Melt crystallization of polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) was studied by differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transformed infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR) ...and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The SEM analysis showed that POSS samples are aggregated in micrometric size. Additionally, FTIR spectra confirmed intermolecular interactions among carbonyl groups. All samples showed that the Ozawa exponent ranged from 1 to 2.6 and the Ozawa crystallization rate constant was found to decrease with increasing temperature and reduction of average X(T). This suggests that these POSS crystallized slower as the temperature increased. The ∆EX(T) values for isobutyl POSS increased monotonically until X(T)=0.4, and for the methacryl isobutyl POSS the ∆EX(T) values decreased. After this point ∆EX(T) showed similar values for both POSS samples. The presence of the methacryl radical in POSS cages interfered in the crystallization process due to the hysteric hindrance among POSS–POSS cages.
•T8 POSS structures have similar melt enthalpies.•The electronegative atom in POSS pendent group changes the temperature of melting/crystallization.•The melt crystallization of the POSS structures depends on the symmetry of the cubic structure.•The self-assembly phenomenon of POSS structures is closely related to its symmetry and type of pendant group.
We investigated the low load friction behavior of plasma post-oxidized, plasma- nitrided AISI 1045 plain steel, using unidirectional sliding tests. The hydrogen content in the post-oxidation plasma ...was varied between 0 and 25%. The nitrided or oxidized layer thicknesses ranged from approximately 340–380 μm or 0.7–1.1 μm, respectively. The outermost iron oxide layer decreases the friction, whereas the underneath iron nitride layer increases the mechanical strength. The incorporation of hydrogen in the oxidative plasma mixture allows to control the type of iron oxide phase. It is observed that the presence of a superficial magnetite layer leads to a decrease of the friction coefficient with respect to the non-oxidized nitrided steel. The results are interpreted on the lights of crystal chemistry and with a model to explain the in-depth effects of hydrogen in the oxidative plasma.
► Hydrogen improves the oxidation performance in terms of oxide layer thickness. ► Magnetite reduces both friction and roughness. ► The hydrogen effect takes place in-depth at the whole layer.
Contemporary classification and treatment of salivary duct carcinoma (SDC) require its thorough molecular characterization. Thirty apocrine SDCs were analyzed by the Ion Ampliseq Cancer HotSpot panel ...v2 for mutations in 50 cancer-related genes. Mutational findings were corroborated by immunohistochemistry (eg, TP53, BRAF, β-catenin, estrogen, and androgen receptors) or Sanger sequencing/SNaPshot polymerase chain reaction. ERBB2 (HER2), PTEN, FGFR1, CDKN2A/P16, CMET, EGFR, MDM2, and PIK3CA copy number changes were studied by fluorescence in situ hybridization. TP53 mutations (15/27, 56%), PTEN loss (11/29, 38%, including 2 cases with PTEN mutation), PIK3CA hotspot mutations (10/30, 33%), HRAS hotspot mutations (10/29; 34%), and ERBB2 amplification (9/29, 31%, including 1 case with mutation) represented the 5 most common abnormalities. There was no correlation between genetic changes and clinicopathologic parameters. There was substantial overlap between genetic changes8 of 9 cases with ERBB2 amplification also harbored a PIK3CA, HRAS, and TP53 mutation and/or PTEN loss. Six of 10 cases with PIK3CA mutation also had an HRAS mutation. These findings provide a molecular rationale for dual targeting of mitogen-activated protein kinase and phosphoinositide 3-kinase pathways in SDC. FGFR1 amplification (3/29, 10%) represents a new potential target. On the basis of studies of breast carcinomas, the efficacy of anti-ERBB2 therapy will likely be decreased in SDC with ERBB2 amplification co-occurring with PIK3CA mutation or PTEN loss. Therefore, isolated ERBB2 testing is insufficient for theranostic stratification of apocrine SDC. On the basis of the prevalence and type of genetic changes, apocrine SDC appears to resemble one subtype of breast carcinoma—“luminal androgen receptor positive/molecular apocrine.”
PIK3CA Mutations and PTEN Loss in Salivary Duct Carcinomas Griffith, Christopher C; Seethala, Raja R; Luvison, Alyssa ...
The American journal of surgical pathology,
2013-August, 2013-Aug, 2013-08-00, 20130801, Letnik:
37, Številka:
8
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Salivary duct carcinoma (SDC) is an aggressive malignancy that frequently presents at an advanced stage. Mutations/amplification of the gene encoding the p110α catalytic subunit of phosphoinositide ...3-kinase (PIK3CA) and/or loss of the phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) are known to activate the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway and may represent a therapeutic target. In 7 of 34 SDCs (20.5%) a SNaPshot polymerase chain reaction detected PIK3CA exon 9 p.E545K (n=3) and p.E542K (n=2) or exon 20 p.H1047R (n=2) mutations. PIK3CA p.E545K mutation was identified in 3 de novo SDCs with conventional morphology. The only case of SDC with anaplastic transformation showed PIK3CA p.H1047R mutation, whereas 1 of 2 PIK3CA p.E542K mutations was identified in SDC arising in a pleomorphic adenoma. None of the 16 tested SDCs showed PIK3CA amplification by fluorescence in situ hybridization. Fluorescence in situ hybridization identified PTEN loss in 8 of 16 tested SDCs (50%) homozygous deletion (n=3), chromosome 10 monosomy (n=3), hemizygous deletion (n=2). Two cases showed both PIK3CA mutation and PTEN loss, suggesting that these events are not mutually exclusive. These findings offer a molecular rationale for therapeutic targeting of the PI3K pathway in patients with SDC.
Background. Surgical correction of tracheal defects is a complex procedure when the gold standard treatment with primary end-to-end anastomosis is not possible. An alternative treatment may be the ...use of porcine small intestinal submucosa (SIS). It has been used as graft material for bioengineering applications and to promote tissue regeneration. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether SIS grafts improved tracheal tissue regeneration in a rabbit model of experimental tracheostomy. Methods. Sixteen rabbits were randomized into two groups. Animals in the control group underwent only surgical tracheostomy, while animals in the SIS group underwent surgical tracheostomy with an SIS graft covering the defect. We examined tissues at the site of tracheostomy 60 days after surgery using histological analysis with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining and analyzed the perimeter and area of the defect with Image-Pro® PLUS 4.5 (Media Cybernetics). Results. The average perimeter and area of the defects were smaller by 15.3% (p=0.034) and 21.8% (p=0.151), respectively, in the SIS group than in the control group. Histological analysis revealed immature cartilage, pseudostratified ciliated epithelium, and connective tissue in 54.5% (p=0.018) of the SIS group, while no cartilaginous regeneration was observed in the control group. Conclusions. Although tracheal SIS engraftment could not prevent stenosis in a rabbit model of tracheal injury, it produced some remarkable changes, efficiently facilitating neovascularization, reepithelialization, and neoformation of immature cartilage.
To overcome the limitations of the so-called Industry 4.0 focusing on mass production and full automation, a novel paradigm was recently introduced, namely Industry 5.0, which aims at an increased ...collaboration between humans and machines, and particularly robots, instead of replacing the former with the latter. This challenge requires novel interactive intelligent robots able to perform complex tasks easily and efficiently and to collaborate on the fly with humans whenever required, be it for training or working. In this work, the Robot Companion, a novel demonstrator of this paradigm, is introduced. It combines robotics, Artificial Intelligence, software engineering and embedded systems technologies, and targets industrial assembly tasks. First tests show that this robot can efficiently assemble a representative gear system autonomously or in collaboration with human operators.
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•Partial ion exchange resulted in the formation of supramolecular structures through electrostatic interactions.•The amount of chloride modulated the size and structure of POSS ...macroions aggregates.•Multiple hydrogen bonds form supramolecular POSS films with tunable surface tension and transparency.
In this study, we synthesized 3-chloroammoniumpropyl polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (CAP-POSS) by acid hydrolysis and condensation. Partial ion exchange resulted in the formation of supramolecular structures through electrostatic interactions. The interactions between POSS macroions were led by multiple hydrogen bonds that form supramolecular structures. After ion exchange, the structures of the CAP-POSS reduce the symmetry by the exchange of counterions and associate to form rigid transparent films at room temperature. The amount of chloride modulated the size and structure of macroions aggregates in the supramolecular films. Regardless of the amount of chloride removed, the films were formed of mass-fractal like structures with sizes ranging from 80 to 28 nm. The surface energy was proportional to the free amine content, and UV–vis was a light transmission characteristic. Therefore, the use of partial ion exchange represents an alternative to design of supramolecular POSS structures with properties tunable through multiple hydrogen bonds.
The mechanisms underlying the potential for aggressive behavior of prostate cancer (PCa) remain elusive. In this study, whole genome and/or transcriptome sequencing was performed on 19 specimens of ...PCa, matched adjacent benign prostate tissues, matched blood specimens, and organ donor prostates. A set of novel fusion transcripts was discovered in PCa. Eight of these fusion transcripts were validated through multiple approaches. The occurrence of these fusion transcripts was then analyzed in 289 prostate samples from three institutes, with clinical follow-up ranging from 1 to 15 years. The analyses indicated that most patients 69 (91%) of 76 positive for any of these fusion transcripts ( TRMT11-GRIK2 , SLC45A2-AMACR , MTOR-TP53BP1 , LRRC59-FLJ60017 , TMEM135-CCDC67 , KDM4-AC011523.2 , MAN2A1-FER , and CCNH-C5orf30 ) experienced PCa recurrence, metastases, and/or PCa-specific death after radical prostatectomy. These outcomes occurred in only 37% (58/157) of patients without carrying those fusion transcripts. Three fusion transcripts occurred exclusively in PCa samples from patients who experienced recurrence or PCa–related death. The formation of these fusion transcripts may be the result of genome recombination. A combination of these fusion transcripts in PCa with Gleason's grading or with nomogram significantly improves the prediction rate of PCa recurrence. Our analyses suggest that formation of these fusion transcripts may underlie the aggressive behavior of PCa.
RET Rearrangements in Lung Adenocarcinoma and Radiation Dacic, Sanja; Luvison, Alyssa; Evdokimova, Viktoria ...
Journal of thoracic oncology,
January 2014, 2014-January, 2014-Jan, 2014-01-00, 20140101, Letnik:
9, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
RET rearrangement, a hallmark of radiation-induced thyroid cancer, has been reported to occur in 1% of lung adenocarcinoma patients. Patients with this rearrangement tend to be younger and never ...smokers, raising a possibility of other causes, such as radiation. We hypothesized that RET chromosomal rearrangement may represent a genetic mechanism of radiation-induced lung cancer.
Two hundred forty-five consecutive primary lung adenocarcinomas without history of radiation and 38 lung adenocarcinoma patients with a history of therapeutic radiation for breast carcinoma or mediastinal Hodkgin lymphoma were tested for RET rearrangement by fluorescence in situ hybridization. Human lung adenocarcinoma cells (201T) were subjected to γ radiation and tested for RET gene fusions by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and Southern blot hybridization.
We identified one case with RET rearrangement in the group without history of radiation (1 of 240; 0.4%) and two cases in the group with history of radiation (2 of 37; 5.4%; P=0.0436). Both these patients were women, who were former smokers with a history of breast carcinoma treated with surgery and radiation. Furthermore, we found that RET fusions could be directly induced in 201T human lung cells by exposure to 1 Gy of γ radiation. All fusions identified were between RET and KIF5B genes, and no RET fusions to CCDC6 or NCOA4 genes, characteristic for thyroid cancer, were identified in the irradiated lung cells.
RET fusions may represent a genetic mechanism of radiation-induced lung adenocarcinoma.
Crowd behaviour analysis is a challenging task in computer vision, mainly due to the high complexity of the interactions between groups and individuals. This task is particularly crucial given the ...magnitude of manual monitoring required for effective crowd management. Within this context, a key challenge is to conceive a highly generic, fine and context-independent characterisation of crowd behaviours. Since current datasets answer only partially to this problem, a new dataset is generated, with a total of 11 crowd motion patterns and over 6000 video clips with an average length of 100 frames per sequence. We establish the first baseline of crowd characterisation with an extensive evaluation on shallow and deep methods. This characterisation is expected to be useful in multiple crowd analysis circumstances, we present a new deep architecture for crowd characterisation and demonstrate its application in the context of anomaly classification.
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