Half-metallic ferrimagnet formed by substituting Fe for Mn in semiconductor MnTe

A ternary ferrimagnetic half-metal, constructed through substituting 25% Fe for Mn in zincblende semiconductor MnTe, is predicted in terms of accurate first-principles calculations. It has a large half-metallic (HM) gap of 0.54eV and its ferrimagnetic order is very stable against other magnetic fluctuations. The HM ferrimagnetism is formed because the complete moment compensation in the antiferromagnetic MnTe is replaced by an uncomplete one in the Fe-substituted MnTe. This should make a novel approach to new HM materials. The half-metal could be fabricated because Fe has good affinity with Mn, and useful for spintronics.Comment: 5 pages with figures include

Apigenin impedes cell cycle progression at G2 phase in prostate cancer cells

As a natural flavone, apigenin is abundantly present in vegetables, fruits, oregano, tea, chamomile, wheat sprout and is regarded as a major component of the Mediterranean diet. Apigenin is known to inhibit proliferation in different cancer cell lines by inducing G2/M arrest, but it is unclear whether this action is predominantly imposed on G2 or M phases. In this study, we demonstrate that apigenin arrests prostate cancer cells at G2 phase by flow cytometric analysis of prostate cancer cells co-stained for phospho-Histone H3 and DNA. Concurrently, apigenin also reduces the mRNA and protein levels of the key regulators that govern G2-M transition. Further analysis using chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) confirmed the diminished transcriptional activities of the genes coding for these regulators. Unravelling the inhibitory effect of apigenin on G2-M transition in cancer cells provides the mechanistic understanding of its action and supports the potential for apigenin as an anti-cancer agent. Graphical Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.

Efficacy and adverse effects of transdermal fentanyl and sustained-release oral morphine in treating moderate-severe cancer pain in Chinese population: a systematic review and meta-analysis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Previous meta-analysis suggested that transdermal fentanyl was not inferior to sustained-release oral morphine in treating moderate-severe cancer pain with less adverse effects. Now, we updated the data and performed a systematic review.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Updated cohort studies on transdermal fentanyl and oral morphine in the treatment of cancer pain were searched in electronic databases including CBMdisc, CNKI, VIP, Medline, EMBASE and Cochrane Library. Primary end points assessed by meta-analysis were remission rate of pain and incidence of adverse effects. Quality of life was assessed by systematic review, which was the second end point.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>32 cohort studies, which included 2651 patients, were included in present study. The remission rate in transdermal fentanyl group and sustained-release oral morphine group were 86.60% and 88.31% respectively, there was no significant difference [RR = 1.13, 95% CI (0.92, 1.38), P = 0.23]. Compared with oral morphine group, there were less adverse effects in terms of constipation [RR = 0.35, 95% CI (0.27, 0.45), P < 0.00001], nausea/vomiting [RR = 0.57, 95% CI (0.49, 0.67), P < 0.00001], and vertigo/somnolence [RR = 0.59, 95% CI (0.51, 0.68), P < 0.00001] in transdermal fentanyl group. Six of selected trials supported either transdermal fentanyl or sustained-release oral morphine improved QOL of cancer patients and one of them showed more patients got better QOL after sustained-release oral morphine transferred to transdermal fentanyl.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our study showed again that both transdermal fentanyl and oral morphine had the same efficacy in the treatment of moderate-severe cancer pain in Chinese population, but the former might have less adverse effects and better quality of life.</p

Diabetic ketoacidosis induced by nivolumab in invasive mucinous adenocarcinoma of the lung : a case report and review of the literature

Nivolumab is the first programmed cell death receptor 1 (PD-1) inhibitor approved in China. Compared with chemotherapy, nivolumab has shown advantages of good efficacy and safety in the treatment of a variety of tumors. However, due to its short time of use in China and lack of safety experience, clinical understanding of its adverse reactions has not been sufficiently elucidated. In recent years, cases of diabetic ketoacidosis caused by nivolumab have been reported in the emergency department, which has aroused our concern. Here we present a serious case of diabetic ketoacidosis in a 69-year-old woman with invasive mucinous adenocarcinoma of the lung, which occurred following therapy with the PD-1 inhibitor nivolumab and dendritic cell/cytokine-induced killer cell (DC/CIK) immunotherapy. She presented with diabetic ketoacidosis 5 days after the second cycle of nivolumab administration. The patient presented with dry mouth symptoms, a maximum blood glucose of 511.2 mg/dL, hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) level of 7.4%, urine ketone body value of 3+, and extracellular fluid residual alkali level of −3.8 mmol/L. Normal saline and insulin was initiated. The patient had no history of obesity or family history of diabetes. She received a single dose of 3.75 mg of dexamethasone treatment during this period of time which resulted in cough improvement, but did not explain the onset of the diabetes. She was treated with insulin, sitagliptin phosphate tablets and acarbose tablets. Diabetic ketoacidosis was considered an immune-related toxicity caused by nivolumab, and consequently, treatment with nivolumab was suspended. Patient was maintained under insulin treatment with a blood glucose levels normalization. The incubation period of nivolumab-induced diabetic ketoacidosis is dispersive and the clinical risk is high. Patients need life-long insulin therapy. Blood glucose and HbA1c should be monitored routinely before and during nivolumab immunotherapy to avoid the occurrence of diabetic ketoacidosis. After the occurrence of diabetic ketoacidosis, insulin should be used to actively control blood glucose and do a good job in medication education to ensure long-term compliance of patients. Nivolumab should only be initiated if the patient has a clinical benefit under stable glucose control

A metallic phase in quantum Hall systems

The electronic eigenstates of a quantum Hall (QH) system are chiral states. Strong inter-Landau-band mixings among these states can occur when the bandwidth is comparable to the spacing of two adjacent Landau bands. We show that mixing of localized states with opposite chirality can delocalize electronic states. Based on numerical results, we propose the existence of a metallic phase between two adjacent QH phases and between a QH phase and the insulating phase. This result is consistent with non-scaling behaviors observed in recent experiments on quantum-Hall-liquid-to-insulator transition.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures. Will be published in Phys. Rev. Let

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ABSTRACT Context In the last decade, gemcitabine-based regimen as first-line therapy has demonstrated low efficacy regarding overall survival benefit for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer. Objective The purpose of this study was to explore a new strategy, such as an increased second-line chemotherapy rate, in order to improve overall survival. Design Retrospective data analysis. Methods The data in the literature on gemcitabine-based therapy for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer were collected by searching databases, such as MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Chinese Biomedical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System, and EBM Reviews (Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews). Linear regression was used to explore the relationship between overall survival and second-line chemotherapy. The primary endpoint was overall survival. The secondary endpoints were progression-free survival and residual survival. Results Ten randomized controlled trials, involving 2,679 patients, were included in the present study. The results indicated that overall survival was positively correlated with a combination of chemotherapy, stage of disease and second-line chemotherapy in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer (r=0.753; P=0.003). Meanwhile median overall survival would be prolonged about 1.56 days if second-line chemotherapy was increased by 1% (t=4.33; P=0.001). Progression-free survival was not significantly correlated with second-line chemotherapy (r=0.092; P=0.701); in contrast, residual survival was positively correlated with second-line chemotherapy (r=0.717; P&lt;0.001). Conclusions Our study indicated that overall survival closely correlated to second-line chemotherapy in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer; more attention should be paid after first-line therapy which must be administered skillfully in order to improve overall survival, and this is worthy of further study

The transient localization scenario for charge transport in crystalline organic materials

Charge transport in crystalline organic semiconductors is intrinsically limited by the presence of large thermal molecular motions, which are a direct consequence of the weak van der Waals inter-molecular interactions. These lead to an original regime of transport called \textit{transient localization}, sharing features of both localized and itinerant electron systems. After a brief review of experimental observations that pose a challenge to the theory, we concentrate on a commonly studied model which describes the interaction of the charge carriers with inter-molecular vibrations. We present different theoretical approaches that have been applied to the problem in the past, and then turn to more modern approaches that are able to capture the key microscopic phenomenon at the origin of the puzzling experimental observations, i.e. the quantum localization of the electronic wavefuntion at timescales shorter than the typical molecular motions. We describe in particular a relaxation time approximation which clarifies how the transient localization due to dynamical molecular motions relates to the Anderson localization realized for static disorder, and allows us to devise strategies to improve the mobility of actual compounds. The relevance of the transient localization scenario to other classes of systems is briefly discussed.Comment: Accepted for publication in Advanced Functional Materials - Special issue on Organic Single Crystal

Forced decadal changes in the East Asian summer monsoon: the roles of greenhouse gases and anthropogenic aerosols

Since the mid-1990s precipitation trends over eastern China display a dipole pattern, characterized by positive anomalies in the south and negative anomalies in the north, named as the Southern-Flood-Northern-Drought (SFND) pattern. This work investigates the drivers of decadal changes of the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM), and the dynamical mechanisms involved, by using a coupled climate model (specifically an atmospheric general circulation model coupled to an ocean mixed layer model) forced by changes in (1) anthropogenic greenhouse gases (GHG), (2) anthropogenic aerosol (AA) and (3) the combined effects of both GHG and AA (All Forcing) between two periods across the mid-1990s. The model experiment forced by changes in All Forcing shows a dipole pattern of response in precipitation over China that is similar to the observed SFND pattern across the mid-1990s, which suggests that anthropogenic forcing changes played an important role in the observed decadal changes. Furthermore, the experiments with separate forcings indicate that GHG and AA forcing dominate different parts of the SFND pattern. In particular, changes in GHG increase precipitation over southern China, whilst changes in AA dominate in the drought conditions over northern China. Increases in GHG cause increased moisture transport convergence over eastern China, which leads to increased precipitation. The AA forcing changes weaken the EASM, which lead to divergent wind anomalies over northern China and reduced precipitation