Bonding characters of Al-containing bulk metallic glasses studied by 27Al NMR

We report very small (27)Al metallic shifts in a series of Cu-Zr-Al bulk metallic glasses. This observation and the Korringa type of spin-lattice relaxation behavior suggest that s-character wavefunctions weakly participate in bonding and opens the possibility of enhanced covalency (pd hybridization) with increasing Al concentration, in good agreement with elastic constants and hardness measurements. Moreover, ab initio calculations show that this bonding character originates from the strong Al 3p band and Zr 4d band hybridization since their atomic energy levels are closer to each other while the Al 3s band is localized far below the Fermi level. This study might provide a chemical view for understanding flow and fracture mechanisms of these bulk glass-forming alloys.

Impact of lapatinib plus trastuzumab versus single-agent lapatinib on quality of life of patients with trastuzumab-refractory HER2+ metastatic breast cancer

BACKGROUND

Progression-free survival (PFS) was significantly longer for the lapatinib plus trastuzumab (L+T) arm than for L alone in a phase III, randomized, open-label study of women with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 positive metastatic breast cancer who had documented progression on at least one T-containing regimen in the metastatic setting. This analysis focused on impact of treatments on health-related quality of life (HRQOL).

METHODS

HRQOL was assessed using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast (FACT-B) questionnaire. Changes from baseline and time to deterioration were analyzed in the intent-to-treat population.

RESULTS

Differences between the treatment arms in adjusted mean change from baseline favored the L+T arm, ranging from 0.0 to 4.1 (FACT-B), 1.0-4.0 [Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G)], and 0.5-2.7 (Trial Outcome Index). Most differences were not statistically significant, except for FACT-G at week 12 (delta = 4.0, P = 0.037). Similar results were found in a sensitivity analysis that included HRQOL records up to patient withdrawal from original randomized treatment. The longer time to HRQOL deterioration in the L+T arm was not statistically significant (FACT-B hazard ratio, 0.82; 95% confidence interval 0.56-1.20).

CONCLUSION

The addition of lapatinib to trastuzumab prolonged PFS while improving or maintaining near-term HRQOL, suggesting a meaningful clinical benefit to patients.

Identification and genetic effect of haplotypes in the promoter region of porcine myostatin gene

Myostatin plays a pivotal role in controlling skeletal muscle mass in mammals. Polymorphisms in its promoter region likely impact on transcription and production traits. In this study, haplotypes involving three polymorphic sites in the promoter region of the porcine myostatin gene, namely at sites 435, 447 and 879, were identified and their effect on production traits, gene expression as well as on skeletal muscle traits were analysed. Four haplotypes were revealed and the linkage disequilibrium and evolutionary relationship were assessed. The results revealed that haplotypes A, B and C are predominant in Yorkshire and Landrace, Duroc and two Chinese indigenous pig breeds (Laiwu and Dapulian) respectively. The genotypes are associated with body weight on day 21 (BW21), average daily gain from birth to day 21 (ADG1) and average daily gain from day 21 to day 70 (ADG2) (P < 0.05) in Duroc pigs. The activity of haplotype A (pGL3-A) is significantly higher than other constructs in driving reporter gene transcription (P < 0.01). As compared with CC animals, the myostatin mRNA level in BC animals is relatively lower in both semimembranosus (SM) and semitendinosus (ST) skeletal muscles, and the difference was significant in the SM muscle (P < 0.01). Moreover, the mRNA levels of MyHCI, MyHCIIa, MyHCIIb and MyHCIIx and the muscle fibre diameter and density were also compared between BC and CC animals.

Comparison of health care resource use before and after docetaxel treatment among prostate cancer patients

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Background: Docetaxel is standard of care among late-stage prostate cancer patients. We analyzed patterns of health care resource utilization (RU) among patients before and after exposure to docetaxel using a large commercial claims database.

Methods: A random sample of patients (N = 336) with a diagnosis of prostate cancer (ICD 9 code: 185.X) and a claim for docetaxel (2003–2009) was identified from the PharMetrics database, a nationally representative, non-payer-owned integrated commercial U.S. claims database. All patients had ≥ 12 months of enrollment prior to initiation of docetaxel. Patients were followed from their first docetaxel claim until lost to follow-up or June 30, 2009 (censored). RU was defined as all-cause hospitalization, ER, physician, and ambulatory visits. Incidence rates were derived.

Results: Mean age of patients was 67.9 years (SD 10.6); mean number of docetaxel prescriptions was 9.9 (SD 10.3). Mean time to study end/lost to follow-up was 15.41 (SD 12.49) months from the index date. The table shows health care RU for the 12 months before, and over the follow-up period after docetaxel initiation. Hospitalizations, ER, physician, and ambulatory visits were significantly higher in the follow-up period. The average length of hospital stay was significantly longer after docetaxel treatment (8.2 vs 5.5 days). Prior to docetaxel, two-thirds of the patients were on hormonal therapy; 51% on analgesics, and 31% on bisphosphonates. After docetaxel, the proportions were 62%, 58%, and 54%, respectively.

Conclusions: The significantly higher RU with disease progression in prostate cancer patients suggests a need for new treatment options that can effectively manage and improve patient outcomes.

[Table: see text]

[Table: see text]

The farther from town the lower the blood pressure: report from rural Yunnan province

BACKGROUND

Hypertension (HTN) is a major cause of death in Chinese farmers. Remoteness from population centers may independently affect HTN prevalence and severity.

METHODS

We used random cluster sampling to select 27 villages in Yunnan province, China. Within each village, we randomly selected 50-80 men and women between the ages of 50 and 70 years. A total of 1,177 participants underwent interviews and blood pressure (BP) measurement. We evaluated the relationship between BP and distance of the participants' village from the town and county centers with and without adjustment for covariates.

RESULTS

There was a significant (P < 0.001) inverse relationship between BP and distance from populations centers. For every 10 km from the town center, the mean systolic BP (SBP) in the village decreased by 1.2 mm Hg and the mean diastolic by 0.5 mm Hg. After adjustment for age, gender, ethnicity, body mass index, smoking, and drinking, we found that SBP decreased by 1.8 mm Hg (P = 0.03) and diastolic BP by 1.0 mm Hg (P = 0.02) for every 10 km distance from the town center.

CONCLUSIONS

HTN prevalence and severity are significantly linked to distance from population centers in rural Chinese farmers. The farther a farmer's village is from larger population centers, the greater is the probability that his/her BP will be normal. This relationship is independent of age, gender, ethnicity, body mass index, smoking, and alcohol use. Strategies in addressing HTN in rural regions should take account of this geographic dependence on distance from population centers.

Streptozotocin-induced diabetic rat-derived bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells have impaired abilities in proliferation, paracrine, antiapoptosis, and myogenic differentiation

BACKGROUND

Diabetes has been widely recognized as a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. With the development of the regenerative medicine, autologous bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs), transplantation can effectively improve cardiac function after myocardial infarction. However, the BMSCs used in most previous studies are derived from young or normal donors. Little is know about the biological characters change of BMSCs in diabetes mellitus.

METHODS

BMSCs were taken from the streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats and normal control rats. Cell proliferation was evaluated by CCK-8 assay. Production of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Apoptosis under hypoxia and serum deprivation culture conditions were detected by Hoechst 33342 stain and flow cytometry. Myogenic differentiation, induced by 5-azacytidine was assessed by using immunocytochemical staining for the expression of sarcomeric α-actin and desmin.

RESULTS

Diabetic rat models were successfully induced by intraperitoneal injection of STZ. The proliferative abilities of BMSCs derived from diabetic rats decreased significantly compared with that from normal rats (P < .05). Similar results were also presented in the cytokines (VEGF and IGF-1) release (P = .02 and P < .01, respectively) that the ability of antiapoptosis and myogenic differentiation decreased obviously between diabetes group and the normal control group (P < .01).

CONCLUSION

BMSCs from STZ-induced diabetic rats could be successfully harvested and expanded in vitro culture condition; their morphology was very similar to normal control group, with minor changes. However, the proliferative and differentiation properties of diabetic BMSCs, as well as cytokine release and antiapoptosis ability, were significantly impaired.

Anthocyanin production as a potential visual selection marker during plant transformation

A mutant allele of the transcription factor gene MYB10 from apple induces anthocyanin production throughout the plant. This gene, including its upstream promoter, gene coding region and terminator sequence, was introduced into apple, strawberry and potato plants to determine whether it could be used as a visible selectable marker for plant transformation as an alternative to chemically selectable markers, such as kanamycin resistance. After transformation, red coloured calli, red shoots and red well-growing plants were scored. Red and green shoots were harvested from apple explants and examined for the presence of the MYB10 gene by PCR analysis. Red shoots of apple explants always contained the MYB10 gene but not all MYB10 containing shoots were red. Strawberry plants transformed with the MYB10 gene showed anthocyanin accumulation in leaves and roots. No visible accumulation of anthocyanin could be observed in potato plants grown in vitro, even the ones carrying the MYB10 gene. However, acid methanol extracts of potato shoots or roots carrying the MYB10 gene contained up to four times higher anthocyanin content than control plants. Therefore anthocyanin production as result of the apple MYB10 gene can be used as a selectable marker for apple, strawberry and potato transformation, replacing kanamycin resistance.

Electronic Structures of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes Studied by NMR

An individual single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) has been shown [1-4] to exhibit remarkable electronic properties which depend on its diameter and chirality. In this work, the 13C nuclear magnetic resonance technique is used to measure quantitatively the electronic density-of-state (DOS) at the Fermi level in a bulk SWNT sample. Two types of 13C nuclear spins are observed with drastically different nuclear spin-lattice relaxation time (Tl). About onethird of the 13C nuclear spins with shorter Tl, are identified to reside at the metallic SWNTs and two-thirds can be associated with the semiconducting SWNTs. For the metallic SWNTs, the DOS at the Feimi level is measured quantitatively, which is about 0.022 states/(eV·atom·spin). The measured electronic DOS at the Fermi level agrees with the theoretical prediction for metallic tubes. This study also found that the semiconducting SWNTs in bundles, in fact, possess weak metallic characters. This indicates that tube-tube interactions within SWNT bundles could change the electronic properties.

TRPV4 mutations and cytotoxic hypercalcemia in axonal Charcot-Marie-Tooth neuropathies

OBJECTIVE

To improve understanding of TRPV4-associated axonal Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) neuropathy phenotypes and their debated pathologic mechanism.

METHODS

A total of 17 CMT2C phenotypic families with vocal cord and diaphragmatic involvement and 36 clinically undifferentiated CMT2 subjects underwent sequencing analysis of the coding region of TRPV4. Functional studies of mutant proteins were performed using transiently transfected cells for TRPV4 subcellular localization, basal and stimulated Ca(2+) channel analysis, and cell viability assay with or without channel blockade.

RESULTS

Two TRPV4 mutations R232C and R316H from 17 CMT2C families were identified in the ankyrin repeat domains. The R316H is a novel de novo mutation found in a patient with CMT2C phenotype. The family with R232C mutation had individuals with and without vocal cord and diaphragm involvement. Both mutant TRPV4 proteins had normal subcellular localization in HEK293 and HeLa cells. Cells transfected with R232C and R316H displayed increased intracellular Ca(2+) levels and reversible cell death by the TRPV channel antagonist, ruthenium red.

CONCLUSION

TRPV4 ankyrin domain alterations including a novel de novo mutation cause axonal CMT2. Individuals with the same mutation may have nondistinct CMT2 or have phenotypic CMT2C with vocal cord paresis. Reversible hypercalcemic gain-of-function of mutant TRPV4 instead of loss-of-function appears to be pathologically important. The reversibility of cell death by channel blockade provides an attractive area of investigation in consideration of treatable axonal degeneration.

Alterations of Serum Lipid and Inflammatory Cytokine Profiles in Patients with Coronary Heart Disease and Chronic Periodontitis: A Pilot Study

Serum lipid and inflammatory cytokine profiles were assessed in 124 in-patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) (CHD group) and 43 inpatients with no evidence of CHD (control group). In all patients, research questionnaires and examinations of periodontal health were conducted and venous blood samples were analysed. Both groups were divided into two subgroups according to the presence or absence of chronic periodontitis in individual patients. The prevalence of chronic periodontitis was higher in patients from the CHD group than in the control group. Levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein, oxidized low-density lipoprotein, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, interleukin-6 and tumour necrosis factor-a were significantly higher in CHD patients with chronic periodontitis than in those without periodontitis. In conclusion, chronic periodontitis may be associated with CHD.

Efficacy and safety of bazedoxifene in postmenopausal Asian women

This 6-month study examined the efficacy and safety of bazedoxifene 20 mg in postmenopausal Asian women. Bazedoxifene showed statistically significant improvements over placebo in bone mineral density at all skeletal sites evaluated. Bazedoxifene significantly reduced bone turnover and had favorable effects on lipid parameters. Bazedoxifene was safe and well tolerated.

INTRODUCTION

This 6-month, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 3 study conducted in China, Korea, and Taiwan evaluated the efficacy and safety of bazedoxifene in postmenopausal Asian women.

METHODS

Generally, healthy postmenopausal Asian women (N=487; mean age, 57.2 years; mean lumbar spine bone mineral density [BMD], -1.1) were randomized to daily therapy with bazedoxifene 20 mg or placebo; all subjects received daily supplemental calcium carbonate 600 mg. The changes from baseline in BMD at the lumbar spine (primary end point) and at other skeletal sites, bone turnover markers, and lipid parameters were evaluated at 6 months. Safety assessments included adverse event (AE) reporting and physical/gynecologic examination.

RESULTS

At 6 months, women who received bazedoxifene 20 mg had significantly greater BMD compared with those receiving placebo at the lumbar spine (0.41% vs -0.32%, P<0.01), femoral neck (-0.08% vs -0.69%, P=0.014), trochanter (0.50% vs -0.23%, P=0.010), and total hip (-0.03% vs -0.77%, P<0.001), respectively. Bazedoxifene 20 mg was also associated with significant differences from placebo in median percent reductions from baseline in serum C-telopeptide (-21.8%, P<0.001) and osteocalcin (-12.9%, P<0.001) levels and total (-5.0%, P<0.001) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (-9.5%, P<0.001) levels. The incidence of AEs was not different between subjects treated with bazedoxifene and those who received placebo.

CONCLUSION

Bazedoxifene was generally safe and effective in preventing bone loss in this short-term study of postmenopausal Asian women.

Correlation between B Lymphocyte Abnormality and Disease Activity in Patients with Idiopathic Membranous Nephropathy

This study investigated the relationship between peripheral blood B lymphocytes, regulatory T-cells and T lymphocyte subsets, the distribution of B lymphocytes in the kidney, and the pathogenesis of idiopathic membranous nephropathy (IMN). Lymphocyte subsets were measured using flow cytometry in 66 patients with clinically-confirmed IMN and in 40 healthy control subjects. Compared with healthy subjects, the number of peripheral blood B lymphocytes was significantly increased in IMN patients and that of regulatory T-cells was significantly decreased, accompanied by an increased CD4+/CD8+ T-cell ratio. There was no relationship between the number of peripheral blood B lymphocytes and markers of kidney function. Although the number of infiltrating B lymphocytes in the kidney of IMN patients was higher, there was no relationship with the number of peripheral blood B lymphocytes. In conclusion, there was no relationship between peripheral blood B lymphocytes and disease activity, suggesting that peripheral blood B lymphocytes are not a biomarker of disease activity and therapeutic efficacy in IMN.

hSSB1 binds and protects p21 from ubiquitin-mediated degradation and positively correlates with p21 in human hepatocellular carcinomas

Downregulation of hSSB1, a single-stranded DNA-binding protein, causes increased radiosensitivity, defective checkpoint activation and genomic instability. However, the mechanisms of hSSB1 function in these responses remain to be uncovered. Here, we present evidence that hSSB1 directly binds p21 and this interaction may prevent p21 from ubiquitin-mediated degradation. Furthermore, both promotion of the G1/S transition and abrogation of the G2/M checkpoints induced by hSSB1 knockdown are partially dependent on p21. Most importantly, hSSB1 and p21 levels are positively correlated in human hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC), as determined by immunostaining. Therefore, hSSB1 may positively modulate p21 to regulate cell cycle progression and DNA damage response, implicating hSSB1 as a novel, promising therapeutic target for cancers such as HCC.

Exercise preconditioning and brain ischemic tolerance

It is well established that physical exercise can exert neuroprotection both in clinical settings and animal experiments. A series of studies have demonstrated that physical exercise may be a promising preconditioning method to induce brain ischemic tolerance through the promotion of angiogenesis, mediation of the inflammatory response, inhibition of glutamate over-activation, protection of the blood brain barrier (BBB) and inhibition of apoptosis. Through these mechanisms, exercise preconditioning may reduce the neural deficits associated with ischemia and the development of brain infarction and thus provide brain ischemic tolerance. An awareness of the benefits of exercise preconditioning may lead more patients to accept exercise therapy in cases of ischemic stroke.

Velocity measurements in the middle cerebral arteries of healthy volunteers using 3D radial phase-contrast HYPRFlow: comparison with transcranial Doppler sonography and 2D phase-contrast MR imaging

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

We have developed PC HYPRFlow, a comprehensive MRA technique that includes a whole-brain CE dynamic series followed by PC velocity-encoding, yielding a time series of high-resolution morphologic angiograms with associated velocity information. In this study, we present velocity data acquired by using the PC component of PC HYPRFlow (PC-VIPR).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Ten healthy volunteers (6 women, 4 men) were scanned by using PC HYPRFlow and 2D-PC imaging, immediately followed by velocity measurements by using TCD. Velocity measurements were made in the M1 segments of the MCAs from the PC-VIPR, 2D-PC, and TCD examinations.

RESULTS

PC-VIPR showed approximately 30% lower mean velocity compared with TCD, consistent with other comparisons of TCD with PC-MRA. The correlation with TCD was r = 0.793, and the correlation of PC-VIPR with 2D-PC was r = 0.723.

CONCLUSIONS

PC-VIPR is a technique capable of acquiring high-resolution MRA of diagnostic quality with velocity data comparable with TCD and 2D-PC. The combination of velocity information and fast high-resolution whole-brain morphologic angiograms makes PC HYPRFlow an attractive alternative to current MRA methods.