Undrained cyclic response of K-0-consolidated stiff cretaceous clay under wheel loading conditions

Optimal whole life design for railways, highways, runways, and metro lines requires an accurate assessment of how their underlying geomaterials respond to large numbers of wheel-loading cycles. This paper presents an experimental study on a natural UK stiff clay with a cyclic triaxial (CT) and hollow cylinder apparatus (CHCA) that imposed K0 and wheel-loading stress conditions. The focus is on Gault clay, a high overconsolidation ratio (OCR) marine clay deposited in the Cretaceous, whose mechanical behavior is significantly anisotropic and in situ K0 values exceed unity. The clay outcrops under sections of most major highways radiating out of London, as well as the HS1 and new HS2 high-speed railways. The experimental investigation explored how the principal stress rotation implicit in wheel loading increases the magnitudes and changes the sign of vertical strain accumulation, as well as accelerating resilient modulus degradation and accentuating stress–strain hysteresis, all of which affect pavement or rail-track serviceability. The clay’s deformation and pore pressure responses are categorized into stable, metastable, and unstable patterns. Comparisons with related studies on low OCR, low K0 soft clay from Wenzhou in southeastern China, confirm the Gault clay’s generally stiffer prefailure behavior and different cyclic response. The stiff clay’s greater brittleness is also emphasized; particle reorientation occurs readily along distinct shear bands, leading to dramatic shear strength reductions that have a major impact on slope and foundation stability and call for appropriate caution in practical design

Inhibition of B16 melanoma growth and metastasis in C57BL mice by vaccination with a syngeneic endothelial cell line

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Key role of angiogenesis in tumor growth and metastasis based on accumulating evidence and recent progress of immunotherapy have led us to investigate vaccine therapy targeting tumor angiogenesis.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>C57BL/6J mice were vaccinated with a syngeneic endothelial cell line Tpit/E by subcutaneous injection once a week. Prior to ninth vaccination, the mice were challenged with B16/F10 melanoma cells by subcutaneous inoculation on the back for the tumor growth model or by tail venous injection for the lung metastasis model. Development of subcutaneous tumor and lung metastasis was monitored by computed tomography scanning, which enabled accurate evaluation with the minimized sacrifice of mice.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Vaccination with Tpit/E cells inhibited subcutaneous tumor growth and appearance of lung metastasis compared to control. Survival period was elongated in the Tpit/E vaccination in both of the two models. We also obtained hybridomas secreting specific antibodies to Tpit/E cells from a mouse vaccinated with the cells, indicating that specific immune response to the syngeneic endothelial cells was elicited.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These results suggest that vaccination with an autologous endothelial cell line may be effective against melanoma.</p

Elevated Levels of the Vesicular Monoamine Transporter and a Novel Repetitive Behavior in the Drosophila Model of Fragile X Syndrome

Fragile X Syndrome (FXS) is characterized by mental impairment and autism in humans, and it often features hyperactivity and repetitive behaviors. The mechanisms for the disease, however, remain poorly understood. Here we report that the dfmr1 mutant in the Drosophila model of FXS grooms excessively, which may be regulated differentially by two signaling pathways. Blocking metabotropic glutamate receptor signaling enhances grooming in dfmr1 mutant flies, whereas blocking the vesicular monoamine transporter (VMAT) suppresses excessive grooming. dfmr1 mutant flies also exhibit elevated levels of VMAT mRNA and protein. These results suggest that enhanced monoamine signaling correlates with repetitive behaviors and hyperactivity associated with FXS

The Naturally Occurring YMDD Mutation among Patients Chronically Infected HBV and Untreated with Lamivudine: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: Several recent reports have demonstrated that tyrosine (Y)-methionine (M)-aspartic acid (D)-aspartic acid (D) (YMDD) motif mutations can naturally occur in chronic HBV patients without antiviral treatment such as lamivudine therapy. This paper aims to assess the overall spontaneous incidence and related risk factors of YMDD-motif mutations among lamivudine-naïve chronic HBV carriers, so as to provide some clue for clinical treatment of hepatitis B. Methodology/Principal Findings: Chinese and English literatures were searched for studies reporting natural YMDD mutations among untreated chronic HBV patients from 2001 to 2010. The incidence estimates were summarized and analyzed by meta-analyses. Forty-seven eligible articles from eight countries were selected in this review (13 in English and 34 in Chinese). The pooled incidence of YMDD-motif mutation among untreated chronic HBV patients from eight countries was 12.21 % (95 % CI: 9.69%–14.95%). China had an incidence of 13.38 % (95 % CI: 10.90%–16.07%) and seven other countries had an incidence of 9.90 % (95 % CI: 3.28%–19.55%), respectively. Lamivudine therapy would increase the risk of mutations 5.23 times higher than the untreated patients. A higher HBV DNA copy number was associated with increased incidence of natural YMDD mutation. No significant difference was found in YMDD mutation incidence between groups of different gender, age, HBeAg status, patients ’ ALT (alanine aminotransferase) level, and between the groups of HBV genotype B and C. Conclusions: The YMDD-motif mutations can occur spontaneously with a relatively high incidence in CHB patient

Facile solution-phase synthesis of γ-Mn3O4 hierarchical structures

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>A lot of effort has been focused on the integration of nanorods/nanowire as building blocks into three-dimensional (3D) complex superstructures. But, the development of simple and effective methods for creating novel assemblies of self-supported patterns of hierarchical architectures to designed materials using a suitable chemical method is important to technology and remains an attractive, but elusive goal.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The hierarchical structure of Mn₃O₄with radiated spherulitic nanorods was prepared via a simple solution-based coordinated route in the presence of macrocycle polyamine, hexamethyl-1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradeca-4,11-diene (CT) with the assistance of thiourea as an additive.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This approach opens a new and facile route for the morphogenesis of Mn₃O₄material and it might be extended as a novel synthetic method for the synthesis of other inorganic semiconducting nanomaterials such as metal chalcogenide semiconductors with novel morphology and complex form, since it has been shown that thiourea can be used as an effective additive and the number of such water-soluble macrocyclic polyamines also makes it possible to provide various kinds of ligands for different metals in homogeneous water system.</p

TPH2 Gene Polymorphisms and Major Depression – A Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND: Tryptophan hydroxylase-2 (TPH2) is the rate-limiting enzyme in the synthetic pathway for brain serotonin and is considered key factor for maintaining normal serotonin transmission in the central neuron system (CNS). Gene-disease association studies have reported a relationship between TPH2 and major depressive disorder (MDD) in different populations, however subsequent studies have produced contradictory results. OBJECTIVES: We performed a systematic overview and a meta-analysis with all available data up-to-date. METHODS: We scrutinized PubMed, Embase, HuGNet and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI ) and last update was held on October 2011. We also searched the manuscripts and the supplementary documents of the published genome-wide association studies in the field. Effect sizes of independent loci that have been studied in more than 3 articles were synthesized using fixed and random effects models. RESULTS: We found 27 eligible articles that studied a total of 74 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Finally, 12 independent loci were included in the meta-analysis. The synthesis of the data shown that two SNPs (rs4570625 and rs17110747) were associated with MDD using fixed effects models. SNP rs4570625 had low heterogeneity and remained significant using the more conservative random effects calculations with a summary OR = 0.83 (95% CI: 0.73-0.96). CONCLUSION: The current study identified a SNP (rs4570625) with strong epidemiological credibility; however more studies are required to provide robust evidence for other weak associations