358 research outputs found
Single-layer behavior and slow carrier density dynamic of twisted graphene bilayer
We report scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and spectroscopy (STS) of
twisted graphene bilayer on SiC substrate. For twist angle ~ 4.5o the Dirac
point ED is located about 0.40 eV below the Fermi level EF due to the electron
doping at the graphene/SiC interface. We observed an unexpected result that the
local Dirac point around a nanoscaled defect shifts towards the Fermi energy
during the STS measurements (with a time scale about 100 seconds). This
behavior was attributed to the decoupling between the twisted graphene and the
substrate during the measurements, which lowers the carrier density of graphene
simultaneously
Clinical and laboratory characteristics of systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma in Chinese patients
Background: Systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma (S-ALCL) is a rare disease with a highly variable prognosis and no standard chemotherapy regimen. Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) has been reported as an important prognostic factor correlated with S-ALCL in many but not all studies. In our study, we retrospectively analyzed 92 patients with S-ALCL from the Peking University Lymphoma Center for clinical and molecular prognostic factors to make clear the role of ALK and other prognostic factors in Han Chinese S-ALCL. Results: The majority of Chinese S-ALCL patients were young male patients (median age 26, male/female ratio 1.7) and the median age was younger than previous reports regardless of ALK expression status. The only statistically significant different clinical characteristic in S-ALCL between ALK positive (ALK(+)) and ALK negative (ALK(-)) was age, with a younger median age of 22 for ALK+ compared with 30 for ALK-. However, when pediatric patients (<= 18) were excluded, there was no age difference between ALK+ and ALK-. The groups did not differ in the proportion of males, those with clinical stage III/IV (49 vs 51%) or those with extranodal disease (53 vs 59%). Of 73 evaluable patients, the 3-year and 5-year survival rates were 60% and 47%, respectively. Univariate analysis showed that three factors: advanced stage III/IV, lack of expression of ALK, and high Ki-67 expression, were associated with treatment failure in patients with S-ALCL. However, ALK expression correlated with improved survival only in patients younger than 14 years, while not in adult patients. In multivariate analysis, only clinical stage was an independent prognostic factor for survival. Expressions of Wilms tumor 1 (WT1) and B-cell lymphoma 2 protein (BCL-2) correlated with the expression of ALK, but they did not have prognostic significance. High Ki-67 expression was also a poor prognostic factor. Conclusions: Our results show that ALK expression alone is not sufficient to determine the outcome of ALCL and other prognostic factors must be considered. Clinical stage is an independent prognostic factor. Ki-67 expression is a promising prognostic factor.http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000307871100001&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=8e1609b174ce4e31116a60747a720701OncologyHematologySCI(E)PubMed4ARTICLE38
The effects of fermentation and adsorption using lactic acid bacteria culture broth on the feed quality of rice straw
To improve the nutritional value and the palatability of air-dried rice straw, culture broth of the lactic acid bacteria community
SFC-2 was used to examine the effects of two different treatments, fermentation and adsorption. Air-dried and chopped
rice straw was treated with either fermentation for 30 d after adding 1.5 L nutrient solution (50 mL inocula Lâ1, 1.2Ă1012 CFU
mLâ1 inocula) kgâ1 straw dry matter, or spraying a large amount of culture broth (1.5 L kgâ1 straw dry matter, 1.5Ă1011 CFU
mLâ1 culture broth) on the straw and allowing it to adsorb for 30 min. The feed quality and aerobic stability of the resulting
forage were examined. Both treatments improved the feed quality of rice straw, and adsorption was better than fermentation
for preserving nutrients and improving digestibility, as evidenced by higher dry matter (DM) and crude protein (CP)
concentrations, lower neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF) and NH3-N concentrations, as well as higher
lactic acid production and in vitro digestibility of DM (IVDMD). The aerobic stability of the adsorbed straw and the fermented
straw was 392 and 480 h, respectively. After being exposed to air, chemical components and microbial community of the
fermented straw were more stable than the adsorbed straw
Spontaneous activities in baroreflex afferent pathway contribute dominant role in parasympathetic neurocontrol of blood pressure regulation
Aim
To study the dominant role of parasympathetic inputs at cellular level of baroreflex afferent pathway and underlying mechanism in neurocontrol of blood pressure regulation.
Methods
Wholeâcell patchâclamp and animal study were conducted.
Results
For the first time, we demonstrated the spontaneous activities from resting membrane potential in myelinated Aâ and Ahâtype baroreceptor neurons (BRNs, the 1stâorder), but not in unmyelinated Câtypes, using vagusânodose slice of adult female rats. These data were further supported by the notion that the spontaneous synaptic currents could only be seen in the pharmacologically and electrophysiologically defined myelinated Aâ and Ahâtype baroreceptive neurons (the 2ndâorder) of NTS using brainstem slice of adult female rats. The greater frequency and the larger amplitude of the spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) compared with the inhibitory postsynaptic currents (IPSCs) were only observed in Ahâtypes. The ratio of EPSCs:IPSCs was estimated at 3:1 and higher. These results confirmed that the afferentâspecific spontaneous activities were generated from baroreflex afferent pathway in femaleâspecific subpopulation of myelinated Ahâtype BRNs in nodose and baroreceptive neurons in NTS, which provided a novel insight into the dominant role of sexâspecific baroreflexâevoked parasympathetic drives in retaining a stable and lower blood pressure status in healthy subjects, particularly in females.
Conclusion
The data from current investigations establish a new concept for the role of Ahâtype baroreceptor/baroreceptive neurons in controlling blood pressure stability and provide a new pathway for pharmacological intervention for hypertension and cardiovascular diseases
Comparison of survival, acute toxicities, and dose-volume parameters between intensity-modulated radiotherapy with or without internal target volume delineation method and three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy in cervical cancer patients:A retrospective and propensity score-matched analysis
BACKGROUND: To evaluate whether the use of the internal target volume (ITV) delineation method improves the performance of intensityâmodulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and threeâdimensional conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT) in terms of survival, acute toxicities, and doseâvolume parameters. METHODS: A total number of 477 cervical cancer patients who received concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) from January 2012 to December 2016 were retrospectively analyzed. They were divided into four groups: the nonâITV (NâITV) + IMRT, ITV + IMRT, NâITV + 3DCRT, and ITV + 3DCRT groups, with 76, 41, 327, and 33 patients, respectively. Survival analysis was performed with the KaplanâMeier and the logârank tests, and acute toxicity analysis was performed with the chiâsquared test and the binary logistic regression test. Using the propensity score matching (PSM) method, 92 patients were matched among the four groups, and their doseâvolume parameters were assessed with the KruskalâWallis method. RESULTS: The median followâup time was 49 months (1â119) for overall survival (OS). The 5âyear OS rate was 66.4%. The ITV delineation method was an independent prognostic factor for OS (HR [95% CI]: 0.52 [0.27, 0.98], p = 0.044) and progressionâfree survival (PFS) (HR [95% CI]: 0.59 [0.36, 0.99], p = 0.045). The ITV + IMRT group had the lowest incidence rate (22%) and the NâITV + IMRT group had the highest incidence rate of grade â„3 hematological toxicity (HT) (46.1%) among the four groups. The pelvic bone marrow relative V10, V20, and V30 in the NâITV + IMRT group was higher than those in the ITV + IMRT and NâITV + 3DCRT groups (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The use of ITV for IMRT treatment planning was associated with improved overall survival and progressionâfree survival, with lower HT rate
KLF7-transfected Schwann cell graft transplantation promotes sciatic nerve regeneration
Our former study demonstrated that KrĂŒppel-like Factor 7 (KLF7) is a transcription factor that stimulates axonal regeneration after peripheral nerve injury. Currently, we used a gene therapy approach to overexpress KLF7 in Schwann cells (SCs) and assessed whether KLF7-transfected SCs graft could promote sciatic nerve regeneration. SCs were transfected by adeno-associated virus 2 (AAV2)-KLF7 in vitro. Mice were allografted by an acellular nerve (ANA) with either an injection of DMEM (ANA group), SCs (ANA + SCs group) or AAV2-KLF7-transfected SCs (ANA + KLF7-SCs group) to assess repair of a sciatic nerve gap. The results indicate that KLF7 overexpression promoted the proliferation of both transfected SCs and native SCs. The neurite length of the dorsal root ganglia (DRG) explants was enhanced. Several beneficial effects were detected in the ANA + KLF7-SCs group including an increase in the compound action potential amplitude, sciatic function index score, enhanced expression of PKH26-labeling transplant SCs, peripheral myelin protein 0, neurofilaments, S-100, and myelinated regeneration nerve. Additionally, HRP-labeled motoneurons in the spinal cord, CTB-labeled sensory neurons in the DRG, motor endplate density and the weight ratios of target muscles were increased by the treatment while thermal hyperalgesia was diminished. Finally, expression of KLF7, NGF, GAP43, TrkA and TrkB were enhanced in the grafted SCs, which may indicate that several signal pathways may be involved in conferring the beneficial effects from KLF7 overexpression. We concluded that KLF7-overexpressing SCs promoted axonal regeneration of the peripheral nerve and enhanced myelination, which collectively proved KLF-SCs as a novel therapeutic strategy for injured nerves
Flavins mediate extracellular electron transfer in Gram-positive Bacillus megaterium strain LLD-1
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