Search

Studies of human T cell development require robust model systems that recapitulate the full span of thymopoiesis, from hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) through to mature T cells. Existing in vitro models induce T cell commitment from human HSPCs; however, differentiation into mature CD3^+TCR-αβ^+ single-positive CD8^+ or CD4^+ cells is limited. We describe here a serum-free, artificial thymic organoid (ATO) system that supports efficient and reproducible in vitro differentiation and positive selection of conventional human T cells from all sources of HSPCs. ATO-derived T cells exhibited mature naive phenotypes, a diverse T cell receptor (TCR) repertoire and TCR-dependent function. ATOs initiated with TCR-engineered HSPCs produced T cells with antigen-specific cytotoxicity and near-complete lack of endogenous TCR Vβ expression, consistent with allelic exclusion of Vβ-encoding loci. ATOs provide a robust tool for studying human T cell differentiation and for the future development of stem-cell-based engineered T cell therapies.

The contact property between Ge 2 Sb 2 Te 5 (GST) with vertical carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is studied in this work. By careful catalyst design and process optimization, we have demonstrated the formation of ohmic contact between the CNT and the GST material. The developed process is CMOS compatible and can be used for form phase change memory over the vias in the interconnect layers.

Highly dispersible LaF3:x% Tb3+ (x = 1, 3, 5, 8, 10) nanoparticles capped with citrate ligands have been prepared and functionalized by salicylate and 5-sulfosalicylate, respectively. The structure, morphology, photoluminescence properties, fluorescence dynamics and ligand sensitization mechanism have been studied systemically. Monitoring the characteristic emission of the Tb3+ 5D4–7F5 transition, the broad absorption bands in the UV domain are obtained with the functionalized nanoparticles. Under excitation of the π–π* electron transition absorption of salicylate (or 5-sulfosalicylate), the enhanced luminescence of Tb3+ ions is achieved in the functionalized nanoparticles. The ligand sensitization is potentially interpreted by a dipole–dipole sensitization mechanism. The luminescence lifetimes of Tb3+ ions in the nanoparticles functionalized by aromatic carboxylate acids are longer than the ones in LaF3:Tb3+ nanoparticles capped with citrate ligands.

Purpose: Recent randomized trials in advanced TNBC have demonstrated improved efficacy with the addition of atezo to 1L nab-PAC in patients (pts) with PD-L1+ tumors (IMpassion130 [Schmid 2018]), and with the addition of the oral AKT inhibitor IPAT to 1L PAC, particularly in pts with PIK3CA/AKT1/PTEN-altered tumors (LOTUS [Kim 2017]). Loss of PTEN, a negative regulator of AKT, has emerged as a potential mechanism for resistance to checkpoint inhibitor therapy; inhibiting the PI3K/AKT pathway has led to reversal of T-cell-mediated immunotherapy resistance [Peng 2016]. We report first results from a multicenter phase 1b study (NCT03800836) evaluating a triplet of IPAT, atezo, and PAC or nab-PAC. Methods: Eligible pts had measurable unresectable locally advanced/metastatic TNBC, ECOG performance status 0/1, and no prior systemic therapy for advanced disease. Pts were assigned to PAC 80 mg/m2 (Arm A) or nab-PAC 100 mg/m2 (Arm B), both given on days 1, 8, & 15, in combination with oral IPAT 400 mg/day on days 1-21 and IV atezo 840 mg on days 1 & 15. Cycles were repeated every 28 days until loss of clinical benefit, unacceptable toxicity, or consent withdrawal. After establishing tolerability in a safety run-in (n=6), each arm was expanded to a total of 20 pts. The primary efficacy endpoint is confirmed objective response rate (ORR) per RECIST v1.1. Tumors are assessed every 8 weeks. Results: We report preliminary efficacy and safety data up to Jan 5, 2019, for the first 26 pts enrolled (18 PAC, 8 nab-PAC). The median duration of follow-up was 6.1 (range 3.1-10.6) months. Confirmed responses were seen in 19/26 pts, giving a confirmed ORR of 73% (95% CI 53-88%). Responses were seen irrespective of PD-L1 status (9/11 [82%] PD-L1+; 6/8 [75%] PD-L1-; 4/7 [57%] PD-L1 unknown) or PIK3CA/AKT1/PTEN alteration status (5/7 [71%] Dx+, 9/11 [82%] Dx-; 5/8 [63%] Dx unknown). Treatment was generally tolerable. Grade ≥3 adverse events occurred in 14 pts (54%). The most common all-grade adverse events were diarrhea (88%; grade ≥3 19%, manageable with loperamide; no colitis was reported) and rash (including pruritic, pustular, and maculopapular rash and drug eruption: 69%; grade ≥3 27%, manageable and reversible with antihistamine and steroids). The most severe rash was grade 3 and typically occurred in cycle 1. Hyperglycemia was absent. Enrollment is ongoing. Conclusions: The triplet regimen shows promising antitumor activity (73% confirmed ORR), irrespective of biomarker status, and has manageable toxicity. This triplet regimen warrants further investigation. Citation Format: Peter Schmid, Delphine Loirat, Peter Savas, Enrique Espinosa, Valentina Boni, Antoine Italiano, Shane White, Stina M. Singel, Nimali Withana, Aruna Mani, Suwen Li, Adam Harris, Matthew Wongchenko, Marie Sablin. Phase Ib study evaluating a triplet combination of ipatasertib (IPAT), atezolizumab (atezo), and paclitaxel (PAC) or nab-PAC as first-line (1L) therapy for locally advanced/metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr CT049.

A dumbbell-shaped fiber laser with dual-functional pulsed outputs is demonstrated using a filmy polyvinyl alcohol-based gold nanorods (GNRs) saturable absorber (SA), which can deliver mode-locked soliton and multiwavelength Q-switched pulse. The GNRs-SA is fabricated by seed-mediated method with a modulation depth of 4.1% and nonsaturable loss of 32.9%. When the fiber laser operates in mode-locked regime, stable fundamental solitons with a temporal width of 910 fs and repetition rate of 2.88 MHz are directly generated from the laser cavity. The corresponding spectrum is located at 1560.1 nm with a 3-dB bandwidth of 3.08 nm. When the laser operates in Q-switched regime, more than 5-wavelength oscillation is achieved. The repetition rate of Q-switched monotonically increases from 13.4 to 31.7 kHz and the pulse duration can be significantly narrowed from 6.07 to 3.12 μs by varying the pump power from 128 to 154 mW. The results further expand the applications of GNRs-SA to obtain versatile pulse sources in ultrafast laser field.

The application of carbon-nanotube to reduce interconnect delay is studied in this work, with the emphasis on how it can be used to reduce the inter-metal capacitance. By forming vertically aligned cylindrical pores assisted by vertically grown CNT, mechanically stable ultra-low-k interlayer dielectric with k-value down to 1.89 is experimentally demonstrated. Ways to integrate this process will other CNT enhanced interconnect technology are also discussed.

This paper describes the potential of using carbon nanotube (CNT) as a via-filling material to enhance the performance mainstream CMOS technology. Due to the CMOS compatibility constraint, the choice of catalyst material and processing conditions have been significantly limited. After a careful selection process, Ni is found to be a workable material. Through catalyst engineering, we have demonstrated that it is possible to form CNT filled vias on metal or silicide substrate at low temperature with low contact resistance. The impact of via dimensions and processing condition has also been studied. Based on statistical analysis using measured data, the best-case projected via resistance for a 30nm via is 295Ω, which is within one order of magnitude of its copper and tungsten counterparts.

Using first-principles calculation, we study effective electron correlation and spin density fluctuation in iron-based fluorides SrFe1−x Co x AsF (x=0, 0.125). We obtain the observed magnetic moment of Fe atom with a strongly attractive electron correction. Whereas, different from the parent compound, the density of state of superconducting SrFe1−x Co x AsF (x=0.125) near to the Fermi energy is reduced for both signs of effective electron correlation, and suggests strong instability there. In addition, spin density fluctuation resulted from the effective correlation exists in Co-doped compound, may propagate in the form of collective excitation and manifest as spin fluctuation with specific q-vector in momentum space.

Using first-principles calculations, we investigate electronic structure and phonon spectrum of binary iron-based superconductor FeSe in both tetragonal nonmagnetic (NM) phase and orthorhombic striped antiferromagnetic (SAF) phase. It is found that the softening of atomic vibration modes and main electron–phonon coupling contribution from low-frequency Eliashberg spectral function α 2 F ( ω ) in SAF phase of FeSe lead to the enhancement of electron–phonon coupling strength λ ep and logarithmically average frequency ω ln . However, the obtained superconducting T c in SAF phase just increases up to 0.34 K, even though Coulomb pseudopotential μ ∗ is limited to zero. As a result, our magnetic phonons calculation still rules out phonon mediated superconductivity, although the electron–phonon coupling through the spin channel play an important role in FeSe.

Adoptive cell therapy using T cells engineered to express antigen-specific T cell receptors (TCR-T) or chimeric antigen receptors (CAR-T) offer targeted and potentially curative treatments for malignancy. Current approaches rely on the genetic modification and expansion of mature circulating T-cells. Such processes are limited to autologous T cells due to the risk of graft-versus-host (GvHD) disease from allogeneic T cells through endogenous TCR expression as well as rejection through MHC incompatibility. Furthermore, prolonged ex-vivo expansion of T cells may reduce in vivo efficacy and harvesting sufficient T cells from lymphopenic patients is challenging. Direct in vitro differentiation of engineered T cells from human pluripotent stem cells (HSPCs) may overcome these problems by providing an unlimited source of cells that can be genetically edited, permitting the suppression of endogenous TCR expression through allelic exclusion, and the de novo generation of naïve antigen-specific T cells. We have developed an in vitro Artificial Thymic Organoid (ATO) system that induces highly efficient and reproducible production of mature naïve T cells from human hematopoietic stem cells and progenitor cells (HSPC). Here, we report the preclinical development of a modified ATO system that supports highly efficient in vitro differentiation and positive selection of naive human T cells from at least 5 different lines of human pluripotent stem cells (PSC), including Embryonic stem cells (ESC) and induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSC). T cell differentiation from PSC was very similar phenotypically to that from HSPC. As in normal human thymopoiesis, the first evidence for T cell commitment was expression of CD7 and CD5, followed by the CD3-CD8lo "ISP8" stage, then CD4+CD8+ "DP" stage and finally production of CD3+CD8+CD4- "CD8SP" and Cd3+CD4+CD8- "CD4SP". As is typical with both monolayer cultures and ATOs (and opposite to normal thymus), CD8SP predominated over CD4SP. Surprisingly, differentiation occurred more rapidly from PSC than with HSPC. As with HSPC-ATOs, CD8SP from PSC ATOs showed a mature naïve conventional T cell phenotype i.e. CD3+TCRab+CD4- CD45RA+CD62L+CD27+ and exhibited a diverse, thymic-like TCR repertoire, and robust TCR-dependent cytokine release and proliferation. The differentiation in ATOs of an ESC line that expresses an HLA-A*02:01-restricted αβ TCR specific for NY-ESO-1 resulted in a markedly increased cell yield with an enhanced generation of naïve CD3+TCRαβ+CD8αβ+ conventional T cells, the majority of which were antigen-specific by tetramer staining. TCR-engineered T cells produced from PSC in ATOs displayed a near complete lack of endogenous TCR Vβ expression, consistent with induction of allelic exclusion by the exogenous TCR during T cell development. The TCR engineered T cells underwent polyfunctional cytokine release, and proliferation in response to artificial APCs. Moreover, the differentiation in ATOs of an ESC line that expresses a CD19-specific 2nd generation (CD28/CD3zeta) CAR construct resulted in the production of CD5+CD7+ CD45RA+ CAR T cells. As reported previously, the ESC-derived CAR T cells did not express CD4, CD8 or CD3; however, they responded to PMA/ionomycin and underwent specific cytokine release and degranulation in response to target cells expressing CD19. PSC-derivedATOs thus present a highly efficient platform for the generation of clinically relevant mature naïve and potentially non-alloreactive TCR and CAR engineered T cells for adoptive immunotherapy. Disclosures Montel-Hagen: Kite Pharma: Research Funding. Seet: Kite Pharma: Research Funding. Crooks: Kite Pharma: Research Funding.

Current literature on cancer epidemiology typically discusses etiology of cancer by cancer type. Risks of different cancer types are, however, correlated at population level and may provide etiological clues. We showed previously an unexpected very high positive correlation between breast cancer (BC) and young-adult Hodgkin disease incidence rates. In a population-based case-control study of BC, older ages at the first Epstein-Barr virus exposure, indicated by older ages at onset of infectious mononucleosis, were associated with elevated BC risk. Here we examine BC risk in association with microbial cancer (MC) risk in female populations across the world. MC cancers are cervical, liver and stomach cancers with established causal associations with human papillomaviruses, hepatitis viruses, and helicobacter pylori, respectively. We examined age-adjusted BC and MC incidence rates in 74 female populations around the world with cancer registries. Our analysis suggests that BC and MC rates are inversely associated in a special mathematical form such that the product of BC rate and MC rate is approximately constant across world female populations. A differential equation model with solutions consistent to the observed inverse association was derived. BC and MC rates were modeled as functions of an exposure level to unspecified common factors that influence the 2 rates. In conjunction with previously reported evidence, we submit a hypothesis that BC etiology may have an appreciable link with microbial exposures (and/or immunological responses to them), the lack of which, especially in early life, may elevate BC risk.

In this paper, NaYF 4 nanocrystals and NH 4 Y 3 F 10 sub-microcrystals were prepared using a polyol method. After being annealed, NH 4 Y 3 F 10 can convert into YF 3 , which is a very efficient host matrix for upconversion. The structures of obtained NaYF 4 , NH 4 Y 3 F 10 and YF 3 samples are pure cubic phase, a mixture of cubic and hexagonal phase and pure orthorhombic phase, respectively. The size of obtained NaYF 4 nanocrystals is about 20 nm, and those of NH 4 Y 3 F 10 and YF 3 sub-microcrystals are both about 200 nm. When co-doped with Er 3+ and Yb 3+ , NaYF 4 and YF 3 samples can emit bright light under 978 nm excitation. Upconversion mechanisms in Yb 3+ /Er 3+ co-doped NaYF 4 and YF 3 samples were discussed.

Survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) are at risk for late effects of cancer therapy. Five-year ALL survivors (< 21 years at diagnosis; n = 5760 eligible, 4151 participants), diagnosed from 1970 to 1986 were compared with the general population and a sibling cohort (n = 3899). Cumulative mortality of 5760 5-year survivors was 13% at 25 years from diagnosis. Recurrent ALL (n = 483) and second neoplasms (SNs; n = 89) were the major causes of death. Among 185 survivors, 199 SNs occurred, 53% in the CNS. Survivors reported more multiple chronic medical conditions (CMCs; odds ratio [OR], 2.8; 95% CI, 2.4-3.2) and severe or life-threatening CMCs (OR, 3.6; 95% CI, 3.0-4.5) than siblings. Cumulative incidence of severe CMCs, including death, 25 years from diagnosis was 21.3% (95% CI, 18.2-24.4; 23.3% [95% CI, 19.4-27.2] and 13.4% [95% CI, 8.4-18.4] for irradiated and nonirradiated survivors, respectively). Survivors reported more adverse general and mental health, functional impairment, and activity limitations compared with siblings (P < .001). Rates of marriage, college graduation, employment, and health insurance were all lower compared with sibling controls (P < .001). Long-term survivors of childhood ALL exhibit excess mortality and morbidity. Survivors who received radiation therapy as part of their treatment or had a leukemia relapse are at greatest risk for adverse outcomes.

BACKGROUND Limited data exist on the comprehensive assessment of late medical and social effects experienced by survivors of childhood and young adult acute myeloid leukemia (AML). METHODS This analysis included 272 5-year AML survivors who participated in the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study (CCSS). All patients were diagnosed at age ≤21 years between the years 1970 and 1986, and none underwent stem cell transplantation. Rates of survival, relapse, and late outcomes were analyzed. RESULTS The average follow-up was 20.5 years (range, 5–33 years). The overall survival rate was 97% at 10 years (95% confidence interval [95%CI], 94%–98%) and 94% at 20 years (95% CI, 90%–96%). Six survivors reported 8 recurrences. The cumulative incidence of recurrent AML was 6.6% at 10 years (95% CI, 3.7%–9.6%) and 8.6% at 20 years (95% CI, 5.1%–12.1%). Ten subsequent malignant neoplasms (SMN) were reported, including 4 with a history of radiation therapy, for a 20-year cumulative incidence of 1.7% (95% CI, 0.02%–3.4%). Six cardiac events were reported, for a 20-year cumulative incidence 4.7% (95% CI, 2.1%–7.3%). Half of the survivors reported a chronic medical condition and, compared with siblings, were at increased risk for severe or life-threatening chronic medical conditions (16% vs 5.8%; P < .001). Among those aged ≥25 years, the age-adjusted marriage rates were similar among survivors and the general United States population (57% for both) and lower compared with siblings (67%; P < .01). Survivors' college graduation rates were lower compared with siblings but higher than the general population (40% vs 52% vs 34%, respectively; P < .01). Employment rates were similar between survivors, siblings, and the general population (93%, 97.6%, and 95.8%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS Long-term survival from childhood AML ≥5-years after diagnosis was favorable. Late-occurring medical events remained a concern with socioeconomic achievement lower than expected within the individual family unit, although it was not different from the general United States population. Cancer 2008. © 2008 American Cancer Society.

One-dimensional nanosized phosphors demonstrate special structural and photoluminescence properties, which have application potential in some optical fields. In this article, we present our recent progress on preparation and luminescence properties of some one-dimensional rare earth compounds and complexes, the core–shell oxide nanowires prepared by a two-step hydrothermal route, the nanowires of some inorganic compounds doped with rare earths and rare earth complexes/PVP composites prepared by the electrospinning method, and the rare earth complexes in the SBA-15 mesoporous molecule sieves. In these systems, some novel or improved photoluminescence properties are observed such as improved luminescence quantum yield, thermal stability and/or photostability, and depressed thermal effect in upconversion luminescence.

Observation of nighttime nitrate radical (NO3) was performed by using long path differential optical absorption spectroscopy (LP-DOAS), on the outskirts of Hefei, China. The time series of NO3 and supporting parameters were simultaneously measured for a week (31 May–7 June 2006). The results indicated that the average concentration of NO3 was 15.6 pptv with an average lifetimes of 96 s, whereas, NO3 production rates varied from 8 × 105/(cm3·s) to 2.98 × 107/(cm3·s). Furthermore, the calculated N2O5concentration averaged at 380 pptv. Analysis of data indicated that direct sinks were probably dominating the NO3 loss process during this campaign. The results were compared with other campaigns in the boundary layer.

In this work, the luminescence properties of samarium ions-doped titanium dioxide prepared by the sol–gel process were studied. A strong orange red emission (4G5/2−6H7/2 (orange) and 4G5/2–6H9/2 (red)) ascribed to the electron transitions in 4f5 configuration of Sm3+ ions was observed upon excitation into TiO2 host. The energy transfer from TiO2 to Sm3+ was verified and the relevant mechanism was discussed. In addition, the impacts of metal ion codopants upon the TiO2:Sm3+ luminescence properties were studied. The results indicated that the central excitation band shifted to blue in the bismuth-codoped materials (0.5–4% in molar ratio), while it shifted to red in the zirconium-codoped materials. Such materials may find applications in white light-emission diode (LED) and tunable solid lasers.

Highly luminescent YVO4−Eu3+ nanocrystals (NCs) coating on wirelike Y(OH)3−Eu3+ and Y2O3−Eu3+ microcrystals were synthesized by a chemical corrosion method, that is, first preparation of Y(OH)3−Eu3+ wirelike microcrystals by a hydrothermal method, and subsequently chemical corrosion with NaVO4 solutions through a second hydrothermal treatment. The crystal structure, morphology, and optical properties of the composites were characterized and compared with those of the general nanoparticles (NPs) obtained by a one-step hydrothermal process. The results indicate that chemical corrosion method yields high-quality YVO4−Eu3+ NCs in the composite grown from exterior to interior, compared with the directly hydrothermal NPs grown from interior to exterior. In addition, luminescent intensity for YVO4−Eu3+ in the composite was remarkably increased compared with that of NPs, due to more efficient energy transfer from VO43- to Eu3+ ions, and was further increased up to level of the the bulk materials after being annea...

Sub-micrometer-sized fibers of europium-doped yttria (Y 2 O 3 :Eu 3+ ) were prepared by electrospinning followed by high-temperature calcinations for the first time. The fibers were with diameters of 200–400 nm and lengths of several 10 μm and cubic in phase. The spectral properties of the Y 2 O 3 :Eu 3+ fibers were studied, in contrast with those of bulk powders. The results indicated that in the present Y 2 O 3 :Eu 3+ fibers the excited charge transfer band had slightly blue shift in comparison with that in the bulk due to weaker covalence of Eu–O bonds. In addition, both of the lifetimes of the 5 D 1 and 5 D 0 states in the fibers became shorter than that in the bulk due to improved nonradiative transition rates.

Uniform Gd2O3: Eu3+ nanowires were fabricated by using anodic aluminum oxide template (AAO). The spectral measurements indicate that with the increasing annealing temperature the excitation band of Eu3+ in Gd2O3 : Eu3+ nanowires/AAO shifted blue, the intensity ratio of 5D0–7F2 to 5D0–7F1 decreased, and the lifetime became longer. In the sample annealed at 1000°C two spectral components, the sharper and broader lines were identified, corresponding to two different local environments, the Eu3+ ions in cubic phase and in amorphous phase, respectively. The 5D0–7F1 transitions of Eu3+ ions in cubic phase had longer lifetime than that in amorphous phase. In contrast to the lifetime of the 5D0–7FJ transitions in the bulk, that in Gd2O3 : Eu3+/AAO composite films increased due to influence of the surrounding media (AAO).

In this paper, YVO4:Eu3+/YBO3:Eu3+ composite was fabricated by chemical corrosion through a two-step hydrothermal process, i.e., first preparation of YBO3:Eu3+ nanocrystals and subsequent chemical corrosion by Na3VO4 solution. A novel energy-transfer and luminescent route via UV and VUV excitation was identified (YBO3 phase→ YVO4 phase → Eu3+ ions in the YVO4 phase), which remained in the sample annealed at high temperature. In this composite high quantum yield was maintained, and considerably improved color purity was induced. A corrosive interface between the YVO4:Eu3+ and YBO3:Eu3+ phases was identified by the site-selective excitation technique, where the local environment surrounding Eu3+ was extremely complex. It is believed that, through further optimization, this novel composite can be candidate phosphors for red PDPs and Hg-free fluorescent lamp in the future.

An inorganic-organic hybrid semiconductor, ZnS/CHA (CHA = cyclohexylamine) nanocomposites was successfully synthesized via a solvothermal method using CHA as solvent, which yielded uniform and ultralong nanowires with widths of 100-1000 nm and lengths of 5-20 microm. Changing the reaction conditions could alter the morphology and optical properties of the nanocomposites. The periodic layer subnanometer structures were identified by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) images, with thickness of approximately 2 nm. The composites exhibited a very large blue-shift in their optical absorption edge as well as an exciton excitation band due to a strong quantum confinement effect caused by the internal subnanometer-scale structures. The pure hexagonal wurtzite ZnS nanowires were also obtained by extracting the ZnS/CHA nanocomposites with dimethyl formamide (DMF). In addition, the luminescent properties of exciton and defect-related transitions in different samples of ZnS/CHA were discussed in detail.

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that plays a key role in neural disorders. This paper reports on the design and fabrication of a microelectrode array (MEA) modified with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) to detect dopamine with high sensitivity. The modification is based on covalent bonding of carboxylic groups in carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and amine groups in poly-l-lysin (PLL). The modified microelectrode array was characterized by Raman spectroscopy and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The CNT-coated MEA shows a sensitivity of 1186 nA/μM·mm 2 ·(V/s) 0.5 in dopamine detection. This enhanced sensitivity suggests that CNT-coated MEA is a promising platform for in vitro high-throughput, high sensitivity neurotransmitter detection.

Generally, subspace learning based methods such as the Incremental Visual Tracker (IVT) have been shown to be quite effective for visual tracking problem. However, it may fail to follow the target when it undergoes drastic pose or illumination changes. In this work, we present a novel tracker to enhance the IVT algorithm by employing a multicue based adaptive appearance model. First, we carry out the integration of cues both in feature space and in geometric space. Second, the integration directly depends on the dynamically-changing reliabilities of visual cues. These two aspects of our method allow the tracker to easily adapt itself to the changes in the context and accordingly improve the tracking accuracy by resolving the ambiguities. Experimental results demonstrate that subspace-based tracking is strongly improved by exploiting the multiple cues through the proposed algorithm.

Atmospheric NO3 can be measured with LP-DOAS. The improved method was developed to give a more accurate fitting of nitrate radical. The measurement errors were reduced to below 7% and detection limits reached 3.8ppt.

Harringtonine (HT), a kind of anticancer drug isolated from Chinese herb Cephalotaxus hainanensis Li, has been used in the clinical treatment of human glanulocytic leukemia and chromic myelocytic leukemia. In this study, we investigated the effect of Bcl-2 on HT-induced apoptosis and Ca2+ mobilization in human leukemia HL-60 cells. 1 μg/ml HT induced the apoptosis of HL-60/Neo cells in a time-dependent manner; while 1 μg/ml HT failed to induce the apoptosis of HL-60/ Bcl-2 cells. HT-, A23187- (a Ca2+ ionophore), Carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone (CCCP,a specific releaser of Ca2+ from mitochondria) and thapsigargin- (an inhibitor of endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+> -ATPase) induced changes in [Ca2+]i were monitored by using Fluo 3-AM with confocal laser scanning microscopy. The results demonstrated that HL-60 cells with enforced expression of Bcl-2 (HL-60/Bcl-2 cells) had increased Ca2+ permeability and increased intracellular Ca2+ store in comparison with HL-60 cells with negative control vectors (HL-60/Neo cells), suggesting that Bcl-2 might prevent HT-induced apoptosis by increased Ca2+ permeability and increased intracellular Ca2+ buffering capacity.

One dimensional Gd 2 O 3 :Eu nanowires with diameters of ∼100 nm were fabricated by anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) template method. Excitation and emission spectra, fluorescence dynamics of Gd 2 O 3 :Eu/AAO were studied. The results showed that the charge transfer band of Eu 3+ in Gd 2 O 3 :Eu/AAO blue shifted with increasing annealing temperature and time. The decay time constant of 5 D 0 – 7 F 2 transition became longer with the increasing annealing temperature in Gd 2 O 3 :Eu/AAO. The 5 D 0 – 7 F 1 transition of Eu 3+ ions in cubic phase had longer lifetime than that in amorphous phase. In contrast to the lifetime of 5 D 0 – 7 F J in the bulk powder, that in Gd 2 O 3 :Eu/AAO composite films increased.

In this paper, we propose an effective tracker for infrared videos based on the multi-cue fusion. Under the particle filter tracking construction, a novel feature scoring scheme is introduced to evaluate different cue tracking ability, then the multi-cue fusion is executed in a weighted sum manner. In our tracking system, the score of each feature can be adaptively updated according to the current environment. Experimental results with various Infrared Video Database and different trackers are reported to demonstrate the accuracy and robustness of our algorithm.

Carbon nanotube (CNT) filled contact plugs with silicide as the bottom electrode have been demonstrated in this letter. Nickel has been used as the main catalyst to achieve CMOS compatibility. By modifying the catalyst from a pure Ni single layer structure to a Ni/Al/Ni multilayer composite, uniform selective CNT growth on Ti silicide substrate has been achieved. At a low temperature of 450 °C, the vertically aligned CNTs with a density of $1.1\times 10^{11}$ tubes/cm2 inside the silicon dioxide contact plug are formed without the need of catalyst patterning. Four-point Kelvin structures are designed to measure the resistance of the CNT filled contact plugs. Measurement results show that an ohmic contact plug resistance of 216 $\Omega \cdot \mu \text{m}^{2}$ is obtained.

Uniform, ultra-small-sized and well-water-dispersible LaF(3) nanoparticles doped with trivalent rare earth (RE) ions (Eu(3+) or Tb(3+)) have been synthesized by a simple, low temperature synthesis route. The nanoparticles, with sizes of about 3.2 nm (for those doped with Eu(3+)) and 3.0 nm (for those doped with Tb(3+)), are roughly spherical and monodisperse. 1,2,4,5-Benzenetetracarboxylic acid (labeled as BA) as sensitizer has been bonded to the surface of the nanoparticles, which can sensitize the emission of RE(3+) in the LaF(3) nanoparticles. The BA-LaF(3):RE(3+) (RE = Eu or Tb) nanoparticles have a broad absorption band in the UV domain, and show enhanced luminescence of RE(3+) based on an energy transfer from BA ligands to RE(3+) ions (i.e. the so-called "antenna effect"). Due to the dual protection of organic ligands (BA) and inorganic matrices (LaF(3)), BA-LaF(3):RE(3+) (RE = Eu or Tb) nanoparticles have longer excited state lifetimes than LaF(3):RE(3+) (RE = Eu or Tb) nanoparticles as well as lanthanide coordination polymers of BA.

From July 4 to 11, 2006 at Back Garden site (23°28'86”N; 113°02'91”E), nighttime nitrate radical (NO3) was measured with a long path differential optical absorption spectroscopy (DOAS) during an intensive field campaign in the Pearl River Delta of China. The NO3 concentration in polluted air masses varied from 3.6 to 82.5 ppt with an average level of 21.8 ± 1.8 ppt. NO3 at these levels can play a significant role in oxidation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The calculated production rate of nitrate radical ranged from 8 × 10^5 to 2.98 × 10^7 cm^(-3) s^(-1), while its lifetimes spanned from between just several seconds to 650 seconds, with an average of 89 seconds. N2O5 levels were calculated with the average of 620 ± 93 ppt during this campaign. The possible scavenging processes for the nitrate radical were obtained by using a statistical analysis of the correlation between NO3 and NO levels, NO3 concentration and its production rate, and the NO3 lifetime and NO2 levels, respectively. Results showed that the direct losses were of importance at Back Garden in summer Pearl River Delta, China.

A novel all-fiber flat-top comb filter is proposed based on Sagnac loop interferometer of photonic crystal fiber (PCF). The transmission function of the proposed Sagnac loop filter is expressed theoretically by Jones transmit-matrix. The influences of birefringence of PCF, the lengths of two sections of PCFs and the rotatable angle of polarization controllers on its output spectra are numerically studied. On the basis of theoretical analysis, a wavelength switchable comb filter with flat-top spectral response is realized. This kind of filter can be expected to be used widely in DWDM systems in the future.

By using Hoechst 33342, rabbit anti calmodulin antibody, FITC-labeled goat anti rabbit IgG and SR101 (sulfo rhodamine 101) simultaneously to stain individual normal and transformed cells, the microspectrophotometric analysis demonstrated that 3 markers which represented the nucleus, calmodulin and total protein respectively, could be recognized in individualj cells without interference. The phase of the cell cycle was determined by DNA content (Hoechst 33342). We found that in transformed cells (NIH3T3) tsRSV-LA90, cultured at 33°C and transformed C3H10T1/2 cells), the ratio of calmodulin to total protein (based on the phases of cell cycle)was higher than that in normal cells (NIH3T3 tsRSV−LA90 cells, cultured at 39°C and C3H10T1/2 cells)in every cell cycle phase. This ratio increased obviously only from G1 to S phase in either normal or transformed cells. The results showed that calmodulin really increased during the transformation, and its increase was specific. In the meantime when cells proceeded from G1 to S, the intracellular calmodulin content also increased specifically.

To modify the photoluminescence properties the Eu(DBM)3 bath complexes were encapsulated into the sub-nanometer pores of aluminosilicates zeolites L and Yand characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron micrographs (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) absorption spectra. The luminescent properties of the encapsulated composites (Eu-L and Eu-Y) were systematically studied. The results indicate that in both the two composites the crystal-field symmetry becomes lower, as a consequence, the 5D0-7F2 electronicdipole transition relative to the 5D0-7F1 magnetic-dipole transition of Eu3+ increases in contrast to the pure complexes. The outer quantum efficiency of the Eu3+ emission and the photostability of Eu3+ are both improved considerably. The adsorption of water in the composites has influence on the thermostability and decay dynamics of the Eu3+ emission. In the composite Eu-L, which contains less water the thermostability of luminescence is improved considerably and the lifetime becomes longer in comparison to the pure complexes. Overall, zeolite L is a more ideal host material for modification of lanthanide complexes.

Cell proliferation is accompanied with changing levels of intracellular caimodulin (CAM) and its activation. Prior data from synchronized cell population could not actually stand for various CaM levels in different phases of cell cycle. Here, based upon quantitative measurement of fluorescence in individual cells, a method was developed to investigate intracellular total CaM and Ca2+-activated CaM contents. Intensity of CaM immunoflurescence gave total CaM level, and Ca2+-activated CaM was measured by fluorescence intensity of CaM antagonist trifluoperazine (TFP). In mouse erythroleukemia (MEL) cells, total CaM level increased from G1 through S to G2M, reaching a maximum of 2-fold increase, then reduced to half amount after cell division. Meanwhile, Ca2+- activated CaM also in creased through the cell cycle(G1, S, G2M). Increasing observed in G1 meant that the entry of ceils from G1 into S phase may require CaM accumulation, and, equally or even more important, Ca2+-dependent activation of CaM. Ca2+- activated CaM decreased after cell division. The results suggested that CaM gene expression and Ca2+-modulated CaM activation act synergistically to accomplish the cell cycle progression.

In this paper, YVO4:Eu3+/YBO3:Eu3+ composite was fabricated by chemical corrosion through a two-step hydrothermal process, i.e., first preparation of YBO3:Eu3+ nanocrystals and subsequent chemical corrosion by Na3VO4 solution. A novel energy-transfer and luminescent route via UV and VUV excitation was identified (YBO3 phase→ YVO4 phase → Eu3+ ions in the YVO4 phase), which remained in the sample annealed at high temperature. In this composite high quantum yield was maintained, and considerably improved color purity was induced. A corrosive interface between the YVO4:Eu3+ and YBO3:Eu3+ phases was identified by the site-selective excitation technique, where the local environment surrounding Eu3+ was extremely complex. It is believed that, through further optimization, this novel composite can be candidate phosphors for red PDPs and Hg-free fluorescent lamp in the future.