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Is nephroureterectomy necessary in all cases of upper tract transitional cell carcinoma? Long-term results of conservative endourologic management of upper tract transitional cell carcinoma in individuals with a normal contralateral kidney.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the endoscopic management of upper urinary tract transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) as a first-line treatment in patients with a normal contralateral kidney. METHODS: During an 11-year period, 21 patients diagnosed with upper tract TCC were treated with conservative endourologic techniques using either neodymium:yttrium-aluminum-garnet laser or electrocautery at our institution. The 21 patients were followed up for a mean of 6.1 years (range 1 to 11.6). RESULTS: A total of 8 renal pelvic tumors and 13 ureteral tumors were found. All tumors were Stage T1 or less and grade 3 or less. All tumors were less than 2 cm in the greatest dimension (range 0.4 to 2). Of the 21 patients, 7 (33%) had one local recurrence and 1 (4.7%) developed two local recurrences. Of the 13 ureteral tumors, 6 (46%) recurred; 1 (12%) of the 8 renal pelvic tumors recurred. No recurrent tumor was shown to have an increase in grade. Of the 21 target renal units, 17 (81%) were preserved; 4 (19%) of 21 patients required nephroureterectomy because of tumor recurrence. Overall, 11 patients in the series died, 10 of non-TCC etiology and 1 secondary to invasive bladder TCC that developed after treatment for upper tract TCC. No patients died as a result of conservative management of their upper tract TCC. CONCLUSIONS: Endourologic techniques and conservative treatment of upper tract TCC is an evolving field; however, in properly selected patients, endoscopic treatment can be safely and effectively used as a first-line treatment for upper tract TCC.

Adult↗

Economic transition and health transition: comparing China and Russia.

Drawing on experiences from China and Russia (the world's two largest transitional economies), this paper empirically examines the impact of economic reforms on health status. While China's overall health status continued to improve after the economic reform, Russia experienced a serious deterioration in its population health. The observed differences in health performance between China and Russia can be explained by the different impacts of economic reforms on three major socioeconomic determinants of health. Depending on whether or not the reform improves physical environment (as reflected in income level and nutritional status), social environment (including social stability and security system), and health care, we would observe either a positive or a negative net effect on health. Despite remarkable differences in overall health development, China and Russia share some common problems. Mental and social health problems such as suicides and alcohol poisoning have been on the rise in both countries. These problems were much more serious in Russia, where political and social instability was more pronounced, associated with Russia's relatively radical reform process. With their economies moving toward a free market system, health sectors in China and Russia are undergoing marketization, which has had serious detrimental effect on the public health services.

China↗

Multiple high-level QM/MM reaction paths demonstrate transition-state stabilization in chorismate mutase: correlation of barrier height with transition-state stabilization.

Multiple profiles for the reaction from chorismate to prephenate in the enzyme chorismate mutase calculated with hybrid density functional combined quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics methods (B3LYP/6-31G(d)-CHARMM27) agree well with experiment, and provide direct evidence of transition-state stabilization by this important enzyme, which is at the centre of current debates about the nature of enzyme catalysis.

Chorismate Mutase↗

E-cadherin expression in urothelial carcinoma in situ, superficial papillary transitional cell carcinoma, and invasive transitional cell carcinoma.

Flat urothelial carcinoma in situ (CIS) is a precursor of invasive transitional cell carcinoma (TCC). High-grade TCCs frequently are accompanied by CIS in surrounding urothelium. In contrast, superficial, noninvasive papillary TCCs are often low grade and generally are unaccompanied by CIS. E-cadherin (E-CD) is a member of a family of transmembrane glycoproteins involved in intercellular adhesion. Loss or decreased expression of E-CD has been linked to the invasive phenotype of a wide variety of human neoplasms, including bladder tumors. The objective of this study was to compare the expression of E-CD in high-grade urothelial dysplasia (HD)/CIS, superficial papillary TCC, benign urothelium, and invasive TCC. Staining for E-CD was performed in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded sections using a Ventana NexES immunostainer (Tuscon, AZ). Percentage and intensity of cell membrane staining for E-CD was calculated for the 4 groups using the quantitative Automatic Cellular Imaging System (ChromaVision, San Juan Capistrano, CA). The results were as follows: The CIS group (n = 23) had percentage and intensity (92.8%, 120.0 U) of E-CD expression similar to the superficial noninvasive papillary TCC group (n = 16, 97.8%, 123.0 U) and the benign urothelium group (n = 17, 87.9%, 104.6 U), but it had statistically significant higher percentage and intensity than the invasive TCC group (n = 15, 45.4%, and 39.2 U, P <.05). Our data indicate that CIS and superficial, noninvasive papillary TCCs strongly express E-CD. In contrast, loss of E-CD expression is associated with the invasive TCC phenotype. Only when TCCs become invasive does E-CD expression decrease in directly proportion to the depth of invasion.

Cadherins↗

Possibility of spontaneous seeding of transitional cell carcinoma of the ureter in renal tubules: another mechanism of transitional cell carcinoma dissemination.

Cancer cell seeding inside the urinary tract always has been considered one possible mechanism of the multicentric origin of transitional cell carcinoma (TCC). However, there is still no direct clinical evidence to prove that the natural seeding of TCC is a real event. To our knowledge, we report the first case of spontaneous seeding of TCC of the ureter in the renal tubules of a hydronephrotic kidney. The TCC nature of the intratubular tumor cells has been confirmed by the morphological appearance of them after hematoxylin and eosin staining and positive p53 immunohistochemical staining.

Aged↗

Risk factors for the development of bladder transitional cell carcinoma following surgery for transitional cell carcinoma of the upper urinary tract.

To determine the risk factors for development of transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) of the bladder (BTCC) following surgery for TCC of the upper urinary tract (UUT-TCC) in patients without history of BTCC, 85 patients surgically treated for UUT-TCC (34 female, 51 male; median age 66, range 42-85 years) were reviewed retrospectively. The Cox proportional hazards model was used to assess the association of relevant clinicopathologic factors with BTCC-free survival in patients without a history of BTCC and TCC-specific survival in all. Median follow-up duration was 35 (range 1-193) months. Six patients (7%) had previous histories of BTCC, and 6 others (7%) had concurrent BTCC at the time of surgery for UUT-TCC. Of 70 patients who had no history of BTCC and underwent follow-up cystoscopy, 24 (34%) developed BTCC during follow-up after surgery. Univariate analysis identified female sex, postoperative systemic chemotherapy, and incomplete distal ureterectomy as significant risk factors for new development of BTCC. After multivariate analysis adjusted for age and pathological (p) T stage in the TNM classification, all three factors remained significant, with respective hazard ratios of 5.56 (95% confidence interval (CI), 1.99-15.6; p = 0.001), 3.19 (95% CI, 1.34-7.62; p = 0.009) and 2.99 (95% CI, 1.08-8.26; p = 0.03). Only pT stage was a significant independent risk factor for TCC-specific death. Female sex and postoperative systemic chemotherapy, as well as incomplete distal ureterectomy, are possible riks factors for development of BTCC following surgery for UUT-TCC.

Adult↗

Comparison of ureteropelvic transitional cell carcinoma with bladder transitional cell carcinoma using an image analyzer.

To elucidate whether a significant difference in malignant potential between ureteropelvic transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) and bladder TCC is present, the argyrophilic nucleolar organizer region (AgNOR), nuclear DNA content and mean nuclear area (MNA) were evaluated in 32 ureteropelvic TCCs and 60 bladder TCCs, and were also compared with histological grade and stage. The parameters used were the mean AgNOR count (C-AgNOR), the percentage of cells exhibiting more than 3 AgNOR dots within nuclei (P-AgNOR), 2c deviation index (2cDI), 5c exceeding rate (5cER) and MNA. No significant difference in these 5 parameters was found between ureteropelvic and bladder TCCs. In addition, within each histological grade of tumor, no significant difference in each parameter between ureteropelvic and bladder TCCs was noted. Similarly, within pTa or pT1 TCCs, there was no significant difference in the parameters between ureteropelvic and bladder TCCs. On the other hand, invasive TCCs (pT2 and higher), the C-AgNOR and P-AgNOR were significantly higher in ureteropelvic than in bladder TCC (p < 0.05), while no significant difference in 2cDI, 5cFR and MNA was noted. These findings suggest that: (i) as a whole, the difference in malignant potential between ureteropelvic and bladder TCCs appears to be less significant, and (ii) factors other than the malignant potential of a tumor might contribute to the unfavorable clinical outcome in patients with ureteropelvic TCC.

Aged↗

Cytokeratins in normal and malignant transitional epithelium. Maintenance of expression of urothelial differentiation features in transitional cell carcinomas and bladder carcinoma cell culture lines.

The pattern of cytokeratins expressed in normal urothelium has been compared with that of various forms of transitional cell carcinomas (TCCs; 21 cases) and cultured bladder carcinoma cell lines, using immunolocalization and gel electrophoretic techniques. In normal urothelium, all simple-epithelium-type cytokeratins (polypeptides 7, 8, 18, 19) were detected in all cell layers, whereas antibodies to cytokeratins typical for stratified epithelia reacted with certain basal cells only or, in the case of cytokeratin 13, with cells of the basal and intermediate layers. This pattern was essentially maintained in low-grade (G1, G1/2) TCCs but was remarkably modified in G2 TCCs. In G3 TCCs simple-epithelial cytokeratins were predominant whereas the amounts of component 13 were greatly reduced. Squamous metaplasia was accompanied generally by increased or new expression of some stratified-epithelial cytokeratins. The cytokeratin patterns of cell culture lines RT-112 and RT-4 resembled those of G1 and G2 TCCs, whereas cell line T-24 was comparable to G3 carcinomas. The cell line EJ showed a markedly different pattern. The results indicate that, in the cell layers of the urothelium, the synthesis of stratification-related cytokeratins such as component 13 is inversely oriented compared with that in other stratified epithelia where these proteins are suprabasally expressed, that TCCs retain certain intrinsic cytoskeletal features of urothelium, and that different TCCs can be distinguished by their cytokeratin patterns. The potential value of these observations in histopathologic and cytologic diagnoses is discussed.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗

Transitional cell carcinoma of the endometrium and endometrial carcinoma with transitional cell differentiation.

BACKGROUND: Transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) is rare in the female genital tract. Although it is most common in the ovary, small series of cases in the cervix have been reported, with isolated cases described in the fallopian tube, adnexa uteri, and endometrium. METHODS: Eight cases of primary TCC involving the endometrium and 1 case of ovarian TCC metastatic to the endometrium were retrieved from the files of the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Cases were selected based on the presence of endometrial TCC, whether pure or combined with other patterns, and regardless of the relative amount. Immunostaining for cytokeratins 7 and 20 was performed. RESULTS: Among the 8 women with primary endometrial tumors, the mean age was 61.6 years (range, 41-83 years). Uterine bleeding was the presenting symptom in 7 women. Macroscopically, the tumors were polypoid, and infiltrated the myometrium, although the extent of infiltration varied. Seven endometrial tumors showed a papillary component. TCC was always admixed with other patterns (predominantly squamous, but also endometrioid, papillary, and serous patterns), with the proportion of the TCC component ranging from 5% to 95% (mean, 63.8%). TCC was the main invasive pattern observed in all three of the cases that had deep myometrial invasion; these cases also had vascular invasion. Seven tumors were confined to the uterus; one was metastatic to the ovary. The ovarian TCC metastatic to the endometrium had a pure TCC pattern. Five of 7 cases of TCC had cytokeratin 7+/20- immunoreactivity; 2 cases were cytokeratin 7-/20-. Treatment of primary endometrial tumors was mainly surgical, with adjuvant radiation therapy in 4 cases or chemotherapy in 1 case. Survival ranged from 3 months to 12.9 years (mean, 5.1 years). Of five women for whom follow-up was available, three were alive with no evidence of disease, one was alive with a local recurrence, and one died of unrelated disease. CONCLUSIONS: TCC is a rare, distinct subtype of endometrial carcinoma with morphologic features of urothelial differentiation, but retention of a mullerian immunoprofile. While the overall prognosis does not appear to be worse than what might be anticipated for the stage of tumor present, TCC appears to be the more aggressive histologic subtype among the patterns with which it is admixed.

Adult↗

Intracellular acidification delays hormonal G2/M transition and inhibits G2/M transition triggered by thiophosphorylated MAPK in Xenopus oocytes.

Xenopus oocyte maturation is analogous to G2/M transition and characterized by germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD), spindle formation, activation of MPF and Mos-Xp42(Mpk1) pathways. It is accompanied prior to GVBD by a transient increase in intracellular pH. We determined that a well known acidifying compound, NH(4)Cl, delayed progesterone-induced GVBD in a dose-dependent manner. GVBD(50) was delayed up to 2.3-fold by 10 mM NH(4)Cl. Cyclin B2 phosphorylation, Cdk1 Tyr15 dephosphorylation as well as p39(Mos) accumulation, Xp42(Mpk1) and p90(Rsk) phosphorylation induced by progesterone were also delayed by incubation of oocyte in NH(4)Cl. The delay induced by NH(4)Cl was prevented by injection of MOPS buffer pH 7.7. In contrast to acidifying medium, alkalyzing treatment such as Tris buffer pH 9 injections, accelerated GVBD, MPF and Xp42(Mpk1) activation, indicating that pHi changes control early steps of G2/M dynamics. When injected in an immature recipient oocyte, egg cytoplasm triggers GVBD through MPF auto-amplification, independently of protein synthesis. In these conditions, GVBD and Xp42(Mpk1) activation were delayed by high concentration of NH(4)Cl, which never prevented or delayed MPF activation. Strickingly, NH(4)Cl strongly inhibited thiophosphorylated active MAPK-induced GVBD and MPF activation. Nevertheless, Tris pH 9 did not have any effects on egg cytoplasm- or active MAPK-induced GVBD. Taken together, our results suggest that dynamic of early events driving Xp42(Mpk1) and MPF activation induced by progesterone may be negatively or positively regulated by pH(i) changes. However Xp42(Mpk1) pathway was inhibited by acidification alone. Finally, MPF auto-amplification loop was not sensitive to pH(i) changes.

Acid-Base Equilibrium↗

Developmental changes in rat cardiac titin/connectin: transitions in normal animals and in mutants with a delayed pattern of isoform transition.

Rat cardiac titin undergoes developmental changes in isoform expression during the period from late embryonic through the first 20-25 days of life. At least five size classes of titin isoforms have been identified using SDS agarose gel electrophoresis. The longest normal isoform is expressed in the embryonic stages, and it is progressively replaced with increasingly smaller versions. The isoform switching is consistent with changes in resting tension from lower values in one-day neonates to higher levels in adult myocytes. Considerable micro-heterogeneity in alternative splicing patterns also was found, particularly in the N2BA PEVK region of human, rat, and dog ventricle. A rat mutation has been identified in which the embryonic-neonatal titin isoform transitions are markedly delayed. These mutant animals may prove useful for examining the role of titin in stretch-activated signal transduction and in the Frank-Starling relationship.

Alternative Splicing↗

Transition zone volume and transition zone ratio: predictor of uroflow response to finasteride therapy in benign prostatic hyperplasia patients.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to: (1) determine effects of finasteride on transition zone (TZ) volume, TZ ratio (TZ volume/total prostate volume), and total prostate volume; (2) analyze differences in TZ and total volume reduction among patients who improve peak urinary flow rates following finasteride therapy with those who do not; (3) investigate which parameters correlate with improvement in peak urinary flow rate and urinary symptom score; and (4) establish if there is any predictive value of these parameters for response to therapy. METHODS: Twenty-three patients with symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) were treated with finasteride (5 mg/d) for 12 months and underwent transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) evaluation of total and TZ volume of prostate and measurement of peak flow rate and modified Boyarsky symptom score at baseline and at 12 months. Statistical analysis was done by unpaired t, Mann-Whitney, and Spearman rank correlation tests among responders (more than 3 cc/s improvement in peak flow rate) and nonresponders (less than 3 cc/s improvement in peak flow rate) to therapy. RESULTS: (1) Responders had substantial reduction in TZ volume (44.8% versus 16.05%; P < 0.03) and TZ ratio (25% versus 5% increase, P < 0.02) compared with nonresponders. (2) There was a significant correlation between reduction in TZ volume (r = 0.50; P < 0.03) and TZ ratio (r = 0.60; P < 0.006) with improvement in peak flow rates. No similar correlation was seen with total prostate volume changes. (3) Pretreatment TZ ratio helped in predicting peak flow improvement following finasteride therapy (r = 0.52; P < 0.01) and there was a 2.5-fold increased chance of improvement if baseline TZ ratio was more than 0.51. The modified Boyarsky symptom score decreased by 3.1 (mean), but there was no correlation with changes in peak urinary flow rate, total prostate volume, TZ volume, and TZ ratio. TZ ratio did not have significant predictive value for improvement in symptom score. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides data that simple measurable parameters are available which may be used prior to therapy to predict uroflow response to finasteride and similar agents.

Double-Blind Method↗

Obstacle-induced transition from ventricular fibrillation to tachycardia in isolated swine right ventricles: insights into the transition dynamics and implications for the critical mass.

OBJECTIVES: The study was done to test the hypothesis that an artificial anatomical obstacle prevents the maintenance of ventricular fibrillation (VF) by stabilizing reentrant wavefronts (RWF) and increases the critical mass (CM) of myocardium required to sustain VF. BACKGROUND: Artificial obstacles can anchor RWF in simulated models of VF. Whether an artificial obstacle affects multiple-wavelet VF in real tissue is unclear. METHODS: The endocardial surfaces of seven isolated, perfused swine right ventricles were mapped using a plaque of 477 bipolar electrodes with 1.6-mm resolution. An 8-mm hole was punched in the tissue. The CM was reached by tissue mass reductions, at which VF converted to periodic activity (ventricular tachycardia, VT). RESULTS: After the creation of the obstacle, the VF cycle length increased from 71.6+/-18.4 ms to 87.5+/-13.0 ms (p<0.05). The obstacle, together with the papillary muscle, facilitated the transition from VF to VT by serving as attachment sites for the RWF. When one RWF attaches to the obstacle and another attaches to the papillary muscle, it may result in stable VT with figure-eight patterns. The CM for VF in the presence of an 8-mm hole (28.7+/-3.8 g) was higher than in the control group (swine right ventricles without holes, 24.0+/-3.4 g, p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: An artificial anatomical obstacle induces slowing and regularization of VF, impairs the persistence of VF as judged by an increase of the CM, and can convert VF to VT by serving as an attachment site to reentrant excitation.

Animals↗

Stability studies of transition-metal linkage isomers using quantum mechanical methods. Groups 11 and 12 transition metals.

Several hypotheses to elucidate the linkage isomer preference of the thiocyanate (SCN(-)) ion have been offered. For complexes with small coordination numbers (i.e., 1 and 2) and groups 11 (Cu-triad) and 12 (Zn-triad) metals, different levels of theory and a variety of basis sets have been employed to study linkage isomerism. Similar results are obtained for all density functionals tested, pure and hybrid. Overall, good agreement, vis-à-vis experimentally identified linkage isomers, is achieved for ab initio techniques, whereas semiempirical quantum mechanical methods show a bias toward S-ligated isomers. Despite the seeming ease for the a priori prediction of the most stable thiocyanate isomers using acid/base principles, this research highlights the sensitivity of quantitative calculations of transition-metal linkage isomerism to the choice of basis set and electron correlation, particularly with post-Hartree-Fock treatments.

Journal Article↗

Is the tert-butyl chloride solvolysis the most misunderstood reaction in organic chemistry? Evidence against nucleophilic solvent participation in the tert-butyl chloride transition state and for increased hydrogen bond donation to the 1-adamantyl chloride solvolysis transition state.

Despite theoretical calculations to the contrary, it has been argued that the 1-adamantyl cation is more stable than the tert-butyl cation in media of high dielectric constant. This argument has been utilized to suggest that the higher rate of solvolysis of tert-butyl chloride in aqueous ethanol is evidence for nucleophilic solvent participation in this classic reaction. Further, in "more highly ionizing" solvents, the rate of 1-adamantyl chloride is nearly the same as that of tert-butyl chloride, which is interpreted as a manifestation of the relative stabilities of the cations. However, the evidence cited does not explain the increased sensitivity of the rate of solvolysis of 1-adamantyl chloride over tert-butyl chloride to solvents which are better able to donate hydrogen bonds. The hypothesis developed here is that 1-adamantyl chloride solvolysis is assisted by hydrogen bond donation departing chloride ion to a greater extent than that of tert-butyl chloride solvolysis, most likely due to lessened steric interactions in a developing pyramidal cation. This hypothesis is supported by multiparameter solvent effect factor analyses utilizing the KOMPH2 equation which, in addition, quantifies the important role of ground-state destabilization due to strong solvent-solvent interactions. An important result from the good correlation of free energies of transfer of the tert-butyl chloride solvolysis transition state is that there is no change in mechanism, and, in particular, no nucleophilic participation even in non-hydroxylic basic solvents. The equation is also applied to the case of dimethylsulfonium ion solvolyses where the tert-butyl salt reacts substantially faster than the 1-adamantyl salt in ethanol and the gas phase. The decreased rate of the former in hydrogen bond donating solvents relative to the gas phase is as yet unclear. Solvent N values that were generated to characterize solvent nucleophilicity are shown not to be correlated by measures of solvent basicity but rather by the negative of measures of solvent hydrogen bond donor ability.

Journal Article↗

Physical organic chemistry of transition metal carbene complexes. 24. Thermodynamic and kinetic acidities of phenyl-substituted (benzylmethoxycarbene)pentacarbonylchromium(0) complexes. Is there a transition-state imbalance?

A kinetic study of the reversible deprotonation of phenyl-substituted (benzylmethoxycarbene)pentacarbonylchromium(0) complexes by OH(-) and by a series of primary aliphatic and a series of secondary alicyclic amines in 50% MeCN-50% water (v/v) at 25 degrees C is reported. Brønsted alpha(CH) values (dependence on carbene complex acidity) and beta(B) values (dependence on amine basicity) were determined. According to current notions about proton transfers involving carbon acids activated by pi-acceptors, alpha(CH) was expected to substantially exceed beta(B), the result of transition-state imbalances that are characteristic of such reactions. However we find that alpha(CH) and beta(B) have essentially the same values, which are close to 0.5. It is shown that these findings do not indicate the absence of an imbalance but rather suggest that the manifestation of the imbalance is masked by the pi-donor effect (3H-Z <--> 3H-Z(+/-)) of the methoxy group.

Journal Article↗

Temperature-dependent transitions between normal and inverse equilibrium isotope effects for coordination and oxidative addition of C-H and H-H bonds to a transition metal center.

The temperature dependence of the equilibrium isotope effects (EIEs) for coordination and oxidative addition of C-H and H-H bonds to the tungstenocene species {[H2Si(C5H4)2]W} has been determined with the aid of DFT (B3LYP) calculations. The EIE for coordination of CH4 and CD4 does not exhibit typical van't Hoff type behavior in which there is a monotonic variation of EIE with temperature; rather, the temperature dependence of the EIE exhibits a maximum, with inverse values (<1) at low temperature and normal values (>1) at high temperatures. The temperature dependence of the EIE for oxidative addition of CH4 and CD4 differs significantly from that for coordination, with the EIE being normal at all temperatures and approaching infinity at 0 K. In contrast to oxidative addition of methane which is normal at all temperatures, the EIE for oxidative addition of H2 and D2 exhibits a transition from inverse to normal upon raising the temperature. The existence of inverse EIEs in these systems at low temperatures is a result of the zero point energy changes for the products upon isotopic substitution being greater than those for the reactants (H2 or CH4).

Journal Article↗

Characterization of electronic transition energies and trigonal distortion of the (FeO6)9- coordination complex in the Al2O3:Fe3+ system: a simple method for transition-metal ions in a trigonal ligand field.

A theoretical method for studying the inter-relationships between electronic and molecular structure has been proposed on the basis of the complete energy matrices of electron-electron repulsion, the ligand field, and the spin-orbit coupling for the d5 configuration ion in a trigonal ligand field. As an application, the local distortion structure and temperature dependence of zero-field splitting for Fe3+ ions in the Al2O3:Fe3+ system have been investigated. Our results indicate that the local lattice structure of the (FeO6)(9-) octahedron in the Al2O3:Fe3+ system has an elongated distortion and the value of distortion is associated with the temperature. The elongated distortion may be attributed to the facts that the Fe3+ ion has an obviously larger ionic radius than the Al3+ ion and the Fe3+ ion will push the two oxygen triangles upward and downward, respectively, along the 3-fold axis. By diagonalizing the complete energy matrices, we found that the theoretical results of electronic transition energies and EPR spectra for Fe3+ ions in the Al2O3:Fe3+ system are in good agreement with the experimental findings. Moreover, to understand the detailed physical and chemical properties of the Al2O3, the theoretical values of the zero-field splitting parameters and the corresponding distortion parameters in the range 50 K <or= T <or= 250 K are reported first.

Journal Article↗