1: Mass asymmetric fission barriers for {sup 98}Mo; 2: Synthesis and characterization of actinide-specific chelating agents

Excitation functions have been measured for complex fragment emission from the compound nucleus {sup 98}Mo, produced by the reaction of {sup 86}Kr with {sup 12}C. Mass asymmetric fission barriers have been obtained by fitting the excitation functions with a transition state formalism. The extracted barriers are {approximately} 5.7 MeV higher, on average, than the calculations of the Rotating Finite Range Model (RFRM). These data clearly show an isospin dependence of the conditional barriers when compared with the extracted barriers from {sup 90}Mo and {sup 94}Mo. Eleven different liquid/liquid extractants were synthesized based upon the chelating moieties 3,2-HOPO and 3,4-HOPO; additionally, two liquid/liquid extractants based upon the 1,2-HOPO chelating moiety were obtained for extraction studies. The Pu(IV) extractions, quite surprisingly, yielded results that were very different from the Fe(III) extractions. The first trend remained the same: the 1,2-HOPOs were the best extractants, followed closely by the 3,2-HOPOs, followed by the 3,4-HOPOs; but in these Pu(IV) extractions the 3,4-HOPOs performed much better than in the Fe(III) extractions. 129 refs

Evaluación del uso de los Encabezamientos de materia en el catálogo colectivo CIRBIC frente al uso de palabras de cualquier campo para la recuperación de la información

El objeto del estudio es evaluar la recuperación temática de documentos en el catálogo CIRBIC-Libros partiendo de la búsqueda en los ficheros de palabras PA (no controlado por generarse de cualquier campo bibliográfico), y PTL y PMT (controlados ya que provienen de encabezamientos normalizados: títulos y series y encabezamientos de materia)

Dinâmica da assimilação primária bruta da soja no sul do Brasil.

O Brasil é um dos maiores produtores agrícolas do mundo. Com isto, uma vasta área do território brasileiro é coberto por culturas que influenciam diretamente no balanço anual de carbono entre a superfície terrestre e a atmosfera

Calibration of the response function of CsI(Tl) scintillators to intermediate-energy heavy ions

Abstract The response function of 2-cm-thick CsI(Tl) scintillators with photodiode readouts were studied by directly exposing the detectors to beams of heavy ions (2≤Z≤36) with energy up to 25 MeV/u. The dependence of the light output on the energy (E) as well as on the atomic number and the mass of the ion is analyzed and discussed, and a parameterization of the light output as a function of Z and E is proposed

Estimativa do coeficiente de cultura (kc) para um sistema de rotação de culturas de trigo e soja.

O coeficiente de cultura (KC) é a razão entre a evapotranspiração real (ET) de uma cultura e a evapotranspiração de referência (Eto), definida pelas características que distinguem a evapotranspiração da superfície cultivada da superfície de referência

Evapotranspiração de cultura e real nas culturas de soja e trigo no sul do Brasil.

A evapotranspiração da cultura (ETc) representa a máxima perda de água que certa cultura sofre em dado estádio de desenvolvimento quando não há restrição de água no solo

Frequent loss of endothelin-3 (EDN3) expression due to epigenetic inactivation in human breast cancer

Introduction: Endothelin (EDN) signalling plays a crucial role in cell differentiation, proliferation and migration processes. There is compelling evidence that altered EDN signalling is involved in carcinogenesis by modulating cell survival and promoting invasiveness. To date, most reports have focused on the oncogenic potential of EDN1 and EDN2, both of which are overexpressed in various tumour entities. Here, we aimed at a first comprehensive analysis on EDN3 expression and its implication in human breast cancer. Methods: EDN3 mRNA expression was assessed by Northern blotting in normal human tissues (n = 9) as well as in matched pairs of normal and tumourous tissues from breast specimens (n = 50). EDN3 mRNA expression in breast cancer was further validated by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) (n = 77). A tissue microarray was used to study EDN3 protein expression in breast carcinoma (n = 150) and normal breast epithelium (n = 44). EDN3 promoter methylation was analysed by methylation-specific PCR in breast cell lines (n = 6) before and after demethylating treatment, normal breast tissues (n = 17) and primary breast carcinomas (n = 128). EDN3 expression and methylation data were statistically correlated with clinical patient characteristics and patient outcome. Results: Loss of EDN3 mRNA expression in breast cancer, as initially detected by array-based expression profiling, could be confirmed by Northern blot analysis (> 2-fold loss in 96%) and real-time PCR (> 2-fold loss in 78%). Attenuated EDN3 expression in breast carcinoma was also evident at the protein level (45%) in association with adverse patient outcome in univariate (P = 0.022) and multivariate (hazard ratio 2.0; P = 0.025) analyses. Hypermethylation of the EDN3 promoter could be identified as the predominant mechanism leading to gene silencing. Reversion of the epigenetic lock by 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine and trichostatin A resulted in EDN3 mRNA reexpression in vitro. Furthermore, EDN3 promoter hypermethylation was detected in 70% of primary breast carcinomas with significant association to loss of EDN3 mRNA expression (P = 0.005), whilst normal matched breast tissues revealed no EDN3 promoter methylation. Conclusions EDN3 is a frequent target of epigenetic inactivation in human breast cancer, potentially contributing to imbalanced EDN signalling commonly found in this disease. The clinical implication supports the view that EDN3, in contrast to EDN1 and EDN2, may act as natural tumour suppressor in the human mammary gland

Ad Hoc Reviewers-Journal of Macromarketing Volume 33, Number 4, December 2013

[No abstract available

Wnt signalling in human breast cancer: expression of the putative Wnt inhibitor Dickkopf-3 (DKK3) is frequently suppressed by promoter hypermethylation in mammary tumours

INTRODUCTION: Expression of the putative Wnt signalling inhibitor Dickkopf-3 (DKK3) is frequently lost in human cancer tissues because of aberrant 5'-cytosine methylation within the DKK3 gene promoter. Since other Wnt signalling inhibitors have been reported to be targets of epigenetic inactivation in human breast cancer, we questioned if DKK3 expression is also epigenetically silenced during breast carcinogenesis and therefore might contribute to oncogenic Wnt signalling commonly found in this disease. METHODS: DKK3 mRNA expression and DKK3 promoter methylation were determined by RT-PCR, realtime PCR and methylation-specific PCR in breast cell lines (n = 9), normal breast tissues (n = 19) and primary breast carcinomas (n = 150), respectively. In vitro DNA demethylation was performed by incubating breast cell lines with 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine and trichostatin A. DKK3 protein expression was analysed by immunohistochemistry in breast carcinomas (n = 16) and normal breast tissues (n = 8). Methylation data were statistically correlated with clinical patient characteristics. All statistical evaluations were performed with SPSS 14.0 software. RESULTS: DKK3 mRNA was downregulated in 71% (five of seven) of breast cancer cell lines and in 68% of primary breast carcinomas (27 of 40) compared with benign cell lines and normal breast tissues, respectively. A DNA demethylating treatment of breast cell lines resulted in strong induction of DKK3 mRNA expression. In tumourous breast tissues, DKK3 mRNA downregulation was significantly associated with DKK3 promoter methylation (p < 0.001). Of the breast carcinomas, 61% (92 of 150) revealed a methylated DKK3 promoter, whereas 39% (58 of 150) retained an unmethylated promoter. Loss of DKK3 expression in association with DKK3 promoter methylation (p = 0.001) was also confirmed at the protein level (p < 0.001). In bivariate analysis, DKK3 promoter methylation was not associated with investigated clinicopathological parameters except patient age (p = 0.007). CONCLUSIONS: DKK3 mRNA expression and consequently DKK3 protein expression become frequently downregulated during human breast cancer development due to aberrant methylation of the DKK3 promoter. Since DKK3 is thought to negatively regulate oncogenic Wnt signalling, DKK3 may be a potential tumour suppressor gene in normal breast tissue

On a Testing Methodology for the Mechanical Property Assessment of a New Low-Cost Titanium Alloy Derived from Synthetic Rutile

Mechanical property data of a low-cost titanium alloy derived directly from synthetic rutile is reported. A small-scale testing approach comprising consolidation via field-assisted sintering technology, followed by axisymmetric compression testing, has been designed to yield mechanical property data from small quantities of titanium alloy powder. To validate this approach and provide a benchmark, Ti-6Al-4V powder has been processed using the same methodology and compared with material property data generated from thermo-physical simulation software. Compressive yield strength and strain to failure of the synthetic rutile-derived titanium alloy were revealed to be similar to that of Ti-6Al-4V