We developed dual photosensitization, in which CdS quantum dots serve as a sandwich layer between the ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) and N3 dye molecules, alleviating the serious issues of CdS ...photocorrosion and the Zn2+/N3 dye complex formation leading to insulating surface aggregation. The improvement in the solar-to-electrical conversion efficiency from 0.11 and 0.85 to 3.04% when compared to ZnO/N3 and ZnO−CdS, respectively, is attributed to the effective coupling between the ZnO NPs/N3 dye molecules in the presence of CdS QDs, which in turn enhances the rate of electron injection due to the faster electron injection and transfer rate. Strong ZnO NPs−CdS QDs linking is explored systematically using UV−vis spectroscopy and is interpreted with a charge transfer resistance obtained from impedance spectroscopy studies.
The natural history of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is complex and not entirely explained by conventional prognostic factors. In this study we evaluated the prognostic value of carbonic anhydrase IX ...(CAIX) and Ki67 to predict survival in RCC.
Immunohistochemical analysis using a CAIX and a Ki67 monoclonal antibody was performed on tissue microarrays constructed from paraffin embedded specimens from 224 patients treated with nephrectomy for clear cell renal carcinoma. CAIX and Ki67 staining were correlated with clinical factors, pathological features and survival. Median followup was 34 months (range 0.3 to 117) and disease specific survival was the primary end point assessed.
Univariate statistical analysis showed that high Ki67 staining and low CAIX staining correlated significantly with poor median survival (21 months, p < 0.001 and 22 months, p = 0.011, respectively). Each marker was highly significant for stratifying patient groups defined by T stage, Fuhrman grade, nodal status, metastatic status and performance status. On multivariate analysis CAIX and Ki67 were significant predictors of survival with an HR of 1.78 (p = 0.014) and 1.75 (p = 0.009), respectively. Although CAIX and Ki67 staining were inversely correlated (p = 0.009), Ki67 significantly substratified patient subgroups defined by high or low CAIX staining (p = 0.001 and 0.003, respectively). When Ki67 and CAIX were combined into a single parameter, RCC tumors could be stratified into low, intermediate and high risk groups with a median survival of greater than 101, 31 and 9 months, respectively (p <0.001). On multivariate analysis the combined parameter consisting of Ki67 and CAIX was a significant predictor of survival (p <0.001) and it was able to displace histological grade.
Ki67and CAIX are useful prognostic biomarkers for RCC that improve the survival prediction and classification of kidney cancer.
The present study was designed to evaluate the effects of age on the efficacy of the ketogenic diet in suppressing seizures evoked by tail-vein infusion of pentylenetetrazole (PTZ). Male rats of ...various ages were divided into three groups and fed one of three diets: (1) a calorie-restricted ketogenic diet, (2) a calorie-restricted normal (rodent chow) diet, or (3) a normal diet, ad libitum. After animals had been on experimental or control diets for more than 20 days, seizure threshold and blood levels of beta-hydroxybutyrate (β-OHB) were determined. Animals fed a ketogenic diet exhibited significant elevations in levels of β-OHB and seizure resistance compared to animals fed either a calorie-restricted normal diet or a normal diet, ad libitum. The levels of β-OHB and seizure resistance were greatest for young pups. A surprising finding was that young animals fed a calorie-restricted rodent chow diet exhibited a significantly increased resistance to seizures compared to those fed the same diet, ad libitum. Results presented here demonstrate that the ketogenic diet produces the highest levels of ketonemia and seizure threshold in young animals. Collectively, these data suggest that age and caloric restriction are important considerations for implementing the ketogenic diet.
We present the first example of binary microlensing for which the parameter measurements can be verified (or contradicted) by future Doppler observations. This test is made possible by a confluence ...of two relatively unusual circumstances. First, the binary lens is bright enough (I = 15.6) to permit Doppler measurements. Second, we measure not only the usual seven binary-lens parameters, but also the 'microlens parallax' (which yields the binary mass) and two components of the instantaneous orbital velocity. Thus, we measure, effectively, six 'Kepler+1' parameters (two instantaneous positions, two instantaneous velocities, the binary total mass, and the mass ratio). Since Doppler observations of the brighter binary component determine five Kepler parameters (period, velocity amplitude, eccentricity, phase, and position of periapsis), while the same spectroscopy yields the mass of the primary, the combined Doppler + microlensing observations would be overconstrained by 6 + (5 + 1) -- (7 + 1) = 4 degrees of freedom. This makes possible an extremely strong test of the microlensing solution. We also introduce a uniform microlensing notation for single and binary lenses, define conventions, summarize all known microlensing degeneracies, and extend a set of parameters to describe full Keplerian motion of the binary lenses.
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