Претензионная работа по топливу для предприятий энергетики

Background and aims: CREB (cAMP response element binding protein) transcription factors are key regulators of homeostatic functions in the liver, and CRE binding is increased in hepatic inflammation. During chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, mutations or deletions in the pre-S region are frequently observed. These mutations can affect the pre-S2/S promoter controlling HBV envelope protein expression (hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)) and have been associated with worsened clinical outcome. We aimed to test if CREB activation impacts on HBsAg expression. Methods: The effect of the CREB inducer protein kinase A (PKA) was tested by coexpression with HBV wild-type vector in vitro. Luciferase reporter gene constructs were cloned to identify novel regulatory regions for the HBV pre-S2/S promoter. Electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) gelshift and supershift experiments were conducted to confirm DNA transcription factor binding. Results: Coexpression of HBV and PKA resulted in HBV-S mRNA induction and enhanced small envelope protein expression. We identified a CREB binding motif in the transcribed part of the pre-S2 region, contributing to basal S promoter activity via binding of activating transcription factor 2 (ATF2). A second CREB motif closely linked to the S-ATG showed a similar binding pattern involving ATF2 and CREB1, without appearing essential for basal promoter activity. Moreover, a sequence in the pre-S2 region is responsible for further transcriptional induction via CREB activators such as PKA and forskolin. EMSA experiments indicate that CREB1 and ATF4 are involved in complex formation conferring PKA dependent promoter activation. Conclusions: Our data suggest a novel mechanism by which HBV may utilise CREB/PKA signal transduction pathways of hepatocytes to enhance its HBsAg expression during homeostasis and hepatic inflammation

Relevance of the H2 + O reaction pathway for the surface formation of interstellar water. Combined experimental and modeling study

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Reversible and Irreversible Interactions of Poly(3-hexylthiophene) with Oxygen Studied by Spin-Sensitive Methods

Understanding of degradation mechanisms in polymer:fullerene bulk-heterojunctions on the microscopic level aimed at improving their intrinsic stability is crucial for the breakthrough of organic photovoltaics. These materials are vulnerable to exposure to light and/or oxygen, hence they involve electronic excitations. To unambiguously probe the excited states of various multiplicities and their reactions with oxygen, we applied combined magneto-optical methods based on multifrequency (9 and 275 GHz) electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), photoluminescence (PL), and PL-detected magnetic resonance (PLDMR) to the conjugated polymer poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and polymer:fullerene bulk heterojunctions (P3HT:PCBM; PCBM = [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester). We identified two distinct photochemical reaction routes, one being fully reversible and related to the formation of polymer:oxygen charge transfer complexes, the other one, irreversible, being related to the formation of singlet oxygen under participation of bound triplet excitons on the polymer chain. With respect to the blends, we discuss the protective effect of the methanofullerenes on the conjugated polymer bypassing the triplet exciton generation

Triplet Exciton Generation in Bulk-Heterojunction Solar Cells based on Endohedral Fullerenes

Organic bulk-heterojunctions (BHJ) and solar cells containing the trimetallic nitride endohedral fullerene 1-[3-(2-ethyl)hexoxy carbonyl]propyl-1-phenyl-Lu3N@C80 (Lu3N@C80-PCBEH) show an open circuit voltage (VOC) 0.3 V higher than similar devices with [6,6]-phenyl-C[61]-butyric acid methyl ester (PC61BM). To fully exploit the potential of this acceptor molecule with respect to the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of solar cells, the short circuit current (JSC) should be improved to become competitive with the state of the art solar cells. Here, we address factors influencing the JSC in blends containing the high voltage absorber Lu3N@C80-PCBEH in view of both photogeneration but also transport and extraction of charge carriers. We apply optical, charge carrier extraction, morphology, and spin-sensitive techniques. In blends containing Lu3N@C80-PCBEH, we found 2 times weaker photoluminescence quenching, remainders of interchain excitons, and, most remarkably, triplet excitons formed on the polymer chain, which were absent in the reference P3HT:PC61BM blends. We show that electron back transfer to the triplet state along with the lower exciton dissociation yield due to intramolecular charge transfer in Lu3N@C80-PCBEH are responsible for the reduced photocurrent

Targeted intraoperative radiotherapy tumour bed boost during breast conserving surgery after neoadjuvant chemotherapy in HER2 positive and triple negative breast cancer

Introduction: Targeted intraoperative radiotherapy (TARGIT - IORT) as a tumour bed boost after breast conserving surgery is well established for women with early breast cancer. A previous study from our group shows a beneficial effect of TARGIT-IORT on overall survival (OS) but not diseasefree survival (DFS) after neoadjuvant chemotherapy compared to an external boost suggesting a potential non-inferiority of TARGIT-IORT. In this study, we present results regarding the high-risk subset of patients (i.e. with triple negative (TN) and HER2 positive tumours) from this cohort. Method: In this non-randomized cohort study involving patients with HER2 positive (n= 28) and triple negative (n=42) tumours after NACT we compared outcomes of 40 patients with tumour bed boost applied with TARGIT IORT during lumpectomy versus 30 patients treated in the previous 13 months with external (EBRT) boost. All patients received whole breast radiotherapy. Rates of DFS and OS were compared. Results: Median follow up was 49 months. In comparison of TARGIT-IORT vs. EBRT 5-year Kaplan- Meier estimates of OS showed no significant difference among patients with HER2 positive tumours (100% vs. 91.7%, log rank p = 0.22). The same was seen for DFS (83.3% vs. 77.0%, log rank p=0.38). The results for TN cases were similar (OS : 87.5% vs. 74.1%, log rank p=0.488; DFS 87.5% vs. 60%, log rank p=0.22). Conclusion: Although survival estimates trended towards favouring TARGIT-IORT, no significant differences could be observed and the significantly positive result for OS favoring TARGIT-IORT in the whole cohort of 116 patients could not be reproduced in this subset analysis of patients with TN and HER2 positive tumours. This may be contributable to the limited number of patients but may also indicate that effects seen in the whole cohort were mainly driven by ER and/or PR positive and HER2 negative tumours. Most importantly, non-inferiority of TARGIT-IORT as an intraoperative boost could be reproduced in these high-risk patients

A First Order Predicate Logic Formulation of the 3D Reconstruction Problem and its Solution Space

This paper defines the 3D reconstruction problem as the process of reconstructing a 3D scene from numerous 2D visual images of that scene. It is well known that this problem is ill-posed, and numerous constraints and assumptions are used in 3D reconstruction algorithms in order to reduce the solution space. Unfortunately, most constraints only work in a certain range of situations and often constraints are built into the most fundamental methods (e.g. Area Based Matching assumes that all the pixels in the window belong to the same object). This paper presents a novel formulation of the 3D reconstruction problem, using a voxel framework and first order logic equations, which does not contain any additional constraints or assumptions. Solving this formulation for a set of input images gives all the possible solutions for that set, rather than picking a solution that is deemed most likely. Using this formulation, this paper studies the problem of uniqueness in 3D reconstruction and how the solution space changes for different configurations of input images. It is found that it is not possible to guarantee a unique solution, no matter how many images are taken of the scene, their orientation or even how much color variation is in the scene itself. Results of using the formulation to reconstruct a few small voxel spaces are also presented. They show that the number of solutions is extremely large for even very small voxel spaces (5 x 5 voxel space gives 10 to 10(7) solutions). This shows the need for constraints to reduce the solution space to a reasonable size. Finally, it is noted that because of the discrete nature of the formulation, the solution space size can be easily calculated, making the formulation a useful tool to numerically evaluate the usefulness of any constraints that are added

Targeted intraoperative radiotherapy tumour bed boost during breast conserving surgery after neoadjuvant chemotherapy

Introduction: The use of targeted intraoperative radiotherapy (TARGIT-IORT) as a tumour bed boost during breast conserving surgery (BCS) for breast cancer has been reported since 1998. We present its use in patients undergoing breast conservation following neoadjuvant therapy (NACT). / Method: In this retrospective study involving 116 patients after NACT we compared outcomes of 61 patients who received a tumour bed boost with IORT during lumpectomy versus 55 patients treated in the previous 13 months with external (EBRT) boost. All patients received whole breast radiotherapy. Local recurrence free survival (LRFS), disease free survival (DFS), distant disease free survival (DDFS), breast-cancer mortality (BCM), non-breast-cancer mortality (NBCM) and overall mortality (OS) were compared. / Results: Median follow up was 49 months. The differences in LRFS, DFS and BCM were not statistically significant. The 5-year Kaplan-Meier estimate of OS was significantly better by 15% with IORT: IORT 2 events 96.7%(95%CI 87.5 – 99.2), EBRT 9 events 81.7% (95%CI 67.6 – 90.1), HR 0.19 (0.04 – 0.87), log rank p = 0.016, mainly due to a reduction of 10.1% in NBCM: IORT 100%, EBRT 89.9% (77.3 – 95.7), HR (not calculable), log rank p=0.015. The DDFS was: IORT 3 events, 95.1% (85.5-98.4), EBRT 12 events, 69.0% (49.1 – 82.4), HR 0.23 (0.06-0.80), log rank p=0.012. Conclusion: IORT during lumpectomy after neoadjuvant chemotherapy as a tumour bed boost appears to give results that are not worse than external beam radiotherapy boost. These data give further support to the inclusion of such patients in the TARGIT-B (Boost) randomised trial that is testing whether IORT Boost is superior to EBRT Boost

The calcium-Activated potassium channel KCa3.1 is an important modulator of hepatic injury

The calcium-Activated potassium channel KCa3.1 controls different cellular processes such as proliferation and volume homeostasis. We investigated the role of KCa3.1 in experimental and human liver fibrosis. KCa3.1 gene expression was investigated in healthy and injured human and rodent liver. Effect of genetic depletion and pharmacological inhibition of KCa3.1 was evaluated in mice during carbon tetrachloride induced hepatic fibrogenesis. Transcription, protein expression and localisation of KCa3.1 was analysed by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, Western blot and immunohistochemistry. Hemodynamic effects of KCa3.1 inhibition were investigated in bile duct-ligated and carbon tetrachloride intoxicated rats. In vitro experiments were performed in rat hepatic stellate cells and hepatocytes. KCa3.1 expression was increased in rodent and human liver fibrosis and was predominantly observed in the hepatocytes. Inhibition of KCa3.1 aggravated liver fibrosis during carbon tetrachloride challenge but did not change hemodynamic parameters in portal hypertensive rats. In vitro, KCa3.1 inhibition leads to increased hepatocyte apoptosis and DNA damage, whereas proliferation of hepatic stellate cells was stimulated by KCa3.1 inhibition. Our data identifies KCa3.1 channels as important modulators in hepatocellular homeostasis. In contrast to previous studies in vitro and other tissues this channel appears to be anti-fibrotic and protective during liver injury

Targeted Intraoperative Radiotherapy Tumour Bed Boost during Breast-Conserving Surgery after Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy - a Subgroup Analysis of Hormone Receptor-Positive HER2-Negative Breast Cancer

INTRODUCTION: In a previous study our group showed a beneficial effect of targeted intraoperative radiotherapy (TARGIT-IORT) as an intraoperative boost on overall survival after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) compared to an external boost (EBRT). In this study we present the results of a detailed subgroup analysis of the hormone receptor (HR)-positive HER2-negative patients. METHODS: In this cohort study involving 46 patients with HR-positive HER2-negative breast cancer after NACT, we compared the outcomes of 21 patients who received an IORT boost to those of 25 patients treated with an EBRT boost. All patients received whole breast radiotherapy. RESULTS: Median follow-up was 49 months. Whereas disease-freesurvival and breast cancer-specific mortality were not significantly different between the groups, the 5-year Kaplan-Meier estimate of overall mortality was significantly lower by 21% with IORT, p = 0.028. Non-breast cancer-specific mortality was significantly lower by 16% with IORT, p = 0.047. CONCLUSION: Although our results have to be interpreted with caution, we have shown that the improved overall survival demonstrated previously could be reproduced in the HR-positive HER2-negative subgroup. These data give further support to the inclusion of such patients in the TARGIT-B (Boost) randomised trial that is testing whether IORT boost is superior to EBRT boost