Cytotoxicity of alpha-particle-emitting astatine-211-labelled antibody in tumour spheroids: no effect of hyperthermia.

The high linear energy transfer, alpha-particle-emitting radionuclide astatine-211 (211At) is of interest for certain therapeutic applications; however, because of the 55- to 70-microm path length of its alpha-particles, achieving homogeneous tracer distribution is critical. Hyperthermia may enhance the therapeutic efficacy of alpha-particle endoradiotherapy if it can improve tracer distribution. In this study, we have investigated whether hyperthermia increased the cytotoxicity of an 211At-labelled monoclonal antibody (MAb) in tumour spheroids with a radius (approximately 100 microm) greater than the range of 211At alpha-particles. Hyperthermia for 1 h at 42 degrees C was used because this treatment itself resulted in no regrowth delay. Radiolabelled chimeric MAb 81C6 reactive with the extracellular matrix antigen tenascin was added to spheroids grown from the D-247 MG human glioma cell line at activity concentrations ranging from 0.125 to 250 kBq ml(-1). A significant regrowth delay was observed at 125 and 250 kBq ml(-1) in both hyperthermia-treated and untreated spheroids. For groups receiving hyperthermia, no increase in cytotoxicity was seen compared with normothermic controls at any activity concentration. These results and those from autoradiographs indicate that hyperthermia at 42 degrees C for 1 h had no significant effect on the uptake or distribution of this antitenascin MAb in D-247 MG spheroids

Ring-Pattern Dynamics in Smectic-C* and Smectic-C_A* Freely Suspended Liquid Crystal Films

Ring patterns of concentric 2pi-solitons in molecular orientation, form in freely suspended chiral smectic-C films in response to an in-plane rotating electric field. We present measurements of the zero-field relaxation of ring patterns and of the driven dynamics of ring formation under conditions of synchronous winding, and a simple model which enables their quantitative description in low polarization DOBAMBC. In smectic C_A* TFMHPOBC we observe an odd-even layer number effect, with odd number layer films exhibiting order of magnitude slower relaxation rates than even layer films. We show that this rate difference is due to much larger spontaneous polarization in odd number layer films.Comment: 4 RevTeX pgs, 4 eps figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. Let

Laser frequency combs for astronomical observations

A direct measurement of the universe's expansion history could be made by observing in real time the evolution of the cosmological redshift of distant objects. However, this would require measurements of Doppler velocity drifts of about 1 centimeter per second per year, and astronomical spectrographs have not yet been calibrated to this tolerance. We demonstrate the first use of a laser frequency comb for wavelength calibration of an astronomical telescope. Even with a simple analysis, absolute calibration is achieved with an equivalent Doppler precision of approximately 9 meters per second at about 1.5 micrometers - beyond state-of-the-art accuracy. We show that tracking complex, time-varying systematic effects in the spectrograph and detector system is a particular advantage of laser frequency comb calibration. This technique promises an effective means for modeling and removal of such systematic effects to the accuracy required by future experiments to see direct evidence of the universe's putative acceleration.Comment: Science, 5th September 2008. 18 pages, 7 figures (7 JPG files), including Supporting Online Material. Version with higher resolution figures available at http://astronomy.swin.edu.au/~mmurphy/pub.htm

Products of finite connected subgroups

For a non-empty class of groups $\cal L$, a finite group $G = AB$ is said to be an $\cal L$-connected product of the subgroups $A$ and $B$ if $\langle a, b\rangle \in \cal L$ for all $a \in A$ and $b \in B$. In a previous paper, we prove that for such a product, when $\cal L = \cal S$ is the class of finite soluble groups, then $[A,B]$ is soluble. This generalizes the theorem of Thompson which states the solubility of finite groups whose two-generated subgroups are soluble. In the present paper our result is applied to extend to finite groups previous research in the soluble universe. In particular, we characterize connected products for relevant classes of groups; among others the class of metanilpotent groups and the class of groups with nilpotent derived subgroup. Also we give local descriptions of relevant subgroups of finite groups

Unraveling the Equine Lymphocyte Proteome: Differential Septin 7 Expression Associates with Immune Cells in Equine Recurrent Uveitis

Equine recurrent uveitis is a spontaneous, lymphocyte-driven autoimmune disease. It affects horses worldwide and presents with painful remitting-relapsing inflammatory attacks of inner eye structures eventually leading to blindness. Since lymphocytes are the key players in equine recurrent uveitis, we were interested in potential changes of their protein repertoire which may be involved in disease pathogenesis. To create a reference for differential proteome analysis, we first unraveled the equine lymphocyte proteome by two-dimensional sodium dodecyl sulfate - polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and subsequently identified 352 protein spots. Next, we compared lymphocytes from ERU cases and healthy horses with a two-dimensional fluorescence difference in gel electrophoresis approach. With this technique, we identified seven differentially expressed proteins between conditions. One of the significantly lower expressed candidates, septin 7, plays a role in regulation of cell shape, motility and migration. Further analyses revealed T cells as the main cell type with decreased septin 7 abundance in equine recurrent uveitis. These findings point to a possible pathogenetic role of septin 7 in this sight-threatening disease

HD 12098 and other results from NainiTal-Cape survey

NainiTal-Cape Survey is a survey started with the aim of searching for new rapidly oscillating Ap stars in the northern hemisphere and has discovered one mono-periodic roAp star HD 12098. The frequency separation of HD 12098 suggests a rotation period of 5.5 day for the star. The discovery of roAp oscillations in HD 12098 and the results of the multi-site observation campaign organized to resolve the ambiguity in the determination of the rotation period of HD 12098 is presented. The results of non oscillating Ap stars discovered in the survey and two promising roAp candidates HD 17431 and HD 207561 are also presented. If confirmed, the variability in HD 207561 will make it the first Am star showing roAp type rapid variability.Comment: 10 pages, 10 figures, JAA sty, To appear in the proceedings of ARIES international workshop on Asteroseismolog

Shallow waters: social science research in South Africa's marine environment

This paper provides an overview of social science research in the marine environment of South Africa for the period 1994–2012. A bibliography based on a review of relevant literature and social science projects funded under the SEAChange programme of the South African Network for Coastal and Oceanic Research (SANCOR) was used to identify nine main themes that capture the knowledge generated in the marine social science field. Within these themes, a wide diversity of topics has been explored, covering a wide geographic area. The review suggests that there has been a steady increase in social science research activities and outputs over the past 18 years, with a marked increase in postgraduate dissertations in this field. The SEAChange programme has contributed to enhancing understanding of certain issues and social interactions in the marine environment but this work is limited. Furthermore, there has been limited dissemination of these research results amongst the broader marine science community and incorporation of this information into policy and management decisions has also been limited. However, marine scientists are increasingly recognising the importance of taking a more holistic and integrated approach to management, and are encouraging further social science research, as well as interdisciplinary research across the natural and social sciences. Possible reasons for the lack of communication and coordination amongst natural and social scientists, as well as the limited uptake of research results in policy and management decisions, are discussed and recommendations are proposed.Web of Scienc