Mm In Average Diameter Research Articles

Fast Ultrasound Scanning is a Rapid, Sensitive, Precise and Cost-Effective Method to Monitor Tumor Grafts in Mice

In preclinical studies, accurate monitoring of tumor dynamics is crucial for understanding cancer biology and evaluating therapeutic interventions. Traditional methods like caliper measurements and bioluminescence imaging (BLI) have limitations, prompting the need for improved imaging techniques. This study introduces a fast-scan high-frequency ultrasound (HFUS) protocol for the longitudinal assessment of syngeneic breast tumor grafts in mice, comparing its performance with caliper, BLI measurements and with histological analysis. The E0771 mammary gland tumor cell line, engineered to express luciferase, was orthotopically grafted into immunocompetent C57BL/6 mice. Tumor growth was monitored longitudinally at multiple timepoints using caliper measurement, HFUS, and BLI, with the latter two modalities assessed against histopathological standards post-euthanasia. The HFUS protocol was designed for rapid, anesthesia-free scanning, focusing on volume estimation, echogenicity, and necrosis visualization. All mice developed tumors, only 20.6% were palpable at day 4. HFUS detected tumors as small as 2.2 mm in average diameter from day 4 post-implantation, with an average scanning duration of 47 s per mouse. It provided a more accurate volume assessment than caliper, with a lower average bias relative to reference tumor volume. HFUS also revealed tumor necrosis, correlating strongly with BLI in terms of tumor volume and cellularity. Notable discrepancies between HFUS and BLI growth rates were attributed to immune cell infiltration. The fast HFUS protocol enables precise and efficient tumor assessment in preclinical studies, offering significant advantages over traditional methods in terms of speed, accuracy, and animal welfare, aligning with the 3R principle in animal research.

Radiologic Features of Nodules Attached to the Mediastinal or Diaphragmatic Pleura at Low-Dose CT for Lung Cancer Screening.

Background Pulmonary noncalcified nodules (NCNs) attached to the fissural or costal pleura with smooth margins and triangular or lentiform, oval, or semicircular (LOS) shapes at low-dose CT are recommended for annual follow-up instead of immediate workup. Purpose To determine whether management of mediastinal or diaphragmatic pleura-attached NCNs (M/DP-NCNs) with the same features as fissural or costal pleura-attached NCNs at low-dose CT can follow the same recommendations. Materials and Methods This retrospective study reviewed chest CT examinations in participants from two databases. Group A included 1451 participants who had lung cancer that was first present as a solid nodule with an average diameter of 3.0-30.0 mm. Group B included 345 consecutive participants from a lung cancer screening program who had at least one solid nodule with a diameter of 3.0-30.0 mm at baseline CT and underwent at least three follow-up CT examinations. Radiologists reviewed CT images to identify solid M/DP-NCNs, defined as nodules 0 mm in distance from the mediastinal or diaphragmatic pleura, and recorded average diameter, margin, and shape. General descriptive statistics were used. Results Among the 1451 participants with lung cancer in group A, 163 participants (median age, 68 years [IQR, 61.5-75.0 years]; 92 male participants) had 164 malignant M/DP-NCNs 3.0-30.0 mm in average diameter. None of the 164 malignant M/DP-NCNs had smooth margins and triangular or LOS shapes (upper limit of 95% CI of proportion, 0.02). Among the 345 consecutive screening participants in group B, 146 participants (median age, 65 years [IQR, 59-71 years]; 81 female participants) had 240 M/DP-NCNs with average diameter 3.0-30.0 mm. None of the M/DP-NCNs with smooth margins and triangular or LOS shapes were malignant after a median follow-up of 57.8 months (IQR, 46.3-68.1 months). Conclusion For solid M/DP-NCNs with smooth margins and triangular or LOS shapes at low-dose CT, the risk of lung cancer is extremely low, which supports the recommendation of Lung Imaging Reporting and Data System version 2022 for annual follow-up instead of immediate workup. © RSNA, 2024 See also the editorial by Goodman and Baruah in this issue.

First Report of Leaf Spot on Ipomoea nil Caused by Alternaria alternata in China.

Ipomoea nil (Linnaeus) Roth, belonging to the Convolvulaceae family, is an ornamental and medicinal plant in China, which has the function of diuretic and expectorant, and it is also a common weed in the field. In October 2021, a leaf spot disease was observed on I. nil in a field as weed in Jingzhou (N 30° 21', E 112° 19'), Hubei Province, China. Symptoms began as small brown blotches, then developed into oval or irregularly shaped brown necrotic lesions. In severe cases, the leaves were completely necrotic and detached. In the surveyed area, the incidence was between 30% - 40%. To isolate the pathogen, twenty-one leaf pieces (5×5 mm) were cut from the lesion edges of seven symptomatic leaves, disinfected with 70% ethanol and 2% sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl), rinsed with sterile water five times, then placed on three potato dextrose agar (PDA) modified with 50 μg/mL kanamycin, and incubated at 25 °C in dark for 5 days. The isolates were subcultured by transferring mycelium tips. Sixteen fungal strains were isolated from the tissues, and nine of them showed similar morphological characteristics. After cultured 7 days on PDA at 25 °C, the nine colonies were initially white, then turned greenish brown to black in the center and had abundant fine villous aerial mycelia up to 61.5 mm in average diameter. To examine its conidial morphology, the fungi were cultured for 7 days on potato carrot agar (PCA) at 22°C with a light/dark period of 8/16 h. On PCA, conidia were brown or olive-brown, obclavate to obpyriform, with a short beak, one to five transverse and zero to three longitudinal septa. They formed chains of 1 - 8 conidia, with branches. Conidia were 16 - 46 µm long and 8 - 14 µm wide (n=50). These morphological features were similar to those described in Alternaria spp. (Simmons 2007). A single isolate "Q2" was selected for molecular identification because it was the most aggressive in preliminary leaf pathogenicity assays. The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of rDNA and histone 3 (H3) gene were amplified and sequenced using primers ITS1/ITS4 (White et al. 1990) and H3-1a/H3-1b (Zheng et al. 2015). BLAST analysis revealed that the sequences (ITS, ON360984; H3, ON375577) were 100% identical to Alternaria alternata (ITS, MK396607; H3, MN840996), respectively. Maximum likelihood analysis based on combined two gene sequences was conducted with an evolutionary model of GTR+I+G under 1000 bootstrap replicates. Phylogenetic tree showed that Q2 and Alternaria alternata 21-5 and BLH-YB-11 located in one clade supported with 99% bootstrap values. The pathogen was identified as A. alternata. To fulfill Koch's postulate, 10 ml conidia (106 spores/ml) of Q2 was sprayed on five healthy seedlings, with sterile distilled water as a control. All leaves were rinsed three times with sterile water before inoculation. All seedlings were placed in sealed plastic bags with air valves, and grown in a greenhouse (25 ± 2 ˚C, RH 65%). The test was repeated twice. After 10 days, symptoms typical of brown blotches similar to those observed in the field were observed on leaves of inoculated plants, while control remained healthy. A. alternata was re-isolated from the inoculated symptomatic leaves with a frequency of 100% based on morphological and molecular characters, thus Koch's postulate was confirmed. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of A. alternata causing leaf spot on I. nil in China. Our findings extended the host range of the pathogen A. alternata on characteristic plants.

Egg predation in Antarctic fish: the ingestion by Notothenia coriiceps of an entire Trematomus bernacchii spawn identified by molecular techniques

Parental care and nest guarding behaviors have been described for all major clades of Antarctic notothenioid fishes. In possible association with this reproductive behavior, there is no evidence of significant fish egg predation in notothenioids so far. Here, we report a recently ingested fish egg mass in the stomach of a large specimen of the voracious bullhead notothen Notothenia coriiceps caught in Paradise Bay, West Antarctic Peninsula, in mid-January 2019. Using molecular markers, the preyed eggs were identified as being emerald notothens Trematomus bernacchii, which enabled us to discuss aspects of the emerald notothen reproductive ecology. Our estimation of 4443 ingested eggs of 3.94 mm in average diameter, coupled with comparable literature data, suggested that this bullhead notothen ate the entire spawn. Based on an estimated age of the T. bernacchii embryos at 30 to 45 days post-fertilization, the spawning event likely occurred in December. Although it is known from a close location to our study site that emerald notothens use sponge cavities as spawning substrates with females guarding nests, we also recovered a small fragment of algae in the stomach content of the bullhead notothen, suggesting that the egg mass could have also been laid on algae. Our findings suggests that in this case of predator-prey interaction between two sympatric notothenioid species, there was a lack of effectiveness in egg protection, revealing a possible limit of egg guarding in the Antarctic ichthyofauna.

Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) of Ultra-Thin Diffusion Barriers on ZnSe Microparticles for Phase Stability in Chalcogenide Glasses for Mid-Infrared Optics

ZnSe embedded chalcogenide glass (ChG) composites are optically active in the mid-infrared (IR) and are ideal for niche applications in medical diagnosis, military missile heat-sensing, and chemical identification. The embedded ZnSe crystals play a critical role in providing lasing activity while the ChG - As2S3-xSex matrix, acts as a host that can be drawn into fiber and provides the necessary mid-IR transparency. However, during synthesis, the ZnSe particles are prone to dissolution in the As2S3-xSex matrix due to a high temperature (650 oC) melting and homogenization process. Here we demonstrate that a thin amorphous barrier layer of Al2O3 deposited using atomic layer deposition (ALD) on ZnSe microparticles 5-10 mm in average diameter is successful to prevent ZnSe dissolution in the As2S3-xSex matrix even after extended melting and homogenization at 650 oC for 8 hours. This talk will highlight some of the key process innovations required to overcome challenges of ALD on powdered components for functionalizing and enhancing performance of multiphasic glasses for optical applications.Amorphous aluminum oxide (Al2O3) was deposited using alternate pulses of trimethyl aluminum and H2O on 1 gm batch size ZnSe using a customized rotary barrel reactor inside a viscous-flow ALD furnace attached to a quadrupole mass spectrometer (QMS). The temperature of deposition was kept at 180 oC and the number of cycles were varied from 100 to 300 cycles. The ZnSe particles were sieved to an average size of 5-10 mm and a maximum size ≤ 20 mm. The coated particles were characterized by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The crystallinity of the ZnSe-As2S3-xSex glasses were evaluated using x-ray diffraction (XRD) and their composition stability spatially mapped across individual ZnSe particles embedded in As2S3-xSex matrix using Raman microspectroscopy.Whereas 100 ALD cycles provide partial protection to dissolution for the ZnSe in As2S3-xSex, a 300 cycle ALD Al2O3 on ZnSe particles is sufficient to provide phase and composition stability to the ZnSe embedded As2S3-xSex glass. Through our investigation, we exemplify the efficacy and potential of ALD of ZnSe powder in improving the stability of optical materials while still achieving optimal mid-IR lasing and transparency.

Characterization of Newly Detected Costal Pleura-attached Noncalcified Nodules at Annual Low-Dose CT Screenings.

Background Solid costal pleura-attached noncalcified nodules (CP-NCNs) less than 10.0 mm with lentiform, oval, or semicircular (LOS) or triangular shapes and smooth margins on baseline low-dose CT scans from the Mount Sinai Early Lung and Cardiac Action Program (MS-ELCAP) were reviewed, and it was determined that they can be followed up at the first annual screening rather than having a shorter-term work-up. Purpose To determine whether the same criteria could be used for solid CP-NCNs newly identified at annual screening examinations. Materials and Methods With use of the same MS-ELCAP database, all new solid CP-NCNs measuring 30.0 mm or less were identified at 4425 annual screening examinations between 2010 and 2019. In addition, to ensure that no malignant CP-NCNs met the criteria, all solid malignant CP-NCNs of 30.0 mm or less in the International Early Lung Cancer Action Program, or I-ELCAP, database of 111 102 annual screening examinations from the 76 participating institutions between 1992 and 2019 were identified; Mount Sinai is one of these institutions. All identified solid CP-NCNs were reviewed-with the radiologists blinded to diagnosis-for shape (triangular, LOS, polygonal, round, or irregular), margin (smooth or nonsmooth), pleural attachment (broad or narrow), and the presence of emphysema and/or fibrosis within 10.0 mm of each CP-NCN. Intra- and interreader readings were performed, and agreements were determined by using the B-statistic. Results Of the 76 new solid CP-NCNs, 21 were lung cancers. Benign CP-NCNs were smaller than malignant ones (median diameter, 4.2 mm vs 11 mm; P < .001), had a different shape distributions, more frequently had smooth margins (67% vs 14%; P < .001), and less frequently had emphysema (38% vs 81%; P = .003) or fibrosis (3.6% vs 19%; P = .045) within a 10.0 mm radius. All 22 solid CP-NCNs less than 10.0 mm in average diameter with triangular or LOS shapes and smooth margins were benign, and none of the 21 solid malignant CP-NCNs had these characteristics. Intra- and interobserver agreement for triangular or LOS-shaped CP-NCNs with smooth margins was almost perfect (0.77 and 0.69, respectively). Conclusion The same follow-up recommendation developed for baseline costal pleura-attached noncalcified nodules (CP-NCNs) can be used for CP-NCNs newly identified at annual screening rounds. © RSNA, 2021.

The impacts of calcium oxide nanoparticles on the anaerobic granule formation: CO2 sequestration and dosing.

Lab experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of calcium oxide nanoparticles (CaO NPs) dosing on granule formation, granule development, and carbon oxide sequestration. The results showed that dosing CaO NPs adversely affected granulation due to the formation of precipitates and hydrolyzates with poor settleability. However, the optimal dosage of CaO NPs 4.5 g/l could benefit granule formation and stability by improving the embedded extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) and physical adhesion aggregation leads for CO2 sequestration. The network of granules like Methanosarcina and in pore size 0.55 mm obtained in the reactor was 6.25 mm in average diameter, had a wet density 46 cm2, sludge volume index 0.935 ml/g, and CO2 sequestration 96.7% at 4.5 g/l CaO NP. The proposed study can provide a good prediction for the growth of granules stable texture in regular, dense, rigid, upper part smooth with below surface rough and granule yield showed CH4 production 4.6 m3/d and CO2 sequestration 4.75 l/gVS granules (w/v) granules. This study is a useful tool for studying the growth of granule growth characteristics and the mechanism of anaerobic granules for CO2 sequestration from wastewater.

Clinical characteristics of 288 cases of pathologically confirmed benign pulmonary nodules post-surgery

Objective: To analyze retrospectively the clinical characteristics of pathologically confirmed benign pulmonary nodules post-surgery, and therefore to provide evidence for the diagnosis of benign pulmonary nodules. Methods: 288 cases of pulmonary nodules were selected in the Ruijin Hospital from 1st January 2017 to 31st October 2019. All the lesions of these patients were confirmed by surgery and had definite pathological diagnosis. The clinical data were collected, including demography, clinical data, radiological features. Features that indicated benign pulmonary nodules were summarized. Results: The main etiologies of benign pulmonary nodules were granulomas, hamartomas, cryptococcus infection, organizing pneumonia and non-specific inflammation. In our cohort, we found that the radiological characteristics of benign nodules were single, solid, less than 10 mm in average diameter, with well-defined margins, absence of vacuole sign or vascular convergence , and negative functional imaging. Conclusion: The most common etiologies of post-surgical benign nodules were granulomas, hamartomas, and cryptococcus infection, characterized by being single, solid and with well-defined margins. Caution should be taken before considering surgery for such nodules.

Investigation into Recycled Rubber Aggregates and Steel Wire Fiber for Use in Concrete Subjected to Impact Loading

This study investigated the potential use of tire derived rubber aggregates, particularly powdered rubber, and recycled steel-wire fibers in concrete subjected to impact loading. The fibers are approximately 0.4 mm in average diameter and 25 mm in length on average. There are two main portions to this study. The first phase of this study involved small-scale batching to investigate the fresh and hardened properties of concrete mixtures with powdered rubber up to 50% replacement of sand volume and recycled steel fibers up to 0.25% by mixture volume. Additional mixtures containing powdered rubber, crumb rubber, and tire chips were evaluated for their mechanical performance. Based on fresh concrete properties, compressive strength, modulus of rigidity, and impact resilience, mixtures were selected for a second investigative phase. In this phase, static and impact testing were performed on two sets of scaled beams. One beam set was produced with concrete containing 40% powdered rubber as a sand replacement and another beam set with a combination mixture incorporating rubber products of varying sizes (10% powdered rubber, 10% crumb rubber, and 10% tire chip) and 0.25% recycled steel fiber. Flexural performance improved initially with the inclusion of powdered rubber but decreased with increasing concentrations. Mixtures including recycled steel fibers at 0.25% outperformed industrial steel fiber mixtures in both flexural strength and impact resistance. For both the static and impact beams with the recycled powdered rubber and steel fibers in the combination demonstrated improved load distribution and load-carrying capacity, acting as a sufficient replacement for industrial steel fiber reinforcement.

Management of Nodules Attached to the Costal Pleura at Low-Dose CT Screening for Lung Cancer.

Background Pulmonary nodule features have been used to differentiate benign from malignant nodules. Purpose To determine the frequency of solid noncalcified nodules attached to the costal pleura (CP-NCNs) at baseline low-dose CT and to identify key features of benignity. Materials and Methods A retrospective review was performed of baseline low-dose CT scans obtained in 8730 participants in the Mount Sinai Early Lung and Cardiac Action Program screening cohort between 1992 and 2019. Participants with one or more solid CP-NCNs between 3.0 mm and 30.0 mm in average diameter were included. For each CP-NCN, the size, location, shape (lentiform, oval, or semicircular [LOS]; triangular; polygonal; round; or irregular), margin (smooth or nonsmooth), and attachment to the costal pleura (broad or narrow) were documented. The manifestation of emphysema and fibrosis within a 10-mm radius of the CP-NCN was determined. Multivariable logistic regression analysis, with synthetic minority oversampling techniques, was used. Results The 569 eligible participants (average age, 62 years ± 9 [standard deviation]; 343 women) had 943 solid CP-NCNs, of which 934 (99.0%) were benign and nine (1.0%) were malignant. Multivariable analysis showed that five shapes could be consolidated into three (LOS and/or triangular, round and/or polygonal, and irregular shape); pleural attachment was not a significant independent predictor (odds ratio, 1.24; P = .70); and interaction terms of size with shape (odds ratio, 0.73; P = .005) and margin were significant (odds ratio, 0.80; P = .001). All 603 CP-NCNs less than 10.0 mm with LOS or triangular shapes and smooth margins were benign. Conclusion All baseline noncalcified solid nodules attached to the costal pleura less than 10.0 mm in average diameter with lentiform, oval, semicircular, or triangular shapes and smooth margins were benign; thus, for these nodules, an annual repeat scan in 1 year, rather than a more immediate work-up, is recommended. © RSNA, 2020 Online supplemental material is available for this article. See also the editorial by Godoy in this issue.

Organoclay nanoparticles interaction in PU:PMMA IPN foams: Relationship between the cellular structure and damping-acoustical properties

The present article seeks to characterize open-cell flexible interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) foams with a polyurethane-polymethylmethacrylate (PU-PMMA) ratio of 75:25 comprising organoclay nanoparticles. The effects of different nanoclay contents ranging from 0.3% to 1.5% (wt) in PU:PMMA (75/25) IPNs were investigated on mechanical properties such as storage modulus, loss modulus, and Tan delta. Thermal properties were also examined in a wide range of temperature using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), flow resistivity analyses determined that the optimized content of nanoclay leads to highest air permeability. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results showed semi-spherical micro-cell formed in the frame of foams using nanoclay below 1 mm in average diameter. The interaction between nanoclay and polymeric IPN chains observed in dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA) can be attributed to increases in the storage modulus in the neighborhood of Tg. Moreover, increasing and optimizing the percentage of nanoclay in IPNs widened the range of Tan δ peaks. An IPN containing 1.2% wt of nanoclay corresponded with the highest storage modulus and the widest peak of Tan δ. TGA thermograms also confirmed that thermal stability is directly proportional to the percentage of nanoclay in IPNs. The results revealed air permeability from IPN samples have been increased with increasing the amount of nanoclay and also, air permeability enhancement leads to a reduction of sound waves reflection and an increase of sound waves absorption. The sound absorption coefficient has been increased with the presence of the nanoclay.The results showed that sound absorption experiments attributed the interaction between nanoclay hydroxyl groups and urethane bonds of IPN to the higher sound absorption of IPNs. Furthermore, an IPN with 1.2% wt of nanoclay showed the best mechanical properties and highest sound absorption over the measured frequency ranges.

Wicking Property of Graft Material Enhanced Bone Regeneration in the Ovariectomized Rat Model.

Recruitment and homing cells into graft materials from host tissue is crucial for bone regeneration. Highly porous, multi-level structural, hydroxyapatite bone void filler (HA-BVF) have been investigated to restore critical size bone defects. The aim was to investigate a feasibility of bone regeneration of synthetic HA-BVF compared to commercial xenograft (Bio-Oss). HA-BVF of 0.7mm in average diameter was prepared via template coating method. Groups of animals (n = 6) were divided into two with normal (Sham) or induced osteoporotic conditions (Ovx). Subsequently, subdivided into three treated with HA-BVF as an experiment or Bio-Oss as a positive control or no treatment as a negative control (defect). The new bone formation was analyzed by micro-CT and histology. At 4weeks post-surgery, new bone formation was initiated from all groups. At 8weeks post-surgery, new bone formation in the HA-BVF groups was greater than Bio-Oss groups. Extraordinarily greater bone regeneration within the Ovx-HA group than Sham-Bio-Oss or Ovx-Bio-Oss group (p < 0.05). This study suggests that the immediate wicking property of HA-BVF from host tissue activates a natural healing cascade without the addition of exogeneous factors or progenitor cells. HA-BVF may be an effective alternative for repairing bone defects under both normal and osteoporotic bone conditions.

Peritumoral IL-15 Promotes Regional NK Activation and DC Licensing to Augment Radiation-Induced Anti-tumor Immunity

Radiotherapy (RT) can elicit anti-tumor T cells by multiple mechanisms but the induced immune response is limited by the immunosuppression in the tumor microenvironment. The common gamma-chain cytokines IL-15 promotes the activation of natural killer (NK) cells and the proliferation of activated CD8+ T cells and is under investigation for its ability to induce T cell response in cancer patients. Here we tested the hypothesis that IL-15 strengthens the pro-immunogenic effect of local RT to potentiate durable tumor-specific immunity. The poorly immunogenic mouse TSA breast cancer cells were implanted s.c. in syngeneic wild type (WT) or batf3-deficient BALB/c mice and when tumors reached 5mm in average diameter, were randomly assigned to one of 4 treatment groups: control, RT, IL-15 or RT+IL-15. Local RT was delivered consecutively in 8 Gy fractions on days 13, 14, and 15 post tumor implantation. IL-15 (2 μg/mouse) was administered s.c. peritumorally daily for 10 days starting on the first day of RT. Mice were followed for tumor growth and surviving mice subsequently re-challenged. Some animals were depleted of CD8 and NK cells (anti-asialo-GM1 Ab) using standard protocols. A parallel experiment was done to characterize tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and measure ex vivo IFNg production by tumor-specific CD8 T-cells in the draining lymph nodes at the end of treatment (day 22). IL-15 as monotherapy had no effect on tumor control but significantly improved the ability of RT to delay tumor growth in WT mice (P < 0.01, RT vs RT+IL-15). Combination treatment led to durable and robust memory responses in 50% of animals compared to 0% of mice treated with RT alone. RT enhanced intratumoral infiltration of DX5+NKp46+ NK cells and was further increased by the addition of IL-15 (22.86% of CD45 TILs in RT vs 32% in RT+IL-15, P<0.05). CD8+ T cells expressing the activation marker CD137 were significantly increased in tumors of RT+IL-15-treated mice while the increase was modest with each monotherapy (35.3% in RT+IL-15 vs 18.8% in RT, 20.7% in IL-15, 5.90% in control, P < 0.05). Systemic depletion of either CD8 T-cells or NK cells abrogated the therapeutic effect of the combination. RT+IL-15 elicited more priming of tumor-specific T-cells in response to tumor epitope AH-1-A5 (1238 pg/mL in RT+IL-15 vs 3.3 pg/mL in control vs 28.7 pg/mL in IL-15 RT vs 2.63 pg/mL in RT; P<0.05). Batf3-/- mice that CD103+ DCs showed reduce response to RT+IL-15 compared to WT mice. Here we show that local IL-15 administration improves priming of anti-tumor CD8+ T cell and leads to long-term memory responses by a mechanism that is dependent on NK cells and Batf3-dependent DCs. Data suggest that IL-15 activated NK cells kill tumor cells and license DCs leading to a long-term T cell-mediated memory response. Overall these results support the testing of IL-15 in combination with tumor-targeted radiotherapy.

The Buritizal meteorite: classification of a new Brazilian chondrite

Abstract On August 14, 1967, the reporter Saulo Gomes, working at TV Tupi, went to a small city in the State of Sao Paulo called Buritizal to investigate reports of a meteorite fall and write a newspaper report. He actually recovered three fragments of the meteorite at a small farm. In 2014, he donated one of the fragments to the Museu Nacional of the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (MN/UFRJ). We named this meteorite Buritizal and studied its petrology, geochemistry, magnetic properties and cathodoluminescence with the intent to determine the petrologic classification of the meteorite. In this manner, the Buritizal meteorite is classified as an ordinary chondrite LL 3.2 breccia (as indicated by lithic fragments). The meteorite consists of ~ 2% of metallic Fe,Ni and many well-defined chondrules with ~ 0.8 mm in average diameter. An ultramafic ferromagnesian mineralogy is predominant in the meteorite, represented by olivine, orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene, Fe-Ni alloy, troilite and glass. The total iron content was calculated as 20.88 wt%. Furthermore, the meteorite was classified as weathering grade W1 and shock stage S3. Buritizal is the 25th observed meteorite fall recovered in Brazil, of 70 meteorites known from Brazil. Thus, the study of the Buritizal meteorite is very important and relevant for the Brazilian scientific community.

Direct aspiration versus follicular flushing in poor responders undergoing intracytoplasmic sperm injection: a randomised controlled trial.

To compare follicle flushing three times with direct follicular aspiration in poor responders. Our hypothesis was that follicle flushing three times in poor responders would result in similar oocyte yield compared with direct aspiration in poor responders. A randomised controlled trial performed between January 2015 and June 2015. University hospital. Eighty eligible poor responders, who were defined as having five or fewer follicles ≥13mm in average diameter with at least two follicles having maximum diameters >17mm on the day of human chorionic gonadotrophin administration. Monofollicular cycles, including natural cycles, were excluded from the current trial. In the double-lumen needle group, oocyte retrieval was performed by flushing three times with 2ml in each follicle and in the single-lumen group direct follicle aspiration was performed. Number of metaphase II oocytes retrieved. The mean number of metaphase II oocytes was similar in both groups (1.9±0.1 versus 2.1±0.1, respectively). The clinical pregnancy and live birth rates were similar in both groups (32.5% versus 25% and 25% versus 22.5%, respectively). The only significant difference between the two groups was the duration of oocyte retrieval (178.4±13.4 versus 236.3±24.1seconds, respectively, P=0.01). Follicular flushing is time consuming and has similar results compared with direct follicle aspiration in poor responders. Direct follicle aspiration versus flushing in poor responders yields similar metaphase II oocytes.

Lightning-induced volcanic spherules

Glass spherules have been documented in many geologic deposits and are formed during high-temperature processes that include cloud-to-ground lightning strikes, volcanic eruptions of low-viscosity magmas, and meteorite impacts. This study reviews the known glass spherule– forming processes and proposes, for the first time, a mechanism induced through the heat generated by volcanic lightning in eruptive columns and plumes (laterally spreading clouds) during explosive eruptions. Ash-fall samples were collected from two eruptions where volcanic lightning was extensively documented: the A.D. 2009 eruption of Mount Redoubt, Alaska (USA), and the 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajokull, Iceland. These samples reveal individual glass spherules ~50 mm in average diameter that compose <5% of the examined portion of the deposit. Textures include smooth, hollow, or cracked spherules, as well as aggregates, which suggest melting of ash particles as a result of proximity to the electrical discharge channel and subsequent re-solidification of the particles into spherical morphologies. The natural ash-fall samples are compared with pseudo-ash samples collected from high-voltage insulator experiments in order to test our hypothesis that volcanic ash particles can be transformed into glass spherules through the heat generated by electrical discharge. We refer to this new morphological classification of ash grains as lightning-induced volcanic spherules and hypothesize that this texture not only provides direct physical evidence of lightning occurrence during explosive eruptions, but will also increase settling velocities and reduce aggregation of these particles, affecting ash transport dynamics.

A Novel Soft Metal‐Polymer Composite for Multidirectional Pressure Energy Harvesting

DOI: 10.1002/aenm.201400024 bubbles remain trapped inside the sponge by means of solving sacrifi cing particles. The triboelectric phenomenon is promoted by periodic contact between miniature pieces of copper microwires encapsulated in a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) sponge. The strong advantages of this work are its simplicity and the cost effectiveness of the process, which makes it suitable for mass manufacturing and fabrication with easy-access facilities. Moreover, because the prototypes are made out of a mixture, the building process can be integrated with other fabrication methods in a broad range of scales. The possibility of trapping conductive wires in rubber opens the way to a new generation of energy harvesting devices, targeting all application fi elds where a fl exible and soft material is used and/or needed. Moreover the fabrication process is not constrained to planar technology but fully 3D shapes can be built. The wired-sponge polymer could be tailored for consumer goods used in everyday life, for which energy harvesting mechanisms have not been considered to date, such as some parts of wheels, mattresses, toys and playgrounds, dance fl oors, etc. It is noteworthy that this approach could be addressed in advanced robotic systems where the body of the robot is built with soft materials via a bioinspired design paradigm. [ 10 ]

Novel granulation process of beryllide as advanced neutron multipliers

Advanced neutron multipliers with low swelling and high stability at high temperatures are desired for pebble bed blankets of demonstration fusion power (DEMO) reactors. Beryllium intermetallic compounds (beryllides) are the most promising advanced neutron multipliers. In order to fabricate the beryllide pebbles, beryllide with shapes of block and/or rod is necessary when a melting granulation process is applied such as a rotating electrode method. A plasma sintering method has been proposed as new technique which uses a non conventional consolidation process. It was clarified that the beryllide could be simultaneously synthesized and jointed by the plasma sintering method in the insert material region between two beryllide blocks. Beryllide rod of Be12Ti with 10mm in diameter and 60mm in length has been successfully fabricated by the plasma sintering method. Using this plasma-sintered beryllide rod, fabrication of prototype beryllide pebble was performed by a rotating electrode method as one of the melting methods. The prototype pebbles of Be12Ti with 1mm in average diameter were successfully fabricated.

First Report of Amphobotrys ricini Causing Gray Mold Disease on Acalypha australis in Central China.

In 2008, we isolated a strain of an Amphobotrys sp., CotAr-12, from a cotton plant showing Verticillium wilt symptoms in Hubei Province, China. In October 2010 and 2011, surveys for Amphobotrys sp. on cotton were conducted in 14 counties in Hubei. No signs of an Amphobotrys sp. was observed on cotton. However, a gray mold disease was found on the weed, Acalypha australis in 40 of 51 cotton fields with an average disease incidence of 18.6%. The disease started on the inflorescences at the top of stems or branches and then spread downward to the main stems, branches, and leaves. Abundant sporulation on the necrotic tissues and formation of sclerotia underneath the epidermis or in the stem pith were evident. A total of 128 isolates, including CopAr-5, were obtained from A. australis (1 to 10 isolates per field). All isolates from A. australis and CotAr-12 appeared similar in colony morphology; ragged colony margins, erect conidiophores with long stipes and dichotomous branches at the top, globose and subhyaline conidia with an average diameter of 5.3 to 8.5 μm, and black, oval sclerotia of 0.6 to 26.2 × 0.5 to 19.0 mm. These characteristics matched the description for Amphobotrys ricini (Buchw.) Hennebert (teleomorph Botryotinia ricini [Godfrey] Whetzel) (2). Strains CopAr-5 and CotAr-12 were selected for molecular identification. DNA was extracted from mycelia and used for cloning of three nuclear genes (e.g., G3PDH, HSP60, and RPB2) using the procedures described by Staats et al. (4). The resulting DNA sequences were used for phylogenetic analysis with the corresponding sequences for Botrytis spp. (4). Results showed that strains CopAr-5 (GenBank Accession Nos. JN681883, JN681881, and JN6981879), CotAr-12 (GenBank Accession Nos. JN681882, JN681880, and JN6981878), and Botrytis (teleomorph Botrytinia) ricini (GenBank Accession Nos. GQ860998, GQ860996, and GQ860997) formed a separate clade that was distinct from Botrytis spp., supporting the distinction of Amphobotrys from Botrytis and suggesting that the two strains were Amphobotrys ricini. Pathogenicity was determined by placing mycelia of strains CopAr-5 and CotAr-12 on 10 detached leaves of A. australis, castor bean, and cotton. Control leaves of these plants were inoculated with potato dextrose agar alone. After incubation at 20°C under moist conditions (>90% relative humidity) for 60 h, the control leaves remained healthy, while the leaves of A. australis and castor bean inoculated with both strains formed extensively expanded lesions of 20 and 27 mm in diameter on average, respectively. Both strains also caused disease on cotton leaves with discontinuous and localized lesions of 18 mm in average diameter. A fungus was reisolated from the leaf lesions on these plant species and were identical to Amphobotrys ricini in colony morphology and conidial characteristics. We conclude that Amphobotrys ricini is a major pathogen on A. australis in central China. It is an important pathogen of castor bean (1) and has been reported to infect several euphorbiaceous plants, including A. hispida (3). To our knowledge, this is the first report of Amphobotrys ricini on A. australis.

Aerobic granulation in a mechanical stirred SBR: treatment of low organic loads

Aerobic granular sludge was produced in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) characterized by a height to diameter ratio of 2.5 and the use of mechanical stirring. Compact and regular aerobic granules of up to 1.75 mm of average diameter were formed in the reactor with an organic loading rate of 1.75 kg COD/(m3 d). Settling properties of the obtained aggregates were: sludge volumetric index of 30-40 mL/g VSS and settling velocity higher than 8 m/h. The effects of different carbon to nitrogen ratios (TOC/N) in the feeding on the organic matter oxidation and nitrification process were studied. The concentration of organic matter in the feeding was stepwise reduced (from 190.0 to 37.5 mg TOC/L) and ammonium increased (from 25 to 50 mg NH4+ -N/L). TOC/N ratios of 7.50, 3.00, 1.50 and 0.75 g/g in the feeding were tested. The TOC removal percentage was around 80-95% during the whole operational period and the N removal percentages obtained in the reactor were up to 40%, however, physical properties of the granules were not maintained.