270 research outputs found
The adenoma-carcinoma sequence in the colorectum--early appearance of a hierarchy of small intestinal mucin antigen (SIMA) epitopes and correlation with malignant potential.
The colorectal adenoma-carcinoma sequence was examined in relation to the ectopic expression of the oncofoetal Small Intestinal Mucin Antigen (SIMA), to the development of morphologic changes in the adenoma and perineoplastic mucosa and to indices of malignant potential. Four anti-SIMA MAbs, which define a novel hierarchy of SIMA epitopes in the normal small intestine and adjacent to colorectal cancers, were used in a retrospective immunohistochemical study of Familial Adenomatous Polyposis (FAP, n = 183) and non-familial (n = 44) adenomas. Inappropriate expression of SIMA epitopes was first detected in mucosa adjacent to minute microadenomas larger than three glands, and with increase in size, in increasing amounts within adenomas themselves, but not with microadenomas smaller than three glands or regions of flat mucosa free of adenomas. SIMA epitope expressed in mucosa adjacent to adenomas preceded changes in perineoplastic morphology, which progressed with adenoma growth to resemble transitional mucosa (TM) adjacent to cancers. Thus, the onset of both SIMA expression and morphological changes in TM were consistent with reactive rather than pre-existing field change phenomena. The previously reported hierarchy of four SIMA epitopes (5C5, 3D4, 4D3, 6C5) was also consistently observed in the adenoma-carcinoma sequence, and applied to (i) the order of epitope detection, (ii) the number of positive adenomas and (iii) extent of staining; (iv) the height in the crypt and (v) distance from the adenoma to which epitopes were expressed in perineoplastic mucosa. These observations are consistent with a progression of changes in mucin composition with adenoma development. The percentage of positive adenomas and reactivity scores for each anti-SIMA MAb correlated with increasing adenoma size, degree of dysplasia and growth pattern. SIMA expression appears to predate the earliest reported oncogene and tumour suppressor gene changes, was persistent and increased throughout adenoma development. SIMA epitopes are thus markers of very early neoplastic change, whose expression correlates with malignant potential and may contribute to the accumulation of changes necessary for tumourigenesis
Aberrant expression of intestinal mucin antigens associated with colorectal carcinoma defined by a panel of monoclonal antibodies.
Small intestine mucin antigen (SIMA) is an oncofoetal antigen for the colon and is distinct from the normal large intestinal mucin antigen (LIMA). In the present study, a panel of anti-SIMA and anti-LIMA monoclonal antibodies (MAb) was used to charaterise altered mucin expression in colorectal adenocarcinomas, by immunohistochemistry and quantitative immunoassays of tissue extracts. These results are compared with CEA expression and correlated with various clinicopathological indices. All mucin MAb reacted with a high proportion of the 100 colon cancers of every stage, histological type (including non-mucinous cancers), differentiation, site, or size. Inappropriate SIMA production was detected by either anti-SIMA MAb 4D3 or 4A1, even in 85% of early stage cancers. MAb 4D3 reacted with a higher proportion of cancers of smaller size and better differentiation. At the subcellular level, both anti-SIMA MAb showed reactivity typical of normal mucin, i.e., goblet cell and extracellular mucin. The normal colonic antigen, LIMA, was also detectable in the majority of cases, but quantitatively overproduced in some cases and reduced in others. However, in contrast to SIMA, LIMA was detected in predominantly undifferentiated cancer cells but not in goblet cells. Heterogeneity of MAb reactivity between cases and complementarity within each cancer was frequently observed. Mucin reactive with at least one of the MAb was detected in all of the CEA-negative cancers. A high rate of inappropriate SIMA expression was also detected in the perineoplastic transitional mucosa (88%, c.f. CEA, 35%) and adjacent, morphologically normal mucosa (80% c.f. CEA, 24%), indicating biochemical changes similar to the cancer. This panel of anti-mucin MAb demonstrated altered mucin glycoprotein metabolism associated with the development and progression of most colorectal cancers, which emphasises their utility as indicators of neoplastic change in the colon, and their superiority to CEA
A mathematical landmark-based method for measuring worn molars in hominoid systematics
Worn teeth pose a major limitation to researchers in the fields of extinct and extant hominoid systematics because they lack clearly identifiable anatomical landmarks needed to take measurements on the crown enamel surface and are typically discarded from a study. This is particularly detrimental when sample sizes for some groups are already characteristically low, if there is an imbalance between samples representing populations, sexes or dietary strategies, or if the worn teeth in question are type specimens of fossil species or other key specimens. This study proposes a methodology based predominantly on mathematically-derived landmarks for measuring size and shape features of molars, irrespective of wear. With 110 specimens of lower second molars from five species of extant hominoids (Pan troglodytes, P. paniscus, Gorilla gorilla, G. beringei, Homo sapiens), n ≥ 20 per species, n ≥ 10 per subspecies, good species separation in morphospace is achieved in a principal components analysis. Classification accuracy in a discriminant function analysis is 96.4% at the species level and 88.2% at the subspecies level (92.7% and 79.1%, respectively, on cross-validation). The classification accuracy compares favorably to that achieved by anatomically-derived measurements based on published research (94% and 84% at the species and subspecies level respectively; 91% and 76% on cross-validation). The mathematical landmarking methodology is rapid and uncomplicated. The results support the use of mathematical landmarks to enable the inclusion of worn molar teeth in dental studies so as to maximize sample sizes and restore balance between populations and/or sexes in hominoid systematic studies
ESR of MnO embedded in silica nanoporous matrices with different topologies
Electron spin resonance (ESR) experiments were performed with
antiferromagnetic MnO confined within a porous vycor-type glass and within
MCM-type channel matrices. A signal from confined MnO shows two components from
crystallized and amorphous MnO and depends on the pore topology. Crystallized
MnO within a porous glass shows a behavior having many similarities to the
bulk. In contrast with the bulk the strong ESR signal due to disordered
"surface" spins is observed below the magnetic transition. With the decrease of
channel diameter the fraction of amorphous MnO increases while the amount of
crystallized MnO decreases. The mutual influence of amorphous and crystalline
MnO is observed in the matrices with a larger channel diameter. In the matrices
with a smaller channel diameter the ESR signal mainly originates from amorphous
MnO and its behavior is typical for the highly disordered magnetic system.Comment: 7 pages pdf file, 5 figure
Magnetic versus nonmagnetic doping effects on the magnetic ordering in the Haldane chain compound PbNi2V2O8
A study of an impurity driven phase-transition into a magnetically ordered
state in the spin-liquid Haldane chain compound PbNi2V2O8 is presented. Both,
macroscopic magnetization as well as 51V nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)
measurements reveal that the spin nature of dopants has a crucial role in
determining the stability of the induced long-range magnetic order. In the case
of nonmagnetic (Mg2+) doping on Ni2+ spin sites (S=1) a metamagnetic transition
is observed in relatively low magnetic fields. On the other hand, the magnetic
order in magnetically (Co2+) doped compounds survives at much higher magnetic
fields and temperatures, which is attributed to a significant anisotropic
impurity-host magnetic interaction. The NMR measurements confirm the predicted
staggered nature of impurity-liberated spin degrees of freedom, which are
responsible for the magnetic ordering. In addition, differences in the
broadening of the NMR spectra and the increase of nuclear spin-lattice
relaxation in doped samples, indicate a diverse nature of electron spin
correlations in magnetically and nonmagnetically doped samples, which begin
developing at rather high temperatures with respect to the antiferromagnetic
phase transition.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figure
An electron paramagnetic resonance study of Pr_{0.6}Ca_{0.4}MnO_{3} across the charge ordering transition
We report the first electron paramagnetic resonance studies of single
crystals and powders of Pr_{0.6}Ca_{0.4}MnO_{3} in the 300-4.2 K range,
covering the charge ordering transition at ~ 240 K and antiferromagnetic
transition (T_N) at ~ 170 K. The asymmetry parameter for the Dysonian single
crystal spectra shows anomalous increase at T_{co}. Below T_{co} the g-value
increases continuously, suggesting a gradual strengthening of orbital ordering.
The linewidth undergoes a sudden increase at T_{co} and continues to increase
down to T_N. The intensity increases as the temperature is decreased till
T_{co} due to the renormalization of magnetic susceptibility arising from the
build up of ferromagnetic correlations. The value of the exchange constant, J,
is estimated to be 154 K.Comment: Uses Revtex3.
Electron Magnetic Resonance: The Modified Bloch Equation
We find a modified Bloch equation for the electronic magnetic moment when the
magnetic moment explicitly contains a diamagnetic contribution (a magnetic
field induced magnetic moment arising from the electronic orbital angular
momentum) in addition to the intrinsic magnetic moment of the electron. The
modified Bloch is coupled to equations of motion for the position and momentum
operators. In the presence of static and time varying magnetic field
components, the magnetic moment oscillates out of phase with the magnetic field
and power is absorbed by virtue of the magnetic field induced magnetic moment,
even in the absence of coupling to the environment. We explicitly work out the
spectrum and absorption for the case of a state electron
The study of the influence of Jahn-Teller coupling and low symmetry strain on the anomalous electron paramagnetic resonance spectrum of titanium(lll) doped CsAl(SO4)2·12H2O
The controversial EPR spectrum of titanium(III) as an impurity in cesium aluminum sulphate alum has been re-examined using conventional CW- and a novel pulsed-EPR technique, which monitors the nutation frequency as a function of field. The CW-spectra display a high degree of structure, which is interpreted as arising from chemically distinct titanium(III) species. The two-dimensional nutation spectrum maps the g vs g relation from just one crystal orientation, and to far greater precision than available from CW-EPR. This novel technique shows that the origin of the linewidths observed for some of the EPR lines is inhomogeneous broadening, the nature of which can be described adequately only in the two-dimensional nutation spectrum. Calculations of g vs g have been undertaken by numerical diagonalization of the vibronic Hamiltonian. It is found that the relationship between g and g can be modeled only by assuming that the titanium(III) ions are subject to both dynamic Jahn-Teller coupling and low symmetry strain. Furthermore, it is shown that the calculated g vs g relation is strongly dependent upon the nature of the vibronic interaction assumed. An excellent reproduction of the experimental data is obtained, using parameters consistent with those employed to model the susceptibility data of the isostructural cesium titanium sulphate alum
Influence of magnetic interaction between impurity and impurity-liberated spins on the magnetism in the doped Haldane chain compounds PbNi{}_{2-x{A}VO (A = Mg, Co)
A comprehensive study of impurity-induced magnetism in nonmagnetically
(Mg) and magnetically (Co) doped
PbNiVO compounds is given, using both macroscopic dc
susceptibility and local-probe electron spin resonance (ESR) techniques.
Magnetic coupling between impurity-liberated spins is estimated from a
linewidth of low-temperature ESR signal in Mg-doped samples. In addition, in
the case of magnetic cobalt dopants the impurity-host magnetic exchange is
evaluated from the Co-induced contribution to the linewidth in the paramagnetic
phase. The experimentally observed severe broadening of the ESR lines in the
magnetically doped compounds with respect to nonmagnetic doping is attributed
to a rapid spin-lattice relaxation of the Co ions, which results in a
bottleneck-type of temperature dependence of the induced linewidth. The
exchange parameters obtained from the ESR analysis offer a satisfactory
explanation of the observed low-temperature magnetization in doped samples.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figure
Plasma Concentrations of Myeloperoxidase Predict Mortality After Myocardial Infarction
ObjectivesThis study investigated relationships between plasma myeloperoxidase (MPO), protein oxidation markers, and clinical outcome retrospectively in patients after acute myocardial infarction (MI).BackgroundReactive oxidants are implicated in cardiovascular disease, and elevated plasma MPO is reported to predict adverse outcome in acute coronary syndromes.MethodsDetailed demographic information, radionuclide ventriculography, neurohormone measurements, and clinical history were obtained for 512 acute MI patients at hospital admission. Plasma levels of MPO and protein carbonyls were measured in patients and 156 heart-healthy control subjects. 3-Chlorotyrosine was measured in selected patients. Patient mortality was followed for 5 years.ResultsPlasma MPO and protein carbonyl concentrations were higher in MI patients 24 h to 96 h after admission than in control subjects (medians: MPO 55 ng/ml vs. 39 ng/ml, and protein carbonyls 48 pmol/mg vs. 17 pmol/mg protein, p < 0.001 for each). Both markers were significantly correlated with each other and with cardiovascular hormone levels. Chlorotyrosine was not elevated in patients with high MPO or carbonyl levels. Above-median levels of MPO but not protein carbonyls were independently predictive of mortality (odds ratio 1.8, 95% confidence interval 1.0 to 3.0, p = 0.034). Patients with above-median MPO levels in combination with above-median plasma amino-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) or below-median left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) had significantly greater mortality compared with other patients.ConclusionsMyeloperoxidase and protein carbonyl levels are elevated in plasma after acute MI, apparently via independent mechanisms. High MPO is a risk factor for long-term mortality and adds prognostic value to LVEF and plasma NT-proBNP measurements
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