Prognostic value of histobiological factors (malignancy grading and AgNOR content) assessed at the invasive tumour front of oral squamous cell carcinomas

Tumour cells at the invasive front of carcinomas have been found to differ substantially from the rest of tumour cells in a variety of human cancers. The present multivariate survival analysis of 94 oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCCs) revealed that both the argyrophilic nucleolar organizer regions-associated protein (AgNOR) content of invading tumour cells and a multiparametric histopathological tumour front grade were significantly and independently associated with tumour-related death, irrespective of conventional Broders' grade and clinical stage of the tumours. High tumour front scores and AgNOR content at the invasive OSCC front thus seem to reflect increased malignant potential. Proliferative activity, assessed by standardized AgNOR analysis, most probably represents one of the biological features underlying the usefulness of evaluating the invasive tumour front.     

Protein,Fiber, and Mineral Nutrition of Growing Dairy Goats

Seven yearling Alpine does were in a series of balance trials to determine apparent utilization of fiber, protein, and minerals. The 34 kg does consumed 2.2% body weight of a hay-concentrate ration that was 18.8% crude protein, 40.9% neutral detergent fiber, 24.7% acid detergent fiber, 1.18% calcium, .67% phosphorus, .39% magnesium, .98% potassium, and .48% sodium. Digestion coefficients were 59.5, 68.5, 42.3, 70.6, and 29.3 for dry matter, crude protein, neutral detergent fiber, hemicellulose, and acid detergent fiber. Retention (g/day) was: 2.6, 1.3, 2.1, 1.8, and 1.1 for calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, and magnesium. Nitrogen intake was related in a positive linear fashion to fecal nitrogen, urinary nitrogen, and absorbed nitrogen. Apparent absorption rates were 2.7, 1.4, 1.3, 5.1, and 3.2 g per doe per day for calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, and sodium. Mineral retentions as percent of grams apparently absorbed were 96.2, 88.2, 80.9, 37.7, and 56.0.     

Teaching headache management to medicine residents

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the effect of teaching headache management to PG-1 medicine residents. DESIGN: Observational study using prerotation and postrotation ratings by residents of improvement in their knowledge of etiology, diagnosis, appropriate use of narcotics, and treatment of headache. SETTING: Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty-two medicine residents. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: There was small but significant improvement in the total knowledge score (P = .03) and in areas of etiology of headache (P = .02) and appropriate use of narcotics (P = .001). CONCLUSION: We found there were substantial increases in residents subjective levels of understanding, history-taking and in the diagnosis and treatment of headache (P < .0001) in contrast to the objective knowledge test.     

Sintering mechanisms of 0.99 SnO2-0.01 CuO mixtures

The densification kinetics of 0.99 SnO₂-0.01 CuO molar mixtures have been studied between 850 and 1150 °C. Both experimental analyses and theoretical modelling show the role of a liquid phase for sintering temperatures T _s 940 °C: sintering is controlled by a liquid phase after a fast shrinkage due to grain rearrangement. The analytical formulation of the shrinkage behaviour suggests that dissolution at the solid-liquid interface is the limiting process when T _s 1000 °C and diffusion is the limiting step at higher temperatures.     

Influence of BaCuO2 on the Sintering and the Properties of YBa2Cu3O7−δ-Based Ceramics

The preparation of YBa₂Cu₃O_{7 - δ}-based ceramics was made from a mixture of oxides taken in the molar proportions α:1:2 BaCuO₂:Y₂BaCuO₅:CuO(0.95 α 3). The densification of the ceramics is strongly dependent on the initial amount of BaCuO₂. The highest density is obtained when α= 1. All the ceramics present a superconducting transition. A sintering mechanism is proposed in which the densification is mainly governed by the appearance of a metastable BaCuO₂-based liquid at around 900°C.     

A finite element method with discontinuous rotations for the Mindlin–Reissner plate model

We present a continuous-discontinuous finite element method for the Mindlin–Reissner plate model based on continuous polynomials of degree k ? 2 for the transverse displacements and discontinuous polynomials of degree k ? 1 for the rotations. We prove a priori convergence estimates, uniformly in the thickness of the plate, and thus show that locking is avoided. We also derive a posteriori error estimates based on duality, together with corresponding adaptive procedures for controlling linear functionals of the error. Finally, we present some numerical results.     

Scale composition and oxidation mechanism of the Ti–46Al–8Nb alloy in air at 700 and 800 °C

It is known that the oxide scale formed on TiAl alloys is generally composed of a mixture of alumina (Al₂O₃) and titania (TiO₂). The presence of niobium changes the activities of Ti and Al and influences the kinetics of oxidation and oxide layer composition. In this work, the Ti–46Al–8Nb alloy was subjected to cyclic oxidation in air at 700 °C (for 2 and 24 h) and 800 °C (for 300 h). Scale composition was analyzed by means of different techniques including X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and secondary ion mass spectroscopy. The scale consisted of several layers. The outer layer was built of alumina (amorphous or with very fine grains), whereas the inner layer – mainly of titania. After a longer exposure at a higher temperature (800 °C), niobium-rich precipitates and aluminum oxide grains were detected near to the alloy/scale interface and titanium nitride was found in the inner parts of the scale. Oxidation mechanism was studied by two-stage oxidation method using oxygen-18 and oxygen-16 isotopes combined with SIMS analyses. The distribution of oxygen isotopes over the alloy/scale interface indicated mixed inward/outward diffusion at the of reacting species. The experiments using Au markers showed that after longer oxidation time the inward diffusion was a predominant transport process.     

Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry of some anabolic steroids.

In this paper a procedure is described for the analysis of 36 anabolic steroids, regularly found in kidney fat matrixes. After preparative HPLC is carried out, six fractions, containing the different steroids, were obtained. These fractions were then separated and on-line mass-analyzed, using APcI LC/MS. When used in tandem mass spectrometry (MRM) mode, it is possible to obtain detection limits below 1 ppb for all steroids and below 0.1 ppb for most of them. As such, it is possible to meet the regulations for detection of these anabolic steroids. To verify the influence of matrixes, real-world samples were analyzed in the same manner. This resulted in almost analog detection limits.