In this paper, the pinning and depinning mechanism of the contact line during droplet evaporation on chemically stripe-patterned surfaces is numerically investigated using a thermal multiphase ...lattice Boltzmann (LB) model with liquid–vapor phase change. A local force balance in the context of diffuse interfaces is introduced to explain the equilibrium states of droplets on chemically patterned surfaces. It is shown that when the contact line is pinned on a hydrophobic–hydrophilic boundary, different contact angles can be interpreted as the variation of the length of the contact line occupied by each component. The stick–slip–jump behavior of evaporating droplets on chemically patterned surfaces is well captured by the LB simulations. Particularly, a slow movement of the contact line is clearly observed during the stick (pinning) mode, which shows that the pinning of the contact line during droplet evaporation on chemically stripe-patterned surfaces is actually a dynamic pinning process and the dynamic equilibrium is achieved by the self-adjustment of the contact lines occupied by each component. Moreover, it is shown that when the surface tension varies with the temperature, the Marangoni effect has an important influence on the depinning of the contact line, which occurs when the horizontal component (toward the center of the droplet) of the force caused by the Marangoni stress overcomes the unbalanced Young’s force toward the outside.
The main purpose of present study was to evaluate the response of leaf ion content, photosynthesis and chlorophyll fluorescence to NaCl stress in soybean (
Glycine
max
L. Merr.). During salt ...treatment, soybean seedlings were exposed to 0 or 200 mM NaCl for 1, 6 or 12 days. The results showed that following treatment with NaCl, the content of Na
+
and the Na
+
/K
+
ratio in the leaves continually increased, while the K
+
content decreased, which suggested that Na
+
could compete with K
+
to be adsorbed as an ion. Short-term salt stress may not significantly reduce the ability of soybean to utilize light and CO
2
, but long-term salinity could obviously impair the photosynthetic capacity in soybean leaves. Moreover, Short-term salt stress may also had no obvious effects on
and
, but severe salt stress would cause the down-regulate of PSII photochemistry and the increase of excessive excitation energy dissipation. The photoinhibitory damage induced by salt stress eventually occured. Consequently, with increased NaCl stress, stem elongation, leaf expansion and biomass accumulation in soybean tended to decrease. These results provided sufficient information on plant photosynthetic response to salinity exposure.
Alzheimer disease (AD) and Parkinson disease (PD) are the two most common age-related neurodegenerative diseases characterized by prominent neurodegeneration in selective neural systems. Although a ...small fraction of AD and PD cases exhibit evidence of heritability, among which many genes have been identified, the majority are sporadic without known causes. Molecular mechanisms underlying neurodegeneration and pathogenesis of these diseases remain elusive. Convincing evidence demonstrates oxidative stress as a prominent feature in AD and PD and links oxidative stress to the development of neuronal death and neural dysfunction, which suggests a key pathogenic role for oxidative stress in both AD and PD. Notably, mitochondrial dysfunction is also a prominent feature in these diseases, which is likely to be of critical importance in the genesis and amplification of reactive oxygen species and the pathophysiology of these diseases. In this review, we focus on changes in mitochondrial DNA and mitochondrial dynamics, two aspects critical to the maintenance of mitochondrial homeostasis and function, in relationship with oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of AD and PD.
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► This review focuses on mtDNA and mitochondrial dynamics as target and mediator of oxidative stress. ► Alterations in mtDNA and mitochondrial dynamics in Alzheimer disease are discussed. ► Alterations in mtDNA and mitochondrial dynamics in Parkinson disease are also discussed.
This phase II, open-label study evaluated the efficacy and safety of erlotinib as second-line therapy in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with brain metastases (BM).
Forty-eight patients ...aged 18–75 years with Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status 0–2, confirmed adenocarcinoma or activating epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation-positive NSCLC, and asymptomatic BM without extracranial progressive disease after first-line platinum-doublet chemotherapy were recruited. Treatment comprised erlotinib 150 mg/day. The primary end point was progression-free survival (PFS) determined by RECIST.
The median PFS was 10.1 months 95% confidence interval (CI) 7.1–12.3 for intracranial progression and 9.7 months (95% CI 2.5–17.8) for intracranial and systemic progression. Patients with EGFR mutation-positive disease had significantly longer median PFS versus EGFR wild-type disease 15.2 months (95% CI 8.3–22.2) versus 4.4 months (95% CI 0.0–11.6); P = 0.02. The median overall survival was 18.9 months (95% CI 14.4–23.4); 6-month and 1-year survival rates were 85% and 73%, respectively. Overall response rate was 58.3%. Most common adverse events were rash (77.1%), paronychia (20.8%), hyperbilirubinemia (16.7%), and diarrhea (14.6%); these were predominantly of grade 1/2.
Single-agent erlotinib was active and well tolerated in NSCLC patients with BM. Further studies are warranted.
CTONG0806 assessed the efficacy of pemetrexed versus gefitinib as second-line treatment in advanced nonsquamous nonsmall-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harboring wild-type epidermal growth factor receptor ...(EGFR).
Patients with locally advanced or metastatic nonsquamous NSCLC harboring wild-type EGFR, detected by direct sequencing, and previously treated with platinum-based chemotherapy were randomized to receive gefitinib (250 mg/day) orally or pemetrexed (500 mg/m2) i.v. on day 1 of a 21-day cycle until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. The primary end point was progression-free survival (PFS). The Independent Review Committee (IRC) evaluated all pictorial data.
From February 2009 to August 2012, 161 patients were enrolled, and 157 were assessable (81 in the gefitinib arm, 76 in the pemetrexed arm). Baseline characteristics were balanced between the two arms. The median PFSs were 4.8 versus 1.6 months in the pemetrexed and gefitinib arms, respectively hazard ratio (HR) 0.54, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.40–0.75, P < 0.001 as confirmed by IRC evaluation (5.6versus 1.7 months, HR 0.53, 95% CI 0.38–0.75, P < 0.001). The median overall survival (OS) showed a trend of superiority in the pemetrexed arm (12.4 versus 9.6 months, HR 0.72, 95% CI 0.49–1.04, P = 0.077). Quality-of-life assessment showed no marked difference between the arms. No unexpected adverse events were found. Of 108 patients with sufficient DNA samples, EGFR mutation status was re-tested by Scorpion amplification refractory mutation system (ARMS); 32 (29.6%) tested positive (19 in the pemetrexed arm, 13 in the gefitinib arm; median PFS: 8.1 versus 7.0 months, HR 0.94, 95% CI 0.43–2.08, P = 0.877).
CTONG0806 is the first trial to show significant improvement in PFS and an improved OS trend with pemetrexed compared with gefitinib as second-line setting treatment of EGFR wild-type advanced nonsquamous NSCLC. ARMS is superior to direct sequencing in excluding false-negative patients.
NCT00891579.
Abstract
We present the second release of value-added catalogues of the LAMOST Spectroscopic Survey of the Galactic Anticentre (LSS-GAC DR2). The catalogues present values of radial velocity Vr, ...atmospheric parameters – effective temperature Teff, surface gravity log g, metallicity Fe/H, α-element to iron (metal) abundance ratio α/Fe (α/M), elemental abundances C/H and N/H and absolute magnitudes MV and $M_{K_{\rm s}}$ deduced from 1.8 million spectra of 1.4 million unique stars targeted by the LSS-GAC since 2011 September until 2014 June. The catalogues also give values of interstellar reddening, distance and orbital parameters determined with a variety of techniques, as well as proper motions and multiband photometry from the far-UV to the mid-IR collected from the literature and various surveys. Accuracies of radial velocities reach 5 km s−1 for the late-type stars, and those of distance estimates range between 10 and 30 per cent, depending on the spectral signal-to-noise ratios. Precisions of Fe/H, C/H and N/H estimates reach 0.1 dex, and those of α/Fe and α/M reach 0.05 dex. The large number of stars, the contiguous sky coverage, the simple yet non-trivial target selection function and the robust estimates of stellar radial velocities and atmospheric parameters, distances and elemental abundances make the catalogues a valuable data set to study the structure and evolution of the Galaxy, especially the solar-neighbourhood and the outer disc.
Leptomeningeal metastases (LM) are more frequent in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations. Due to limited access to leptomeningeal lesions, the ...purpose of this study was to explore the potential role of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) as a source of liquid biopsy in patients with LM.
Primary tumor, CSF, and plasma in NSCLC with LM were tested by next-generation sequencing. In total, 45 patients with suspected LM underwent lumbar puncture, and those with EGFR mutations diagnosed with LM were enrolled.
A total of 28 patients were enrolled in this cohort; CSF and plasma were available in 26 patients, respectively. Driver genes were detected in 100% (26/26), 84.6% (22/26), and 73.1% (19/26) of samples comprising CSF cell-free DNA (cfDNA), CSF precipitates, and plasma, respectively; 92.3% (24/26) of patients had much higher allele fractions in CSF cfDNA than the other two media. Unique genetic profiles were captured in CSF cfDNA compared with those in plasma and primary tissue. Multiple copy number variations (CNVs) were mainly identified in CSF cfDNA, and MET copy number gain identified in 47.8% (11/23) of patients was the most frequent one, while other CNVs included ERBB2, KRAS, ALK, and MYC. Moreover, loss of heterozygosity (LOH) of TP53 was identified in 73.1% (19/26) CSF cfDNA, which was much higher than that in plasma (2/26, 7.7%; P<0.001). There was a trend towards a higher frequency of concomitant resistance mutations in patients with TP53 LOH than those without (70.6% versus 33.3%; P=0.162). EGFR T790M was identified in CSF cfDNA of 30.4% (7/23) of patients who experienced TKI progression.
CSF cfDNA could reveal the unique genetic profiles of LM and should be considered as the most representative liquid biopsy medium for LM in EGFR-mutant NSCLC.
A polycrystalline hot working ingot metallurgy processing route for γ/γ′ Co–Al–W superalloys has been developed. Based on Co–7Al–7W (at%), substitutions of Mo, V, Ti, Ta, Ni, Si, Fe and Cr were ...examined. The γ′ solvus was found to follow the same trends as those exhibited by alloys with higher γ′ fractions considered by other investigators. Excessive Cr additions were found to lead to discontinuous coarsening and eventually, the loss of the γ′ phase from the microstructures observed. Ni additions were examined, with some success, and found to restore the γ′ phase and raise the solvus temperature. It was found that the addition of 13 at.% Cr improved the oxidation resistance at 800 °C by over 40 times.
•A polycrystalline ingot metallurgy route for γ/γ′ Co–Al–W superalloys was developed.•Substitutions of Mo, V, Ti, Ta, Ni, Si, Fe and Cr were examined.•Excessive Cr additions led to discontinuous coarsening and the loss of the γ′ phase.•Ni additions restored the γ′ phase and raise the solvus temperature.•Addition of 13 at.% Cr improved oxidation resistance at 800 °C by over 40 times.
•The 800°C oxidation of alloys based on Co–7Al–7W (at.%) was examined.•Cr, Fe and Si additions were beneficial.•Repeated non-protective oxide bilayers formed during cycling of alloys without Cr.•Cr ...modified the scale, producing a spinel overlying Cr2O3 and Al2O3 layers.•Therefore protective oxide scales are possible in γ Co/ γ′Co3(Al,W) superalloys.
The 800°C isothermal and cyclic oxidation of alloys based on Co–7Al–7W (at.%) was examined. Cr, Fe and Si additions were beneficial. Repeated oxide bilayers formed during cycling of non-Cr alloys, which were not protective (>100μm thick). In these layers, the outer was Co3O4 and the inner, a porous Co3O4 and Al2O3 mixture. 10at.% Cr substitution for Co was sufficient to produce a protective, ∼1μm thick scale which contained an outer layer of Al2CoO4, a very thin (100nm) middle layer of Cr2O3 and an inner layer of Al2O3. Therefore protective oxide scales are possible in γ/γ′, Co–Co3(Al,W) superalloys.
The use of adult stem cells is limited by the quality and quantity of host stem cells. It has been demonstrated that Wharton's jelly-derived mesenchymal stem cells (WJMSCs), a primitive stromal ...population, could integrate into ischemic cardiac tissues and significantly improve heart function. In this randomized, controlled trial, our aim was to assess the safety and efficacy of intracoronary WJMSCs in patients with ST-elevation acute myocardial infarction (AMI).
In a multicenter trial, 116 patients with acute ST-elevation MI were randomly assigned to receive an intracoronary infusion of WJMSCs or placebo into the infarct artery at five to seven days after successful reperfusion therapy. The primary endpoint of safety: the incidence of adverse events (AEs) within 18 months, was monitored and quantified. The endpoint of efficacy: the absolute changes in myocardial viability and perfusion of the infarcted region from baseline to four months, global left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) from baseline to 18 months were measured using F-18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission computed tomography (F-18-FDG-PET) and 99mTc-sestamibi single-photon emission computed tomography (99mTc-SPECT), and two-dimensional echocardiography, respectively.
During 18 months follow-up, AEs rates and laboratory tests including tumor, immune, and hematologic indexes were not different between the two groups. The absolute increase in the myocardial viability (PET) and perfusion within the infarcted territory (SPECT) was significantly greater in the WJMSC group 6.9 ± 0.6 % (95 %CI, 5.7 to 8.2) and 7.1 ± 0.8 % (95 %CI, 5.4 to 8.8) than in the placebo group 3.3 ± 0.7 % (95 %CI, 1.8 to 4.7), P <0.0001 and 3.9 ± 0.6(95 %CI, 2.8 to 5.0), P = 0.002 at four months. The absolute increase in the LVEF at 18 months in the WJMSC group was significantly greater than that in the placebo group 7.8 ± 0.9 (6.0 to approximately 9.7) vs. 2.8 ± 1.2 (0.4 to approximately 5.1), P = 0.001. Concomitantly, the absolute decreases in LV end-systolic volumes and end-diastolic volumes at 18 months in the WJMSC group were significantly greater than those in the placebo group (P = 0.0004, P = 0.004, respectively).
Intracoronary infusion of WJMSCs is safe and effective in patients with AMI, providing clinically relevant therapy within a favorable time window. This study encourages additional clinical trials to determine whether WJMSCs may serve as a novel alternative to BMSCs for cardiac stem cell-based therapy.
Clinical Trials NCT01291329 (02/05/2011).
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