Structural evolution in the neutron-rich nuclei ¹⁰⁶Zr and ¹⁰⁸Zr

The low-lying states in ¹⁰⁶Zr and ¹⁰⁸Zr have been investigated by means of β-γ and isomer spectroscopy at the radioactive isotope beam factory (RIBF), respectively. A new isomer with a half-life of 620 ± 150 ns has been identified in ¹⁰⁸Zr. For the sequence of even-even Zr isotopes, the excitation energies of the first 2⁺ states reach a minimum at N = 64 and gradually increase as the neutron number increases up to N = 68, suggesting a deformed subshell closure at N = 64. The deformed ground state of ¹⁰⁸Zr indicates that a spherical subshell gap predicted at N = 70 is not large enough to change the ground state of ¹⁰⁸Zr to the spherical shape. The possibility of a tetrahedral shape isomer in ¹⁰⁸Zr is also discussed.

Temporalis muscle flap for immediate reconstruction of maxillary defects: review of 39 cases

This study evaluated the advantages and complications associated with immediate reconstruction of maxillary defects after maxillectomy and the relationship between defect tissues classification and postoperative results after using the temporalis muscle flap. In this retrospective study, the records of 39 patients who underwent immediate reconstruction surgery using temparolis myofascial flap following maxillectomy from April 1989 to February 2009 were reviewed. Demographic data, features of the disease, follow-up, outcome and complications were analysed. Patients were classified into three groups, to ascertain the influence between defect classification and functional results, aesthetic outcomes and complications in each group. Of the 39 cases, all tissue flaps survived. 5 patients underwent postoperative radiotherapy, which did not seem to influence the outcome of the reconstructive procedure. There was one case of oroantral fistula, which could easily be obturated with the prosthesis. One patient developed haematoma in the donor site 5 days after surgery. Postoperative speech was good, facial appearance was normal and ocular function remained unchanged. Postoperative aesthetic and functional results were satisfying. The temporalis muscle flap can be considered as a first-line reconstructive option for maxillary defects. Acceptable functional and aesthetic outcomes can be expected in high rates.

Proposal for photonic quantization with differential encoding using a phase modulator and delay-line interferometers

A photonic quantization approach to implementing analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) in the optical domain with differential encoding employing a phase modulator and delay-line interferometers (DLIs) is proposed and demonstrated. In the proposed ADC system, the phase-modulated signal is sent to an array of DLIs that have identical time delay difference, but different phase shifts, which are employed to achieve quantization with differential encoding. A proof-of-concept experiment is performed. The quantization of a 10 GHz sinusoidal signal with a bit length of 4 is experimentally demonstrated.

Contrast-enhanced ultrasound imaging of active bleeding associated with hepatic and splenic trauma

PURPOSE

The aim of this study was to evaluate contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) imaging of active bleeding from hepatic and splenic trauma.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Three hundred and ninety-two patients with liver or/and spleen trauma (179 liver and 217 spleen injuries), who underwent CEUS examinations following contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT), were enrolled in this retrospective study over a period of >4 years. CEUS detected contrast medium extravasation or pooling in 16% (63/396) of liver or spleen lesions in 61 patients, which was confirmed by contrast-enhanced CT. Special attention was paid to observing the presence, location, and characteristics of the extravasated or pooled contrast medium.

RESULTS

The CEUS detection rate for active bleeding was not different from that of contrast-enhanced CT (p=0.333). Information from surgery, minimally invasive treatment and conservative treatment was used as reference standard, and the sensitivities of the two techniques were not different (p=0.122). Of 63 lesions in 61 patients, CEUS showed that 74.6% (47/63) (21 liver lesions and 26 spleen lesions) presented contrast medium extravasation or pooling, both in the organ and out the capsule, in 14.3% (9/63) and only outside the capsule in 11.1% (7/63). CEUS imaging of active bleeding from hepatic and splenic trauma presented various characteristics, and the sizes and shapes of the active bleeding due to contrast medium extravasation or pooling were variable.

CONCLUSIONS

CEUS can show the active bleeding associated with hepatic and splenic trauma with various imaging characteristics, thus making it possible to diagnose active bleeding using CEUS.

C10ORF97 is a novel tumor-suppressor gene of non-small-cell lung cancer and a functional variant of this gene increases the risk of non-small-cell lung cancer

In an earlier study we showed that C10ORF97 (chromosome-10, open reading frame-97) was expressed in almost all of the tissues and cell lines tested, and that it inhibited the growth of seven tumor cell lines, including two lung carcinoma cell lines (A549 and PG). Here, we show that C10ORF97 is downregulated in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tissue compared with normal lung tissue. Overexpression of C10ORF97 significantly suppressed human lung carcinoma A549 cell growth (proliferation and anchorage-independent growth in soft agar) and motility (migration and adhesion). This tumor-suppressive function of C10ORF97 was also verified in vivo. We further found that C10ORF97 caused G(1) arrest of A549 cells and modulated the expression level of several cell-cycle regulators (such as CDK2, cyclin-E and p27). These effects of C10ORF97 were mediated by physical association between C10ORF97 and Jun-activating domain-binding protein-1 (JAB1), and blocking of JAB1-mediated translocation of p27 from the nucleus to the cytoplasm. Together, these results indicated that C10ORF97 functions as a novel tumor suppressor by modulating several key G(1)/S-regulatory proteins by interacting with JAB1. These findings led us to hypothesize that a single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the C10ORF97 gene that affects its expression might be associated with susceptibility to NSCLC. SNP216 C>T (rs2297882) in the C10ORF97 Kozak sequence was identified, and allele T of SNP216 suppressed C10ORF97 expression in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, the TT genotype of SNP216 was associated with an increased risk of NSCLC (adjusted odds ratio=1.73 (95% confidence interval: 1.33-2.25), P=4.6 × 10(-5)). These data indicated that C10ORF97 is a tumor suppressor of NSCLC progression and C10ORF97-SNP216 may serve as a predictor of NSCLC.

Polyhedral silver mesocages for single particle surface-enhanced Raman scattering-based biosensor

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering-based signal detection and molecular identification faces the lack of reproducibility and reliability thus hampers its practical applications. Here, we demonstrate a facile particle mediated aggregation protocol to synthesize highly roughened mesosuperstructure--silver polyhedral mesocages. The individual silver octahedral mesocage, owing to highly-roughed surface topography, anisotropic growth as well as intraparticle effect, creates homogenously distributed multiple effective hot spots on the surface of single mesoparticle, hereby exhibits a high reproducibility and an unusual SERS enhancement, i.e., ∼ 10(8)-10(9) magnitude. As such, the current protocol opens avenues for the fabrication of structurally reproducible mesosuperstructure-based SERS sensors.

The expression of Sirtuins 1 and 4 in peripheral blood leukocytes from patients with type 2 diabetes

This study was designed to investigate the relationship between SIRTs 1 and 4 in peripheral blood leukocytes (PBLs) and human type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). SIRTs 1 and 4 have been confirmed to be associated with homeostasis of glucose/lipid metabolism, but their roles in T2DM are still poorly understood. Peripheral blood and biochemical data were collected from 52 healthy individuals (normal control group, NC group) and 113 cases of T2DM patients. Immunocytochemical staining was used to detect SIRT1 and SIRT4 and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to detect SIRT1 or SIRT4 mRNA levels in PBLs. Immunocytochemical staining showed that SIRT1 is expressed in both nucleus and cytoplasm, and SIRT4 in the cytoplasm of granulocytes and monocytes. No SIRT1 or SIRT4 was found in lymphocytes. RT-PCR showed that SIRT1 and SIRT4 mRNA levels in T2DM group were lower than those in NC group (P<0.01). Correlation analysis showed that there is a negative correlation between SIRTs 1 and 4 and fasting plasma glucose (FPG) (P<0.05) (r= -0.161 and -0.156), a positive correlation between SIRT4 mRNA levels and triglyceride (TG)/lipoprotein a (LPa) levels (P<0.05), and a negative correlation between SIRT4 mRNA levels and high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL) (P<0.05). SIRTs 1 and 4 may have a role in the pathogenesis of T2DM and their expression in granulocytes and monocytes may indirectly reflect the homeostasis of glucose/lipid metabolism in T2DM.