The effects of O deficiency on the electronic structure of rutile TiO2

Ab initio density functional calculations (plane wave GGA, CASTEP) were performed to determine the effect of O deficiency on the electronic structure of rutile, TiO₂. O deficiency was introduced through either the removal of O or the insertion of interstitial Ti atoms. At physically realistic concentrations of O vacancies in the rutile lattice (i.e. 25% and less) O deficiency results in the population of the bottom of the conduction band, the location of the Ti 3d orbitals in the pure structure, increasingly with increasing vacancy concentration. We propose that this could be confused with the formation and population of gap states especially where O vacancies occur in isolated positions in the lattice. In contrast, Ti interstitials introduce a defect state into the energy gap, without an overall reduction in the size of the energy gap. O vacancies result in a spin polarized solution, whereas Ti interstitials do not.     

On the eigenvalue distribution of a class of preconditioning methods

Summary A class of preconditioning methods depending on a relaxation parameter is presented for the solution of large linear systems of equationAx=b, whereA is a symmetric positive definite matrix. The methods are based on an incomplete factorization of the matrixA and include both pointwise and blockwise factorization. We study the dependence of the rate of convergence of the preconditioned conjugate gradient method on the distribution of eigenvalues ofC ^–1 A, whereC is the preconditioning matrix. We also show graphic representations of the eigenvalues and present numerical tests of the methods.     

Support Theorems for the Radon Transform and Cramér-Wold Theorems

This article presents extensions of the Cramér-Wold theorem to measures that may have infinite mass near the origin. Corresponding results for sequences of measures are presented together with examples showing that the assumptions imposed are sharp. The extensions build on a number of results and methods concerned with injectivity properties of the Radon transform. Using a few tools from distribution theory and Fourier analysis we show that the presented injectivity results for the Radon transform lead to Cramér-Wold type results for measures. One purpose of this article is to contribute to making known to probabilists interesting results for the Radon transform that have been developed essentially during the 1980s and 1990s.     

On parallel solution of linear elasticity problems. Part III: higher order finite elements

This is the third part of a trilogy on parallel solution of the linear elasticity problem. We consider the separate displacement ordering for a plain isotropic problem with full Dirichlet boundary conditions. The parallel solution methods presented in the first two parts of the trilogy are here generalised to higher order by using hierarchical finite elements. We discuss node numberings on regular grids for high degree of parallelism and even processor load as well as the problem of stability of the modified incomplete Cholesky factorisations used. Several preconditioning techniques for the conjugate gradient method are studied and compared for quadratic finite elements. Bounds for the condition numbers of the corresponding preconditioning methods are derived, and computer experiments are performed in order to confirm the theory and give recommendations on the choice of method. The parallel implementation is performed by message passing interface. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Monanchoxymycalin C with anticancer properties,new analogue of crambescidin 800 from the marine sponge Monanchora pulchra

A new pentacyclic guanidine alkaloid, monanchoxymycalin C (1) was isolated from a new collection of marine sponge Monanchora pulchra along with the known monanchoxymycalin A (2). The structure of 1 was elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic data. Monanchoxymycalin C exhibits cytotoxic activity against human cancer HeLa cells at low micromolar concentrations, induces apoptosis-related death of malignant cells and inhibits cancer cell colony formation. In addition, synergistic and additive effects have been observed in combination with cisplatin.     

On parallel solution of linear elasticity problems: Part I: theory

The discretized linear elasticity problem is solved by the preconditioned conjugate gradient (pcg) method. Mainly we consider the linear isotropic case but we also comment on the more general linear orthotropic problem. The preconditioner is based on the separate displacement component (sdc) part of the equations of elasticity. The preconditioning system consists of two or three subsystems (in two or three dimensions) also called inner systems, each of which is solved by the incomplete factorization pcg-method, i.e., we perform inner iterations. A finite element discretization and node numbering giving a high degree of partial parallelism with equal processor load for the solution of these systems by the MIC(0) pcg method is presented. In general, the incomplete factorization requires an M-matrix. This property is studied for the elasticity problem. The rate of convergence of the pcg-method is analysed for different preconditionings based on the sdc-part of the elasticity equations. In the following two parts of this trilogy we will focus more on parallelism and implementation aspects. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Heat-induced retrieval of immunogold labeling for nucleobindin and osteoadherin from Lowicryl sections of bone

The main purpose of this study was to examine whether antigens can be retrieved by heating Lowicryl sections of paraformaldehyde-fixed (PFF) tissues. Thus the intensity of the immunogold signal for two bone proteins (Nucleobindin (Nuc) and osteoadherin (OSAD)) was compared in retrieved and non-retrieved sections of PFF rat bone. As an additional experiment, the effect of antigen retrieval (for Nuc) in sections of tissue primary stabilized by high pressure freezing with subsequent freeze substitution (HPF-FS) was studied. Finally, the tissue distribution patterns of Nuc labeling were compared in non-retrieved HPF-FS sections to that of retrieved and non-retrieved PFF sections. Antigen retrieval in Lowicryl sections of PFF tissues showed significantly enhanced labeling intensity for both proteins in all compartments where they are known to occur. Retrieved PFF Lowicryl sections showed only minor ultrastructural differences compared to non-retrieved ones. Retrieval of HPF-FS sections exhibited no enhancement of labeling but rather a slight reduction, which was significant in the cytoplasm and in cartilage. Furthermore, striking ultrastructural differences were observed in retrieved HPF-FS sections compared to non-retrieved ones with loss of coherence and structure in sections subjected to heating. Comparison of the distribution patterns of Nuc in the sections of PFF and HPF-FS tissues showed discrepancy in most compartments. Antigen retrieval by heating Lowicryl sections of PFF tissues significantly enhances immunogold labeling in all cell compartments where the bone proteins are known to occur. However, the procedure may distort the tissue distribution pattern of bone proteins.     

Chromosomal instability is more frequent in metastasized than in non-metastasized pulmonary carcinoids but is not a reliable predictor of metastatic potential

Pulmonary carcinoids are infrequent neoplasms of the lung that normally display a less aggressive biological behavior compared to small cell and non-small cell lung cancers. Approximately 15-25% of carcinoids, in particular atypical carcinoids, show lymph node metastasis and have a worse prognosis than their non-metastasized counterparts. To date, there is no morphological or molecular marker that may help to differentiate between carcinoids that metastasize and carcinoids of identical differentiation that show only local tumor growth. In this study, we analyzed 7 metastasized and 10 non-metastasized pulmonary carcinoids for chromosomal and microsatellite instability in order to determine whether microsatellite instability or chromosomal imbalances are associated with metastasis. Due to the rare occurrence of metastasized carcinoids we compared our results of chromosomal instability with the hitherto published comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) profiles of pulmonary carcinoids, for which information about the absence or presence of metastasis was available. While microsatellite instability was not detected we found chromosomal instability as a common event in pulmonary carcinoids with an increase of frequency and extent of chromosomal alterations in atypical and metastasized carcinoids. These findings are in accordance with the collected and herein compiled data of previous studies and indicate increasing numbers of chromosomal imbalances to play a role in the sequential process of tumor development and metastasis.     

Delayed coincidence measurement of the lifetime of the 129-keV level in Ir 191

The lifetime of the 129-keV level in Ir 191 has been measured by the delayed coincidence technique. The halflife was found to be (13·1±1·0)·10^?11 seconds. This value is compared with the result of the measurements of the level width by Mössbauer experiments. The properties of the two first excited states in Ir 191 and Ir 193 are discussed.     

Sea Anemone Heteractis crispa Actinoporin Demonstrates In Vitro Anticancer Activities and Prevents HT-29 Colorectal Cancer Cell Migration

Actinoporins are the most abundant group of sea anemone cytolytic toxins. Their membranolytic activity is of high interest for the development of novel anticancer drugs. However, to date the activity of actinoporins in malignant cells has been poorly studied. Here, we report on recombinant analog of Hct-S3 (rHct-S3), belonging to the combinatory library of Heteractis crispa actinoporins. rHct-S3 exhibited cytotoxic activity against breast MDA-MB-231 (IC₅₀ = 7.3 µM), colorectal HT-29 (IC₅₀ = 6.8 µM), and melanoma SK-MEL-28 (IC₅₀ = 8.3 µM) cancer cells. The actinoporin effectively prevented epidermal growth factor -induced neoplastic transformation of JB6 Cl41 cells by 34% ± 0.2 and decreased colony formation of HT-29 cells by 47% ± 0.9, MDA-MB-231 cells by 37% ± 1.2, and SK-MEL-28 cells by 34% ± 3.6. Moreover, rHct-S3 decreased proliferation and suppressed migration of colorectal carcinoma cells by 31% ± 5.0 and 99% ± 6.4, respectively. The potent anti-migratory activity was proposed to mediate by decreased matrix metalloproteinases-2 and -9 expression. In addition, rHct-S3 induced programmed cell death by cleavage of caspase-3 and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase, as well as regulation of Bax and Bcl-2. Our results indicate rHct-S3 to be a promising anticancer drug with a high anti-migratory potential.