Evaluation of cell-mediated immunity and circulating immune complexes as prognostic indicators in cancer patients

Cell-mediated immunity (CMI) and circulating immune complexes (CIC) were estimated in 55 cancer patients and 25 control volunteers to evaluate their prognostic significance. Cancer patients comprised head and neck cancer (11), breast cancer (13), gastrointestinal cancer (10), genitourinary cancer (11), and lymphomas and sarcomas (10). CMI was tested in vitro by early rosette-forming cells (ARFC) and total rosette-forming cell (TRFC) counts. ARFC count in control group was 758.1 +/- 78.09 cells/cumm. In advancing clinical stages of cancer (I-IV), ARFC counts were decreased (i.e., 601.12 +/- 74.96 [p < 0.01]; 494.8 +/- 71.83 [p < 0.001]; 432.44 +/- 36.05 [p < 0.001], and 438.55 +/- 69.99 [p < 0.001] cells/cumm, respectively). TRFC count in control group was 1029 +/- 88.39 cells/cumm. In cancer stages I through IV, these counts decreased significantly (i.e., 699.63 +/- 66.24; 597.55 +/- 82.9; 505.11 +/- 52.56; and 501.55 +/- 69.99 cells/cumm, respectively [p < 0.001]. Dinitrochlorobenzene cutaneous reactivity in vivo was 100% positive in control group, 62.5% positive in cancer stage I, 5% positive in stage II, and negative in stages III and IV. CIC of intermediate size were estimated by polyethylene glycol precipitation (PEG pptn) technique, which detects CIC in the ratio of 2:1 (Ag2Ab). Mean PEG index in control group was 39.5 +/- 4.65; sequential increase in CIC was observed in advancing clinical stages of cancer (I-IV)(i.e., 49 +/- 7.03 [p < 0.01]; 75.38 +/- 44.01 [p < 0.001]; 93.38 +/- 44.57 [p < 0.001]; and 216.00 +/- 147.05 [p < 0.001], respectively). Latex agglutination inhibition (LAI) titer was done to detect CIC as small as 8s, which constitute the opposite polar end of CIC spectrum. LAI titers in control group were nil. However, LAI titers in cancer stages I through IV were 1 +/- 2.64; 8.6 +/- 5.6 (p < 0.001); 12.00 +/- 8.11 (p < 0.001); and 25.77 +/- 9.06 (p < 0.001), respectively. Decrease in CMI and subsequent increase in CIC indicate unfavorable prognosis in cancer patients, and also precede clinical manifestation of increased tumor mass in vivo.     

Electromagnetically Modified Filtration of Aluminum Melts—Part I: Electromagnetic Theory and 30 PPI Ceramic Foam Filter Experimental Results

In the present work, laboratory-scale continuous filtration tests of liquid A356 aluminum alloy have been performed. The tests were conducted using standard 30 PPI (pores per inch) ceramic foam filters combined with magnetic flux densities (~0.1 and 0.2 T), produced using two different induction coils operated at 50 Hz AC. A reference filtration test was also carried out under gravity conditions, i.e., without an applied magnetic field. The obtained results clearly prove that the magnetic field has a significant affect on the distribution of SiC particles. The influence of the electromagnetic Lorentz forces and induced bulk metal flow on the obtained filtration efficiencies and on the wetting behavior of the filter media by liquid aluminum is discussed. The magnitudes of the Lorentz forces produced by the induction coils are quantified based on analytical and COMSOL 4.2^® finite element modeling.     

Non-quasi-static transient and small-signal two-dimensionalmodeling of GaAs MESFET's with emphasis on distributed effects

The operation of micron and submicron GaAs MESFETs under high-speed transient and high-frequency small-signal conditions is analyzed using a two-dimensional model. The effects of displacement currents, dipole due to negative differential mobility or current continuity, and two-dimensional transport are emphasized. The origin of delay effects, such as the phase delay incorporated in small-signal models, is explored in order to relate it to the behavior under switching conditions. Broadband expressions for the extraction of a complete small-signal model are presented. Using the expressions derived, the variation of model elements with frequency and the effect of this on the unilateral gain of the device are studied     

Reconstructing permittivity profiles using integral transforms andimproved renormalization techniques

Some new ideas for reconstructing permittivity profiles in planar and cylindrical objects illuminated by TEM-, TE- or TM-polarized waves are presented in this paper. For a planar medium, an improved renormalization technique along with a revised version of the nonlinear Riccati differential equation describing the direct problem are introduced. A nonlinear Riccati-similar differential equation for the cylindrical case has also been derived here for the first time, which helps reconstructing radially varying permittivity profiles in a way parallel to that of the planar case. The above-mentioned renormalization technique has been used for the cylindrical case as well to solve the inverse problem making use of a Hankel transform. The method represents fundamental bases for a three-dimensional generalization, which is essential for microwave imaging used, e.g., in biomedical applications and for the diagnostic of diseases in trees and vegetation. A known permittivity profile has been taken to generate synthetic reflection-coefficient data by solving the nonlinear equations describing the direct problems using MATLAB. These data have been used in conjunction with the proposed technique to reconstruct the permittivity profile. About 50-100 data points over the wavelength range from a minimum value (ranging from one-tenth to one-fifth of a typical length in the structure) to infinity have been used for the reconstruction. Reconstructed profiles have been compared to the original ones for a number of cases. Deviations of less than 2% have been achieved     

The electronic and magnetic properties of wurtzite Mn∶CdS,Cr∶CdS and Mn∶Cr∶CdS∶ first principles calculations

In this article, density functional theory (DFT) based on generalized gradient approximation (GGA) and GGA+U, U is Hubbard term, is used to study the electronic properties of CdS doped with different dopants (Cr, Mn). The calculations are carried out for Mn-doped CdS, Cr-doped CdS, and co-doping of Mn/Cr in CdS simultaneously. It is found that hopping of electrons is possible with Cr:CdS and Mn:Cr:CdS while Mn:CdS does not allow the hopping of electrons. Moreover, double exchange interactions are observed in Cr:CdS and d-d super-exchange interactions are observed in Mn:CdS. Now the problem becomes interesting when one magnetic ion (Cr) supporting double exchange interactions and another ion (Mn) supporting d-d super-exchange interactions are doped simultaneously in the same system (CdS). The co-doped CdS is more stable even at high Curie temperature due to p-d double exchange interactions and d-d super exchange interactions. Furthermore, the Cr-3d and Mn-3d states present in-between the band gap are responsible for inner shell transitions and hence for optical properties. Therefore, the co-doped system is taken into account to enhance its applications in the field of spintronic and magneto-optical devices.     

A waveguide-based two-step approach for measuring complex permittivity tensor of uniaxial composite materials

A rectangular waveguide-based two-step approach for measuring the complex permittivity tensor of uniaxial highly lossy nonmagnetic composite materials in the S-band is presented. In the proposed scheme, two independent sets of reflection and transmission coefficient data for each material-under-test (MUT) are measured by aligning the electric field vector of the dominant TE/sub 10/ mode in the rectangular waveguide parallel and perpendicular to the fiber orientation of the uniaxial sample, respectively. The complex permittivity tensor of the MUT is determined from these measured scattering data in two successive steps. The first step uses the newly proposed analytical approach, which can resolve the ambiguity problem, commonly encountered with samples of electrical length larger than a wavelength. In the second step, nonlinear least square optimization algorithms are employed, where the material parameters using the first step are now used as the initial guess. The proposed two-step approach is valid for multilayered structures, and the local minima problem commonly encountered with optimization routines are also avoided. A number of carbon-fiber composite materials along and, transverse to the fiber orientation are measured using the proposed method. Finally, a brief uncertainty analysis, to study the effect of air-gaps on waveguide measurements, is carried out.     

Systematic study of Ce3+ on the structural and magnetic properties of Cu nanosized ferrites for potential applications

Ce~(3+) substituted Cu-spinel nanoferrites CuCe_xFe_(2-x)O_4(x=0.00, 0.02, 0.04, 0.06, 0.08 and 0.10) were synthesized via sol-gel self-combustion hybrid route. Single phase spinel ferrite of Cu nanoferrites were examined using X-ray diffraction(XRD) analysis whereas the multiphase structure was observed as Ce contents increased from x=0.06. Field emission scanning electron microscopy(FESEM), Thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis(TGA and DTA) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR) were used to find out the morphology phase and metal stretching vibrations of Ce~(3+) substituted nanocrystalline ferrites. The crystallite size was increased and found in the range of 25-91 nm. The agglomerations in Cu ferrite samples increase as the Ce~(3+) concentration increases. The magnetic properties such as remanence, saturation magnetization, coercivity, Bohr magneton and magnetocrystalline anisotropy constant(K) were determined using M-H loops recorded from a vibrating sample magnetometer(VSM). Saturation magnetization, remanence and coercivity are increased as the Ce~(3+)contents increase in Cu nanocrystalline samples. Moreover, law of approach to saturation(LoA) was used to calculate the maximum value of saturation for Ce-doped Cu nanoferrites. The soft magnetic behaviour of the Cu nanoferrite is observed as compared to the samples substituted with the increased Ce contents in Cu nanocrystalline ferrite. Bohr magneton and magnetocrystalline anisotropy are found to increase with the substitution of rare earth Ce~(3+) contents in Cu spinel nanocrystalline ferrite. Cedoped Cu nanocrystalline ferrites with excellent properties may be suitable for potential applications in sensing, security, switching, core, multilayer chip inductor, biomedical and microwave absorption applications.     

Behavior of a Compacted Completely Decomposed Granite Soil from Suction Controlled Direct Shear Tests

A series of single-staged consolidated drained direct shear tests are carried out on recompacted completely decomposed granite (CDG) soil—a typical residual soil in Hong Kong, under different matric suctions and net normal stresses. Matric suction is controlled by applying air pressure in the pressure chamber and water pressure at the bottom of the high air-entry ceramic disk. The experimental results show that the contribution of suction to shear strength is significant. Shear strength of CDG soil increases with the increase of matric suction. Net normal stress has a remarkable influence on the shear strength of unsaturated CDG soil. The increase in shear strength due to an increase in matric suction (suction envelope) is observed as nonlinear i.e., ?b value varies with matric suction. No soil dilatancy is observed for zero matric suction (saturated case) but as the suction value is increased, higher soil dilatancy is obvious in lower net normal stresses. The rate of increase of soil dilatancy is greater in lower suction range than in higher suction range. The experimental shear strength data match closely with the shear strength predicted by existing shear strength model considering the soil-dilation effect.     

Young children's productivity with word order and verb morphology.

Four studies examined English-speaking children's productivity with word order and verb morphology. Two- and 3-year-olds were taught novel transitive verbs with experimentally controlled argument structures. The younger children neither used nor comprehended word order with these verbs; older children comprehended and used word order correctly to mark agents and patients of the novel verbs. Children as young as 2 years 1 month added -ing but not -ed to verb stems; older children were productive with both inflections. These studies demonstrate that the present progressive inflection is used productively before the regular past tense marker and suggest that productivity with word order may be independent of developments in verb morphology. The findings are discussed in terms of M. Tomasello's (1992a) Verb Island hypothesis and M. Rispoli's (1991) notion of the mosaic acquisition of grammatical relations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)