Prognostic Importance of Circulating Tumor Cells in Nonsmall Cell Lung Cancer: A Prospective Study

Purpose: To investigate the prognostic value of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and to predict the treatment response in a non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).Methodology: A single-center prospective study involving 93 patients with NSCLC was conducted. Blood samples were analyzed for CTC count before and after chemotherapy. Clinical relevance of CTCs with patient`s characteristics and treatment response were determined.Results: Higher levels of CTCs were associated with severe stage of NSCLC (p = 0.003), tumor histology (p = 0.014) and metastases (p = 0.013). Significant difference in CTC count was observed in favorable (CTCs < 5) and unfavorable (CTCs ≥ 5) groups. Progression-free survival (PFS) was 5.8 months (range: 5.32 to 6.43) and 2.2 months (range: 1.85 to 3.01) in the favorable and unfavorable groups, respectively (HR: 3.88, 95% CI, p < 0.001). Similarly, overall survival (OS) was 7.3 months (95% CI, 6.51 to 7.92) and 3.9 months (95% CI, 1.99 to 5.13), respectively (HR: 4.8, 95% CI, p < 0.001). Multivariate  regression analysis revealed CTCs as strong predictors of OS and PFS. Significant reduction (p < 0.001) in CTC count was also observed after one cycle of chemotherapy.Conclusion: Patients with low CTC count live longer and remain progression-free for a longer period of time than those with high CTC count. High CTCs can be detected in severe forms of lung cancer and can be used as a valid prognostic marker. However, this assertion requires validation in larger prospective clinical cohorts.Keywords: Circulating tumor cells, Non-small cell lung cancer, Circulating tumor cell, Prognosi

Research on Self-Calibration of HF Ground Wave Radar Antenna Arrays

Since the performance of high-resolution direction finding algorithm for HF Ground Wave Radar (GWR) is severely degraded by sensor phase and amplitude errors, the radar system's phase calibration is the prerequisite of keeping the radar working in order. According to the characteristic of HF GWR's sea echo, this paper, based on an arbitrary triangular array, presents that Space -Time DOA(direction of arrival) Matrix Method, which is used to estimate 2D DOA under ideal conditions, can be used to estimate planar wave's DOA and sensor phase and amplitude errors simultaneously so as to achieve self-calibration. Its validity is verified not only by computer simulation, but also by comparing treatment results of measured data before and after calibration with the GPS-measured result

Estimation of land surface directional emissivity in mid-infrared channel around 4.0 mu m from MODIS data

This work addressed the estimate of the directional emissivity in the mid-infrared (MIR) channel around 4.0 mu m from MODIS data. A series of bidirectional reflectances in MODIS channel 22 (3.97 mu m) were retrieved using the method developed by Tang and Li (Int. J. Remote Sens. 29, 4907, 2008) and then were used to estimate the directional emissivity in this channel with the aid of the BRDF model modified by Jiang and Li (Opt. Express 16, 19310, 2008). To validate the estimated directional emissivity, a cross-comparison of MODIS derived emissivities in channel 22 using the proposed method were performed with those provided by the MODIS land surface temperature/emissivity product MYD11B1 data. The results show that the proposed method for estimating the directional emissivity in MIR channel gives results comparable to those of MYD11B1 product with a Mean Error of -0.007 and a Root Mean Square Error of 0.024. (C) 2009 Optical Society of Americ

Prescription Opioid Abuse in Prison Settings: A Systematic Review of Prevalence, Practice and Treatment Responses

Background To systematically review the quantitative and qualitative evidence base pertaining to the prevalence, practice of, and treatment response to the diversion of prescribed opiates in the prison setting. Methods Medline, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Google Scholar, ASSIA and Science Direct databases were searched for papers from 1995 to the present relevant to the abuse of prescribed opiate medication. Identified journals and their reference lists were hand searched for other relevant articles. Of the abstracts identified as relevant, full text papers were retrieved and critiqued against the inclusion criteria for the review. Results Three hundred and fifty-five abstracts were identified, leading to 42 full-text articles being retrieved. Of those, 10 papers were included in the review. Significant differences in abuse behaviours between different countries were reported. However, a key theme emerged from the data regarding a culture of nasal administration of prescribed sublingual buprenorphine within some prisons due to 3 both reduced prevalence of injection within prison and reduced supplies of illicit drugs within prison. The buprenorphine/naloxone preparation appears to be less amenable to abuse. The review highlighted a paucity of empirical research pertaining to both prevalence of the phenomenon and treatment responses. Clinical and research implications Healthcare providers within prisons need to prescribe opioids in the least abuseable preparation since the risk of abuse is significant, despite widespread processes of supervised dispensing. Prescription medication abuse is not limited to opioids and the predominant drug of abuse in an individual prison can rapidly change according to availability

Investigation of dietary fiber, protein, vitamin E and other nutritional compounds of banana flower of two cultivars grown in China

The nutritional composition of banana flowers of two cultivars [cvs. Baxijiao (AAA) and Paradisical (AAB)] grown in Hainan of China has been studied. Flower samples were collected and extracted according to methods of Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC). Results showed thatbanana flowers contained abundant dietary fiber (4.96-5.74 g/100g) and proteins (1.62-2.07 g/100 g). The major amino acids are glycine, leucine, alanine, and aspartic acid. Lysine had a lowest chemical score of 64% among the essential amino acids. In both species, flowers contained a higher composition of unsaturated fatty acids (65-66%), mainly the linoleic acid, while saturated fatty acids (mainly palmitic acid) is low. The contents of vitamin E, total saponin and flavonoids were 0.87-1.07, 0.12 and 5.27–5.90mg/100 g, respectively. This study provides a fundamental nutritional data of banana flowers which can be essential in food science

Ages and Masses of 0.64 million Red Giant Branch stars from the LAMOST Galactic Spectroscopic Survey

We present a catalog of stellar age and mass estimates for a sample of 640\,986 red giant branch (RGB) stars of the Galactic disk from the LAMOST Galactic Spectroscopic Survey (DR4). The RGB stars are distinguished from the red clump stars utilizing period spacing derived from the spectra with a machine learning method based on kernel principal component analysis (KPCA). Cross-validation suggests our method is capable of distinguishing RC from RGB stars with only 2 per cent contamination rate for stars with signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) higher than 50. The age and mass of these RGB stars are determined from their LAMOST spectra with KPCA method by taking the LAMOST - $Kepler$ giant stars having asteroseismic parameters and the LAMOST-TGAS sub-giant stars based on isochrones as training sets. Examinations suggest that the age and mass estimates of our RGB sample stars with SNR $>$ 30 have a median error of 30 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively. Stellar ages are found to exhibit positive vertical and negative radial gradients across the disk, and the age structure of the disk is strongly flared across the whole disk of $6<R<13$\,kpc. The data set demonstrates good correlations among stellar age, [Fe/H] and [$\alpha$/Fe]. There are two separate sequences in the [Fe/H] -- [$\alpha$/Fe] plane: a high--$\alpha$ sequence with stars older than $\sim$\,8\,Gyr and a low--$\alpha$ sequence composed of stars with ages covering the whole range of possible ages of stars. We also examine relations between age and kinematic parameters derived from the Gaia DR2 parallax and proper motions. Both the median value and dispersion of the orbital eccentricity are found to increase with age. The vertical angular momentum is found to fairly smoothly decrease with age from 2 to 12\,Gyr, with a rate of about $-$50\,kpc\,km\,s$^{-1}$\,Gyr$^{-1}$. A full table of the catalog is public available online.Comment: 16 pages, 22 figures,accepted by MNRA

The Temporal and Spectral Characteristics of "Fast Rise and Exponential Decay" Gamma-Ray Burst Pulses

In this paper we have analyzed the temporal and spectral behavior of 52 Fast Rise and Exponential Decay (FRED) pulses in 48 long-duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) observed by the CGRO/BATSE, using a pulse model with two shape parameters and the Band model with three shape parameters, respectively. It is found that these FRED pulses are distinguished both temporally and spectrally from those in long-lag pulses. Different from these long-lag pulses only one parameter pair indicates an evident correlation among the five parameters, which suggests that at least $\sim$4 parameters are needed to model burst temporal and spectral behavior. In addition, our studies reveal that these FRED pulses have correlated properties: (i) long-duration pulses have harder spectra and are less luminous than short-duration pulses; (ii) the more asymmetric the pulses are the steeper the evolutionary curves of the peak energy ($E_{p}$) in the $\nu f_{\nu}$ spectrum within pulse decay phase are. Our statistical results give some constrains on the current GRB models.Comment: 18 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

Performance of a Modified Rabbit Model of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Induced by Topical Application of Porcine Elastase: 5-Month Follow-up Study

AbstractObjectivesTo modify the method for creating an abdominal aortic aneurysm in rabbits, and to study its performance.Materials and methodsA total of 24 New Zealand white rabbits were induced topically with 10 μl of porcine elastase (0, 0.1, 5 and 10 units μl−1) to define the optimal concentration (groups A–D). Twelve aneurysms were induced with 10 units μl−1 of 10 μl elastase to serve as a follow-up group (group E) to serve as a follow-up. A 1.5-cm aortic segment was isolated and induced with elastase solution for 30 min.ResultsAll animals in groups D and E developed AAA by day 5. Aneurysms in Group E were stable over 100 days. Partial destruction to disappearance of elastic lamellae and smooth muscle cells (SMCs) was seen in elastase-treated animals by day 5. Regenerated elastin and proliferated SMCs were present in group E. Matrix metalloproteinases 2 and 9 and RAM11 showed strong expression in group D, but expression decreased in group E after day 15.ConclusionsThe rabbit AAA model induced via topical application of porcine elastase at 10 units μl−1 for 30 min appears easy and simple, with shorter induction and more rapid aortic dilation. The model is stable over 100 days and is useful to study the formation and progress of AAAs

Opposite and redundant roles of the two Drosophila perilipins in lipid mobilization.

Lipid droplets are the main lipid storage sites in cells. Lipid droplet homeostasis is regulated by the surface accessibility of lipases. Mammalian adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL) and hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL) are two key lipases for basal and stimulated lipolysis, respectively. Perilipins, the best known lipid droplet surface proteins, can either recruit lipases or prevent the access of lipases to lipid droplets. Mammals have five perilipin proteins, which often exhibit redundant functions, precluding the analysis of the exact role of individual perilipins in vivo. Drosophila have only two perilipins, PLIN1/LSD-1 and PLIN2/LSD-2. Previous studies revealed that PLIN2 is important for protecting lipid droplets from lipolysis mediated by Brummer (BMM), the Drosophila homolog of ATGL. In this study, we report the functional analysis of PLIN1 and Drosophila HSL. Loss-of-function and overexpression studies reveal that unlike PLIN2, PLIN1 probably facilitates lipid mobilization. HSL is recruited from the cytosol to the surface of lipid droplets under starved conditions and PLIN1 is necessary for the starved induced lipid droplet localization of HSL. Moreover, phenotypic analysis of plin1;plin2 double mutants revealed that PLIN1 and PLIN2 might have redundant functions in protecting lipid droplets from lipolysis. Therefore, the two Drosophila perilipins have both opposite and redundant roles. Domain swapping and deletion analyses indicate that the C-terminal region of PLIN1 confers functional specificity to PLIN1. Our study highlights the complex roles of Drosophila perilipin proteins and the evolutionarily conserved regulation of HSL translocation by perilipins