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- Nazarian, Arpi, et al.
(author)
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Inhibition of Circulating Dipeptidyl Peptidase 4 Activity in Patients with Metastatic Prostate Cancer
- 2014
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In: Molecular & Cellular Proteomics. - 1535-9484. ; 13:11, s. 3082-3096
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Cancer is responsible for many deaths and is a major source of healthcare expenditures. The identification of new, non-invasive biomarkers might allow improvement of the direct diagnostic or prognostic ability of already available tools. Here, we took the innovative approach of interrogating the activity of exopeptidases in the serum of cancer patients with the aim of establishing a distinction based on enzymatic function, instead of simple protein levels, as a means to biomarker discovery. We first analyzed two well-characterized mouse models of prostate cancer, each with a distinct genetic lesion, and established that broad exopeptidase and targeted aminopeptidase activity tests reveal proteolytic changes associated with tumor development. We also describe new peptide-based freeze-frame reagents uniquely suited to probe the altered balance of selected aminopeptidases, as opposed to the full array of exopeptidases, and/or their modulators in patient serum or plasma. One particular proteolytic activity was impaired in animals with aggressive disease relative to cancer-free littermates. We identified the protease in question as dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP4) by analyzing selected knockout mice and evaluating the effect of specific inhibitors. DPP4 activity was also reduced in the sera of patients with metastatic prostate cancer relative to patients with localized disease or healthy controls. However, no significant differences in DPP4 serum levels were observed, which established the loss of activity as the result of impaired enzymatic function. Biochemical analysis indicated that reduced activity was the result not of post-translational modifications or allosteric changes, but instead of a low-molecular-weight inhibitor. After we adjusted for age and total prostate-specific antigen, reduced DPP4 activity remained a significant predictor of cancer status. The results of this proof-of-principle study suggest that DPP4 activity might be a potential blood-based indicator of the presence of metastatic cancer of prostatic origin, either by itself or, more likely, as a means to improve the sensitivity and specificity of existing markers.
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- Bangolla, Hemanth Kumar, et al.
(author)
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Composition-dependent photoconductivities in indium aluminium nitride nanorods grown by magnetron sputter epitaxy
- 2022
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In: Nanoscale Advances. - : Royal Society of Chemistry. - 2516-0230. ; 4:22, s. 4886-4894
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Photoconduction (PC) properties were investigated for ternary indium aluminium nitride (InxAl1-xN) nanorods (NRs) with different indium compositions (x) from 0.35 to 0.68, as grown by direct-current reactive magnetron sputter epitaxy. Cross-sectional scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) reveals single-crystal quality of the vertically aligned InxAl1-xN NRs. Single-rod photodetector devices with good ohmic contacts were fabricated using the focused-ion-beam technique (FIB), where the In-rich In0.68Al0.32N NR exhibits an optimal photocurrent responsivity of 1400 A W-1 and photoconductive gain of 3300. A transition from a positive photoresponse to a negative photoresponse was observed, while increasing the In composition x from 0.35 to 0.57. The negative PC was further enhanced by increasing x to 0.68. A model based on the coexistence and competition of deep electron trap states and recombination centers was proposed to explain the interesting composition-dependent PC in these ternary III-nitride 1D nanostructures.
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- Jiang, Dong-yi, et al.
(author)
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Surface water quality and potential health risk assessments in Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan section of Xiangjiang River, China
- 2019
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In: journal of central south university. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2095-2899 .- 2227-5223. ; 26:12, s. 3252-3260
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Changsha-Xiangtan-Zhuzhou City Group is a heavy industrial district and accepted as the serious pollution area in the Xiangjiang River basin. In this study, 7 metals (Pb, Hg, Cd, As, Zn, Cu and Se) and the river water quality parameters including pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), Escherichia coli (E. coli), potassium permanganate index (CODMn), dichromate oxidizability (CODCr), five-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), ammonia nitrogen (NH4+-N), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP) and fluoride (F-) in 18 sampling sites of the Changsha-Xiangtan-Zhuzhou section are monthly monitored in 2016, which is the year to step into the second stage of the Xiangjiang River Heavy Metal Pollution Control Implementation Plan. It is found that E. coli, TN and TP are the main pollutants in the Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan section, and the pollution of heavy metal is not serious but As with potential risk to local people especially children should be concerned. In addition, Xiangtan city is mainly featured with heavy metal pollution, while Zhuzhou and Changsha city are both featured with other pollutants from municipal domestic sewage.
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- R. San Miguel, Carlota, et al.
(author)
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Small-scale experiments for contour-boreholes blast
- 2024
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In: ISRM European Rock Mechanics Symposium. - Alicante.
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Blasting is widely used in tunneling when mechanical excavation methods cannot be applied due to rock conditions or cost constraints. The blast design of the contour holes defines the damage to the remaining rock, which might change the rock support requirements. This study investigates the crack behavior in sequential boreholes through small-scale experiments on rock-like specimens. Cylindrical samples, prepared with speckles for Digital Image Correlation (DIC), varied in decoupling ratio, and the detonation cord was detonated simultaneously in the blast holes. The data was collected with an ultra-high-speed camera (UHSC) for DIC. The results indicated the development of the cracks between the boreholes and their behavior towards the boundary of the samples. The results showed that in this experimental configuration, there is no significant difference between the different decoupling ratios. This study shows the importance of an optimum blast design to minimize the damage to the remaining rock.
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| 8. |
- Rodriguez San Miguel, Carlota
(author)
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Small-scale Experiments for Blast-induced Damage: Exploring crack propagation through Digital Image Correlation
- 2024
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Licentiate thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Blasting plays a crucial role in several engineering applications, from mining and tunneling to demolition projects. One of the remaining challenges of this process is that it can significantly affect the integrity of the rock mass by inducing damage in the form of cracks. Broadening the understanding of the behavior of the blast-induced cracks is essential for predicting the damage. One way of investigating this issue is through small-scale blasting experiments focused on crack propagation behavior.Controlled blasting experiments were conducted on rock-like cylindrical samples charged with Pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) cords. Different blast designs were tested and a method for integrating a Digital Image Correlation (DIC) technique in the analysis was developed. The DIC system was composed of an Ultra High-Speed Camera (UHSC), a light system, and a data acquisition system. The setup was tested in a laboratory and underwent different calibrations before implementing it in the mine, where using explosives during the tests is allowed. The UHSC captured the blasting process regarding crack propagation. To analyze the development of the cracks, DIC technique was employed and results in terms of displacement versus time were measured from the sample surface.The described experiments integrate a novel analysis approach to the results from the DIC technique and propose a way of interpreting the outcomes regarding crack development in terms of velocity. While developing the methodology, the pre-processing of the data (UHSC images) was shown to enhance the DIC analysis and affect the further post-processing of the results. The presented methodology proposes a human-independent procedure of analysis that can help to differentiate the displacement of the crack along its time. Nevertheless, a visual analysis of the results was performed to complement the results and try to broaden the understanding of the crack development process.The DIC results indicated a nonconstant crack propagation velocity while the development patterns were interpreted to match previous literature. The experimental studies confirmed the radial propagation behavior surrounding the blasthole in the single borehole test, while the two borehole configurations show to influence the crack propagation direction and interconnection.This work describes small-scale experiments that provide meaningful insights in crack propagation and how the different blast design parameters can affect their development. The findings of this study could be useful as an input of a predictive tool to assess blast-induced crack initiation and development.
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