Crystallographic orientation dependence of the growth rate for GaAs low pressure organometallic vapor phase epitaxy

The complete crystallographic orientation dependence of the growth rate for GaAs low pressure organometallic vapor phase epitaxy (LPOMVPE) is determined using a previously described semi-empirical model. A set of LPOMVPE growth rate polar diagrams is presented for reactor temperatures near 550°C as well as near 700°C. Also, the variation of the growth rate polar diagrams as a function of process variables is given. The experimental data utilized in the semiempirical model was attained using a typical horizontal reactor LPOMVPE system and typical LPOMVPE process parameters.     

Intensive postremission chemotherapy in adults with acute myeloid leukemia. Cancer and Leukemia Group B

BACKGROUND: About 65 percent of previously untreated adults with primary acute myeloid leukemia (AML) enter complete remission when treated with cytarabine and an anthracycline. However, such responses are rarely durable when conventional postremission therapy is administered. Uncontrolled trials have suggested that intensive postremission therapy may prolong these complete remissions. METHODS: We treated 1088 adults with newly diagnosed AML with three days of daunorubicin and seven days of cytarabine and randomly assigned patients who had a complete remission to receive four courses of cytarabine at one of three doses: 100 mg per square meter of body-surface area per day for five days by continuous infusion, 400 mg per square meter per day for five days by continuous infusion, or 3 g per square meter in a 3-hour infusion every 12 hours (twice daily) on days 1, 3, and 5. All patients then received four courses of monthly maintenance treatment. RESULTS: Of the 693 patients who had a complete remission, 596 were randomly assigned to receive postremission cytarabine. After a median follow-up of 52 months, the disease-free survival rates in the three treatment groups were significantly different (P = 0.003). Relative to the 100-mg group, the hazard ratios were 0.67 for the 3-g group (95 percent confidence interval, 0.53 to 0.86) and 0.75 for the 400-mg group (95 percent confidence interval, 0.60 to 0.94). The probability of remaining in continuous complete remission after four years for patients 60 years of age or younger was 24 percent in the 100-mg group, 29 percent in the 400-mg group, and 44 percent in the 3-g group (P = 0.002). In contrast, for patients older than 60, the probability of remaining disease-free after four years was 16 percent or less in each of the three postremission cytarabine groups. CONCLUSIONS: These data support the concept of a dose-response effect for cytarabine in patients with AML who are 60 years of age or younger. The results with the high-dose schedule in this age group are comparable to those reported in similar patients who have undergone allogeneic bone marrow transplantation during a first remission.     

Rat heart-aorta cluster transplantation: a novel model to study transplant rejection

The purpose of this study was to develop a microsurgical cluster model of heart plus entire thoracic aorta transplantation and to compare it to the isolated model of heart transplantation as a tool to study transplant rejection. Thirty-six syngeneic (DA x DA and Lew x Lew) and allogeneic (DA x PVG and DA x Lew) cluster heart-aorta transplants were compared to 43 syngeneic and allogeneic isolated heart grafts. Graft survival, recipient survival and histological data on myocardial and aortic tissues were assessed. There was no statistically significant difference in graft survival between the two models studied (P > 0.05). In the cluster transplants, the aortic component was spared the severity of acute rejection noted for the myocardial counterpart. In conclusion, the results demonstrated that the cluster model was technically feasible and highly reproducible. Additionally, it was possible to apply this model to the study of experimental allograft rejection using novel immunosuppressants. The success of the cluster model in strongly mismatched transplant strain combinations underscores its potential for application in slower rejection combinations, making it particularly suited for chronic rejection studies. The inherent capacity for sampling a broader range of vessel sizes in one animal makes the cluster model more suitable than the isolated models of aorta or heart for application to experimental protocols.     

Efficient and optimal exponentiation in finite fields

Optimal sequential and parallel algorithms for exponentiation in a finite field containing F _q are presented, assuming thatqth powers can be computed for free.     

Reaction of neuronal nitric-oxide synthase with oxygen at low temperature. Evidence for reductive activation of the oxy-ferrous complex by tetrahydrobiopterin

The reaction of reduced NO synthase (NOS) with molecular oxygen was studied at -30 degreesC. In the absence of substrate, the complex formed between ferrous NOS and O2 was sufficiently long lived for a precise spectroscopic characterization. This complex displayed similar spectral characteristics as the oxyferrous complex of cytochrome P450 (lambda max = 416.5 nm). It then decomposed to the ferric state. The oxidation of the flavin components was much slower and could be observed only at temperatures higher than -20 degreesC. In the presence of substrate (L-arginine), another, 12-nm blue-shifted, intermediate spectrum was formed. The breakdown of the latter species resulted in the production of Nomega-hydroxy-L-arginine in a stoichiometry of maximally 52% per NOS heme. This product formation took place also in the absence of the reductase domain of NOS. Both formation of the blue-shifted intermediate and of Nomega-hydroxy-L-arginine required the presence of tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4). We propose that the blue-shifted intermediate is the result of reductive activation of the oxygenated complex, and the electron is provided by BH4. These observations suggest that the reduction of the oxyferroheme complex may be the main function of BH4 in NOS catalysis.     

Reading epilepsy: report of five new cases and further considerations on the pathophysiology

Liposomes, microscopic lipid vesicles consisting of concentric phospholipid bilayers enclosing discrete aqueous spaces, have been investigated extensively as carries for drugs in attempts to achieve selective deposition and/or reduced toxicity. Liposomes radiolabeled with gamma emitters (67Ga, 111In and 99mTc) have been used for imaging purposes. Liposomes as formulated in the past, are rapidly taken up by cells of the mononuclear phagocyte system, primarily those located in liver and spleen. However, it has been shown during the last two decades that the in vivo behavior of liposomes can be modulated by modifying their formulation. The size and the lipid composition have a major influence on the blood clearance rate, hepatic uptake and splenic uptake of liposomes. The development of long circulating liposomes, in particular coating of the bilayer with polyethyleneglycol (PEG) resulted in liposomes that oppose recognition by the MPS, thus displaying even longer circulatory half-lives. By carefully adjusting the liposomal formulation, the in vivo characteristics of liposomes can be tailored such that they become suitable vehicles for imaging various pathological processes in vivo. Liposomes have been proposed for tumor imaging, for infection imaging and as blood pool markers. Here, the factors that determine the in vivo behavior of liposomes and the current status of liposome-based radiopharmaceuticals are reviewed.