Multigene Profiling of Circulating Tumor Cells (CTCs) for Prognostic Assessment in Treatment-Naïve Metastatic Hormone-Sensitive Prostate Cancer (mHSPC)

The substantial biological heterogeneity of metastatic prostate cancer has hindered the development of personalized therapeutic approaches. Therefore, it is difficult to predict the course of metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (mHSPC), with some men remaining on first-line androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) for several years while others progress more rapidly. Improving our ability to risk-stratify patients would allow for the optimization of systemic therapies and support the development of stratified prospective clinical trials focused on patients likely to have the greatest potential benefit. Here, we applied a liquid biopsy approach to identify clinically relevant, blood-based prognostic biomarkers in patients with mHSPC. Gene expression indicating the presence of CTCs was greater in CHAARTED high-volume (HV) patients (52% CTC_high) than in low-volume (LV) patients (23% CTC_high; * p = 0.03). HV disease (p = 0.005, q = 0.033) and CTC presence at baseline prior to treatment initiation (p = 0.008, q = 0.033) were found to be independently associated with the risk of nonresponse at 7 months. The pooled gene expression from CTCs of pre-ADT samples found AR, DSG2, KLK3, MDK, and PCA3 as genes predictive of nonresponse. These observations support the utility of liquid biomarker approaches to identify patients with poor initial response. This approach could facilitate more precise treatment intensification in the highest risk patients.     

New perspectives on the sources of white matter DTI signal

A minimalist numerical model of white matter is presented, the objective of which is to help provide a biological basis for improved diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) analysis. Water diffuses, relaxes, and exchanges in three compartments-intracellular, extracellular, and myelin sheath. Exchange between compartments is defined so as to depend on the diffusion coefficients and the compartment sizes. Based on the model, it is proposed that an additive "baseline tensor" that correlates with intraaxonal water volume be included in the computation. Anisotropy and tortuosity calculated from such analysis may correspond better to tract ultrastructure than if calculated without the baseline. According to the model, reduced extracellular volume causes increased baseline and reduced apparent diffusion. Depending on the pulse sequence, reduced permeability can cause an increase in both the baseline and apparent diffusion.     

Reply to 'Comment on 'Comparison of excess 1/f noise spectra in trimmed and untrimmed thick film resistors'

An iterative surface current density replacement technique is used to formulate the electromagnetic scattering from any perfectly conducting body defined as the intersection of two bodies for which expressions for the scattering are known. The application of the iterative surface current density replacement technique to the truncated wedge results in a secondary edge diffraction coefficient which is accurate for closely spaced edges, and is identical to the secondary diffraction coefficient of the geometrical theory of diffraction when the edges are separated by a distance which is large compared with the wavelength of the field. Results are presented which show the accuracy of this secondary edge diffraction coefficient when applied to the perfectly conducting truncated wedge and narrow strip.     

The effect of high salt concentration on the integrity of silica-fume blended cementitious matrices for waste immobilization applications

Silica Fume is a commonly used pozzolanic additive for cementitious matrices used for immobilization of Low Level Waste (LLW). Cementitious systems containing silica-fume are used to reduce the leachability of various hazardous species. However, during the last years several publications have shown that commercially available densified silica-fume (DSF) does not fully disperse within cementitious pastes and concrete mixes, but rather tends to form agglomerated particles which range in size from tens to hundreds of microns. Cementitious matrices containing such agglomerates are prone to the alkali-silica reaction (ASR). As radioactive waste streams often contain high alkali salt concentrations, the occurrence of ASR, deleterious osmotic pressure or other degradation mechanisms in cementitious waste matrices must be considered. The aim of this research was to study the effect of high salt content in DSF bearing pastes on the integrity of the immobilized waste form and its efficiency to immobilize low level radioactive waste. The dependence of matrix integrity on both salt and silica fume concentration is presented.     

Electrochemistry of a nonaqueous lithium/sulfur cell

The development and the electrochemistry of low-rate laboratory prototype Li/S button cells is described. The cell consists of a lithium anode, a porous catalytic current collector which is loaded with sulfur, and an organic solvent containing lithium polysulfide. The case of the cell was made from stainless steel and sealing was accomplished by the use of a combination of organic elastomer and cement (with no crimp). After 3 weeks storage at 60 °C, the button cells lost only about 1 mg of weight. The lithium polysulfide reacts with the Li anode to form a passivating layer which acts as a solid electrolyte interphase (SEI). The e.m.f. of the cells changes from 2.38 to 2.15 V depending on the composition of the solutions. Cells exhibit flat discharge curves at low drains. The energy density of the cells is 730 W h/kg or 900 W h/l at room temperature and 950 W h/kg or 1200 W h/l at 60 °C (calculated on the basis of all cell components, excluding the case). Storage and discharge tests at 60 °C show a capacity loss of 2 – 5% per month depending on solution composition. This indicates a shelf life of at least 10 years at room temperature.     

Aflatoxin-negative cottonseeds in bright,greenish yellow fluorescent seed locks

Bright, greenish yellow (BGY) fluorescent locks were removed from an aflatoxin-contaminated sample of lint cotton. Hand ginning of these fluorescent locks yielded 51 seeds, 26 with BGY linters, and 25 with nonfluorescent linters. All seeds were analyzed individually for aflatoxins. Two of the seeds with BGY lint accounted for 99.9% (2.75 μg) of the total aflatoxins. Four other seeds each contained 0.02 μg of total toxins, and all others contained no toxins. Our results show that 88% of the seeds necessarily lost in discarded fluorescent locks would contain no aflatoxins.     

Determination of aflatoxins in peanut and cottonseed soapstocks

An accurate and sensitive procedure is proposed for estimating aflatoxins in both alkaline and acidulated soapstocks. Sample suspensions in aqueous acetone are adjusted to pH 3 with hydrochloric acid, extracted in a high speed blender, treated with lead acetate and partitioned into chloroform. After silica gel cleanup, aflatoxins in purifie extracts are estimated by thin layer chromatography. The use of acetone and lead acetate together apparently catalyzes the relactonization of flatoxins B₁ nd G₁ and leads to essentially quantitative recovery of aflatoxin B₁ and somewhat lower recovery of G₁ added to alkaline or acidulated soapstock. Presented at the AOCS Meeting, San Francisco, April 1969.     

Mechanisms of Fabric Reinforcement of Cement Matrices

The present paper discusses the mechanisms involve in fabric‐cement composites focusing on the effects of fabric geometry and the properties of the yarns. It was found that the geometry of a given fabric could enhance the bonding and enable one to obtain strain hardening behavior from low modulus yarn fabrics, due to the special shape of the yarn induced by the fabric. On the other hand, variations of the geometry in a fabric could drastically reduce the efficiency, resulting in a lower strengthening effect of the yarns in the fabric, relative to single yarns not in a fabric form. Therefore, in cement composites the fabrics can not be viewed simply as a means for holding together continuous yarns to be readily placed in the matrix, as is the case in composites with polymer matrix.     

Case report: ofloxacin-induced hypersensitivity vasculitis

Since its introduction in 1985, the new fluoroquinolone antibiotic ofloxacin has gained widespread use, and much information has accumulated about its possible adverse effects. Skin reactions have been uncommon, and there have been very few reports about hypersensitivity vasculitis directly related to ofloxacin. The authors report such a case, in which the patient needed plastic surgery because of severe vasculitis in both legs.