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A phosphate piezoelectric crystal Te2O(PO4)2 (TPO) was grown by the Czochralski method. The dielectric, piezoelectric, and elastic constants of the crystal were measured. The TPO crystal features a large longitudinal piezoelectric constant of d33 = 6.6 pC N−1, much better than that of GaPO4 and AlPO4. The structure–property relationships are discussed in detail. First-principles calculations and structural analysis revealed that the introduction of distorted [TeO5] groups into phosphates is beneficial for enhancing the piezoelectric properties of phosphate crystals. Furthermore, the temperature dependence of the resistivity and piezoelectric constant was also measured. The results suggest that TPO is a potential candidate for piezoelectric applications due to its large piezoelectric coefficient, good piezoelectric temperature stability, and ease in crystal growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bulk Cs2LiYCl6 (CLYC) crystals with different Dy3+ -doping concentrations were grown by the vertical Bridgeman method. Powder XRD results certificated good crystallinity. The hygroscopic properties of CLYC and SrI2 crystals were compared by dynamic vapor sorption experiments. The phonon energies of Dy:CLYC and other crystals were reflected by comparing the location of the maximum Raman peak. The absorption spectra, fluorescence spectra, and fluorescence decay curves were measured at room temperature. Under 351-nm xenon excitation, an emission peak was observed at 579 nm, which is characteristic of the emission of the Dy3+4F9/2 → 6H13/2 during de-excitation. Fluorescence decay curves of Dy:CLYC crystals were measured at room temperature excited by a 351-nm xenon lamp. The reasons of different decay time are analyzed. Comparing the decay time with other Dy3+ ion-doped halide crystals, we analyzed the application potential of Dy:CLYC crystals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phosphate crystals typically display small birefringence, due to the very small polarizability anisotropy of the highly symmetric [PO4] tetrahedral unit. Here, we discovered a novel phosphate crystal, Te3O3(PO4)2, which exhibits an unexpectedly enhanced birefringence of 0.148 at 1064 nm, which hits a new high in inorganic phosphate materials. Theoretical calculations and structural analysis reveal that the large birefringence can be attributed to the combined effects of the highly distorted [TeO5] group and antiparallel [PO4] pseudo-layer. Notably, bulk Te3O3(PO4)2 single crystals can be grown by the Czochralski method, and a centimeter-size crystal has been successfully obtained. Moreover, the Te3O3(PO4)2 crystal exhibits a wide transmission range (0.29–4.76 μm) and a high laser damage threshold (544 MW cm−2). These excellent properties suggest that Te3O3(PO4)2 is a potential phosphate birefringent material. More importantly, this work confirmed that the distorted [TeO5] group and antiparallel [PO4] pseudo-layer are two excellent functional units for increasing birefringence, which provides a novel strategy for the further design of new phosphate compounds with large birefringence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The diagnostic hallmark of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is the reciprocal translocation t(15;17), resulting in the characteristic PML-RARA fusion; however, patients occasionally have masked PML-RARArearrangements. We report an APL case with no evidence of t(15;17) or PML-RARA rearrangement by karyotype or commercial reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction analyses. Fluorescence in situ hybridization detected a small RARA insertion signal within PML. mRNA sequencing identified a novel PML-RARA transcript generated from the juxtaposition of PMLIIa (exons 1–4, 6, and 7ab) and RARA exons (3–9), with novel breakpoints in PML exon 7b and RARA exon 3. The patient achieved molecular remission after the second consolidation chemotherapy and remains in complete remission 22 months after initial presentation. This is the first report of an APL case presenting with submicroscopic ins(15;17) and simultaneous novel breakpoints in both PML and RARA. This case highlights the importance of sequence analysis to confirm APL diagnosis and for subsequent monitoring of minimal residual disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, SrI2 and SrI2:Eu5% single crystals with size of Ø10 × 60 mm3 and Ø10 × 30 mm3 were successfully grown by edge-defined film-fed growth (EFG) method. In the crystal growth process, the crack and turbidity of the crystal were solved by designing a temperature field, thereby optimizing crystal quality and obtaining crack-free crystals. X-ray diffraction analysis was performed on the grown crystals, and the optical properties of these crystals have been investigated at room temperature. Under the excitation of ultraviolet (UV) light, the crystals exhibit a single luminescence peak centered at 435 nm (λex = 350 nm), and the photoluminescence (PL) decay time is 0.594 μs. In addition, the designed temperature field also provides a reference value for other crystals grown by EFG method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although dCTP pyrophosphatase 1 (DCTPP1) has been reported to be associated with poor clinical outcomes in various cancers, whether it plays an important role in prostate cancer (PCa) remains unclear. In this study, an immunohistochemical assay showed the protein expression level of DCTPP1 was significantly higher in PCa tissues than in non-cancerous tissues. Moreover, DCTPP1 was upregulated at both protein and mRNA levels in the PCa tissues from high Gleason score patients versus low Gleason score patients. The analysis of The Cancer Genome Atlas RNA-seq data suggested that upregulation of DCTPP1 was inversely correlated with biochemical recurrence free survival and overall survival. The roles of DCTPP1 in tumor progression and autophagy were further validated through cells invasion, migration, apoptosis and proliferation assays in vitro, as well as EMT and autophagy assays in vivo. Advanced bioinformatics analysis identified the evidence supporting the promotional role of DCTPP1 in tumor progression associated with autophagy. We conclude that DCTPP1 may play an important role in PCa progression associated with high autophagy. Overexpression of DCTPP1 may server as a biomarker for predicting poor BCR-free survival and overall survival for PCa patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A single crystal of Te4+-doped KTiOPO4(Te:KTP) has been grown by the flux method. The electronic structure and density of states of KTiOPO4 (KTP) and Te:KTP were calculated from first principles. As the results reveal, there is no change in the space group or lattice structure of Te:KTP, but that some increase in lattice parameters occurred. The chemical composition of Te:KTP was analyzed using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The possible existence of Ti3+ has been evaluated by measuring the electron paramagnetic resonance spectrum, and the results reveal that the ion is absent from this crystal. It was observed that Te4+ doping reduces the conductivity of the crystal from measurements of its conductivity at different temperatures and frequencies, indicating that Te:KTP has excellent electro-optical properties. The effect of Te4+ doping on the second harmonic generation in KTP was also studied. The thermal expansion, thermal diffusivity, thermal conductivity and specific heat capacity of KTP and Te:KTP were determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renal transplant recipients exhibit an increased risk of developing plasma cell neoplasms (PCNs; comprising multiple myeloma and plasmacytoma); however, multiple myeloma manifesting with refractory extramedullary plasmacytomas associated with Epstein-Barr virus are markedly rare in these patients. In the present case report, an unusual case of refractory multiple myeloma with multiple extramedullary plasmacytoma (including liver, vertebrae, breast, muscle, skin and soft tissues) was presented. The patient exhibited mild bone marrow infiltration which was successfully treated with novel agents, including bortezomib and lenalidomide, followed by autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT). In addition, the patient was a renal transplant recipient who achieved a partial clinical remission with controllable therapy-related toxicity effects. Therefore, the present case indicated that ASCT is an effective and safe salvage therapy for renal transplant recipients with secondary extramedullary plasmacytomas and who are resistant to traditional chemotherapy (bortezomib and lenalidomide). ASCT was well-tolerated in the renal transplant recipient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate clinical characteristics and prognostic significance of activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) gene, miR-181b and miR-155 expression inde novoadult B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) patients. Results showed that AID and miR-155 expression were higher in B-ALL patients than healthy controls, while miR-181b expression was lower in B-ALL patients. In addition, Ph+B-ALLs had higher AID expression than Ph-B-ALLs, and its high expression was associated with BCR-ABL. Moreover, B-ALL patients with AIDhighor miR-181blowexpression had a shorter overall survival (OS). AIDhighwith miR-181blow, AIDhighwith miR-155low, miR-181blow, miR-155low, AIDhighwith miR-181blowand miR-155lowexpression were associated with shorter OS. Combination of the three molecules are more accurate predictors for unfavorable OS compared with univariate group. Therefore, AID, miR-181b and miR-155 provide clinical prognosis of adultde novoB-ALL patients and may refine their molecular risk classification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The homo- and copolymerizations of 1,3-butadiene and isoprene are examined by using neodymium isopropoxide [Nd(O i-Pr)3] as a catalyst, in combination with a methylaluminoxane (MAO) cocatalyst. In the homopolymerization of 1,3-butadiene, the binary Nd(O i-Pr)3/MAO catalyst works quite effectively, to afford polymers with high molecular weight ( [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is the most common acute leukemia in adults. The disease is characterized by various cytogenetic and molecular abnormalities with distinct prognoses and gene expression profiles. Emerging evidence has suggested that circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) could serve as noninvasive biomarkers for cancer detection; however, little is known about circulating miRNA profiles in AML patients. In this study, a genome-wide serum miRNA expression analysis was performed using Solexa sequencing for initial screen, followed by validation with real-time PCR assays. The analysis was conducted on training and verification sets of serum samples from 140 newly diagnosed AML patients and 135 normal adult donors. After a two-phase selection and validation process, 6 miRNAs, miR-10a-5p, miR-93-5p, miR-129-5p, miR-155-5p, miR-181b-5p and miR-320d, were found to have significantly different expression levels in AML compared with control serum samples. Furthermore, unsupervised clustering analysis revealed the remarkable ability of the 6-miRNA profile to differentiate between AML patients and normal controls. The areas under the ROC curve for the selected miRNAs ranged from 0.8129 to 0.9531. More importantly, miR-181b-5p levels in serum were significantly associated with overall survival. These data demonstrated that the expression patterns of circulating miRNAs were systematically altered in AML and miR-181b-5p may serve as a predictor for overall survival in AML patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The oxovanadium phosphonates (VO(P204)2 and VO(P507)2) activated by various alkylaluminums (AlR3, R=Et, i-Bu, n-Oct; HAlR2, R=Et, i-Bu) were examined in butadiene (Bd) polymerization. Both VO(P204)2 and VO(P507)2 showed higher activity than those of classical vanadium-based catalysts (e.g. VOCl3, V(acac)3). Among the examined catalysts, the VO(P204)2/Al(Oct)3 system (I) revealed the highest catalytic activity, giving the poly(Bd) bearing M n of 3.76×104 g/mol, and M w/M n ratio of 2.9, when the [Al]/[V] molar ratio was 4.0 at 40°C. The polymerization rate for I is of the first order with respect to the concentration of monomer. High thermal stability of I was found, since a fairly good catalytic activity was achieved even at 70°C (polymer yield>33%); the M n value and M w/M n ratio were independent of polymerization temperature in the range of 40–70°C. By IR and DSC, the poly(Bd)s obtained had high 1,2-unit content (>65%) with atactic configuration. The 1,2-unit content of the polymers obtained by I was nearly unchanged, regardless of variation of reaction conditions, i.e. [Al]/[V], ageing time, and reaction temperature, indicating the high stability of stereospecificity of the active sites. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]