Dense KNN Polycrystals Doped by ErO Obtained by Hot Pressing with Hexagonal Boron Nitride Protective Layer.

Analysis of dense Potassium Sodium Niobate (KNN) ceramic obtained by hot pressing (HP) method at 1100 °C are presented in this paper. The synthesis of KNN-based piezoelectrics meets the following challenges-low density of material, uncontrolled K/Na ratio, multiphase composition and formation of different KNN structures. The classical hot pressing approach results in contamination by carbon originating from graphite molds.

Identification of a tumor-reactive T-cell repertoire in the immune infiltrate of patients with resectable pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

Purpose: The devastating prognosis of patients with resectable pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) presents an urgent need for the development of therapeutic strategies targeting disseminated tumor cells. Until now, T-cell therapy has been scarcely pursued in PDA, due to the prevailing view that it represents a poorly immunogenic tumor.

Experimental Design: We systematically analyzed T-cell infiltrates in tumor biopsies from 127 patients with resectable PDA by means of immunohistochemistry, flow cytometry, T-cell receptor (TCR) deep-sequencing and functional analysis of expanded T-cell cultures.

[Interaction between cigarette smoking and glucocorticoids therapy and therapeutic doses of radioiodine (131I) in patients with Graves’ disease].

Unlabelled: The present study evaluated the effects of smoking on the amount of therapeutic doses of radioiodine ((131)I) given to patients with Graves’ disease (GB). The study also retrospectively analyzed the relationship between the onset of symptoms of thyroid ophthalmopathy (OT) after treatment with (131)I within 2 years and changes of TSHR-Abs levels, and the impact of prednisone administration before and after the therapy on OT development in both smoking and non-smoking patients.

Materials And Methods: The study group included 116 patients, 97 women and 19 men, aged 28 ÷ 77 years (average 51 years) who were diagnosed with GB and treated with therapeutic doses of (131)I.

Three-dimensional microstructural characterization of porous cubic zirconia.

A set of cubic zirconia samples were investigated using 3-dimensional electron backscatter diffraction (3D EBSD) to analyze the grain structure, grain boundary networks and pore morphology. 3D EBSD is a variation of conventional EBSD, whereby a focused ion beam (FIB) is used in a dual beam scanning electron microscope (SEM) i.e.

Crystallographic control on the substructure of nacre tablets.

Nacre tablets of mollusks develop two kinds of features when either the calcium carbonate or the organic portions are removed: (1) parallel lineations (vermiculations) formed by elongated carbonate rods, and (2) hourglass patterns, which appear in high relief when etched or in low relief if bleached. In untreated tablets, SEM and AFM data show that vermiculations correspond to aligned and fused aragonite nanogloblules, which are partly surrounded by thin organic pellicles. EBSD mapping of the surfaces of tablets indicates that the vermiculations are invariably parallel to the crystallographic a-axis of aragonite and that the triangles are aligned with the b-axis and correspond to the advance of the {010} faces during the growth of the tablet.

Oxygen plasma functionalization of parylene C coating for implants surface: nanotopography and active sites for drug anchoring.

The effect of oxygen plasma treatment (t=0.1-60 min, pO2=0.2 mbar, P=50 W) of parylene C implant surface coating was investigated in order to check its influence on morphology (SEM, AFM observations), chemical composition (XPS analysis), hydrophilicity (contact angle measurements) and biocompatibility (MG-63 cell line and Staphylococcus aureus 24167 DSM adhesion screening).

Crystallographic orientation inhomogeneity and crystal splitting in biogenic calcite.

The calcitic prismatic units forming the outer shell of the bivalve Pinctada margaritifera have been analysed using scanning electron microscopy-electron back-scatter diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. In the initial stages of growth, the individual prismatic units are single crystals. Their crystalline orientation is not consistent but rather changes gradually during growth.

Genome-wide methylation screen in low-grade breast cancer identifies novel epigenetically altered genes as potential biomarkers for tumor diagnosis.

Aberrant DNA methylation constitutes a well-established epigenetic marker for breast cancer. Changes in methylation early in cancer development may be clinically relevant for cancer detection and prognosis-based therapeutic decisions. In the present study, a combination of methyl-CpG immunoprecipitation (MCIp) and human CpG island (CGI) arrays was applied to compare genome-wide DNA methylation profiles in 10 low-grade in situ and invasive breast cancers against 10 normal breast samples.

Regulation of transcription in cancer.

The purpose of this article is to provide an overview on the regulation of transcription in cancer cells. We describe here standard mechanisms of transcription in eukaryotic cells, an influence of common promoter polymorphisms contributing to malignant progression and DNA methylation as significant aspect of gene regulation. We also described transcription factors mechanism of action, and how their alteration can result in cancer.

Microstructure evolution in hot worked steel after heating to semi-solid state.

Metal alloys can be formed successfully in a partially liquid state if they display a particular globular microstructure. The article presents an analysis of a study carried out of the development, by means of the strain-induced melt-activated method, of such a microstructure for an X210CrW12 steel. Hot rolled samples, with subsequent cooling, were heated to the temperature range at which the liquid and solid phases coexist in the material.

Glycosylases and AP-cleaving enzymes as a general tool for probe-directed cleavage of ssDNA targets.

The current arsenal of molecular tools for site-directed cleavage of single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) is limited. Here, we describe a method for targeted DNA cleavage that requires only the presence of an A nucleotide at the target position. The procedure involves hybridization of a complementary oligonucleotide probe to the target sequence.

Quantitative misorientation characteristics of interphase boundaries in composites.

Specific crystallographic correlations between neighbouring grains in composites were established by the use of selected area electron diffraction in the transmission electron microscope. However, it was the development of orientation mapping techniques that made it possible to obtain a quantitative description of the distribution of boundaries between the grains of both the same phase and different phases. This study shows that orientation topography measurements made by electron backscatter diffraction in the scanning electron microscope allowed determination of the crystallographic relationships between grains of different phases.

Liver regeneration after anatomical resections.

Background: The authors present the results of investigation of liver regeneration after partial parenchyma resection.

Material And Methods: 20 patients (16 females, 4 male) aged 31-67 years were operated on because of metastatic colon cancer (7 cases), cavernous hemangioma (6 cases), hepatocellular carcinoma (1), alveococcosis (2), metastases of malignant melanoma (1), gall bladder carcinoma (1), FNH (1) and mucous cystadenocarcinoma (1). The resection according to anatomical segments by Couinaud were performed.

Effects of calcitonin and calcitonin gene-related peptide on 3H-thymidine incorporation into DNA of rat thyroid lobes in vitro.

The effects of a 4 h incubation of rat thyroid lobes, in the presence of calcitonin (CT) and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) on the incorporation of 3H-thymidine into DNA, were investigated. In other groups the thyroid lobes were incubated during exposure to CT and thyrotropin (TSH), and to CGRP together with TSH. All concentrations of CT (10(-6)-10(-8) M) revealed a tendency towards lowering 3H-thymidine uptake, but the effect was not statistically significant.

Measurement of autoantibodies against human eye muscle plasma membranes in Graves' ophthalmopathy.

Antibodies that reacted with plasma membranes of human eye muscle but showed no binding to plasma membranes of human skeletal muscle were identified in serum of patients with Graves' ophthalmopathy. Rabbit antithyroglobulin serum at a dilution of 1 X 10(-3) to 20 X 10(-3) had no effect on the binding of these antibodies to eye muscle membrane antigens. There was no correlation between antihuman eye muscle plasma membrane antibodies and antihuman thyroid membrane antibodies or antibodies against thyroglobulin.

Simple and sensitive method for estimation of antithyroid plasma membrane antibodies in the serum of patients with autoimmune thyroid diseases; comparison with other assays.

The ability of protein A from Staphylococcus aureus to interact with Fc fragments of IgG was used to estimate the antithyroid plasma membrane antibodies in sera of patients with Graves' disease. The results were expressed as an antithyroid plasma membrane antibodies (ATMA) index. The ATMA index estimated in 60 healthy blood donors varied from 0.

Influence of antiganglioside antibodies on thyrotrophin binding and adenyl cyclase activity of thyroid plasma membranes.

Antibovine thyroid ganglioside antibodies developed in rabbits inhibit thyrotrophin binding to human thyroid plasma membranes. These antibodies are specific for gangliosides as was shown by the liposome agglutination technique. Antiganglioside antibodies did not stimulate basal adenyl cyclase activity in bovine thyroid plasma membranes, but most antiganglioside antibodies inhibit the activity of thyrotrophin stimulated adenyl cyclase.