Report on creep characteristics at 18000F. Calite A, Calite B (L.C.) Calite B, Calite B-28 ... Department of engineering research, University of Michigan ... for the Calorizing company, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Jointly with J.H. Taylor.

The S.T.A.B. Trial - Standardised Testing of Artificial Blood. A comparative study of various products that may be used as artificial blood for high fidelity simulation training in the critical care setting

Aim: In the current climate of medical education, there is an ever-increasing demand for and emphasis on simulation as both a teaching and training tool. The objective of our study was to compare the realism and practicality of a number of artificial blood products that could be used for high-fidelity simulation. Method: A literature and internet search was performed and 15 artificial blood products were identified from a variety of sources. One product was excluded due to its potential toxicity risks. Five observers, blinded to the products, performed two assessments on each product using an evaluation tool with 14 predefined criteria including color, consistency, clotting, and staining potential to manikin skin and clothing. Each criterion was rated using a five-point Likert scale. The products were left for 24 hours, both refrigerated and at room temperature, and then reassessed. Statistical analysis was performed to identify the most suitable products, and both inter- and intra-rater variability were examined. Results: Three products scored consistently well with all five assessors, with one product in particular scoring well in almost every criterion. This highest-rated product had a mean rating of 3.6 of 5.0 (95% posterior Interval 3.4-3.7). Inter-rater variability was minor with average ratings varying from 3.0 to 3.4 between the highest and lowest scorer. Intrarater variability was negligible with good agreement between first and second rating as per weighted kappa scores (K = 0.67). Conclusion: The most realistic and practical form of artificial blood identified was a commercial product called KD151 Flowing Blood Syrup. It was found to be not only realistic in appearance but practical in terms of storage and stain removal.

Ratios of T-cell immune-effectors with tumour associated macrophages and PD-1/PD-L1 axis immune-checkpoint molecules, as prognosticators in diffuse large B cell lymphoma: A population-based study

Background Risk-stratification of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) requires identification of patients with disease that is not cured despite initial R-CHOP. Although the prognostic importance of the tumour microenvironment (TME) is established, the optimal strategy to quantify it is unknown. Methods The relationship between immune-effector and inhibitory (checkpoint) genes was assessed by NanoStringâ„¢ in 252 paraffin-embedded DLBCL tissues. A model to quantify net anti-tumoural immunity as an outcome predictor was tested in 158 R-CHOP treated patients, and validated in tissue/blood from two independent R-CHOP treated cohorts of 233 and 140 patients respectively. Findings T and NK-cell immune-effector molecule expression correlated with tumour associated macrophage and PD-1/PD-L1 axis markers consistent with malignant B-cells triggering a dynamic checkpoint response to adapt to and evade immune-surveillance. A tree-based survival model was performed to test if immune-effector to checkpoint ratios were prognostic. The CD4*CD8:(CD163/CD68)*PD-L1 ratio was better able to stratify overall survival than any single or combination of immune markers, distinguishing groups with disparate 4-year survivals (92% versus 47%). The immune ratio was independent of and added to the revised international prognostic index (R-IPI) and cell-of-origin (COO). Tissue findings were validated in 233 DLBCL R-CHOP treated patients. Furthermore, within the blood of 140 R-CHOP treated patients immune-effector:checkpoint ratios were associated with differential interim-PET/CT+ve/-ve expression.

Mitochondrial Cytochrome b Sequence Variations and Population Structure of Siberian Chipmunk (Tamias sibiricus) in Northeastern Asia and Population Substructure in South Korea

Twenty-five chipmunk species occur in the world, of which only the Siberian chipmunk, Tamias sibiricus, inhabits Asia. To investigate mitochondrial cytochrome b sequence variations and population structure of the Siberian chipmunk in northeastern Asia, we

Growth of GaAs/InAs vertical nanowires on GaAs (111)B by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition

The growth mechanism and properties of GaAs/InAs nanowires prepared by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition are investigated. Vertical InAs nanowires on GaAs (111)B substrates are successfully grown despite the large lattice mismatch (-7.2%). The crystallographic perfection of InAs nanowires is confirmed by hexagonal or triangular cross section. An interesting L-shaping of GaAs/InAs heterostructure nanowire which could be useful for novel device application is observed. © 2005 IEEE.

VUV excitation properties of LnAl(3)B(4)O(12): Re (Ln = Y, Gd; Re=Eu, Tb)

Vacuum ultraviolet excitation spectra of LnAl(3)B(4)O(12):Re (Ln = Y, Gd; Re = Eu, To), along with X-ray photoelectron spectra, were measured. The spectra are tentatively interpreted in terms of the optical properties of the rare earth ions and the band structure. It was found that there is an energy transfer from the hosts to the rare earth ions. It was also found that the top of the valence band in the Gd compound is mainly formed by the 2p levels of O2- and the 4f levels of Gd3+, and in the Y compound mainly by the 2p levels of O2-. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Patterns of de novo allo B cells and antibody formation in chronic cardiac allograft rejection after alemtuzumab treatment.

Even though the etiology of chronic rejection (CR) is multifactorial, donor specific antibody (DSA) is considered to have a causal effect on CR development. Currently the antibody-mediated mechanisms during CR are poorly understood due to lack of proper animal models and tools. In a clinical setting, we previously demonstrated that induction therapy by lymphocyte depletion, using alemtuzumab (anti-human CD52), is associated with an increased incidence of serum alloantibody, C4d deposition and antibody-mediated rejection in human patients. In this study, the effects of T cell depletion in the development of antibody-mediated rejection were examined using human CD52 transgenic (CD52Tg) mice treated with alemtuzumab. Fully mismatched cardiac allografts were transplanted into alemtuzumab treated CD52Tg mice and showed no acute rejection while untreated recipients acutely rejected their grafts. However, approximately half of long-term recipients showed increased degree of vasculopathy, fibrosis and perivascular C3d depositions at posttransplant day 100. The development of CR correlated with DSA and C3d deposition in the graft. Using novel tracking tools to monitor donor-specific B cells, alloreactive B cells were shown to increase in accordance with DSA detection. The current animal model could provide a means of testing strategies to understand mechanisms and developing therapeutic approaches to prevent chronic rejection.

The role of B cells in solid organ transplantation.

The role of antibodies in chronic injury to organ transplants has been suggested for many years, but recently emphasized by new data. We have observed that when immunosuppressive potency decreases either by intentional weaning of maintenance agents or due to homeostatic repopulation after immune cell depletion, the threshold of B cell activation may be lowered. In human transplant recipients the result may be donor-specific antibody, C4d+ injury, and chronic rejection. This scenario has precise parallels in a rhesus monkey renal allograft model in which T cells are depleted with CD3 immunotoxin, or in a CD52-T cell transgenic mouse model using alemtuzumab to deplete T cells. Such animal models may be useful for the testing of therapeutic strategies to prevent DSA. We agree with others who suggest that weaning of immunosuppression may place transplant recipients at risk of chronic antibody-mediated rejection, and that strategies to prevent this scenario are needed if we are to improve long-term graft and patient outcomes in transplantation. We believe that animal models will play a crucial role in defining the pathophysiology of antibody-mediated rejection and in developing effective therapies to prevent graft injury. Two such animal models are described herein.

RS-0406 arrests amyloid-B oligomer-induced behavioural deterioration in vivo

Clinically accessible compounds that arrest or reverse the effects of amyloid-ß (Aß) on progressively developing behavioural symptomatology and neuropathology in Alzheimer's disease (AD) have yet to become available. However, a viable strategy may be to target and neutralise soluble Aß oligomers, which have been shown to mediate synaptic dysfunction and to produce cognitive deficits in the intact organism. Inhibiting the aggregation of Aß is therapeutically attractive, as Aß aggregation is a pathological event and pharmacological interventions targeting this are likely to have a non-toxic profile. A behavioural assay, the alternating-lever cyclic-ratio schedule, was used to assess the effect of Aß oligomers and the non-peptide small molecule RS-0406 in male Sprague-Dawley rats. RS-0406 has been shown to inhibit Aß1-42 fibrillogenesis and protect against Aß1-42–induced cytotoxicity in primary hippocampal neurons. In the current study, RS-0406 ameliorated the adverse effects of secreted oligomers of human Aß on behaviour and dose dependently reduced the behavioural effects of Aß oligomers, with the highest dose, 10 µM, maintaining behaviour approximately at control levels. This effect appeared to be central; peripheral confounds having been extensively investigated. This is the first published report on the effects of RS-0406 in vivo and indicates that RS-0406 has potential as a pharmacotherapeutic intervention for behavioural deficits seen in the early stages of AD, and possibly as an intervention in the development of AD neuropathology. Indeed, an analogue of RS-0406 that could be administered peripherally might be a realistic candidate for the clinical treatment of AD.