10-Oximeguanacone, the first nitrogenated acetogenin derivative found to be a potent inhibitor of mitochondrial complex I

BACKGROUND: Several retrospective studies have claimed that extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) prolongs survival in patients with erythrodermic cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. In a retrospective study of 44 patients with Sézary syndrome, we compared survival in patients treated with ECP with that of patients treated conventionally at the same institute. All patients had genotypic evidence of a peripheral blood T-cell clone. OBSERVATIONS: Twenty-nine patients received ECP (group 1); 15 patients did not receive ECP, 8 patients when ECP was available (group 2) and 7 before ECP was available (group 3). Forty-three of 44 patients received other conventional treatments. Median survival from diagnosis of Sézary syndrome was 39 months in group 1, 22 months in group 2, and 27.5 months in group 3 (Kaplan-Meier analysis). Cox regression analysis showed no significant difference between the 3 groups after correcting for age, sex, and initial Sézary cell count (hazard ratio, 0.56; 95% confidence interval, 0.26-1.17; P = .12). CONCLUSIONS: This study does not support the contention that ECP prolongs survival in patients with Sézary syndrome. The median survival in the ECP-treated group is considerably less than that reported in other published series, possibly because genotypic evidence of clonality in the peripheral blood was required for inclusion in this study. We believe that a randomized trial comparing ECP with standard chemotherapy is urgently needed.     

Identification of fish species in smoked fish products by electrophoresis and isoelectric focusing

Summary Different species of fresh fish and smoked fish products were analysed by sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and isoelectric focusing. It was possible to differentiate and identify species of fish in smoked samples and draw some conclusions about the type of smoking process employed.

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Artbestimmung in geräucherten Fischprodukten durch Elektrophorese und isoelektrischer Focussierung

Zusammenfassung Proben von verschiedenen Arten von Frischfisch und von geräucherten Fischprodukten wurden mit Hilfe von SDS-Polyacrylamid-Gelektrophorese und isoelektrischer Focussierung analysiert. Es war möglich in den geräucherten Proben zwischen verschiedenen Fischarten zu unterscheiden und die Fischart zu bestimmen. Ebenso waren Rückschlüsse auf den angewendeten Räucherungsprozeß möglich.

     

Cascade population mechanism in nitrogen lasers

The way in which a cascade mechanism from the C3Pi(u) state affects the population of the v = 0 level of the B3Pi(g) state in a N2 laser is studied. The spectra of the 0-1 IR laser band are fit by using simple theoretical calculations that account for the population of the three laser levels involved, C3Pi(u) B3Pi(g) and A3Sigma(u)+ and two excitation mechanisms, direct electron impact and cascade. The inhibition of the 0-0 UV laser band showed a strong influence on the 0-1 IR laser band output.     

Effect of Co partial substitution on the valence state of Ru in the Gd<Subscript>2−<Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>Co<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>Ru<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>7</Subscript> pyrochlore

Polycrystalline samples of Gd_2?xCo _x Ru₂O₇ with x = 0.0, 0.1 and 0.4 were synthesized by the molten salt method. The samples were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and electrical resistivity measurements. Rietveld refinements of the XRD patterns and XPS measurements showed that the Co²⁺ ion replaces Gd³⁺ sites. As a result, the lattice parameter a and the Ru–O bond length decrease; then, the Ru–O–Ru bond angle increases. Those changes induce a charge compensation which was detected by XPS measurements. The analysis of these results shows that the Ru 3d_5/2 core level could be fitted assuming the contribution of two different chemical states of the Ru. The Ru 3d_5/2 core level is localized at 280.7 and 281.6 eV, which corresponds to Ru⁴⁺ and Ru⁵⁺. The valence band XPS spectra show an increase in Co 3d states at the Fermi level as the Co content increases, which contribute to the decrease in the electrical resistivity.     

Reversible Formation of Gold Halides in Single‐Crystal Hybrid‐Perovskite/Au Interface upon Biasing and Effect on Electronic Carrier Injection

Solar cells, light emitting diodes, and X‐ray detectors based on perovskite materials often incorporate gold electrodes, either in direct or indirect contact with the perovskite compound. Chemical interactions between active layers and contacts deteriorate the operation and induce degradation, being the identification of the chemical nature of such interfacial structures an open question. Chemical reactivity of gold in contact with the perovskite semiconductor leads to reversible formation of oxidized gold halide species and explains the generation of halide vacancies in the vicinity of the interface. Electrical biasing induces contact reaction and produces modifications of the current level by favoring the ability of perovskite/Au interfaces to inject electronic carriers. The current injection increment does not depend on the halogen source used, either extrinsically by iodine vapor sublimation of Au electrodes, or intrinsically by bias‐driven migration of bromide ions. In addition, the formation of a dipole‐like structure at the reacted electrode that lowers the potential barrier for electronic carriers is confirmed. These findings highlight adequate selection of the external contacts and suggest the need for a deeper understanding of contact reactivity as it dominates the operation characteristics, rather than being governed by the bulk transport properties of the charge carriers, either electronic or ionic.     

Microcomposites of Poly(ε‐caprolactone) and Poly(methyl methacrylate) Prepared by Suspension Polymerization in the Presence of Poly(ε‐caprolactone) Macromonomer

Poly(methyl methacrylate)‐poly(ε‐caprolactone) (PMMA/PCL) microparticles were synthesized by suspension polymerization of methyl methacrylate in the presence of PCL. The incorporation of a small amount of a macromonomer, methacryloyl‐terminated PCL (M‐PCL), into the reaction mixture, led to the formation of grafted systems, namely PMMA‐g‐PCL/PCL. The synthesis of the macromonomer and its characterization by nuclear magnetic spectroscopy (¹H NMR) is described. The role of M‐PCL as an effective compatibilizing agent in the composite was investigated. PMMA/PCL and PMMA‐g‐PCL/PCL composites were fully characterized by ¹H NMR, gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and thermal analysis, including thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), conventional differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), modulated DSC (MDSC) and dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA). Finally, the morphology of the prepared systems was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The addition of compatibilizing agent led the formation of a more homogeneous microcomposite with improved mechanical properties.

SEM picture of PMMA‐g‐PCL/PCL composite surface.     

Two-Dimensional Compact Third-Order Polynomial Reconstructions. Solving Nonconservative Hyperbolic Systems Using GPUs

We present a new kind of high-order reconstruction operator of polynomial type, which is used in combination with the scheme presented in Castro et al. (J. Sci. Comput. 39:67?C114, 2009) for solving nonconservative hyperbolic systems. The implementation of the scheme is carried out on Graphics Processing Units (GPUs), thus achieving a substantial improvement of the speedup with respect to normal CPUs. As an application, the two-dimensional shallow water equations with geometrical source term due to the bottom slope is considered.     

An ontological conceptualization approach for awareness in domain-independent collaborative modeling systems: Application to a model-driven development method

One of the most important aspects of collaborative systems is the concept of awareness, which refers to the perception and knowledge of the group and its activities. Support for the design and automatic development of awareness mechanisms within collaborative systems is hard to find. Furthermore, awareness conceptualizations are usually partial and differ greatly between the proposals of different authors. In response to these problems, we propose an awareness ontology that conceptualizes some of the most important aspects of awareness in a specific kind of system: collaborative systems for carrying out modeling activities. The awareness ontology brings together and extends a series of ontologies we have developed in the past. The ontology is prepared to better meet the specific implementation needs of a model-driven development approach. In order to validate the usefulness of this ontology, we relate its concepts to the awareness dimensions set out in Gutwin and Greenberg’s framework, and we apply the ontology to two systems presently in use.