MCF7/LCC2: A 4-hydroxytamoxifen resistant human breast cancer variant that retains sensitivity to the steroidal antiestrogen ICI 182,780

The development of resistance to the antiestrogen tamoxifen occurs in a high percentage of initially responsive patients. We have developed a new model in which to investigate acquired resistance to triphenylethylenes. A stepwise in vitro selection of the hormone-independent human breast cancer variant MCF-7/LCC1 against 4-hydroxytamoxifen produced a stable resistant population designated MCF7/LCC2. MCF7/LCC2 cells retain levels of estrogen receptor expression comparable to the parental MCF7/LCC1 and MCF-7 cells. Progesterone receptor expression remains estrogen inducible in MCF7/LCC2 cells, although to levels significantly lower than observed in MCF-7 and MCF7/LCC1 cells. MCF7/ LCC2 cells form tumors in ovariectomized nude mice without estrogen supplementation, and these tumors are tamoxifen resistant but can be tstrogen stimulated. Significantly, MCF7/LCC2 cells have retained sensitivity to the steroidal antiestrogen ICI 182,780. These data suggest that some breast cancer patients who acquire resistance to tamoxifen may not develop cross-resistance to treatment with steroidal antiestrogens.

A collagen prolyl 4-hydroxylase inhibitor reduces adhesions after tendon injury

Collagen synthesis inhibition potentially can reduce adhesion formation after tendon injury but also may affect cutaneous wound healing. We hypothesized that a novel orally administered collagen synthesis inhibitor (CPHI-I) would substantially reduce flexor tendon adhesions after injury, without any clinically important effect on cutaneous wound healing. The experiments were performed in a rat model with an in-continuity crush injury model in the rat hindfoot flexor tendon to provoke adhesion formation. Assays of dermal collagen production and the rate of healing of an excised wound were performed to assess cutaneous wound healing. Animals in the treatment groups received CPHI-I for 1, 2, or 6 weeks and were assessed at either 2 or 6 weeks. The work of flexion in the injured digit was reduced in the CPHI-I-treated animals compared with control animals, (0.188 J versus 0.0307 J at 2 weeks, and 0.0231 J versus 0.0331 J at 6 weeks) The cutaneous wound healing rate was similar in all animals, but dermal collagen synthesis was reduced in the treated animals. The CPHI-I seems to reduce tendon adhesion, and although collagen synthesis was reduced in cutaneous wounds, CPHI-I did not retard wound healing.

Outback institutions : an application of the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework to four case studies in Australia’s Outback -- Part 4 : Incentives for community participation and land use decisions in Etheridge Shire, Queensland

Natural resource management planning in the Northern Gulf region of Queensland is concerned with ‘how [natural assets] and community aspirations can be protected and enhanced to provide the Northern Gulf community with the economic, social and environmental means to meet the continuing growth of the region in an ecological and economically sustainable way’ (McDonald & Dawson 2004). In the Etheridge Shire, located in the tropical savanna of the Northern Gulf region, two of the activities that influence the balance between economic growth and long-term sustainable development are: 1. the land-use decisions people in the Shire make with regards to their own enterprises. 2. their decisions to engage in civically-minded activities aimed at improving conditions in the region. Land-use decision and engagement in community development activities were chosen for detailed analysis because they are activities for which policies can be devised to improve economic and sustainable development outcomes. Changing the formal and informal rules that guide and govern these two different kinds of decisions that people can make in the Etheridge Shire – the decision to improve one’s own situation and the decision to improve the situation for others in the community – may expand the set of available options for people in the Shire to achieve their goals and aspirations. Identifying appropriate and effective changes in rules requires, first, an understanding of the ‘action arena’, in this case comprised of a diversity of ‘participants’ from both within and outside the Etheridge Shire, and secondly knowledge of ‘action situations’ (land-use decisions and engagement in community development activities) in which stakeholders are involved and/or have a stake. These discussions are presented in sections 4.1.1.1 and 4.1.1.2.

Intercalation of dodecylamine into kaolinite and its layering structure investigated by molecular dynamics simulation

Dodecylamine was successfully intercalated into the layer space of kaolinite by utilizing the methanol treated kaolinite–dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) intercalation complex as an intermediate. The basal spacing of kaolinite, measured by X-ray diffraction (XRD), increased from 0.72 nm to 4.29 nm after the intercalation of dodecylamine. Also, the significant variation observed in the Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) spectra of kaolinite when intercalated with dodecylamine verified the feasibility of intercalation of dodecylamine into kaolinite. Isothermal-isobaric (NPT) molecular dynamics simulation with the use of Dreiding force field was performed to probe into the layering behavior and structure of nanoconfined dodecylamine in the kaolinite gallery. The concentration profiles of the nitrogen atom, methyl group and methylene group of intercalated dodecylamine molecules in the direction perpendicular to the kaolinite basal surface indicated that the alkyl chains within the interlayer space of kaolinite exhibited an obvious layering structure. However, the unified bilayer, pseudo-trilayer, or paraffin-type arrangements of alkyl chains deduced based on their chain length combined with the measured basal spacing of organoclays were not found in this study. The alkyl chains aggregated to a mixture of ordered paraffin-type-like structure and disordered gauche conformation in the middle interlayer space of kaolinite, and some alkyl chains arranged in two bilayer structures, in which one was close to the silica tetrahedron surface, and the other was close to the alumina octahedron surface with their alkyl chains parallel to the kaolinite basal surface.

Plasma-enabled, catalyst-free growth of carbon nanotubes on mechanically-written Si features with arbitrary shape

Simple, rapid, catalyst-free synthesis of complex patterns of long, vertically aligned multiwalled carbon nanotubes, strictly confined within mechanically-written features on a Si(1 0 0) surface is reported. It is shown that dense arrays of the nanotubes can nucleate and fully fill the features when the low-temperature microwave plasma is in a direct contact with the surface. This eliminates additional nanofabrication steps and inevitable contact losses in applications associated with carbon nanotube patterns. Using metal catalyst has long been considered essential for the nucleation and growth of surface-supported carbon nanotubes (CNTs) [1] and [2]. Only very recently, the possibility of CNT growth using non-metallic (e.g., oxide [3] and SiC [4]) catalysts or artificially created carbon-enriched surface layers [5] has been demonstrated. However, successful integration of carbon nanostructures into Si-based nanodevice platforms requires catalyst-free growth, as the catalyst nanoparticles introduce contact losses, and their catalytic activity is very difficult to control during the growth [6]. Furthermore, in many applications in microfluidics, biological and molecular filters, electronic, sensor, and energy conversion nanodevices, the CNTs need to be arranged in specific complex patterns [7] and [8]. These patterns need to contain the basic features (e.g., lines and dots) written using simple procedures and fully filled with dense arrays of high-quality, straight, yet separated nanotubes. In this paper, we report on a completely metal or oxide catalyst-free plasma-based approach for the direct and rapid growth of dense arrays of long vertically-aligned multi-walled carbon nanotubes arranged into complex patterns made of various combinations of basic features on a Si(1 0 0) surface written using simple mechanical techniques. The process was conducted in a plasma environment [9] and [10] produced by a microwave discharge which typically generates the low-temperature plasmas at the discharge power below 1 kW [11]. Our process starts from mechanical writing (scribing) a pattern of arbitrary features on pre-treated Si(1 0 0) wafers. Before and after the mechanical feature writing, the Si(1 0 0) substrates were cleaned in an aqueous solution of hydrofluoric acid for 2 min to remove any possible contaminations (such as oil traces which could decompose to free carbon at elevated temperatures) from the substrate surface. A piece of another silicon wafer cleaned in the same way as the substrate, or a diamond scriber were used to produce the growth patterns by a simple arbitrary mechanical writing, i.e., by making linear scratches or dot punctures on the Si wafer surface. The results were the same in both cases, i.e., when scratching the surface by Si or a diamond scriber. The procedure for preparation of the substrates did not involve any possibility of external metallic contaminations on the substrate surface. After the preparation, the substrates were loaded into an ASTeX model 5200 chemical vapour deposition (CVD) reactor, which was very carefully conditioned to remove any residue contamination. The samples were heated to at least 800 °C to remove any oxide that could have formed during the sample loading [12]. After loading the substrates into the reactor chamber, N2 gas was supplied into the chamber at the pressure of 7 Torr to ignite and sustain the discharge at the total power of 200 W. Then, a mixture of CH4 and 60% of N2 gases were supplied at 20 Torr, and the discharge power was increased to 700 W (power density of approximately 1.49 W/cm3). During the process, the microwave plasma was in a direct contact with the substrate. During the plasma exposure, no external heating source was used, and the substrate temperature (∼850 °C) was maintained merely due to the plasma heating. The features were exposed to a microwave plasma for 3–5 min. A photograph of the reactor and the plasma discharge is shown in Fig. 1a and b.

A Raman spectroscopic study of the arsenate mineral chenevixite Cu2Fe23+(AsO4)2(OH)4⋅H2O

We have studied the mineral chenevixite from Manto Cuba Mine, San Pedro de Cachiyuyo District, Inca de Oro, Chañaral Province, Atacama Region, Chile, using a combination of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDX) and vibrational spectroscopy. Qualitative chemical analysis shows a homogeneous composition, with predominance of As, Fe, Al, Cu, Fe and Cu. Minor amounts of Si were also observed. Raman spectroscopy complimented with infrared spectroscopy has been used to assess the molecular structure of the arsenate minerals chenevixite. Characteristic Raman and infrared bands of the (AsO4)3− stretching and bending vibrations are identified and described. The observation of multiple bands in the (AsO4)3− bending region offers support for the loss of symmetry of the arsenate anion in the structure of chenevixite. Raman bands attributable to the OH stretching vibrations of water and hydroxyl units were analysed. Estimates of the hydrogen bond distances were made based upon the OH stretching wavenumbers.

Changes in healthcare-associated Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infections after the introduction of a national hand hygiene initiative

Background. Interventions that prevent healthcare-associated infection should lead to fewer deaths and shorter hospital stays. Cleaning hands (with soap or alcohol) is an effective way to prevent the transmission of organisms, but rates of compliance with hand hygiene are sometimes disappointingly low. The National Hand Hygiene Initiative in Australia aimed to improve hand hygiene compliance among healthcare workers, with the goal of reducing rates of healthcare-associated infection. Methods. We examined whether the introduction of the National Hand Hygiene Initiative was associated with a change in infection rates. Monthly infection rates for healthcare-associated Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infections were examined in 38 Australian hospitals across 6 states. We used Poisson regression and examined 12 possible patterns of change, with the best fitting pattern chosen using the Akaike information criterion. Monthly bed-days were included to control for increased hospital use over time. Results. The National Hand Hygiene Initiative was associated with a reduction in infection rates in 4 of the 6 states studied. Two states showed an immediate reduction in rates of 17% and 28%, 2 states showed a linear decrease in rates of 8% and 11% per year, and 2 showed no change in infection rates. Conclusions. The intervention was associated with reduced infection rates in most states. The failure in 2 states may have been because those states already had effective initiatives before the national initiative’s introduction or because infection rates were already low and could not be further reduced.

Three-dimensional analysis of budding sites and released virus suggests a revised model for HIV-1 morphogenesis

Current models of HIV-1 morphogenesis hold that newly synthesized viral Gag polyproteins traffic to and assemble at the cell membrane into spherical protein shells. The resulting late-budding structure is thought to be released by the cellular ESCRT machinery severing the membrane tether connecting it to the producer cell. Using electron tomography and scanning transmission electron microscopy, we find that virions have a morphology and composition distinct from late-budding sites. Gag is arranged as a continuous but incomplete sphere in the released virion. In contrast, late-budding sites lacking functional ESCRT exhibited a nearly closed Gag sphere. The results lead us to propose that budding is initiated by Gag assembly, but is completed in an ESCRT-dependent manner before the Gag sphere is complete. This suggests that ESCRT functions early in HIV-1 release-akin to its role in vesicle formation-and is not restricted to severing the thin membrane tether.

Adsorption of the herbicide 2,4-D on organo-palygorskite

Among the clay minerals, montmorillonite is the most extensively studied material using as adsorbents, but palygorskite and its organically modified products have been least explored for their potential use in contaminated water remediation. In this study, an Australian palygorskite was modified with cationic surfactants octadecyl trimethylammonium bromide and dioctadecyl dimethylammonium bromide at different doses. A full structural characterization of prepared organo-palygorskite by X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy, surface analysis and thermogravimetric analysis was performed. The morphological changes of palygorskite before and after modification were recorded using scanning electron microscopy, which showed the surfactant molecules can attach on the surface of rod-like crystals and thus can weaken the interactions between palygorskite single crystals. Real surfactants loadings on organo-palygorskites were also calculated based on thermogravimetric analysis. 1 CEC, 2 CEC octadecyl trimethylammonium bromide modified palygorskites, 1 CEC and 2 CEC dioctadecyl dimethylammonium bromide modified palygorskites absorbed as much as 12 mg/g, 42 mg/g, 9 mg/g and 25 mg/g of 2,4- dichlorophenoxyacetic acid respectively. This study has shown a potential on organo-palygorskites for organic herbicide adsorption especially anionic ones from waste water. In addition, equilibration time effects and the Langmuir and Freundlich models fitting were also investigated in details.

Poly(2,5-bis(2-octyldodecyl)-3,6-di(furan-2-yl)-2,5-dihydro-pyrrolo[3,4-c] pyrrole-1,4-dione-co-thieno[3,2-b]thiophene): A high performance polymer semiconductor for both organic thin film transistors and organic photovoltaics

A new diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP)-containing donor-acceptor polymer, poly(2,5-bis(2-octyldodecyl)-3,6-di(furan-2-yl)-2,5-dihydro-pyrrolo[3,4-c] pyrrole-1,4-dione-co-thieno[3,2-b]thiophene) (PDBF-co-TT), is synthesized and studied as a semiconductor in organic thin film transistors (OTFTs) and organic photovoltaics (OPVs). High hole mobility of up to 0.53 cm 2 V -1 s -1 in bottom-gate, top-contact OTFT devices is achieved owing to the ordered polymer chain packing and favoured chain orientation, strong intermolecular interactions, as well as uniform film morphology of PDBF-co-TT. The optimum band gap of 1.39 eV and high hole mobility make this polymer a promising donor semiconductor for the solar cell application. When paired with a fullerene acceptor, PC 71BM, the resulting OPV devices show a high power conversion efficiency of up to 4.38% under simulated standard AM1.5 solar illumination.

3,6-Di(furan-2-yl)pyrrolo[3,4-c]pyrrole-1,4(2H,5H)-dione and bithiophene copolymer with rather disordered chain orientation showing high mobility in organic thin film transistors

Pyrrolo[3,4-c]pyrrole-1,4(2H,5H)-dione or diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) is a useful electron-withdrawing fused aromatic moiety for the preparation of donor-acceptor polymers as active semiconductors for organic electronics. This study uses a DPP-furan-containing building block, 3,6-di(furan-2-yl)pyrrolo[3,4- c]pyrrole-1,4(2H,5H)-dione (DBF), to couple with a 2,2′-bithiophene unit, forming a new donor-acceptor copolymer, PDBFBT. Compared to its structural analogue, 3,6-di(thiophen-2-yl)pyrrolo[3,4-c]pyrrole-1,4(2H,5H)-dione (DBT), DBF is found to cause blue shifts of the absorption spectra both in solution and in thin films and a slight reduction of the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) energy level of the resulting PDBFBT. Despite the fact that its thin films are less crystalline and have a rather disordered chain orientation in the crystalline domains, PDBFBT shows very high hole mobility up to 1.54 cm 2 V-1 s-1 in bottom-gate, top-contact organic thin film transistors.

Solution processable poly(2,5-dialkyl-2,5-dihydro-3,6-di-2-thienyl- pyrrolo[3,4-c]pyrrole-1,4-dione) for ambipolar organic thin film transistors

Solution processable diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP)-bithiophene polymers (PDBT) with long branched alkyl side chains on the DPP unit are synthesized. These polymers have favourable highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energy levels for the injection and transport of both holes and electrons. Organic thin film transistors (OTFTs) using these polymers as semiconductors and gold as source/drain electrodes show typical ambipolar characteristics with very well balanced high hole and electron mobilities (μ h = 0.024 cm 2 V -1 s -1 and μ e = 0.056 cm 2 V -1 s -1). These simple and high-performing polymers are promising materials for ambipolar organic thin film transistors for low-cost CMOS-like logic circuits.

Electron-accepting conjugated materials based on 2-Vinyl-4,5- dicyanoimidazoles for application in organic electronics

We report the Heck coupling of 2-vinyl-4,5-dicyanoimidazole (vinazene) with selected di- and trihalo aromatics in an effort to prepare linear and branched electron-accepting conjugated materials for application in organic electronics. By selecting the suitable halo-aromatic moiety, it is possible to tune the HOMO - LUMO energy levels, absorption, and emission properties for a specific application. In this regard, materials with strong photoluminescence from blue → green → red are reported that may have potential application in organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). Furthermore, derivatives with strong absorption in the visible spectrum, coupled with favorable HOMO-LUMO levels, have been used to prepare promising organic photovoltaic devices (OPVs) when combined with commercially available semiconducting donor polymers.

4-hexylbithieno[3,2-b:2′3′-e]pyridine: An efficient electron-accepting unit in fluorene and indenofluorene copolymers for light-emitting devices

4-Hexylbithienopyridine has been prepared as a novel electron-accepting monomer for conjugated polymers. To test its electronic properties, alternating copolymers with fluorene and indenofluorene polymers have been prepared. The copolymers displayed reduction potentials about 0.5 V lower than for the corresponding fluorene and indenofluorene homopolymers, indicating much improved electron-accepting properties. Analysis of the microscopic morphology of thin films of the copolymers by AFM shows that they lack the extensive supramolecular order seen with the homopolymers, which is attributed to the bithienopyridine units disrupting the π-stacking. LEDs using these polymers as the emitting layer produce blue-green emission with low turn-on voltages with aluminum electrodes confirming their improved electron affinity. The indenofluorene copolymer displayed an irreversible red shift in emission at high voltages, which is attributed to oxidation of the indenofluorene units. This red shift occurred at higher potentials than for indenofluorene homopolymers in LEDs, suggesting that the heterocyclic moieties offer some protection against electrically promoted oxidation.