Mantle cell lymphoma: correlation of clinical outcome and biologic features with three histologic variants

PURPOSE: Clinical data and histologic material were retrospectively analyzed in 46 cases of previously untreated mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) to more fully characterize the clinical response pattern of these lymphomas and to determine whether growth pattern significantly affected clinical outcome. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The histologic pattern was classified as diffuse (61%), nodular (13%), and mantle zone (26%) in accordance with stated criteria. RESULTS: Bone marrow infiltration was detected in 69% of cases; the frequency of involvement correlated with histologic pattern, being most common in diffuse variants and least common in mantle zone variants. Other sites of extranodal involvement were observed in 50% of cases. Cyclin-D1 staining revealed nuclear positivity in 23 of 25 patients (92%) and no difference was observed between the various histologic patterns. Rearrangement at the bcl-1 major translocation cluster (MTC) was detected in seven of 21 cases, without regard for histologic pattern. Complete response rates to doxorubicin-based regimens showed a striking correlation with histologic pattern. Seventy-three percent of patients with a mantle zone pattern attained a complete response compared with only 25% of patients with a nodular pattern and 19% with a diffuse pattern. Three-year survival rates were 100%, 50%, and 55% for patients with mantle zone, nodular, and diffuse histologic patterns, respectively. CONCLUSION: We conclude that (1) diffuse and nodular MCL are associated with a poor treatment response and a poor overall survival rate; (2) the mantle zone variant exhibits the clinical attributes of a low-grade lymphoma; and (3) the poor survival rates of patients with nodular and diffuse MCL suggest that these variants be classified as intermediate-grade lymphomas. However, the trend of the time to treatment failure curve does not indicate that current regimens can cure MCL.     

Parathyroid scintigraphy with Tc99m Sestamibi

BACKGROUND: Parathyroid scintigraphy with Tc99m Sestamibi, a tracer that is taken up by hyperfunctioning parathyroid tissue, has a high yield in the diagnosis of abnormal parathyroid growths. AIM: To assess the usefulness of parathyroid scintigraphy with Tc99m Sestamibi in patients with suspected hyperparathyroidism. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We analyzed retrospectively 29 patients with suspected hyperparathyroidism, in whom a scintigraphy with Tc99m Sestamibi was performed. RESULTS: Twenty four of 25 patients in whom hyperfunctioning parathyroid tissue was evidenced with scintigraphy, were operated. Histological diagnosis of the excised parathyroid gland, showed 23 adenomas and 1 hyperplasia. Anatomical location disclosed by scintigraphy was concordant with surgical findings in all cases, including a mediastinic adenoma. Of the four patients with negative scintigraphic findings, two had transitory PTH elevations and in two the presence of adenoma or hyperplasia could not be demonstrated with other diagnostic procedures. CONCLUSIONS: Parathyroid scintigraphy with Tc99m Sestamibi had an 86% sensitivity for the detection of hyperfunctioning parathyroid tissue in patients with elevated PTH.     

Sol–gel microencapsulation of hydrophilic active compounds from the modified silicon alkoxides: The control of pore and particle size

The present paper has demonstrated one-pot preparation of the spherical silica microcapsules containing hydrophilic active compounds using a water-in-oil microemulsion process from the modified silicon alkoxides with 3-aminopropyl triethoxysilane (APTES) as a gelling agent. The H₂O-to-TEOS molar ratio in the preparation of the encapsulation precursors played an important role on controlling the morphology and pore size of the microcapsules. The spherical microcapsules were obtained in the range of H₂O/Si = 1.5–1.7. Outside this range no spherical microcapsules was observed because the precursors were not miscible with hydrophilic active compounds below the range and gelled too fast above the range. The average particle sizes of the microcapsules were controllable in the range of sub-micrometers to several tens of micrometers by adjusting agitation speeds, and the properties of the precursors. The pore size of the microcapsules can be also tuned by changing the H₂O-to-TEOS molar ratio in the preparation of the encapsulation precursors.     

Colloidal stability of bentonite clay considering surface charge properties as a function of pH and ionic strength

Surface charge properties of bentonite colloids were investigated to study their colloidal stability in a solution as a function of the pH and ionic strength. Potentiometric titrations and zeta potential measurements for the bentonite colloids depending upon the pH and ionic strength were performed to investigate the surface charge properties. It was observed from the potentiometric titrations that a zero net proton adsorption occurred at about pH 8.2 (pH_PNZPC ～ 8.2). Surface charges of the bentonite colloids mainly carrying structural negative charges revealed a very small dependency on the pH. The same behavior was also observed in the zeta potential measurements. The zeta potential measurements for the bentonite colloid showed that the bentonite colloids were stable at lower ionic strengths of 0.01 and 0.001 M NaClO₄ but unstable at a higher ionic strength of 0.1 M NaClO₄ within the whole pH range studied. Therefore, it can be concluded that bentonite colloids would be stable in most of the considered fresh groundwater conditions, i.e., pH from 6 to 10 and an ionic strength from 0.001 to 0.01 M, and then they can be mobilized along a flowing groundwater.     

Recovery and representation of spectral bidirectional reflectance distribution function from an image‐based measurement system

A spectral‐based method can acquire and represent the surface appearance of a given material physically correctly. But, it has drawbacks due to its high measurement cost and a long computation time in measuring, modeling, and rendering. In this article, we present spectral recovery and representation of spectral bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) from multispectral reflectance measurements in which we can render real appearance materials over a 3D model with accuracy and efficiency. First of all, an accurate spectral BRDF recovery algorithm, which transforms multispectral high dynamic range images into highly dense BRDFs in both a spectral and an angular domain, is proposed. Second, an efficient representation method is developed representing spectral BRDFs compactly using a factorization method and an adaptive spectral sampling method that uses a given error bound. The results show that the proposed method can compress the spectral BRDF data down by several hundred times while maintaining the given accuracy in colorimetric and spectral domains under a specific illuminant. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 41, 358–371, 2016     

Paeonolide as a Novel Regulator of Core-Binding Factor Subunit Alpha-1 in Bone-Forming Cells

Paeonia suffruticosa has been extensively used as a traditional medicine with various beneficial effects; paeonolide (PALI) was isolated from its dried roots. This study aimed to investigate the novel effects and mechanisms of PALI in pre-osteoblasts. Here, cell viability was evaluated using an MTT assay. Early and late osteoblast differentiation was examined by analyzing the activity of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and by staining it with Alizarin red S (ARS). Cell migration was assessed using wound healing and Boyden chamber assays. Western blot and immunofluorescence analyses were used to examine the intracellular signaling pathways and differentiation proteins. PALI (0.1, 1, 10, 30, and 100 μM) showed no cytotoxic or proliferative effects in pre-osteoblasts. In the absence of cytotoxicity, PALI (1, 10, and 30 μM) promoted wound healing and transmigration during osteoblast differentiation. ALP staining demonstrated that PALI (1, 10, and 30 μM) promoted early osteoblast differentiation in a dose-dependent manner, and ARS staining showed an enhanced mineralized nodule formation, a key indicator of late osteoblast differentiation. Additionally, low concentrations of PALI (1 and 10 μM) increased the bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)–Smad1/5/8 and Wnt–β-catenin pathways in osteoblast differentiation. Particularly, PALI (1 and 10 μM) increased the phosphorylation of ERK1/2 compared with BMP2 treatment, an FDA-approved drug for bone diseases. Furthermore, PALI-mediated early and late osteoblast differentiation was abolished in the presence of the ERK1/2 inhibitor U0126. PALI-induced RUNX2 (Cbfa1) expression and nuclear localization were also attenuated by blocking the ERK1/2 pathway during osteoblast differentiation. We suggest that PALI has biologically novel activities, such as enhanced osteoblast differentiation and bone mineralization mainly through the intracellular ERK1/2-RUNX2 signaling pathway, suggesting that PALI might have therapeutic action and aid the treatment and prevention of bone diseases, such as osteoporosis and periodontitis.     

Power density optimization for MEMS piezoelectric micro power generator below 100 Hz applications

Microsystem Technologies - In piezoelectric based micro-power generator (PMPG), electrical energy is generated from mechanical vibration by gaining on the piezoelectric effects. This study...     

Effect of various rib arrangements on heat transfer in a semicylinder channel with effusion flow

The flow and heat transfer characteristics of various rib configurations on a concave channel surface with effusion holes were investigated. A semicylindrical channel with three rows of effusion holes was used to simplify the blade leading edge and eight kinds of ribs were attached on the internal concave surface for comparison. Continuous and broken ribs were both applied at 90°, as were upstream-pointed V-shaped and downstream-pointed V-shaped ribs. The Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equation was solved using commercial software. The result included the divided-area-averaged and local Nusselt number distribution; the overall average Nusselt number on the concave surface is also discussed.     

Morphological study and stress analysis of Korean Mandibular second premolar

Tooth morphology has an important role in esthetical characteristics, functional performance and physiological action. Mandibular second premolars among teeth were taken for a close investigation with a micro-CT for a nondestructive measurement. Thus, the shape of the tooth was classified into a few partitions and measured by setting the reference axis to express internal and external morphology numerically. About a thousand tomographic images were obtained for each specimen and were reconstructed to a three-dimensional form. The lengths and widths of each dental tissue were measured from the three-dimensional form. In this tooth type, the width of dentine is comparatively larger than that of enamel, and buccal tissue of the crown is thicker than lingual tissue. Hence, buccal tissue could afford to withstand against exterior impact or stimulus. Finite element models were drawn up, applied with an ordinary occlusal force and analyzed to get the stress distribution. Thus it was shown that the irregular feature of the tooth is not useful only to masticating and pronouncing as well known, but that it is also suitable for protecting inner tissue by dispersing stress and delivering proper pressure to periodontal tissue to continue a physiological action. These results could be used for development of dental implants and clinical trials.