A simple method to dramatically enhance the optical magnetoelectric (ME) effect, i.e., nonreciprocal directional birefringence, is proposed and demonstrated for a polar ferrimagnet GaFeO3 as a ...typical example. We patterned a simple grating with a period of 4 microm on a surface of GaFeO3 crystal and used the diffracted light as a probe. The optical ME modulation signal for the Bragg spot of the order n=1 becomes gigantic in the photon energy 1-4 eV and reaches 1-2% of the bare diffracted light intensity in a magnetic field of 500 Oe. This is amplified by more than 3 orders of magnitude compared to that for the reflection of bulk GaFeO3. Fabricating a photonic crystal will make it possible to lead the way for the practical use of the optical ME effect.
Objective
Mucinous carcinoma (MCA) may show neuroendocrine differentiation (ND), but the cytological features characteristic of ND remains elusive. We compared fine needle aspiration (FNA) findings ...of MCA between cases with high and low degrees of ND.
Methods
Histological sections of 37 MCA cases were immunohistochemically evaluated for expression of chromogranin A and synaptophysin, and were graded as 0 to 3+ degrees of ND. They were divided into low ND (grade 0 and 1+) and high ND (grade 2+ and 3+) groups. Pre‐operative FNA samples of each group were assessed for cytological features.
Results
The mean age of the high ND group (n = 18) was higher than the low ND group (n = 19, P = 0.01). In FNA samples of the high ND group, 17 cases showed moderate to severe degrees of discohesiveness, but low ND cases mainly showed no or only mild discohesiveness (P < 0.001). Nine of the low ND cases displayed overlapped, cohesive cell clusters, whereas, in the high ND cases, the cells were arranged in a loose, flat and monolayered pattern (P = 0.045). Fourteen of the high ND cases had round nuclei, but oval nuclei were predominant in the low ND cases (P = 0.027). The nuclei were eccentrically located in 12 of the high ND cases but were centrally located in 14 of the low ND cases (P = 0.01).
Conclusions
Mucinous carcinoma with high ND may be diagnosed by the presence of discohesiveness, a flat, monolayered pattern, and round or eccentrically located nuclei. Features of ND in carcinomas in other organs, such as intracytoplasmic granules and coarse chromatin, may not be reliable cytological features of ND in MCA.
This study describes the detailed cytological features of the Mucinous carcinoma (MCA) of breast with neuroendocrine differentiation (ND) in 37 patients. The staining distribution of ND markers was semi‐quantitatively graded as high and low ND groups. This was correlated with the clinical profile of these patients.
The death of a loved one is one of the most stressful events in life and is related to the physical and psychological wellbeing of the bereaved. Some bereaved individuals seek medical counseling to ...alleviate their distress. However, no studies have focused on the bereaved who have lost a loved one to cancer and have asked for medical help at a cancer center as a result. The aim of this study was to investigate the distress of the bereaved who sought consultation, as basic information for considering support.
We conducted a survey of people consulting outpatient services for bereaved families between April 2007 and September 2009. Data were obtained from medical records at initial consultation and qualitatively analyzed by content analysis using all statements related to their distress.
Their statements were classified into 11 categories, which were further classified into six themes. The main categories of bereavement-related distress were as follows: (i) regret; (ii) anger; (iii) memories; (iv) loneliness; (v) anxiety; and (vi) hopelessness. 'Regret' was frequently recognized in their distress and it includes some points related to the cancer trajectory.
Psychological distresses of the bereaved who have lost a loved one and have asked for medical counseling are revealed. Their distresses are strongly related to the cancer trajectory of a family member. Some of these distresses are related to medical misunderstanding about the course of cancer. These findings might provide basic information for considering their appropriate treatment.
Single-strand selective monofunctional uracil-DNA glycosylase (SMUG1), previously thought to be a backup enzyme for uracil-DNA glycosylase, has recently been shown to excise 5-hydroxyuracil (hoU), ...5-hydroxymethyluracil (hmU) and 5-formyluracil (fU) bearing an oxidized group at ring C5 as well as an uracil. In the present study, we used site-directed mutagenesis to construct a series of mutants of human SMUG1 (hSMUG1), and tested their activity for uracil, hoU, hmU, fU and other bases to elucidate the catalytic and damage-recognition mechanism of hSMUG1. The functional analysis of the mutants, together with the homology modeling of the hSMUG1 structure based on that determined recently for Xenopus laevis SMUG1, revealed the crucial residues for the rupture of the N-glycosidic bond (Asn85 and His239), discrimination of pyrimidine rings through π–π stacking to the base (Phe98) and specific hydrogen bonds to the Watson–Crick face of the base (Asn163) and exquisite recognition of the C5 substituent through water-bridged (uracil) or direct (hoU, hmU and fU) hydrogen bonds (Gly87–Met91). Integration of the present results and the structural data elucidates how hSMUG1 accepts uracil, hoU, hmU and fU as substrates, but not other oxidized pyrimidines such as 5-hydroxycytosine, 5-formylcytosine and thymine glycol, and intact pyrimidines such as thymine and cytosine.
A simple initial screening procedure for selecting strains of white-rot fungi with potential for use in bioremediation of contaminated sites is described. Besides the ability to degrade low molecular ...weight PAHs, isolates were screened for their growth rate on straw-based agar media, their potential to tolerate high concentrations of phenanthrene and their ability to out-grow the cellulolytic fungus
Trichoderma harzianum on straw agar plates. Results from simple
in vitro tests were correlated with the ability of the different strains to degrade PAHs in sand microcosms. It was found that fungal growth rate on straw-based agar media in the presence of phenanthrene correlated well with the ability of the different fungi to degrade PAHs in sand microcosms. Whereas growth rate on straw-based agar plates
per se was indicative of the ability of white-rot fungi to establish in the presence of a competing fungus, it was a poor indicator of the fungus’ ability to degrade PAHs.
We rationalize the origins of a threshold instability and the mechanism of finite temperature fragmentation in highly Si-doped C(60-m)Si(m) heterofullerenes via a first-principles approach. Cage ...disruption is driven by enhanced fluctuations of the most internal Si atoms. These are located within fully segregated Si regions neighboring the C-populated part of the cage. The predominance of inner Si atoms over those involved in Si-C bonds marks the transition from thermally stable to unstable C(60-m)Si(m) systems at m = 20.