Hydrothermal Synthesis, Microstructure and Photoluminescence of Eu3+-Doped Mixed Rare Earth Nano-Orthophosphates

Eu3+-doped mixed rare earth orthophosphates (rare earth = La, Y, Gd) have been prepared by hydrothermal technology, whose crystal phase and microstructure both vary with the molar ratio of the mixed rare earth ions. For LaxY1–xPO4: Eu3+, the ion radius distinction between the La3+ and Y3+ is so large that only La0.9Y0.1PO4: Eu3+ shows the pure monoclinic phase. For LaxGd1–xPO4: Eu3+ system, with the increase in the La content, the crystal phase structure of the product changes from the hexagonal phase to the monoclinic phase and the microstructure of them changes from the nanorods to nanowires. Similarly, YxGd1–xPO4: Eu3+, Y0.1Gd0.9PO4: Eu3+ and Y0.5Gd0.5PO4: Eu3+ samples present the pure hexagonal phase and nanorods microstructure, while Y0.9Gd0.1PO4: Eu3+ exhibits the tetragonal phase and nanocubic micromorphology. The photoluminescence behaviors of Eu3+ in these hosts are strongly related to the nature of the host (composition, crystal phase and microstructure)

Generation of the first BAC-based physical map of the common carp genome

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Common carp (<it>Cyprinus carpio</it>), a member of Cyprinidae, is the third most important aquaculture species in the world with an annual global production of 3.4 million metric tons, accounting for nearly 14% of the all freshwater aquaculture production in the world. Apparently genomic resources are needed for this species in order to study its performance and production traits. In spite of much progress, no physical maps have been available for common carp. The objective of this project was to generate a BAC-based physical map using fluorescent restriction fingerprinting.</p> <p>Result</p> <p>The first generation of common carp physical map was constructed using four- color High Information Content Fingerprinting (HICF). A total of 72,158 BAC clones were analyzed that generated 67,493 valid fingerprints (5.5 × genome coverage). These BAC clones were assembled into 3,696 contigs with the average length of 476 kb and a N50 length of 688 kb, representing approximately 1.76 Gb of the common carp genome. The largest contig contained 171 BAC clones with the physical length of 3.12 Mb. There are 761 contigs longer than the N50, and these contigs should be the most useful resource for future integrations with linkage map and whole genome sequence assembly. The common carp physical map is available at <url>http://genomics.cafs.ac.cn/fpc/WebAGCoL/Carp/WebFPC/</url>.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The reported common carp physical map is the first physical map of the common carp genome. It should be a valuable genome resource facilitating whole genome sequence assembly and characterization of position-based genes important for aquaculture traits.</p

Peregrine and saker falcon genome sequences provide insights into evolution of a predatory lifestyle

As top predators, falcons possess unique morphological, physiological and behavioral adaptations that allow them to be successful hunters: for example, the peregrine is renowned as the world's fastest animal. To examine the evolutionary basis of predatory adaptations, we sequenced the genomes of both the peregrine (Falco peregrinus) and saker falcon (Falco cherrug), and we present parallel, genome-wide evidence for evolutionary innovation and selection for a predatory lifestyle. The genomes, assembled using Illumina deep sequencing with greater than 100-fold coverage, are both approximately 1.2 Gb in length, with transcriptome-assisted prediction of approximately 16,200 genes for both species. Analysis of 8,424 orthologs in both falcons, chicken, zebra finch and turkey identified consistent evidence for genome-wide rapid evolution in these raptors. SNP-based inference showed contrasting recent demographic trajectories for the two falcons, and gene-based analysis highlighted falcon-specific evolutionary novelties for beak development and olfaction and specifically for homeostasis-related genes in the arid environment–adapted saker

Femara® and the future: tailoring treatment and combination therapies with Femara

Long-term estrogen deprivation treatment for breast cancer can, in some patients, lead to the activation of alternate cellular pathways, resulting in the re-emergence of the disease. This is a distressing scenario for oncologists and patients, but recent intensive molecular and biochemical studies are beginning to unravel these pathways, revealing opportunities for new targeted treatments. Far from making present therapies redundant, these new discoveries open the door to novel combination therapies that promise to provide enhanced efficacy or overcome treatment resistance. Letrozole, one of the most potent aromatase inhibitors, is the ideal candidate for combination therapy; indeed, it is one of the most intensively studied aromatase inhibitors in the evolving combinatorial setting. Complementary to the use of combination therapy is the development of molecular tools to identify patients who will benefit the most from these new treatments. Microarray gene profiling studies, designed to detect letrozole-responsive targets, are currently under way to understand how the use of the drug can be tailored more efficiently to specific patient needs

Ultraviolet photoconductive devices with an n-GaN nanorodgraphene hybrid structure synthesized by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition

The superior photoconductive behavior of a simple, cost-effective n-GaN nanorod (NR)-graphene hybrid device structure is demonstrated for the first time. The proposed hybrid structure was synthesized on a Si (111) substrate using the high-quality graphene transfer method and the relatively low-temperature metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) process with a high V/III ratio to protect the graphene layer from thermal damage during the growth of n-GaN nanorods. Defect-free n-GaN NRs were grown on a highly ordered graphene monolayer on Si without forming any metal-catalyst or droplet seeds. The prominent existence of the undamaged monolayer graphene even after the growth of highly dense n-GaN NRs, as determined using Raman spectroscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), facilitated the excellent transport of the generated charge carriers through the photoconductive channel. The highly matched n-GaN NR-graphene hybrid structure exhibited enhancement in the photocurrent along with increased sensitivity and photoresponsivity, which were attributed to the extremely low carrier trap density in the photoconductive channelclose00

Does the Dose of Standard Adjuvant Chemotherapy Affect the Triple-negative Breast Cancer Benefit from Extended Capecitabine Metronomic Therapy? An Exploratory Analysis of the SYSUCC-001 Trial

Ying Chen,1,2,&ast; Wen-Xia Li,1,2,&ast; Jia-Hua Wu,1,2 Geng-Hang Chen,2 Chun-Min Yang,1,2 Hai Lu,1,2 Xi Wang,3 Shu-Sen Wang,4 Heng Huang,5 Li Cai,6 Li Zhao,7 Rou-Jun Peng,8 Ying Lin,9 Jun Tang,3 Jian Zeng,10 Le-Hong Zhang,11 Yong-Li Ke,12 Xian-Ming Wang,13 Xin-Mei Liu,14 An-Qin Zhang,15 Fei Xu,4 Xi-Wen Bi,4 Jia-Jia Huang,4 Ji-Bin Li,16 Dan-Mei Pang,17 Cong Xue,4 Yan-Xia Shi,4 Zhen-Yu He,18 Huan-Xin Lin,18 Xin An,4 Wen Xia,4 Ye Cao,16 Ying Guo,16 Ruo-Xi Hong,4 Kui-Kui Jiang,4 Yong-Yi Zhong,4 Ge Zhang,19 Piyawan Tienchaiananda,20 Masahiro Oikawa,21 Zhong-Yu Yuan,4 Qian-Jun Chen22,23 1Department of Breast Surgery, Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Breast Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Breast Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, the State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Medical Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, the State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 5Department of Breast Oncology, Lianjiang People’s Hospital, Lianjiang, People’s Republic of China; 6Department of Medical Oncology, The Affiliated Tumour Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, People’s Republic of China; 7Department of Breast Oncology, Guangzhou First People Hospital, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 8Department of Integrated Therapy in Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, the State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 9Department of Breast Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 10Department of Breast Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi, People’s Republic of China; 11Department of Breast Oncology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 12Department of Breast Oncology, General Hospital of PLA Guangzhou Military Area, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 13Department of Breast Oncology, Shenzhen Second People’s Hospital, Shenzhen, People’s Republic of China; 14Department of Breast Oncology, Haikou People’s Hospital, Haikou, People’s Republic of China; 15Department of Breast Oncology, Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital of Guangdong Province, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 16Department of Good Clinical Practice, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, the State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 17Department of Medical Oncology, Foshan First People’s Hospital, Foshan, People’s Republic of China; 18Department of Radiotherapy, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, the State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 19Law Sau Fai Institute for Advancing Translational Medicine in Bone and Joint Diseases (TMBJ), School of Chinese Medicine, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong; 20Division of Medical Oncology, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Rangsit University, Rajavithi Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand; 21The Department of Breast Surgery, New-wa-kai Oikawa Hospital, Fukuoka, Japan; 22State Key Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine Syndrome/Departments of Gynecologic Oncology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 23State Key Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine Syndrome, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Qian-Jun Chen, 55N, Neihuanxi Road, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510006, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 1868883505, Email [email protected] Zhong-Yu Yuan, 651 Dongfeng Road, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510060, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 13798027658, Email [email protected]: Results from studies of extended capecitabine after the standard adjuvant chemotherapy in early stage triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) were inconsistent, and only low-dose capecitabine from the SYSUCC-001 trial improved disease-free survival (DFS). Adjustment of the conventional adjuvant chemotherapy doses affect the prognosis and may affect the efficacy of subsequent treatments. This study investigated whether the survival benefit of the SYSUCC-001 trial was affected by dose adjustment of the standard adjuvant chemotherapy or not.Patients and Methods: We reviewed the adjuvant chemotherapy regimens before the extended capecitabine in the SYSUCC-001 trial. Patients were classified into “consistent” (standard acceptable dose) and “inconsistent” (doses lower than acceptable dose) dose based on the minimum acceptable dose range in the landmark clinical trials. Cox proportional hazards model was used to investigate the impact of dose on the survival outcomes.Results: All 434 patients in SYSUCC-001 trial were enrolled in this study. Most of patients administered the anthracycline-taxane regimen accounted for 88.94%. Among patients in the “inconsistent” dose, 60.8% and 47% received lower doses of anthracycline and taxane separately. In the observation group, the “inconsistent” dose of anthracycline and taxane did not affect DFS compared with the “consistent” dose. Moreover, in the capecitabine group, the “inconsistent” anthracycline dose did not affect DFS compared with the “consistent” dose. However, patients with “consistent” taxane doses benefited significantly from extended capecitabine (P=0.014). The sufficient dose of adjuvant taxane had a positive effect of extended capecitabine (hazard ratio [HR] 2.04; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.02 to 4.06).Conclusion: This study found the dose reduction of adjuvant taxane might negatively impact the efficacy of capecitabine. Therefore, the reduction of anthracycline dose over paclitaxel should be given priority during conventional adjuvant chemotherapy, if patients need dose reduction and plan for extended capecitabine.Keywords: adjuvant chemotherapy, capecitabine, SYSUCC-001, triple-negative breast cancer, TNB

Key signalling nodes in mammary gland development and cancer. Mitogen-activated protein kinase signalling in experimental models of breast cancer progression and in mammary gland development

Seven classes of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) intracellular signalling cascades exist, four of which are implicated in breast disease and function in mammary epithelial cells. These are the extracellular regulated kinase (ERK)1/2 pathway, the ERK5 pathway, the p38 pathway and the c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) pathway. In some forms of human breast cancer and in many experimental models of breast cancer progression, signalling through the ERK1/2 pathway, in particular, has been implicated as being important. We review the influence of ERK1/2 activity on the organised three-dimensional association of mammary epithelial cells, and in models of breast cancer cell invasion. We assess the importance of epidermal growth factor receptor family signalling through ERK1/2 in models of breast cancer progression and the influence of ERK1/2 on its substrate, the oestrogen receptor, in this context. In parallel, we consider the importance of these MAPK-centred signalling cascades during the cycle of mammary gland development. Although less extensively studied, we highlight the instances of signalling through the p38, JNK and ERK5 pathways involved in breast cancer progression and mammary gland development