Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis as analytical tool for identifying Candida albicans immunogenic proteins

This paper reports the usefulness of two-dimensional gel electrophoresis followed by Western blotting with sera from patients with systemic candidiasis in the identification of the major Candida albicans antigens. In order to have different patterns of protein expression and subcellular localization, three types of protein preparations were obtained: cytoplasmic extracts, protoplast lysates and proteins secreted by protoplasts regenerating their cell wall. These proteins were separated by high-resolution two-dimensional electrophoresis using an immobilized pH gradient. Western blotting with sera from patients with systemic candidiasis allowed the detection of more than 18 immunoreactive proteins. Some of these proteins had different isoforms. All sera reacted with at least three C. albicans proteins and the most reactive serum detected up to eleven proteins. Some of these antigens, e.g., enolase and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), have been identified on the 2-D map. The most reactive proteins were enolase and a 34 kDa protein in the acidic part of the gel (pI 4-4.4) that was only detected in regenerating protoplast-secreted proteins. The identification of all these antigens would be useful for the development of diagnostic strategies.     

Immobilization of glucose oxidase on nylon membranes and its application in a flow-through glucose reactor

The immobilization of glucose oxidase on hydrolyzed nylon-6,6 was studied. Various spacers were introduced on the support before the coupling of the enzyme. Best results were obtained when the membrane was covered with denatured bovine serum albumin (BSA) before spacer coupling and immobilization of glucose oxidase (GOD). The influence of various factors (pH, ionic strength, etc.) on the activity of the free and immobilized enzyme was investigated. It was found that the behavior of the fixed glucose oxidase and the free enzyme is very similar. The covalently immobilized enzyme had a lifetime of around 2 months (50% of initial activity).     

Chemoenzymatic dynamic kinetic resolution of primary amines catalyzed by CAL-B at 38-40 °C

The (R)-selective chemoenzymatic dynamic kinetic resolution of primary amines was performed at 38-40 °C in MTBE, in good to high yields and with high enantiomeric excesses. These reactions associating CAL-B to octanethiol as radical racemizing agent were carried out in the presence of methyl β-methoxy propanoate as acyl donor, under photochemical irradiation at 350 nm in glassware.     

Noninformative priors for the ratio of the shape parameters of two Weibull distributions

The Weibull distribution is one of the most widely used lifetime distributions in reliability engineering. Here, the noninformative priors for the ratio of the shape parameters of two Weibull models are introduced. The first criterion used is the asymptotic matching of the coverage probabilities of Bayesian credible intervals with the corresponding frequentist coverage probabilities. We develop the probability matching priors for the ratio of the shape parameters using the following matching criteria: quantile matching, matching of the distribution function, highest posterior density matching, and matching via inversion of the test statistics. We obtain one particular prior that meets all the matching criteria. Next, we derive the reference priors for different groups of ordering. Our findings show that some of the reference priors satisfy a first-order matching criterion and the one-at-a-time reference prior is a second-order matching prior. Lastly, we perform a simulation study and provide a real-world example.     

Atomic layer deposition coating of ZnO shell for GaN-ZnO core-sheath heteronanowires

We have synthesized GaN-core/ZnO-shell nanowires and investigated effects of the ZnO coating. The X-ray diffraction pattern showed that as-synthesized samples are composed of GaN and ZnO. Transmission electron microscopy indicated that the deposited ZnO shell layer is poly-crystalline. The photoluminescence (PL) spectrum of GaN has been changed by the ZnO coating, where emission bands centered at roughly 1.9 eV, 2.5 eV, and 3.3 eV were newly added to the emissions from core GaN nanowires. We found that overall PL intensity has been significantly increased by coating the ZnO shell layers.     

Study of the cosmic rays transport problems using second order parabolic type partial differential equation

It has been exactly 100 years since Hess’s historical discovery: an extraterrestrial origin of cosmic rays [1]. Galactic cosmic rays (GCR) being charged particles, penetrate the heliosphere and are modulated by the solar magnetic field. The propagation of cosmic rays is described by Parker’s transport equation [2], which is a second order parabolic type partial differential equation. It is time dependent 4-variables (with r, θ, φ, R, meaning: distance from the Sun, heliolatitudes, heliolongitudes and particles’ rigidity, respectively) equation which is a well known tool for studying problems connected with solar modulation of cosmic rays. Transport equation contains all fundamental processes taking place in the heliosphere: convection, diffusion, energy changes of the GCR particles owing to the interaction with solar wind’s inhomogeneities, drift due to the gradient and curvature of the regular interplanetary magnetic field and on the heliospheric current sheet.     

Synthesis and structural and electrical characterization of new materials Bi3R2FeTi3O15

In this work we report the synthesis of polycrystalline samples of Bi₅FeTi₃O₁₅ and Bi₃R₂FeTi₃O₁₅ new compounds with R=Nd, Sm, Gd, Dy, Ho and Yb. The materials were synthesized by the standard solid state reaction recipe from high purity (99.99%) powders. The structural characteristics of materials were analyzed by X-ray diffraction experiments. Rietveld refinement by the GSAS code was performed, taking the input data from the ICSD 74037 database. Results reveal that materials crystallized in orthorhombic single-phase structures and space group Fmm2. Measurements of polarization as a function of applied electric field were carried out using a Radiant Technology polarimeter. We determine the occurrence of hysteretic behaviors, which are characteristic of ferroelectric materials. The main values of remnant and coercive applied fields were observed for substitutions with Yb and Nd, which have the main atomic radii.     

Optical anisotropy and polarization fields for wurtzite films deposited on ()- and ()-orientated GaN substrates

We analyse the optical properties of GaN homoepitaxies grown on semipolar ()- and ()- orientated GaN substrates. We find the optical anisotropy of the GaN films to be strictly ruled by the angle between the growth plane and the 0001 direction of the crystal. This anisotropy offers a wide range of applications in the domain of surface emitting devices like VCELs and cavity polariton lasers based on GaN but also for similar structures relying on ZnO-related materials.     

Diagnostic value of breast MRI for predicting metastatic axillary lymph nodes in breast cancer patients: diffusion-weighted MRI and conventional MRI

Purposes

To evaluate the diagnostic value of diffusion-weighted MRI (DWI) and combination of conventional MRI and DWI to predict metastatic axillary lymph nodes in breast cancer.

Materials and methods

Two hundred fifty-two breast cancer patients with 253 axillae were included. The morphological parameters on axial T2-weighted images without fat saturation and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values were retrospectively analyzed. An independent t-test/chi-square test and receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve analysis were used.

Results

On conventional MRI, short and long axis length, maximal cortical thickness, relative T2 value, loss of fatty hilum (p < 0.001 for each), and eccentric cortical thickening (p < 0.003) were statistically significantly different between the metastatic and nonmetastatic groups. The short axis to long axis ratio was not a statistically significant parameter. The ADC value was significantly different between the 2 groups, with an AUC that was higher than that of conventional MR parameters (AUC, 0.815; threshold, ≤ 0.986 × 10–3 mm²/sec; sensitivity, 75.8%; specificity, 83.9%). Using the adopted thresholds for each parameter, a total number of findings suggesting malignancy of 4 or higher was determined as the threshold, with high specificity (90.1%).

Conclusion

Using conventional MRI and DWI, we can evaluate the axilla in breast cancer with high specificity.