ObjectiveTo evaluate the efficacy of temozolomide (TMZ) chemotherapy for recurrent anaplastic oligodendroglioma (AO) and anaplastic oligoastrocytoma (AOA).MethodsA multi-center retrospective trial enrolled seventy-two patients with histologically proven AO/AOA who underwent TMZ chemotherapy for their recurrent tumors from 2006 to 2010. TMZ was administered orally (150 to 200 mg/m2/day) for 5 days per 28 days until unacceptable toxicity occurred or tumor progression was observed.ResultsTMZ chemotherapy cycles administered was median 5.3 (range, 1-41). The objective response rate was 24% including 8 cases (11%) of complete response and another 23 patients (32%) were remained as stable disease. Severe side effects (≥grade 3) occurred only in 9 patients (13%). Progression-free survival (PFS) of all patients was a median 8.0 months (95% confidence interval, 6.0-10.0). The time to recurrence of a year or after was a favorable prognostic factor for PFS (p<0.05). Overall survival (OS) was apparently differed by the patient's histology, as AOA patients survived a median OS of 18.0 months while AO patients did not reach median OS at median follow-up of 11.5 months (range 2.7-65 months). Good performance status of Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group 0 and 1 showed prolonged OS (p<0.01).ConclusionFor recurrent AO/AOA after surgery followed by radiation therapy, TMZ could be recommended as a salvage therapy at the estimated efficacy equal to procarbazine, lomustine, and vincristine (PCV) chemotherapy at first relapse. For patients previously treated with PCV, TMZ is a favorable therapeutic option as 2nd line salvage chemotherapy with an acceptable toxicity rate.

Bis(4-chloro-3,5-dinitro-1H-pyrazol-1-yl)methane 2 was obtained for the first time via the coupling reaction of 4-chloro-3,5-dinitro-1H-pyrazole 1 as a promising precursor for new explosives. The careful selection of the reaction conditions enabled the coupling of 1 having the poor reactivity to produce 2 in a good yield. The target compound, bis(4-azido-3,5-dinitro-1H-pyrazol-1-yl)methane 3, was produced by the double azidation reaction of 2 in one step. Some explosive properties of 2 and 3 were characterized and 3 is expected to be a novel green primary explosive having superior explosive properties and better thermal stability than those of a widely used primary explosive, 2-diazo-4,6-dinitrophenol .

The development of high energy materials (HEMs) with both high explosive performance and decreased sensitivity is a main theme of current research for energetic materials. Polynitroazoles are good building blocks for new energetic materials because of their stable chemical properties. Two new bis(dinitropyrazolyl)methanes as potential insensitive HEMs were prepared via either the coupling of dinitropyrazole or the nitration of bis(mononitropyrazolyl)methane. Their insensitive properties are also reported and compared to those of RDX (trinitrohexahydro‐s‐triazine) and HNIW (CL‐20, hexanitrohexaazaisowurtzitane).

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Recently, various nanomaterials based on hydroxyapatite (HAp) have been developed for bioimaging applications. In particular, HAp doped with rare-earth elements has attracted significant attention, owing to its enhanced bioactivity and imaging properties. In this study, the wet precipitation method was used to synthesize HAp codoped with Yb and Gd. The synthesized Yb x -Gd x -HAp nanoparticles (NPs) were characterized via various techniques to analyze the crystal phase, functional groups, thermal characteristics, and particularly, the larger surface area. The IR783 fluorescence dye and a folic acid (FA) receptor were conjugated with the synthesized Yb x -Gd x -HAp NPs to develop an effective imaging contrast agent. The developed FA/IR783/Yb-Gd-HAp nanomaterial exhibited improved contrast, sensitivity, and tumor-specific properties, as demonstrated by using the customized LUX 4.0 fluorescence imaging system. An in vitro cytotoxicity study was performed to verify the biocompatibility of the synthesized NPs using MTT assay and fluorescence staining. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) was also applied to determine the photosensitizer properties of the synthesized Yb x -Gd x -HAp NPs. Further, reactive oxygen species generation was confirmed by Prussian blue decay and a 2′,7′-dichlorofluorescin diacetate study. Moreover, MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells were used to evaluate the efficiency of Yb x -Gd x -HAp NP-supported PDT.