Strength Characteristics and Slope Stability of Expansive Soil from Pingdingshan, China

By analyzing the characteristics of expansive soil from Pingdingshan, China, the shear strength parameters at different water contents, dry densities, and dry-wet cycles of expansive soil are obtained. It is found that, at higher soil-water content, the internal friction angle is 0° and the shallow layer of expansive soil slope will collapse and destroy; this has nothing to do with the height of the slope and the size of the slope. The parameters of soil influenced by atmosphere are the ones which have gone through dry-wet cycles, and the parameters of soil without atmospheric influence are the same as those of natural soil. In the analysis of slope stability, the shear strength parameters of soil can be determined by using the finite element method, and the stability coefficient of the expansive soil slope can be calculated

Monoclinic and Correlated Metal Phase in VO_2 as Evidence of the Mott Transition: Coherent Phonon Analysis

In femtosecond pump-probe measurements, the appearance of coherent phonon oscillations at 4.5 THz and 6.0 THz indicating the rutile metal phase of VO_2 does not occur simultaneously with the first-order metal-insulator transition (MIT) near 68^oC. The monoclinic and correlated metal(MCM) phase between the MIT and the structural phase transition (SPT) is generated by a photo-assisted hole excitation which is evidence of the Mott transition. The SPT between the MCM phase and the rutile metal phase occurs due to subsequent Joule heating. The MCM phase can be regarded as an intermediate non-equilibrium state.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

Systems Biology Approaches to Decoding the Genome of Liver Cancer

Molecular classification of cancers has been significantly improved patient outcomes through the implementation of treatment protocols tailored to the abnormalities present in each patient's cancer cells. Breast cancer represents the poster child with marked improvements in outcome occurring due to the implementation of targeted therapies for estrogen receptor or human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 positive breast cancers. Important subtypes with characteristic molecular features as potential therapeutic targets are likely to exist for all tumor lineages including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) but have yet to be discovered and validated as targets. Because each tumor accumulates hundreds or thousands of genomic and epigenetic alterations of critical genes, it is challenging to identify and validate candidate tumor aberrations as therapeutic targets or biomarkers that predict prognosis or response to therapy. Therefore, there is an urgent need to devise new experimental and analytical strategies to overcome this problem. Systems biology approaches integrating multiple data sets and technologies analyzing patient tissues holds great promise for the identification of novel therapeutic targets and linked predictive biomarkers allowing implementation of personalized medicine for HCC patients

Electrical current suppression in Pd-doped vanadium pentoxide nanowires caused by reduction in PdO due to hydrogen exposure

Pd nanoparticle-doped vanadium pentoxide nanowires (Pd-VONs) were synthesized. Electrical current suppression was observed when the Pd-VON was exposed to hydrogen gas, which cannot be explained by the work function changes mentioned in previous report such as Pd-doped carbon nanotubes and SnO 2 nanowires. Using the x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, we found that the reduction in PdO due to hydrogen exposure plays an important role in the current suppression of the Pd-VON.open4

Normal Gallbladder Visualization during Post-Ablative Iodine-131 Scan of Thyroid Cancer

Whole body iodine-131 scan is a well-established imaging method for the detection of metastatic or residual tumor sites in patients with well-differentiated thyroid cancer. Many false-positive iodine-131 scan findings mimicking metastatic thyroid cancer have long been reported. The authors describe a false positive uptake in normal gallbladder on post-ablative iodine-131 scan in a patient with papillary thyroid cancer. This finding should be considered to be another possible false-positive finding on iodine-131 whole body scan

Retrospective study of alveolar ridge preservation compared with no alveolar ridge preservation in periodontally compromised extraction sockets

Background To minimize alveolar bone resorption, alveolar ridge preservation (ARP) has been proposed. Recently, interest in improving the feasibility of implant placement has gradually increased, especially in situations of infection such as periodontal and/or endodontic lesions. The aim of this study was to investigate if ARP improves feasibility of implant placement compared with no ARP in periodontally compromised sites. Secondary endpoints were the necessity of bone graft at the time of implant placement and implant failure before loading at ARP compared with no ARP. Material and methods This retrospective study was performed using dental records and radiographs obtained from patients who underwent tooth extraction due to chronic periodontal pathology. Outcomes including the feasibility of implant placement, horizontal bone augmentation, vertical bone augmentation, sinus floor elevation, total bone augmentation at the time of implant placement, and implant failure before loading were investigated. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the influence of multiple variables on the clinical outcomes. Results In total, 418 extraction sites (171 without ARP and 247 with ARP) in 287 patients were included in this study. The ARP group (0.8%) shows significantly lower implant placement infeasibility than the no ARP group (4.7%). Horizontal and vertical bone augmentations were significantly influenced by location and no ARP. Total bone augmentation was significantly influenced by sex, location, and no ARP. Conclusion ARP in periodontally compromised sites may improve the feasibility of implant placement. In addition, ARP attenuate the severity of the bone augmentation procedure

Urachal Actinomycosis Mimicking a Urachal Tumor

A 26-year-old man presented with lower abdominal discomfort and a palpable mass in the right lower quadrant. An abdominal computed tomography (CT) scan revealed an abdominal wall mass that extended from the dome of the bladder. Fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron-emission tomography/CT (PET/CT) showed hypermetabolic wall thickening around the bladder dome area that extended to the abdominal wall and hypermetabolic mesenteric infiltration. Differential diagnosis included a urachal tumor with invasion into adjacent organs and chronic inflammatory disease. Partial cystectomy with abdominal wall mass excision was performed, and the final pathologic report was consistent with urachal actinomycosis

Predictive value of progression-related gene classifier in primary non-muscle invasive bladder cancer

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>While several molecular markers of bladder cancer prognosis have been identified, the limited value of current prognostic markers has created the need for new molecular indicators of bladder cancer outcomes. The aim of this study was to identify genetic signatures associated with disease prognosis in bladder cancer.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We used 272 primary bladder cancer specimens for microarray analysis and real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis. Microarray gene expression analysis of randomly selected 165 primary bladder cancer specimens as an original cohort was carried out. Risk scores were applied to stratify prognosis-related gene classifiers. Prognosis-related gene classifiers were individually analyzed with tumor invasiveness (non-muscle invasive bladder cancer [NMIBC] and muscle invasive bladder cancer [MIBC]) and prognosis. We validated selected gene classifiers using RT-PCR in the original (165) and independent (107) cohorts. Ninety-seven genes related to disease progression among NMIBC patients were identified by microarray data analysis. Eight genes, a progression-related gene classifier in NMIBC, were selected for RT-PCR. The progression-related gene classifier in patients with NMIBC was closely correlated with progression in both original and independent cohorts. Furthermore, no patient with NMIBC in the good-prognosis signature group experienced cancer progression.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We identified progression-related gene classifier that has strong predictive value for determining disease outcome in NMIBC. This gene classifier could assist in selecting NMIBC patients who might benefit from more aggressive therapeutic intervention or surveillance.</p

The Role of NF-κB in Breast Cancer Initiation, Growth, Metastasis, and Resistance to Chemotherapy

Breast cancer (BC) is the second most fatal disease and is the prime cause of cancer allied female deaths. BC is caused by aberrant tumor suppressor genes and oncogenes regulated by transcription factors (TFs) like NF-κB. NF-κB is a pro-inflammatory TF that crucially alters the expressions of various genes associated with inflammation, cell progression, metastasis, and apoptosis and modulates a network of genes that underlie tumorigenesis. Herein, we focus on NF-κB signaling pathways, its regulators, and the rationale for targeting NF-κB. This review also includes TFs that maintain NF-κB crosstalk and their roles in promoting angiogenesis and metastasis. In addition, we discuss the importance of combination therapies, resistance to treatment, and potential novel therapeutic strategies including nanomedicine that targets NF-κB