Subcutaneous glomus tumor of chest wall

Glomus tumors are known to occur in the subungual region of fingers. Extradigital occurrences have been reported in the past but are rare. Occurrence in the anterior chest wall has not been reported. We report a case of subcutaneous glomus tumor occurring in the anterior chest wall in a 47-year-old gentleman, suffering from pain for 2 years without diagnosis, who was successfully treated by excision biopsy

Fifth-order two-quantum absorptive two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy of CdSe quantum dots

Two-quantum variants of two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy (2DES) have previously been used to characterize multi-exciton interactions in molecules and semiconductor nanostructures though many implementations are limited by phasing procedures or non-resonant signals. We implement 2DES using phase-cycling to simultaneously measure one-quantum and two-quantum spectra in colloidal CdSe quantum dots. In the pump–probe geometry, fully absorptive spectra are automatically acquired by measuring the sum of the rephasing and nonrephasing signals. Fifth-order two-quantum spectroscopy allows for direct access to multi-exciton states that may be obscured in excited state absorption signals due to population relaxation or third-order two-quantum spectra due to the non-resonant response

On the Complexity of Case-Based Planning

We analyze the computational complexity of problems related to case-based planning: planning when a plan for a similar instance is known, and planning from a library of plans. We prove that planning from a single case has the same complexity than generative planning (i.e., planning "from scratch"); using an extended definition of cases, complexity is reduced if the domain stored in the case is similar to the one to search plans for. Planning from a library of cases is shown to have the same complexity. In both cases, the complexity of planning remains, in the worst case, PSPACE-complete

Abemaciclib in Combination with Single-Agent Options in Patients with Stage IV Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Phase Ib Study

Purpose: Abemaciclib, a dual inhibitor of cyclin-dependent kinases 4 and 6, has demonstrated preclinical activity in non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). A multicenter, nonrandomized, open-label phase Ib study was conducted to test safety, MTD, pharmacokinetics, and preliminary antitumor activity of abemaciclib in combination with other therapies for treatment in patients with metastatic NSCLC. Patients and Methods: An initial dose escalation phase was used to determine the MTD of twice-daily oral abemaciclib (150, 200 mg) plus pemetrexed, gemcitabine, or ramucirumab, followed by an expansion phase for each drug combination. Pemetrexed and gemcitabine were administered according to label. The abemaciclib plus ramucirumab study examined two dosing schedules. Results: The three study parts enrolled 86 patients; all received ≥1 dose of combination therapy. Across arms, the most common treatment-emergent adverse events were fatigue, diarrhea, neutropenia, decreased appetite, and nausea. The trial did not identify an abemaciclib MTD for the combination with pemetrexed or gemcitabine but did so for the combination of abemaciclib with days 1 and 8 ramucirumab (8 mg/kg). Plasma sample analysis showed that abemaciclib did not influence the pharmacokinetics of the combination agents and the combination agents did not affect abemaciclib exposure. The disease control rate was 57% for patients treated with abemaciclib–pemetrexed, 25% for abemaciclib–gemcitabine, and 54% for abemaciclib–ramucirumab. Median progression-free survival was 5.55, 1.58, and 4.83 months, respectively. Conclusions: Abemaciclib demonstrated an acceptable safety profile when dosed on a continuous twice-daily schedule in combination with pemetrexed, gemcitabine, or ramucirumab. Abemaciclib exposures remained consistent with those observed in single-agent studies

Origins of Photoluminescence Decay Kinetics in CdTe Colloidal Quantum Dots

Recent experimental studies have identified at least two nonradiative components in the fluorescence decay of solutions of CdTe colloidal quantum dots (CQDs). The lifetimes reported by different groups, however, differed by orders of magnitude, raising the question of whether different types of traps were at play in the different samples and experimental conditions and even whether different types of charge carriers were involved in the different trapping processes. Considering that the use of these nanomaterials in biology, optoelectronics, photonics, and photovoltaics is becoming widespread, such a gap in our understanding of carrier dynamics in these systems needs addressing. This is what we do here. Using the state-of-the-art atomistic semiempirical pseudopotential method, we calculate trapping times and nonradiative population decay curves for different CQD sizes considering up to 268 surface traps. We show that the seemingly discrepant experimental results are consistent with the trapping of the hole at unsaturated Te bonds on the dot surface in the presence of different dielectric environments. In particular, the observed increase in the trapping times following air exposure is attributed to the formation of an oxide shell on the dot surface, which increases the dielectric constant of the dot environment. Two types of traps are identified, depending on whether the unsaturated bond is single (type I) or part of a pair of dangling bonds on the same Te atom (type II). The energy landscape relative to transitions to these traps is found to be markedly different in the two cases. As a consequence, the trapping times associated with the different types of traps exhibit a strikingly contrasting sensitivity to variations in the dot environment. Based on these characteristics, we predict the presence of a sub-nanosecond component in all photoluminescence decay curves of CdTe CQDs in the size range considered here if both trap types are present. The absence of such a component is attributed to the suppression of type I traps

Allogeneic endometrial regenerative cells: An "Off the shelf solution" for critical limb ischemia?

Critical limb ischemia (CLI) is an advanced form of peripheral artery disease which is responsible for approximately 100,000 amputations per year in the US. Trials to date have reported clinical improvement and reduced need for amputation in CLI patients receiving autologous bone marrow or mobilized peripheral blood stem cells for stimulation of angiogenesis. While such treatments are currently entering Phase III trials, practical and scientific pitfalls will limit widespread implementation if efficacy is proven. Hurdles to be overcome include: a) reduced angiogenic potential of autologous cells in aged patients with cardiovascular risk factors; b) invasiveness/adverse effects of bone marrow extraction and G-CSF mobilization, respectively; and c) need for on-site cellular manipulation. The Endometrial Regenerative Cell (ERC) is a mesenchymal-like stem cell derived from the menstrual blood that is believed to be associated with endometrial angiogenesis. We discuss the possibility of using allogeneic ERCs as an "off the shelf" treatment for CLI based on the following properties: a) High levels of growth factors and matrix metalloprotease production; b) Ability to inhibits inflammatory responses and lack of immunogenicity; and c) Expandability to great quantities without loss of differentiation ability or karyotypic abnormalities

Autonomous clustering using rough set theory

This paper proposes a clustering technique that minimises the need for subjective human intervention and is based on elements of rough set theory. The proposed algorithm is unified in its approach to clustering and makes use of both local and global data properties to obtain clustering solutions. It handles single-type and mixed attribute data sets with ease and results from three data sets of single and mixed attribute types are used to illustrate the technique and establish its efficiency

Comparisons of host mitochondrial, nuclear and endosymbiont bacterial genes reveal cryptic fig wasp species and the effects of Wolbachia on host mtDNA evolution and diversity

Background Figs and fig-pollinating wasp species usually display a highly specific one-to-one association. However, more and more studies have revealed that the "one-to-one" rule has been broken. Co-pollinators have been reported, but we do not yet know how they evolve. They may evolve from insect speciation induced or facilitated by Wolbachia which can manipulate host reproduction and induce reproductive isolation. In addition, Wolbachia can affect host mitochondrial DNA evolution, because of the linkage between Wolbachia and associated mitochondrial haplotypes, and thus confound host phylogeny based on mtDNA. Previous research has shown that fig wasps have the highest incidence of Wolbachia infection in all insect taxa, and Wolbachia may have great influence on fig wasp biology. Therefore, we look forward to understanding the influence of Wolbachia on mitochondrial DNA evolution and speciation in fig wasps. Results We surveyed 76 pollinator wasp specimens from nine Ficus microcarpa trees each growing at a different location in Hainan and Fujian Provinces, China. We found that all wasps were morphologically identified as Eupristina verticillata, but diverged into three clades with 4.22-5.28% mtDNA divergence and 2.29-20.72% nuclear gene divergence. We also found very strong concordance between E. verticillata clades and Wolbachia infection status, and the predicted effects of Wolbachia on both mtDNA diversity and evolution by decreasing mitochondrial haplotypes. Conclusions Our study reveals that the pollinating wasp E. verticillata on F. microcarpa has diverged into three cryptic species, and Wolbachia may have a role in this divergence. The results also indicate that Wolbachia strains infecting E. verticillata have likely resulted in selective sweeps on host mitochondrial DNA

Ultrafast supercontinuum spectroscopy of carrier multiplication and biexcitonic effects in excited states of PbS quantum dots

We examine the multiple exciton population dynamics in PbS quantum dots by ultrafast spectrally-resolved supercontinuum transient absorption (SC-TA). We simultaneously probe the first three excitonic transitions over a broad spectral range. Transient spectra show the presence of first order bleach of absorption for the 1S_h-1S_e transition and second order bleach along with photoinduced absorption band for 1P_h-1P_e transition. We also report evidence of the one-photon forbidden 1S_{h,e}-1P_{h,e} transition. We examine signatures of carrier multiplication (multiexcitons for the single absorbed photon) from analysis of the first and second order bleaches, in the limit of low absorbed photon numbers (~ 10^-2), at pump energies from two to four times the semiconductor band gap. The multiexciton generation efficiency is discussed both in terms of a broadband global fit and the ratio between early- to long-time transient absorption signals.. Analysis of population dynamics shows that the bleach peak due to the biexciton population is red-shifted respect the single exciton one, indicating a positive binding energy.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figure