Potentiation of tumour necrosis factor-mediated cell killing by VP16 on human ovarian cancer cell lines. In vitro results and clinical implications

Synergism between recombinant human tumour necrosis factor (rHuTNF) and DNA topoisomerase II inhibitor VP16 during the killing of cells has been studied in six human ovarian cancer cell lines (A2774, A2780, SW626, IGROV-1, SKOV3, Pa1) and a cervical carcinoma cell line (Me180). Studies were performed using an assay of colony formation inhibition (drug treatment for 1 h) and a growth inhibition assay (continuous exposure for 20 h). Concomitant treatment of cells with VP16+rHuTNF enhanced cell killing in all the cell lines tested--an effect observed in both short- and long-term cytotoxicity assays. This study suggests that the activity of VP16 in ovarian cancer cell lines might be enhanced by rHuTNF in in vitro models.     

Efficacy of lonidamine combined with different DNA-damaging agents in the treatment of the MX-1 tumor xenograft

The a.c. conductivity of the proteins lysozyme and subtilisin, both in their active and inactive or inhibited forms were determined theoretically. For this, quantum mechanical calculations and a random walk theory were used. The conclusions are that these enzymatic proteins can easily transport electrons which is most probably important in their role as catalysators of biochemical reactions. The electron transport is sensitive to three-dimensional changes of the active sites of these enzymes which have more flexibility than the whole molecule. Therefore, the flexibility of the active sites of enzyme catalysts is not only important for the conformational fitting with the reactants, but also strongly influences the transport in biochemical reactions.     

Magnetic resonance features of supravalvular aortic stenosis in William''s syndrome. Report of 2 cases

A wandering spleen and splenic cysts are uncommon conditions in children. A combination of both entities has only rarely been reported in the literature. Another case of this complex pathology in 12-year-old girl is presented. She was initially referred for evaluation of a large abdominal mass. Diagnostic studies raised the suspicion of a hematoma in an abnormally located spleen, but the definitive diagnosis was established at laparotomy. Successful surgical management consisted of total cystectomy and splenopexy.     

Nanoindentation Characterization of Submicro- and Nano-Sized Liquid-Phase-Sintered SiC Ceramics

Submicro- and nano-sized liquid-phase-sintered SiC ceramics were mechanically tested by nanoindentation in the peak load range 5–400 mN. The submicro-sized sample showed a marked indentation size effect which the nano-sized samples did not exhibit. The relevance of indentation depth with respect to the microstructural scale has been outlined. In the investigated grain-size range, the hardness dependence on the grain size could be described by a load-dependent inverse Hall–Petch relation. Young's modulus was less microstructure- and load-dependent. Because of the very fine microstructure, the nano-sized SiC materials gave lower elastic values than the submicro-sized SiC ceramic.     

Thermodynamic modeling of hydrogen refueling for heavy-duty fuel cell buses and comparison with aggregated real data

The foreseen uptake of hydrogen mobility is a fundamental step towards the decarbonization of the transport sector. Under such premises, both refueling infrastructure and vehicles should be deployed together with improved refueling protocols. Several studies focus on refueling the light-duty vehicles with 10 kg_H2 up to 700 bar, however less known effort is reported for refueling heavy-duty vehicles with 30–40 kg_H2 at 350 bar. The present study illustrates the application of a lumped model to a fuel cell bus tank-to-tank refueling event, tailored upon the real data acquired in the 3Emotion Project. The evolution of the main refueling quantities, such as pressure, temperature, and mass flow, are predicted dynamically throughout the refueling process, as a function of the operating parameters, within the safety limits imposed by SAE J2601/2 technical standard. The results show to refuel the vehicle tank from half to full capacity with an Average Pressure Ramp Rate (APRR) equal to 0.03 MPa/s are needed about 10 min. Furthermore, it is found that the effect of varying the initial vehicle tank pressure is more significant than changing the ambient temperature on the refueling performances. In conclusion, the analysis of the effect of different APRR, from 0.03 to 0.1 MPa/s, indicate that is possible to safely reduce the duration of half-to-full refueling by 62% increasing the APRR value from 0.03 to 0.08 MPa/s.     

Edge Chipping Resistance of Alumina/Zirconia Laminates

The edge chipping test was used to measure the fracture resistance of alumina/alumina‐zirconia laminated structures. Tailored, symmetrical laminated structures were prepared with a variety of layer thickness. The laminates had a significantly greater edge chipping resistance. Laminates with thin layers were just as effective in impeding edge chips as laminates with thick layers.     

OCTN1: A Widely Studied but Still Enigmatic Organic Cation Transporter Linked to Human Pathology and Drug Interactions

The Novel Organic Cation Transporter, OCTN1, is the first member of the OCTN subfamily; it belongs to the wider Solute Carrier family SLC22, which counts many members including cation and anion organic transporters. The tertiary structure has not been resolved for any cation organic transporter. The functional role of OCNT1 is still not well assessed despite the many functional studies so far conducted. The lack of a definitive identification of OCTN1 function can be attributed to the different experimental systems and methodologies adopted for studying each of the proposed ligands. Apart from the contradictory data, the international scientific community agrees on a role of OCTN1 in protecting cells and tissues from oxidative and/or inflammatory damage. Moreover, the involvement of this transporter in drug interactions and delivery has been well clarified, even though the exact profile of the transported/interacting molecules is still somehow confusing. Therefore, OCTN1 continues to be a hot topic in terms of its functional role and structure. This review focuses on the most recent advances on OCTN1 in terms of functional aspects, physiological roles, substrate specificity, drug interactions, tissue expression, and relationships with pathology.