Search

The aim of this study was to investigate the surface roughness of lithium disilicates (LS2s) polished using various polishing systems.Two types of LS2 (A, Amber Mill and E, IPS e.max CAD) were polished using LS2-specific polishing systems (L-Edenta, L-Jota), a zirconia-specific polishing system (Z-Jota), and a conventional ceramic polishing system (P-Shofu) (n = 8 per group). The compositions of different polishing systems were analyzed using EDS. Surface roughness was measured using confocal laser scanning microscopy and analyzed using EDS and SEM. ANOVA and Tukey's tests were used for the statistical analyses (p = 0.05).The polishing systems were mainly composed of C, O, and Si. The L-Jota group exhibited rougher surfaces than the other groups. Amber Mill exhibited higher surface roughness than IPS e.max CAD (p⟨0.001). Among the polishing systems, the L-Jota group presented the highest roughness value (pp⟨0.001). The surface roughness of the AL-Jota group was higher than that of the other groups.A sufficiently smooth surface can be achieved without a LS2-specific polishing system. Further, the same polishing system can have different effects depending on the type of LS2.

Background: The prothrombin time may be used to monitor the plasma concentration of rivaroxaban. However, there is variability in the responsiveness of rivaroxaban to different thromboplastins. We aimed to develop a rivaroxaban-monitoring method using the prothrombin time to reduce the differences in the sensitivity among reagents. Methods: Rivaroxaban-spiked pooled normal plasma at a 0-1000 ng/ml concentration was used to generate a rivaroxaban-adjusted sensitivity index (SI) values, and was tested with three thromboplastins. The warfarin-adjusted international sensitivity index (ISI-warfarin), rivaroxaban-adjusted sensitivity index (SI-rivaroxaban), international normalized ratio (INR) calculated with ISI-warfarin, normalized ratio (NR) calculated with SI-rivaroxaban, and their coefficient of variances (CVs) were compared. The NR-rivaroxaban value was compared with the results of an anti-Xa assay. Results: The ISI-warfarin and SI-rivaroxaban using different thromboplastins were 1.02 and 1.88, respectively, with Thromborel S, 0.90 and 1.00 using Recombiplastin 2G, and 1.30 and 1.15 using Neoplastin CI-plus. Between-thromboplastin variability expressed as CV were 6.3%-25.1% when expressed as INR-warfarin and 1.7%-4.7% when expressed as NR-rivaroxaban. CVs for the NR-rivaroxaban with another laboratory were significantly lower than those for INR-warfarin. Anti-Xa assay v NR-rivaroxaban correlation coefficients were 0.97-0.99. Conclusion: Using a rivaroxaban-specific NR effectively minimises inter-thromboplastin variability. By utilizing a NR-rivaroxaban, standardized prothrombin time results could be rapidly obtained, especially useful in standardizing the therapeutic effect of rivaroxaban.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) wild-type lower-grade gliomas (histologic grades II and III) with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) amplification or telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) promoter mutation are reported to behave similar to glioblastoma. We aimed to evaluate whether MR imaging features could identify a subset of IDH wild-type lower-grade gliomas that carry molecular features of glioblastoma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this multi-institutional retrospective study, pathologically confirmed IDH wild-type lower-grade gliomas from 2 tertiary institutions and The Cancer Genome Atlas constituted the training set (institution 1 and The Cancer Genome Atlas, 64 patients) and the independent test set (institution 2, 57 patients). Preoperative MRIs were analyzed using the Visually AcceSAble Rembrandt Images and radiomics. The molecular glioblastoma status was determined on the basis of the presence of EGFR amplification and TERT promoter mutation. Molecular glioblastoma was present in 73.4% and 56.1% in the training and test sets, respectively. Models using clinical, Visually AcceSAble Rembrandt Images, and radiomic features were built to predict the molecular glioblastoma status in the training set; then they were validated in the test set. RESULTS: In the test set, a model using both Visually AcceSAble Rembrandt Images and radiomic features showed superior predictive performance (area under the curve = 0.854) than that with only clinical features or Visually AcceSAble Rembrandt Images (areas under the curve = 0.514 and 0.648, respectively; P

INTRODUCTION We developed and validated reflex testing rules for the microscopic examination (ME) of body fluids (BFs) on the Sysmex XN-550 (Sysmex Corporation) instrument. METHODS We assessed the detection limits, precision, linearity, and carryover. To develop the reflex testing rules (derivation arm), we tested 515 samples and then validated the rules using another 507 samples (validation arm). RESULTS All analytical performances were acceptable, and the carryover was negligible. There was agreement between the automated count and ME of red blood cells (r = .98) and total nucleated cells (TNCs) (r = .98), as well as the differential counts of neutrophils (r = .90) and lymphocytes (r = .84). We developed reflex testing rules: TNCs 7.9/100 white blood cells, LY-X ≥85 or LY-Y ≥90, and eosinophils >2.5%. In the validation arm, implementation of the rules resulted in 126 rule-negative samples (24.9%) that were well correlated between the 2 methods. We propose a new workflow for BF cell analysis based on automated counting. CONCLUSION The Sysmex XN-550 can be a suitable alternative to ME for BF cell analysis, especially for screening samples and subsequent automatic reporting under the rational use of laboratory-specific rules.

Background Pre-operative echocardiography is performed in selected groups of patients for cardiac risk stratification prior to surgery. Many parameters, including Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction (LVEF), are assessed during echocardiography. While many studies have cited association between low LVEF and poor operative outcomes such as perioperative myocardial infarction or cardiogenic pulmonary edema, LVEF has limitations such as left ventricular (LV) cavity border tracing, geometric assumptions and inter-observer variability. LVEF may also appear normal in the presence of LV hypertrophy and a small LV cavity size. Studies have described the routine use of global longitudinal strain (GLS) as an alternative measure of ventricular function, with GLS having been reported to be a reliable marker in detecting subclinical LV dysfunction. This adds incremental value in predicting myocardial function and in risk stratification. In fact, some studies have documented GLS being a useful preoperative parameter in predicting postoperative LV dysfunction after cardiac valve surgery. Purpose The aim of this study is to determine the value of GLS in predicting post-operative outcomes in patients undergoing non-cardiac surgeries. Methods This was a retrospective study of all patients who had echocardiography performed for a pre-operative indication from February 2017 to October 2017. These patients were screened for those who had normal LVEF, had undergone subsequent non-cardiac surgery, and had post-operative troponins measured. Medical records were traced for baseline demographics, past medical history and echocardiographic features. GLS evaluation was prospectively performed using TOMTEC-ARENA (TOMTEC Imaging Systems GmbH) by assessors blinded to patient outcomes. Outcomes for major adverse cardiovascular events and mortality up to 1 year post surgery were collected. Post-op myocardial injury was defined as a peak Troponin T value of >30 ng/L or a >20% increment from baseline. Results A total of 42 patients were included. 61.9% (n = 26) were male and mean age was 72.3 years. Only 75.6% of patients were fully independent with activities of daily living and mean creatinine was 153.4μmol/L. Mortality at 1 year was 16.7% (n = 7) and 28.6% (n = 12) were deemed to have post-operative myocardial injury. 1-year mortality was associated with a lower GLS (-23.8% vs -19.2%, p = 0.001). However, GLS was not correlated with post-operative myocardial injury or hospital readmissions. In our study population, only a history of past myocardial infarction predicted post-op myocardial injury (58.3% vs 16.7%, p = 0.019). Conclusion Our study did not demonstrate the utility of GLS in predicting post-operative events, but this is likely because of the small sample size with low event rates. Nevertheless, GLS values did correlate with 1-year mortality and could be a marker of frailty and an increased mortality risk.

SummaryIntroduction The Sysmex XN-2000 analyzer can assess 36 routine and 57 cell population data (CPD) items. In this study, we evaluated these items as sepsis biomarkers. Methods We enrolled 280 normal control (NC) and 130 sepsis patients. The sepsis patients were classified as uncomplicated or complicated sepsis. Routine and CPD items were determined, and the results were compared at between the NC and sepsis groups, uncomplicated and complicated sepsis groups, and survivors and nonsurvivors. Results For the detection of sepsis, CPD items NE-SFL [defined as the fluorescent light intensity of the neutrophil area on the WDF (white blood cell differential) scattergram] and NE-WY (defined as the fluorescent light distribution width of the neutrophil area on the WDF scattergram) showed comparative or higher AUC of 0.909 and 0.905, respectively, when compared with routine items such as hematocrit, hemoglobin, RBC, RDW, immature granulocytes count, lymphocytes count, and neutrophils count. For the discrimination of sepsis severity, only platelet-related items showed higher AUC (0.723 – 0.748) than lactic acid (0.695). For the prediction of 28-day mortality, only CV and SD of RDW showed higher AUC (0.766 and 0.732 each) than lactic acid (0.712). Conclusions Sepsis patients demonstrated significant changes in routine and CPD items related to RBC, neutrophils, lymphocytes, and platelets when compared to NCs. Increase in CPD items NE-SFL and NE-WY, which may indicate neutrophil immaturity or activation, could be useful for the detection of sepsis patients, in conjunction with currently used surrogate sepsis biomarkers. However, these items did not efficiently contribute to the discrimination of sepsis severity or predict mortality.

In this paper, we show that a hypergeometric random variable can be represented as a sum of independent Bernoulli random variables that are, except in degenerate cases, not identically distributed. In the proof, we use the factorial moment generating function. An asymptotic result on the probabilities of the Bernoulli random variables in the sum is also presented. Numerical examples are used to illustrate the results.

SummaryIntroduction The aim of this study was to characterize clinicopathological features of acute panmyelosis with myelofibrosis (APMF), acute megakaryoblastic leukemia with myelofibrosis (AMKL-MF), primary myelofibrosis (PMF) and myelodysplastic syndrome with myelofibrosis (MDS-MF) in order to provide the keys to the differential diagnosis of bone marrow (BM) fibrosis. Methods We compared age, gender, splenomegaly, serum lactate dehydrogenase level, blood cell counts, blast counts in peripheral blood (PB) and BM, megakaryocyte counts, BM cellularity, dysplasia, and the karyotypes of patients with APMF (n = 6), AMKL-MF (n = 7), PMF (n = 44), and MDS-MF (n = 44). Results APMF showed hyperplasia of all three lineages, increase in megakaryocyte count with dysplasia and frequent abnormal karyotypes. AMKL-MF was associated with elevated BM blast counts, decreased BM megakaryocyte count with rare megakaryocytic dysplasia and chromosome 21 abnormality. PMF patients displayed splenomegaly, rare blasts in PB/BM, and JAK2 V617F mutation. MDS-MF patients showed pancytopenia, dysplasia in all three lineages and recurrent chromosomal abnormalities involving chromosome 5,7,12, and 17. Conclusions Although differential diagnosis among APMF, AMKL-MF, PMF, and MDS-MF is very challenging due to the overlapping clinical and morphological features, meticulous investigation of the patient with respect to splenomegaly, blood cell count, PB and BM findings, and karyotype will serve as a guide to correct diagnosis.

Summary Introduction The CellaVision DM96 system (CellaVision AB, Lund, Sweden) was developed as one of the automated digital cell morphology analyzer for determining leukocyte differential counts in peripheral blood smears (PBS) and we evaluated this system. Methods A total of 308 PB samples with abnormalities were analyzed in this study. For each sample, manual differential counts were performed by two independent technologists, and the CellaVision DM96 system was applied in duplicate. Correlations between the two methods and ability of this system to identify six abnormalities were assessed. Results The correlation coefficients between two methods were consistently high, ranged from 0.864 to 0.992. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive values of this system for the identification of abnormalities were consistently high, especially for blasts (98.2%, 99.2%, 96.6%, 99.6%). When the instrument was ordered to count 300 or 500 cells from the operator, better performance was demonstrated than 100 cells in the leukopenic samples by sacrificing only 40 s/slide in average. Conclusions The CellaVision DM96 system is useful in the clinical laboratory providing comparative accuracy compared with manual counts in samples with abnormalities. In leukopenic samples, report quality can be improved by ordering to count 300 or 500 cells from the operator without severe prolongation of turnaround time.

Summary Introduction: Interphase fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis of multiple myeloma (MM) may indiscriminately count signals of nonplasma cells, thus decreasing specificity and sensitivity. We aimed to evaluate the usefulness of an immune-magnetic sorting method for plasma cells in FISH analysis of MM and define optimal sample preparation conditions. Methods: Plasma cells were purified using EasySep® CD138 Positive Selection Cocktail and Magnetic Nanoparticles (Invitrogen). We compared FISH results with and without plasma cell purification for three sample preparation methods: direct harvest, 24-h culture, and 96-h culture with interleukin-4 in five newly diagnosed MM patients. Archived fixed bone marrow cells of 17 MM patients were also studied. Results: The percentage of abnormal cells identified was significantly higher with plasma cell purification than without purification (median, 88.0%; range, 84.0-100.0%vs. 15.0%, 12.5-29.5%, respectively). The three sample preparation methods showed comparable results. Immune-magnetic sorting also significantly increased the percentage of abnormal cells identified in FISH analysis of archived fixed bone marrow cells (P

Summary Although most patients with peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL) show clonal rearrangement of T-cell receptor genes, few PTCLs show recurrent chromosomal abnormalities. We describe here a rare chromosomal rearrangement, t(14;19)(q11.2;q13.3), in a Lennert’s lymphoma, a variant of PTCL, not otherwise specified. Sequential fluorescence in situ hybridization assays showed that the breakpoint in 19q13.3 was located distal to the BCL3 and PVRL2 genes, both of which may be candidate proto-oncogenes. These findings suggest that another gene is involved in the pathogenic characteristics observed in this patient with Lennert’s lymphoma.

Forty-eight ((Duroc×Yorkshire)×Landrace) pigs with an average initial body weight (BW) of 48.47±1.13 kg were used in a 12-week growth trial to investigate the influence of Anion (silicate) supplementation on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, meat quality and fecal noxious gas content in growing-finishing pigs. Pigs were allotted into three dietary treatments in a randomized complete block design according to sex and initial BW. Each dietary treatment consisted of four replications with four pigs per pen. Dietary treatments included: i) CON (basal diet), ii) HCI (basal diet+3 g/kg Anion), iii) HCII (basal diet+6 g/kg Anion). No significant difference (p>0.05) was detected for average daily gain (ADG), average daily feed intake (ADFI) and gain/feed ratio (G/F) throughout the experiment, although dietary supplementation of Anion numerically increased these characteristics compared with CON. The dietary HCI group significantly (p

Direct international normalized ratio (INR) determination using certified INR plasmas was shown to improve precision and accuracy. We evaluated the utility of a multicalibrator in determining INR. INR values were measured in 493 blood samples from patients subjected to anticoagulation therapy (320) and control subjects (173). Study was performed using CA-7000 coagulation analyzer (Sysmex, Japan) with Thromborel S (Dade Behring, Germany). Direct INR values were obtained using PT-Multi Calibrator (Dade Behring) composed of five lyophilized calibrant plasmas. Conventional INR values were calculated from mean normal prothrombin time and instrument/reagent-specific international sensitivity index (ISI). We compared the difference between the INR results obtained with the two methods. The mean INR value of direct INR method was significantly higher than that of conventional method. The differences in values (direct INR - conventional INR) generated using the two methods increased in proportion to the INR values. Elevation of INR was observed in data obtained with the direct INR method, compared with conventional INR values. Accordingly, we conclude that direct INR method is more responsive than conventional method in determining INR.

Multistacked Ge quantum dots (QDs) with Si spacers of different thicknesses have been grown on (100) Si substrates by rapid thermal chemical vapor deposition followed by Mn ion implantation and post-annealing. The presence of a ferromagnetic structure was confirmed in the insulating (Si0.45Ge0.55)Mn0.03 diluted magnetic quantum dots (DMQD) and semiconducting (Si0.45Ge0.55)Mn0.05 DMQD. The DMQD materials were found to be homogeneous, and to exhibit p-type conductivity and ferromagnetic ordering with Curie temperatures TC = 350 and 160 K respectively. The x-ray diffraction (XRD) data show that there is a phase separation of Mn5Ge3 from the MnGe nanostructure. Temperature-dependent electrical resistivity in the semiconducting DMQD material indicates that manganese introduces two acceptor levels in germanium at 0.14 eV from the valence band and 0.41 eV from the conduction band implying that Mn substitutes for Ge. Therefore, it is likely that the ferromagnetic exchange coupling of DMQD material with TC = 160 K is hole-mediated due to formation of bound magnetic polarons and the ferromagnetism in the sample with TC > 300 K is due to Mn5Ge3 phase.

We analyzed the clinical significance of pre-transplant International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS) score and comorbidity in 68 patients who underwent allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) for myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) (n=48) or acute myeloid leukemia evolved from MDS (n=20) between December 1995 and January 2008 in a single institute. During a median follow-up period of 41.0 months (range, 3.2-132.0 months), 27 patients died, and 7 relapsed. The 5-year probabilities of overall survival (OS) and event-free survival (EFS) were 60.0 and 57.4%, respectively, and the 5-year cumulative incidences of non-relapse mortality (CINRM) and relapse were 32.7 and 9.9%, respectively. OS, EFS, and CINRM were significantly different according to pre-transplant IPSS score and presence of pre-transplant comorbidity, which were independent risk factors along with Karnofsky performance score in multivariate analyses. In conclusion, pre-transplant IPSS score and comorbidity may stratify the risk of post transplant outcomes in MDS.

This paper is the second invstigation on the effect of fuel stratification on flame propagation. In the previous work, the characteristics under the no port-generated swirl condition, i.e., the conventional case was studied. In this work, the flame development under the low swirl condition was considered. For this purpose, the initial flame development and propagation were visualized under different axially stratified states in a modified optical single cylinder SI engine. The images were captured by an intensified CCD camera through the quartz window mounted in the piston. Stratification was controlled by the combination of the port swirl ratio and injection timing. These were averaged and processed to characterize the flame propagation. The flame stability was estimated by the weighted average of flame area and luminosity. The stability was also evaluated through the standard deviation of flame area and propagation distance and through the mean absolute deviation of the propagating direction. The results show that the flame-flow interaction determines the direction of flame propagation and that the governing roles of the two factors vary according to the stratified state and the location in the cylinder. In addition, the flame development and the initial flame stability are strongly dependent on the stratified conditions, and the initial flame stability is closely related to the engine stability and lean misfire limit. Lastly, there is no essential difference in gasoline and CNG flame propagation characteristics.

Ten and twenty layers of self-assembled Ge QDs with 44 and 59-nm-thick Si barrier were grown on high resistivity (1 0 0) p-type Si substrates by rapid thermal chemical vapor deposition followed by Mn ion implantation and post-annealing. A presence of ferromagnetic structure was confirmed in the insulating GeMn diluted magnetic quantum dots (DMQD) and semiconducting GeMn DMQD. The DMQD materials were found to be homogeneous, and to exhibit p-type conductivity and ferromagnetic ordering with a Curie temperature, T C = 350 and 230 K. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) data show that there is a phase separation of Mn 5 Ge 3 from MnGe nanostructure. Temperature dependent electrical resistivity in semiconducting DMQD material indicates that manganese introduces two acceptor levels in germanium at 0.14 eV from the valence band and 0.41 eV from the conduction band implying Mn substituting Ge. Therefore, it is likely that the ferromagnetic exchange coupling of DMQD material with T C = 230 K is hole-mediated due to formation of polarons and the ferromagnetism in sample with T C > 300 K is due to Mn 5 Ge 3 phase.

Si 1− x Mn x diluted magnetic semiconductors with x ≈5% with a ferromagnetic structure were formed through Mn ion implantation and post-annealing. The temperature- and magnetic field-dependent magnetization were measured by magnetometry using a superconducting quantum interference device. The Si 0.95 Mn 0.05 materials were found to be homogeneous, and to exhibit p-type conductivity and ferromagnetic ordering with a Curie temperature ( T C ) above room temperature. The low-temperature ( T = 10 K ) photoluminescence spectra exhibited Mn-related free-to-donor pair transitions for the Si 1− x Mn x materials with x ≈5%. A Mn double-donor level in these samples was found to be Mn substituted for Si (Mn Si ) and located around 290 meV above the valence band, suggesting that the ferromagnetism observed in Mn-implanted Si material is hole-mediated ferromagnetism.

A comparison of quantitative surface analyses of FeNi alloy thin films by various methods has been proposed as a pilot study by the Surface Analysis Working Group of the Consultative Committee for Amount of Substance (CCQM). To test the suitability of FeNi for this purpose, alloy films with different compositions were grown on Si(100) wafers by ion-beam sputter deposition and the compositions were certified by an isotope dilution method using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. The alloy compositions measured with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) using sensitivity factors determined from pure Fe and Ni metal films agreed with the certified mean values to better than 2%. The alloy compositions quantified by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) with a C60 ion source agreed to better than 4% with the certified compositions if one of the alloys was used to establish the relative sensitivity factors (RSFs). These results indicate that the quantification of the FeNi alloy is a good method for a CCQM pilot study because matrix effects and ion-sputtering effects are small for these analytical methods. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Summary Introduction This study investigates the benefits of using multiplex reverse transcriptase-PCR (RT-PCR) in addition to standard karyotyping during the initial evaluation of acute leukemia. Methods A total of 1114 consecutive specimens from patients with acute leukemia were tested using a commercial multiplex RT-PCR kit (HemaVision, DNA Diagnostic). NPM1 and CEBPA mutations were selectively tested in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients with multiplex RT-PCR negativity. Results In specimens with optimal cytogenetics, the frequency of recurrent translocations was 31.3%, and cryptic translocations were detected in 2.1% of samples. The concordance rate between karyotyping and multiplex RT-PCR was 97.5%. In addition to the established functions, we demonstrated the additional benefits of multiplex RT-PCR, including successful molecular characterization, even in cytogenetically suboptimal specimens (5.7%); detection of submicroscopic aberrations (1.0%); detection of rare but potentially significant translocations or variants (2.5%); selection of AML candidates for mutation analysis (68.3%); and finally exclusion of recurrent translocations in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia or mixed phenotype acute leukemia (22.5%). Conclusion We reconfirmed the accuracy and reliability of multiplex RT-PCR for diagnosing acute leukemia and demonstrated additional advantages of this system for the initial evaluation of acute leukemia. Thus, multiplex RT-PCR is worth considering in diagnostic testing of acute leukemias.

Summary Introduction We analyzed abilities of parameters from Sysmex XN-2000 (Sysmex, Kobe, Japan) to predict absolute neutrophil count (ANC) and platelet recovery after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) in patients with hematologic malignancies. Methods We prospectively analyzed 911 follow-up peripheral blood samples from 44 HSCT-performed patients and evaluated the performances of the following parameters: WBC, immature granulocyte (IG), hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HPC), immature reticulocyte fraction (IRF), immature platelet fraction (IPF), platelet distribution width (PDW), mean platelet volume (MPV), and platelet larger cell ratio (P-LCR). Results When compared to four other parameters, the identification of initiation in IG (%)/HPC (%) increase enabled earlier prediction of ANC recovery to >500/μL and >1000/μL with more time benefit of 3.5–6.5 days/2.0–5.0 days and 3.0–6.0 days/2.0–5.0 days, respectively. When compared to IPF (%), the identification of initiation in PDW, MPV, and P-LCR (%) increase enabled earlier prediction of platelet recovery to >20 000/μL and >50 000/μL with more time benefit of 2.5–3.5 days and 2.0–3.0 days, respectively. However, the standard deviation of time benefit obtained from IG (%)/HPC (%)/PDW/MPV/P-LCR (%) was consistently large (3.0–4.3 days). Conclusions There is a systematic pattern where a rise in most of the studied parameters can be observed in most patients before ANC/platelet recovery. However, the interindividual variation between the time of rise of these parameters and ANC/platelet recovery is large, and therefore, using these parameters to predict recovery in the individual patient is probably not meaningful in the clinical setting.

The optical properties and the deep levels in bulk Si 1− x Mn x formed by using an implantation and annealing method were investigated. Transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Hall-effect measurements showed that the annealed bulk Si 1− x Mn x samples were p-type crystalline semiconductors. The photoluminescence spectra for the annealed bulk Si 1− x Mn x material showed luminescence peaks corresponding to excitons bound to neutral acceptors and related to dislocations due to the existence of Mn impurities. Deep-level transient spectroscopy results for the annealed bulk Si 1− x Mn x showed deep levels related to the interstitial and substitutial sites of the Mn + ions. These results can help improve understanding of the optical properties and the deep levels in annealed bulk Si 1− x Mn x material.

We have investigated the growth condition, i.e. growth time and V/III ratio determining Ga-rich and N-rich conditions, influence on the formation of dislocation-free vertical GaN nano-rods grown on (1 1 1) Si substrate by molecular beam epitaxy. The hexagonal shape nano-rod with diameters ranging from

Clinical impact of imatinib was evaluated in 20 patients (median age, 37 years; range, 15-67 years) with newly diagnosed Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph+ ALL), who were administered with induction chemotherapy of daunorubicin, vincristine, prednisolone, and L-asparaginase, along with imatinib 600 mg/day during remission induction and 400 mg/day during consolidation courses. One patient died on day 14 from septic shock, while the remaining 19 achieved complete remission (CR). In total, 15 patients underwent allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) during first CR. After median follow-up period of 799 days, six patients experienced recurrence; two with early recurrence within 100 days, one with leptomeningeal recurrence at 11 month, and three with post-HCT recurrence. Eight patients died. Median CR duration (821 days) and median patient survival (894 days) in the study were significantly longer by 2.9- and 2.3-fold, respectively, when compared to those of 18 historical patients treated with same regimen of combination chemotherapy without imatinib. Toxicities of the combined treatment were manageable and included grade 4 myelosuppression (n = 20) and reversible > or = grade 3 hyperbilirubinemia (n = 4). Beneficial clinical effects were observed when imatinib was added to combination chemotherapy in patients with newly diagnosed Ph+ ALL. Further studies with larger number of patients are necessary.

Donor leukocyte infusion (DLI) alone has very limited efficacy for patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) who have relapsed after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT). We, therefore, prospectively tested the efficacy of cytoreductive chemotherapy (intermediate-dose cytarabine+idarubicin+etoposide) followed immediately by G-CSF-primed DLI (Chemo-DLI) in 10 relapsed ALL patients after allogeneic BMT. Seven achieved complete remission (CR) at a median of 25 days (19-73 days) after DLI. Of these seven CR patients, only one remains alive in CR 907 days after DLI. Two CR patients died in CR of graft-versus-host disease. The remaining four CR patients relapsed at a median of 153 days (120-991 days) after DLI. One is alive with leukemia at post-DLI day 1217. The median survival duration after DLI was 175 days (15-1217 days). In summary, although Chemo-DLI for relapsed ALL after allogeneic BMT induced a relatively high CR rate, durable remissions were rare. Although our data should be interpreted cautiously considering the small number of patients, these results suggest that poor outcome of DLI in relapsed ALL may be primarily due to intrinsic resistance to graft-versus-leukemia effect rather than to the rapid pace of the disease.

To evaluate the significance of clinical abnormalities occurring during the peri-engraftment period following allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT), we retrospectively analyzed the data of 216 allogeneic HCT recipients. The most frequently observed peri-engraftment clinical abnormality (PECA) was noninfectious fever in 58 patients, followed by hepatic dysfunction in 39, weight gain in 22, and renal insufficiency in 11. Frequently identified predictive factors for a higher incidence of each PECA were HCT from an unrelated or mismatched donor, GVHD prophylaxis with cyclosporine alone, and rapid engraftment. Considering that donor type and GVHD prophylaxis are closely related to GVHD, these observations suggest that the development of PECAs might be associated with a graft-versus-host reaction. This hypothesis was supported by the fact that the patient group with each PECA showed a higher incidence of grades 3-4 acute or chronic extensive GVHD, with varying degrees of statistical significance. Although our data should be interpreted cautiously in view of their retrospective nature, some of the PECAs occurring after allogeneic HCT may be atypical manifestations of GVHD and may be associated with severe forms of acute or chronic GVHD.

Hematopoietic chimerism (HpC) was assayed monthly using a sensitive, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) -based method in consecutive patients. Between January 1998 and April 2002, 181 patients underwent non-T cell depleted allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). A total of 163 patients were evaluable for HpC at 1 month (11 early deaths; no informative band for HpC analysis/no genomic DNA in seven). In all, 53 of 163 patients (33%, median recipient DNA of 15% (range 5-95)), 39 of 151 patients (26%), and 27 of 142 patients (19%) showed mixed chimerism (MC) at 1, 2, and 3 months after HCT, respectively. Conditioning regimen (busulfan-fludarabine-ATG vs BuCy, relative risk 3.99 (95% CI 1.16-10.92)), neutrophil engraftment (/=day 17 vs/=day 16, relative risk 2.49 (95% CI 1.14-5.41)), and acute graft-versus-host disease within 30 days (none vs yes, relative risk 4.78 (95% CI 1.50-15.17)) were independent variables that showed significant correlation with having/=5% recipient DNA at 1 month. Five patients experienced secondary graft failure. All five patients showed MC at 1 month with median recipient DNA of 40%. None of the 109 patients with complete chimerism experienced graft failure (P=0.002). Our study showed that MC shown on monthly analysis of HpC after allogeneic HCT is a significant predictor of secondary graft failure. Bone Marrow Transplantation (2003) 32, 423-431. doi:10.1038/sj.bmt.1704147

This article presents a novel type of actuating mechanism for the end-point trajectory control of a single-link system. The actuating mechanism consists of two sets of shape memory alloy (SMA) springs to generate a desired link motion of the system. The governing equation of motion is derived using the Lagrangian equation and Jacobian matrix. The actuator dynamic of the SMA spring is then empirically identified and incorporated into the governing equation. A sliding mode controller that is robust to parameter variations such as the time constant of the SMA actuator is formulated to achieve desired end-point trajectories of the single-link system. The controller is experimentally realized and tracking control performances for various end-point position trajectories are presented. In addition, the simulated control results are compared with the measured ones in order to validate the proposed control model.

Genetic parameters for growth and carcass traits were estimated on the basis of the data from 3,415 heads of Hanwoo bulls tested at Livestock Improvement Main Center. The data were divided into two groups : the first period group consisted of 1,592 heads of bulls tested in individual pens from 1986 to 1990 and the second period group consisted of 1,823 heads of bulls tested in group pens from 1991 to 1996. The testing period was from 6 to 18 months of age in the first period group and 10 to 22 months of age in the second period group. The average daily gains during 6 to 12 months and 12 to 18 months were 1.01kg and 0.77kg, respectively, in the first period group and 0.80kg and 0.95kg in the second period group, and the compensated growth appeared to have occurred in the second period group. The heritability of body weight at 12 months estimated was 0.37 during the first period and 0.47 during the second period. The heritability of body weight at 18 months was 0.29 during the first period and 0.33 during the second period. The heritability of average daily gain during 6~12 months estimated was 0.26 for the first period and 0.33 for the second period. The heritability of average daily gain during 12~18 months estimated was 0.11 for the first period and 0.22 for the second period. The heritabilities of body weights and average daily gains estimated tended to be higher in the second period than in the first period. The heritability of body measurements at 12 months during the first period estimated was 0.30 for withers height, 0.25 for rump height, 0.11 for thurls width and 0.13 for chest girth. The heritability of body measurments at 12 months during the second period was 0.53 for withers height, 0.44 for rump height, 0.36 for thurls width and 0.56 for chest girth. The heritabilites of withers height, rump height, thurls width and chest girth at 18 months of age were 0.40, 0.22, 0.12 and 0.21 during the first period and 0.45, 0.42, 0.42 and 0.35 during the second period, respectively. The heritability of carcass traits estimated during the first period was 0.11 for carcass weight, 0.24 for dressing percent, 0.25 for eye muscle area, 0.18 for backfat thickness and 0.21 for carcass length. The heritabilities of carcass weight, dressing percent, eye muscle area, backfat thickness, carcass length and marbling score during the second period estimated were 0.32, 0.52, 0.33, 0.51, 0.58 and 0.31, respectively. The genetic correlations between the first and second periods estimated were higher than 0.8 for chest girth at 12 months, rump height at 18 months, carcass weight and dressing percent, but were lower for other traits.(

We retrospectively studied 227 patients with MDS (1) to identify the prognostic factors of survival and acute leukemia evolution in Korean patients with MDS, (2) to apply different prognostic scoring systems to the same group of patients, and (3) to compare the FAB with the WHO classification. Six scoring systems were applied to the patients, and the FAB and WHO classifications were compared. The patients' median age was 57 years. The median survival time was 21 months, and age, dysgranulopoiesis and the IPSS cytogenetic groups were independent prognostic factors for survival. Acute leukemia occurred in 34 patients, and the cumulative incidence was 27.1% at 3 years. Marrow blast percentage was the only independent prognostic factor for acute leukemia evolution. Most scoring systems successfully discriminated risk groups for survival and acute leukemia evolution, but patient distribution into risk groups varied according to the scoring systems. Refractory cytopenia with multilineage dysplasia and RAEB II seemed to have different prognoses from RA or RARS and RAEB I, respectively. In summary, our MDS patients had different disease natures from those of Western countries regarding clinical features, prognostic factors and cytogenetic profiles. Although the WHO classification seems to improve the FAB classification, further studies are warranted to validate the utility of the WHO classification before it is accepted for routine clinical use. Our study has the limitations of retrospective analysis, and our results should be verified in future prospective studies.

농협 한우 개량부에서 시험 사육한 거세우 및 비거세우 각각 60두의 자료를 근거로 곰페르츠 방정식에 의한 성장곡선을 추정한 결과 비거세우의 성장곡선 방정식은 $W_t$ = 906 906.1.exp{-3.956.exp(-0.0034t)}이었으며, 거세우의 성장곡선 방정식은 $W_t$ = 823 823.1.exp{-3.301.exp(-0.0027t}이었다. 이 추정식에...

SummaryIntroduction The majority of previous studies on body fluid (BF) mode of automatic hematology analyzer used nonmalignant BF samples. Here, we evaluated the BF mode on the recently launched Sysmex XN for counting blood cells, especially for malignant samples. Methods A total of 405 BF specimens including 125 malignant samples were analyzed using both the automated method and manual microscopy. Results In non-cerebrospinal fluids (CSF) samples, there was an agreement between two methods for WBC, RBC, polymorphonuclear, and mononuclear cell counts (R2 = 0.96, 0.94, 0.88, and 0.88, respectively). CSF samples showed slightly poorer correlations than other fluids. Exclusion of malignant samples significantly improved correlations in non-CSF samples, but not in CSF samples. High fluorescence-BF (HF-BF) cells were identified significantly more frequently in malignant samples compared to benign samples (17.8 and 4.15/100 WBC, respectively; P