Size Shrinkage Research Articles

The Fate of Residual Tumor Masses That Persist After Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy for Solitary Lung Nodules: Will They Recur?

BackgroundAfter stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) to the lung, radiation pneumonitis and fibrotic changes often develop, and the tumor shadow usually becomes indistinguishable from the fibrotic shadow. Occasionally, however, a residual mass in patients with no or mild radiation pneumonitis will be observed on serial computed tomography (CT) scans. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the fate of such residual masses and, if possible, to determine the types of tumor at increased risk of local recurrence. Patients and MethodsA total of 50 patients (underlying disease: primary lung cancer in 45, local recurrence in 2, and metastasis in 3) were selected because they had been followed up for > 2 years or until death and had observable CT changes and measurable tumor size for > 1 year, regardless of the influence of radiation pneumonitis. The patients' outcomes were compared according to various patient and tumor characteristics, including the presence and absence of emphysema, tumor size, and tumor shrinkage rate. The median follow-up period was 52 months. ResultsOf the 50 patients, only 8 developed local recurrence. The local control rate was 81% at 3 years and 73% at 5 years. The local control rates were similar between patients with a high tumor shrinkage rate and those with a low rate. The patients with emphysema exhibited a lower local control rate. ConclusionThe persistence of lung masses for > 1 year after SBRT is not necessarily indicative of an increased risk of local recurrence. A low tumor shrinkage rate also was not predictive of recurrence.

EVALUATION AND ANALYSIS OF URMIA LAKE WATER LEVEL FLUCTUATIONS BETTWEN 1998-2006 USING LANDSAT IMAGES AND TOPEX ALTIMETRY DATA

Abstract. The Lake Urmiah has undergone a drastic shrinkage in size over the past few decades. The initial intention of this paper is to present an approach for determining the so called “salient times” during which the trend of the shrinkage process is accelerated or decelerated. To find these salient times, a quasi_continuous curve was optimally fitted to the Topex altimetry data within the period 1998 to 2006. To find the salient points within this period of time, the points of inflections of the fitted curve is computed using a second derivative approach. The water volume was also computed using 16 cloud free Landsat images of the Lake within the periods of 1998 to 2006. In the first stage of the water volume calculation, the pixels of the Lake were segmented using the Automated Water Extraction Index (AWEI) and the shorelines of the Lake were extracted by a boundary detecting operator using the generated binary image of the Lake surface. The water volume fluctuation rate was then computed under the assumption that the two successive Lake surfaces and their corresponding water level differences demonstrate approximately a truncated pyramid. The analysis of the water level fluctuation rates were further extended by a sinusoidal curve fitted to the Topex altimetry data. This curve was intended to model the seasonal fluctuations of the water level. In the final stage of this article, the correlation between the fluctuation rates and the precipitation and temperature variations were also numerically determined. This paper reports in some details the stages mentioned above.

A dual strategy to improve the penetration and treatment of breast cancer by combining shrinking nanoparticles with collagen depletion by losartan

Although development of nanomedicines has been a promising direction in tumor treatment, the therapeutic outcome of current nanomedicines is unsatisfying, partly because of the poor retention and penetration in tumors. Recently, a kind of tumor microenvironment sensitive size shrinkable nanoparticles (DOX-AuNPs-GNPs) has been developed by our lab, which could enhance the tumor penetration and retention depending on the size shrinking. However, the further enhancement is still restricted by dense collagen network in tumors. Thus in this study, we combined DOX-AuNPs-GNPs with losartan to deplete tumor collagen (constituted up to 90% of extracellular matrix) to further improve tumor penetration. In vitro, DOX-AuNPs-GNPs can shrink from over 117.8nm to less than 50.0nm and release DOX-AuNPs under the triggering of tumor overexpressed matrix metalloproteinases-2 (MMP-2). In vivo, pretreatment with losartan significantly decrease the collagen level and improve the tumor penetration. In combination, losartan combined with DOX-AuNPs-GNPs showed the best drug delivery efficiency, striking penetration efficiency and best 4T1 breast tumor inhibition effect. In conclusion, this study provided a promising synergetic strategy to improve the tumor treatment efficiency of nanomedicines. Statement of significanceWe have developed a dual strategy for deep tumor penetration through combining size shrinkable DOX-AuNPs-GNPs with depleting tumor collagen by losartan. Additionally, we demonstrate therapeutic efficacy in breast tumor bearing mouse model. DOX-AuNPs-GNPs co-administration with losartan is a novel and highly attractive strategy for anti-tumor drug delivery with the potential for broad applications in clinic.

What Explains the Rise in Executive Pay in Germany? A Panel Data Analysis for 1977–2009

AbstractExecutive compensation in Germany has become highly controversial since Vodafone's hostile takeover of Mannesmann in 2000. It has again been in the spotlight since the outbreak of the 2008–2009 global financial crisis. Using a unique panel dataset of the 500 largest firms in Germany in the period 1977–2009, we find that executives tend to be rewarded when the sector is doing well rather than the firm they work for. Furthermore, we find that CEO pay and the demand for managers increases in Germany in difficult times when the typical firm size shrinks. Finally, domestic and global competition for managers appear to contribute to the rise in executive pay.

Vibrio cholerae Porin OmpU Induces Caspase-independent Programmed Cell Death upon Translocation to the Host Cell Mitochondria

Porins, a major class of outer membrane proteins in Gram-negative bacteria, primarily act as transport channels. OmpU is one of the major porins of human pathogen, Vibrio cholerae. In the present study, we show that V. cholerae OmpU has the ability to induce target cell death. Although OmpU-mediated cell death shows some characteristics of apoptosis, such as flipping of phosphatidylserine in the membrane as well as cell size shrinkage and increased cell granularity, it does not show the caspase-3 activation and DNA laddering pattern typical of apoptotic cells. Increased release of lactate dehydrogenase in OmpU-treated cells indicates that the OmpU-mediated cell death also has characteristics of necrosis. Further, we show that the mechanism of OmpU-mediated cell death involves major mitochondrial changes in the target cells. We observe that OmpU treatment leads to the disruption of mitochondrial membrane potential, resulting in the release of cytochrome c and apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF). AIF translocates to the host cell nucleus, implying that it has a crucial role in OmpU-mediated cell death. Finally, we observe that OmpU translocates to the target cell mitochondria, where it directly initiates mitochondrial changes leading to mitochondrial membrane permeability transition and AIF release. Partial blocking of AIF release by cyclosporine A in OmpU-treated cells further suggests that OmpU may be inducing the opening of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore. All of these results lead us to the conclusion that OmpU induces cell death in target cells in a programmed manner in which mitochondria play a central role.

The flatness and sudden evolution of the intergalactic ionizing background

The ionizing background of cosmic hydrogen is an important probe of the sources and absorbers of ionizing radiation in the post-reionization universe. Previous studies show that the ionization rate should be very sensitive to changes in the source population: as the emissivity rises, absorbers shrink in size, increasing the ionizing mean free path and, hence, the ionizing background. By contrast, observations of the ionizing background find a very flat evolution from z~2-5, before falling precipitously at z~6. We resolve this puzzling discrepancy by pointing out that, at z~2-5, optically thick absorbers are associated with the same collapsed halos that host ionizing sources. Thus, an increasing abundance of galaxies is compensated for by a corresponding increase in the absorber population, which moderates the instability in the ionizing background. However, by z~5-6, gas outside of halos dominates the absorption, the coupling between sources and absorbers is lost, and the ionizing background evolves rapidly. Our halo based model reproduces observations of the ionizing background, its flatness and sudden decline, as well as the redshift evolution of the ionizing mean free path. Our work suggests that, through much of their history, both star formation and photoelectric opacity in the universe track halo growth.

Slow-light effect via Rayleigh anomaly and the effect of finite gratings.

In this Letter, we investigate the slow-light effect of subwavelength diffraction gratings via the Rayleigh anomaly using a fully analytical approach without needing to consider specific grating structures. Our results show that the local group velocity of the transmitted light can be significantly reduced due to the optical vortex, which can inspire a new mechanism to enhance light-matter interactions for optical sensing and photodetection. However, the slow-light effect will diminish as the transmitted light propagates farther from the grating surface, and the slowdown factor decreases as the grating size shrinks.

Efficacy of Vismodegib (Erivedge) for Basal Cell Carcinoma Involving the Orbit and Periocular Area.

Evaluate the effectiveness of vismodegib in the management of basal cell carcinoma with orbital extension and/or extensive periocular involvement. Retrospective chart review of 6 consecutive patients with biopsy-proven orbital basal cell carcinoma and 2 additional patients with extensive periocular basal cell carcinoma who were treated with oral vismodegib (150 mg/day) was performed. Basal cell carcinoma extended in the orbit in 6 of 8 patients (involving orbital bones in 1 patient), and 2 of 8 patients had extensive periocular involvement (1 with basal cell nevus syndrome). Vismodegib therapy was the only treatment in 6 patients, off-label neoadjuvant in 1 patient, and adjuvant treatment in 1 patient. Orbital tumors in all 4 patients who received vismodegib as sole treatment showed partial response with a mean 83% shrinkage in tumor size after a median of 7 months of therapy. In the 2 patients receiving vismodegib as neoadjuvant or adjuvant therapies, there was complete response after a median of 7 months of therapy and no evidence of clinical recurrence after discontinuing therapy for a median of 15 months. The 2 patients with extensive periocular involvement experienced complete clinical response after a median 14 months of treatment. During treatment, the most common side effects were muscle spasm (75%) followed by alopecia (50%), dysgeusia (25%), dysosmia, and episodes of diarrhea and constipation (13%). Basal cell carcinoma with orbital extension and extensive periocular involvement responds to vismodegib therapy. The long-term prognosis remains unknown, and additional prospective studies are indicated.

Influence of Zn2+ ions on the structural and electrical properties of Mg1−xZnxFeCrO4 spinels

The polycrystalline magnesium–zinc ferrite chromate having the chemical formula Mg1−xZnxFeCrO4 (0.0 ≤ x ≤ 1.0) were prepared by conventional solid phase reaction using high purity reagents. The structural and electrical properties at room temperature have been investigated by XRD, TEM, SEM, EDS, TGA, DTA, FT-IR and DC electrical resistivity techniques. The lattice parameters such as the lattice constant, average particle size, bonds length, density, porosity and volume shrinkage were found to vary with increasing Zn2+ content in the sample. The lattice constant “a” increases from 8.361 Å for MgFeCrO4 to 8.382 Å for ZnFeCrO4 spinels. The IR spectra confirm the presence of two main absorption bands υ1 and υ2 in the frequency range of 400–1000 cm−1, arising due to the tetrahedral (A) and octahedral (B) stretching vibrations respectively. Values of υ1 and υ2 decrease with increasing Zn+2 content over the whole composition range. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) micrographs showed aggregates of stacked large grains. Values of the room temperature DC electrical resistivity decrease as Zn2+ content increases. The low values of the vacancy model parameters indicate that the Mg1−xZnxFeCrO4 spinels are strongly defective and the participation of the Zn2+ vacancies in the improvement of the electrical conductivity in these spinels. The thermo-gravimetric, TGA and differential thermal analysis, DTA show loss of mass caused by vaporization of the surface and trapped water molecules at higher temperatures.

PHOTOMETRY OF THE STINGRAY NEBULA (V839 ARA) FROM 1889 TO 2015 ACROSS THE IONIZATION OF ITS PLANETARY NEBULA

Up until around 1980, the Stingray was an ordinary B1 post-AGB star, but then it suddenly sprouted bright emission lines like in a planetary nebula (PN), and soon after this the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) discovered a small PN around the star, so apparently we have caught a star in the act of ionizing a PN. We report here on a well-sampled light curve from 1889 to 2015, with unique coverage of the prior century plus the entire duration of the PN formation plus three decades of its aftermath. Surprisingly, the star anticipated the 1980's ionization event by declining from B=10.30 in 1889 to B=10.76 in 1980. Starting in 1980, the central star faded fast, at a rate of 0.20 mag/year, reaching B=14.64 in 1996. This fast fading is apparently caused by the central star shrinking in size. From 1994-2015, the V-band light curve is almost entirely from the flux of two bright [OIII] emission lines from the unresolved nebula, and it shows a consistent decline at a rate of 0.090 mag/year. This steady fading (also seen in the radio and infrared) has a time scale equal to that expected for ordinary recombination within the nebula, immediately after a short-duration ionizing event in the 1980s. We are providing the first direct measure of the rapidly changing luminosity of the central star on both sides of a presumed thermal pulse in 1980, with this providing a strong and critical set of constraints, and these are found to sharply disagree with theoretical models of PN evolution.

Spiral blood flow in aorta–renal bifurcation models

The presence of a spiral arterial blood flow pattern in humans has been widely accepted. It is believed that this spiral component of the blood flow alters arterial haemodynamics in both positive and negative ways. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of spiral flow on haemodynamic changes in aorta–renal bifurcations. In this regard, a computational fluid dynamics analysis of pulsatile blood flow was performed in two idealised models of aorta–renal bifurcations with and without flow diverter. The results show that the spirality effect causes a substantial variation in blood velocity distribution, while causing only slight changes in fluid shear stress patterns. The dominant observed effect of spiral flow is on turbulent kinetic energy and flow recirculation zones. As spiral flow intensity increases, the rate of turbulent kinetic energy production decreases, reducing the region of potential damage to red blood cells and endothelial cells. Furthermore, the recirculation zones which form on the cranial sides of the aorta and renal artery shrink in size in the presence of spirality effect; this may lower the rate of atherosclerosis development and progression in the aorta–renal bifurcation. These results indicate that the spiral nature of blood flow has atheroprotective effects in renal arteries and should be taken into consideration in analyses of the aorta and renal arteries.

Effect of filler arrangement and networking of hexagonal boron nitride on the conductivity of new thermal management polymeric composites

Polymeric composites have the potential to replace current electronic packaging and improve thermal management of electronics to open the way for further size shrinkage. Such composites need to provide high thermal conductivity and high electrical resistivity while possessing suitable mechanical properties. This paper reports the study of thermal behavior of arranged and random network of hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) in composite with different polymers. Thermal barrier factors and possible solutions to reduce the effect of these factors are thoroughly investigated. Thermal behavior of hBN filler network in composite with different polymers as well as the possibility of using green (bio-based) polymers as the matrix have been studied. Fully bio-based, partially bio-based and petroleum based composites are compared to investigate the effect of different polymer matrices on thermal properties of composites. Designed high thermally conductive and electrically insulative composites are expected to possess unique properties. This includes being lightweight, injection moldable, low coefficients of thermal expansion, eco-friendly, and with proper service temperature and mechanical properties. Such composites will result in more compact, lighter and cheaper electronics with higher performance, by avoiding the use of electrical fans, heat sinks and other methods of heat dissipation.

Household changes in contemporary China: an analysis based on the four recent censuses

This paper analyzed China’s household changes based on data from China’s past four censuses of 1982, 1990, 2000, and 2010. The data showed that there was a rapid increase in the number of family households, a continued shrinking in household size, and a trend of simplification in household structure. The proportions of the one-couple household and the two-generation standard nuclear household presented the largest rise and the largest fall, respectively. Although the nuclear household still occupied the largest proportion, the single-person household was becoming more numerous, and the extended-family household still maintained a relatively large proportion. Low fertility, population mobility, aging, and the improvement of housing conditions were among the most significant factors that brought about changes to the family and the household in China. In addition, with the population aging, families with elderly members and empty-nest families progressively increased. While the proportion of the elderly-only family households increased, the share of coresidence of old people living with children declined. In China, the elderly are adopting two major forms of living arrangements: living alone or in multigeneration families. Future family policy should pay more attention to this phenomenon.

Rational fabrication of size tunable SnO2 hollow microspheres

A designed solution route was developed to fabricate size tunable SnO2 hollow microspheres based on the sol-gel theory. The hydrolysis of SnSO4 released protons to form SnO2 particulates and induced the decrease of pH value. To minimize the high surface energy, the SnO2 particulates tended to assemble into large particles, the size of which was affected by the electrolyte concentration or pH value. Elevating SnSO4 content aroused the decrease of the pH value that directed to the shrinkage of the aggregated particle size of SnO2. Size tunable SnO2 hollow microspheres were then rationally fabricated under solvothermal conditions via Ostwald ripening by simply adjusting the SnSO4 concentration. The in situ pH decrease directed to the shrinkage of the particle size from 270 nm to 112 nm. The formation mechanism was confirmed and rationally elucidated by the time dependant morphology evolution. Charge-discharge tests revealed that the reduced particle size aroused an improved lithium ion battery performance.

Chemical characterization, antioxidant and cytotoxic activities of the methanolic extract of Hymenocrater longiflorus grown in Iraq

Hymenocrater longiflorus was collected from northern Iraq, and the chemical composition and antioxidant and cytotoxic activities of this plant were investigated. Ten compounds detected by HPLC-ESI/MS were identified as flavonoids and phenolic acids. The free radical scavenging activity of the 70% methanol extract was evaluated using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay. The antioxidant activities of the extract may be attributed to its polyphenolic composition. The cytotoxicity of the plant extract against the osteosarcoma (U2OS) cell line was assessed with the 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. The extract significantly reduced the viability of cells in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. Cells were arrested during the S-phase of the cell cycle, and DNA damage was revealed by antibodies against histone H2AX. The apoptotic features of cell shrinkage and decrease in cell size were also observed. Western blot analysis revealed cleavage of poly (ADP-ribose)-polymerase 1 (PARP-1), in addition to increases in the proteins p53, p21, and γ-H2AX. Collectively, our findings demonstrate that the H. longiflorus extract is highly cytotoxic to U2OS cells, most likely due to its polyphenolic composition.

Large enhancement of ultra-violet photoresponse of silicon-nanoparticle-embedded porous silicon thin films by rapid-thermal-oxidation treatment

The ultra-violet (UV) photoresponses of silicon-nanoparticle-embedded porous silicon thin films that were prepared from electrochemical-etching silicon substrates in an anodization process had been greatly enhanced by rapid-thermal-oxidation (RTO) treatment. Experimental analysis demonstrated that the optical bandgap energy of the formed nanoporous silicon (NPS) films increased from 1.6eV to 3.5eV after the RTO process. It was supposed that this bandgap-widening effect resulted from the size shrinking of Si-nanocrystals embedded in the oxidized NPS films and led to the large increase in UV responses. With RTO treatment of 90s, the oxidized NPS films exhibited high UV photoresponses for incident light of wavelength between 300nm and 400nm, with peak photoresponsivity of 78mA/W at 375nm. In addition, under illumination of 350-nm UV light, the photodiode based on these RTO-treated NPS films got a 370-time larger photo-to-dark current ratio (PTDR) than that of one fabricated without RTO treatment. Therefore, oxidized NPS materials prepared by RTO treatment after the electrochemical-etching of Si wafers have high potential for development of Si-based UV photodetectors.

Circuit Editing and Failure Analysis Applications using a Three-Ion-Beam (Ga, He and Ne) System and Gas Injection System (GIS)

The focused ion beam (FIB) is widely used in semiconductor industries for circuit editing (CE), failure analysis (FA) and nanofabrication. Gallium FIB is most developed for CE and FA for feature size >10 nm. In general, after the FIB processing, the structural characterization is performed using SEM. A gas injection system (GIS) is integrated into a FIB or SEM microscope system to mill or deposit the materials in electron or ion induced processing in CE and FA. Ga FIB induced processing cannot fabricate small enough metal or insulator nanostructures to meet the shrinkage of feature size in current semiconductor processing. In the Zeiss NanoFab system, the Ga ion beam is used to perform the fast and large scale milling, and the helium ion beam is used to obtain the high resolution images. In addition, the neon ion beam is used to mill or assist deposition of smaller functional structures. Appropriate precursors for ion induced etching or deposition are introduced via an integrated GIS. In this paper we evaluate applications in CE and FA using a combination of three different focused ion beams.

Modulation of photonic nanojets generated by microspheres decorated with concentric rings.

A novel design of decorating microsphere surface with concentric rings to modulate the photonic nanojet (PNJ) is investigated. By introducing the concentric ring structures into the illumination side of the microspheres, a reduction of the full width at half maximum (FWHM) intensity of the PNJ by 29.1%, compared to that without the decoration, can be achieved numerically. Key design parameters, such as ring number and depth, are analyzed. Engineered microsphere with four uniformly distributed rings etched at a depth of 1.2 μm and width of 0.25 μm can generate PNJ at a FWHM of 0.485 λ (λ = 400nm). Experiments were carried out by direct observation of the PNJ with an optical microscope under 405 nm laser illumination. As a result, shrinking of PNJ beam size of 28.0% compared to the case without the rings has been achieved experimentally. Sharp FWHM of this design can be beneficial to micro/nanoscale fabrication, optical super-resolution imaging, and sensing.

Biotransformation of tributyltin chloride to less toxic dibutyltin dichloride and monobutyltin trichloride by Klebsiella pneumoniae strain SD9

A tributyltin chloride (TBTCl) resistant bacterial strain was isolated from the Zuari estuary, in Goa, India, and identified as Klebsiella pneumoniae based on biochemical characteristics and 16S rRNA sequence analysis, and designated as strain SD9. It could utilize TBTCl as a sole carbon source in mineral salt medium and tolerated up to 2.5 mM TBTCl with maximum growth at 2 mM. Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopic analysis of column purified TBTCl degradation products clearly demonstrated the presence of dibutyltin dichloride (DBTCl2) and monobutyltin trichloride (MBTCl3). Mass spectrometry further confirmed degradation of toxic TBTCl into its less toxic derivatives, viz., DBTCl2 and MBTCl3. This strain also showed enhanced siderophore production in the presence of TBTCl, which was demonstrated by chrome azurol S agar assay as an increase in diameter of the orange halo around the bacterial colony in the presence of 2 mM TBTCl; this seems to be a mechanism to counteract TBTCl toxicity. Furthermore, scanning electron microscopy revealed significant morphological alterations as shrinkage in cell size along with roughness of cell surface when bacterial cells were exposed to 2 mM TBTCl. These interesting characteristics of this estuarine bacterium make it a potential tool for bioremediation of TBTCl-contaminated sites since it possesses biotransformation capability to convert TBTCl into DBTCl2 and MBTCl3.

Runtime Resource Allocation for Software Pipelines

Efficiently allocating the computational resources of many-core systems is one of the most prominent challenges, especially when resource requirements may vary unpredictably at runtime. This is even more challenging when facing unreliable cores—a scenario that becomes common as the number of cores increases and integration sizes shrink. To address this challenge, this article presents an optimal method for the allocation of the resources to software-pipelined applications. Here we show how runtime observations of the resource requirements of tasks can be used to adapt resource allocations. Furthermore, we show how the optimum can be traded for a high degree of scalability by clustering applications in a distributed, hierarchical manner. To diminish the negative effects of unreliable cores, this article shows how self-organization can effectively restore the integrity of such a hierarchy when it is corrupted by a failing core. Experiments on Intel’s 48-core Single-Chip Cloud Computer and in a many-core simulator show that a significant improvement in system throughput can be achieved over the current state of the art.