NTT (United States)

CONTEXT: In patients with brain metastases, it is unclear whether adding up-front whole-brain radiation therapy (WBRT) to stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) has beneficial effects on mortality or neurologic function compared with SRS alone. OBJECTIVE: To determine if WBRT combined with SRS results in improvements in survival, brain tumor control, functional preservation rate, and frequency of neurologic death. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PATIENTS: Randomized controlled trial of 132 patients with 1 to 4 brain metastases, each less than 3 cm in diameter, enrolled at 11 hospitals in Japan between October 1999 and December 2003. INTERVENTIONS: Patients were randomly assigned to receive WBRT plus SRS (65 patients) or SRS alone (67 patients). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary end point was overall survival; secondary end points were brain tumor recurrence, salvage brain treatment, functional preservation, toxic effects of radiation, and cause of death. RESULTS: The median survival time and the 1-year actuarial survival rate were 7.5 months and 38.5% (95% confidence interval, 26.7%-50.3%) in the WBRT + SRS group and 8.0 months and 28.4% (95% confidence interval, 17.6%-39.2%) for SRS alone (P = .42). The 12-month brain tumor recurrence rate was 46.8% in the WBRT + SRS group and 76.4% for SRS alone group (P<.001). Salvage brain treatment was less frequently required in the WBRT + SRS group (n = 10) than with SRS alone (n = 29) (P<.001). Death was attributed to neurologic causes in 22.8% of patients in the WBRT + SRS group and in 19.3% of those treated with SRS alone (P = .64). There were no significant differences in systemic and neurologic functional preservation and toxic effects of radiation. CONCLUSIONS: Compared with SRS alone, the use of WBRT plus SRS did not improve survival for patients with 1 to 4 brain metastases, but intracranial relapse occurred considerably more frequently in those who did not receive WBRT. Consequently, salvage treatment is frequently required when up-front WBRT is not used. TRIAL REGISTRATION: umin.ac.jp/ctr Identifier: C000000412.

To understand the role of structure on the position of the octahedral redox couple in compounds having the same polyanions, four iron phosphates: , and were investigated. They vary in structure as well as in the manner in which the octahedral iron atoms are linked to each other. The redox couple in the above compounds lies at 2.8, 2.9, 3.1, and 3.5 eV, respectively, below the Fermi level of lithium. The reason for the difference in the position of the redox couples is related to changes in the P‒O bond lengths as well as to changes in the crystalline electric field at the iron sites.

We introduce cap analysis gene expression (CAGE), which is based on preparation and sequencing of concatamers of DNA tags deriving from the initial 20 nucleotides from 5' end mRNAs. CAGE allows high-throughout gene expression analysis and the profiling of transcriptional start points (TSP), including promoter usage analysis. By analyzing four libraries (brain, cortex, hippocampus, and cerebellum), we redefined more accurately the TSPs of 11-27% of the analyzed transcriptional units that were hit. The frequency of CAGE tags correlates well with results from other analyses, such as serial analysis of gene expression, and furthermore maps the TSPs more accurately, including in tissue-specific cases. The high-throughput nature of this technology paves the way for understanding gene networks via correlation of promoter usage and gene transcriptional factor expression.

We have observed superconductivity in the ladder material Sr 0.4 Ca 13.6 Cu 24 O 41.84 under pressures of 3 GPa and 4.5 GPa by means of electrical measurements. The superconducting transition temperatures T c (onset) are 12 K and 9 K at 3 and 4.5 GPa, respectively. The superconducting volume fraction was obtained to be about 5% from magnetization measurement under 3.5 GPa at 4.2 K, indicating the bulk nature of the superconductivity in this system.

Wideband wireless access based on direct sequence code division multiple access aimed at third-generation mobile communications systems is reviewed. W-CDMA is designed to flexibly offer wideband services which cannot be provided by present cellular systems, with various data rates as high as 2 Mb/s. The important concept of W-CDMA is the introduction of intercell asynchronous operation and the pilot channel associated with individual data channels. Intercell asynchronous operation facilitates continuous system deployment from outdoors to indoors. Other technical features of W-CDMA include fast cell search under intercell asynchronous operation, fast transmit power control, coherent spreading code tracking, a coherent RAKE receiver, orthogonal multispreading factor forward link, and variable-rate transmission with blind rate detection. The introduction of the data-channel-associated pilot channel allows W-CDMA to support interference cancellation and adaptive antenna array techniques that can significantly increase the link capacity and coverage. This article presents the radio link performance evaluated by computer simulation. Field experiment radio link performance results are also presented.

Wurtzite InN films were grown on a thick GaN layer by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy. Growth of a (0001)-oriented single crystalline layer was confirmed by Raman scattering, x-ray diffraction, and reflection high energy electron diffraction. We observed at room temperature strong photoluminescence (PL) at 0.76 eV as well as a clear absorption edge at 0.7–1.0 eV. In contrast, no PL was observed, even by high power excitation, at ∼1.9 eV, which had been reported as the band gap in absorption experiments on polycrystalline films. Careful inspection strongly suggests that a wurtzite InN single crystal has a true bandgap of 0.7–1.0 eV, and the discrepancy could be attributed to the difference in crystallinity.

We found that self-determining collimated light is generated in a photonic crystal fabricated on silicon. The divergence of the collimated beam is insensitive to that of the incident beam and much smaller than the divergence that would be generated in conventional Gaussian optics. The incident-angle dependence of the self-collimated light propagation including lens-like divergent propagation was interpreted in terms of the highly modulated dispersion surfaces with inflection points, where the curvature changes from downward to upward corresponding to respectively a concave/convex-lens case. This demonstration is an important step towards controlling beam profile in photonic crystal integrated light circuits and towards developing “photonic crystalline optics.”

Purpose To explore a more effective treatment for newly diagnosed stage IV, relapsed, or refractory extranodal natural killer/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type (ENKL), we conducted a phase II study of the steroid (dexamethasone), methotrexate, ifosfamide, L-asparaginase, and etoposide (SMILE) regimen. Patients and Methods Patients with newly diagnosed stage IV, relapsed, or refractory disease and a performance status of 0 to 2 were eligible. Two cycles of SMILE chemotherapy were administered as the protocol treatment. The primary end point was the overall response rate (ORR) after the protocol treatment. Results A total of 38 eligible patients were enrolled. The median age was 47 years (range, 16 to 67 years), and the male:female ratio was 21:17. The disease status was newly diagnosed stage IV in 20 patients, first relapse in 14 patients, and primary refractory in four patients. The eligibility was revised to include lymphocyte counts of 500/μL or more because the first two patients died from infections. No treatment-related deaths were observed after the revision. The ORR and complete response rate after two cycles of SMILE chemotherapy were 79% (90% CI, 65% to 89%) and 45%, respectively. In the 28 patients who completed the protocol treatment, 19 underwent hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation. The 1-year overall survival rate was 55% (95% CI, 38% to 69%). Grade 4 neutropenia was observed in 92% of the patients. The most common grade 3 or 4 nonhematologic complication was infection (61%). Conclusion SMILE chemotherapy is an effective treatment for newly diagnosed stage IV, relapsed or refractory ENKL. Myelosuppression and infection during the treatment should be carefully managed.

We propose an electronic spin-filter device that uses a nonmagnetic triple barrier resonant tunneling diode (TB-RTD). This device combines the spin-split resonant tunneling levels induced by the Rashba spin-orbit interaction and the spin blockade phenomena between two regions separated by the middle barrier in the TB-RTD. Detailed calculations using the InAlAs/InGaAs material system reveal that a splitting of a peak should be observed in the I-V curve of this device as a result of the spin-filtering effect. The filtering efficiency exceeds 99.9% at the peak positions in the I-V curve.

After the IEEE 802.11 standardization group established the first wireless LAN, several efforts were started to increase data rates and also to use other bands. This article describes the new wireless LAN standards developed by IEEE 802.11, ETSI BRAN, and MMAC. The new standards are targeting data rates up to 11 Mb/s in the 2.4 GHz band and up to 54 Mb/s in the 5 GHz band.

We propose an ultrahigh quality factor (Q) photonic crystal slab nanocavity created by the local width modulation of a line defect. We show numerically that this nanocavity has an intrinsic Q value of up to 7×107. Transmission measurements for fabricated Si photonic-crystal-slab nanocavities directly coupled to input/output waveguides have exhibited a loaded Q value of ∼800000. These theoretical and experimental Q values are very high for photonic crystal nanocavities. In addition, we demonstrate that simply shifting two holes away from a line defect is sufficient to achieve an ultrahigh Q value both theoretically and experimentally.

Nearly one decade after the first observation of Bose-Einstein condensation in atom vapors and realization of matter-wave (atom) lasers, similar concepts have been demonstrated recently for polaritons: half-matter, half-light quasiparticles in semiconductor microcavities. The half-light nature of polaritons makes polariton lasers promising as a new source of coherent and nonclassical light with extremely low threshold energy. The half-matter nature makes polariton lasers a unique test bed for many-body theories and cavity quantum electrodynamics. In this article, we present a series of experimental studies of a polariton laser, exploring its properties as a relatively dense degenerate Bose gas and comparing it to a photon laser achieved in the same structure. The polaritons have an effective mass that is twice the cavity photon effective mass, yet seven orders of magnitude less than the hydrogen atom mass; hence, they can potentially condense at temperatures seven orders of magnitude higher than those required for atom Bose-Einstein condensations. Accompanying the phase transition, a polariton laser emits coherent light but at a threshold carrier density two orders of magnitude lower than that needed for a normal photon laser in a same structure. It also is shown that, beyond threshold, the polariton population splits to a thermal equilibrium Bose-Einstein distribution at in-plane wave number k parallel > 0 and a nonequilibrium condensate at k parallel approximately 0, with a chemical potential approaching to zero. The spatial distributions and polarization characteristics of polaritons also are discussed as unique signatures of a polariton laser.

Studies of the ground and excited states in semiconductor quantum dots containing 1 to 12 electrons showed that the quantum numbers of the states in the excitation spectra can be identified and compared with exact calculations. A magnetic field induces transitions between the ground and excited states. These transitions were analyzed in terms of crossings between single-particle states, singlet-triplet transitions, spin polarization, and Hund's rule. These impurity-free quantum dots allow "atomic physics" experiments to be performed in magnetic field regimes not accessible for atoms.

BACKGROUND: The role of dietary components in cancer progression and metastasis is an emerging field of clinical importance. Many stages of cancer progression involve carbohydrate-mediated recognition processes. We therefore studied the effects of high pH- and temperature-modified citrus pectin (MCP), a nondigestible, water-soluble polysaccharide fiber derived from citrus fruit that specifically inhibits the carbohydrate-binding protein galectin-3, on tumor growth and metastasis in vivo and on galectin-3-mediated functions in vitro. METHODS: In vivo tumor growth, angiogenesis, and metastasis were studied in athymic mice that had been fed with MCP in their drinking water and then injected orthotopically with human breast carcinoma cells (MDA-MB-435) into the mammary fat pad region or with human colon carcinoma cells (LSLiM6) into the cecum. Galectin-3-mediated functions during tumor angiogenesis in vitro were studied by assessing the effect of MCP on capillary tube formation by human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) in Matrigel. The effects of MCP on galectin-3-induced HUVEC chemotaxis and on HUVEC binding to MDA-MB-435 cells in vitro were studied using Boyden chamber and labeling assays, respectively. The data were analyzed by two-sided Student's t test or Fisher's protected least-significant-difference test. RESULTS: Tumor growth, angiogenesis, and spontaneous metastasis in vivo were statistically significantly reduced in mice fed MCP. In vitro, MCP inhibited HUVEC morphogenesis (capillary tube formation) in a dose-dependent manner. In vitro, MCP inhibited the binding of galectin-3 to HUVECs: At concentrations of 0.1% and 0.25%, MCP inhibited the binding of galectin-3 (10 micro g/mL) to HUVECs by 72.1% (P =.038) and 95.8% (P =.025), respectively, and at a concentration of 0.25% it inhibited the binding of galectin-3 (1 micro g/mL) to HUVECs by 100% (P =.032). MCP blocked chemotaxis of HUVECs toward galectin-3 in a dose-dependent manner, reducing it by 68% at 0.005% (P<.001) and inhibiting it completely at 0.1% (P<.001). Finally, MCP also inhibited adhesion of MDA-MB-435 cells, which express galectin-3, to HUVECs in a dose-dependent manner. CONCLUSIONS: MCP, given orally, inhibits carbohydrate-mediated tumor growth, angiogenesis, and metastasis in vivo, presumably via its effects on galectin-3 function. These data stress the importance of dietary carbohydrate compounds as agents for the prevention and/or treatment of cancer.

We demonstrate all-optical switching in the telecommunication band, in silicon photonic crystals at high speed (∼50ps), with extremely low switching energy (a few 100fJ), and high switching contrast (∼10dB). The devices consist of ultrasmall high-quality factor nanocavities connected to input and output waveguides. Switching is induced by a nonlinear refractive-index change caused by the plasma effect of carriers generated by two-photon absorption in silicon. The high-quality factor and small mode volume led to an extraordinarily large reduction in switching energy. The estimated internal switching energy in the nanocavity is as small as a few tens of fJ, indicating that further reduction on the operating energy is possible.

We propose a spin-interference device which works even without any ferromagnetic electrodes and any external magnetic field. The interference can be expected in the Aharonov–Bohm (AB) ring with a uniform spin-orbit interaction, which causes the phase difference between the spin wave functions traveling in the clockwise and anticlockwise direction. The gate electrode, which covers the whole area of the AB ring, can control the spin-orbit interaction, and therefore, the interference. A large conductance modulation effect can be expected due to the spin interference.

OBJECTIVE: To clarify the association of clinical and prognostic features with dermatomyositis (DM)-specific autoantibodies (Abs) in adult Japanese patients with DM. DESIGN: Retrospective study. SETTING: Kanazawa University Graduate School of Medical Science Department of Dermatology and collaborating medical centers. Patients A total of 376 consecutive adult Japanese patients with DM who visited our hospital or collaborating medical centers between 2003 and 2008. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Clinical and laboratory characteristics of adult Japanese patients with DM and DM-specific Abs that include Abs against Mi-2, 155/140, and CADM-140. RESULTS: In patients with DM, anti-Mi-2, anti-155/140, and anti-CADM-140 were detected in 9 (2%), 25 (7%), and 43 (11%), respectively. These DM-specific Abs were mutually exclusive and were detected in none of 34 patients with polymyositis, 326 with systemic sclerosis, and 97 with systemic lupus erythematosus. Anti-Mi-2 was associated with classical DM without interstitial lung disease or malignancy, whereas anti-155/140 was associated with malignancy. Patients with anti-CADM-140 frequently had clinically amyopathic DM and rapidly progressive interstitial lung disease. Cumulative survival rates were more favorable in patients with anti-Mi-2 compared with those with anti-155/140 or anti-CADM-140 (P < .01 for both comparisons). Nearly all deaths occurred within 1 year after diagnosis in patients with anti-CADM-140. Conclusion Dermatomyositis-specific Abs define clinically distinct subsets and are useful for predicting clinical outcomes in patients with DM.

A small-volume voltammetric detection of 4-aminophenol (PAP) has been developed using an interdigitated array (IDA) microelectrode cell in order to apply the IDA to electrochemical enzyme immunoassay. The signal of PAP at the IDA was steady state, and its magnitude was amplified compared with that of the usual single electrode due to redox cycling of PAP between the two finger sets of the IDA. A linear relationship between PAP concentration and cathodic limiting current was obtained from 1 to 1000 microM, reproducibly. The minimum sample volume in the measurement was reduced to 800 nL. High sample throughput of less than 1-min detection time per sample was achieved on 2-10-microL PAP samples. This IDA cell was applied to the electrochemical enzyme immunoassay of mouse IgG. Alkaline phosphatase was used as the enzyme label. The mouse IgG concentration was evaluated by detecting the concentration of PAP, which is the product of enzymatic reaction of the substrate, 4-aminophenyl phosphate (PAPP). Anti-mouse IgG was covalently immobilized on the glass surface of the small-volume immunowells by carbodiimide coupling. The assay range was 10-1000 ng/mL using 10-microL sample and 20-microL substrate solutions.

The granular dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) is an evolutionary specialization of primates that is centrally involved in cognition. We assessed more than 600,000 single-nucleus transcriptomes from adult human, chimpanzee, macaque, and marmoset dlPFC. Although most cell subtypes defined transcriptomically are conserved, we detected several that exist only in a subset of species as well as substantial species-specific molecular differences across homologous neuronal, glial, and non-neural subtypes. The latter are exemplified by human-specific switching between expression of the neuropeptide somatostatin and tyrosine hydroxylase, the rate-limiting enzyme in dopamine production in certain interneurons. The above molecular differences are also illustrated by expression of the neuropsychiatric risk gene FOXP2 , which is human-specific in microglia and primate-specific in layer 4 granular neurons. We generated a comprehensive survey of the dlPFC cellular repertoire and its shared and divergent features in anthropoid primates.

ADVERTISEMENT RETURN TO ISSUEPREVArticleNEXTElectrochemical behavior of reversible redox species at interdigitated array electrodes with different geometries: consideration of redox cycling and collection efficiencyOsamu. Niwa, Masao. Morita, and Hisao. TabeiCite this: Anal. Chem. 1990, 62, 5, 447–452Publication Date (Print):March 1, 1990Publication History Published online1 May 2002Published inissue 1 March 1990https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/ac00204a006https://doi.org/10.1021/ac00204a006research-articleACS PublicationsRequest reuse permissionsArticle Views2054Altmetric-Citations233LEARN ABOUT THESE METRICSArticle Views are the COUNTER-compliant sum of full text article downloads since November 2008 (both PDF and HTML) across all institutions and individuals. These metrics are regularly updated to reflect usage leading up to the last few days.Citations are the number of other articles citing this article, calculated by Crossref and updated daily. Find more information about Crossref citation counts.The Altmetric Attention Score is a quantitative measure of the attention that a research article has received online. Clicking on the donut icon will load a page at altmetric.com with additional details about the score and the social media presence for the given article. Find more information on the Altmetric Attention Score and how the score is calculated. Share Add toView InAdd Full Text with ReferenceAdd Description ExportRISCitationCitation and abstractCitation and referencesMore Options Share onFacebookTwitterWechatLinked InRedditEmail Other access optionsGet e-Alertsclose Get e-Alerts