odontogenic tumours: a retrospective study of 1642 cases in a Chinese population

A total of 1642 odontogenic tumour cases retrieved from the files of the College of Stomatology, Sichuan University, China were retrospectively analyzed for gender, age, tumour site and relative frequency of various types, and the data compared with that of previous reports. The final diagnosis in each case was based on the WHO 2005 histopathological classification of odontogenic tumours. Of these tumours 1592 (97.0%) were benign and 50 (3.0%) were malignant. Ameloblastoma (40.3%) was the most frequent type, followed by keratocystic odontogenic tumour (35.8%), odontoma (4.7%) and odontogenic myxoma (4.6%). The mean age of the patients was 32.1, with a wide range (3-84 years). The male-female ratio and maxilla-mandible ratio were 1.4:1 and 1:4.0, respectively. Ameloblastoma and keratocystic odontogenic tumours, important indications of extensive surgical procedures, are not considered rare in this Chinese population, whereas odontoma is uncommon.

Origin of the Mesozoic magmatism in the North China Craton: constraints from petrological and geochemical data

Voluminous plutonic and volcanic rocks were emplaced in the eastern part of the North China Craton (NCC) in the Mesozoic. The Mesozoic igneous rocks include a variety of rock types ranging from monzogabbroic, through monzonitic to monzogranitic, and locally to syenitic. Monzonitic rocks are dominant, and frequently contain mafic enclaves (dioritic in composition). The principal geochemical signatures of these Mesozoic rocks include high-K calc-alkaline to shoshonitic affinity, high Sr–Ba abundances and high Sr/Y, La/Yb, and highly enriched Sr–Nd isotopic compositions with εNd(t) ranging from −8 to −20 and ISr from 0.7053 to 0.710. Zircon sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe dating reveals that these Mesozoic rocks formed between 180 Ma and 120 Ma, but are predominantly confined to a narrow range of 135–127 Ma. The sudden surge of Mesozoic magmatism was genetically linked to the upwelling of asthenosphere in a back-arc extensional regime that was caused by subduction of the palaeo-pacific plate beneath the eastern NCC. Upwelling of hot asthenospheric mantle material triggered partial melting of enriched subcontinental lithosperic mantle, generating voluminous mafic magmas. The mafic magmas underplated in the lower crust and sparked melting of the latter, producting granitic melts. We suggest that the Mesozoic rocks in the NCC probably originated from mixing between the coeval mafic and granitic melts, followed by fractionation of ferromagnesian phases and subordinate plagioclase, rather than from melting of mafic lower crust as previously suggested by many others.

Novel IRF6 mutations in Chinese patients with Van der Woude syndrome

Van der Woude syndrome (VWS) (OMIM 119300) is a dominantly inherited, developmental disorder that is characterized by pits and/or sinuses of the lower lip and a cleft lip and/or cleft palate. Mutations in the interferon regulatory factor 6 gene (IRF6) have been recently identified in patients with VWS, with more than 60 mutations reported. However, the VWS phenotype, IRF6 mutation genotypes, and their interrelationships in Chinese VWS patients have not been studied. Here, we report 11 Chinese families with variable clinical phenotypes of VWS and identified mutations in all patients. Of the 11 mutations, 8 appeared to be novel: CC5.6GT, T342A, 566delA, C748T, C756A, C989A, C1209G, and 1316delT. Seven mutations caused a change or loss of the IRF6 domain. The marked phenotypic variation may be caused by the action of certain modifier genes on IRF6 function.

Probing Nanoscale Ferroelectricity by Ultraviolet Raman Spectroscopy

We demonstrated that ultraviolet Raman spectroscopy is an effective technique to measure the transition temperature (Tc) in ferroelectric ultrathin films and superlattices. We showed that one-unit-cell-thick BaTiO3 layers in BaTiO3/SrTiO3 superlattices are not only ferroelectric (with Tc as high as 250 kelvin) but also polarize the quantum paraelectric SrTiO3 layers adjacent to them. Tc was tuned by approximately 500 kelvin by varying the thicknesses of the BaTiO3 and SrTiO3 layers, revealing the essential roles of electrical and mechanical boundary conditions for nanoscale ferroelectricity.

Serological identification and bioinformatics analysis of immunogenic antigens in multiple myeloma

Identifying appropriate tumor antigens is critical to the development of successful specific cancer immunotherapy. Serological analysis of tumor antigens by a recombinant cDNA expression library (SEREX) allows the systematic cloning of tumor antigens recognized by the spontaneous autoantibody repertoire of cancer patients. We applied SEREX to the cDNA expression library of cell line HMy2, which led to the isolation of six known characterized genes and 12 novel genes. Known genes, including ring finger protein 167, KLF10, TPT1, p02 protein, cDNA FLJ46859 fis, and DNMT1, were related to the development of different tumors. Bioinformatics was performed to predict 12 novel MMSA (multiple myeloma special antigen) genes. The prediction of tumor antigens provides potential targets for the immunotherapy of patients with multiple myeloma (MM) and help in the understanding of carcinogenesis. Crude lysate ELISA methodology indicated that the optical density value of MMSA-3 and MMSA-7 were significantly higher in MM patients than in healthy donors. Furthermore, SYBR Green real-time PCR showed that MMSA-1 presented with a high number of copy messages in MM. In summary, the antigens identified in this study may be potential candidates for diagnosis and targets for immunotherapy in MM.

MICA-STR, HLA-B haplotypic diversity and linkage disequilibrium in the Hunan Han population of southern China

Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I chain-related gene A (MICA) is located 46 kb centromeric to HLA-B and encodes a stress-inducible protein. MICA allelic variation is thought to be associated with disease susceptibility and immune response to transplants. This study was aimed to investigate the haplotypic diversity and linkage disequilibrium between human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-B and (GCT)(n) short tandem repeat in exon 5 of MICA gene (MICA-STR) in a southern Chinese Han population. Fifty-eight randomly selected nuclear families with 183 members including 85 unrelated parental samples were collected in Hunan province, southern China. HLA-B generic typing was performed by polymerase chain reaction-sequence-specific priming (PCR-SSP), and samples showing novel HLA-B-MICA-STR linkage were further typed for HLA-B allelic variation by high-resolution PCR-SSP. MICA-STR allelic variation and MICA gene deletion (MICA*Del) were detected by fluorescent PCR-size sequencing and PCR-SSP. Haplotype was determined through family segregation analysis. Statistical analysis was applied to the data of the 85 unrelated parental samples. Nineteen HLA-B specificities and seven MICA-STR allelic variants were observed in 85 unrelated parental samples, the most predominant of which were HLA-B*46, -B60, -B*13, and -B*15, and MICA*A5, MICA*A5.1 and MICA*A4, respectively. Genotype distributions of HLA-B, MICA-STR loci were consistent with Hardy-Weinberg proportions. The HLA-B-MICA-STR haplotypic phases of all 85 unrelated parental samples were unambiguously assigned, which contained 30 kinds of HLA-B, MICA-STR haplotypic combinations, nine of them have not been reported in the literature. Significant positive linkage disequilibria between certain HLA-B and MICA-STR alleles, including HLA-B*13 and MICA*A4, HLA-B*38 and MICA*A9, HLA-B*58 and MICA*A9, HLA-B*46 and MICA*A5, HLA-B*51 and MICA*A6, HLA-B*52 and MICA*A6, and HLA-B60 and MICA*A5.1, were observed. HLA-B*48 was linked to MICA*A5, MICA*A5.1 and MICA*Del. HLA-B*5801-MICA*A10 linkage was found in a family. Our data indicated a high degree of haplotypic diversity and strong linkage disequilibrium between MICA-STR and HLA-B in a southern Chinese Han population, the data will inform future studies on anthropology, donor-recipient HLA matching in clinical transplantation and HLA-linked disease association.

Oxaliplatin/CF/5-FU versus paclitaxel/CF/5-FU in patients with advanced gastric cancer: A phase II clinical trial

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Background: Although many randomized trials of chemotherapy for advanced gastric cancer have been reported during the past two decades, no standard regimens worldwide have been established yet. Now Paclitaxel and Oxaliplatin have shown promising activity in advanced gastric cancer. We prospectively evaluated toxicity, efficacy and survival of Oxaliplatin /CF/5-FU versus Paclitaxel/CF/5-FU. Methods: Metastatic or locally advanced gastric cancer; performance status (PS) 0–2. Patients (pts) were enrolled and randomized into arm A with Oxaliplatin 100mg/m2, 5-FU 400 mg/m2 bolus, FA 200 mg/m2 2h, 5-FU 2500 mg/m2 46h, q2w or into arm B with Paclitaxel 80 mg/m2, 5-FU 400 mg/m2 bolus, FA 200 mg/m2 2h, 5-FU 2500 mg/m2 46h, q2w. Results: From 2000 to 2005, (A/B) 46/43 pts were enrolled into this study. Median age (52/50 y), gender, PS, localization and numbers of metastatic sites were comparable for both arms. Pts who were not chemotherapy naive in A/B (% of pts) were 41.3/33.3. All pts were eligible and evaluable for toxicity and response. Overall response (CR+PR) rate for A/B (% of pts): 37.0/47.2 (p<0.05), tumor control rate (CR+PR+SD) 76.1/69.4(p<0.05). Median time to progression (TTP) were for A/B: 6.0 and 3.2 months. And median survival time for A/B were 13.4 and 13.8 months. Grade 3/4 toxicities were for A/B (% of pts): neutropenia 10.9/5.6, thrombocytopenia 4.3/2.8, anemia 0/2.8, vomiting 8.7/2.8, neurotoxic 0/2. No treatment-related death occurred in A/B. Conclusions: Oxaliplatin /CF/5-FU and Paclitaxel/CF/5-FU are both effective and safe in advanced or metastatic gastric cancer. Though Oxaliplatin /CF/5-FU had better tumor control rate and median TTP, there was no difference between the arms in the median survival time.

No significant financial relationships to disclose.

Effect of dendritic cell vaccine against a tongue squamous cell cancer cell line (Tca8113) in vivo and in vitro

Dendritic cells (DCs), as primary antigen-presenting cells with the capacity to activate naïve T lymphocytes, are considered to be promising adjuvants for immunity against cancer. In this study, the effect of T lymphocyte-mediated immunity induced by a DC vaccine against Tca8113 cells in vivo and in vitro was evaluated. DCs were from human peripheral blood monocytes cultured in the presence of granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor, interleukin 4 and/or tumour necrosis factor alpha, and stimulated with Tca8113 cell lysate prepared by the freeze-thaw method. The autologous T cells activated by these DCs were used in an in vitro MTT assay to detect their tumouricidal activity and investigated for their anti-tumour effect in vivo by administration to nude mice with implanted tumours (Tca8113). An adequate number of DCs were successfully generated from the monocytes. The T cells activated by the DC-based vaccine killed Tca8113 cells in vitro (P<0.01), postponed tumour doubling time of the implanted tumours in nude mice (P<0.01) and inhibited the growth of the tumours (P<0.05). These results show that DCs from monocytes induce a lymphocyte-mediated immune response against tongue squamous carcinoma, and could be used as a vehicle for tumour antigens.